Chapter 23 — Defeat and Escape
Facing the short, ash‑skinned creature before him—a Special Grade Cursed Spirit who looked like a ridiculous gray goblin capable of spewing fire—Zenin Kyūjō could only stare in quiet disbelief.
If the small creature had kept its distance and fought from afar, maybe it could've lasted a little longer.
But instead, it chose to rush him head‑on.
If that was what it wanted, Kyūjō was more than willing to grant its wish.
In one smooth motion, Zenin Kyūjō swung his katana with one hand, slicing apart the blazing fireballs shooting toward him. His other hand clenched into a fist—and with a single, casual thrust—
—in the next instant, a Black Flash erupted from his knuckles.
The strike tore into space itself, launching straight toward the creature known as Jogo.
As dark, crackling distortions shimmered around Kyūjō's fist, Jogo froze in terror.
The sheer pressure radiating from the Black Flash made his entire body tighten in instinctive fear.
This human's Black Flash… it's terrifying!
If that punch hits me—will I… die?!
Before the attack even touched him, terror had already swallowed his mind.
"I—I can't take that hit! I have to—"
Jogo stopped.
A single word echoed inside his mind—die.
It felt like the word itself hovered in the air along with the approaching fist.
And he understood immediately: he could not afford to take that blow.
But the real problem was…
The punch was far too fast. No one could dodge something like this at such close range.
Dammit… he used his finishing move right from the start?!
Who even does that?!
And then—
A sharp, cracking sound rang out.
Zenin Kyūjō's punch landed directly on Jogo's forehead, piercing straight through his skull and exiting from the back of his head.
Kyūjō's arm barely trembled.
Jogo's body—Special Grade Cursed Spirit and disaster incarnate—crumbled into fragments from the point of impact, his form scattering into ash that drifted away in the wind.
A single strike.
Special Grade Cursed Spirit—Jogo.
Dead.
— — —
"…Gulp."
The battlefield fell silent.
The faint sound of someone swallowing echoed across the clearing.
It came from Mahito—another Special Grade—who instinctively gulped after witnessing the spectacle.
This human… is terrifying.
Were they sure they targeted the right person?
Was this not Gojo Satoru, the famed Strongest Sorcerer?
One punch—just one—and Jogo's head was obliterated.
Instant death.
Jogo hadn't even opened his Domain Expansion…
Not that it would've mattered.
Judging from the difference in power, even if Jogo had activated his Domain, the outcome would've likely remained the same.
But at the very least… he could've left them some useful information.
Now, Mahito felt utterly hopeless.
If Jogo—a spirit born from humanity's fear of natural disasters—could be erased so easily, then Mahito doubted he could survive even a single punch from this boy.
He instinctively stepped backward, hiding behind the other Cursed Spirits.
And then he noticed something wrong.
Someone was missing.
Huh? Where… is Geto?
— — —
Aside from Zenin Kyūjō, none of them noticed that Geto—rather, the brain-like curse parasitizing Geto Suguru's body—had vanished during the fight.
With his experience and centuries of cunning, Kenjaku had slipped away without anyone realizing it.
Kyūjō wasn't surprised.
He had already assumed the cursed brain would avoid direct combat.
With its bizarre technique and tactical expertise, that thing had countless ways to escape.
And just as he expected, the entity inhabiting Geto's body was already gone—either hiding intentionally or simply avoiding the fight from the beginning.
Of this group of Cursed Spirits, only a few truly shared emotional bonds—Jogo, Hanami, and Dagon (who was still maturing in his cocoon-like curse form).
Unfortunately for them… Kyūjō wasn't planning to let anyone walk away today.
Watching the other spirits flee while abandoning their ally, Kyūjō merely lifted a shoulder in mild amusement.
He briefly considered giving chase—but chose not to.
The most suspicious one was the cursed brain inside "Geto Suguru."
From the glimpse he'd caught with Infinity, that creature possessed a dangerous potential.
And although Kyūjō wasn't intimidated, he also knew that if the creature chose to flee, he had no reliable way to restrain it.
If he ran after the weaker curses, the fake Geto could double back and attack from behind.
If that happened, Okkotsu Yuta would be left alone against three Special Grade Cursed Spirits.
Considering the risk, Kyūjō made the steady judgment not to chase.
He then turned toward Yuta and said casually,
"Now it's balanced—one on one. Let's begin."
With that, Zenin Kyūjō lifted his katana and charged toward one of the remaining curses—a massive, octopus-like monstrosity.
Okkotsu Yuta, seeing Kyūjō move, drew his long katana as well and rushed toward another cursed spirit—the humanoid one with wooden horns protruding from its head.
— — —
The battle between Kyūjō and the "giant octopus" ended instantly.
Just like before—one strike.
If anything, this Cursed Spirit performed even worse than the gray-skinned goblin from earlier.
After killing it, Kyūjō didn't move to assist.
He simply stood at a distance, observing the fight between Okkotsu Yuta and the horned humanoid Cursed Spirit.
And to his surprise… the fight was rather interesting.
At the very least, this curse managed to activate a Domain Expansion.
It was a spirit whose abilities revolved around nature and plants. So naturally, its Domain was filled with floral and overgrown terrain.
The moment it expanded its Domain, its strength spiked dramatically—and with it came the guaranteed hit effect.
Caught off guard, Yuta struggled for a moment.
But Kyūjō made no move to intervene.
He merely watched in silence, offering neither help nor warning.
After all, in terms of raw power, Okkotsu Yuta was still stronger than this spirit.
Even though he didn't yet possess his own Domain, Yuta had an immense reserve of Cursed Energy, and with his Reverse Cursed Technique for healing, he could outlast his opponent in a drawn-out fight.
And sure enough—hours passed, until finally…
Something shifted within Yuta.
His swordsmanship improved drastically.
His control over Cursed Energy became sharper and more refined.
The better he controlled it, the more devastating his attacks became.
The tide began to turn.
Even though Hanami—a Special Grade Cursed Spirit—could maintain Domain Expansion for an extended time, the strain was clearly taking its toll.
One side was rapidly evolving.
The other… slowly breaking down.
Bit by bit, the scale tipped in Yuta's favor.
— — —
Up in the sky above, Gojo Satoru stood with arms crossed, quietly observing the battle between his student and the lone Special Grade curse.
His gaze also swept across the remnants of the earlier battlefield—evidence of Kyūjō's prior fights.
With a casual sigh, he murmured,
"…Sheesh. I step away for a few minutes and you guys already made a mess of everything?"
Just as the words left his lips, Gojo suddenly appeared beside Zenin Kyūjō.
"You're late," Kyūjō said dryly, turning to glance at him. "Two Special Grades already escaped."
Gojo shrugged, completely unapologetic.
"Eh, if they ran, they ran. We'll just kill them next time. Besides, you know how busy I am. Thanks to you, of course… my dear little friend—Zenin Kyūjō-san."
Kyūjō rolled his shoulders and replied bluntly, hiding nothing.
"Is that so? Then you should know… one of them—looked exactly like your dead best friend, Geto Suguru. It was a cursed entity inhabiting his body. And it even used his signature technique: Cursed Spirit Manipulation."
Gojo's expression froze.
He turned to Kyūjō, voice low.
"…You're not joking, are you?"
Kyūjō slowly shook his head. His tone was grim.
"It was strong. If it wanted to escape, I couldn't stop it."
He pointed toward the battlefield where Yuta was still fighting Hanami.
"Let's capture this one alive. Maybe it knows something."
"The cursed thing that took over Geto… there's something seriously off about it."
But before Kyūjō could finish his sentence, Gojo vanished in a blur—already rushing into the battlefield.
With a single strike brimming with Cursed Energy, he drove Hanami into the ground, knocking the curse out cold.
Then, without missing a beat, Gojo hoisted Hanami's body over his shoulder and looked back at the two.
"You both did great. I'll take this one with me."
And just like that, he disappeared.
— — —
Tokyo.
In a dark, filthy alley choked with garbage and barely any light.
Mahito stood with an unreadable expression, facing the one thing blocking his path.
The cursed brain inside Geto Suguru's body.
"Why are you stopping me?" Mahito said calmly. "We're not enemies, are we? I just want to be alone… I need to recover."
The cursed figure casually brushed Mahito's arm aside and stepped to the side.
"Heh. Scared, are you?" he sneered. "Running away after one Zenin Kyūjō? What'll you do when Gojo shows up? Curl up and die on the spot?"
Mahito snapped back instantly, eyes narrowing.
"Oh please. You think you can lecture me? Weren't you the one who ran first?! Because of you, Jogo, Hanami, and even Dagon are all dead!"
"Before you go mocking me, maybe take a good look in the mirror."
"If you hadn't fled, we might've had a chance. Fighting both those humans—didn't guarantee our loss!"
The creature paused for a moment, then replied quietly.
"No, Mahito. Truth is… even I couldn't beat that sorcerer."
"In all my life, I've never seen a human who can unleash Black Flash at will. Every strike he threw felt like it could erase the world itself."
"He's powerful. Incredibly so."
"But that doesn't mean we give up. I still have a plan."
The cursed man continued,
"Even if I can't defeat him… or Gojo Satoru… there's one existence even they can't compare to."
"The King of Curses—Ryomen Sukuna."
"If we manage to bring back that monster from a thousand years ago… everything will change. Our dream will become reality."
His voice was calm, calculated, and terrifyingly certain.
— — —
Three days later.
At the Jujutsu High Tokyo training field.
Gojo Satoru and Zenin Kyūjō sat side by side, casually watching the students spar in the courtyard.
Kyūjō turned his head and asked,
"So… the cursed spirit you captured the other day. Is it dead? Did you get anything out of it?"
Gojo nodded slowly, his expression tinged with regret.
"Nothing useful. It had strong willpower. All we got was its name. The moment I stepped away… it killed itself."
He sighed softly, then added,
"That spirit—Hanami—honestly felt more human than most actual humans I've met."
Kyūjō gave a small nod. He agreed.
After all, many humans were far filthier than any curse.
"Oh, right. How many of Sukuna's fingers have you and the first-years collected so far?" Kyūjō asked.
Gojo raised a hand—five fingers.
"Only five?" Kyūjō raised an eyebrow. "You guys need to step it up. I'm still waiting for that smug bastard to return to full power… so I can kill him myself. If you take too long, it'll be pointless—since I'll just keep getting stronger."
Gojo chuckled and replied lazily,
"Haha… you think so? Too bad. You won't get the chance."
"Sukuna's mine. I'm going to be the one who ends the King of Curses. Not you."
Kyūjō clicked his tongue and turned his face away.
"Hah. Overconfident fool. Don't come crying to me when you get chopped up. I'm not saving you."
Gojo laughed heartily.
Kyūjō let him. After a few seconds, he asked again,
"And what about the boy—Itadori? After swallowing five fingers… is he still suppressing Sukuna's consciousness?"
Gojo smiled and nodded.
"He's doing fine. So far, no signs of any disturbance. You'll see for yourself once the first-years return. Honestly… with your crazy vision, I'm pretty sure you're even sharper than my Six Eyes."
Kyūjō scoffed.
"Heh. So you finally noticed? Your so-called Six Eyes… never mind. Not worth insulting."
With that, Kyūjō stood up and began walking slowly toward the training field, leaving Gojo behind with a grin on his face.
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