When Yuji finally arrived on the scene, the first thing he saw was Maki-senpai bound mid-air by a Special Grade Curse's tree branches.
In almost the same instant, a surge of fury and Cursed Energy erupted; he charged forward and smashed the branch with a vicious punch.
A quick glance to the side—Megumi was here too?!
Todo, who had followed right behind, caught the falling Maki and retreated with Yuji to Megumi's side.
The moment Yuji saw the blood at the corner of Megumi's mouth and the Cursed seed pulsing with Cursed Energy, slowly sprouting from his abdomen, his pupils contracted sharply.
Instinctively, he wanted to switch out Sukuna to heal Megumi.
"Megumi?! I'll let Suk—…"
"Yuji!—"
Megumi cut him off with a low growl.
"I'll go find Ieiri-san for treatment!"
He lifted his head, using a stern glare to stop Yuji's action.
His injuries absolutely could not be healed by Sukuna.
Yuji's fingertips dug deep into his palm.
Damn…!
He'd thought… he'd thought he'd never again have to watch a comrade get hurt while he stood by powerless!
Clearly… Sukuna could heal Megumi!
He gritted his teeth.
But he understood Megumi's meaning—
No matter whether anyone was still watching the live feed, Todo was right beside them.
Todo had seen Megumi get injured; if the wound were healed right now, the fact that "Yuji" could use Reverse Cursed Technique would definitely leak out.
If he couldn't use Reverse Cursed Technique, Sukuna would be exposed.
All he could do was defeat that Special Grade Curse as fast as possible and then send Megumi to Ieiri-san for treatment!
His killing intent locked onto the Special Grade Curse in an instant, his eyes blazing with rage.
"Classmate Itadori?"
Junpei's voice suddenly sounded from behind.
He'd been purifying low-level Curses nearby and, noticing the commotion, rushed over at once.
A single sweep let him rapidly piece together the situation:
—Classmates Fushiguro and Zen'in Maki were injured.
—A powerful Curse he'd never seen before stood ahead; Classmate Itadori and that Todo guy were confronting it.
—He definitely wasn't a match for that Curse.
—Sukuna must not be brought out.
Therefore, what he could do was—
"Leave Fushiguro-san and Maki-san to me!"
he said quickly.
"Yotsuduki's poison can numb pain; I'll get them out for treatment!"
Yuji exhaled in relief.
"Good. Get them out of here; Todo and I will stay and deal with this Special Grade Curse."
…Special Grade Curse??
Junpei's hands trembled as he had Yotsuduki swiftly extend its tentacles, scooping up Megumi and Maki and withdrawing from the Curse's vicinity.
—Why another Special Grade Curse?
Look at Mahito, look at Sukuna, now look at this new one… he'd barely met any Curses, yet every single one was Special Grade—?
Was he fated to keep bumping into Special Grade Curses???
…Yuji's killing intent stayed fixed on the Curse, not relaxing for an instant.
Hanami gazed at the vessel of Sukuna before it, feeling something subtle in its heart.
Though its mission was only to draw everyone's attention so Mahito could steal Sukuna's fingers from the Vault, what if it took Itadori Yuji—the vessel—back instead?
It began to size Yuji up seriously, pondering the possibility, paying no heed to Junpei and the others' departure and making no move to stop them.
Yuji clenched both fists, Cursed Energy surging through his body, glaring at the Curse.
Only they were left… so next… they'd beat it!
[Switch out, kid! That's a Special Grade Curse—you're no match for it!]
Sukuna's voice echoed in his mind.
No way!
Yuji said in a low voice, "This time, let me handle it!"
"I'll call you if I can't hold on."
He pressed his lips together.
He absolutely would not bring Sukuna out—
Megumi had suffered such grave injuries yet still tried not to summon Sukuna; he wouldn't either!
[Fine…]
Sukuna didn't know what was on Yuji's mind; hearing the firm tone, he hesitated a moment, then agreed.
After all, Special Grade Curses rarely delivered themselves to the door; his brat had just reached Grade 1 strength and probably wanted to test it out.
[Right! While you're at it, try that "Black Flash" your dearest friend just told you about! Sounds fun!]
He'd never heard of "Black Flash" before, not even from Gojo.
But from what Todo had just said, landing a Black Flash dealt 2.5 times normal damage and the Cursed Energy even changed color—super cool.
He couldn't help inwardly dissing Gojo's teaching skills again; an outsider student was better at explaining things.
So he settled down inside his Innate Domain and continued watching his kid and that Todo team up against the Special Grade Curse.
When he saw Yuji, amid the warping black-red radiance, land his very first Black Flash, Sukuna's eyes widened.
Holy…—that was seriously awesome!!
He wanted to learn it too!!—
He himself hadn't even mastered "Black Flash" yet!!
[Yuji, Yuji! Teach me later! I wanna learn!!]
Sukuna's eyes sparkled, heart burning; he wanted this new skill too!
2.5 times, huh… if he pulled off a Black Flash with an all-out Cleave, how massive would that power be?!
Just thinking about it was thrilling!!
…With Yuji mastering Black Flash, his status in Todo's eyes upgraded from "dearest friend" to "brother," and the two launched a tag-team assault on Hanami.
Then—
A thunderous boom split the sky as Gojo made his dazzling entrance.
Having finally broken through the curtain, Gojo hovered high above, cerulean eyes gazing down at the earth.
Sukuna looked up and couldn't help admiring how brilliantly the guy showed off.
But the real show-stopper came next—Gojo instantly fired a world-shaking Hollow Technique: "Purple," grazing right past Sukuna's face.
The terrifying, gigantic sphere of violet energy obliterated everything in its path, carving a chasm-like gouge through the ground.
Even while inside the Inner World, Sukuna's hair stood on end in shock.
Damn… this monster was that strong without even using his Domain??
That Ultimate Technique had to be a black hole?!
So the guy had been holding back when they fought before…!
Freak… Sukuna felt a twinge of irritation.
Gojo had secretly left him in the dust… No way, he had to come up with a big move of his own—he'd been the strongest of a thousand years, he couldn't let these modern brats outclass him!
Sukuna ground his teeth; starting tomorrow, special training!
…So how exactly was he supposed to upgrade his "Malevolent Shrine"?
Sukuna frowned in thought.
He already had blade slices and flame sear—next up, decorative carving?
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