Chapter 26: The Strongest
[Author Note]
Disc: HrPrTeam
I hate Uzuki.
He stole Takamura's whole bag and killed him because of plot armor.
I'm glad I killed that bozo.
__________
3rd P.O.V.
The strongest.
It is only two words, but it is a title that most will never have in their lifetime.
The title is only given to those who stand at the top of the totem pole.
It's reserved for people with unrivaled strength.
Takamura currently holds the title of the strongest assassin. Nobody has escaped him, including the enhanced superhumans that give individual Order members a run for their money.
However, someone currently stood in his way.
While he has traits similar to the superhumans from before, he is an entirely different beast.
Kindaka, as an assassin at the peak, gave his own thoughts on the matter.
'He's going to become the strongest assassin in history.'
...
*clank*
Toji met Takamura in the middle with the split-soul katana with white eyes, and a maniacal smile.
Takamura furrowed his brows.
*whoosh*
Toji jumped back as Takamura swung his sword to push him away.
Landing on a wall, Toji reached into the inventory curse and grabbed the inverted spear.
*slice*
*BOOM*
His freedom was short-lived as he immediately spun his body to avoid a massive slash that destroyed the structure of the building.
...
Toji P.O.V.
He's good.
Really damn good.
He'll kill the inventory curse and ruin my weapons if I'm not careful.
However, something strange is that his movements are like he is fighting on instinct. There is no style in his movements or swordsmanship.
He fights with his eyes closed, so he has a way of detecting where things are without vision.
I'm invisible to most, so figuring out where I am is impressive.
Hmm, invisible...
Let's see how he deals with this.
I smile as I hide my presence and sit behind a pillar.
If I can figure out the way he fights, it's over. I can change up my fighting style and take him out with a single good strike.
I've learned that people here aren't nearly as durable as those I know.
Nobody can reinforce their bodies with cursed energy, so they rely on their natural bodies, which are admittedly inhuman.
I'm broken out of my thoughts as I hear a voice. "You must think I'm senile, boy."
Danger.
*SLICE*
I narrowly move to the side, but my chest gets cut in the process.
A smile creeps up on my face as I feel my blood boiling. "Man, this is fun."
The last time I was pushed this far, I ended up dead. Maybe the dissatisfaction with fighting nobodies since coming here fueled my love for fighting again.
*WOOSH*
I bolt toward him with the inverted spear with a wide smile.
As I get closer, I jump and spin, aiming the inverted spear at his neck.
However, he brings up his sheath and blocks the spear.
*CLANK*
Using the split soul katana in my left hand, I narrowly block his katana strike to my stomach.
Instead of keeping the stalemate, I jump through the ceiling opening.
*BOOM*
Before he moves, I destroy part of the walls to create a smokescreen.
Shit, this is getting tedious.
I can run away, but that won't solve the ultimate issue.
He will come after me, and I'm stuck on this island for now.
However, I've got him figured out.
My smile widens as I think about all of our encounters thus far.
...
He uses bloodlust.
...
He's extremely sensitive to bloodlust.
I've been good at hiding my presence and bloodlust, but it looks like even the slightest amount can show a full image to him.
It gives him 360° vision without needing his eyes and even allows him to 'see' people who are invisible or behind objects.
Anyone below the level of the Order will be completely visible to him. Even if they were in the Order, they would be helpless if they didn't have the specific skill of hiding all bloodlust.
However, he hasn't met anyone like me before.
...
3rd P.O.V.
Takamura's eyes opened slightly as he lost track of Toji. "*tch*"
Unlike his usual fighting style, he started looking around to get any trace of Toji.
A hint of noise.
A hint of bloodlust.
A hint of anything will put him ahead.
He was ordered to keep Toji alive, but he and Toji knew that neutralizing the other was impossible.
Takamura was very loyal to the Order.
In another timeline, he followed through with the hit placed on Sakamoto because Asaki asked him to.
However, this was the first time he was unsure if he could complete it.
Toji had no order to keep Takamura alive.
The only conclusion to this fight is death.
*BOOM*
The ceiling collapsed, and smoke covered the entire area.
Takamura swung his sword to remove the dust.
However...
*slice*
*slice*
His eyes widened as he realized what had happened.
He looked at his arms, which no longer had hands.
Toji spoke with a slight smirk. "This feels vaguely familiar."
*drip*
Blood started dripping off the sword.
Toji is known for his 'silent killing' style of fighting.
Only someone like Gojo, who had the traits of the Six Eyes, could tell where he was; even then, he was too fast for a pre-awakened version to react to him.
His raw speed was too much for even Kindaka.
It was over as soon as he figured out Takamura's fighting style.
...
Takamura turned toward Toji. "Kill me."
Toji had already put away his tools and swallowed the inventory curse.
He scratched his hair in annoyance. "It would be a pain in the ass if you died since I'd have an entire organization hunting me down constantly. With this, I can at least try to talk to those Order bastards without having you chasing me down and trying to kill me."
Instead of replying, he sat down, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes.
He didn't know what to do.
He had no hands to use his katana anymore.
He couldn't fulfill his role as an assassin for the Order.
He could only be lost in his thoughts as he ignored his surroundings.
He had lost.