(Pov Satoshi)
10:12 pm
Our two sides faced each other, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Despite our numbers being double theirs, it was still dangerous to fight them. The biggest threat was Mahito's domain. Yuji and I would be okay, and Sukuna would cut Mahito down, but if he already knew how to work a 0.2-second domain, we'd have trouble.
Kenjaku was dangerous, but he had already used his domain to incapacitate Yuji and the others, meaning he would be low on cursed energy. Just from the final battle, you might assume using a domain multiple times is easy, but the amount of cursed energy it uses in most cases leaves the user almost empty.
Satoru and Sukuna were exceptions, though, as Satoru had the Six Eyes, so he lost so little cursed energy that he would never run out. Sukuna, on the other hand, had a near bottomless reserve of cursed energy, over double that of Yuta. Kenjaku likely had decent reserves and efficiency, but I doubt it would be enough to open his domain twice in just a few hours.
We had a good matchup, though Yuji and Todo were a dream team for taking on Mahito, as the curse couldn't transfigure Yuji and couldn't land a touch on Todo. Choso and his brothers had poison blood so they could deal with Urauame over time. Lastly, I could keep Kenjaku back. I knew his tricks better than the others, so I was the most prepared for him.
Mahito made the first move, stretching his arm towards Todo, but he never made it, being swapped right away, and before he could react, Yuji kicked him further away. Urauame was about to intervene, but she was stopped by Choso, who launched Piercing Blood. I saw Kenjaku begin to move and wasted no time rushing in.
He noticed my movement and began to back up. His hands twitched, and I dodged as the ground I had been on compressed suddenly. I made it to him and began my attacks, throwing punches to keep him busy. Though given his age, Kenjaku was no slouch in terms of combat either, and I still didn't have my weapons.
I threw a punch at his stitches, but he managed to redirect it. He brought his elbow down, but I blocked it myself, feeling the sting through my arm. This was why I hated fighting sorcerers hand-to-hand. Cursed energy reinforcement was simple, but it could be powerful as well, so punching these guys barehanded always felt like hitting a brick wall, and getting hit always felt sharp.
Still, it wasn't as bad as Sukuna so that I could handle it. I grabbed his arm and flipped him over my shoulder, throwing him onto the ground. He rolled over, strained once more, and began activating gravity again. I had to dance around, dodging pockets of increased gravity like potholes.
As I approached, he split into multiple versions, each one scattering, but I had been preparing for this. I used senses outside the standard, the sort of sixth sense most people have for danger, that gut feeling. Using it, I could determine which copy was real by the one that gave me a strong feeling.
"My, you have grown and in such a short time, who could have imagined someone like you would be born now?" Kenjaku said, "You who was separate from fate and yet was born right after the Six Eyes, how interesting."
"I don't really care what you find interesting," I responded, throwing a kick at his real body. It connected, and despite the reinforcement protecting him, I could feel a few of his ribs crack from the impact.
I could see steam curling from his midsection, the clear sign of an active reverse-cursed technique. As he did so, the clones disappeared in puffs of smoke 'Seems that the clone technique doesn't work with RCT' I thought. All I had to do was put him on the mend, and he couldn't produce any more clones, eliminating one of his techniques and leaving him with only the gravity technique.
I couldn't let him recover, so before he could finish healing, I moved back in, launching a barrage of punches. It felt weird attacking my own uncle like this, but that was probably the point. I knew my uncle wasn't very powerful on his own, but the psychological effect on Satoru and me would make up for it.
As my punches began landing, I was slowly pushing Kenjaku back. I had planned to keep him away from the others and prevent him from getting any support. He threw his arms out, pushing me back and beginning his own attacks, though I was able to dodge them. His speed wasn't terrible, but compared to what I had dealt with dodging dismantles, it was nothing.
"I must admit you have changed since our last encounter, still, I can't allow you to win; there is much still to do." He said, retreating, before placing his hands together, crossing his fingers.
"Maximum Technique: Living Light Clone."
His body began to shift, then split into three versions, the other two sliding to each side before fully solidifying. The two new clones began moving toward my sides, and my senses started going haywire, as, unlike before, each body registered as the real one. 'Living clones? What's up with this guy?' I thought before all three began moving.
Their attacks began, and each one was physically able to make contact, and each was filled with cursed energy. I had to split my focus among the three versions, a difficult task given their coordination, though there seemed to be one upside to this. Kenjaku hadn't used the gravity technique; it was possible that, while maintaining a maximum technique like this, he couldn't use other techniques. If he could, then I would have seen him try. Was this a result of the maximum technique using too much brain power?
The version on my right overextended, and I caught his arm, pulling him forward and slamming my elbow into his face. He fell backward and suddenly burst into smoke, leaving behind nothing to indicate that version had ever existed.
"Uncle Toshi could make shadow clones?" I wondered under my breath. Though he had never been particularly strong for a sorcerer, he likely never knew of this possibility, and somehow that just made me even more upset.
I didn't have long to think before the remaining two came at me, their attacks synchronized, but not enough to get to me. I was holding my ground, but I didn't want to wait for him to run out of cursed energy. After dodging yet another attack, I made my move. I had noticed the amount of debris on the ground from their earlier entrance, as well as the damage from all the fighting. I was moving closer to a nearby pile of it, and now that I was close enough, I quickly grabbed a piece and threw it directly at the head of the Kenjaku closest to me.
He dodged, but I knew he would. The first throw had been a distraction to allow me to not only gather more stones but also crush them into a rough powder. As the two recovered and moved toward me, I tossed out the dust, creating a cloud of thick powder to blind them, and it worked, causing both to cover their eyes. I took my chance, charging forward and hitting both of them at once, striking their gut with as much force as I could.
The Kenjaku on my right burst into smoke, and the last one flew backward, skidding across the station floor before slamming into a pillar. I chased after him, but before I could make it, Kenjaku let out a massive cloud of smoke and began speaking.
"As much fun as this has been, I have important matters to attend to. I'm sure we'll meet again, but for now, things are going to become very interesting." As he finished speaking, the smoke began to dissipate, and when it was gone, so was he; the only trace left was the cracked pillar and a small puddle of blood.
'Damn sneaky coward,' I thought before shaking my head. I didn't have time to go looking for him; the others were still fighting their own battles, and now I could help. I just hoped I wasn't too late.
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Originally this was going to be the final part of the Shibuya arc but then I felt I couldn't properly do it justice so now this is a three part mini arc. I don't focus on other perspectives enough I feel so the next two chapters are going to cover the same time frame but for the other two fights. So next time Choso pov.