The guardian barrier in Niigata pulsed steadily behind them, a dome of light protecting the unconscious civilians within. Outside, Cursed Spirits swarmed like locusts, drawn by the dense concentration of human life.
Miwa Kasumi hovered high above the battlefield, her sword drawn, her heart heavy with resignation.
'Why do I have to be grouped with Todo of all people?'
She watched him below—a whirlwind of destruction, his fists caving in Cursed Spirits with contemptuous ease. Each punch sent another spirit dissolving into nothing. It was impressive, she admitted grudgingly. Efficient. Brutal.
But he was Todo.
Her ideal partner would have been Mechamaru—quiet, reliable, someone she actually got along with. Or Mai, off with her sister in Tokyo. Or Kamo Noritoshi, called back to his family's duties.
Instead, she was stuck with the man who had once asked her, with complete seriousness, "What's your type of woman?" She'd stammered something about preferring small, delicate types. He'd walked away in disgust.
Their partnership was one of necessity, not choice. Miwa drew the Cursed Spirits' attention from above; Todo obliterated them from below. It worked. It was efficient.
It was also deeply, profoundly awkward.
Miwa drifted higher, letting her thoughts wander. Todo could handle the Cursed Spirits. He always could. None of them had yet survived more than a few seconds against his fists. She'd heard he had a Cursed Technique, but she'd never seen him use it.
Below, Todo's laughter echoed across the battlefield. He was enjoying this. A killing machine with a grin.
'At least he's on our side,' Miwa thought, watching him pulverize another spirit.
Her gaze drifted. The sky was clear today—blue and endless, untouched by the chaos below. It was almost peaceful up here.
Then she saw it.
A streak of light, far in the distance. Growing. Expanding. Coming toward her.
Her blood ran cold. The Cursed Energy cannonball screamed through the air, its heat distorting the atmosphere around it. It was moving too fast. It was too close.
She couldn't dodge.
'Is this... how I die?'
Time slowed. She saw her life flash before her—training, failures, small victories. She saw Mechamaru's kind eyes, Mai's teasing smile, her own dreams of becoming a useful sorcerer.
She saw Todo Aoi appear before her.
His body slammed into hers, shoving her aside. She tumbled through the air, disoriented, watching as he grabbed the cannonball with both hands.
Cursed energy exploded from him. His muscles bulged. His teeth ground together. And with a roar that shook the sky, he redirected the blast, hurling it into the swarm of Cursed Spirits below.
*BOOM. *
The explosion carved a crater in the battlefield, annihilating dozens of spirits in an instant.
Todo Aoi hovered in the air, arms still extended, chest heaving. Then he turned to Miwa, his face split by that same wild grin.
"You. Barrier. Now." He jerked his thumb toward the dome behind them. "Next one's out of your league."
Miwa stared at him, heart pounding, her near-death experience already fading into absurdity. The sunlight caught his profile, highlighting the sharp lines of his jaw, the raw power in his stance.
She had accepted death. She had been ready.
And then Todo Aoi had simply... been there.
"Move!" he barked.
Miwa fled toward the barrier, face burning.
At the barrier's edge, Kamo Itsuki's clone watched the exchange with quiet satisfaction. He had seen Ryu Ishigori the moment the man appeared—that ridiculous cannon-shaped hairdo was impossible to miss. The Cursed Energy cannonball had been aimed at the barrier, but Miwa had drifted into its path.
Bad luck. Or fate.
He had been about to intervene when Todo moved. The clone had held back, letting the younger sorcerer have his moment.
Sometimes heroism needed a stage.
Ryu Ishigori emerged from the tree line, his expression thunderous.
He had made a pact with Kenjaku seeking one thing: a worthy battle. His era had denied him satisfaction, his power too great for any opponent to challenge. He had slept for a thousand years dreaming of war.
He woke to Sukuna and Gojo Satoru.
When he stepped forward to challenge them, they looked past him. Sukuna had dismissed him with a gesture—a casual Dismantle meant to erase him. Gojo Satoru, equally casual, had deflected the attack with Red, sending him hurtling across Japan.
He had been used. As a tool. As a distraction. Their brief exchange—Sukuna trying to kill him, Gojo saving him—was not a battle. It was a contest of who could manipulate him more efficiently.
Ryu Ishigori, who had crossed centuries seeking an equal, had been treated like a child. Like an inconvenience.
He landed in Niigata burning with rage. He saw the guardian barrier, the Cursed Spirits, the girl in the sky.
He fired.
And now this—this child—had caught his cannonball and thrown it away as if it were nothing.
Ryu's fists clenched. His blood boiled.
Finally. Someone who might actually fight back.
The battle between Todo Aoi and Ryu Ishigori had transformed the streets of Niigata into a war zone. Buildings crumbled. Pavements shattered. Cursed Spirits caught in the crossfire were obliterated without a second thought.
And at the center of it all, two men fought like forces of nature.
Ryu Ishigori was furious. Everything about this era infuriated him. Sukuna and Gojo Satoru had treated him like an insect—a brief distraction in their greater contest. His life's quest for a worthy opponent had been dismissed with a wave.
Now this child had blocked his Granite Blast with bare hands. Caught it. Threw it away. As if the strongest Cursed Energy output in history meant nothing.
"How does every random nobody who walks out manage to block my attacks?" Ryu's voice cracked with indignation.
He fired again.
Granite Blast. *
The Cursed Energy cannonball screamed toward Todo. Todo sidestepped casually, letting it obliterate a cluster of buildings behind him. He had only taken the first hit to save Miwa. Now, there was no reason to be a hero.
"You rude Curse User." Todo's voice carried across the battlefield, almost conversational. "What type of women do you like?"
Ryu blinked. "What?"
"Me? I like tall women with big butts." Todo nodded, as if this were a perfectly normal battlefield exchange. "If your answer satisfies me, I might let you go."
Ryu's fury congealed into something colder. "Let me go? Blocking one Granite Blast has given you quite an ego."
He cracked his neck, settling into a fighting stance.
"I only like people who can bring me passion."
Todo considered this. "I don't hate your answer. But it's not enough for me to let you go."
Ryu's lips curled. "You look like you'd make a good dessert."
They moved at the same instant.
The first clash sent shockwaves rippling through the street. Todo's right fist met Ryu's elbow, the impact pulverizing the asphalt beneath their feet. They broke apart, each assessing the other.
Ryu kicked a nearby Cursed Spirit—a screaming, twisted thing—directly at Todo's face. Todo caught it with both hands, spun, and hurled it back like a fastball. Ryu shattered it with a punch, blood and ichor spraying across the street.
They closed again.
Fists flew. Feet struck. Each blow carried enough force to crater concrete. A Cursed Spirit strayed too close to Todo's uppercut and its head simply ceased to exist. Ryu's roundhouse kick missed Todo by inches, tearing through a row of spirits behind him, sending them crashing through storefronts.
The city was their arena. Cursed Spirits were collateral damage.
In the close quarters of their next exchange, Ryu's eyes glittered.
His hair-cannon flashed.
Granite Blast. *
Point blank. Unavoidable.
Todo's hand came up—not to block, but to clap.
Boogie Woogie. *
Space shifted. The Cursed Spirit to Ryu's left suddenly occupied Todo's position. The Granite Blast caught it full in the chest, vaporizing it instantly.
And Todo was behind Ryu.
His fist, wrapped in roiling black lightning, connected with Ryu's jaw.
*「黒閃」
Black Flash. *
Ryu's head snapped sideways. His vision blurred. His consciousness flickered—but his will was iron. He forced himself upright, forced his eyes to focus.
Todo was already gone.
*「不義遊戯」 *
Swap.
*「黒閃」 *
Another Black Flash, this time to Ryu's ribs. The sound was like thunder cracking.
*「不義遊戯」 *
Swap.
*「黒閃」 *
Ryu's defenses crumbled with each impossible repositioning. Todo was everywhere—front, back, left, right—a phantom striking from angles that shouldn't exist.
*「黒閃」 *
The final Black Flash caught Ryu square in the face with the force of a freight train.
He flew backward—through one building, then another, then a third—each impact lessening his momentum until he slammed against the guardian barrier itself. The dome of light pulsed, absorbing the last of his energy.
Ryu Ishigori slid to the ground and did not rise.
Todo Aoi stood in the ruined street, chest heaving, fists still raised. Sweat ran down his face. His arms ached. His lungs burned.
But his eyes were alive.
He turned to Kamo Itsuki's clone, his expression shifting from battle fury to something more eager. More hungry.
Around him, the surviving Cursed Spirits whimpered and retreated, unwilling to draw his attention.
Ryu Ishigori's last words drifted across the battlefield like a dying sigh.
"You... this dessert... are truly too sweet."
Todo cracked his neck.
"So." He pointed at Kamo's clone. "We done here? Or are you finally going to give me that fight?"