Outside the domain, on the edge of a skyscraper's rooftop.
Satoru Gojo stood with one hand in his pocket, his cerulean Six Eyes locked onto the warped, blood-red space below.
The invisible Fushiguro Toji stood like a massive, ominous crimson cocoon, radiating an eerie aura amidst the ruins.
"Something's off…" Gojo's brow furrowed slightly, a rare hint of seriousness flickering beneath his white lashes. "When a domain expands, you'd expect a crazy clash of cursed energy, right? So why… is it so quiet? Not a single sound."
He rubbed his chin, his tone laced with uncertainty. "Did it… end already? Did that guy get taken out?"
Crouched nearby, Yuji Itadori gripped the concrete edge of the rooftop so tightly his fingertips turned white.
He stared at the silent, blood-red domain, his lips trembling before he forced out words. "Gojo-sensei… I don't think… Nero would lose."
"Oh?" Gojo tilted his head, his gaze settling on his student's tense face. "Why's that?"
Yuji took a deep breath, trying to steady his swirling emotions, and quickly recounted what he'd seen. "When we were trapped in Kenjaku's 'Culling Game' barrier, it was him—Nero—who took it down. He did something I couldn't even follow, like he was dismantling a giant puzzle. The whole barrier covering Higashi-Tokyo? He tore it apart like it was just peeling off a sticker!"
"And then…" Yuji's eyes flashed with a trace of awe and fear. "The moment the barrier collapsed, it was like… he swung his blade? Or did something? Anyway, the second the barrier vanished, every cursed spirit and sorcerer with cursed energy in Higashi-Tokyo… they were just gone. Wiped out completely!"
He paused, his voice tinged with disbelief. "And before that, in Shibuya… when Sukuna first unleashed his domain, Nero cut it to pieces like it was nothing! Even Megumi's Mahoraga got taken out with one slash…"
Yuji's voice wasn't loud, but each word hit Gojo like a hammer.
"Whoa!" Gojo spun around, his Six Eyes wide with shock, practically sparkling with disbelief. "That strong?!"
He instinctively glanced at Kento Nanami, who had been standing silently like a mountain, seeking confirmation. "Nanami?"
Nanami adjusted his glasses, his sharp eyes glinting behind the lenses. His jaw tightened as he met Gojo's gaze, offering no words—just a slow, heavy nod.
The air grew still.
The silent blood-red domain, Yuji's terrifying account, Nanami's wordless confirmation… an unprecedented chill crept up Gojo's spine.
He turned back to the eerily quiet domain, his blue irises burning with a mix of fiery curiosity and deep wariness.
"Nero…" A thrilled grin spread across Gojo's face, his voice soft as a breeze. "This just got way more interesting."
Inside the domain, Sukuna's rage was almost tangible.
"You're not entertained?" The curse marks on his face twisted, his four crimson eyes blazing with fury. "I'm here to cut you to pieces!"
BOOM!
The domain trembled.
The density of his slashes doubled, countless Dismantle and Cleave strikes weaving into a storm of death, engulfing Gaio's position.
If anyone could see the cursed energy's trajectory, Gaio would be surrounded by a blinding white haze.
Gaio merely bent his knees slightly, his Yama Blade tracing a ghostly blue arc.
As the blade flashed, every incoming slash disintegrated the moment it touched the edge.
Sukuna could feel it—each of his attacks was intercepted, not even leaving a ripple.
"AAARGH!" Sukuna roared in fury, his four arms bulging with veins as cursed energy surged wildly.
Gaio suddenly sheathed his blade, the metallic scrape piercing the domain's silence.
"I'm bored."
Clang!
The moment the Yama Blade was drawn again, the Fushiguro Toji domain shuddered violently.
A blue flash of light, like ghostly lightning, split the blood-red space. Shrine beams, skeletal altars, even the domain's rules themselves—everything was cleaved cleanly in two.
Sukuna's pupils shrank.
He watched his domain shatter like glass, the blade's momentum unrelenting as it hurtled toward him.
CRACK!
The sharp sound of the domain breaking pierced Sukuna's ears.
As the blue blade passed through his body, he felt no pain—only a bone-deep chill exploding from within, as if his soul itself had been frozen.
His four crimson eyes contracted sharply. The blood-red domain fractured, cracks spreading wildly from the blade's path.
"Impossible…" Sukuna's expression twisted in shock.
His domain collapsed entirely, shrine beams crumbling to dust, skeletal altars evaporating into mist.
Then—light.
Blinding sunlight poured down like a flood, swallowing the crimson hue.
Sukuna raised a hand to shield his eyes but caught a glimpse of something even more staggering through his fingers: the blade's arc hadn't stopped. It sliced upward, cleaving the leaden clouds formed by his cursed energy, revealing a pristine blue sky.
Sunlight streamed through the parted clouds, casting golden beams onto the ruins below, like redemption after divine judgment.
On the rooftop, Yuji shot to his feet. "The sky… it's split?!"
Gojo's Six Eyes reflected the blade's mark across the heavens. "That slash… it even cut the weather."
In Sukuna's vision, the blinding sunlight consumed everything until…
Pale white.
His world became an endless expanse of white.
Sukuna's crimson pupils shrank as he made out a face stitched with scars, grinning ear to ear.
"Yo, King of Curses…" Mahito tilted his head, his grin stretching impossibly wide. "Been waiting for you."
Sukuna glanced down at his body, then scanned the empty, cold white void. He smirked faintly, a cryptic expression.
"Heh." His voice was calm, betraying no emotion. "Seeing you, I know how this ends."
Mahito erupted into shrill laughter, his body trembling like melting wax. "Hahaha! Failure! Total failure! So, how's it feel to be sliced in half by that monster?"
Sukuna ignored Mahito's cackling. He looked up, his gaze piercing the white void as if staring into some distant, nonexistent horizon.
"Not bad," he said softly.
A new figure emerged in the whiteness.
Kenjaku, with his long black hair and stitched forehead, stood silently behind Mahito, his eyes curved with that enigmatic smile. He said nothing, just watched Sukuna.
A biting chill spread, tiny ice crystals forming in the white void.
Rimei appeared, kneeling on one knee, his head bowed low, his face hidden in shadow.
Ice coated most of his body, like frozen tears.
"Lord Sukuna…" Rimei's voice was hoarse, breaking with suppressed pain and disbelief. He lifted his head slightly, silver hair falling to reveal eyes filled with despair. "How could you…"
Sukuna's gaze flicked over Rimei. "What's with the long face?"
His sharp command made Rimei's shoulders tremble, ice crystals falling from his lashes.
Sukuna's eyes swept over Rimei, Mahito's twisted grin, and Kenjaku's calm face. A strange, relieved smile spread across his curse-marked face.
"Not bad at all," he said, his voice carrying an odd satisfaction. "I've been waiting for this day—waiting to be taken down by someone stronger."
His crimson eyes gleamed as if recalling that earth-shattering slash. "That Nero guy… he's something else. Too damn interesting!"
Rimei bit his lip, unable to speak.
"Hm," Kenjaku finally spoke, his voice steady but heavy. "That guy's strength… it's like he doesn't belong on this planet."
"Hahaha!" Sukuna burst into laughter, his voice echoing freely in the white void. He shot a mocking look at Kenjaku. "You scheming bastard! Figured it out now? All your little plots and plans—they're nothing but dust in the face of that kind of power!"
Kenjaku was silent for a moment before giving a slow nod, his lips twitching as if acknowledging the harsh truth.
Sukuna's laughter faded into a relaxed smirk.
He tilted his head back, gazing into the endless white as if he could still see that blue slash cutting through the world. His voice carried a hint of regret. "Too bad… I never got to see how deep that guy's strength really goes."
He paused, letting out a soft, self-deprecating chuckle, as if paying some kind of tribute. "Sorry, Nero… I couldn't keep you entertained."
With that, he turned, casually slapping a hand on Rimei's stiff shoulder. "Let's go," he said lightly, his tone carefree.
Rimei's head snapped up, his expression a mix of grief and shock, but he said nothing. He gave Sukuna's back one last look before standing and following silently.
Their figures, one after the other, stepped into the pure white void, fading like ink dissolving in milk.
Kenjaku watched Sukuna vanish, a slow smile spreading across his face. "That's just like you, Sukuna."
With that, his figure dissolved into the void.
Mahito's mocking laughter cut off abruptly. His eyes darted between where Sukuna and Kenjaku had disappeared, stunned. Then, like a petulant child, he flopped onto the ground, flailing his limbs. "Why?! Why?! You guys are making me look like a kid!"
Amid his shouting, his figure faded, vanishing completely.
Back in reality.
Blinding sunlight bathed the ruins, the air still humming with the lingering force of the slash, faintly distorting the space.
Sukuna—or rather, Megumi Fushiguro's body—lay quietly among the rubble.
The gruesome curse marks, extra arms, and eyes were gone. He was back to being the black-haired boy, his chest rising and falling faintly, unconscious but alive.
Gaio looked down at Megumi, his Yama Blade already sheathed.
Whoosh!
Several figures appeared around Gaio in an instant: Satoru Gojo, Yuji Itadori, Kento Nanami, Hiromi Higuruma, and finally, Hana Kurusu, descending with a flap of her wings.
"Yo, man!" Gojo flashed a bright grin, casually reaching to clap Gaio's shoulder. "Nice work!"
Gaio turned his head, his dark eyes giving Gojo a cold glance.
The look froze Gojo's hand mid-air, his grin turning awkward.
"Sukuna's dead," Gaio said flatly, his voice devoid of emotion. "Megumi Fushiguro's fine." His gaze returned to the unconscious boy. "I cut Sukuna's soul."
Gojo's smile froze, his eyes widening again. He whipped his head toward Megumi, his Six Eyes scanning like a high-speed precision instrument.
"This…" Gojo's voice wavered.
Megumi lay calmly, his cursed energy faint but steady. Sukuna's massive cursed presence was gone, as if it had never existed. He was… completely unharmed!
"Whoa!" Gojo leapt into the air like a kid with a new toy, wildly mimicking slashing motions. "What kind of move was that?! A soul strike?! How'd you lock onto his soul? Some kind of rule-level precision?! What's the deal?!"
He danced around excitedly, leaning in so close his blue Six Eyes were nearly pressed against Gaio's impassive face, trying to pry answers from him.
Yuji didn't even hear Gojo's rambling.
The moment he confirmed Sukuna's presence was gone and Megumi was alive, overwhelming joy shattered his taut nerves. "Megumi—!"
He shouted, charging forward like a cannonball and dropping to his knees beside Megumi. His trembling hands carefully reached for Megumi's neck, feeling for a pulse.
A strong, steady beat pulsed under his fingers.
Yuji's body shook, the tension draining from him. He collapsed, his forehead pressing into the cold ground, shoulders heaving.
A choked sob broke free, mixed with the wild joy of survival and unstoppable tears. "Thank god… thank god…"
Tears fell, splashing into the dirt.
"…Incredible," Nanami muttered, adjusting his glasses, his eyes locked on Gaio and the Yama Blade at his waist.
Cutting a soul… that kind of power defied everything he knew.
Higuruma panted heavily, the overwhelming pressure from moments ago still gripping his heart. He glanced at Gaio's calm profile, then at the unharmed Megumi, his face filled with deep wariness.
Hana's white wings fluttered as she landed beside Megumi, moving even faster than Yuji.
Her hand reached for Megumi's chest, her fingers trembling slightly. When the steady, strong pulse reached her, her tense body relaxed, her shoulders slumping.
Unlike Yuji's loud cries, she simply placed both hands gently on Megumi's chest, feeling the rhythm of life. Silent tears slid down her cheeks.
Gaio's gaze left Megumi and turned to Gojo, who was still miming slashes in the air.
"This isn't over yet."
Gojo stopped his antics, his blue Six Eyes glinting with curiosity.
"Megumi's sister," Gaio continued, "her body's been taken over by another old hag." He paused, adding, "She came for Sukuna."
He glanced up at the now-clear blue sky, then down at his watch. "Hm, 3:32 PM."
His eyes returned to Gojo, his words short and to the point. "It's on you, Gojo."
Before anyone could respond, he gripped the handle of his Yama Blade.
Clang!
A fleeting blue flash cut through the air, slicing a cross in front of him.
Zzt!
Blue-purple energy tore open a portal, its edges crackling with unstable light, revealing a distorted, unfamiliar scene on the other side.
"Hey, wait!" Gojo shouted. "Where you going?!"
Gaio stepped into the portal, half his body already swallowed by the glowing haze. Without looking back, he tossed out a final, airy remark, his voice fading into the hum of the rift: "Home. Dinner. Sleep. Hug my girlfriend."
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