Chapter 53: Sukuna
"What are you going to do with my body?"
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"Sukuna" suddenly reached out and grabbed his own neck, but the voice that came out was Yuji Itadori's.
Sukuna felt the loss of control over his body, full of confusion and doubt: "Why can you still move?"
Yuji Itadori moved his body, looking completely natural: "What are you talking about? This is my body, isn't it? And who are you? Am I possessed by a ghost?"
"Ryomen Sukuna."
Kamihara Hajime's black Cursed Energy, extending from his earring, wrapped around his hand, and a section of a blade slowly emerged from his flat palm. He smiled and explained to Itadori.
"Originally a Curse Master from the Heian period, he became a Curse after death, and his twenty fingers became Special Grade Cursed Objects…"
"Twenty fingers?"
Itadori's focus was somewhat unusual. Then he saw the imposing young man opposite him miraculously pull a long sword out of thin air from his hand. The meticulously forged blade swallowed the gentle moonlight, transforming it into a sharp, cold gleam.
Itadori swallowed: "Um… what do you want to do with that sword?"
Megumi Fushiguro, whose injuries were mostly healed, looked at Itadori, his expression somewhat conflicted: "Yuji Itadori, according to Jujutsu Sorcerer regulations, you will now be regarded as a Curse…"
"What… what will happen?"
Megumi Fushiguro paused, then uttered the cold word: "Exorcised!"
"Doesn't that mean I'll die? No, I'm perfectly fine right now, look…"
Itadori easily hopped around, pulled at his cheeks, and did a few squats in place. Megumi Fushiguro watched this scene, sweat beading on his forehead. He couldn't tell if the being in front of him was Itadori himself or a Curse in disguise, and this was a Special Grade Curse that had regained a physical body; he absolutely couldn't let it escape!
"Don't worry, I'll know once I try." Kamihara Hajime's words, as if he was discussing what to eat for supper, made Megumi Fushiguro's face darken.
"Genichi, don't mess around. If it really doesn't work…"
Kamihara Hajime rested Totsuka-no-Tsurugi on his shoulder, looking at Megumi Fushiguro with disdain: "Tsk tsk, Megumi, why do you always think about being a 'suicide bomber'? I'm a Special Grade now, come on, have a little faith in me. Besides, even if this is Sukuna, it's only the strength of one finger, I even find it a bit boring."
"Heh heh!"
A slit opened on Yuji Itadori's cheek, like a miniature mouth, and Sukuna's voice emerged from it: "Jujutsu Sorcerer—"
Before he could finish, there was a "smack," and a hand slapped this eerie mouth. Itadori, like swatting a fly, interrupted Sukuna's words. Then, another slit opened on the back of his hand. Although it didn't hurt, it greatly annoyed Yuji Itadori, so his left hand swiftly slapped this mouth shut again.
"This hateful brat! His body is too strange!"
Kamihara Hajime turned around and smiled, interrupting Yuji Itadori's actions: "Yuji Itadori, you can control your body, right? How about this, you let Sukuna out first. I want to see this Curse King, though he might be a bit weak right now."
The mouth on Yuji Itadori's superimposed hand grew more grotesque, but it said nothing more. Yuji Itadori hesitated, then spoke: "Really? I feel like this Sukuna guy is very dangerous."
Yuji Itadori was startled. The young man in front of him had disappeared from his spot, and at the same time, a hand resting on his shoulder made his heart tremble. That playful voice was already in his ear: "It's fine, if it really doesn't work, I can run very fast too."
Yuji Itadori didn't understand these things, but he was very receptive to advice. Since this black-haired ponytail boy, whose methods exceeded his imagination, seemed so confident, he would do as he said. Besides, if something went wrong, he could just regain control of his body. What should he do now? He would try it first.
After closing his eyes for a while, Yuji Itadori's body again appeared with those black markings, covering his face with an eerie hue. His eyes, along with the slits below the outer corners of his eyes, all opened, four sinister eyes filled with cruel killing intent. Sukuna raised his hand and smoothed his hair back, blood-colored sparks erupting from between his stark white teeth: "Then let me show you."
The ground beneath his feet suddenly spun and cracked. In Sukuna's unrestrained, sinister grin, his backward-swung claw tore through the air with a sharp screech. Even if a wall of bronze and iron stood there, the enraged Sukuna could tear it to shreds.
But this lightning-fast tear only shredded a mass of air. There was not much surprise in Sukuna's eyes; his shifting gaze searched for Kamihara Hajime's figure, and almost instantly, he locked onto that smiling face, which looked more like it was on a spring outing.
"Dismantle!"
Invisible slashes, dense and numerous, engulfed the spot where Kamihara Hajime was, but then a strange scene made Sukuna's smile freeze. The rising dust there expanded and contracted, then vanished. The rooftop, which should have been cut and collapsed, was now completely intact, and the person standing there was also unharmed.
"Oh? That's interesting. You try mine too."
Just as Sukuna raised his hands to bring them together, a startling pain shot through both of his arms. He looked at his two severed arms on the ground; the blood from the severed ends stopped flowing before it could even drip. Then he looked up at Kamihara Hajime, who was caressing the Totsuka-no-Tsurugi in his hand, not a drop of blood on it.
"Is this your Technique?"
The flesh at Sukuna's severed arms began to grow wildly, and in the blink of an eye, two complete arms extended from the severed points. If it weren't for the severed arms on the ground, which were beginning to dissipate but hadn't completely vanished, one wouldn't even be able to tell that Sukuna's arms had just been severed in an instant.
"Is one finger really not enough?"
Kamihara Hajime's muttered words deepened the smile on Sukuna's face. Then he twirled his sword and paced towards Sukuna: "Your Reverse Cursed Technique is very strong, and you must be very confused about what just happened, right? My Technique is called 'Time Wheel.' Simply put, I can accelerate my own time, so I just walked over, cut off your arms with the sword in my hand, and then went back."
Sukuna raised his hand to his forehead; this boiling killing intent was almost impossible to suppress. "He revealed his Technique? But what about the move that made my previous attacks have no effect… Did he reverse his own time?"
Then Sukuna's gaze towards Kamihara Hajime changed. Although it was still chilling, it was no longer the way he observed 'ants' before.
"Now it's my turn."
"Domain…" Just as Sukuna's fingers came together, the effect of a Technique was completed a step, or rather, an instant, earlier.
Time Wheel Spin
Kamihara Hajime, who had almost instinctively cut off Sukuna's head with a single slash, forcefully stopped his movements. This was Itadori's body. Although Sukuna could use Reverse Cursed Technique to heal this body, it wouldn't be good to be so brutal himself, making him look more like a villain than Sukuna.
So, he casually threw Totsuka-no-Tsurugi into Sukuna's abdomen. Releasing his hand, Kamihara Hajime then punched that face. Taking a deep breath, he gripped the boiling Cursed Energy in his hand, striking the defenceless Sukuna in this stopped world as if hitting a sandbag during training, sending him soaring off the ground.
"Release."
"Bang!"
With a loud bang, Sukuna appeared on the wall of the opposite building, impaled through the abdomen by Totsuka-no-Tsurugi. The light blue and pitch-black Cursed Energy glow then slowly dissipated from where Kamihara Hajime stood.
Sukuna, spewing a large mouthful of blood, felt as if he had instantly been in a kaleidoscope, constantly spinning erratically, confusing his consciousness in just a fleeting moment. And then there were those attacks, like surging waves crashing down from all directions.
"These injuries… couldn't have been caused by a single attack, but they all appeared simultaneously. Such a Technique…"
"Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine!"
Sukuna, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, forcibly expanded his Domain. A landscape of mountains of corpses and seas of blood erased the surrounding scenery. Sukuna, half-naked, his upper body stained with an evil tableau painted by spilled crimson blood, stood before a tall Buddhist altar. The calm sea of blood beneath his feet reflected Sukuna and the altar behind him.
This Buddhist altar, however, was not as solemn and radiant as it should be. On the contrary, its four sides bore gigantic mouths with huge, stark white teeth. Its base was piled high with the skeletal remains of countless unknown horned beasts. This was no Buddha—it was a demon from hell!
"With only one finger, my Cursed Energy isn't enough to sustain the Domain for too long, and this troublesome brat's Technique is very tricky. Heh heh… Jujutsu Sorcerers are truly troublesome in every era!"
Dismantle, Cleave
The ordinary, repeatable slash—Dismantle, and the lethal, one-hit slash targeting enemies with Cursed Energy—Cleave. Within his Domain, these two slashes would continuously attack the target until Malevolent Shrine disappeared.
As the chaotic storm was about to sweep in, Kamihara Hajime activated his Technique, sending Megumi Fushiguro, Byakko, and Itadori's two seniors out of the area. Only then did he return to Sukuna's Domain.
"It's different from the Domains I've encountered before. It's like Shuten-dōji's, it doesn't trap the enemy, but in exchange, its range is increased, and there's this feeling…"
The deadly sense of crisis didn't come from any specific object. At this moment, Kamihara Hajime only felt invisible blades from all directions, their edges, sharp enough to cleave the entire space, almost at his throat.
New Shadow Style: Simple Domain
Kamihara Hajime used this so-called "Domain of the weak," then drew Onikiri and Spider Cutter. Technique released!
Infinite slashes poured in without pause. Kamihara Hajime swung the blades in his hands, creating a swirling vortex of sword light that made the surroundings impenetrable. The slashes struck the blades, but due to insufficient strength, they couldn't cut through the two swords. Kamihara Hajime suddenly tilted his head and dodged, then his right shoulder split open diagonally downwards.
Although the wound reversed and disappeared the instant it appeared, this remarkably lethal slash also made Kamihara Hajime slightly more serious. Technique Lapse, Time Wheel Spin!
Kamihara Hajime, appearing beside Sukuna, maintained his posture with the blade in hand. Then, streaks of blood seeped from his body, but before they could fully stain his surrounding clothes, they all vanished again. Meanwhile, Sukuna's already severed arms began to turn to dust as they fell to the ground.
The scene of mountains of corpses and seas of blood also dissipated, revealing the starry night sky. Sukuna lowered his head, looking at his lost arms. This time, under his Reverse Cursed Technique, the wounds healed extremely slowly. His four eyes slightly closed: "I look forward to next time…"
Before he could finish, he had completely closed his eyes. All the markings on his half-kneeling body dissipated, and the sinister aura vanished completely.
The first thing Yuji Itadori said when he opened his eyes again was, "It hurts so much!" He looked at his body and found no injuries; in fact, he was perfectly healthy, with not a single part missing. Yet, there seemed to be a severe, faint pain, almost like a hallucination.
Looking up, Itadori saw the black-haired ponytail boy from before, bending over and smiling at him. The scary sword he had been holding was also gone.
"Hello, let's formally introduce ourselves. My name is Kamihara Hajime."
Looking at the hand extended by the boy named Kamihara Hajime, Itadori paused, then took his hand and stood up. After looking around at the completely altered surroundings, he noticed that Fushiguro and the two seniors were gone: "Uh, it was so dark in there just now, so what happened outside? Did you defeat Sukuna? Where are Fushiguro and the seniors?"
"There, over there."
Following the direction Kamihara Hajime pointed, Yuji Itadori indeed saw Megumi Fushiguro, who had noticed the Domain's disappearance, walking towards them. He finally let out a sigh of relief: "Phew! It's good that everyone is okay."
Kamihara Hajime looked over with him, a gentle smile on his face: "Do you only care about others? Yuji Itadori, you have become Ryomen Sukuna's vessel. I just defeated him when he wasn't at full strength. He hasn't been exorcised, because… only when you die will Ryomen Sukuna, who resides in you, die."
Startled, Yuji Itadori saw that Kamihara Hajime didn't seem like he was going to attack, and quickly explained: "Um… isn't there any other way? Besides, I'm completely confused just hearing what you guys say."
Kamihara Hajime patted his shoulder: "No rush, someone will be responsible for your situation."
As for such a troublesome matter, involving a Special Grade Cursed Object, the resurrection and incarnation of the legendary Curse King Ryomen Sukuna, and how to deal with Itadori, etc., of course, it should be fully entrusted to the most powerful and omnipotent Teacher Gojo Satoru!
"Even if you say that, it doesn't hide your intention to be lazy."
In a room covered with talismans, Gojo Satoru sat backwards on a chair, observing Yuji Itadori, who was tied up in the center, while complaining to his student leaning against the wall.
Under Six Eyes, he easily saw through Yuji Itadori's condition and found that it was indeed true. He stroked his chin, showing an interested smile: "You can control your body, right? Do you feel anything unusual?"
Yuji Itadori nodded: "Of course I can. As for anything unusual, I sometimes hear that voice, it's so noisy in my ear!"
Gojo Satoru stood up and paced around Yuji Itadori: "Yuji Itadori, you've seen Ryomen Sukuna, haven't you? A Curse like him, if he recovers to full strength, will kill many people. And the old folks here are very timid, clamoring to kill you, but I think that's a bit of a waste."
"A waste?"
Yuji Itadori wasn't curious about who wanted to kill him. In fact, after he calmed down and thought about it, he concluded that his own death seemed to be the best solution. Otherwise, if that terrifying guy came out, he would kill many people.
'You are strong, you must help others. You must die surrounded by people.'
His grandfather's words still seemed to echo in his ears. Yuji Itadori secretly thought: "If it really comes down to it… then I'll let them kill me. If it can solve that Sukuna, then I'll have indirectly saved many people, right?"
"So I proposed a suggestion."
Gojo Satoru's words interrupted his thoughts: "If you die, Sukuna will also die with you. And you are an extremely rare 'vessel' that can contain Sukuna. So, as long as you absorb all twenty of Sukuna's fingers, and then we kill you, Sukuna will be completely exorcised, leaving no trace."
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