The shadow had barely taken shape when a much larger blade came swinging down toward it.
Maki Zenin's lips curled into a dangerous smile. She had allowed Megumi Fushiguro to make the first move, but that did not mean she intended to give him time to prepare.
When Maki Zenin attacked, she never held back.
With Shoko Ieiri, the top healer of the Jujutsu World, downstairs and the monster duo of Marisa Nado standing guard, there was hardly a safer place for a sparring match. As long as nobody died, she could strike as hard as she pleased. Even Megumi Fushiguro, who was famous for having an iron skull, would bleed if he took a direct hit.
However, her second charge failed to connect.
Megumi Fushiguro reacted the moment she moved. Although his speed was still inferior to Maki Zenin's, his physical abilities had already reached a superhuman level. He twisted his body and slipped past the incoming blade, narrowly avoiding its edge.
A smile appeared on his face, almost identical to the one Maki Zenin had worn earlier.
He had been waiting for this opportunity.
"Divine Dogs!"
As the two passed each other, Megumi Fushiguro exhaled sharply and called out his technique.
A black wolf, nearly half the height of a grown man, sprang from the shadow beneath his feet. Its claws flashed as it lunged straight for Maki Zenin's abdomen.
Maki Zenin immediately swept her spear sideways, catching the incoming claws with its shaft.
Clang!
Before she could counterattack, another shadow appeared behind her.
A white wolf burst from the ground and slashed at her back.
"Hmph!"
Maki Zenin snorted. Without showing the slightest panic, she tightened her grip and spun her weapon in a wide circle. Her arms drove the spear around like a heavy wheel, forcing the two wolves to retreat.
Megumi Fushiguro, who had followed behind his shikigami, was also caught by the sweeping attack. He quickly pulled back, sliding several steps across the rooftop alongside the wolves.
"So this is the rumored Ten Shadows Technique."
Maki Zenin rested her weapon against her shoulder and examined the two wolves with interest.
"Using shadows as a medium to summon ten different shikigami. If I remember correctly, those two are the first shikigami, Divine Dogs."
Megumi Fushiguro nodded.
"That's right."
"Then show me the other nine," Maki Zenin said, raising her weapon again. "You've already revealed this much of your technique. That should be enough for Revealing One's Hand, right?"
She adjusted her footing and crooked a finger at him, inviting him to attack.
Revealing One's Hand was a Binding Vow that increased the effectiveness of a technique by explaining how it worked to an opponent. However, the explanation did not necessarily have to come from the user. Having another person acknowledge the technique could also satisfy the condition.
The Ten Shadows Technique was the signature technique of the Zenin Clan, one of the Three Great Clans. Its basic information had long been public knowledge, saving Megumi Fushiguro the trouble of explaining it himself.
The black and white wolves moved to either side of Maki Zenin, seemingly preparing another coordinated attack.
However, before she could move, both wolves sank into the shadows and disappeared.
Megumi Fushiguro had already formed another hand sign.
"Toad!"
Four green toads sprang from the shadows where Divine Dogs had vanished. They immediately spread out and charged toward Maki Zenin from four different directions.
Compared to Divine Dogs, an individual Toad was much weaker in both strength and attack power. However, their smaller bodies and low positions made them considerably more troublesome to deal with.
Maki Zenin lowered her center of gravity and swept her spear across the ground, attempting to knock all four away at once.
At that moment, one of the toads slipped into her blind spot.
Its mouth opened, and a long tongue shot out.
Whoosh!
The tongue wrapped tightly around Maki Zenin's ankle.
The force was nowhere near enough to pull her off her feet, but her movements slowed for a brief instant.
That was all Megumi Fushiguro needed.
The remaining three toads opened their mouths simultaneously. Three more tongues shot forward, wrapping around Maki Zenin's arms and remaining leg.
In the blink of an eye, all four of her limbs were restrained.
The tongues tightened like thick ropes, pulling against her body and pinning her in place.
This time, Megumi Fushiguro took the initiative.
His hands crossed in front of his chest, thumbs locked together as his fingers formed the shape of a bird spreading its wings.
"Nue!"
A huge shadow appeared above Maki Zenin.
A massive bird-like beast descended from the sky. Its body was covered in crimson feathers, while its face resembled that of a tiger. As its enormous wings spread open, blue-white lightning crackled along the feathers.
The Ten Shadows Technique truly deserved its reputation as one of the Zenin Clan's inherited techniques.
Each shikigami possessed different abilities and could serve a different purpose. Divine Dogs excelled at close-range attacks, Toad specialized in restraining enemies, and Nue could attack from above while releasing electricity.
By combining their abilities, Megumi Fushiguro could cover both offense and defense while creating opportunities that none of the shikigami could achieve alone.
With four toads restraining her from below and Nue diving toward her from above, Maki Zenin had been caught in a pincer attack.
Yet her expression remained unchanged.
In fact, her grin widened.
"Good! Now this is worth defeating!"
She suddenly pulled both arms outward.
Snap! Snap!
Two of the tongues binding her arms tore apart under the force.
Before the remaining toads could react, Maki Zenin twisted her waist and kicked out with both legs, snapping the other tongues. She then pushed off the ground and flipped backward, putting some distance between herself and the toads.
However, Nue was already upon her.
Maki Zenin raised her weapon high and swung directly at the descending shikigami.
Bang!
The blade collided with Nue's electrified body.
The enormous bird shuddered under the impact and barely managed to pull itself higher before the next strike could reach it.
Maki Zenin landed on her feet, but her expression tightened.
"Tch!"
A tingling sensation spread through both arms. The fine hairs on her skin stood on end, and her fingers felt slightly numb.
"Looks like I'll need to improve the insulation on this thing afterward."
She glanced at the weapon in her hands.
The new weapon had a metal grip, which made it sturdier and more durable. Unfortunately, metal was also an excellent conductor of electricity.
Against Nue, that had become an obvious weakness.
While Maki Zenin was dealing with the remaining numbness, Megumi Fushiguro had already completed another set of hand signs.
The four toads disappeared into the shadows.
"Great Serpent!"
A massive white-scaled snake emerged from the ground.
Its body was more than ten meters long and nearly a meter thick. As the enormous serpent uncoiled, its scales rubbed against the rooftop, and its thick body began circling Maki Zenin.
While her attention had been occupied by Nue, Megumi Fushiguro had used the opportunity to position his next shikigami.
By the time Maki Zenin noticed, the serpent had already surrounded her.
Unlike Toad, Great Serpent possessed a massive body and considerable physical strength. Its thick scales and muscles made it far more difficult to break through using brute force.
If Maki Zenin allowed herself to be trapped inside its coils, Megumi Fushiguro would have a good chance of winning.
However, Maki Zenin had plenty of experience fighting large opponents.
She immediately changed her approach.
Instead of trying to cut through the serpent's body, she planted her weapon against the ground and used it as a pole to launch herself upward.
Her feet landed directly on the serpent's back.
Without hesitation, she began running along its enormous body, using the coils as a path toward its head.
"Hah!"
Seeing this, Megumi Fushiguro let out a cold laugh.
He lightly clapped his hands.
The next instant, Great Serpent disappeared.
The enormous white body dispersed into shadows, leaving nothing beneath Maki Zenin's feet.
No matter how realistic a shikigami appeared, it was ultimately a manifestation of Cursed Energy. Once the technique was withdrawn and the supply of Cursed Energy stopped, its physical form would disappear.
Unfortunately for Maki Zenin, she had already climbed more than five meters above the rooftop.
Her footing vanished without warning, leaving her suspended in midair.
Megumi Fushiguro immediately seized the opportunity.
"Knock her down, Nue!"
High above them, Nue folded its wings and dove toward Maki Zenin like a fighter jet.
Blue-white lightning surged across its crimson feathers as it rapidly closed the distance.
With her body falling through the air, Maki Zenin had nowhere to dodge.
She tightened her grip on her weapon.
If she could not avoid the attack, she would meet it head-on.
"Come on!"
She raised her blade and struck directly at the descending Nue.
Boom!
The collision sent a violent shock through the air.
Unable to withstand both the impact and the electricity, Maki Zenin was knocked straight toward the rooftop.
Crash!
Her body struck the ground, smashing through several tiles. However, the momentum did not stop there. She continued sliding backward, sparks and lightning scraping across the rooftop until she finally crashed into the railing at the edge.
The metal railing shook violently under the impact.
For a moment, Maki Zenin remained on the ground.
Megumi Fushiguro lowered his hands and turned toward Akira, who had been watching the entire match with his arms crossed.
"Hey, that counts as my win, right?"
His expression was somewhat sour. Although he had managed to land a clean hit, the effort required to bring down Maki Zenin had been far greater than he expected.
Akira did not even bother looking at Nue.
"Not yet. Look at Maki Zenin."
"Huh?"
Megumi Fushiguro immediately turned back.
At that moment, a flash of steel shot upward.
Slash!
A short blade cut through the air and sliced off part of Nue's wing.
The enormous shikigami cried out and hurriedly pulled away, leaving several crimson feathers drifting through the air.
Maki Zenin slowly pushed herself up from the broken rooftop.
Her hair had come loose, and blood was seeping from several wounds on her face. Her uniform was covered in dust, while the exposed skin of her arms showed signs of burns from Nue's electricity.
However, the smile on her face had become even more dangerous.
"Don't get happy too soon, Megumi Fushiguro."
Megumi Fushiguro frowned.
"It's only a matter of time," he replied. "With your body already injured, how much longer do you think you can last?"
As he spoke, he released his hand signs.
Nue circled overhead once before disappearing back into the shadows.
"I can fight all night."
Maki Zenin reached down and picked up her main weapon with one hand. With the other, she smoothly returned her short blade to its sheath.
She then adjusted her grip and settled into a fighting stance.
Every movement was clean and precise. Even after taking that direct hit, there was no obvious hesitation in her actions.
The longer Megumi Fushiguro watched, the more uneasy he became.
He had seen how much damage Nue's electricity could cause. Combined with the force of being slammed into the rooftop, an ordinary Jujutsu Sorcerer would have had difficulty standing.
Yet Maki Zenin was already preparing to charge again.
As if reading his thoughts, Maki Zenin spoke.
"Stop staring. I don't have Cursed Energy. This body is what I got in exchange."
She raised her weapon slightly.
"Heavenly Restriction."
Megumi Fushiguro's eyes narrowed.
He understood what those words meant.
In Jujutsu, restrictions generally followed the principle of equivalent exchange. By accepting certain conditions or disadvantages, a person could obtain corresponding benefits.
Revealing One's Hand was one example, while certain barriers also relied on similar restrictions.
Heavenly Restriction was different in that it was imposed upon a person from birth. Its conditions were innate and could not simply be removed through training or ordinary Jujutsu.
For Maki Zenin, that restriction had taken away almost all of her Cursed Energy in exchange for extraordinary physical abilities.
As a direct descendant of one of the Three Great Clans, she should have possessed at least enough Cursed Energy to see Cursed Spirits, even if she had failed to inherit an Innate Technique.
Instead, her Heavenly Restriction had left her with such little Cursed Energy that she could not even see them without special glasses.
In exchange, her physical abilities had been enhanced far beyond ordinary human limits.
Her strength, speed, reflexes, and endurance were all on a completely different level.
Even an Olympic champion would be no match for her in a contest of physical ability.
And that was the body Megumi Fushiguro was now facing.