Black Flash appeared and disappeared in an instant. Under Black Flash, all beings were equal.
"Congratulations, Akira." Kento Nanami offered his most sincere blessing the moment it happened.
The Bale who had been fighting him, and Kron who had served as the stepping stone for Black Flash, were completely stunned. The confidence and condescension in their eyes were gone, replaced by disbelief and deep fear.
"Impossible, impossible, impossible…"
Akira knew nothing of this. He was still immersed in the afterglow of Black Flash. He could feel the "Zone" state Kento Nanami had spoken of, a sense where Cursed Energy, breathing, and everything around him seemed to revolve around his body.
Everything nearby felt clear and cooperative. He knew how the ground could support him, how walls and Cursed Tools could be used, and he could even hear the "voices" of muscles and bones to predict an enemy's next move. Most important of all was his understanding of Cursed Energy.
The barrier that had troubled him for so long, the mismatch between mind and body, was completely gone. He could now describe Cursed Energy with concrete sensations like color, shape, and even taste. It was no longer abstract or distant.
As one "very proper teacher" once explained, Jujutsu Sorcerer had always been using Cursed Energy without truly understanding its flavor. It was like throwing unfamiliar ingredients into a pot at random, and even a Special Grade chef could not guarantee a good dish that way. After landing Black Flash, a Jujutsu Sorcerer finally understood the taste of this ingredient and could cook with it freely.
The current Akira existed on a completely different level from the Akira of three seconds ago, just as Black Flash surpassed an ordinary strike. That was why Black Flash was considered a crucial dividing line for Jujutsu Sorcerer. Those who had experienced it and those who had not were worlds apart at the core of their Cursed Energy.
While it was not absolute, most Grade One Jujutsu Sorcerer had experienced Black Flash and used it as a turning point to push their Jujutsu to greater heights. More importantly, this strength belonged entirely to Akira. He had not relied on any external aid, only daily accumulation until a qualitative change finally occurred.
He had reached this point through his own effort, not effort written as "System, add some points." To many people, this might seem unnecessary or self-imposed hardship, but the feeling of steady progress and earned transformation was deeply satisfying to Akira. It felt genuinely good.
It was like putting on a clean pair of underwear and greeting the first morning of the new year. The light and the water both felt dazzling. Maybe a bit too dazzling.
He wanted to shield his eyes from the brightness. Mastering Black Flash also seemed to mean adapting to darkness, and his eyes felt a little overexposed. No wonder the strongest fighters among Jujutsu Sorcerer rarely liked to show their eyes.
He coughed lightly, joking to himself. His mood was excellent, especially after noticing a certain Hint from System. That only made him feel better.
Stretching without a care for anyone else, Akira nodded first to Kento Nanami. "Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Nanami. I am truly grateful."
Then he smiled at Kron, who had lost an arm to Black Flash. "I should thank you as well. Without the pressure you gave me, I might not have mastered Black Flash so quickly. As repayment, I will give you one more chance to surrender. You know it yourselves, you have no chance of winning."
"You damn brat!" Kron clutched his wound with his remaining hand and let out the howl of a defeated beast, his expression twisted with madness.
At the same time, the cannons under Bale's control roared from behind. All remaining guns opened fire together. They sprayed bullets wildly without caring about overheating, ammunition, formation, or even aiming.
It was completely reckless. Yet that very recklessness made it hard for Akira and Kento Nanami in their Zone state to predict, as self-defense was easy but pushing through the storm of fire was not. Zone did not mean a body of steel, and even an enhanced physique could still be injured.
Using this brief opening, Bale gathered all his Cursed Energy into his legs and sprinted forward. He reached the badly injured Kron and hoisted him onto his shoulder. "Retreat. He is right, we cannot win right now. We will regroup and come back."
"Mr. Bale… I understand. I was not calm enough," Kron said as the madness in his eyes faded. "But if it were just you, it would be easier to escape alone, wouldn't it?"
"What are you saying? We are companions. More than ten years of shared sins," Bale replied. His voice was weak from exhaustion and Cursed Energy loss, but there was no resentment in it.
"Yes… companions…" Kron murmured, a trace of resolve appearing in his eyes.
By the time Akira noticed, the guns had lost control as Bale withdrew and began to fall to the ground. A reliable adult and a monster-likeBoy regrouped side by side.
"Akira, chase," Kento Nanami said.
Akira waved calmly. "No need. They cannot escape. Let me apologize first. I could have ended this quickly, but I dragged it out for my own reasons. You can lecture me later. For now, let me show you what my new partner can do. Go, Darkrai."
Then Kento Nanami heard a sound like shattering glass. At the place where light and shadow met beneath Bale and Kron's feet, a dark phantom quietly rose. Blue eyes slowly opened.
Like the gaze of a nightmare that awakened the darkness in one's heart, a single glance drew out Bale's fear. His desperate sprint came to a stop without him even realizing it. Darkrai stood upon the ground.
I had always assumed that 2.5 times meant 2.5 squared, and I did not notice the mistake until I reread it. Then I realized I might have misunderstood the meaning entirely.
So I went back and checked Gege Akutami's interview to confirm, and it turned out I was right: he was describing power, not a simple multiple. I will paste the original wording here.
"How does Black Flash work?"
Assistant: "In the middle of page 16, why is it not 2.5 times, but 2.5 power?"
Gege Akutami (pretending to be lazy): "Very good question. Using "times" with Kaio-ken or Char Aznable's Char's Zaku sounds strong and easy to understand, but Gege Akutami wanted a larger expression than 'times,' so after wandering through the jungle and crossing the cliff of death he found the idea of 'power.' Ten doubled is 20, but ten to the second power is 100. Power is stronger than times."
Assistant: "But one to the second power is still one. One times two is two."
Gege Akutami (shocked): "What does Cursed Energy mean? Please do not use that nonsense!"
Assistant: "Could you please not get angry about this?"
Gege Akutami: "So from then on, Cursed Energy starts from 2 at the lowest."
I will correct the original text right away. Thank you all for pointing this out, because this was seriously embarrassing.