In the modern era, jujutsu sorcerers and curses alike are put into categories or ranks to differentiate between their power, capabilities, and threat levels.
The ranking follows the same logic on both sides, from grade 4, which is the weakest, to grade 1, which is considered to be the natural ceiling for most jujutsu sorcerers and curses.
However, grade 1 isn't the end. If anything, it is the peak where the real powerhouses of this world are separated.
The entities and beings who surpass grade one are called special grade. Curses and sorcerers who hold enough power to take over entire countries with their power.
Currently, there were only 3 special grade jujutsu sorcerers in Japan after the death of Suguru Geto last year in the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.
And there were a total of 16 registered special grade cursed spirits so far.
The gap between a common grade 1 sorcerer or cursed spirit and a real special grade cursed spirit or sorcerer was immense. So much so that to kill a special grade, even carpet bombing sometimes wouldn't be enough.
However, that was just the recorded and existing ranking. Anomalies as they were, there were tiers even within the special grade ranking.
The best example was none other than the strongest jujutsu sorcerer of the modern era, Satoru Gojo.
He alone held enough power to take control of the entire world, and even destroy it in its entirety.
And there was only one recorded being so far who rivaled him.
The King of Curses from a thousand years ago, Ryomen Sukuna.
Yuki, a special grade sorcerer herself, finally realized this difference when she fought him.
She did not hesitate for even a moment once the fight began in earnest, closing the distance between herself and Ryomen Sukuna with relentless intent, fully aware that her advantage lay in proximity where her technique could exert its full, crushing force.
And yet, knowing that the fight was in her favor if it became a close-range match, her opponent didn't back away to use his obvious long-range advantage. If anything, he darted right in for hand-to-hand combat.
And what surprised her the most was the next hit which she landed on him. Unlike the first, where she caught him off guard, tore open his hands, and sent him flying back.
This time, Sukuna blocked the same punch which did so much damage to him just a few seconds ago.
He was still thrown a few steps back, there was a visible wound on his arm, however, the damage was far from what it was a minute before.
Yuki's lips pursed tightly just seeing the difference, that alone told her that this wasn't going to be an easy fight. Her prediction felt more correct when he effortlessly healed up the wound without any second thought while casually sending a few more invisible slashes her way, which she could neither see nor avoid.
Tanking them was the only option, and she found they were even more deadly than the last slash she faced.
This was the start of their match, the back and forth seemed to continue while non-special grade sorcerers like Nobara and Todo could only watch in tension.
Both Uraume and Choso, for all their worth, weren't in the condition to interfere after Choso suffered injuries from Uraume and was currently half frozen, using his blood manipulation to melt off the ice, while Uraume was infected by Choso's blood which was poisonous.
And even in their state, their attention was only on the special grades clashing a little further away from them.
The said clash became immediately violent, the sound of impact echoing through the underground space as their blows met with enough force to crack the floor beneath their feet.
Sukuna reinforced his body with a dense layer of cursed energy, compensating for the unnatural weight behind Yuki's strikes, while simultaneously taking advantage of the close range she insisted on maintaining, he launched cleave on her.
His technique, Shrine, was a cutting cursed technique. The invisible slashes he threw were called dismantle, which were actually one of the weaker aspects of his technique, which neither he could control the power of nor their variations.
However, cleave, that was different. While needing contact to perform unlike dismantle, cleave was far more powerful and customizable.
It was the first time Yuki felt it. She didn't fully understand what had happened until it was already too late. Sukuna's hand brushed across her midsection in what seemed like a minor motion within the flow of combat, yet the result was catastrophic.
In a single moment, half of her stomach was gone, the wound so clean and devastating that even she staggered from the shock of it.
Her reinforcement, her natural flesh, bones, muscles were useless against that attack. A single touch left her cut open like she was some piece of meat on a chopping board.
Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, breathing became impossible for a second, but she did not fall.
Her reaction was immediate, forcing reverse cursed energy through her body as she stabilized herself, the missing flesh reconstructing under immense strain as she pushed through the damage.
Even so, the lesson was learned instantly. From that point onward, her approach changed. She remained aggressive, still closing the gap whenever possible, but now there was caution woven into her movements, a constant awareness of Sukuna's hands when fighting up close.
"What's wrong, no longer so eager to fight up close, are you?" Sukuna grinned, the mockery in his tone clearly evident.
"I don't have to when I can do it," Yuki retorted, and the next second she grabbed onto her shikigami, Garuda, on which she could apply her technique, striking from a distance with sharp, unpredictable movements that forced Sukuna to divide his attention.
At times, Garuda lashed out to bind him, wrapping around his limbs in an attempt to restrict his motion, while at other moments it served as a distraction, creating openings for Yuki to capitalize on.
But Sukuna was anything but unadaptive during battle. He instantly switched to dismantle to knock off the shikigami which the woman used as a whip, as a ball, or as a binding tool whenever it drew near.
Just as she was about to launch another high kick at Sukuna, he predicted that and went under her, aiming directly at her abdomen to use cleave.
Yuki's jaw clenched at the sudden change, she couldn't dodge that point-blank attack. She could only use more of her cursed energy to reinforce herself.
However, just as Sukuna's hand was about to make contact…
Clap
The next second, Yuki was gone, and in her place was Uraume.
The hand directly hit her on the shoulder, however, nothing happened. Sukuna's reaction time was as fast as always, he deactivated the cleave the moment contact was made.
"Hm… that's a pretty troublesome technique right there." Sukuna's eyes roamed to Todo.
Yuki also appeared where Uraume was earlier and sighed in relief. "Thanks, Todo."
"No problem." He grinned and got ready to fight alongside her. But once again, she refused.
"No… stay here and help me from afar." Yuki warned, because for someone like Todo, a single dismantle from Sukuna would be their end.
And she was right, Sukuna sent a slash after him after knowing how troublesome Todo's technique was, but even though he couldn't see the slashes, with his IQ, he was able to predict it and got away with his technique.
"Pesky…" Sukuna grumbled.
The fight continued, however, as they fought, the more damage the underground station was taking, sooner or later the entire structure would be coming down on them.
So Yuki had to drag Sukuna out of there somewhere. Of course, Todo helped.
Their battle continued without pause, the open space only allowing them to fight more freely, their attacks now visible from far beyond the immediate area, finally bringing attention from other sorcerers who were active in Shibuya like Momo, Kamo, Miwa, Kusakabe, and more.
However, none of that mattered when the opponent they faced was a special grade.
Sukuna just grinned, more people who his worthless vessel was friends with. Meaning more targets to kill by the same brat's hands.
However, as if Yuji himself heard his thoughts, suddenly Sukuna felt a sudden loss of control. It was only temporary, but he realized that he didn't have much time in this body.
"Tch… guess this is all the time five of my fingers would give me." He snorted and after making sure Megumi Fushiguro wasn't near, he brought both of his hands together.
Yuki's eyes widened when she saw what Sukuna was doing and immediately shouted, "TODO.."
Aoi Todo with his 530,000 IQ didn't need another sign, using his technique he instantly took all the others away from the area.
"Domain Expansion…" Sukuna grinned.
And in response, Yuki too had to open her own domain, and brought her hands into the sign.
"Malevolent…"
But just as Sukuna was about to manifest his domain into reality, a squish sound and sharp pain rang out inside him.
His hands, which were making his domain sign, were separated by a thin sheet of metal protruding from his chest. His fingers were cut open by the blade, piercing his heart from behind him.
Even for a second, even the King of Curses was taken aback by the sudden sneak attack which even he couldn't see coming.
He snapped his head behind.
"This woman…"
xXx
A/N : Finally, I was waiting for this moment for so long. Any idea who this woman is.
Of course you know, but any idea how she became the way she is right now. After knowing I assure you you'll like MC's technique even more.
And sorry for this chapter were I didn't focus much on MC, since I had to show time passing while they fought.
Would appreciate stones if you can spare any. Thank you.
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