Chapter 134: Rapidly Advancing Strength

"Huh?"

Yuji stared at Aoi Todo, completely lost.

"But didn't we just meet?"

Calling someone his brother after exchanging a few punches was already strange enough. Crying over it with snot running down his face made it even harder to understand.

Todo, however, looked utterly serious.

To him, this was not a joke.

This was destiny.

Yuji was still trying to process the situation when Asuramaru's voice sounded inside him, carrying a faintly teasing edge.

"You're surrounded."

Yuji's expression changed slightly.

Asuramaru continued, "Looks like these people want to kill you here."

"Kill me?" Yuji asked inwardly. "Because of Sukuna? But wasn't my execution temporarily suspended?"

Asuramaru stared at Yuji's clueless expression through their connection and clicked his tongue.

"I feel like calling you an idiot would be an insult to idiots."

Yuji stiffened.

"To the Jujutsu world, you're a ticking time bomb," Asuramaru said. "The only reason your execution was delayed is because Satoru Gojo is standing behind you. You don't actually think that means no one wants you dead, do you?"

If this had been the old Yuji, he might have protested, complained, or tried to argue that his classmates would not do something like that.

Now, however, he only became quiet for a moment.

Then he replied, calm and sincere, "Thanks for the warning, Asuramaru."

The moment his words fell, a gunshot rang out from nearby.

A bullet cut through the air.

Yuji's head turned slightly. His body moved at the same time, taking one simple step to the side.

The bullet missed his cheek by a narrow margin and buried itself in a tree behind him.

Then came several more shots in rapid succession.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Yuji did not panic.

He tracked the direction, the sound, the angle, and the tiny disturbances in the air. Without making any exaggerated movements, he slipped through the gunfire as if walking between raindrops.

Each bullet missed.

Up in a tree, Zen'in Mai's face changed.

Smoke drifted from the muzzle of the revolver in her hand.

"He dodged all of them?" she whispered, unable to hide her shock. "How is that possible?"

On another tree nearby, Noritoshi Kamo raised his bow and drew the string back, preparing to fire at any moment.

Below, Mechamaru lifted his right arm. The mechanism in his palm opened, revealing an energy emitter aimed straight at Yuji.

Kasumi Miwa stood not far away, her hand on the hilt of her sword.

The Kyoto students had encircled Yuji completely.

Every obvious path of retreat had been cut off.

But they did not know one thing.

If Yuji truly wanted to, he could kill all of them.

He did not.

Yuji only looked around warily, judging their positions and waiting for the next attack.

Then a crisp clap rang through the forest.

The positions changed.

Yuji vanished from the ground and appeared in Kamo's place up in the tree.

Kamo appeared where Yuji had been standing.

And Aoi Todo appeared behind Kamo, his expression dark with anger.

"I told you, didn't I?" Todo's voice was low. "If you get in my way, I'll kill you."

Kamo calmly lowered his bow and turned his head.

"What you said earlier was that you would kill us if we tried to order you around again."

Todo's glare sharpened.

"It's the same thing. Now get lost."

Kamo stared at him for a moment.

Then he exhaled and chose to compromise.

"Then make sure you kill him."

With that, he signaled the others to withdraw and continue the mission.

Todo cracked his knuckles.

"I'm not someone who goes easy on my best friend."

Up in the tree, Yuji did not relax immediately.

He was no longer the same naive boy from before. He asked inwardly, "Asuramaru, are they really gone?"

For a moment, even Asuramaru did not know what to feel.

This brat had actually learned to confirm enemy positions.

What a rare miracle.

Of course, he did not show any of that.

"They've gone far away," Asuramaru replied coldly.

"That's good."

Without doubting him at all, Yuji leaped down from the branch and landed lightly on the forest floor.

He looked at Todo and raised his fists.

"I'm coming."

Todo's grin widened.

"Then come at me, my best friend!"

The two charged at each other again.

Their fists collided with a dull boom, shaking leaves from the branches above.

Todo attacked head-on, his movements bold and heavy, each punch packed with trained Cursed Energy and ridiculous raw power. Yuji met him directly. He dodged when he had to, blocked when he could, and used the uneven forest terrain to turn retreat into counterattack.

A kick swept toward Yuji's side.

Yuji stepped onto an exposed tree root, twisted his body, and drove a fist toward Todo's ribs.

Todo blocked with his elbow and countered with a shoulder charge.

Yuji was pushed back several steps, boots carving through damp soil. He lowered his center of gravity and rushed in again.

Their fight was crude at a glance.

No swords.

No Demonization.

No flashy Cursed Technique.

Only flesh, Cursed Energy, timing, instinct, and the heavy sound of bodies colliding.

But Todo's eyes grew brighter with every exchange.

Excellent endurance.

He uses terrain naturally.

He doesn't panic when cornered.

And that body...

Todo's grin deepened.

Strength, speed, durability. All of them were far beyond ordinary humans. Even if Yuji's Cursed Energy control was not yet perfect, he could still produce blows strong enough to threaten a Grade 1 Sorcerer.

But there was a problem.

A glaring one.

Each time Yuji punched, the physical impact landed first, followed a beat later by the surge of Cursed Energy.

That lag created a second hit.

It was powerful.

It was confusing.

Against ordinary opponents, it was useful.

Against truly strong enemies, it was a flaw.

Unlike Todo, who analyzed constantly in the middle of combat, Yuji relied more on instinct and brute force. He had the strange ability to make miracles happen by punching through the problem, but that would not carry him forever.

This guy is tough, Todo thought.

Then he stopped.

Yuji also paused, watching him cautiously.

Todo pointed straight at him.

"Best friend, that Cursed Energy of yours that comes a beat late is a bad habit."

Yuji blinked.

"You mean Divergent Fist?"

He lowered his fists slightly, still confused.

What is up with this guy?

Todo's expression turned solemn.

"If you're satisfied with that, you'll never defeat me."

Yuji's gaze sharpened.

"If you're satisfied with staying at this level," Todo continued, looking genuinely disappointed, "then unfortunately, we can no longer be best friends."

Yuji stared at him for a second.

"That part doesn't really matter..."

Whether Todo called him his best friend or not, Yuji honestly did not know how much he cared.

But before he could say anything else, Todo interrupted him.

"Is it really okay to stay this weak?"

The words struck deeper than Yuji expected.

His face changed.

Memories surfaced.

The juvenile detention center, where he had nearly died.

The transfigured humans, whom he could not save.

Junpei's mother being held hostage.

Mahito threatening to kill everyone on the street.

The feeling of being pinned to the floor, too weak to stop anything.

Yuji's hands slowly clenched.

No.

It was not okay.

Not even close.

His will, already sharpened by hatred toward curses, grew firm again. Cursed Energy gathered around his fists as he raised them.

His expression became serious.

"Of course it's not okay."

Todo's eyes lit up.

"That's it, my best friend!"

He lunged forward.

Yuji met him.

The fight resumed, fiercer than before.

Todo struck with purpose now, using each exchange to force Yuji to feel the flaw in his Cursed Energy flow. A punch aimed at Yuji's chest became a lesson. A feint followed by a sweep became another. Every time Yuji's timing slipped, Todo punished him.

Yuji was sent crashing into a tree.

He pushed himself off the trunk and came back.

Todo knocked aside his punch.

"Too slow."

Yuji adjusted and struck again.

Todo blocked.

"Your Cursed Energy is chasing your body."

Yuji's teeth clenched.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Inside Yuji, Asuramaru watched calmly.

There was not much to say about this fight. Compared with Tanjiro's refined swordsmanship, the precision of Breathing Styles, and the lethal rhythm of battles in the Demon Slayer world, the physical combat here looked almost naive.

This world placed more emphasis on Cursed Energy, Cursed Techniques, Domains, and the interpretation of one's innate talent.

But that did not mean the lesson was useless.

Yuji was absorbing Todo's guidance rapidly.

Like dry earth drinking rain.

And Todo did not hold back.

He stopped Yuji again after another exchange, this time with a firm palm against Yuji's shoulder.

"Listen carefully."

Yuji breathed heavily, sweat running down his face.

Todo spoke with rare seriousness.

"Your Divergent Fist is created because your Cursed Energy lags behind your physical strike. Normally, that kind of delay wouldn't happen, but your physical ability is so abnormal that it turned into a technique."

Yuji listened.

"It's powerful, and it can confuse average sorcerers," Todo said. "But against a Special Grade, it's useless."

Yuji's eyes narrowed slightly.

"The reason is simple. You're letting your Cursed Energy flow after your movement."

Todo tapped his own abdomen.

"Generally speaking, Cursed Energy born from negative emotions starts from the gut and spreads through the body. Thinking of it as flowing through the whole body is not wrong. But if you're trapped by that idea, you'll never advance."

Yuji fell silent.

Todo's voice became heavier.

"Listen, Itadori. We exist in this world with both mind and body."

He pointed at Yuji's chest.

"It is so obvious that everyone forgets it."

Yuji's eyes widened slightly.

For a moment, the noise of the forest faded.

He felt his breathing.

His heartbeat.

The heat in his muscles.

The pulse of Cursed Energy inside him.

The body did not wait for the mind.

The mind did not chase the body.

They existed together.

At that instant, it felt as if he were standing between heaven and earth for the first time, finally noticing something that had always been there.

His control changed.

It was subtle at first, then immediate.

Cursed Energy covered his body more evenly, no longer lagging behind his movements like a delayed echo. It settled into him, moving with his will and flesh as one.

Yuji raised his fists.

"I think... I understand."

Todo's grin returned.

"Good."

The two collided again.

This time, Yuji's punch landed differently.

There was no delayed second impact.

The Cursed Energy struck together with the fist.

Todo blocked it and slid backward.

His smile grew wider.

"That's it!"

Yuji advanced.

His strength began to climb rapidly.

Each clash refined him. Each correction sharpened his timing. Todo continued guiding him, not out of kindness alone, but out of the fierce joy of watching a worthy friend grow stronger in real time.

He even began teaching Yuji about Black Flash.

A distortion of space born when Cursed Energy struck within one-millionth of a second of a physical hit.

A phenomenon impossible to use at will, yet one that separated ordinary blows from those that touched the core of Jujutsu.

Yuji absorbed every word.

Inside him, Asuramaru's attention shifted.

His Perception expanded through the forest.

A large number of presences had entered the area.

Strong ones.

Many of them.

Among them were two familiar auras.

And one unfamiliar Special Grade Cursed Spirit.

Asuramaru's crimson eyes narrowed.

"So they released a large number of Cursed Spirits."

His lips curved faintly.

"Besides two old acquaintances, there's another Special Grade I don't recognize…"

.....

[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]

[[email protected]/FanficLord03]

If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.