Shikoku Island.
Satoru Gojo pulled off his blindfold. For a heartbeat, he stood frozen, his pupils shrinking to needle-points as he processed the carnage before him.
The concrete-and-steel jungle of the city had been choked out by a nightmare of verdant growth. Massive, gnarled vines and thick trunks coiled around skyscrapers, crushing them like discarded soda cans. From the tangled canopy hung the desiccated remains of countless humans, skewered by branches and left to dangle in the wind like drying meat.
"I'm starting to get... a little bit angry."
BOOM!
Satoru's silhouette vanished. The force of his liftoff pulverized the pavement, sending a shockwave of dust and gravel rippling outward. He streaked through the "Iron Forest," his senses locked onto the most powerful, blatant source of cursed energy in the vicinity.
In the distance, nestled within a gargantuan flower bud, Hanami sensed the approach and stood up abruptly.
"Is he here already?"
Without a second thought, Hanami turned and bolted. Unlike the prideful Jogo, Hanami was a creature of caution. Ever since the near-fatal thrashing at the hands of Souma Gojo, the mere sight of the Six Eyes was enough to extinguish any desire for combat. Rather than face another beating, Hanami would strictly adhere to Kenjaku's plan: lead Satoru Gojo on a wild goose chase.
"Mother Earth: Ligneous Fission!"
Hanami's torso split open like a drying log, cells proliferating and regenerating at a dizzying rate. In seconds, several duplicates stood on the rooftop, their cursed energy signatures indistinguishable from the original.
Seven Hanamis scattered in seven different directions. Hanami excelled at masking presence; with the city now transformed into a dense, vertical forest, the terrain was a natural playground for evasion. Everything was in Hanami's favor.
Satoru landed on the roof of a high-rise, his gaze sweeping the horizon. "Seven energy sources... almost identical. This is going to be a pain."
Irritated, he casually flicked a hand, obliterating the massive flower bud behind him. "Playing tag, are we? Let's see who's faster."
Using Blue, Satoru began to teleport. Within several heartbeats, he overtook the first target. He slammed a fist downward, and the "Hanami" disintegrated into a shower of useless wood chips and sawdust.
"Tch." Satoru snorted and pivoted, pursuing the next lead.
CRASH!
Another kick, another pile of lumber. He moved on immediately.
Fate, however, was not on his side. Six times in a row, he chased down a decoy.
"Finally, the real deal!" Satoru grinned, lunging toward the final signature.
Seeing the decoys destroyed, Hanami immediately formed a new seal. Fortunately, the distraction had bought enough distance to complete a complex technique.
"Mother Earth: Ligneous Fission!"
Satoru, mid-flight, felt his face twitch. In the tactical vision of the Six Eyes, the single large energy source blossomed into seven again, each darting off toward a different point of the compass.
"You bastard! Are you making a fool of me?"
Satoru was incandescent. For the first time, he felt like a circus animal being led around by its nose.
"Whew..." He took a long, steadying breath, refraining from another blind pursuit. He stilled his mind, his vision zooming in across miles of forest, fixating on every minute detail of the fleeing spirits.
"There has to be... a difference. Find the unique one..."
Satoru flooded his brain with cursed energy, pushing the Six Eyes to their absolute maximum capacity. The micro-movements, the flow of energy, the cellular texture of all seven targets—the sheer volume of information was like a tidal wave crashing into his consciousness.
Unnoticed, a trickle of heat escaped his nose.
"Found you!"
Satoru bared his teeth in a savage, terrifying smile. He wiped the blood from his lip and teleported with violent speed.
Hanami was retreating at a measured pace, hands poised to weave the next seal. The moment a decoy fell, Hanami would split again, reset the chase, and keep Satoru occupied. As long as the Six Eyes user was pinned down here, the plan in Tokyo would succeed.
Suddenly, a cold chill raced down Hanami's spine. A terrifying pressure—thick with manic rage—was closing in from behind.
Hanami didn't even look, immediately attempting to trigger the fission.
"Hey. The real one is you, right? These little tricks... we're done with them!"
Hanami's entire body went rigid. Satoru Gojo was standing directly behind the curse, his eyes wide and murderous.
"How did you—"
BOOM!
The enraged Satoru didn't give Hanami a chance to project another thought. A brutal punch buried itself in the curse's back, snapping wood and bone alike. Hanami wailed in agony as Satoru stepped onto its shoulders, his hands gripping the two long, branch-like horns protruding from the curse's face.
"I've been wondering why these two branches are so packed with cursed energy," Satoru whispered with a manic laugh. "Are they your weak point?"
He braced himself and yanked backward with the force of a hydraulic press.
SHRIIIIIIIIINK—!
The sound of wood tearing from living flesh echoed through the ruins as Satoru ripped the long branches clean out of Hanami's head.
"AAAAAAGH—!"
A blood-curdling scream tore from Hanami. It was the sensation of a spine being pulled out while still alive. Satoru tossed the branches aside, grabbed Hanami by the skull, and unleashed a relentless barrage of Black Flash-imbued punches.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Hanami was reduced to a punching bag, unable to even mount a defense.
"Well? Aren't you good at running? Go on! Keep going! Split apart for me again! HAHAHAHAHA!" Satoru's laughter was jagged and high-pitched, the sound of a man teetering on the edge of a manic episode.
Dead. I'm going to die. I'm going to die...
The signal flared in Hanami's mind like a siren. Survival instincts overrode the mission. With the last of its strength, Hanami's hands came together.
"Mother Earth: Blood Thorns!"
Hanami's skin swelled and burst, thousands of jagged wooden spikes exploding outward until the curse looked like a massive, organic sea urchin. It wasn't enough to hurt Satoru through his Infinity, but the sudden expansion forced him back for a split second.
Seizing the gap, Hanami shed the thorny husk and retreated in a blind panic. A ritual tool—a vajra-shaped object—appeared in its hand.
Hanami crushed the tool. A white halo of light bloomed, and the space in front of the curse began to ripple like the surface of a disturbed pond.
"Spatial energy?" Satoru, the master of space, recognized the signature instantly. "Don't you dare!"
He lunged forward, his fingers weaving together as he birthed a sphere of crushing violet light.
"Hollow: Purple!"
BOOM!
The Purple streak tore through the air, but the white halo held for just a fraction of a second before shattering. The warped space snapped back into place, and Hanami was gone.
Satoru stood in the crater, his expression sour. "He got away? What the hell was that vajra thing? A cursed tool?"
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