I was walking along after dealing with the monsters.
Then, a certain man blocked my path.
"Hello, hello....."The man chuckled softly as he looked at me
But. It was a bit off to simply call him a man.
One side was clearly a man's face. But the other side was filled with something like bones, and he had four eyes and four arms.
'Out of the frying pan, into the fire...'
I swallowed dryly.
Judging by the aura he was emitting, it seemed he probably wanted to fight me.
If I tried to run away, he'd chase me to the end and attack. Definitely.
Moreover. He wasn't alone.
Beside him stood a being whose appearance made it hard to tell if it was a woman or a man, guarding his side.
"Lord Sukuna. I have brought them."
"Good work, Uraume. You, step back. No matter who you are, I won't allow you to interfere in this fight."
"Understood."
The man called Sukuna soon gripped the two weapons that the one called Uraume had brought.
One was a short sword. One was a spear.
But. Those weren't ordinary weapons.
Even though I didn't have extensive knowledge of weapons, I could feel it instinctively.
If I took a direct hit from those, I would definitely die.
The instinct of the world's strongest killer remaining in this body added certainty to my guess.
Shlink-
I drew my sword and calmly observed his movements.
"Now then, shall we begin? No need for words, right? Please, do satisfy me."
In his voice as he said this, there was a joy, as if he were enjoying the situation.
A moment later, Sukuna kicked off the ground and charged.
A flurry of kicks and punches followed.
I was busy defending with my arms and scabbard.
'Damn...'
Both speed and power far exceeded that of an ordinary human.
Swish!
I managed to draw my sword and cut off two of the man's right arms. Then, I struck his jaw with the scabbard.
"Not bad at all!"
Even though his arms were severed, Sukuna's expression was constantly smiling.
"Well then, I suppose I have to show you something too. Try receiving this."
Saying that, the man regenerated his severed arms, then grabbed his abdomen and crammed a net-like pattern of slashes into it.
"Guh..."
A small groan escaped my mouth.
"So you can endure this much, huh."
Damn. Was that him holding back just now?
Bam!
Before I could counter, Sukuna's headbutt smashed into my forehead.
Lightning struck from the short sword Sukuna was holding. I barely managed to evade.
A monster.
I thought so before, but that guy is a monster.
The abilities he's shown so far number three.
Regeneration. Slashing attacks. And lightning falling from the short sword.
'The gap is too wide... damn it. Damn it...'
I cursed inwardly.
Takamura is the strongest in his world, but that's only on the premise that he's human.
Even though the killers in Sakamoto Days have absurd fights, at least they don't use supernatural powers like that guy.
Was the reason I could cut off his arms just because he let me, since he enjoys fighting?
My head was filled with various thoughts.
As if reading my mind, Sukuna stopped attacking, approached me, and shouted loudly.
"Get up. The you I saw was never this weak. Unleash that sword strike from before again. Come on, try to captivate me!"
To be honest, I don't want to die here.
There's still so much I haven't done.
I steeled my resolve and slowly rose to my feet.
At the same time, to defeat that monster, I thought long and hard.
Until now, trapped by the fixed idea that Takamura's main weapon was a sword, I had only used the sword and scabbard.
But Takamura's stats – physical ability, weapon adaptability, martial arts, marksmanship, latent potential – are all infinite.
That means I can fight bare-handed without a sword. I could use a gun. Hell, I could swing anything lying on the ground and deal enough damage.
If he weren't this strong, why would the protagonist Sakamoto have given up on fighting him?
The owner of this body now is me.
I can fight the way I want. The way I choose.
There's no need to be controlled.
"It seems you've finally found the will to fight properly. Good. Then shall we begin again?"
Sukuna got into his stance. I also steadied my breath and drew my sword.
Round 2 began.
"Haha! This is fun. So fun! You've lived up to my expectations!"
"...."
This time will be different, you monstrous brat.
I parried all his attacks, stepped inside, stabbed his shoulder, and then spun to slice it off.
I countered his flying counters with counters of my own.
I dodged the descending lightning by cutting off the hand holding the short sword, which acted as a lightning rod, displacing its position, and seized that timing to land a large gash on his body with my blade.
"Try receiving this again. You should be able to cut through it now."
"Cleave."
Slashing attacks flew toward me.
From analyzing our fight so far, his slashing attacks have two variations.
One is a slashing attack used on contact. The other is a slashing attack fired from a distance with no delay.
If it's a close-range slash, I might not know, but if it's long-range, as he said, there is a way to counter it.
Clang!
I received the slash with my blade, then ground it against the attack to sharpen it.
I remembered a scene from the original where he used a bullet to sharpen his blade, so I tried it on the spot.
I attacked aiming to take his eye and blind him, but Sukuna sacrificed an arm to block it.
"I've dealt with many who use swords, but someone like you is a first!"
Sukuna, perhaps excited, began to get a little more serious.
He quickly regenerated his arm and drew the spear-type weapon he hadn't used until now.
"Consider it an honor. Using this means I acknowledge you."
Against this old man, it was worth using.
The King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna's eyes gleamed with ecstasy.
__________
[A third point of view]
Hiten.
Every time he swings this spear, the slashing attacks Sukuna uses – Dismantle and Cleave – are enhanced.
Its power and speed increase, and by enveloping his body in slashing attacks, he can also use it defensively, and he can change their trajectory at will.
Furthermore, each time a slash lands on an enemy, it carves a mark into their body, which can then be used as a medium to unleash slashing attacks remotely.
Whoosh!
Although the old man, Takamura, dodged it, the condition was met by swinging it once, enhancing his slashing attacks.
"Cleave."
Slashing attacks fly again.
Sukuna tried to lure Takamura into a moment of carelessness by sending a barrage of slashes in a straight line, just like before.
'Should I receive it with my sword again?'
The chances of the same counter working again were low.
But he couldn't just take that hit either.
Dodge, or somehow devise a new counter and parry.
A situation of choosing one.
No time to think.
So he immediately ducked and dodged.
However, the trajectory of the slashes changed in an instant.
Sukuna's plan succeeded perfectly. Takamura's body was slashed up, and his blade shattered.
His right arm was nearly severed instantly, but before that happened, he cut off his own right arm himself, then, using the fact that the cut was clean and muscle tissue was still alive, he reattached it.
"Well now, what will you do? You've lost your weapon, and you're covered in wounds. I'll give you all the time you need to heal. I don't want this game to end just yet."
Surprisingly, Sukuna remained calm even after witnessing this.
Setting aside the arm reattachment, he probably thinks he can use some kind of regeneration ability...
He can't do that, you know.
________
[The main character's point of view]
"Cough!"
I spat blood and clenched my fists.
I'm not confident in bare-handed combat, but l have no choice.
If it comes down to it, like I said before, he will just break off a tree branch and use that.
"Oh ho. Hand-to-hand combat, is it? In for a penny, in for a pound, as they say. Fine. I'll accept. However..."
"You'll have to show me your full power.
Surely, you can grow further here....Even if you don't intend to, l will drag your limits out myself"
"From what I've seen so far, Jujutsu Sorcerers are either one of two things: they tremble in fear before the terror of 'death,' or they desperately show all the cards they hold and resist andI sincerely hope you choose the latter."
Sukuna, laughing with joy, threw a punch towards Takamura, one of the few opponents he had ever acknowledged.
Ryomen Sukuna VS Takamura.
The battle of the two strongest was steadily heading in an even more intense direction.
________
Hiten's abilities are not shown in the original work, so I created them.