The battlefield was unrecognizable.
The courtyard of Tokyo Jujutsu High had turned into a cratered wasteland.
At the center stood—
Yuta Okkotsu and fully manifested Rika Orimoto.
And across from them—
Bleeding.
Breathing heavier.
But still upright—
Toji Fushiguro.
The Realization
Toji adjusted his grip on the blade.
His body had taken damage.
Deep cuts.
Bruised ribs.
A cracked shoulder.
Yuta wasn't like the others.
He wasn't emotional.
He wasn't reckless.
He was calculated power.
And Rika's constant pressure removed every breathing gap.
Toji's instincts screamed one thing—
This fight will cost too much.
Not death.
But energy.
Time.
And attention.
And right now—
He couldn't afford that.
The Final Clash
Yuta surged forward again.
Rika roared, smashing downward.
Toji dodged the first strike, countered the second—
But Yuta anticipated the angle this time.
Their blades clashed mid-air.
Sparks exploded.
Yuta whispered quietly,
"You're slowing down."
Toji smirked faintly.
"Am I?"
Suddenly Toji twisted unnaturally, using debris as leverage—
He slashed at Rika's arm again, forcing her to recoil.
Then threw a smoke bomb infused with cursed tool fragments.
The explosion of dust and metal shards disrupted visibility.
Yuta immediately expanded his perception—
But Toji had already moved.
The First Retreat
When the smoke cleared—
He was gone.
Silence fell over the ruined courtyard.
Rika growled, searching.
Yuta stood still, analyzing.
He hadn't chased.
Because he understood something important.
Toji didn't flee out of fear.
He chose to leave.
Strategic withdrawal.
The Sorcerer Killer had just made his first tactical retreat.
Outside the Barrier
On a distant rooftop—
Toji stood watching the campus from afar.
Blood dripped from his arm.
He tightened the bandage around his shoulder calmly.
"That was close."
He replayed the fight in his mind.
Yuta's rhythm.
Rika's timing.
The synchronization delay.
He had learned enough.
Next time—
He wouldn't be cornered.
His eyes shifted toward the moon.
For the first time since this war began—
Toji acknowledged something silently.
Yuta could kill him.
If the battle dragged on.
And that made Yuta a priority.
Meanwhile…
Inside a darkened shrine far away—
A figure laughed softly.
Ancient.
Cruel.
Amused.
Ryomen Sukuna had been watching through borrowed eyes.
"How interesting…"
"Toji Fushiguro…"
"You're finally being shaped."
His grin widened in the darkness.
The pieces were moving exactly as planned.
And the Sorcerer Killer had just unknowingly stepped deeper into a trap.
The war had shifted.
And everyone felt it.