Chương 8: 8.- How to tame your Mahoraga
"I did it," declared Megumi with a certainty that left no room for doubt.
'Incredible,' thought a stunned Gojo.
"Well... seems like my services aren't needed, so I'm out," said a clearly uncomfortable Shoko, who had been brought here abruptly.
"Oh—yes, let me teleport you back to Jujutsu High," said Gojo, circling Shoko and trailing his fingers on the ground, preparing the teleportation.
"All set!" Gojo told Shoko. "Bye-bye," Shoko waved before disappearing.
"Alright, she's gone. Shall we continue your training?" asked Gojo.
"Fine. Though I'm surprised by your indifference. From what I've read, being able to use Reverse Cursed Technique isn't common at all," Megumi shared his thoughts.
"Meh, in case you didn't know, Shoko could use positive energy from the day she was born. So the fact that a 6-year-old can use it doesn't impress me at all," Gojo lied. "After all, it's just multiplying negative energy with energy, creating positive energy," he explained.
"Actually, I think of it more like a cramp or tremor. To perform the technique, you have to make your cursed energy vibrate intensely," Megumi added his perspective.
"Well, something I've noticed is that everyone has their own way of using reverse energy. So, if thinking of it that way works for you, that's fine," Gojo replied, ruffling Megumi's hair.
"Excuse me, I'm going to tame a Shikigami," Megumi said, brushing off Gojo's hand.
"Alright... I'll stay 200 meters away. If I see anything go wrong, I'll help, though I doubt anything will happen. You're strong," Gojo responded casually, giving Megumi a thumbs-up before flying off.
'Okay, let's get started,' Megumi thought as he placed his hands in a deer formation and said, "[Round Deer]."
From Megumi's shadow emerged a silhouette that quickly took the form of a majestic deer. Locking its gaze on our protagonist, it let out a high-pitched sound and began to emit positive energy throughout its body.
'Oh, so my deer is different from Sukuna's. Makes sense; after all, the Shikigami Sukuna summoned in the manga were definitely more terrifying and prehistoric than those the original Megumi summoned,' Megumi thought, observing the appearance of his newly summoned Shikigami.
"Alright, I won't waste any more time," he said, charging at the Shikigami with cursed energy reinforcement.
Seeing Megumi attempting to rush him, the deer started running, trying to evade him. It seemed this battle would be one of endurance. Fortunately for Megumi, and unfortunately for the deer, he was faster, so within seconds he caught up, jumped onto its back, and put it in a chokehold.
'Good, I've bypassed its positive energy barrier, which was the trickiest part. Now, I just have to destroy it. Too bad the void technique doesn't work on beings made purely of cursed energy; otherwise, this fight would be over in no time,' Megumi thought before driving his fist into the deer, preventing it from regenerating by blocking that space with his arm. He then extended his shadow into thousands of needles from within the deer, exorcising it instantly.
"One down, two to go," said Megumi, deciding not to waste more time. He formed a tiger with his hands and yelled, "[Tiger Funeral]."
Upon being summoned, the tiger leapt toward Megumi with immense speed, catching him by surprise. Seeing it just inches from his body, Megumi quickly reinforced his body with cursed energy and narrowly dodged its attack.
'Phew, that was close. It's really fast. Though if I gave it my all, I'd end this quickly, but the fact that this Shikigami didn't appear in the anime makes me curious to see what it's capable of,' Megumi thought as he watched the tiger turn around and glare fiercely at him. Suddenly, he was confused to find himself viewing his surroundings in third person.
'What the heck, why am I seeing myself?' Megumi thought. He didn't have time to dwell on it, as he saw himself moving forward. He deduced he was seeing from the tiger's perspective. Knowing that if he didn't move, he'd take a serious hit, he tried to flee, but due to his distorted perspective, he ended up moving toward the tiger, receiving its claw swipe across his body.
"Ugh, that hurt, you damned cat," Megumi growled, then unleashed positive energy from his entire body, dissipating the tiger's technique and restoring his vision to normal.
"Argh!!!," the tiger roared as it made contact with the positive energy Megumi released.
"What, did that hurt, kitty? Don't worry, you won't feel anything soon. I'm already bored of you," said Megumi, piercing the tiger with a water cannon, instantly exorcising it.
'Well... I guess I understand why it's called [Tiger Funeral]. For a moment, I thought I'd witness my own funeral,' Megumi's lips curved slightly at the thought.
"Alright, I guess it's time to move on to the main course," said Megumi. Immediately after saying those words, he used Reverse Cursed Technique to return to peak condition. Then, in preparation for the upcoming battle, he channeled electrical energy through his entire body, drastically boosting his speed and senses.
'Alright, I'm ready,' Megumi thought, taking a deep breath, kneeling, and placing his arms forward before saying:
"Sacred Artifact, sway and vibrate, eight handles…"
"Sword of Eight Handles"
"Divergent Precept Divine General"
"MAHORAGAAAAA!!!"
"Ha... Damn, I haven't even had time to stand up, and it's already behind me," Megumi thought as he sensed Mahoraga's presence at his back.
"Swoosh"
Mahoraga's sword sliced through the air where Megumi had just been standing.
"Damn, it's really fast. If I didn't have cursed energy with electric properties running through my body, I might've been killed," he said, a drop of sweat sliding down his forehead.
"?"
Mahoraga's head turned toward Megumi, startling him. Deciding to counterattack, Megumi extended his shadow into sharp tentacles and launched them at Mahoraga. Observing the incoming attack, Mahoraga charged at Megumi, slicing through the tentacles with his sword, his arm resembling the blades of a helicopter.
What the Shikigami didn't anticipate, or seemed to ignore, was that each piece of the tentacles he cut transformed into a rabbit, and these gradually began surrounding the entire battlefield. Slowly, the Shikigami drew closer to our protagonist, and when it was within reach, it struck with a powerful punch.
"BOOM"
The sound echoed as Megumi and Mahoraga's fists collided.
"Click"
The sound marked the adaptation of the imposing Shikigami.
"Damn, there goes a day's worth of accumulated cursed energy," thought Megumi, dodging another punch aimed at his head.
"Swoosh"
"Swoosh"
"Swoosh"
Mahoraga's attacks kept missing, unable to connect due to Megumi's speed and intangibility.
'Well... this is a stalemate. Neither he nor I can hurt each other. But the longer I fight, the more cursed energy I'll need to actually damage him with my punches,' thought Megumi. 'The only good thing is that during the fight, I thought of partially manifesting the eyes of the Tiger Funeral in my shadow, so I can see through them, even if my head is inside the Shadow Inventory.'
Realizing he couldn't waste any more energy on Mahoraga, Megumi sank into his shadow. From it, the partial form of Orochi emerged, biting Mahoraga and lifting him into the sky. Immediately after, Megumi emerged from his shadow, just as Mahoraga sliced through Orochi's head.
"Click", marking Mahoraga's adaptation to Orochi's poison.
Seeing the Shikigami's impending fall, Megumi directed all the previously dispersed rabbits to gather where the Shikigami was about to land, trapping it to buy some time.
"Alright… this is the most powerful attack I have right now. If this doesn't work, I'll have to call Gojo," Megumi thought.
"Swoosh," "Poof"
"Swoosh," "Poof"
"Click"
"Swoosh," "Poof"
As Mahoraga was attacked by thousands of rabbits, whose numbers continued to grow, Megumi extended his shadow into a huge wall, from which fifty trunks emerged, all aimed at Mahoraga's location.
Originally, Megumi intended for each of these trunks to shoot high-pressure water jets to pierce Mahoraga. But in the heat of the battle, he had an epiphany, realizing he could combine Nue's electricity and Orochi's poison with the water from Max Elephant, resulting in a new maximum technique.
"[Maximum Technique: Poison Tempest]", Megumi roared, attacking Mahoraga just as it was about to break free from the rabbits, poisoning, piercing fifty holes through its body, and burning it as electricity surged through it.
"Thud!" echoed the dull sound of Mahoraga's wheel hitting the ground before it dissolved into shadows, along with its entire body.
This… was the first time in all of history that a user of the Ten Shadows technique had tamed The Divine General Mahoraga.
However, the one who achieved such a feat now lay unconscious on the ground from exhaustion. He wouldn't realize the magnitude of his actions until the next day.
—[Gojo Satoru's Perspective]—
From high in the sky, 200 meters above Megumi, Satoru Gojo, the strongest sorcerer, had a perfect view of Megumi's actions, courtesy of the "Six Eyes."
Satoru wasn't the least bit concerned about Megumi's first summons; he knew that the boy could defeat them without question. The only thing that worried and intrigued him was the final summon Megumi would attempt that day.
Satoru was well aware of Megumi's abilities. Throughout their training, he had witnessed his strength and talent, watching him grow and develop his skills at an exceptionally fast pace. So much so that, in his opinion, only special-grade sorcerers with domains could defeat him if he gave his all.
Still, a certain uncertainty lingered within him, so as he saw Megumi preparing to start the battle against Mahoraga, his body tensed, ready to save Megumi if necessary.
"Swoosh," the sound of Mahoraga's sword slicing through the air reached his position.
'It almost hit him,' thought Satoru. 'If he didn't have that lightning armor boosting his speed and those massive amounts of stored cursed energy, this would be a different story.'
Watching Megumi send tentacles toward Mahoraga, Satoru thought, 'That won't work,' only to see that the sliced tentacle pieces transformed into rabbits and began multiplying across the battlefield.
'What are you planning, kid?' Moving from his position as the rabbits blocked his view, Satoru decided to get close enough so Mahoraga wouldn't sense his presence.
"Boom," the clash of fists between Megumi and the ultimate Shikigami emitted a sound like an explosion.
'I think I'm a little jealous,' thought Satoru. 'Having so much cursed energy in his reinforcement makes him practically invulnerable to Mahoraga's attacks, while also letting him move faster.'
"Click"
'But that tactic won't work forever. If Mahoraga adapts to that strength and speed, he'll need to keep increasing the amount of cursed energy in his reinforcement, and eventually, he'll run out of stored energy. He needs to finish this quickly,' Satoru thought.
'Though... all those multiplying rabbits tell me he's far from running out of energy,' Satoru reflected, seeing more and more rabbits around him.
"Swoosh"
"Swoosh"
"Swoosh"
'It seems he's realized he can't waste any more energy on Mahoraga. Now he's just dodging its attacks. I wonder what his next move will be.'
"Oh... partial summon, smart. If he'd summoned Orochi fully, he'd surely have one less Shikigami in his roster, but the question is, why take it to the sky only to flee?" Gojo thought out loud, stroking his chin.
'Oh... it looks like he wants to buy time. Though with Mahoraga's adaptation, he'll only have 3 seconds; he has to hurry.'
"Swoosh," "Poof"
"Swoosh," "Poof"
"Click"
"Swoosh," "Poof"
"It's time, Megumi! You got this! It's time to release all that energy!" Gojo cheered Megumi from afar.
"[Maximum Technique: Poison Tempest]," Megumi's roar echoed throughout the area, and with it, Mahoraga's fall was announced.
"Thud!!"
—[Back to the Present]—
Gojo descended slowly, his eyes shining with admiration and a proud smile on his face. "You did it, Megumi!" he exclaimed as he landed softly beside him. "You have tamed Mahoraga; this is undoubtedly a historic achievement!"
"I knew you had potential, but this... you've exceeded all my expectations. I'm looking forward to seeing how far you can go."
"This is just the beginning, you know? Now that you've reached this level, the expectations will only be higher. But I trust you, Megumi. You're capable of amazing things."
Even though Gojo had realized long ago that Megumi was already fast asleep, he kept talking.
With one last broad smile and a wink, Gojo finally added, "Now, get some rest. You've earned it. But don't rest too long—there's still a lot of work to do!"
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Next chapter: Arrival at the Zenin Clan
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