Bang!
After ripping apart the Wing King, Gojo Shion followed up with a vicious whip kick that sent Kenjaku flying. His body tore through several buildings before crashing deep into the rubble.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Then the debris shifted.
Kenjaku slowly climbed out from the ruins, his eyes bloodshot and filled with fury.
"You forced my hand!"
His fingers twisted into hand seals with frantic speed as he threw his head back and roared.
"Domain Expan—"
Bang!
The words never finished.
Kenjaku coughed out a mouthful of blood, his eyes rolling as his body collapsed to one knee. Only one confused thought remained in his mind.
Why didn't he wait for me to finish my line?
Shion withdrew his fist after landing a devastating Black Flash that pushed Kenjaku to the brink of death. He tilted his head slightly, looking genuinely puzzled.
"Who decided I have to stand around and wait while my enemy uses their ultimate move?"
Kenjaku fell silent.
Wasn't that an unspoken rule?
Before he could recover, Shion had already rushed forward again. A dense sphere of purple energy gathered in his palm.
Kenjaku's entire body went rigid.
Even with his Reverse Cursed Technique and his specially modified body allowing him to survive Shion's relentless attacks, taking a direct hit from Hollow Technique: Purple would be another matter entirely.
He would not survive that.
"Damn it!"
Kenjaku immediately turned and fled, abandoning all thoughts of strategy. After stalling this long, Mahito should have already succeeded.
And more importantly, his life mattered more.
Yet the moment he looked back, Shion's face suddenly appeared directly in front of him.
Like a ghost.
Their eyes met at a distance of only a few inches.
Kenjaku's heart nearly stopped.
Without hesitation, he slammed his hand against his own chest.
Black runes rapidly spread across his body. A massive surge of Cursed Energy began leaking out uncontrollably. The body he occupied, Itadori Kaori, started swelling in a grotesque and unnatural way.
"Self-destruction?!"
Even Shion had not expected Kenjaku to be this decisive.
With that amount of Cursed Energy detonating, the entire area of Jujutsu High would be flattened. His students would be caught in the blast as well.
Shion immediately stepped forward. His Cursed Energy pressed down on Itadori Kaori's body, suppressing the expansion and slowing the detonation while his hands quickly formed seals.
"Domain Expansion, Unlimited Void."
Just as Shion focused on stabilizing the situation, something horrifying happened.
Crack.
The skull of Itadori Kaori suddenly split open.
A disgusting brain with a mouth burst out and shot into the air.
Kenjaku had abandoned the body.
Right at the moment before the explosion, he fled.
Shion's eyelid twitched.
But there was no time to chase him. The swelling corpse was still seconds away from detonating.
In the next instant, Itadori Kaori's body was dragged into the Domain.
Inside Stillborn Stars, all Cursed Energy was stripped away.
The grotesquely swollen body gradually returned to its normal shape, though the split skull looked particularly disturbing.
Shion clicked his tongue softly.
He stepped forward, gently closing the cracked skull and used Reverse Cursed Technique to heal the wound.
Outside the Domain.
With a sharp shattering sound, the Veil surrounding the battlefield began dissolving into nothingness.
A figure immediately rushed in from the sky.
Satoru Gojo hovered high above the battlefield, removing his blindfold as his Six Eyes scanned the surroundings.
"Hmm?"
His gaze landed on a familiar pink haired boy.
"In such a short time his Cursed Energy jumped several levels. This Itadori kid is pretty impressive."
Watching Itadori Yuji standing beside Aoi Todo, Satoru smiled with clear satisfaction.
Then he sensed something else.
"Hmm? Bro opened his Domain?"
Satoru tilted his head slightly before shrugging.
"Guess he doesn't need my help."
His attention shifted.
Not far away, Kugisaki Arata and Yoshinobu Gakuganji were locked in fierce combat.
"Damn it!" Arata shouted. "Why do I have to fight some old geezer like you? Where are the Gojo brothers? I want to turn them into coat racks!"
A figure suddenly appeared directly in front of him.
White hair.
Blue eyes.
The identity was obvious.
Kugisaki Arata's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Aha! Finally!"
Gakuganji immediately shouted in alarm.
"Don't kill him!"
Shink!
Before Arata could react, all four of his limbs were severed instantly. Blood sprayed into the air as his body was thrown backward.
Satoru Gojo casually looked toward the distant battlefield.
"If I teleport there it'll take a bit of time."
He raised his hand.
"Guess I'll go a little overboard."
"Hollow Technique, Purple."
Far away, a massive beam of annihilating purple energy tore across the horizon.
...
The cemetery.
Rain drizzled softly across the quiet graveyard.
Itadori Yuji stood silently as his mother's coffin was slowly lowered into the ground.
His expression was complicated.
Strictly speaking, Itadori Kaori had died before he was even born. The one who truly gave birth to him was Kenjaku.
But even so, Yuji had never experienced a mother's love.
Yet as he watched the grave being buried, a strange sadness filled his chest.
He slowly closed his eyes.
Pressing his palms together, he whispered quietly.
"Rest in peace, Mom."
Behind him, several people stood silently.
No one stepped forward to comfort him.
Even Aoi Todo remained quiet.
Some things a boy must face alone before becoming a man.
Within the group, Megumi Fushiguro glanced at Yuji's back before quietly turning to leave.
Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder.
Megumi jumped slightly.
"Gojo-sensei?"
Satoru Gojo stood behind him with his blindfold on, though it did nothing to hide the wide grin on his face.
"What's wrong, Megumi? You look a little down."
"It's nothing."
Satoru did not speak again. He simply waited.
After a few seconds, Megumi sighed.
"Gojo-sensei… during the break, can you give me some special training?"
A faint smile formed on Satoru's lips.
"Of course."
Was it a sense of pressure from watching Yuji grow stronger so quickly?
Perhaps.
But more than that, it was the frustration of feeling powerless while his comrades fought desperately.
Under the quiet drizzle, the two figures slowly walked away.
...
Deep underground.
Mahito and Jogo supported Hanami's heavily damaged body as they staggered forward through a dark corridor. Half of Hanami's body had been destroyed.
"Kenjaku! Kenjaku!"
Jogo roared angrily.
"Where the hell are you, you bastard? Get out here!"
"I hear you."
A lazy voice answered from the shadows.
A blond young man slowly stepped into the light. His clothes were torn, and blood stained his body.
Jogo frowned.
"Shigeomote Shunta?"
Mahito shook his head immediately.
"No. The soul is different."
He narrowed his eyes.
"It's Kenjaku, right?"
The blond youth smiled faintly and brushed aside his hair, revealing the hideous stitches across his forehead.
Jogo snorted with disgust.
"You really have no limits. Taking over an ally's body."
Kenjaku shrugged casually.
"Shunta died at Shion's hands. That has nothing to do with me."
"At best, I'm just recycling waste."
He then glanced at the three cursed spirits.
"Besides, I almost died. Aren't you going to show a little concern?"
Kenjaku turned his gaze toward Mahito.
Mahito understood immediately and pulled a small box from his coat.
Inside were five of Sukuna's Fingers.
Mahito shrugged.
"The Cursed Womb Death Paintings were moved ahead of time. I couldn't find them."
Kenjaku waved dismissively.
"It doesn't matter. Those failures are irrelevant."
He picked up the box but frowned slightly.
"But why are there only five Sukuna fingers at Jujutsu High?"
Over the years, Kenjaku had been collecting them.
Thirteen were already in his possession.
According to his calculations, the remaining fingers should have been sealed by Jujutsu High.
Yet now, two were missing.
Mahito rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Maybe the last two are still somewhere out there?"
Kenjaku frowned deeply.
To collect Sukuna's fingers, he had practically searched the entire Jujutsu world.
Logically, none should have slipped through the net.
Yet somehow, two had.
Something about this did not feel right.
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100 Powerstones = 1 Bonus Chapter
200 Powerstones = 3 Bonus Chapters
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