The battlefield was silent.
The storm clouds that once raged above the shattered district slowly drifted apart.
Electricity no longer screamed through the air.
Only smoke.
Only ruin.
And two figures standing at the center of destruction.
The Final Seconds
Hajime Kashimo remained on his feet.
Barely.
His severed arm lay meters away.
His chest was split deep from Toji Fushiguro's final slash.
Lightning no longer crackled around him.
His reincarnated vessel was breaking apart.
But he did not kneel.
He did not fall.
He laughed softly instead.
"So this… is the limit of this era's body."
Toji stood a few steps behind him, breathing heavily, blood dripping from his burns.
"You fought well," Toji muttered.
Kashimo smirked faintly.
"I didn't come to win."
A Warrior's Purpose
Memories flashed through Kashimo's fading consciousness.
Endless duels.
Searching for the strongest.
Waiting centuries for a worthy death.
He had returned for one reason:
To clash with monsters.
And he had found one.
Not the King.
Not Sukuna.
But something else.
A man with zero cursed energy who could cut lightning itself.
Kashimo exhaled slowly.
"This was enough."
The Last Surge
His body began disintegrating into sparks of cursed energy.
But before fading—
He forced one final pulse.
Not an attack.
A tribute.
A massive lightning bolt struck down from the sky—
Engulfing him completely.
The blast illuminated the entire ruined city like daylight.
For a moment—
It looked like a god ascending.
When the light faded—
There was nothing left.
No corpse.
No ashes.
Only scorched earth shaped like a spear.
Witness in the Distance
From a distant rooftop—
Ryomen Sukuna observed the fading sparks.
His four eyes narrowed slightly.
"Kashimo…"
He respected strength.
And Kashimo had died without regret.
But Sukuna's gaze shifted toward Toji instead.
"That man survives everything."
His smile returned.
"And grows stronger each time."
The Hunter Alone
Toji remained standing for a few seconds longer.
Then his legs gave out.
He collapsed to one knee.
His body was critically damaged.
Burned nerves.
Fractured bones.
Internal bleeding.
Even for someone like him—
This fight had taken too much.
He looked at the lightning-scarred ground.
"Glorious death, huh…"
He didn't smile.
But he understood it.
Kashimo had chosen battle over survival.
Chosen impact over fear.
In another life—
They might have respected each other openly.
But this era allowed no time for sentiment.
The War Continues
Far beneath the earth—
Kenjaku felt Kashimo's presence vanish.
"One piece removed."
His ritual had created chaos.
But chaos naturally thinned itself.
Strong would erase strong.
Leaving only apex predators.
And that was exactly what he wanted.
The storm had ended.
Kashimo had fallen—
Not defeated in shame.
Not erased in weakness.
But burned out like a lightning god who finally found his battlefield.
Toji survived.
Barely.
But each victory was carving something sharper inside him.
The next confrontation would not be with a reincarnated warrior.
It would be with something far worse.
The King was still waiting.
And smiling.