If you exclude the element of technique, there are broadly three yardsticks for measuring a jujutsushi's ability.
Total cursed energy, output, and control ability.
Of these, control ability is the only one that can be raised purely through training.
Total amount and output are things you're born with.
There was a reason people said talent made up 90 percent of a jujutsushi.
There are special cases that break through their limits in the midst of trials, but only a select few ever get that chance.
In that sense, Ishigori was a blessed strongman.
Aside from Ryomen Sukuna and Gojo Satoru, there was no one worth comparing him to in terms of output. And he had a technique that could make perfect use of those conditions.
In other words, a cannon.
It was no accident that he had subdued the Shinjuku area and held onto the number two rank against opponents of equal standing.
-Gloop
"What...!"
Unfortunately, their compatibility was very, very bad.
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Ishigori's technique, [Blast], sounded grand in name only; in truth, it was no different from ordinary cursed energy discharge.
The only unusual parts were that it could be charged, fired in rapid succession, and used for guided bombardment. In short, it was the specialization of actions related to cursed energy discharge.
In terms of versatility, it was absurdly inefficient, but combined with Ishigori's monstrous output, it transformed into a vicious weapon.
In a way, it was also an advantage that he didn't need to worry about his technique overheating after [Domain Expansion].
In fact, he had once used that point to gain the upper hand in his battle with Hiromi Higuruma on the second day.
But in a situation like this, Ishigori's painfully simple technique became a liability.
Granite Blast
-Gloop
Even though it wasn't at maximum output, the Blast faded away without even leaving a scratch on the jelly-like surface.
After Hakari, [Akasha Yurayura] bounced happily in midair, pleased to have found another tasty morsel.
The massive-output Blast was converted into Junpei's cursed energy inside the black mist and flowed back to its owner.
'It absorbed my Blast. Can it recycle the opponent's cursed energy as its own?'
-Taat!
Junpei clicked his tongue and kicked off the ground, leaping toward Ishigori.
By now, black armor was wrapped around his body, glowing with a dark light.
The distance from the ground to the 60th floor where Ishigori stood was about 200 meters. At [Yellow Spot]'s speed of 340 km/h, he could cover it in three seconds.
With sunlight reflecting off him in a black sheen, he looked like a jet charging straight at its target.
'The shikigami isn't moving. And yet he's coming straight at me?'
Flying through the air while leaving behind the jellyfish that could absorb attacks.
He liked that courage very much.
"Sweet, Yoshino!"
Then all I have to do is intercept him with everything I've got.
I'm confident in my role as anti-air artillery.
Granite Blast-Cuatro
-Boom!
The Blast fired from the tip of Ishigori's head split into four streams.
The cursed-energy bombardment, now endowed with guidance, curved like snakes and targeted Junpei gliding through the air.
-Whir!
Junpei dodged the first Blast flying in from the side with a dazzling aerial maneuver, then formed hand signs in a posture like he was falling upside down.
[Bullet]
-Kkudeuk!
Behind him, the tentacles of [Akasha Yurayura], which had been waiting idly, twisted and formed a massive spike.
The cursed projectile, now shaped less like a stinger and more like a lance, shot out to counter the Blast aimed at Junpei.
In raw power, the Blast was overwhelming, but [Bullet]'s piercing force and speed were nothing to ignore.
"Tch!"
Ishigori, who had intended to simply bulldoze through it, had no choice but to hurriedly adjust his trajectory at that unexpected speed.
With his control thrown off, the second and third Blasts lost control and shot off in strange directions, naturally leaving [Bullet] to target Ishigori, who was exposed in midair.
Junpei, having quickly thrown himself aside to evade, appeared in front of Ishigori and deflected the final Blast.
His right arm armor was half shattered, apparently from blocking it with his right hand, but the bare hand underneath was fine except for a little scorching.
"With your bare hands...!"
-Pow!
The tip of Junpei's foot, as he charged in with nimble speed, slammed into Ishigori's temple.
-Crash!
After rolling once, Ishigori sprang back up and rubbed his head.
His skull was ringing a little, but it shouldn't be enough to seriously affect his movements.
He threw a question at Junpei, who was standing at an angle.
"What'd you do with that weird jellyfish?"
In terms of compatibility, Yoshino Junpei had the perfect upper hand. There was nothing he could do against that jellyfish.
Maybe it was an even more troublesome opponent than that bitch Uro.
So he was curious why Junpei had given up that advantage and charged in.
Once the real fight began, there would be no need for words, but he wanted to ask.
Why he had played along with his stubbornness.
After thinking for a moment, Junpei shrugged and answered with a sly grin.
"It wouldn't be fun if the main dish came out first, would it?"
"K, kahahahahaha!!!"
At that witty answer, Ishigori laughed so hard tears nearly came to his eyes.
Even while being overwhelmed, he didn't feel the slightest bit unpleasant.
How long had it been since he felt this way? It felt like the thirst built up over 400 years was finally being quenched.
'But it's still not enough.'
As long as the other side hadn't shown everything, he hadn't been able to pour out everything yet either.
It was a special-grade dessert truly worth challenging.
It was different from the chaotic table of the second day's melee, which was needlessly noisy but low in purity and all over the place.
"So come on. Take everything I have!"
He'd gladly guzzle down even straight liquor.
He might end up eating so much that his stomach burst and he died...
But wouldn't that be a good death?
-Bang!
The two men's hand-to-hand battle began.
-----------------------------------
-Pow! Pow! Pow!
Junpei was closer to a balanced type, while Ishigori stood at the extreme end of power, but the flow of their exchange had turned into a brute-force slugfest.
Instead of blocking, they countered. It was the kind of development suited to a fight between men exchanging heavy blows rather than flurries.
-Clang!
Junpei's fist and Ishigori's fist crossed paths and slammed into each other's faces.
A cross counter.
Unlike Ishigori, who staggered back, Junpei looked like he had taken almost no damage.
'The feel of it is a little weird...?'
His total amount seemed to be a little higher, but Junpei had the advantage in output.
If they kept trading one blow at a time like this, Junpei should be the one taking the loss, but the reality was the opposite.
He guessed it was probably because of that armor, but there was no way to know for sure.
Thinking he might need to find another method, Ishigori soon shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
Deep thinking didn't suit his temperament. Hadn't he always just trusted brute strength and charged in?
Since this was the final dessert, he didn't want to use any cheap tricks. Besides, he didn't even know how to do that.
"It's hard forcing it all down like this, Yoshino!"
"You said you were a glutton. Endure it!"
After shouting that, the two of them grabbed each other by the collar at the same time without another word.
It was an expression of resolve, and the remnant of a romance rare in this age.
-Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
Mindless punches that spared neither body nor self flew back and forth, shaking each other's skulls.
With not a single step to retreat, the intensity of the blows grew fiercer every time blood sprayed and shattered scales flew through the air.
A bare-knuckle slugfest with no dodging and no guarding unfolded, and savage cracking sounds rang out.
'I can break it! I can break it!'
'This... hurts more than I expected.'
Even as his fist was half shattered and blood streamed from his mouth and nose, Ishigori never lost his boisterous laugh.
By contrast, as the helmet covering Junpei's head was shaved away, he lost more and more of his smile.
For now, the [Moonlit Wave] pinned below was still absorbing the damage, but at this rate, it was only a matter of time before it was broken through.
'His output is beyond what I imagined. And the reflexes it takes to unleash that are top-notch too.'
Durability and power born from output.
His main attack style might be long-range, but Ishigori's true value lay in the tough hand-to-hand combat that came from his build.
Just the strength of his body reinforced by cursed energy was on par with Itadori Yuji and Hakari Kinji.
As if to prove that, the end of the ensuing slugfest drew near.
-Grab!
To make sure he couldn't run, Ishigori planted Junpei's foot to the ground by stepping on it, then yanked his head back with all his strength.
His carefully styled regent would be ruined, but he didn't care.
He had long since known that the trend was outdated.
And at that moment-
In response to a romance that had leapt across time, black flames bloomed.
[Black Flash]
-Baaang!
With a headbutt of [Black Flash] unleashed with everything he had, Junpei's helmet was completely destroyed.
Junpei, thrown backward, had a nosebleed streaming down his face.
"Guhh..."
"Ow, that hurts."
Rubbing his numb forehead, Ishigori took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.
As the smoke pierced his lungs, he felt the pain in the shattered area ease a little.
He could have followed up on Junpei, who was still lying there, but he didn't.
That wouldn't be sweet.
"How long are you going to lie there?"
"...It hurts, you know. I didn't know [Black Flash] would go off there either."
"We can't end it here. I'll wait, so get ready. Round 2."
As Ishigori smiled faintly, Junpei slowly got back to his feet.
His collapsed nose had already been healed with reversed cursed technique.
"You can use reversed cursed technique?"
"You can use it too, Ishigori-san, but you don't use it."
"I'm sturdy to begin with. This much just needs some ointment and a good night's sleep. Better to use it on offense than waste it on recovery."
Junpei thought that was a very Ishigori answer.
They'd thrown enough punches already, so now it was time to show their true selves.
And Ishigori was thinking the same thing.
Éclair Blast
At the tip of his finger, aimed like a gun barrel, cursed energy gathered and finished preparing to fire the cannon.
The jellyfish from before was nowhere nearby now. There was no way to dodge this cannon inside the building.
He had already confirmed before climbing up that it could pierce through the armor.
'I'll blow away the whole floor with him!'
-Boom!
Just as the beam fired like a bullet and was about to engulf Junpei,
"[Akasha Yurayura]."
Akasha Yurayura teleported in midair and blocked it head-on.
It was pushed back by the impact, but seeing it still standing strong made Ishigori's eyes widen.
"How..! I checked that you left it below!"
"There aren't any restrictions on summoning it. Sorry I didn't mention that earlier."
Ishigori's Blast was a pure mass of cursed energy, unaltered and untainted.
It was the food [Akasha Yurayura] liked best, and the food it absorbed best of all.
Thanks to that absorption, its charge was now complete.
-Woooooong!
"As thanks, I'll show you something good too."
As [Akasha Yurayura] greedily devoured the beam, its tentacles spread wide and revealed a mouth, and within it a blue sphere spewing plasma swelled larger and larger.
[Akasha Yurayura]'s attack, which returned absorbed attacks at double the force.
Similar to Ishigori's, but an even more intense mass of power waited only for its owner's command.
"Maximum-"
[Vortex]
-Thoooom!
Ishigori's body was already flying through the sky.
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