"Entertain me."
Those four words hit like a boulder crashing into the wild laughter!
Sukuna's cackle cut off sharp, like a beast getting its throat grabbed—leaving just this ragged, unstoppable excited growl from his windpipe.
The wild red glow in his eyes exploded, and those black curse marks on his face looked like they were about to burst into flames!
How many years? Nah—no one had ever talked to him like that!
"Hahaha! Alright!!" Sukuna's maniacal laugh blew up again, shaking loose rubble from the ruins, packed with pure destructive vibes. "Show me what you've got, punk!!! Here we—!!!"
Snap!
He clapped his hands together hard, and raging flames compressed and collapsed right in his palms! The air screamed from the scorching heat! The blaze twisted and shaped itself wildly in his grip!
Next second! Left hand's index and middle fingers formed a sword sign, other three loosely gripping like holding a massive bow! Right hand pulled back, like drawing a thousand-ton string!
A monstrous flame bow, forged from fire and curses, several meters long, popped into existence!
The bowstring twanged to its limit, and a blood-red arrow radiating "burn everything" energy locked dead-on to that tiny figure high in the sky!
(Updating's tough—remember to share 101 Reading Net)
Where the arrow pointed, space itself warped!
"Here's a welcome gift, bastard!" Sukuna grinned viciously, then let go of his pulled-back right hand!
Twang—!!!
The string cracked like thunder!
That flame arrow vanished! Nah, it was so fast, no afterimage left! Just a straight, scorching red streak piercing heaven and earth in your vision!
Everywhere it passed, air evaporated instantly, leaving a pitch-black vacuum tunnel!
Zero point zero one seconds later!
BOOM—!!!!
Up in the sky, the clouds where Gaio had been floating caved in like a lake hit by a boulder, then exploded outward!
A massive flame void hundreds of meters wide spread out, edges roiling with lava-like fire waves. The brutal shockwave shredded and shoved away the surrounding clouds!
The delayed roar rolled like war drums from the gods, echoing over all of Shibuya!
Sukuna's blood-red eyes glued to the center of that destructive crimson lotus, mouth split wide, waiting to see the guy turn to ash or scramble away in pathetic defeat.
But—
Nothing!
The heart of the lotus was empty! That white-haired shadow had evaporated into thin air!
A bone-chilling cold hit out of nowhere, like arctic wind slicing through Sukuna's hell-furnace-hot curse barrier, brushing his nape!
Sukuna's vicious grin froze on his face again.
His red pupils, stiff with disbelief, snapped to his side.
Gaio!
Standing right there! Less than a meter away!
His hood fluttered from the high-speed move, a few white messy strands drifting in the wind.
Not a speck of dust on him, breathing steady as ever! Like that cloud-ripping, mountain-vaporizing arrow was just a breeze by his ear!
He didn't even glance at Sukuna's frozen mug.
Thud!
A dull landing sound.
Gaio casually flicked his left hand.
Leaky Vessel, like a bloody rag sack with dripping gore and fading curse scraps, arced through the air and smacked into Panda's fluffy, rigid body.
The impact rocked Panda's huge frame; he instinctively hugged the hot, gross "trash," eyes bugging out, brain totally fried.
Only then did Gaio's gaze sweep over the equally petrified Kusakabe, and Panda clutching the volcano-head curse spirit in total confusion.
"Not leaving yet?"
Buzz!
Space hummed super faintly.
Kusakabe and Panda-with-Leaky-Vessel blurred and twisted, like erased from paper with an invisible rubber—spotless, no dust kicked up.
And the instant they vanished—
Snip, snip.
Two super light sounds, like a blade slicing fresh paper.
Next to them, those two curse users Sukuna had pinned down earlier, still wearing that dazed, post-trauma fear on their faces...
Their bodies—along with gear, clothes—got pierced in the same beat by billions of invisible, perfectly parallel sharp threads!
Silent breakdown!
No blood spray, no screams.
Their bodies weirdly turned into hundreds of identical-sized cubes, edges mirror-smooth!
Flesh, bones, clothes, metal tools... everything sliced neat, cuts reflecting distant explosion glow! Blood trapped inside, eerie dark red.
Crash—
A jumble of murky, sharp-edged meat chunks mixed with fabric and metal bits dumped out like slaughterhouse waste, scattering everywhere.
The eerie silence clashed hard with the still-rolling fire cloud overhead and the lagging thunderous boom—total scalp-tingling terror.
Only now.
Did Gaio slowly, fully turn to face Sukuna's blood-red eyes, burning with shock, rage, and doubt for the first time deep in those pupils.
His right hand on the Yamato sword hilt, thumb flicked lightly.
Click.
A faint, crisp mechanism snap.
An icy-bright blade edge silently slid an inch of chill light from the ancient guard.
Sukuna's frozen face cracked like ice, curse marks writhing mad, mouth stretching to show razor fangs in a mix of fury, thrill, and disbelief.
"Slash.....?! "
"SLASH?!" Sukuna's stiffness shattered, replaced by absurd rage and hype swelling up!
He glared at that casual inch of snowy blade, then at the precision-molded curse-user cubes nearby.
His wild curse power boiled inside, nearly busting this body!
This guy... using slashes?!
Daring to play slashes in front of the Curse King, who mastered slashes ultimate, carving "Dismantle" and "Cleave" into curse roots?!
Sukuna's face twitched uncontrollably, then split into a huge, ear-tearing grin, flashing white fangs, throat rumbling low crazy laughs: "Heh... heh heh... hahahaha! This is hilarious, bastard!!!"
Laugh not done, madness peaked!
"Dismantle!!"
No warning—Sukuna's right sword fingers slashed at Gaio, five meters away, like ripping cloth!
Air quivered faint, almost undetectable! An invisible, pure-cutting-will slash crossed space instantly, aiming to rip Gaio and the ground!
Fast! Brutal! Absolute!
This was Sukuna's slash! Curse origin! Death made real!
But—
Gaio didn't even look at the trajectory.
He just... casually, like a post-dinner stroll, shifted half a step sideways.
Whoosh!
That special-grade-splitting "Dismantle" whistled past his fluttering hem, slamming into a ruined office building dozens of meters back!
Shrrrip—!!!
The massive glass wall sliced silent, smooth from top to bottom!
Then the whole building slid, misaligned along the cut, groaning steel and concrete teeth-grindingly, finally snapping in half with deafening roar, kicking up sky-high dust!
Gaio tilted his head slightly, icy eyes glancing at Sukuna's now-stunned face. Calm as still water, not a ripple.
The message burned into Sukuna's retinas:
That all you got?
"..." Sukuna's laugh froze for a tenth-second, then exploded like cold water in hot oil!
Wild curse power erupted like a volcano from every pore, blasting ground pebbles like bullets!
"Interesting! So interesting!" Sukuna roared, voice warped by peak thrill. "Let's go again!!! Dismantle! Dismantle! Dismantle! Dismantle! DISMANTLE—!!!"
He turned full auto-slash turret!
Sword fingers flailed wild! So fast, blurry afterimages in dim moonlight!
One! Two! Ten!!
Dozens, hundreds of invisible slashes like raging bees, sky-filling! Dense!
Instantly shredded air between them! Trajectories overlapped into a death net covering every dodge angle, enough to mince steel jungle to pulp—crashing down on Gaio!
This was the Curse King's slashes! Endless! No escape!
Facing this world-ending slash storm, Gaio moved!
No big boom, no curse surge.
He just... walked.
Figure like hazy white smoke under moonlight, casually shifting in tight space.
Left foot taps, dodges three crossing cuts;
Right foot pulls back, lets seven face-grazers explode behind;
Torso tilts easy, slashes skim nose and waist, shredding a twisted bus far off!
Strolling park! Totally chill!
Every move pinpoint, every dodge natural as breathing!
That space-shredding storm? Slow as kids' toy blades to him!
Boom! Rumble! BOOM—!!!
Shibuya battlefield became Sukuna's slash dump!
"Dismantles" like death's brush, scribbling wild on steel jungle!
Left high-rise sliced mid-waist, top half crashing down crooked!
Right mall's walls hit by countless, glass and concrete cascading like waterfalls!
Front subway ruin split vertical, exposing black tunnel!
Back GG Tower diagonal-cut, huge screen sparking as it fell!
Dust rising nonstop! Explosions popping! Concrete chunks, bent rebar, burning car bits raining down!
In the heart of this total wreck, only Gaio's tiny spot stayed calm—like the storm's eye.
Ground under him pristine, not a speck stirred, white hair unmoving.
He ghosted through Sukuna's block-busting slash frenzy, effortlessly dodging every kill cut.
Sukuna's mad slashes raged full ten seconds!
When the last "Dismantle" diagonal-sliced a low building in half with ear-shattering collapse, he finally stopped his fingers.
Chest heaving from the burst, red pupils locked on the smoky white shadow center—not just rage and hype now, but a mix of... unbelievable shock!
Slash storm ended.
Dust settled slow.
Gaio sharpened clear.
Still standing put, no step back. Not even a new wrinkle on his clothes! Icy gaze pierced flying dust, landing on Sukuna's twisted face.
Same two words, echoing clear over the rubble:
"That all you got?"
Sukuna's breath hitched, face muscles spasming, emotions—rage, thrill, humiliation—surging like lava in his eyes!
He slowly raised his right hand, thumb on bent index, aimed at Gaio.
Fingertip, a deep, heart-chilling black curse gathered.
"...'Cleave'!"
Sukuna's thumb flicked off!
No path, no process!
That kill-will-packed black slash—"Cleave"—that expands infinitely by target curse strength, popped right at Gaio's forehead!
Space swallowed by pure "slash" concept! Death's chill stabbed marrow!
Sukuna's grin nearly tore his ears, red pupils locked, hyped to see the guy pierced and ripped by this beyond-"Dismantle" ultimate!
Curse King's absolute slash mastery!
But—
Clink!
A light ring, faint as ice bead on jade.
Gaio's right thumb on hilt just casually flicked up.
Click.
Ancient guard snapped faint.
Yamato's icy blade slid... still just one inch.
Buzz—!
An indescribable sharp mark—like it could cut light—appeared before that inch!
No glow, no track, just space's subtle silent split.
Ting!
A tiny snap, like fine thread breaking.
Sukuna's special-grade-killing black "Cleave" hit an invisible wall like black bubble—instant freeze, shatter, gone! Not even a ripple!
Air froze a beat.
"...Ha?" Sukuna's laugh and hype locked up, red pupils shrinking to pins, mirroring the silent wipeout clear.
Not fear—pure recognition shattered, rival thrill crashing all reason!
"Blocked it?!" Sukuna's throat rasped a pitchy roar, drowned in surging joy! "Hahahaha!! Awesome! So awesome, bastard! You really... ain't like the others!!!"
He flung arms wide, hugging the wrecked world! Face curse marks writhing in peak hype!
"To thank you for the blast!!! " Sukuna's voice hit max, full of inhuman mania and twisted "politeness." "Next—let me welcome you proper!!!"
Hands sealed!
Curse power beyond all flooded out like world-end dam break! Air groaned, rubble underfoot powdered!
"Domain Expansion—"
Sukuna's hands froze! Right three fingers hooked, left index bent, ring and pinky straight, thumb tucked!
Simple-yet-not Flame Heaven Seal formed!
"—Malevolent Shrine!!!"
BOOM!!!!!!
Curse flood exploded from Sukuna!
Everything—crumbled towers, burning streets, sky dust, dim moon—smeared, covered, eroded by thick, heavy dark red with endless blood and blasphemy!
Space cut and swapped raw!!
Evil scene dropped!
Underfoot: bottomless filthy sea churning sticky blood! Thick gore smell choked you solid.
Behind Sukuna: massive bone shrine rising from the muck, blotting sky! Doors like a monster maw!
Maw like abyss gate, set to swallow the puny intruder—Gaio—whole!
Solemn! Dead silent! Invisible waves of billion souls wailing battered your soul!
In this Curse King-will absolute space, he wrote the rules!
Slashes = everywhere death sentence!
Sukuna stood on blood sea, under bone shrine.
He eyed the tiny Gaio reflected in the red, face twisted max with "generous" handout and all-destroy hype:
"Enjoy the feast!!!"
"Sure."
Gaio finally replied to Sukuna, tone so flat it pissed you off just hearing it.
Right foot back half-step, body dips slight, left thumb pushes guard, right loose on hilt—pure iaido stance.
"Come on! Show me what you got?!" Sukuna laughed mad, whole domain boiling!
Buzz—!
Countless "Dismantles" and "Cleaves" erupted at once!
From all sides, up down left right—every inch blasting lethal slashes! Blood sea surged, bone shrine sprouted ghost hands, domain turned slash hell!
Gaio dropped his gaze.
Clang—!
Yamato unsheathed three inches.
Instant: countless blue blade lights bloomed in domain! Each snagged a slash perfect, space webbed with cracks!
"Dimension Slash · Absolute."
Soft whisper, Gaio's figure blurred a tick.
Crack—!
Sukuna's pupils shrank sharp.
He saw it—his domain, split clean in half by a heaven-piercing blue blade mark down the middle!
Blood sea parted neat! Bone shrine smooth-cut! Countless slashes midair silent-wiped!
"Impossible..." Sukuna's grin cracked.
His domain—Malevolent Shrine—collapsing!
Gaio sheathed with crisp click.
Domain shattered like broken mirror, crumbling apart!
"Boring."