Yuki Tsukumo looked at Toho Hiroshi's retreating figure with a complex expression, then at the Gedo Statue protected by the Flame Array.
She understood that staying here was indeed useless, and might even become a burden.
Without a word, her figure flickered, and she too left the core battlefield.
After making the arrangements, Toho Hiroshi slowly turned around, facing the menacing Ryomen Sukuna head-on.
He stepped through the void, as if invisible stairs appeared beneath his feet; with each step, the aura around him surged, a majestic and vast presence like a deity descending, completely different from Sukuna's violent wickedness.
"Sukuna, before you are completely swallowed by the tide of the era, let me show you what true 'power' is."
"Hahahahaha! That's how it should be! Enough talk, let's fight!"
Sukuna roared with laughter, no longer hesitating, and his figure vanished instantly!
It wasn't teleportation, but pure, extreme speed!
Wherever he passed, faint blood-colored afterimages lingered in the space, and the piercing shriek was the sonic boom of a body breaking the sound barrier!
Almost at the same moment Sukuna disappeared, Toho Hiroshi's Rinnegan suddenly narrowed.
The moment Sukuna's figure vanished from its original spot, it had already appeared behind Toho Hiroshi.
His speed was far beyond the limits of visual capture, almost like true teleportation.
Without any superfluous movements, a fist wrapped in the faint glow of Domain Expansion Mitigation, carrying the Cursed Energy capable of tearing everything apart, slammed directly towards Toho Hiroshi's back!
This punch, seemingly simple and unadorned, contained Sukuna's refined killing techniques and terrifying power capable of shattering mountains.
The effect of Domain Expansion Mitigation, which neutralizes Cursed Techniques, went ahead, rippling out like an invisible wave, intending to dismantle any potential invisible defenses.
However, Toho Hiroshi seemed to have eyes in the back of his head; just as the fist was about to connect, he subtly shifted his body, rotated a single palm, and precisely met Sukuna's fist.
"Almighty Push!"
A powerful repulsive force field instantly erupted, attempting to push Sukuna and his attack away.
But the Domain Expansion Mitigation on Sukuna's fist violently collided with the repulsive force field, emitting a harsh, grating sound like glass rubbing together.
The absolute repulsion, which could originally repel all tangible objects, was actually torn open by a gap under the neutralization of Domain Expansion Mitigation.
Although most of the impact was nullified, Sukuna's extremely concentrated punch still penetrated the weakened repulsive barrier, firmly striking Toho Hiroshi's blocking arm.
"Bang!"
With a dull thud, Toho Hiroshi's body flew backward as if struck by a meteor, his feet plowing two clear air currents in the void, and the sharp pain and bone-shattering cry from his arm clearly told him—the opponent's power and skill indeed surpassed conventional limits.
"Hmph!"
Sukuna, gaining the upper hand, pressed his attack with a wild laugh, his four eyes filled with mockery and cruelty, "What's wrong? Is this all you've got? Is your arrogant posture just a pretense? You can't even take one of my punches without looking so pathetic!"
He unleashed both palms, and countless slashes of Cleave, like an invisible fishing net, enveloped Toho Hiroshi's backward trajectory, blocking all his escape routes.
Toho Hiroshi forcibly stabilized himself in mid-air, a cold glint flashing in his Rinnegan.
He wasn't flustered in the slightest by the disadvantage he just suffered; instead, it was as if this contact allowed him to fully grasp Sukuna's current capabilities.
"Mockery is a trick used by the weak to shake the strong."
Toho Hiroshi's voice remained calm, yet carried a hint of biting coldness, "Your Domain Expansion Mitigation can indeed neutralize my Cursed Techniques to some extent."
"But to think you can defeat me with just that is far too naive."
Facing the invisible slashes raining down from all directions, Toho Hiroshi no longer used the potentially neutralized Almighty Push for wide-range defense.
"Preta Path: Blocking Technique Absorption Seal"
He pressed his single hand forward into the void, as if an invisible vortex appeared in front of his palm.
The Cleave slashes, which could easily tear apart steel and even Special Grade Cursed Spirits, had their attached Cursed Energy rapidly disintegrated and absorbed upon contact with this vortex, like mud oxen entering the sea, transforming into the purest energy to replenish Toho Hiroshi's own consumption.
"What?"
Sukuna's pupils constricted; he could feel that the moment his slashes touched the opponent's palm, their Cursed Energy structure was completely dismantled and absorbed.
"A Cursed Technique that absorbs Cursed Energy?"
"It's not over yet."
While Toho Hiroshi nullified the slashes, his other hand had already completed a hand seal.
"Universal Pull"
A powerful gravitational force instantly acted upon Sukuna, attempting to forcibly pull him over.
"Petty tricks!"
Sukuna roared, his Cursed Energy surging around him, as if rooted to the earth, he actually resisted the powerful gravitational pull, his feet carving deep cracks into the ground.
However, Toho Hiroshi's attacks were like a torrential storm, seamlessly connected.
"Human Path: Psychic Invasion"
The moment Sukuna resisted the gravity, Toho Hiroshi's figure appeared beside him like a phantom, one hand flashing out towards Sukuna's head.
This strike was not physical damage, but aimed directly at the soul, intending to extract his memories and soul.
Sukuna's combat instincts were terrifying; in a split second, he violently turned his head, simultaneously slashing at Toho Hiroshi's arm with a hand-blade wrapped in Domain Expansion Mitigation.
Toho Hiroshi's strike missed, and he immediately changed his move, retracting his arm as if boneless, avoiding Sukuna's counterattack.
"Asura Path: Missile Barrage"
His shoulder and elbow joints instantly opened, and countless missiles wrapped in high-explosive Cursed Energy shot out like a swarm of bees, overwhelmingly bombarding Sukuna.
"Annoying tricks."
Sukuna waved both hands, and the slashes of Cleave transformed into an impenetrable net of blades, detonating most of the missiles in mid-air; the fierce explosion, flames, and shockwaves temporarily engulfed him.
Before the smoke and dust of the explosion could dissipate, a huge black rod shot out from Toho Hiroshi's hand like a javelin, piercing through the smoke and heading straight for Sukuna's heart.
This item was not only extremely hard but could also disrupt the flow of Cursed Energy.
Sukuna's four eyes locked onto the rapidly approaching black rod; he could feel that this object was not purely a physical attack, and it had a strong disruptive effect on Cursed Energy.
He no longer used the wide-ranging Cleave, but instead employed the slash Dismantle, which allowed for adjustable power.
A more condensed, invisible slash precisely struck the black rod.
"Clang!"
A harsh grinding sound rang out, and the black rod was cut in half by Dismantle, chaotic energy fluctuations emanating from the severed end, but it ultimately failed to touch Sukuna.
However, just as he cut the black rod, in that tiny interval when his old strength was exhausted and new strength had not yet emerged.
A cold light flashed in Toho Hiroshi's Rinnegan; he had already anticipated Sukuna's method of dealing with the black rod.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you like the story please give it some power stones and reviews. And if you want to read 40+ advance chapters or just want to support me please join my patreon at [email protected]/Translatingfanfics