Chapter 26: The Final Showdown

Pikachu snapped his eyes open, returning to the physical world after the intense battle for his soul. His small body still trembled from the wear and tear, but something inside him glowed with a new strength. Sukuna's cursed influence had completely disappeared, freeing his mind and body. However, the air around him was heavy, laden with an ominous presence.

In front of him, Kenjaku watched him from atop a hill. His face showed a mix of satisfaction and arrogance. The plan had worked, to a point. Sukuna had fallen, but Pikachu was still standing. Kenjaku, the master puppeteer, had been manipulating every piece from the shadows. With Sukuna off the board, it was his turn to face the electric rat.

"Impressive, Pikachu. I never thought you could defeat the King of Curses," Kenjaku said in a calm, yet knife-sharp voice. "It won't change anything, though. I'll be the one to subdue you."

Pikachu, exhausted but determined, stepped forward. The sun had already begun to set, turning the horizon red. Kenjaku's cursed energy was suffocating, surrounding him like a black fog that loomed over him.

"No matter what you have planned," Pikachu thought, his cheeks sparking with electricity. "I won't let you win!"

Kenjaku waved his hand, and instantly, the ground began to shake. Gigantic curses emerged from the shadows, deformed, monstrous creatures that seemed to be composed of pure hatred. With his Shadow Manipulation technique, Kenjaku could control dozens of them at once, and now he directed them all at Pikachu.

—"See? There's no need for us to fight directly. My curses will crush you."

The curses, huge and filled with hate, roared as they lunged at Pikachu. Their eyes glowed with cursed hunger, and their deformed bodies vibrated with power.

—"Thunderbolt!" —Pikachu mentally screamed, and a bolt of electricity shot out from his body, reaching the first curses that attacked him.

The lightning struck the creatures hard, but even though some completely disintegrated, others kept moving forward. Kenjaku smiled. The battle was designed to wear Pikachu down, to slowly weaken him until nothing was left.

—"It won't be that easy, Pikachu. This time, you're not fighting a single enemy. You're fighting an army."

Pikachu leaped into the air, avoiding the blow of a curse that tried to crush him with a massive claw. He fired a Lightning Bolt towards the ground, electrocuting the approaching curses, but the creatures kept pouring out of the ground, one after another, like an endless tide.

Kenjaku watched from a distance, his hands moving gracefully as he manipulated the curses with precision. Pikachu was starting to tire; his energy wasn't infinite, and Kenjaku knew it.

"Look at you, fighting desperately, but you can't stop me," Kenjaku said, raising his voice above the roar of the curses.

Pikachu panted, his body glowing with electricity, but his reserves were dwindling. If he didn't find a way to stop the endless flow of curses, all would be lost. He knew he couldn't keep fighting like this. Kenjaku was in complete control of the situation.

"You can't win if you keep fighting at his pace," he told himself. "I must stop Kenjaku, or this will never end."

Gathering all of his strength, Pikachu dodged another attack and began running straight towards Kenjaku. Electricity enveloped his body, forming a sphere of pure power. Volt Shift. A beam of light exploded around him as he charged towards his true target.

Kenjaku raised an eyebrow, surprised by the sudden direct attack. "You think you can reach me?"

But Pikachu had no intention of simply catching up. His goal wasn't just to knock down the curses, but to attack the source of the evil.

"Now or never!" he thought as all the energy pent up in his body exploded in an Electro Cannon attack aimed at Kenjaku.

The impact was devastating. The electricity tore through the air and hit Kenjaku with overwhelming force, breaking his concentration and dispersing some of the curses surrounding him.

But Kenjaku didn't go down that easily. With a wave of his hand, he created a barrier of cursed energy around himself, absorbing some of the impact, though reeling under the power of Pikachu's attack.

—"Impressive... but still not enough."

Before Pikachu could react, Kenjaku activated his Domain Expansion.

The space around Pikachu immediately changed. Everything went dark, and out of nowhere, enormous black hands emerged from the ground, trapping him. Within Kenjaku's expanse, the curses surrounded him completely, each one more gigantic and terrifying than the last. There was no escape.

—"Within my domain, Pikachu, I am omnipotent. Here, your defeat is certain."

The cursed hands began to tighten, squeezing Pikachu. Electricity crackled, but he couldn't break free. The pressure was unbearable. Kenjaku looked down at him, his smile wider than ever.

—"And now, little hero, it will be the end."

Pikachu, feeling his energy draining and the domain pressing down on him more and more, closed his eyes for a second, trying to find a spark of hope. The battle had been long, exhaustion was taking over, but he couldn't give up. Not now.

He remembered the friends he had sworn to protect, the lands that needed his strength. Pikachu's soul still shone, even though everything was against him.

And then, something changed.

An invisible gust of wind swept through the domain, briefly disrupting Kenjaku's control. Pikachu felt a new energy emerge from within him. It was different, more intense and primal than before. A combination of the electrical force he had always mastered, but with a hint of what was once Sukuna's cursed energy, now purified and controlled by his own will.

Pikachu opened his eyes, and his body began to glow again, but this time, with a new and devastating power.

—"You won't finish me, Kenjaku!" —he thought as he released a blast of pure energy that made the entire domain tremble.

Kenjaku, seeing the new power Pikachu had unleashed, took a step back, surprised.

The final battle had begun.

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