North Gate of the Sendai Barrier.
This was Tamamo-no-Mae's primary direction of attack.
It was also where the Jujutsu Sorcerer side faced the greatest pressure.
At this moment, Dhruv sat atop his Shikigami, a creature larger than a building, commanding an army of Cursed Spirits advancing toward the North Gate.
The first wave consisted of flying Cursed Spirits.
However, what greeted them wasn't Jujutsu or blades, but a hail of metal they had never encountered before.
Da da da.
Dozens of Cursed Spirit-exorcising rifles swept across the sky.
There was no need to aim.
The sheer number of enemies filled the sky, so thick they blocked out the sun.
The North Gate was defended by a mix of Tokyo Jujutsu High personnel and civilian Jujutsu Sorcerers.
Among them was Eichi's modernized Cursed Spirit-exorcising squad, categorized under civilian organizations.
At this moment, they wore specialized goggles that allowed them to see Cursed Spirits and wielded lab-produced firearms designed specifically to eliminate them.
They poured out continuous firepower, wiping out the incoming Cursed Spirits with a level of efficiency that stunned even veteran sorcerers.
"Rocket launchers up!"
As the call went out, a dozen people immediately lowered their rifles and retrieved rocket launchers from the equipment boxes.
"No need to aim. The sky's packed with targets. Just shoot!"
One rocket after another exploded midair.
The aerial assault by the Cursed Spirits was finally halted.
"Are those modern bows and crossbows? Their power is terrifying…"
Dhruv gazed at the explosion-filled battlefield with a sigh.
"But we can do that too."
Behind him, several hundred oddly shaped Cursed Spirits began lining up under his command.
Some had mouths resembling cannon muzzles, others had strange bone spikes, and some carried throwable weapons.
"Fire!"
At Dhruv's command, a barrage of Cursed Energy projectiles and physical weapons shot toward the North Gate position.
"Defend!"
Seeing the enemy attack incoming, the Jujutsu Sorcerers at the North Gate could no longer sit still.
Thunderbolts, fireballs, ice arrows... the sorcerers continuously countered the distant attacks.
"Raise the barrier! Everyone, get into cover!"
The North Gate commander issued urgent orders.
"No need to go through all that trouble."
Toji, who had been silently observing the battle, walked up to the front line.
Ogama crawled up Toji's side and opened its mouth.
The Split Soul Katana and Chain of a Thousand Miles were spat out from its belly.
One end of the Chain of a Thousand Miles was connected to the katana, while the other remained inside Ogama.
Toji began swinging it.
Under his full-force swings, the chain-blade combo formed an iron curtain that slashed through incoming attacks, neutralizing countless projectiles.
"Are you serious? That guy doesn't even have any Cursed Energy!"
A Jujutsu Sorcerer stared in disbelief as Toji single-handedly blocked most of the attacks.
"Wait, is that guy a Jujutsu Killer?"
"What Jujutsu Killer? He's a Heavenly Restriction."
A Tokyo Jujutsu High teacher corrected him.
Toji had been working at Tokyo Jujutsu High for over a year, and many of its personnel already knew about this Heavenly Restriction user—whose physical capabilities were so abnormal, he could fight evenly with Special Grade opponents.
Because of that, he was treated with deep respect by all the teachers and students at Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Aside from a few extremist groups like the Zen'in Clan, the Jujutsu world generally followed the rule of respecting strength. And Toji had earned that respect through pure force.
He was one of the designated safeguards for the North Gate.
"It's already started? Looks like I'm late."
The roar of a motorcycle echoed across the battlefield as Yuki, having rushed back from overseas overnight, arrived just in time.
"Long time no see, Toji-kun."
Yuki flashed Toji a big smile.
"Too slow."
Toji gave her a glance and then looked away.
"Still as cold as ever. So mean."
Yuki spread her hands, looking helpless.
"You're not my type, and you're broke. Why should I be friendly?"
Toji's words hit like a gut punch.
"Ugh, what an insensitive man!"
Yuki turned around, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists, clearly fuming.
As the two spoke, the Cursed Spirit army had closed in to within a kilometer of the North Gate.
"Everyone, open fire! Don't hold back on ammo! Kill all those ugly freaks!"
Rocket launchers, machine guns, and every other weapon available unleashed their payloads onto the charging enemy.
A metal storm swallowed the densely packed Cursed Spirits.
Bang, bang, bang.
Heavy footsteps echoed as over a dozen massive, heavily armored Grade 1 Cursed Spirits emerged at the front of the enemy ranks.
These behemoths began pushing through the firestorm, providing cover for the rest of the Cursed Spirit army.
Dhruv had made the call.
He had observed that these modern "bows and crossbows" were extremely lethal to Cursed Spirits below Grade 2.
However, the damage done to Grade 1 Cursed Spirits and above was limited.
So he quickly deployed a group of Grade 1 and stronger Cursed Spirits, as well as many defensive-type Cursed Spirits, to lead the charge.
The firepower advantage of the North Gate was suddenly diminished.
"Tsk. Troublesome."
Toji, gripping the Split Soul Katana, was about to move in and deal with them himself.
"Leave it to me."
Just as he was about to act, Yuki stepped forward.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Toji, whose eyes had just lit up with a fierce battle aura, immediately turned lazy again.
If someone else was going to handle it, why bother?
It's not like he got paid extra.
Toji leaned back and relaxed.
"Garuda."
A Shikigami shaped like a winged serpent made of bone-like material floated in front of Yuki.
This was Yuki's cursed tool-transformed Shikigami—Garuda.
It began spinning at Yuki's feet, gradually curling itself into a tight coil.
Yuki took a deep breath and then launched a powerful kick.
Garuda flew forward like a soccer ball, piercing through the frontline Cursed Spirits with terrifying force.
Then it began to spin again, ripping through the enemy formation one by one.
That power...
Toji watched Garuda cleave through dozens of Cursed Spirits and raised an eyebrow.
Is it her Technique, or is that thing a cursed tool like the Split Soul Katana?
He wondered.
Notably, among the Cursed Spirits pierced by Garuda were more than a dozen Grade 1s.
This made Toji suspect that Yuki and Garuda had some kind of power-amplifying or defense-ignoring effect.
Yuki's Technique was Star Rage.
It allowed her and Garuda to gain imaginary mass. And as that mass increased, so did her physical strength.
In theory, the imaginary mass added by Star Rage was infinite.
In the original timeline, when she was tricked by Tengen and became "49.5 Yuki," she even created a black hole using her Technique.
According to Kenjaku, if 49.5 Yuki hadn't held back for fear of destroying the Tombs of the Star, he would have been killed by that black hole.
"Curious? If you let me study you for a bit, Toji-kun, I'll tell you my secret, okay~?"
Yuki grinned as she teased.
"Not interested."
Toji's reply was flat.
Yuki, visibly frustrated, angrily kicked Garuda out again.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)