Chapter 5
"Give it to me!! It's all mine!! Give it to me!!"
The Cursed Spirit suspended in midair was being squeezed by an invisible force, as if a giant unseen hand had clamped down on it. The very space seemed to freeze, the air turning heavy and solid under the strange pressure Gojo Satoru exerted.
The mighty energy radiated without restraint, arrogantly crushing the quasi–First Grade Cursed Spirit's power into a writhing, harmless lump of flesh.
Even Ryuichi, standing close by, felt his chest tighten.
So this is Gojo Satoru… terrifying. To think someone our age can wield power like this!
At that moment, Satoru flicked his fingers playfully, and the Cursed Spirit twisted in midair like a lump of clay in a child's hands.
The formless body—built only of curses—buckled under the pressure, deformed grotesquely, then snapped into unnatural shapes.
"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!" the monster screamed, its many arms flailing helplessly.
Satoru tilted his head, murmuring as though bored.
"It's strange, isn't it? Jujutsu techniques are supposed to be engraved in the body from birth. Yet you… you've broken the rules."
His six eyes shifted off the writhing curse and locked onto Zenin Ryuichi.
For the first time, his sunglasses slid low enough to reveal them—those crystalline, sky-blue eyes that seemed to hold entire constellations within. The stars themselves wheeled in his gaze, patterns forming and breaking in a rhythm that made even curses tremble.
Ryuichi met them without fear. Instead, there was a hint of admiration on his lips.
"Every time I see them, I'm impressed. Six Eyes… the whole Jujutsu world fears them for a reason."
If someone managed to steal those eyes, Ryuichi thought silently, even the so-called undying sorcerers wouldn't be able to sit still.
Satoru smirked at Ryuichi's composure, then replied dryly, "The Gojo clan doesn't just sit back and watch. Even immortals think twice before acting."
Before Ryuichi could answer, Satoru's expression sharpened. His brows furrowed.
"…Not good!"
BOOM!!!
The ground erupted. A massive arm shot upward, tearing through the concrete as though it were paper. Satoru's body flickered out of reach instantly, and Ryuichi had already vanished the moment the tremors began.
Another Cursed Spirit emerged, almost identical to the first.
"Another one?" Satoru muttered, landing lightly on a high platform.
Below, the second curse roared, its countless arms writhing like centipedes as black mottling spread along their length.
"Give it to me!! Give it to me!!"
Ryuichi reappeared opposite Satoru, arms crossed, expression unimpressed.
"Really, Satoru? Using bait this old-fashioned? That's beneath you." He dropped onto a ledge, as if watching a play.
With Six Eyes, there was no way Satoru hadn't noticed the lurking spirit. He had let it slide on purpose.
Satoru only rubbed his chin and grinned, saying nothing. This is the perfect chance to see what Ryuichi can really do.
The curse lunged, a storm of grasping arms reaching for Ryuichi.
"I know, I know," Ryuichi sighed, almost as though soothing a spoiled child. "I'll give it to you. Just wait."
He raised his hand, two fingers crossing in front of his chest. The silver cross pendant at his neck flared with an eerie blue light.
RUMBLE!!!
The barrier expanded in an instant. A translucent blue halo enveloped Ryuichi, rotting away every cursed limb that touched it as though corroded by acid.
"AAAAHHHH!!" the curse shrieked, flailing in agony.
Overhead, the first spirit—still bound by Satoru—was crushed into fragments.
"I know what you want," Ryuichi said coldly. "The Cursed Tool, right? …Here."
He flicked his hand. The pendant exploded with light, and the pale-blue aura blossomed like a field of spider lilies from hell—beautiful, deadly, and merciless. It swallowed the curse whole, devouring its cursed energy in a single surge.
The monstrous aura faded, absorbed entirely by the tool.
At the same moment, the other curse collapsed midair, reduced to nothing under Satoru's technique.
Landing beside him, Satoru exhaled a low whistle.
"Instantly forming a Cursed Tool, summoning it at will, and even devouring curses with it… Ryuichi, you're really something else."
His Six Eyes had followed every detail of the technique, yet even he felt unsettled by what he saw.