Not long ago, on a peaceful afternoon without any curses causing trouble, Mukuro and Nanami sat in a café, enjoying a quiet afternoon coffee together.
"Fushiguro, do you think I'll ever learn Domain Expansion in this lifetime?"
Nanami held a newspaper in his hand. After taking a sip of coffee, he suddenly asked the question.
Among his friends from the same time at Jujutsu High, three had become special grade sorcerers. Mukuro, in particular, had been his closest friend since childhood.
He was sincerely happy for their strength. But he also wanted to move forward himself and get closer to those so-called monsters.
A few days ago, he had even witnessed something unbelievable. A newly born curse, playful and immature, had learned Domain Expansion after getting beaten badly by him.
Did that mean he truly had no talent?
That unreachable peak of jujutsu, that towering mountain he could not cross… when would it finally appear before him?
"Domain Expansion… you'll definitely have one someday, Nanami. Your talent is outstanding too. Maybe one day, when you land another Black Flash, you'll suddenly understand it."
Mukuro was not comforting him. He truly believed Nanami would eventually manifest his own domain.
By the time they graduated from Jujutsu High, Nanami had already become a fully capable grade 1 sorcerer. He also held the record for the most consecutive Black Flashes in a single day.
His understanding of jujutsu was beyond doubt.
Mukuro believed he only lacked a single opportunity.
"One more Black Flash… sounds easy when you say it."
Landing a Black Flash allowed a sorcerer to enter a strange and heightened state for a short time. In theory, it could lead to understanding a domain. But landing five Black Flashes was easier said than done.
Nanami pushed his goggles up and ended the conversation.
* * *
'Once the Sukuna problem is solved and Megumi and Itadori grow up, we'll probably be ready to retire…'
That conversation with Mukuro resurfaced in Nanami's mind.
It felt as if he were standing inside a magnificent book. The pages beneath his feet turned one after another.
The sky was a clear blue. Cool seawater flowed across his toes, and in his hand was a book he had once closed halfway through reading.
'Right… Malaysia.'
Nanami remembered. That was the place he wanted to visit after retiring.
'But before that day comes, I'll keep standing in front of them. That's the responsibility of an adult.'
The pages stopped turning. The book closed.
Nanami's thoughts returned to the present.
His fist had just sent Dagon crashing into the depths of the ocean. Countless days and nights of experience had condensed into this single moment.
"Pfft!"
Meanwhile, Haibara could no longer hold it in. He dropped to one knee on the beach and spat out a mouthful of blood. This domain had originally belonged to the enemy, yet he had forcefully restrained it. The difficulty was far greater than before.
"Haibara-sensei!"
Nobara and Maki quickly ran over to support him.
"Good work, Haibara. And Megumi. Leave the rest to me."
To everyone's surprise, Nanami calmly stood on the surface of the water.
"Nanami-san…"
Only Megumi sensed something different.
It was absolute confidence.
Nanami had finally seen the future of his own strength.
"It's useless! In my domain you have no chance!"
Dagon stood atop a gigantic sea-beast shikigami and burst up from the ocean like an unkillable cockroach. With a wave of his hand, dozens of shikigami leapt into the air and charged toward Nanami and Megumi.
As long as he eliminated the boy competing with him for control of the domain, the others could be worn down slowly.
"This domain no longer belongs to you."
Sunlight reflected off Nanami's goggles as he tossed his tonfas into the air.
'I know you're watching, Fushiguro.'
Nanami clenched his fists and brought them together in front of him, forming the Daigensui Myōō Mudra.
"Domain Expansion: Divided Boundary of Light and Shadow!"
A vast surge of cursed energy spread outward like an ocean. Pages unfolded beneath his feet, and in just an instant his domain completely overwrote both Dagon's domain and Megumi's Chimera Shadow Garden.
A faint scent of books filled the air.
Then the ocean returned again. But this time it rose from the world within the book.
"Nanami-san…"
Seeing this, Megumi finally released his hand seal. Blood seeped from his nose and mouth as he breathed heavily. In both cursed energy reserves and explosive output, he was no match for Dagon.
He had only managed to endure because Dagon's burst damage was not extremely high. Yet he was still being gradually overwhelmed.
But now Nanami had replaced the entire domain the moment he expanded his own.
This world had changed owners.
"Nice one, Nanami… pfft!"
Ignoring his injuries, Haibara tried to jump up in excitement to celebrate his friend. Instead he coughed up more blood.
"Die, humans!"
In front of them, Dagon's summoned shikigami remained even though their guaranteed-hit effect was gone. But now that his domain had been overwritten, he could no longer use his innate technique.
Roaring in fury, Dagon flew through the air with cursed energy wrapped around his fists, charging behind the shikigami.
"Ratio Technique: Collapse!"
With the guaranteed-hit effect of his domain, Nanami did not need to deal with each shikigami individually.
'Every piece of malice that attacks my life… I will crush them all.'
He punched forward.
The next instant, the entire space containing Dagon and his shikigami was treated as a single target. Nanami's attack struck the artificial weak point created in that space.
The air shattered like glass.
Dagon's shikigami burst into a rain of blood.
Dagon himself looked like something trapped inside a mirror. As the mirror shattered, his body split apart piece by piece, dark green blood spraying everywhere.
'Am I dying…? Jogo… Hanami… I'll leave the rest to you…'
Memories of the days spent with his companions flashed through his mind.
One of the Four Disaster Curses, Dagon shattered along with the broken space after taking Nanami's full attack.
Boom!
The domain collapsed.
Nanami and the others returned to the original hall. Only Dagon remained behind, the last fragments of his body slowly turning into ash.
That was the fate of curses. No matter how strong they were, they left nothing behind after death.
"Ha… ha…"
Nanami collapsed onto the ground, something rarely seen.
The battle had drained far more cursed energy than expected. If they wanted to continue deeper, they would have to rest briefly.
"Haibara, wasn't Itadori with you?"
While catching his breath, Nanami looked toward Haibara, who was also sitting on the ground nearby.
"As for Itadori, it was too dangerous below. So I made an excuse and had him stay upstairs with his brothers to clean up transfigured humans and rescue civilians."
Haibara gave a thumbs-up, clearly proud of his decision.
"You really are…"
Nanami was about to tease him.
But suddenly he stopped.
His eyes widened.
Standing before them was the volcano-headed curse Satoru had once mentioned, and the cursed energy radiating from it was far stronger than Dagon's.
"Dagon… it's alright. Let's meet again in the wilderness a hundred years from now."
Jogo gently picked up the last remaining fragment of his companion's body and watched as it slowly faded away. His words sounded calm, yet his voice carried deep loneliness.
This was the second family member he had lost.
"Get ready…"
Nanami stood up again, cold sweat covering his forehead. Of all times…
"…You're the one who did it, right?"
In the blink of an eye Jogo appeared in front of him and slowly raised his hand. Among everyone present, Nanami was clearly the strongest, and right now Jogo wanted revenge for Dagon.
'This is bad!'
Nanami had already exhausted most of his strength. He had no time to dodge and could only watch as Jogo's hand moved toward him.
Whoosh!
At the last possible moment, something changed.
A terrifying wave of cold swept across the area. The volcano-headed curse that had been steaming moments ago was suddenly frozen into an ice statue.
Haibara was so shocked he could barely speak.
Behind Jogo, a gentle voice sounded, but within that gentle tone was overwhelming fury.
"And what exactly do you think you're doing to my juniors?"
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