What... is this?
Jogo's Adam's apple bobbed. Cold sweat dripped from its forehead.
The originally battered and bruised boy stopped panting. Yuji raised his hand, and the charred marks on his body faded at a visible rate. New skin spread from the edges of the scars toward the center. White steam rose.
He opened his eyes and looked expressionlessly at Jogo.
Those originally amber pupils had turned crimson.
What is this feeling...?
What is this presence...?
The total amount of cursed energy wasn't much.
Jogo made a quick estimation and reached a conclusion: it was roughly equivalent to the amount of one of Sukuna's fingers. Not even a fifth of its own cursed energy reserves.
The reason Yuji had been able to exorcise Hanami earlier was relying on seamless coordination with his companion and the counter of the Reverse Cursed Technique—rather than a clash of cursed energy. But now, the cursed energy surging from within this pink-haired boy was ten or even a hundred times denser than the incredibly thin cursed energy he'd had before!
"..."
The cursed energy within Yuji drifted out almost tangibly. This thick cursed energy pressed down on Jogo's head, making it inevitably apprehensive.
During the golden age of jujutsu a thousand years ago, the entire jujutsu world united to crusade against a single enemy—only to be slaughtered single-handedly. Curse users and cursed spirits fell under his blade like cut grass—
"Sukuna...? Are you Sukuna?! Has Yuji Itadori finally formed a Binding Vow with you?"
Jogo managed to squeeze out a slight smile on its face.
To think its goal had already...
"No."
Yuji raised his hand, extending his index and middle fingers toward the cursed spirit in front of him, forming a hand sign.
"I am just me."
"You...?"
What does that mean? He is just him? Could it be that the person controlling this body right now is Yuji Itadori—and not Sukuna?
Jogo widened its eyes. In less than 0.2 seconds, it sensed the cursed energy within Yuji rising.
Moreover, what is with this [quality]?
Both are water—but a fire hose and a high-pressure water jet can both spray a target, yet the latter can cut through steel plates.
What Jogo felt at this moment was the sharpness of cursed energy compressed to its absolute limit. Having lived for so long, it had only ever felt this level of cursed energy density from one person: Yuji Itadori.
"Fuu..."
Yuji felt incredibly exhilarated at this moment. If his original cursed energy was just a small stream, then the cursed energy Sukuna provided him was an ocean.
Indeed, the Jogo in front of him had the power of eight or nine of Sukuna's fingers. But for Yuji to defeat it—
The cursed energy of just one finger was enough.
"Dismantle!"
"..."
I'm going to die.
The moment Yuji raised his hand, this thought poured over Jogo's head like a bucket of ice water. As the strongest curse born from humanity's fear of volcanoes, this was the first time it had experienced this level of fear.
Jogo's body moved before its brain. It subconsciously turned sideways and retreated backward. And in that less than half a second—
SQUISH!
A sharp pain came from its right shoulder.
Jogo looked down and saw its right arm sliding off its torso. The cut was neat and smooth. The arm fell onto the riverbank with a dull thud.
However, Jogo didn't look at that severed arm. All its attention was drawn to the sight behind it.
A deep trench had cracked open in the ground at some point.
Starting from where Yuji stood, this straight trench continuously extended forward. The ground revealed the dark gray rock layers beneath. The river was severed. The broken branches on the bank tilted to the sides, emitting a continuous cracking sound.
The trench extended all the way to hundreds of meters away.
Jogo turned its head, looking along the direction of the trench. Its eyes widened more and more. The cold sweat on its face increased.
The end of the trench was the edge of the Curtain barrier. At the edge of the barrier was a small hill.
The hill was sliced in half.
"Tch!"
Jogo clutched its severed arm. The situation had reversed in the blink of an eye.
"Is this Sukuna? This overwhelming power—clearly with only a meager amount of cursed energy, yet it can..."
"I said earlier."
Yuji spoke. The boy's voice was calm.
"I am not Sukuna."
"..."
Strange. What is this feeling?
Thump, thump, thump...
The boy's heart was beating unusually fast. Every cell in his body was greedily absorbing Sukuna's cursed energy—just like a dry riverbed absorbing the first rain.
A feeling of excitement.
Because his entire body was filled with Sukuna's cursed energy, Yuji seemed to be influenced by this cursed energy mixed with Sukuna's aura.
I see.
Yuji looked at Jogo, then took a step toward this curse.
"I clearly intended to slice you in half just now, but you actually managed to dodge it."
"The curse born from humanity's fear of volcanoes—" Yuji spoke, his voice unhurried. "Indeed has some skills."
"Perhaps your talent is even stronger than Mahito's. But unfortunately..."
The pink-haired boy put his hands in his pockets and walked unhurriedly toward Jogo.
The unknown often makes people feel fear.
Facing the boy strolling leisurely in front of it, Jogo subconsciously took a step back.
"What's wrong?"
Yuji caught the fear in its expression.
"Didn't you say you were going to end my life here?"
The pink-haired boy stopped in front of Jogo, looking down at the curse beneath him from above.
"...?"
Jogo widened its eyes.
A familiar sentence structure.
"Sukuna's vessel, you indeed have some skills. To reach the level of exorcising Mahito and Hanami after only being in contact with jujutsu for a few days. No wonder Mahito got beaten into depression by you."
"Perhaps your talent is greater than Mahito's. It's just a pity that your life ends here."
The volcano-headed curse immediately recalled the words it had previously said to Yuji Itadori.
And now, Yuji Itadori returned those two sentences to it verbatim.
"Tch!"
Geto, you bastard!
Didn't you say Sukuna couldn't possibly think highly of this brat Yuji Itadori—and was just playing with him!
Why is Sukuna's cursed energy appearing on Yuji Itadori now!
Jogo cursed angrily in its heart.
"You merely obtained Sukuna's power."
Jogo gritted its teeth. The voice squeezed out from between its teeth.
"Don't get too carried away! You little brat!"
It quickly jumped backward, putting several meters of distance between itself and Yuji, then raised its arms!
Countless Ember Insects immediately appeared behind the volcano-headed curse. The number this time far exceeded the previous ones. The overwhelming swarm of insects emerged like a plague of locusts. Each one was the size of an adult's head. The buzzing sound of their vibrating wings overlapped. The sound alone was enough to strike terror!
Not only that—small volcanoes bulged from the ground beside Yuji. Their craters bent at unnatural angles, all aiming in his direction.
"I won't show mercy this time. I'll blast you into smithereens all at once, Yuji Itadori!"
Several volcanoes erupted simultaneously. Countless pillars of fire surged toward Yuji. The sky full of Ember Insects also pounced on him at this moment.
With this attack, even Sukuna shouldn't think about...
The moment this thought formed in Jogo's mind—
SQUISH!
Jogo suddenly felt its vision blur. It subconsciously looked down and found that the arms it had originally used to cast the technique had disappeared.
The sky full of Ember Insects lost their target. The volcano attacks hit nothing but air.
Following Yuji's cursed energy, Jogo turned around and found Yuji standing not far behind it.
In the boy's hands, he was holding its arms.
"You—"
Under Jogo's shocked gaze, Yuji casually tossed its arms aside like throwing out trash.
Meanwhile, inside Yuji Itadori's body.
Sukuna was crossing his legs, sitting leisurely on the skulls, watching everything outside.
"Well done, brat."
"This talent, this ability to control cursed energy. Even though your total cursed energy is far weaker than the opponent's, you can produce a suppressive effect. You really haven't disappointed me."
Sukuna curled his lips, revealing a wicked smile.
Anyway, he and Yuji already had an agreement. No matter what, he was the one profiting immensely. He could comfortably watch the show and enjoy the pleasure of desserts and games.
"Let me see more! Yuji Itadori!"
<><><><><><>
Read Advanced Chapters on : patreon.com/Kaizo247
~ Every 150 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]