3 Tsukuyomis

"How is this possible? Another fake?"

Kashimo stared at the empty ground, utterly dumbfounded.

Even now, he still couldn't understand how he had been deceived.

Everything about this one—its presence, its cursed energy—felt different from the previous clones.

How could it be fake?!

In the distance, Kazuma watched Kashimo struggle with disbelief and couldn't help but laugh.

Fate had a strange sense of humor.

In the original story, Kashimo was tricked by Hakari, his defenses broken by infinite healing.

Now, thanks to Panda, he had sought Kazuma out—only to fall into the same trap, confused by a clone technique…

But the persistence of battle fanatic was astonishing.

With a roar, Kashimo transformed into a flash of lightning, closing the distance in an instant.

His attack landed and passed straight through Kazuma's body.

No resistance. No impact.

Kashimo's eyes widened as he stared at his hand in disbelief.

"I phased through again…"

A rough idea began forming in his mind.

Every time his attack passed through Kazuma, the latter never retaliated in that moment.

Could it be that this cursed technique required complete passivity?

Once he launches an attack, he will lose this invincible state?

A cold grin spread across Kashimo's face.

"Every cursed technique has a flaw, once I figure out its mechanism, it loses its threat completely."

But just as he spoke, Kazuma vanished.

Immediately, the vortex around Kashimo flickered erratically.

Kashimo unleashed a wild surge of lightning, striking toward the center.

"Come out! Stop playing games!"

Suddenly, a whirlpool appeared right in front of him.

Kazuma stepped out, reaching toward him. Kashimo's eyes narrowed as he sneered.

"Still trying this trick? You fooled me twice—do you think I'll fall for it again?"

"Let me guess… Where is your real body hiding?"

He was certain that this clone was just a distraction, drawing his attention.

The real Kazuma must be lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

But then—

Darkness.

Kazuma's fingers curled into a claw, seizing Kashimo's head with a firm grip.

Kazuma said, "Unfortunately, this time, it's real."

From the sidelines, Panda snickered, "Congrats! You picked the wrong guy again!"

Kashimo's pupils shrank.

"What?! This one's real?!"

"Why… why did it have to be real this time?! I was tricked again!"

Lightning crackled in his palm as he desperately struggled but Kazuma simply patted his head.

"Still steaming, brother?"

Before Kashimo could react, Kazuma tightened his grip and pulled him into the Kamui dimension.

As the two vanished into the vortex, Yuta abruptly stood up, staring in shock.

"Is this even possible?"

"Is this… a Domain?"

"It can actually pull an enemy into the vortex itself?"

Panda scratched its head, equally confused.

At first, he was worried—Kashimo was the strongest from four hundred years ago. Would Kazuma struggle to win?

But the result was completely unexpected. This wasn't even a fight. It was like an adult beating up a three-year-old.

Kashimo never even touched Kazuma's real body. He had only managed to destroy clones.

But no matter what, the outcome was clear.

Kashimo had been dragged into the mysterious vortex.

And thanks to Panda's involvement, Kazuma got to enjoy an easy victory.

So, by extension…

Panda = Kazuma.

Call it rounding off.

Whoosh!

A vortex appeared, and Kazuma casually clapped his hands as he stepped out.

Yuta and Panda immediately rushed forward, eyeing the swirling black vortex behind him.

"What's the situation? Where's Kashimo? At least his body should be left, right?"

Panda cracked his knuckles, ready for action.

That damn bun-headed guy had beaten him up before. Now it was payback time.

Kazuma waved his hand, and—

THUMP!

Kashimo collapsed onto the ground, his face pale.

"Cough…!"

Clutching his throat, he gagged, vomiting gastric acid.

His chest heaved as he desperately sucked in fresh air.

Yuta and Panda exchanged glances. Their mouths twitched.

"Uh… what just happened?"

"In less than a minute, Kashimo became like this?'

"What the hell did Kazuma do in there?"

Yuta couldn't figure it out.

Panda, still wary of Kashimo, leaned in and whispered, "I bet Kazuma hit him with Tsukuyomi a few times. Otherwise, he wouldn't be in this miserable state."

"Tsukuyomi?!"

Yuta's expression froze.

He had heard that name before.

Just what kind of cursed technique was it?

Was it really as terrifying as everyone claimed?

Panda grinned and said, "Wanna give it a try? Kazuma could show you firsthand."

Yuta said, "Let's… just forget it."

Kazuma, watching the exchange, was speechless.

He hadn't expected Panda to understand him so well.

Because, in truth—

He had used Tsukuyomi on Kashimo.

Three times in fact.

Kashimo had endured three consecutive Tsukuyomis before finally surrendering his points.

Kazuma now glanced at the weakened Kashimo, still on his knees.

Kazuma said, "Feeling obedient now? Wouldn't it have been easier to hand over the points earlier?"

Kashimo struggled to his feet, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He asked, "Who is stronger… you or Sukuna?"

He had never imagined that Kazuma would possess such a terrifying trump card.

If Tsukuyomi had been used on him from the start, there wouldn't even have been a fight.

If Sukuna was stronger than Kazuma…

Then perhaps there was no point in challenging him at all.

When the gap is too great, no amount of combat skill can make up for it.

Before Kazuma could answer, Panda chimed in, "Sukuna is nothing!"

"Kazuma can kill him in a hundred different ways. Even the guy next to me can take him down in minutes!"

Yuta's mouth twitched as he rubbed his head with a shy smile.

"Can you please stop dragging me into your exaggerations?"

He was confident in his strength but he had never fought Sukuna before.

The King of Curses from a thousand years ago was surely not that simple.

Kashimo scoffed at Panda like he was trash.

He finally understood that Kazuma and Yuta were truly top-tier sorcerers.

The only one running their mouth was this damn panda. Maybe he needed to see for himself.

Kashimo said, "I'll help you find Angel."

"But if Sukuna appears, I get to fight him."

Kazuma sighed and said, "Are people really in such a rush to die?"

Yuta's eyes lit up and he said, "In that case, let's split up and search for Angel!"

Having someone as powerful as Kashimo on their side would surely speed things up.

The day Gojo will be unsealed is drawing near.