The battlefield was already unstable.
Kashimo's lightning kept detonating through the air in sharp, controlled bursts, forcing Hakari, Yuta, and Ryu into constant motion while Uro bent space just to keep distance from the worst of it.
Sukuna stood apart from Takeru's main body, watching like this was all mildly entertaining.
Takeru blinked once.
"…Oh yeah."
A pause.
"…I'm in manifested form."
Silence for half a beat.
Even Kashimo narrowed his eyes slightly.
"…What are you talking about?"
Takeru didn't answer immediately.
Instead—
his body shifted.
Two additional arms formed on each side of him.
Not summoned.
Not borrowed.
Just… constructed from cursed energy and structural control.
Ryu's grin flickered wider.
"…Okay, that's new."
Yuta's eyes sharpened instantly.
"…That level of output refinement…"
Hakari laughed mid-motion.
"…FOUR ARMS?! THAT'S CHEATING!"
Sukuna's grin widened slightly from his separate position.
"…He remembered."
Kashimo moved first.
Lightning burst forward in a straight annihilating line—
Takeru didn't dodge.
He stepped into it.
Black Flash.
The impact detonated across Kashimo's chest, distorting space itself.
Kashimo slid back half a step.
"…Hah."
Then Takeru followed.
Black Flash.
Then again.
Black Flash.
The rhythm broke from "fight" into "sequence."
Hakari's eyes widened mid-laugh.
"…He's chaining them?!"
Yuta stepped forward instinctively.
"…That's not normal consistency…"
Uro's expression tightened.
"…He's stabilizing timing through repetition…"
Ryu exhaled sharply, almost impressed.
"…This guy's ridiculous…"
Kashimo didn't retreat.
Instead, lightning intensified.
He clashed directly with Takeru's next strike—
forcing an exchange.
Takeru answered instantly.
Cleave.
Then dismantle.
Then another Black Flash.
The battlefield fractured under the pressure.
Sukuna tilted his head slightly from afar.
"…Not bad."
Kashimo finally smiled properly.
"…Good."
Lightning exploded outward—
forcing separation—
But Takeru followed through the chaos.
Two more arms moved in sync.
Perfect rhythm.
Then—
his voice shifted.
Calm.
Finalizing.
"…Domain Expansion."
The air stopped.
Even Kashimo paused for a fraction of a second.
Takeru's hands moved together.
"…Deadly Sentencing."
The domain began to form—
judgment pressure collapsing into place—
law-like execution space expanding outward—
Kashimo clicked his tongue.
"…So you've got one too."
But before the domain fully stabilized—
Takeru's manifested body began to shift again.
The extra arms receded.
Energy structure condensed.
Form streamlined back into a humanoid shape.
Not weaker.
Refined.
Controlled.
Yuta's eyes narrowed.
"…He's stabilizing output after Black Flash chaining…"
Ryu muttered.
"…That's not recovery speed… that's control…"
Uro stayed silent.
But her distance increased again instinctively.
Sukuna watched quietly.
"…So that's your limit?"
Takeru's eyes stayed forward.
Focused.
"…No."
The domain pressure locked in—
fully forming now.
Kashimo stood inside it, lightning still sparking—
smiling slightly.
"…Now this is getting interesting."
And the battlefield finally reached its next stage.