———— Rewinding the timeline to half an hour ago ————
With the cooldown ended, Kinoshita, having just arrived at the Tokyo No.
2 Colony, immediately summoned Mourning Tiger.
Black shadows condensed into a sphere of darkness almost the size of a small hill, followed immediately by the sudden manifestation of Mourning Tiger’s massive body.
Along with Mourning Tiger’s appearance, Kinoshita dropped a Curtain to prevent other sorcerers from observing him.
Immediately after, he leaped up, twisting his body to smash a punch directly into Mourning Tiger’s gigantic head.
Black cursed energy erupted with sparks of lightning, violently striking the tiger’s head.
Following up, Kinoshita flicked the Caduceus in his hand, and the black shadows condensed into a longsword.
“Roar!”
The tiger’s pained, booming roar didn’t make Kinoshita hesitate.
Instead, the moment it roared in pain, the longsword in Kinoshita’s hand slashed fiercely toward its head.
Mourning Tiger quickly retreated, causing Kinoshita’s blade to carve into the ground, missing its mark.
But Kinoshita immediately came up with a countermeasure.
As the cursed energy shadows on Caduceus rapidly morphed, Kinoshita stomped on the floor, shooting toward Mourning Tiger like a cannonball.
The Caduceus in his hand transformed into a giant hammer.
A hammer as massive as Mourning Tiger’s own paws smashed down from above.
Mourning Tiger clearly couldn’t withstand the force of the blow and was violently slammed into the floor.
Then, Caduceus sank into his shadow.
Kinoshita flattened his hands into palms and forcefully pressed them against Mourning Tiger’s pinned body, cursed energy surging in his hands.
“『Dog: Cleave』”
As he descended, his palms pressed onto Mourning Tiger, and slashes instantly spread outward from the point of contact.
Unlike Itadori and Sukuna’s slashes—the cut lines of this Cleave bore distinct bite marks.
The spread quickly enveloped Mourning Tiger completely.
Then, with a sufficient influx of cursed energy, an incredibly high-speed and terrifyingly powerful slashing attack occurred.
Mourning Tiger was peeled open layer by layer from the outside in, like an onion being unraveled by Cleave’s slashes.
Flesh and blood formed from cursed energy flew out violently, blood spraying as if it cost nothing.
Subsequently, Mourning Tiger was entirely devoured by the slashes of Cleave and vanished.
Subjugation ritual complete.
Unlike Nue, whom he had to let out for a chat immediately after taming, Mourning Tiger wasn’t such a chatty shikigami.
Mourning Tiger needed a quiet space so it could properly rest and sleep.
Mourning Tiger, the shikigami second only to Mahoraga in the Ten Shadows Technique, possessed incredibly powerful physical attributes and a “slashing” technique even stronger than Totality’s.
However, Mourning Tiger’s slashes could not be released from a distance; in other words, rather than Dismantle, it was much more like Cleave.
Having tamed Mourning Tiger, the cursed energy required for Kinoshita’s Cleave significantly decreased while its power increased considerably.
More importantly, there was another of Mourning Tiger’s traits.
As a shikigami focused entirely on physical melee combat, Mourning Tiger prioritized the precise timing of landing cursed energy strikes alongside physical blows.
The gap between its physical impact and cursed energy impact was virtually non-existent.
This meant that by utilizing Mourning Tiger’s technique, Kinoshita only needed to focus on regulating his cursed energy and matching his opponent’s cursed energy compatibility to rapidly unleash Black Flashes.
In fact, as long as Kinoshita managed his own and his opponent’s conditions well, he could absolutely chain multiple Black Flashes on his target.
Additionally, because this trait affected Mourning Tiger itself, and combined with the restorative properties of landing a Black Flash, Mourning Tiger was also the optimal choice for a meat shield and defensive vanguard when paired with Mahoraga’s wheel.
As for the “strength enhancement” sub-trait that came with manifesting Mourning Tiger’s technique on his own body?
Although it was merely a byproduct, it was still far more effective than Kinoshita manually reinforcing his body with cursed energy.
Moreover—just like Round Deer—it could be stacked.
With the successful subjugation of Mourning Tiger, a voice chimed in perfectly on cue in his ear.
“Ding-dong, ding-dong! A player has added the latest rule to the Culling Game. Rule 10: Players can view the information of other players, including their names, scores, number of rules added, and their current colony location!”
“Kogane, show me the players other than myself who have added rules.” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“Right away!”
Hajime Kashimo, Score: 0 points, Rules Added: 1, Location: Tokyo No.
2 Colony.
———— Meanwhile ————
Kinoshita, Score: 0 points, Rules Added: 1, Location: Tokyo No.
2 Colony.
Seeing this notification, azure lightning violently erupted from Hajime Kashimo’s body, dancing through his pale blue hair and making it stand on end.
“What the hell… he just delivered himself right to my doorstep, didn’t he?”
Kashimo chewed on the name—Kinoshita, Kinoshita.
He had definitely seen this name somewhere, perhaps in some ancient text chronicling the strong?
It was a powerhouse from before the Edo period, one worthy of being recorded in history books.
Honestly, in my pursuit of Sukuna’s overwhelming strength, had I forgotten everyone else who might be just beneath him?
Kinoshita, Kinoshita.
Suddenly, the shifting, versatile silhouette from that old portrait surfaced in Kashimo’s mind.
He remembered now—the man whom various sorcerers claimed was on par with Sukuna.
The Strongest of the Muromachi period, who, according to the records, committed suicide because “a life without rivals is simply too lonely.”
Let me be the first to test if you are truly as strong as the books describe, Kinoshita.
Thinking this, Kashimo made no effort to conceal his cursed energy, letting his crackling, lightning-trait cursed energy overflow into the air—as he personally marched toward the center of the Tokyo No.
2 Colony.
———— On the other side ————
From thousands of meters away, Kinoshita could see that towering pillar of cursed energy.
Based on its nature and sheer volume, Kinoshita could easily deduce the identity of its owner.
The Thunder God of the Edo period, Hajime Kashimo.
Speaking of which, that Hajime Kashimo was also a player whose ultimate goal was to fight Sukuna, right?
Kinoshita hadn’t read the manga past Yuta’s Sendai fights; he had absolutely no idea what Kashimo’s technique was.
He only knew the guy existed and, correspondingly, that he was incredibly strong.
Thus, Kinoshita also unreservedly released his own cursed energy, striding toward Kashimo’s location.
Even though their total cursed energy was astonishing, actively projecting it always attracted a few fearless idiots trying to block the way.
After casually disposing of a few brainless sorcerers who relied too much on their techniques, Kinoshita and Kashimo stared each other down from a distance at the exact center of the colony.
Zzt!
BOOM!!!
Purple lightning and pale blue lightning collided.
With a deafening boom, the overflowing electrical energy smashed into the surrounding buildings.
The immense cursed energy, carrying electric currents, whipped up a terrifying storm.
As the storm settled, the two figures landed on opposite ends of a circular arena in the center of the colony.
“Hey! Judging by your cursed energy… you must be ‘Kinoshita’, right?”
Kashimo slammed his Nyoi Staff into the ground, his eyes locked onto Kinoshita.
Fueled by surging battle lust, the lightning-bolt markings on his face seemed to literally crackle with electricity.
Kinoshita waved his hand, and Caduceus fell into his palm.
Immediately, the shadows formed from cursed energy coalesced into a massive scythe.
“I have a question. Are you… a guy or a girl?”
Kinoshita didn’t reply, just stared at Kashimo.
“I’m a man. And if you harbor those kinds of thoughts, I suggest you throw away that fake mercy right now!”
Kashimo violently hoisted his long staff.
BOOM!
Lightning erupted from Kashimo’s body.
With a sudden, rushing flash of electricity, the staff in Kashimo’s hands violently smashed toward Kinoshita.
Kinoshita jerked his blade upward, the massive scythe catching the Nyoi Staff and aggressively hooking it upward.
The moment his weapon was nearly knocked from his grip, Kashimo instantly launched a sweeping kick.
Kinoshita’s scythe rapidly retracted, and his body jerked backward, narrowly dodging Kashimo’s sweeping kick.
Kashimo violently slammed his staff into the ground, then grabbed it, spinning his entire body like a cyclone to whip both his legs at Kinoshita like a flail.
Kinoshita stomped the ground, his own electric light surging, and he retreated backward at an astonishing speed.
Neither attack landed.
Kashimo stepped on the ground, jumping the moment he braked.
The staff in his hands was raised high, smashing heavily down toward Kinoshita.
Kinoshita raised Caduceus, the giant scythe transforming into a solid spear.
The heavy Nyoi Staff crashed into the condensed cursed energy, producing the dull, heavy clang of clashing metal.
And the explosive crackle of lightning.
Through multiple consecutive strikes, Kashimo used the Nyoi Staff to forcefully channel his lightning into Kinoshita.
“Not bad! Hajime Kashimo!”
Kinoshita tightened his grip on Caduceus.
Nue’s lightning surged backward into Kashimo’s lightning.
Purple and pale blue electricity clashed, and with an explosive crack, the two separated once more.
“You’re not bad yourself! As a user of lightning cursed energy… this is the first time I’ve ever seen lightning on par with mine!!!”
Kashimo was currently in an extremely “hyper” state.
Lightning cursed energy rushed up from his feet, causing his clothes and hair to stand on end.
Once again, the two struck simultaneously.
Kinoshita’s spear transformed again; as he caught Kashimo’s swinging staff, he gripped the staff with one hand, sending Nue’s lightning rushing toward Kashimo’s palm.
Then, ducking low, the condensed shadow of Caduceus shifted into a hand-and-a-half sword.
Kinoshita closed the distance to Kashimo’s flank in a flash and slashed outward.
Kashimo could only grip the Nyoi Staff and tank Nue’s lightning.
He immediately lifted the staff, sacrificing his hand to neutralize Kinoshita’s attack aimed at his core—his waist and abdomen.
After neutralizing Kinoshita’s attack, Kashimo executed a backflip, immediately retreating to maintain a safe distance and staring at Kinoshita.
“It seems… your technique and strength are quite exceptional.”
“Hah… what, not going to keep attacking?”
Kinoshita tilted his head up, tossing Caduceus into his shadow.
“I’ve tested the waters enough. If this is your level, you’re definitely capable of making me enjoy this dance.”
“Like a tango, where only those of similar skill can dance together. That’s what you mean, right?”
“Haha… pretty much.”
“Then, as the Strongest of the Muromachi period, I’ll allow you to strike first.”
“What the hell are you on about… ‘Strongest’!”
Kashimo raised his staff.
Explosive pale blue lightning coiled around the Nyoi Staff, surging upward, as Kashimo tilted his head back.
“Don’t make me… get my hopes up for nothing.”