A crimson shrine rose from the ground, and the surrounding scenery shifted in an instant.
Taking advantage of this opening, Sukuna finally broke free from Black Seele's relentless assault.
Domain Expansion granted its user a guaranteed-hit effect for their cursed technique, as well as a field-wide amplification of that technique's power.
Beyond that, domains possessed another crucial function—they could neutralize an opponent's cursed energy.
In the original story, Jogo had used this very method during his first encounter with Gojo Satoru. By deploying his domain, he neutralized Gojo's passive Infinity, allowing his attacks to break through. Later, during the Shibuya Incident, the same principle was applied again through Domain Amplification to counter Gojo's Infinity.
Now, Ryomen Sukuna was clearly operating on the same line of thought.
Since that bizarre ability of his opponent couldn't be broken through by conventional means, then he would simply use a domain to neutralize it. Once that cursed-energy barrier was stripped away, and with the enemy trapped inside his domain, he could unleash vastly empowered slashes and end the fight in one decisive blow.
With that in mind, Sukuna raised his head and fixed a malicious gaze on Black Seele in the distance, hoping to see shock or panic on her face.
Unfortunately for him—
In the face of Sukuna's Domain Expansion, Black Seele showed not the slightest hint of fear. Instead, her expression carried something between pity and mockery.
"So this is your final struggle?"
"What do you mean?"
Logically speaking, with her strength, she couldn't possibly be unaware of how dangerous a domain was. The optimal response to a domain was to deploy one of your own, letting the two domains cancel each other out.
Yet this curse before him made no move at all—clearly showing no intention of taking Sukuna's domain seriously.
That reaction didn't bring Sukuna any satisfaction. On the contrary, a creeping sense of unease took hold.
After all, the power she'd displayed earlier was undeniably real. Without even using a domain, he'd been utterly powerless against her at his current level.
Could someone like that truly be ignorant of domains? Truly unaware of how dangerous they were?
"What do I mean?" Black Seele replied calmly.
"Don't tell me you really think you can defeat me just by relying on a domain. Since you're so confident in it, why don't you take a good look at what's happening inside your domain right now?"
My domain…?
Hearing her words, Sukuna instinctively extended his senses—and his four eyes widened in shock.
Within his domain, a completely blank area had appeared, a region that had slipped entirely beyond his control.
Worse still, that area was expanding.
Looking closely, it was unmistakably the same black-and-crimson cursed energy that had previously enveloped her body. Now, it was spreading throughout his domain.
Every region swallowed by that dead, silent cursed energy vanished instantly from Sukuna's perception.
Was this… her domain?
No—based on Sukuna's experience, this clearly wasn't a domain. Combined with what he'd already witnessed, it was obvious that this was merely the effect of her cursed technique.
But domains were supposed to neutralize techniques—
Sukuna had never even heard of a technique that could erase a domain instead.
"Hachi!"
Realizing he couldn't allow his domain to continue dissolving, Sukuna immediately gathered nearly all of his remaining cursed energy and unleashed the strongest attack he could manage in his current state.
Slash!
An enormous invisible blade cleaved across the entire domain, reaching Black Seele in an instant.
Yet this ultimate strike—carrying Sukuna's last reserves of cursed energy and hope—ended no differently than the previous ones.
The moment it touched that black-and-crimson cursed energy, it vanished without a sound.
Is a technique like this… really something that should exist in this world?
Sukuna fell silent.
For the first time, he felt as though he was falling behind the times.
Compared to this overwhelmingly powerful technique, his once-invincible slashing abilities suddenly seemed… far too crude.
No—this had to be because he wasn't at full strength yet.
If all twenty fingers were reunited, this curse would surely be no match for him!
Clinging to that belief, Sukuna ceased resisting altogether, allowing the encroaching black-and-crimson cursed energy to swallow him whole.
My consciousness is fading… Is that brat about to come back out?
No.
This wasn't Itadori Yuji regaining control—it was simply that, under the suppression of that cursed energy, Sukuna's consciousness could no longer hold on and was sinking into dormancy.
Unable to mobilize even a trace of cursed energy, all bodily functions ground to a halt.
Once enveloped by that bizarre power, even the strongest curses or sorcerers would be left completely helpless.
No—judging by how his body had vanished the moment it touched that cursed energy earlier, an ordinary sorcerer would likely have been erased entirely the instant they were surrounded by it.
What a terrifying ability.
It was as if she were the very incarnation of pure death.
"This time, I'll consider it your win," Sukuna sneered defiantly as his awareness faded.
"Lucky curse. You'd better pray that when I fully reclaim my power and seize this brat's body, you're still this lucky."
The black markings receded from his body, and Itadori Yuji collapsed to the ground.
Watching Sukuna vanish only after stubbornly throwing out a final line, Black Seele boredly shook her head and withdrew her cursed energy.
"Ryomen Sukuna with only three fingers is far weaker than I imagined."
She hadn't enjoyed this battle at all.
From start to finish, she'd been forced to restrain herself. With this being nothing more than a sparring match where killing blows were forbidden, the true horror of the power of decay hadn't even been displayed to a tenth of its potential.
"There's nothing that can be done about that," An Xora said as he and Seele approached from the distance.
"With only three fingers, Sukuna probably couldn't even beat Jogo. And setting-wise, Jogo at eight or nine fingers' worth of strength was utterly crushed by both Gojo Satoru and fifteen-finger Sukuna."
"If you really want a satisfying fight, I'm afraid only twenty-finger Sukuna—or a Gojo going all out—would do."
After offering a brief consolation to Black Seele, An Xora looked down at the unconscious Itadori Yuji on the ground, then turned to Seele beside him.
"Seele, heal him."
Although Black Seele had carefully restrained the power of decay throughout the fight and had withdrawn it immediately afterward, Itadori Yuji's body—having been enveloped by that power for some time—was still in terrible condition.
If left untreated, the healing methods of the jujutsu world alone would never be enough to save him. Residual traces of decay still lingered inside his body, and without Black Seele's suppression, even that tiny remnant would be enough to make Itadori Yuji disintegrate on the spot.
"I understand, An Xora-ge."
White cursed energy gathered in Seele's hand as the life-filled power of creation spread across Itadori Yuji's body, dispersing the remaining decay and rapidly restoring him.
At the same time, a familiar system notification sounded in An Xora's ears.
"Ding! Detection complete: Seele has defeated Ryomen Sukuna for the host. Reward: 5,000 points."
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