The devastating attack bypassed the untouchable man and shot toward every student present.
An aura of despair permeated the air.
Nobara Kugisaki subconsciously tightened her grip on her hammer, her knuckles turning white from the force.
Panda's face, which usually wore a naive expression, also revealed an unprecedented solemnity.
"Sensei..." Megumi Fushiguro muttered to himself, his lips parting slightly.
Even Satoru Gojo, known as the Strongest, would likely struggle to protect everyone against a sure-hit technique that covered the entire area.
However, the Satoru Gojo standing in front of them merely let out a soft sigh.
"What a pain," he said without even turning his head.
He simply and casually snapped his fingers.
A crisp snap rang out.
Under everyone's horrified gaze, the space between Ian and the students was seemingly crushed together by an invisible giant hand.
The distance of several dozen meters was instantly reduced to zero.
He merely took a single step forward, and his figure appeared at the very front of the students as if he had teleported, blocking the path of the destructive wave.
He opened one hand, his five fingers slightly bent.
An invisible barrier violently expanded in front of his palm.
Rumble—!!!
Magma, a sea of flowers, and giant waves—all the sure-hit attacks smashed against that unseen barrier, stirring up an apocalyptic storm of energy.
After the storm passed, the smoke and dust cleared.
The man's back remained tall and straight.
All the students behind him were completely unharmed.
One man alone was an insurmountable fortress wall!
Jogo, Hanami, and Dagon fell into utter despair.
They realized in terror that in front of this Satoru Gojo, whether it was offense, defense, or schemes, everything seemed so pale and ridiculous.
"Alright, warm-up is over," Ian said, his tone remaining flat as he cracked his neck.
"Next up is the counterattack."
While perfectly protecting everyone behind him, he launched his counterattack.
His figure vanished from his spot, appearing behind Jogo in the next second. With a single knife-hand strike, he easily severed the volcano atop its head.
Next, he appeared above Hanami and stomped down. Pure cursed energy surged out, crushing its massive body to pieces.
Just as he was about to completely exorcise these cursed spirits that had lost all ability to resist.
A figure quietly appeared at the edge of the battlefield.
The man wore a kasaya, sporting a hideous stitched scar across his forehead and a gentle smile on his face.
It was Suguru Geto.
Or rather, Kenjaku, who was occupying Suguru Geto's body.
"Satoru, it's been a while." He attempted to use Suguru Geto's identity and their unique bond to inflict a momentary mental shock on the Satoru Gojo before him.
With just a split-second opening, he would have the chance to save Jogo and the others.
However, the person he was facing was Ian.
Ian could not even be bothered to turn his head to look at him. His response to Kenjaku was an unheralded, blindingly fast punch.
Squelch!
The fist easily pierced through Suguru Geto's chest, bringing with it a spray of warm blood.
Suguru Geto coughed up blood, a look of disbelief on his face.
But immediately after, that shock transformed into a maniacal laughter.
"Haha... Hahahaha! I knew it! My premonition wasn't wrong! There really was a fatal danger today!" His words were filled with the relief of having survived a disaster.
The next moment, his body rapidly deformed like a melting wax statue, ultimately turning into a bizarre-looking cursed spirit.
This was actually a body-double cursed spirit that Kenjaku had tamed long ago, capable of perfectly transforming into someone else's appearance.
It turned out that Kenjaku's true body had never stepped foot into this perilous land from the very beginning!
Before its body completely collapsed, the body-double cursed spirit used the last of its strength to throw a scroll from its chest.
The scroll turned into a streak of light, bypassing everyone and flying with a clear target toward Yuji Itadori, who was standing frozen in place not far away after witnessing all this.
The scroll, thrown desperately by the body-double cursed spirit, suddenly unfurled in midair.
The seal shattered.
Waves of an ominous aura, so thick it was nauseating, explosively erupted from within.
Six of them!
A full six withered, pitch-black, and twisted fingers of Ryomen Sukuna shot toward Yuji Itadori!
This was Kenjaku's true goal.
Since he could not defeat Satoru Gojo, he would create a true monster that even Satoru Gojo would struggle to handle!
"Sukuna!" In that instant, Yuji Itadori's will was completely overwhelmed by the massive cursed energy and wicked thoughts contained within those six fingers.
The King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna, took complete control of the body.
He dashed forward, opened his mouth, and swallowed all six fingers into his stomach.
Boom—!!!
A terrifying cursed energy, far exceeding anything from before, shot into the sky.
The one obtained previously at the juvenile detention center, plus the six he had stolen from Jujutsu High's Cursed Warehouse, along with the very first one Yuji had swallowed, made a total of eight.
Now, adding these six.
Fourteen fingers!
The power of a full fourteen fingers completely merged within Sukuna's body!
His power climbed to an unprecedented level, nearly rivaling his prime.
"Satoru Gojo, figure out how to deal with Sukuna first! We'll be taking our leave!" Kenjaku's malice-filled voice drifted over from afar.
A massive flying cursed spirit appeared out of thin air, grabbed the heavily injured Jogo and the others from the ground, and prepared to flee.
'What a classic villain escape plot! So cliché!'
A trace of impatience finally appeared on Ian's face.
He coldly snorted and delivered a slash through the air.
Before the massive flying cursed spirit could even let out a cry, it was instantly sliced in half by an invisible slash.
Then came another slash.
Jogo and Hanami, who were just about to escape, had their bodies completely severed. Stripped of all mobility, they crashed to the ground like two dead dogs.
Everyone present once again turned their gazes toward that unreasonably powerful man.
Only to discover in horror.
He was no longer in the form of Satoru Gojo.
At this moment, Ian's appearance had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.
Two hideous, demon-like arms extended from his back, giving him a total of four arms.
His body was wreathed in a dark aura that was purer, more ancient, and more evil than Sukuna's.
His appearance was actually more Sukuna than the Sukuna currently possessing Yuji!
The King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna—who had just seized the body, experienced a surge in power, and was preparing to enjoy a feast of slaughter—instantly had his maniacal laughter freeze on his face.
The pupils of his four crimson eyes suddenly contracted.
He knew better than anyone else.
The man before him—whether in appearance, aura, or the essence of his power—was exactly the same as his past self.
No!
He was even... his superior form!
It was an absolute suppression stemming from the hierarchy of life!
'What the hell kind of cursed technique is this?!'
'Crap! I'm the fake!'
Just as the atmosphere froze to the extreme.
Rumble!
That sturdy Curtain finally shattered under Satoru Gojo's continuous attacks.
A figure teleported into the center of the field, carrying endless anxiety and fury.
The real Satoru Gojo had finally arrived.
However, the moment he saw the scene clearly, the brain of this era's strongest jujutsu sorcerer completely short-circuited.
His students were huddled together, still shaken.
Several special grade cursed spirits had their limbs severed and were tossed on the ground like trash.
Yuji Itadori, who was supposed to be his student and the vessel for Sukuna, was currently radiating the terrifying cursed energy of fourteen fingers, yet he wore an expression that looked like he was constipated.
And right in the center of the field stood a four-armed, demon-like man he didn't recognize at all, yet who exuded an aura that was even more Sukuna than Sukuna himself.
Satoru Gojo's mind was thrown into utter chaos.
'What in the world is going on?'