"Sukuna!"
Kenjaku materialized behind the King of Curses, his gaze darting between the two monsters standing amidst the rubble. Seeing the state of both Ryomen Sukuna and Souma Gojo, he froze. His eyes narrowed, his mind a whirlwind of cold calculation and hesitation.
Souma, sensing the shift in the air despite his jagged wounds, let out a raspy, provocative laugh. "What's the matter, Kenjaku? Seeing me like this makes you think you've got a shot? Come on then. Step up and try."
"..."
Kenjaku shifted his weight forward, his foot grinding against a shard of glass, but after a heartbeat, he drew back. He wasn't retreating out of cowardice—he told himself—it was simply a matter of strategic caution.
"Lord Sukuna!"
"Souma!"
Yuki Tsukumo and Uraume arrived simultaneously, both bearing the scars of their own fierce encounters. Moments later, Hanami appeared, cradling the pathetic, severed upper half of Mahito. Jogo followed, clutching the Prison Realm in his gnarled hand.
On the opposing side, the air grew heavy as Suguru Geto, Yuta Okkotsu, and Toji Fushiguro joined Souma. The two groups stood in a tense, silent deadlock, a powder keg waiting for a single spark.
Sukuna forced himself upright, his movements jerky but steadying. Souma mirrored him, rising slowly, the two of them locking eyes with a mutual, begrudging respect.
"Well?" Sukuna asked, his voice a low growl. "Are we doing this? In your current state, you seem to be at a distinct disadvantage."
Sukuna scanned the opposition. Kenjaku was formidable, and Uraume, Jogo, and Hanami were competent enough. But the other side? That woman—Tsukumo—was on the same level as Jogo. The man with zero cursed energy had an aura of raw lethality that rivaled her.
Then there was the boy—Yuta. Sukuna felt a twinge of genuine surprise at the kid's cursed energy reserves. What is that? It's nearly half of my own. And the man with the bangs and the narrow eyes—Geto—possessed a presence that felt legitimately threatening.
Tch. It seems we really are at a disadvantage, Sukuna admitted inwardly. Not that he feared them, but with so many high-level players involved, any fight would devolve into a messy brawl. He wanted a clean duel to decide the "Strongest" with Souma; a chaotic melee would only spoil the flavor of the feast.
Souma spread his arms, exposing his bloodied chest. "What? You scared?"
Sukuna's eye twitched, but he immediately masked it with his trademark arrogant smirk. "A joke. Me, afraid? I simply find the idea of others interrupting my dinner extremely distasteful. Name a time and a place for our final duel. Just the two of us. What do you say?"
Souma smiled, but it was a cold, predatory expression. "I can agree to that. However..." His voice dropped into a snarl. "With so many people dead, you're not leaving today without paying a tax."
"Satoru!"
"Wha—"
Crrr-ack!
The Prison Realm in Jogo's hand began to vibrate violently, emitting a high-pitched, metallic shriek. Kenjaku's eyes widened in horror as he realized the weight was shifting. "Drop it! Throw it away—!"
BOOM!!!
The Prison Realm shattered into eight perfect cubes. Satoru Gojo emerged from the wreckage of the seal, the Inverted Spear of Heaven gripped in his hand and a manic, terrifying grin on his face.
"Satoru Gojo?!" Jogo screamed, his single eye nearly popping out of his head.
Satoru didn't waste a breath on words. He lunged with the speed of a collapsing star, the Inverted Spear of Heaven aimed directly at the creature in Hanami's arms: Mahito.
The move was so sudden and focused that neither Sukuna nor Kenjaku could react in time. Even Toji and Yuki were stunned by the sheer intentionality of the strike. This was the specific mission Souma had secretly entrusted to his twin.
"Mahito?!" Kenjaku roared. He realized instantly that Satoru was going for the kill. Does he know? Does he know how vital Idle Transfiguration is to my plan? "Protect Mahito!"
Satoru swung the cursed tool, the blade crackling with the black lightning of a concentrated strike. Hanami, acting on pure instinct, hurled Mahito's torso toward Jogo to get him out of the line of fire.
Squelch!
Jogo watched in paralyzed horror as Satoru's blade carved through Hanami instead, cleaving the forest curse in two.
"Out of my way!" Satoru snarled. His cursed energy erupted in a terrifying wave of pressure as he swung the spear again, the force of his Infinity literalizing into a crushing weight.
CRASH!!!
Hanami's physical form was pulverized into shards, then ground into fine dust by the weight of the Limitless. The forest curse was gone before it could even utter a final plea.
"Hanami!" Jogo's scream was a raw, visceral sound of agony. He couldn't believe it. His family was being slaughtered right in front of him.
Satoru didn't pause for a second. He stepped over the ash, his eyes locked on Mahito. He didn't know exactly why his brother insisted this specific curse had to die today, but he knew one thing: if Souma said it, it was law.
"You bastard!" Jogo bellowed, a torrent of flame erupting from his head, only to be effortlessly repelled by the Infinity.
Before Jogo could blink, Satoru was in his face. The cold gleam of the Inverted Spear reflected in Jogo's eye. But Hanami was already dead; Jogo wouldn't let Mahito be next.
He shoved Mahito away and thrust his flaming hands forward. "Satoru Gojo! Go to hell!"
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion rocked the district. Jogo was sent hurtling backward, his left arm missing from the shoulder down, blood spraying as he tumbled through the rubble.
Satoru frowned, annoyed that Jogo had bought Mahito a few more seconds. He prepared to finish the job when a sudden, oppressive chill hit his back.
"Don't look down on us!"
Kenjaku lunged at Satoru, his hands glowing with a dark, heavy energy. "Anti-Gravity System!"
CRACK!!!
The ground beneath Satoru's feet shattered into a crater as the localized gravity multiplied a thousandfold. Simultaneously, a violent, invisible slash hammered against Satoru's Infinity, making the space itself tremble.
"Cleave!" Sukuna's voice rang out, his eyes narrowed as he assisted Kenjaku.
Satoru was blown back by the combined force, landing gracefully beside his brother. "So that's Ryomen Sukuna? What a sharp strike."
Souma cuffed him on the back of the head. "Stop sightseeing. Everyone, move! Kill the one called Mahito! Don't let him leave!"
Geto and Yuta didn't need to be told twice; their trust in Souma was absolute. Yuki and Toji hesitated for only a fraction of a second before launching themselves into the fray. Whatever Souma's reasons were, they knew the weight of his foresight.
Kenjaku felt a cold sweat break out. This is bad. Souma Gojo... he really does know everything.
"Jogo! Take Mahito and run!"
Sukuna let out a cold snort. "Hah? You expect me and Uraume to play your rearguard?"
Kenjaku's jaw tightened. "I'll do it!" He stepped forward, his hands weaving a complex, ancient sign.
"Domain Expansion: Womb Profusion!"
A massive, grotesque pillar made of thousands of tormented faces rose into the sky, wailing in a dissonant, bone-chilling chorus. The open-type domain began to exert its crushing pressure over the entire area.
Souma lunged forward, his fist connecting with Kenjaku's face and sending him flying back into his own pillar of faces. "A single domain won't stop me!"
Kenjaku wiped the blood from his mouth, his eyes burning with a dark, scholarly madness. He began a second set of mudras. "Then how about two?"
The wailing stopped instantly, replaced by a golden radiance that seemed to descend from the heavens. The air hummed with the sound of a thousand chanting monks.
"Domain Expansion: Vajra Descent!"
Beside the grotesque tree of faces, a gargantuan, golden Buddha statue manifested. But this was no peaceful deity; its face was contorted into a demonic snarl, its eyes were a bleeding scarlet, and its fingers ended in jagged, predatory claws. It was a King of Wrath, a Rakshasa in golden robes.
Kenjaku stood between the two pillars of heaven and hell—the Womb Realm and the Diamond Realm. He looked like a living Buddha of salvation, and simultaneously, the most horrific obscenity to ever walk the earth.
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