The ruins had not cooled.
Lightning scars still marked the ground where Hajime Kashimo had vanished.
And in the center of it—
Toji Fushiguro knelt, body barely holding together.
Broken ribs.
Burned nerves.
Blood soaking the shattered concrete.
For the first time in a long time—
The Sorcerer Killer looked vulnerable.
And someone was watching.
The Brother Arrives
A faint ripple of blood spread across the cracked street.
It wasn't from Toji.
It moved on its own.
Shaping itself like a living vein crawling forward.
Then a figure stepped out of the shadows—
Calm.
Focused.
Eyes heavy with grief.
Choso.
His voice was quiet.
"You killed Yuji."
Toji slowly raised his head.
There was no denial.
No excuse.
Only silence.
Blood for Blood
The air thickened as blood gathered around Choso's body.
Floating.
Rotating.
Condensing into high-density projectiles.
"Piercing Blood."
The attack fired like a railgun.
Toji twisted—
But his injuries slowed him.
The beam tore through his shoulder and exploded behind him.
Concrete melted.
Buildings cracked.
Choso didn't stop.
Supernova.
Slicing Exorcism.
Flowing Red Scale maximum output.
The entire battlefield became a crimson storm.
The Difference
Toji dodged as long as he could.
But this wasn't speed vs speed.
It was endurance vs emotion.
And Choso had nothing left to lose.
Each attack was fueled by grief.
Each strike was aimed to kill.
Toji finally managed to close distance—
Slashing through a blood construct—
Driving his blade toward Choso's chest—
But—
A sudden surge of cursed energy flooded the air.
Both men froze.
A presence far heavier than before.
Far colder.
Far crueler.
The King Intervenes
On the edge of the battlefield—
Smiling—
Stood Ryomen Sukuna.
"You're both disappointing."
The pressure from his presence alone cracked the remaining structures.
Choso's eyes widened in fury.
"You—"
Before he could finish—
Sukuna moved.
One slash.
Invisible.
Instant.
Toji barely blocked.
But Choso—
Was not the target.
Sukuna had aimed at the entire district.
A casual attack—
Yet powerful enough to erase everything.
Including civilians still trapped underground.
Choso felt them.
Their blood.
Their fear.
Their hearts beating below.
The Decision
Toji braced himself to dodge.
But Choso didn't.
He stepped forward.
"Blood Manipulation: Maximum Flow."
Every drop of blood within his body surged outward.
He created a massive, layered shield.
Thick enough to stop a building.
Dense enough to absorb a city-cleaving slash.
Sukuna's attack collided.
The explosion tore the sky apart.
The ground beneath them collapsed.
Toji was thrown back violently.
When the dust cleared—
The underground shelters were intact.
The civilians alive.
But Choso—
Was kneeling.
Half his torso gone.
Blood evaporating into steam.
A Brother's Last Words
Toji staggered upright.
He looked at Choso silently.
Choso coughed weakly.
"I couldn't save Yuji…"
His eyes softened slightly.
"But I can save someone."
For the first time—
He didn't look at Toji with hatred.
Only resolve.
"Don't waste this."
Sukuna watched with mild amusement.
"How noble."
Choso's body began to crumble.
Not from fear.
Not from defeat.
But from giving everything.
His last remaining blood formed a small red thread—
Which drifted toward Toji's chest.
It didn't attack.
It sealed.
Temporarily stabilizing Toji's internal bleeding.
A final act.
Not for revenge.
But for balance.
The Aftermath
Choso's body dissolved completely.
Only red mist remained.
Toji stood there in silence.
The man who wanted him dead—
Had just saved his life.
Sukuna chuckled softly.
"How emotional."
Toji's eyes hardened.
"You'll regret stepping in."
Sukuna smiled wider.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
The battlefield had changed again.
Kashimo died seeking glory.
Choso died protecting others.
And Toji—
Was beginning to realize—
This war wasn't just about strength anymore.
It was about what remained after strength destroyed everything else.
Sukuna turned his back slightly.
"Recover, Sorcerer Killer."
"Entertain me properly next time."
And with that—
The King vanished.
Leaving behind silence.
And a hunter who had just been saved by the very thing he never believed in—
Brotherhood.