Having fully processed the rules within the Domain—
Kashimo realized that the delinquent in front of him couldn't immediately return to his previous "immortal" state. He had to wait until the animation sequence inside the Domain finished playing.
Until then—
He was not immortal.
After a brief hesitation, Hajime Kashimo threw a lightning-empowered punch straight at Kinji Hakari!
The pachinko draw began spinning.
While dodging Kashimo's relentless attacks, Hakari kept a wary eye on a potential ambush from White Zetsu.
Without his "immortality" buff—
He had gone from a heavily armored fighter to a fragile glass cannon.
"Man… how boring."
Watching the two locked in combat, Zetsu shook his head in disinterest.
Kashimo's reincarnated body couldn't be possessed.
As for Hakari…
After understanding his technique, Zetsu was deeply disappointed.
Near-infinite cursed energy. A body that could reconstruct itself after damage.
But it required activating a Domain first, and the "invincible" state only lasted a little over four minutes…
Wasn't that just a weaker version of his own abilities?
And that so-called "pseudo-immortality"—
If the brain that housed the technique were destroyed, Hakari would still die.
But if Zetsu lost his head?
At most, he'd just lose one body.
Possessing Hakari would actually weaken him instead.
"What a waste of my time."
With that mutter—
The barrier shattered.
The three of them fell from the sky, returning to the blazing freight yard below.
"Music… START!"
The cursed flames raging around them synchronized with the rising music.
As the tempo surged again, the gambler's face lit up with pure enjoyment.
Hands raised high, body swaying—
Hakari had regained another 4 minutes and 11 seconds of invincibility.
Kashimo's eyes burned with excitement, his pupils overflowing with battle lust.
Facing two near-immortal monsters—
The grin on his face grew even more unhinged.
He knew that if he simply avoided these four minutes—
He could easily kill Hakari afterward.
But—
Retreat was for the weak.
A battle fanatic like him would never accept such a hollow victory.
What he wanted was a head-on clash—
To crush his opponent at their strongest.
Lightning erupted from his body, tearing the sea of flames in half.
"Let's go!!!"
At full power, Kashimo's speed skyrocketed!
Hakari, with his pseudo-immortality, ignored any damage short of destruction to his head.
One couldn't be hit.
The other couldn't be killed.
And as for "President" Zetsu—
He found it increasingly dull.
Before entering the Culling Game, someone had recommended a particular opponent to him—
Saying that person would be "fun."
Zetsu had come here for that very target.
He hadn't used his Domain—
Because tens of thousands of mechanical insects were still searching for that person.
"A quick thrill is fine, but playing with you two this long isn't interesting."
As he spoke—
A terrifying surge of cursed energy exploded outward.
Zetsu stretched his mouth into an absurd grin, the corners splitting open and bleeding.
Inside that grotesquely wide mouth, a terrifying energy gathered.
The gaping hole in his chest twisted—
Flesh reshaping into a cannon-like structure.
His palms ignited with cursed flames—
From his chest, back, and even abdomen—
Countless flesh cannons formed simultaneously!
Kashimo and Hakari's pupils shrank.
The sheer volume of cursed energy erupting from Zetsu made their hearts pound violently.
"Hey—cursed spirit! Don't you think you're overdoing it?!"
They both accelerated at once—
Launching forward in perfect unspoken coordination before he could finish charging.
Zetsu's eyes flashed with amusement.
Radiant light flared around him.
"Let's burn through a hundred years' worth of energy for fun."
Spinning like a high-speed top—
He twisted the surrounding inferno into a massive vortex!
From his mouth, palms, chest, back, and abdomen—
All the flesh cannons fired at once!
"Spirit Light Missiles!"
"And add—Red Star Atomic Bomb!"
A scorching torrent erupted skyward, dyeing the clouds crimson.
For a brief instant—
The world fell silent.
At the center of the freight yard—
A red mushroom cloud rose.
And then—
BOOM!!!
A thunderous explosion like a nuclear blast shook the entire Tokyo No. 2 Colony.
Sparks crackled in the aftermath.
From the fading flames, the half-naked white cursed spirit stood up.
He instinctively reached into his pocket for a cigarette—
Only to grab empty air.
"Tch… that guy's clothes really don't last."
Unbothered by whether the other two survived—
Zetsu turned and walked away.
"Whatever. I'll head back and restock."
"A president without a cigar just feels wrong."
Four minutes later—
The flames finally began to settle.
Inside a massive crater—
A nearly carbonized figure lay over Kashimo, shielding him.
Hakari's automatic Reverse Cursed Technique kept his body regenerating—
Flickering between charred black and raw flesh under the extreme heat.
"That was… a bit too crazy."
He stood up, brushing off the remaining embers, a hint of lingering fear in his expression.
At the last moment before the explosion—
Realizing he couldn't stop it, Hakari had slammed his fist into the ground—
Using his Domain's buff to drag Kashimo into the crater for protection.
Even so—
Looking down at Kashimo, whose face was burned beyond recognition and who had lost consciousness—
Hakari sighed.
"Guess I'll take you out and let Shoko treat you first."
For those hundred points—
He had nearly lost his life.
Tokyo No. 1 Colony
A massive barrier spanning Ikebukuro and Shinjuku.
The former base of the Zen'in clan—the Star Religious Group's branch—served as one of the spawn points.
Perhaps because they entered the game earlier than in the original timeline—
Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro had yet to encounter any hostile players.
Separated, the trio could only use Kogane to confirm that Hiromi Higuruma was inside the colony—
But not his exact location.
Ikebukuro — Underground Theater
After gathering information, Itadori arrived at an underground stage theater.
At the center of the wooden stage—
Higuruma lay reclined in a bathtub filled with water.
Dressed in a suit—
Holding a small gavel in his hand.
"You're Higuruma, right?"
After confirming his identity—
Their conversation quickly turned sour.
Thirty-six-year-old Hiromi Higuruma was a highly talented defense attorney.
Driven by a strong sense of justice—
He often defended the wrongly accused.
Suspects coerced into false confessions.
Trials manipulated by power and money.
With each lost case—
His belief in justice slowly collapsed.
The law that claimed fairness—
Could so easily be distorted.
Faced with Itadori's demand for his points—
Higuruma rose from the bathtub, water splashing.
"If the law cannot achieve absolute fairness—"
"Then I want to see whether the rules of the Culling Game can."
"If my awakened technique is genuine—then at least the system behind it should be reliable."
"No need for lawsuits. No money. No connections."
"Those who break the rules are punished."
"Isn't that better?"
He looked coldly at Itadori, raising his gavel slightly.
"So I refuse your request."
Itadori's expression darkened.
"Then let me put it another way…"
Cursed energy surged around his fist.
"Higuruma—hand over your hundred points!"
A faint sound echoed—
Behind Higuruma appeared the blindfolded Lady Justice.
Domain Expansion: Deadly Sentencing
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