Jujutsu Kaisen: I Can Manipulate Time.

The violent impact and accompanying lightning discharge from Teng Snake nearly overwhelmed Kamo Noritoshi. Fortunately, he had already activated Crimson Binding, allowing him to quickly stabilize from the blow.

"Blood Manipulation: Piercing Blood!"

A thin red line streaked through the air. Blood burst from Teng Snake's body, but apart from a painful hiss, the shikigami's momentum didn't falter. Compared to its massive form, the wound was superficial—it didn't even pierce all the way through.

"Crimson Binding."

Kamo pulled a blood bag from within his robes and crushed it. The blood quickly elongated into a rope under his control, latching onto a distant tree. Using the tension, he launched himself across the forest canopy, dodging Teng Snake's relentless pursuit.

This variation on Crimson Binding allowed him to swing through the terrain like a grappling hook. The main difficulty was maintaining the rope's form mid-motion, but it gave him just enough agility to keep ahead of the rampaging beast.

Watching from a distance, Fushiguro Megumi turned to Maki.

"I'll go after him. If I can take him out, great. If not, I'll abandon the pursuit and regroup with the others."

Maki smirked, twirled her naginata, and slung it over her back.

"I'll deal with the robot. Go."

With that, she vanished into the trees, leaving behind only a blur.

Megumi followed in Teng Snake's wake. The creature's size made it a poor fit for this dense terrain, but it pressed on with brute force, smashing through obstacles. Kamo was barely keeping ahead by sharply shifting directions and using his rope technique.

Megumi kept his distance, hidden in the shadows. He saw Kamo leap from a cloud of dust, blood hardening in his palms as he prepared to strike.

"Same technique again? That won't stop Teng Snake," Megumi muttered, narrowing his eyes.

"Why repeat it unless...?"

Sensing something off, he activated his Ten Shadows Technique again.

"Blood Manipulation: Piercing Blood!"

Kamo launched another compressed blood strike, piercing Teng Snake's dissipating form. But just like before, the attack wasn't fatal. The injury began regenerating immediately.

Kamo showed no disappointment. Blood tendrils extended from his sleeves and merged with his palms.

"Shame he didn't show himself."

"...Starfall!"

A barrage of Piercing Blood shots followed—dozens this time. The flurry engulfed Teng Snake. With his Cursed Energy nearly depleted, and his escape routes cut off, Kamo went all in on this final offensive.

The stronger the shikigami, the greater the burden on the summoner. Though the Zen'in clan's Ten Shadows Technique had fallen into obscurity, the Kamo family's archives contained notes. Kamo suspected Teng Snake wasn't one of Megumi's standard summons. It must have been augmented, which meant a higher energy cost.

His strategy: destroy the shikigami first, gain breathing room, then use Crimson Binding to pull Megumi into close-quarters combat. Standard tactics—don't give shikigami users space to maneuver.

Then he saw Teng Snake begin to dissolve—not collapse, but dissolve.

"That's not how a shikigami dies..."

Even before Kamo's barrage hit, Megumi had started to disassemble Teng Snake. The blood attacks struck nothing of consequence. What hovered in the air now was a swarm of miniature Teng Snakes.

Megumi had fused Rabbit Escape into the summoning. By sacrificing raw power for quantity and unpredictability, he avoided damage and overwhelmed Kamo with sheer numbers.

Tiny, winged serpents hissed and weaved through the shadows, surging toward Kamo. Bloodied and breathing hard, he summoned a crimson blade, bracing for a desperate last stand.

—

Kamihara Hajime leaned back in his chair, watching the screen with a satisfied expression. The battle on Megumi's end was decided. Maki's fight with Mechamaru was also reaching its conclusion. Her mastery of terrain allowed her to evade his Cursed Energy detection. In the end, she baited an opening and countered decisively.

As for Itadori Yuji and Aoi Todo—their bout was more like training than combat. Yuji was bruised and winded, but Todo wasn't trying to win. He was teaching.

It looked like a brawl, but in truth, Todo was a passionate mentor. Yuji absorbed each lesson mid-combat, converting it instantly into technique.

"They're not going to go too far, right?" Utahime Iori asked anxiously, watching the screen.

Todo had a reputation for getting too excited.

"Don't worry," Hajime said, smirking.

"Ieiri Shoko's here. Besides, even gorillas can be sensitive when it counts."

He turned his attention away from the spar. This match, for Itadori and Todo, was more about growth than winning.

Meanwhile, Inumaki Toge regrouped with Panda, Nobara, and Junpei. They soon encountered the Kyoto team near the center zone. Aside from Momo Nishimiya gathering intel from the air, their opponents were Miwa Kasumi, Zen'in Mai, and Naine.

"We've got two first-years. Bit unbalanced."

Panda sounded casual, but he'd already sized up the situation. Inumaki gave them an edge. If they played it smart—using Inumaki's cursed speech, Nobara's support, and Junpei's technique—they could dominate.

Naine grinned and pulled out her cursed weapon—a long, chipped staff. Mai briefed her quickly, pointing out weaknesses, then gave a subtle signal.

"Panda's coming!"

Charging fast, Panda barreled forward. Nobara followed with her signature hammer in hand.

"Don't move!"

Inumaki's voice froze the front line, but Mai and Miwa had anticipated it. They shielded Naine and broke free, with Momo descending from above. Naine charged toward Panda.

The battle erupted in a flurry of motion. Panda, cautious, shifted into Gorilla Mode immediately. His next swing distorted the air itself.

But Naine, with a confident smile, sidestepped and struck with her staff. Panda, sensing danger, realized too late it wasn't just a physical blow. The strike bypassed his armor and rattled something deeper—his soul.

He froze.

"That wasn't an ordinary weapon... it hit my core."

While Panda reeled, the battle raged elsewhere. Mai fired rubber rounds to disrupt Inumaki's rhythm. Momo used the trees to mask her broom assaults. Miwa dueled Nobara, but the latter quickly took the upper hand, her refined technique surprising everyone.

"Is that the Zen'in clan's ancestral Technique? Impressive," Utahime remarked.

Gojo Satoru chuckled beside her.

"Techniques are only as good as the user. So, Utahime, what's your prediction for this match?"

Utahime rolled her eyes. The outcome was clear. Megumi would finish Kamo and rejoin the others, tipping the balance further in their favor.

Kamihara Hajime, on the other hand, had already lost interest in the match's result. But just as he was considering slipping away, Ieiri Shoko rushed in, bypassing Gojo's usual antics.

"Gojo Satoru, urgent alert. A Cursed Spirit has appeared in a prison in Shizuoka. Two sorcerers dead already. It's highly likely to be Special Grade. The situation resembles what happened at Satozakura High."

Hajime immediately realized what this meant.

"It might be Mahito's group. I'll go. Gojo, you stay here and protect Jujutsu High. If they're after Sukuna's fingers in the Repository, we can't risk being caught off guard."

Gojo nodded, his tone serious.

"Alright. I'll send you partway. If anything happens, contact me right away."

The two vanished into the sky, traveling quickly through Gojo's Technique. They reappeared on a remote road outside Shizuoka.

"This is your stop," Gojo said.

"Be careful. If they're setting a trap, it could be a full snare, meant to trap both of us. If they get into the Repository, they might take the fingers."

"Agreed. But I think, like last time, there's more to this. I'll handle it."

With that, Hajime vanished into the forest.

Gojo lingered a moment, considering the two outcomes: either a Cursed Spirit had appeared naturally, and Hajime could deal with it—or it was a carefully laid trap meant to isolate them and steal Sukuna's fingers.

But... how could they know about the Repository?

---

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