"Urgh—"
A mouthful of foul blood, mixed with the remnants of cursed energy, spewed from Mahito's mouth.
He collapsed onto the freezing ground like a wild dog with a broken spine, his body twitching uncontrollably.
Two consecutive, absolute crushing defeats.
It felt as though a mischievous child, who believed he could toy with all the ants in the world, had been casually shoved face-first into the dirt by a passing adult.
The repeated humiliation completely shattered his twisted pride.
At the same time, the fear of death pushed him to an unprecedented limit.
And it was precisely within this extreme terror that his maddening nature completely erupted.
"Haha..."
"Hahaha... Hahahahaha!"
Mahito began to laugh maniacally, his voice hoarse and filled with a twisted sense of euphoria.
"Interesting... This is too interesting!"
"But I have to thank you for letting me grasp this kind of power!"
"I admit, you are strong!"
"However, as long as you are pulled in here, no matter who you are, you will become a plaything in the palm of my hand!"
Amidst his crazed laughter, he formed a bizarre hand sign in front of his chest.
[Domain Expansion—Self-Embodiment of Perfection]!
*Hum*, a low rumble echoed.
Countless pitch-black hands violently stretched out with Mahito at the center.
Then, a sealed space formed by countless massive, interlocking arms instantly swallowed Ian whole.
Inside the domain, all light was completely cut off, leaving only a heart-palpitating darkness.
Countless giant hands slowly emerged from the inner walls of the domain, the palm of each hand symbolizing Mahito's twisted mind.
This was his world, his domain.
"Inside my domain, my attacks are guaranteed to hit!"
Mahito stood at the center of the domain, a warped yet extremely confident smile appearing on his face.
"As long as my hands touch your soul, you're dead!"
"No matter who you are!"
He excitedly began to imagine how he would torture this absurdly strong guy bit by bit, ultimately transforming him into his most perfect collectible.
Should he turn him into a perpetually crying clown, or stitch his soul together with some animal?
However, his smug laughter soon came to an abrupt halt.
He saw Ian standing in the center of the domain, without a single trace of panic on his face.
In fact, he even wore a hint of mockery.
The next second, Ian's body began to twist and reshape amidst a shifting display of light and shadow.
In the blink of an eye, he transformed into an exact replica of Mahito.
Whether it was the stitched face, the heterochromatic eyes, or even the twisted cursed energy radiating from his soul, everything was identical down to the finest detail.
A perfect replica.
No, it wasn't a replica.
That "Mahito" gave off a feeling that was even more "real" and perfect than the original body.
Before Mahito could even react to this bizarre scene.
Ian formed a hand sign identical to Mahito's, yet it was far more standard and brimming with profound, natural rhythm.
Then, the "Mahito" that Ian had transformed into slowly spoke in the exact same voice, carrying a heavy tone of mockery and disdain.
"[Domain Expansion—Self-Embodiment of Perfection]."
BOOM—!!!
A much larger, denser, and more perfect pitch-black domain violently erupted from Ian's body.
If Mahito's domain was like a rough, unbaked clay mold.
Then Ian's domain was a flawless work of art, meticulously polished by the hands of a god.
This newborn domain, in a completely unreasonable manner, instantly shattered, tore apart, and overwrote Mahito's own laughable domain.
The roles of master and intruder were instantly reversed.
Mahito was horrified to discover that he had completely lost control over the domain.
He had gone from being the ruler of this place to a pathetic, imprisoned trespasser.
In this domain ruled by Ian, Mahito's soul became a toy that Ian could play with at will.
Countless giant hands reached out from all directions, grabbing him firmly.
He was wantonly kneaded, stretched, and twisted.
His soul was molded into all sorts of bizarre shapes, enduring endless agony that was tens of millions of times worse than what he had ever inflicted on his victims.
Just a moment before Mahito's soul was about to collapse from the endless torture.
Ian set up an endless "cycle of reincarnation" for him.
He permanently locked the essence of Mahito's soul into the body of a lizard about to be discovered by a group of depraved men.
Or perhaps, into a fish whose ancestors had lived in the Ganges River for generations.
Condemning him for all eternity to taste the most extreme, purest terror within this endless, fleeting cycle of death and rebirth.
"Ahhh—!!!"
Accompanied by a miserable shriek that didn't sound human.
Ian dispelled the domain.
In the outside world, only a split second had passed.
Mahito's body had already turned into an unrecognizable puddle of cursed energy residue, completely dissipating into the air.
Ian casually sold the newly acquired Sukuna's Finger into the Transmutation Tablet.
A few days later.
The highly anticipated Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event was about to officially begin.
The boy who was supposed to be dead, Yuji Itadori, was also about to return to everyone's sight.
On the training grounds of Tokyo Jujutsu High, the students from the Kyoto Sister-School and the Tokyo school were facing off.
A tense atmosphere, thick with the smell of gunpowder, filled the air.
Satoru Gojo, however, acted as if nothing was wrong, casually strolling between the students of the two schools while pushing a mysterious large box.
"Hey! To all the students from Kyoto, thanks for making the long trip!"
"As a surprise, I've brought a souvenir for everyone!"
He exaggeratedly opened his arms wide and then suddenly threw open the box.
"Ta-da! Your deceased best friend, Yuji Itadori!"
Inside the box, Yuji Itadori struck a weird pose and popped his head out.
"Osu!"
The entire area instantly fell into a dead silence.
The expressions on Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki's faces shifted from bewilderment to shock, ultimately transforming into uncontrollable surprise and emotion.
After a bout of commotion, the goodwill event officially began.
The first event was the group battle, "Cursed Spirit Subjugation."
The rules were simple: within the designated vast forest area, the first team to exorcise the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit would win.
The starting whistle for the match had just blown.
The Tokyo school team was still discussing their tactics.
But Yuji Itadori had already charged deep into the forest like a wild dog off its leash.
Because of this, right at the start, he ran into the Kyoto school's strongest close-combat student—a man built like a bear, covered in muscles, yet possessing a meticulous mind.
Aoi Todo.