"So that's it… this will definitely make the brat regret it."
"Hey, let's go kill that kid together. Follow me."
Sukuna, having come up with the perfect plan, turned and walked toward the exit, curling his finger in a taunting gesture for the curse to follow.
Unfortunately for him, the curse wasn't very bright. It couldn't even speak. Instead of following, it leapt away from Sukuna, putting distance between them.
Sukuna's presence radiated overwhelming danger. There was no universe in which this curse would obey him.
The humanoid curse stared at Sukuna's back, eyes widening. Its hands came together as raw cursed energy condensed between its palms.
"Haa—!!"
With a burst of force, the curse hurled the massive cursed energy orb straight at Sukuna, hoping for a sneak attack.
"Idiot."
Sukuna turned, raising his severed arm—only to instinctively activate Reverse Cursed Technique and accidentally regenerate Itadori's hand.
Snap!
The cursed energy orb hit Sukuna's palm as if slamming into a barrier, shattering into scattered fragments.
"Great. I fixed this arm too?"
Realizing what he'd done, Sukuna clicked his tongue, visibly annoyed.
"AAAHHH!!"
The newborn special-grade screamed in terror. It had never seen anything like this—its strongest attack, effortlessly stopped by one hand.
"Oh? So you don't like taking a walk?"
Sukuna slipped both hands into his pockets, eyeing the curse.
"Fair. Curses usually stay where they're born… except the powerful ones."
His voice dropped.
"Then… go die."
Sukuna vanished in a blur. A single palm strike pinned the curse against the ground, smashing through the bridge and sending both plummeting below.
Moments later, the curse hung on a wall with all four limbs severed, impaled by deep gashes.
"Curses like you wouldn't know, right? We're both classified as special grades."
Sukuna's tone was mocking.
Special grade was a broad category—and the gulf between them was astronomical.Even with only two fingers' worth of power, he could toy with a newborn special grade.
"Grrraaah—!!"
The cursed spirit roared, its mangled limbs throbbing as they regenerated at remarkable speed.
"Heh heh!"
Its body restored, the curse sprang at Sukuna with a toothy grin, almost excited.
"Oh? Not bad. You look happy. Want praise?"
Sukuna smirked. "Too bad. Healing is nothing special for curses."
"You, that brat—none of you understand curses at all."
"In that case… while I can still move—let me teach you."
He brought his hands together, forming a seal. His expression went still.
"This is what a real curse looks like."
"Domain Expansion—"
BOOM!!
Before Sukuna could finish the final hand sign, a piercing whistle tore through the air.
A spear ripped the atmosphere apart, the sonic boom echoing as it shot toward them——and in a blink, it struck the special-grade curse.
CLANG!!
A thunderous impact.
The curse's skull was pierced instantly, its body nailed to the wall like a pinned insect.
"AAAAAAHHHH—!!"
It screamed in agony, claws raking at the embedded spear.
But the curse's brain had already been destroyed by the spear's cursed energy.Within moments, it went limp.
"You almost got ahead of me. Good thing I made it in time."
Jinsuke stepped into view, having arrived a second before Sukuna unleashed his attack, eliminating the special grade in one clean strike.
He retrieved the embedded Sukuna finger from the curse's chest.The next moment, purple-blue flames rose, consuming the curse entirely.
Pulling his spear free, Jinsuke frowned.
"…What?"
The Scripture didn't absorb any cursed energy.
This cursed spirit hadn't given him any blood qi power at all.
He glanced at the Sukuna finger.
"So this is the reason?"
The curse had been artificially created using Sukuna's finger.
If killing such a curse granted him blood qi gains, he could simply repeat the process infinitely.
"But artificially induced ones don't work? Figures. Worthless curse."
A complete waste of his time.
SHING!
A transparent slash shot at him from behind.
Jinsuke tilted his body just slightly, letting the attack slice past and carve a deep gash in the wall.
"No need to get so worked up. I just stole one of your kills."
Jinsuke turned with a casual smirk.
"Tch. So you're no ordinary human."
Sukuna narrowed his eyes.
"A Heavenly Restriction, huh? What a freak."
Sukuna had seen enough warriors to understand immediately.
"I'd love to fight you, but that brat should be waking up soon."
Hands in pockets, Sukuna sighed.
He'd get his revenge later.
"Brat, get out here already."
He closed his eyes, waiting for Itadori to retake control.
Silence.
No response.
"…Brat?"
"Stop calling him. He's unconscious. Right now, you have control of that body."
Jinsuke said calmly.
This incident was a heavy blow to Itadori—physically and mentally.
"…You're sure?"
Sukuna's expression twisted into a gleeful grin.
"So I can do whatever I want?"
"Then first… I'll kill you."
Sukuna pointed at Jinsuke, smiling like a demon.
"Next is that brat's little friend."
"Domain Expa—"
"You think I'm stupid?"
Jinsuke moved like a disappearing shadow.
In an instant, he appeared in front of Sukuna, lifting his leg—
WHIP-CRACK!!
A brutal kick smashed into Sukuna before he could even finish speaking.
His smile hadn't fully formed before his arm and ribs shattered.
He shot through several walls like a cannonball, crashing outside.
Outside, under the darkened, rain-soaked sky—
Megumi and Nobara stared anxiously at the building.
"The innate domain… it's gone! The special grade is dead!"
"That's great! We just have to wait for the old man and Itadori to come out!"
Nobara exhaled in relief.
But—
BOOOOM!!!
A body shot out of the building like a meteor, crashing into the path and carving a trench into the ground.
The figure lay curled in the rubble, coughing up blood.
"Yuji?!"
Nobara rushed forward—
"Stop! That's not Itadori!"
Megumi yanked her back.
"Right now he's a curse—a special-grade curse. Ryomen Sukuna!"
His face was grim.
Had Yuji finally failed to suppress Sukuna?