Ryoumen Sukuna's technique, Malevolent Shrine, had two effects.
The first was its twin blades—"Dismantle" and "Cleave," which sliced through his enemies. Once the opponent was dealt with, the technique moved to the next phase.
High-quality ingredients only needed the simplest cooking methods.
The second ability of Malevolent Shrine, "Incineration," followed this principle. It manifested as flames capable of burning everything to ashes.
However, compared to the swift slashes, the flames were much slower. Against strong opponents, they were difficult to land.
So, Ryoumen Sukuna imposed a restriction upon himself.
A "binding vow" was simply an extension of barrier techniques, a way to take advantage of the balance in the Jujutsu world through an equivalent exchange.
By setting a restriction on himself, he could gain a stronger or more practical ability.
One of the simplest applications was revealing his technique to the enemy in exchange for greater power.
By using the binding that only activates when the domain is expanded, the problem of slow attack speed was solved, while also increasing its power and range.
With this strike, Yukinoshita and Mahoraga will be completely crushed!
Ryoumen Sukuna grinned, a sinister smile spreading across his face.
Until—
A sharp, piercing sound, like a thousand birds chirping at once, suddenly rang out. A massive surge of cursed energy appeared within his perception.
Ryoumen Sukuna snapped his head around. A blinding purple light filled his vision.
A huge sphere of purple energy advanced forward, swallowing trees, shattering buildings, and destroying everything in its path. It tore through the battlefield like an unstoppable force, charging straight toward the strongest being of a thousand years ago.
The intense heat melted the flying debris into molten liquid, which floated mid-air like sparks before merging into the stream of flames.
Ryoumen Sukuna turned, pulling back an invisible bowstring. Flowing flames condensed into a bow and arrow, aimed directly at the incoming sphere of purple lightning.
He released his grip, and the fiery arrow shot forward. The strong winds it stirred up dragged the cursed energy dust within the domain along with it.
The first clash between the strongest of the past and the strongest of the present—both unleashed their most powerful attacks!
A streak of crimson light, trailing a blazing tail, collided with the massive sphere of purple lightning.
For a moment, time seemed to freeze.
A blinding white light engulfed the entire domain, as if divine judgment had descended. The cursed energy dust in the air ignited, triggering a massive explosion. The shockwave sent Mahoraga and Yukinoshita Yukino flying out of the domain.
The powerful blast nearly crushed her internal organs. She had barely hit the ground before she coughed up a mouthful of blood, on the verge of losing consciousness.
Her fair skin was burned by the extreme heat within the domain, leaving behind gruesome wounds. The pain forced her to stay awake.
If she blacked out now, the reverse cursed technique she had just learned would stop working, and she would bleed out.
She had not yet mastered the ability to make the reverse cursed technique run on its own.
Mahoraga was left in a horrible state, its body torn apart by slashes, barely clinging to life as it struggled to regenerate.
But it was not destroyed.
The strange divine ring above its head slowly rotated.
Click.
Meanwhile, Gojo Satoru raised an eyebrow as he watched the mushroom cloud rise in the distance.
"Oh~ Not bad."
"Now, what are you gonna do about the second one?" He smirked.
Once again, purple lightning crackled at the fingertips of the white-haired man.
The second Hollow Purple shot forward, roaring like thunder. The bright purple glow filled Ryoumen Sukuna's eyes once more.
The next moment, his entire body was swallowed by the raging purple lightning.
All that remained was a massive trench carved deep into the earth by the purple energy sphere.
At the same time, Malevolent Shrine shattered!
"Ugh—!! *Cough!*"
The dazzling purple light finally faded.
Hundreds of meters away from where he had once stood, Ryoumen Sukuna was coughing violently, blood spilling from his mouth. His right arm was completely gone, leaving only a bleeding stump at his shoulder.
His miserable state looked just as bad as Yukinoshita Yukino's.
"I'd say it's about time you gave Yuji back control of his body, don't you think?"
A playful voice came from above.
Gojo Satoru, hands tucked into his pockets, slowly descended from the air.
With an amused smile, he looked down at the once-mighty king of curses, now battered and broken.
"Of course, if you still wanna keep going, I don't mind at all," Gojo Satoru shrugged. "It's an honor to fight the King of Curses, after all."
"Hahaha… looks like I'm in for a good fight today."
Ryoumen Sukuna chuckled as he slowly got back on his feet.
As he stood up again, his severed arm was already fully restored.
"Heh, you're tough. No wonder they call you the King of Curses."
Gojo Satoru smirked, his eyes full of mischief, as if he didn't take the strongest curse in history seriously at all. "Looks like your fight with Yukinoshita didn't drain much of your cursed energy."
"As a warm-up, it wasn't bad."
Ryoumen Sukuna grinned as well, getting into his stance.
"Well, just so we're clear," Gojo Satoru also shifted into an attacking position, a teasing smile on his face, "you're the challenger here!"
"Hmph, brat!"
As soon as Sukuna spoke, he swung his hand, sending a slashing attack toward Gojo Satoru, while dashing forward at the same time.
The invisible slash struck Gojo's Limitless technique, creating a ripple in the air.
Sukuna was already in front of Gojo Satoru. The latter still had a smile on his face, and a bright blue light flashed in his hand.
Before Sukuna's fist—reinforced with Domain Amplification—could land on Gojo's barrier, Gojo unleashed "Blue," slamming it into Sukuna's chest.
Sukuna was sent flying backward and crashed onto the ground, motionless.
His movements felt sluggish, his body no longer obeyed him, and even the second pair of eyes on his face slowly closed, as if drowsiness was taking over.
"Tch… What a buzzkill…"
"Whoa!"
Itadori Yuji woke up with a start, flipping himself upright in one quick motion. He looked around in confusion and then spotted what seemed to be a chibi version of Gojo Satoru.
"Oh! Gojo-sensei!" The pink-haired boy's face lit up with excitement.
"Eh."
"Hey! Why are you making that disgusted face!?"
...
…
(End of Chapter)
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