"Hey, 'Infinite Cursed Energy,' if you fought Gojo Satoru, how many rounds could you last?" Jogo asked.
"It depends on whether my Infinite Cursed Energy can adapt to Mr. Gojo's Unlimited Void," Kinji Hakari responded seriously.
"If I can't adapt, I'll be killed in an instant; I've already understood that."
Jogo breathed slowly, preparing for battle. "And if you can adapt?"
"4 minutes and 11 seconds," Kinji Hakari said.
"In my Infinite Cursed Energy state, even someone as strong as Mr. Gojo can't hope to defeat me."
"But when the Infinite Cursed Energy state disappears, at that very moment of disappearance, I will be killed by Mr. Gojo, without exception."
While other Sorcerers might not be able to do it, Gojo Satoru was different.
He possessed the Six Eyes, allowing him to accurately judge the moment Kinji Hakari's Infinite Cursed Energy ended.
He also had the means to destroy Kinji Hakari's brain and abdomen the instant he left the Infinite state.
A Sorcerer's brain is used to activate Cursed Techniques, and the abdomen is used to refine Cursed Energy.
When both are destroyed, even Kinji Hakari would die.
Jogo nodded. "I see—so what I must do has been decided."
Kinji Hakari and Jogo walked toward each other simultaneously.
With every step, Cursed Energy fluctuations appeared on the beach, as if two storms were approaching each other, ready to collide, explode, and spread at any moment.
Kinji Hakari's hands were already in a seal-forming position, and Jogo was forming a seal with one hand; both sides were ready for combat.
"4 minutes and 11 seconds," Jogo said.
He glared at Kinji Hakari, his entire body's Cursed Energy turning into a heatwave that spread outward, and everyone consciously cleared the area.
"As long as I can last 4 minutes and 11 seconds, it proves that I can also pose a threat to Gojo Satoru. That's the logic, right?" Jogo asked.
Actually, there was no logic to it, the Mahito thought.
Even if he could last 4 minutes and 11 seconds, it could only be said that Jogo's strength was close to Kinji Hakari's.
However, the gap in strength between Kinji Hakari and Gojo Satoru was beyond words; saying that lasting 4 minutes and 11 seconds meant posing a threat to Gojo Satoru was nothing more than a pipe dream.
But no one spoke those words aloud.
This was Jogo's death wish.
Kinji Hakari curled his lips into a smile.
He tilted his head and looked at the Mahito.
"What do you say? Do you need me to go easy on him?"
"Cursed Spirits are very sturdy." The Mahito shrugged.
"Please, fight to your heart's content."
"If Jogo can't even last 4 minutes and 11 seconds, then going to Gojo Satoru would just be seeking his own death and wasting his life."
"If you can use your strength to shut Jogo up, I'll thank you."
"Does that count as you owing me a favor?" Kinji Hakari asked.
"Count it as me owing you a favor," the Mahito responded.
Before this, Kinji Hakari didn't care for a Cursed Spirit's favor at all.
He believed that a Cursed Spirit was just a Cursed Spirit; even for a unique Cursed Spirit like the Mahito, their essence wouldn't change.
In a Cursed Spirit's heart, a favor was probably worth less than the beach scenery in front of them.
But now it was different.
Kinji Hakari realized that this group of Cursed Spirits was indeed special.
Special enough that—
"A favor is indeed useful."
The corner of Jogo's mouth twitched. "I really am being looked down upon."
"You've already seen the Mahito's Simple Domain, haven't you?"
"Let me tell you something: I also have a Simple Domain."
"In terms of pure destructive power, my Simple Domain easily surpasses the Mahito's 'Descent.'"
"I'm not sure if you can withstand it under 'Infinite Cursed Energy.'"
"But since you couldn't withstand the Mahito's Descent, you won't be able to withstand my Meteor either."
"That really makes me look forward to it," Kinji Hakari said.
"Then let's try it, Cursed Spirit."
Jogo had already made up his mind.
Even if this was just a mock battle, he had to give it his all.
He had to break the illusion of Gojo Satoru's invincibility so that the Mahito would have the heart to keep moving forward.
So, so! So—
His entire body's Cursed Energy boiled, and he roared with a resolve that burned his very life:
"Bring it on—'Infinite Cursed Energy!'"
27 seconds later.
Kinji Hakari was sitting on top of Jogo, pummeling Jogo's face with his fists.
Jogo was like a ragdoll, letting Kinji Hakari beat him senseless, his limbs twitching occasionally like a dying insect.
Burns remained on Kinji Hakari's body, but these burns lasted less than a second on his flesh.
From an ordinary person's perspective, they would probably only see smoke rising from Kinji Hakari's body for no reason, unable to even notice the wounds.
The battle was truly lackluster.
Jogo activates Domain Expansion!
Jogo activates Fire Technique!
Jogo activates an even hotter Fire Technique amidst his roars!
Kinji Hakari charged forward.
Kinji Hakari threw a punch.
Jogo went down!
The remaining time was just Kinji Hakari continuously punching Jogo until Jogo's Domain Expansion deactivated.
During this period, Jogo actually lasted 27 seconds.
That's really impressive.
The Mahito clapped his hands vigorously and laughed loudly:
"Very good, Jogo! You actually lasted 27 seconds, it's truly an eye-opener!"
"Do you still want to play boxing with Gojo Satoru?"
Jogo's consciousness was blurred from the beating; he couldn't say a single word.
Kinji Hakari's final punch landed on Jogo's face, knocking his volcano head askew.
He stared blankly with his single eye, his face covered in bruises as he questioned his life, unable to say a word.
"Phew, that felt great. As you said, Cursed Spirits really are sturdy."
Kinji Hakari stood up with a refreshed look.
"The only pity is that I couldn't get this Lord Cursed Spirit to use his Simple Domain."
"What a shame."
"Hey, is your Simple Domain's destructive power really stronger than the Mahito's?"
Was it that Jogo didn't use it?
Was it that he didn't want to use it?
He simply didn't have the chance to use it before being pinned to the ground and beaten senseless!
"Jogo's Simple Domain involves forming a massive meteor over fifty meters in diameter and dropping it."
"In terms of pure destructive power, he's much stronger than me," the Mahito said generously.
"My current strength is actually inferior to Jogo's, but I counter you perfectly, which is why I could defeat you."
"Jogo is different; he only has direct attacks. Once direct attacks fail, he's finished."
Kinji Hakari pondered.
In other words, Jogo simply had high stats—so high that even the Mahito couldn't compare.
But the Mahito played with mechanics; his stats weren't high, but his mechanics were unbeatable.
Just one touch would seal a Sorcerer's five senses, and he could even transform into a dragon for aerial bombardment.
Who could stand that?
Kirara Hoshi handed over a shirt, and Kinji Hakari casually draped it over his shoulders.
"My, seriously speaking, to last 27 seconds in a head-on clash with Kin-chan is already quite amazing."
Kirara Hoshi wasn't being sarcastic; they truly felt Jogo was strong.
"Usually, when Kin-chan has Infinite Cursed Energy, he can solve Special Grade Cursed Spirits in a few seconds."
"You're stronger than any Special Grade Cursed Spirit I've ever seen."
Jogo's lips trembled, his face full of humiliation.
Finally, he closed his single eye and remained silent, even his volcano head appearing dim and lackluster.
Kenjaku sighed, his face showing no surprise.
"Please follow me, Hakari. I will prepare a residence for you."
Hanami walked slowly to Jogo's side and picked him up.
He had spoken so righteously, like a hero prepared to die, yet in the end, forget 4 minutes and 11 seconds—he didn't even last half a minute before being brutally beaten.
It was hard to know what to say.
The Mahito rubbed his chin and suddenly said, "I've decided."
"Before the final battle, I want to have a fight with Gojo Satoru."
Everyone's footsteps paused.
"Are you serious?" Kenjaku frowned deeply.
"Of course not right now," the Mahito said slowly.
"Once I'm prepared, I'll take action."
"Prepared?" Kinji Hakari asked.
"You don't understand my Reverse Cursed Technique yet, do you?" the Mahito smiled.
"As long as I'm prepared, even Gojo Satoru won't be able to kill me."
The Mahito wasn't lying.
If it were before he subdued Kinji Hakari, even if the Mahito used every trick in the book, he wouldn't be able to escape with his life from Gojo Satoru.
As long as Gojo Satoru got even slightly serious, he would definitely be hung up and beaten.
But now it was different.
He had already subdued Kinji Hakari, meaning he now had the template of a 'Special Grade Sorcerer,' and one with Infinite Cursed Energy at that.
His power ceiling had been greatly raised, and he could even take a seat on the throne of infinity.
The Gojo Clan's Limitless Cursed Technique wasn't unique to Gojo Satoru, but why was only Gojo Satoru so terrifying?
It was because Gojo Satoru possessed the Six Eyes.
Besides being observation eyes, the Six Eyes could greatly optimize Cursed Energy output efficiency.
An ordinary Sorcerer using 1 unit of Cursed Energy could produce 1 unit of technique power, but Gojo Satoru could use that same 1 unit to produce 1,000 or even 10,000 units of power.
He could even optimize it further after landing a 'Black Flash.'
Okkotsu Yuta held the largest amount of raw energy in the jujutsu world, but he once stated plainly: in terms of raw power, he far surpassed Gojo Satoru, but because Gojo Satoru had the Six Eyes, if it came down to a battle of endurance, Okkotsu might run out of Cursed Energy, while Gojo Satoru never would.
Just how terrifying was Limitless with near-constant Infinite Cursed Energy?
Gojo Satoru was the living proof.
Now, the same applied to the Mahito.
The Mahito looked forward to finding the answer when he, having fully integrated Kinji Hakari's template, clashed with Gojo Satoru.
With the energy problem solved, all that remained were the means.
Once his means were complete—
"Even Gojo Satoru," the Mahito said with a smile, "I can go and challenge him now."