Tokyo. The Gojo family's secret underground training ground.
The vast space was devoid of any obstacles; only the cold, hard concrete floor radiated a chilling aura.
Yoru stood silently in the center of the arena with his arms crossed.
He hadn't drawn his blade, nor had he even awakened the Space Cursed Spirit at his waist.
He stood there casually, yet his entire body seemed devoid of even a single opening.
"The rules remain the same,"
Yoru said, looking at Megumi Fushiguro standing opposite him. His voice was so calm it felt suffocating.
"No using shikigami."
"You are only permitted to fight me with pure physical strength."
"If you can make me take even half a step back, you win."
Megumi Fushiguro took a deep breath, his muscles instantly tensing to their limit.
He knew very well what kind of terrifying monster stood before him.
This was an invincible existence who had utterly crushed his own father—the man known as the Sorcerer Killer—in pure hand-to-hand combat!
"Pardon me, Instructor Yoru!"
Megumi let out a low shout, the concrete beneath his feet instantly cracking under the pressure.
His body lunged toward Yoru like a cheetah, accompanied by the sharp whistle of wind!
'So fast!'
This was definitely not the speed a fourteen-year-old middle schooler should possess.
Under Yoru's hellish physical training, Megumi's close-combat prowess had already far surpassed what it was at this point in time.
*Bang!*
Megumi's fist swung violently toward Yoru's face.
But the moment before impact, Yoru simply tilted his head slightly. The heavy punch whistled past his hair, hitting nothing but air.
"Good power, but your trajectory is too linear,"
Yoru commented softly, simultaneously striking at Megumi's chest with a backhand palm.
Megumi's reactions were exceptionally sharp; he twisted his body mid-air, forcefully altering his trajectory.
Not only did he evade Yoru's attack, but he also used the momentum to execute a perfect roundhouse kick aimed straight at Yoru's temple!
Even more impressive was what happened next.
The moment Megumi's leg lashed out, the shadow beneath him began to boil like a living thing.
A mass of pitch-black shadow wrapped around his calf like a bandage.
*Boom!*
The kick lashed through the air, creating a sonic boom that sounded like a roll of muffled thunder!
Wrapping the cursed energy of the Ten Shadows Technique around his physical body to increase both offensive power and defense.
This was the unique fighting style Megumi had developed over the past decade, born from his inability to rely excessively on shikigami!
Watching the shadow-wrapped kick approach with a terrifying whistle, Yoru's lips finally curled into a faint appreciative arc.
"Interesting."
"But in the face of the Transparent World, this is still riddled with openings."
A mysterious light flashed through Yoru's deep red eyes.
Transparent World, activate!
In that instant.
Megumi's muscle contractions, his blood flow, and even the flow of cursed energy wrapped around his calf...
...all became transparent slow-motion images in Yoru's vision.
He didn't even take a defensive stance. Just 0.01 seconds before Megumi's kick could touch him...
...he took half a step forward in a way that completely defied human kinetics.
That seemingly casual half-step...
...perfectly jammed Megumi's strike at its weakest point of force!
*Thud!*
With a simple chop of his hand, Yoru tapped Megumi on the forehead.
The shadow-infused kick, capable of shattering boulders, instantly crumbled.
Megumi was sent flying like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily onto the ground a dozen meters away.
"Cough... cough..."
Megumi clutched his forehead, coughing painfully.
His proudest attack hadn't even lasted a single second against Yoru.
"Too slow."
Yoru walked up to Megumi and looked down at him.
"Your shadow moves faster than your body."
"That means your physical form is holding back your technique."
"The true terror of the Ten Shadows Technique isn't how many powerful shikigami you can summon."
"It's about perfectly integrating the power of those shikigami into your own body!"
Yoru's words struck Megumi's mind like a bolt of lightning.
'Integrating shikigami power into the flesh?'
He had never even dared to dream of such a wild concept before!
"Get up."
Yoru's gaze turned incredibly cold. A tangible, terrifying killing intent locked onto Megumi.
"If this is all you've got, then you won't even be fit for cannon fodder in the coming storm that's going to destroy the world!"
"Push past your limits!"
"Show me exactly what kind of power ten years of anger and frustration can unleash!"
Under this suffocating pressure of death...
Megumi's mind went blank, and his physical potential was pushed to its absolute peak.
He roared, his hands snapping into a seal before his chest!
"Divine Dog!"
This time...
The summoned Divine Dog didn't pounce at Yoru. Instead, under Megumi's frantic control, it transformed into a mass of incredibly dense, black cursed energy.
This cursed energy acted like armor, instantly coating Megumi's entire body!
Sharp claws grew from his hands, and his eyes shifted into crimson, beast-like slits.
A violent, primal power erupted from within him!
This was a desperate counterattack by briefly bonding a shikigami's power to himself—the embryonic form of his future, unbeatable Domain, [CHIMERA SHADOW GARDEN]!
"Die!"
Megumi turned into a bolt of black lightning, charging at Yoru with a violent aura that seemed ready to tear everything apart!
His speed and power were several times greater than before!
*Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!*
The dull sounds of flesh colliding echoed wildly throughout the underground training facility.
Every one of Megumi's attacks carried the soul-rending power of the Divine Dog.
Yet no matter how violent or dense his strikes became...
Yoru remained in place. Like a casual stroll in a garden, he neutralized every single one of Megumi's attacks with the simplest of movements.
"Not a bad strike."
Just as Megumi's cursed energy was about to run dry and he was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion...
Yoru reached out and firmly caught him by the back.
"I suppose you barely pass."
Megumi panted heavily, his entire body soaked through with sweat.
But those crimson eyes were filled with an unprecedented fervor and excitement.
He had done it!
He had actually integrated a shikigami's power into his own flesh!
Although the training results were remarkably significant and Megumi's strength had taken a qualitative leap...
as Yoru looked at the exhausted boy in his arms, a faint, almost imperceptible trace of worry flickered in his deep red eyes.
During the fight just now...
he had used the Transparent World to clearly see the haze deep within Megumi's soul.
It was a frantic obsession: a readiness to sacrifice himself at any moment to protect his sister, Tsumiki, even if it meant dragging his enemies down to the grave with him!
If this self-destructive knot wasn't untied...
when faced with the full-powered Sukuna's possession in the future, Megumi would still fall into an abyss of eternal damnation!
"It seems physical training alone isn't enough."
"I must find an opportunity to completely sever that thorn in his heart."
Yoru set Megumi on the ground and turned to look toward the heavy, shut iron doors of the training ground.
And the key person who could resolve Megumi's inner turmoil...
seemed to be arriving very soon.
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