When the sky suddenly filled with darkness, Todo and Itadori immediately noticed the anomaly.

There shouldn’t have been a barrier at the tournament, so Todo stayed on alert, while Itadori, aware that the curse attack had just begun, scanned the area, trying to track the cursed energy of the other students.

It didn’t take long for him to notice a cursed energy standing out from the rest.

And he clearly remembered this energy signature from months ago.

The cursed energy of a special-grade curse.

Hanami, a curse born from the fear of natural disasters on Earth.

'What oppressive energy... I can feel it even from here.'

“You felt it too, didn’t you?” Todo, standing beside him, asked, his gaze fixed in the direction Hanami’s cursed energy was coming from.

“It’s an attack.” Itadori rolled up the sleeves of his jacket, narrowing his eyes as he clenched his fists, feeling and appreciating his new control over cursed energy. “It’s the same as one of my missions, when a sentient curse attacked a school.”

“I see.” Todo snapped his fingers, a smile spreading across his face as he stood beside his best friend. “Then we must move, my brother!”

Itadori smiled back, and in the blink of an eye, both he and the first-grade sorcerer vanished.

----------------------------------------

Megumi had faltered. It was his fault Maki had been captured by the curse, and he had nearly exhausted his reserves of cursed energy.

If he hadn’t slipped up, it wouldn’t have happened.

'Damn it!'

Clenching his teeth, Megumi brought his hands together, preparing for another summoning.

Even if it destroyed him, he couldn’t just leave things as they were. As the one carrying the lightest burden, he had no right to give up so easily.

He wouldn’t allow exhaustion to make him witness the death of a companion—not again.

“That’s enough, Megumi!” Maki ordered, struggling to keep the curse from strangling her. “We’ve done our part!”

“Time to change teams.”

Boom!

Caught completely off guard, Hanami didn’t react when a fist smashed into the top of her head, driving her body into the ground.

“You’re not getting away this time, plant head.”

Megumi’s eyes widened as he realized the attackers were Todo and Itadori, still standing side by side, their hands clasped as if ready to perform a summoning at any moment.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

Todo, leaping up and catching the injured Maki, turned to Itadori, who had positioned himself in front of Hanami, who had already retreated.

“Can you handle this, brother?” Todo asked, to which Itadori nodded with a confident smile.

“Itadori, stop! That curse is too strong!” Megumi struggled to get up but stumbled and dropped to one knee, the exhaustion more severe than he’d realized.

“Panda, take these two to the other side of the barrier!” Todo ordered as Panda suddenly appeared.

While Todo gave instructions, Itadori turned to Megumi, who looked exhausted and dejected.

“Fushiguro, don’t worry.”

With a confident smile, Itadori's words struck Megumi, who clenched his teeth.

His mind flashed back to the boarding school, the special-grade curse, and how he had left Itadori behind.

Once again, he felt useless.

But this time, he didn’t want to leave things as they were.

“Itadori, I’m not abandoning you this time.” Standing on shaky legs, Megumi breathed heavily but faced his friend resolutely. “I won’t let what happened at the boarding school happen again.”

“...”

A tense silence fell between them as Itadori turned to face Megumi, locking eyes with him for several moments before finally declaring:

“Then get stronger.”

Thud...

Those words hit Megumi hard, and his eyes widened in surprise.

Get stronger? Was he really that weak, that even someone with less than three months’ experience as a sorcerer could say that to him?

Watching Itadori turn his attention back to the curse, Megumi clenched his fists, his teeth grinding as his body trembled.

Faced with Itadori’s statement, Megumi understood.

Yes, he was weak.

Panda picked up the dark-haired sorcerer, placed him on Maki’s shoulder, and began to carry them away.

“Don’t die.”

As he was taken to safety, Megumi left those last words for Itadori, who silently thanked him, staying focused on the curse.

“My friend, I’ll let you fight this curse alone.” Todo stepped out of the shallow pond they were in, crossing his arms as he looked at Itadori seriously. “Let’s see how much you’ve grown.”

“You got it.” Clenching his fist tightly, Itadori stepped forward, Hanami standing firm in the presence of the two sorcerers.

'What’s that?' Hanami thought as she examined Sukuna’s vessel. 'Why are they so confident? They’re clearly weaker than me.'

As Itadori approached, walking calmly, confidence radiating from him, Hanami raised her palm, beginning to weave a wooden ball with her cursed energy.

'No, I shouldn’t think like that. That man might have a dangerous technique. I can’t lower my guard. As for Sukuna’s vessel, he said he’d face me alone. If I can take him out of the fight, I can focus on just one.'

'It’s fine, there’s no real danger.'

Boom!

Just as Hanami was forming a plan to confront the two sorcerers, her teeth clenched as Itadori suddenly vanished, a kick landing squarely on her jaw and sending her flying from the impact.

'What kind of force is that?'

Blood dripped from Hanami’s lips as she landed on her feet, digging her fingers into the ground to stop her momentum.

“My strength has increased a lot.” Itadori grinned excitedly at the curse. “I should have mastered Black Flash sooner!”

Hanami, now more cautious, weaved two more wooden balls as she prepared for Itadori’s next explosive charge.

'I can’t keep getting hit like this!'

Raising her only arm, Hanami blocked a punch from the side, the force of the impact reverberating through her body, making her grit her teeth.

“Oops!”

Just as the curse was about to counterattack, she failed to react when Itadori struck her arm, pushing it upward and leaving her completely exposed.

'All right! I’ll endure this hit and counter right away.'

That was Hanami’s plan, but as she watched Itadori’s fist approach her abdomen, she noticed something at the last moment.

Something she couldn’t have predicted.

“Black...”

An overwhelming power.

“Flash!!!”

Boom!

Electricity crackled as black lightning shot out in all directions, Itadori’s fist crashing into Hanami’s stomach, making her choke as her body flew backward. She clutched her abdomen, desperately trying to recover.

'That punch was too powerful.' Hanami gritted her teeth, wiping the blood from her lips. 'Just like that boy...'

Itadori shook his fist, narrowing his eyes as he stared intensely at the curse.

'Could he really be that strong?!'