Sukuna watched Gojo carefully.
For the first time since the battle began, the King of Curses looked genuinely wary.
Gojo's domain barrier stood firm around them. Sukuna had already tested it several times, slashing at it from the outside of Malevolent Shrine, but the result had been the same every time.
Too strong.
Even if he committed fully to destroying it, it would take minutes to break.
And Gojo would never allow him that kind of freedom.
Sukuna clicked his tongue.
"So this is the strategy you chose," he muttered.
Gojo stood across from him inside Unlimited Void, hands loosely at his sides, smiling as if this were a casual sparring match.
"Problem?" Gojo asked lightly.
Sukuna narrowed his eyes.
If he wanted to survive inside this domain, he had to adapt.
He switched tactics.
Instead of relying fully on Domain Amplification, Sukuna began rapidly alternating between his Shrine technique and the vessel's technique, using whichever was most efficient in the moment.
Then he moved.
Sukuna launched another slash toward Gojo's barrier from outside.
The attack struck the outer shell of Unlimited Void.
Before he could follow up with more slashes-
Gojo was already moving.
Gojo shot forward.
Sukuna instantly dropped the Shrine technique and prepared for hand-to-hand combat.
But Gojo had already reached him.
Gojo's fist rocketed toward Sukuna's face.
Sukuna raised his arm to block, and at the same time threw a counterpunch toward Gojo's ribs.
Sukuna's fist teleported across space, appearing directly against Gojo's side.
The hit landed.
But Gojo didn't even flinch.
Instead, Gojo trapped Sukuna's arm under his armpit.
Sukuna's eyes widened slightly.
He tried to teleport his arm away—
But it didn't move.
Gojo had already forced his own cursed energy into Sukuna's fist.
Because their cursed energy was now mixed together, the vessel technique couldn't properly identify the arm as purely Sukuna's cursed energy construct.
Meaning Sukuna couldn't teleport it.
Gojo grinned.
"Got you."
His fist smashed into Sukuna's face.
The impact echoed across the domain.
Sukuna spat blood but immediately forced Gojo's cursed energy out of his arm and teleported away.
He reappeared dozens of meters back.
But Gojo had already predicted the movement.
The Six Eyes had tracked the flow of Sukuna's cursed energy.
Four possible locations.
Gojo used Blue to teleport.
And by sheer luck, Sukuna appeared exactly where Gojo arrived.
Gojo's hand was already glowing red.
"Too slow."
"RED."
The blast detonated directly into Sukuna's face.
A violent explosion engulfed him as the repulsive force launched him backward, burning half his face and tearing chunks of flesh away.
Yet even while tumbling through the air—
Sukuna continued firing slashes toward Gojo's domain barrier with all he got.
Gojo clicked his tongue.
"You're persistent, I'll give you that."
Sukuna landed and immediately tried to create distance.
But Gojo was relentless.
Five Maximum Output Blues formed behind him.
Only two were launched toward Sukuna.
The other three hovered nearby, distorting gravity around them.
Sukuna dodged the incoming Blues while continuing to strike the barrier whenever he found even the smallest opening.
Gojo appeared directly in front of him again.
Another Red had already formed in his hand.
"Red!"
The sphere launched forward.
Sukuna noticed immediately that the trajectory would miss him.
He smirked.
"You're repeating tricks now?"
But then his eyes widened.
The Red wasn't targeting him.
Nor was it targeting his back.
It collided with one of the floating Blues behind him.
A massive surge of cursed energy erupted.
Sukuna's instincts screamed.
He tried to flee.
But Gojo had already positioned himself perfectly.
Sukuna was trapped between Gojo and the forming purple.
Gojo began chanting.
"Nine ropes…"
"Polarized light…"
"Crow and Shomyo…"
"The gap between within and without."
He had skipped the chants for Blue and Red earlier to create the attack faster and stealthier.
The cursed energies collided.
"Hollow Purple."
A massive beam of annihilating energy erupted.
But just before the blast fully formed—
Gojo grabbed Sukuna.
And held him in front of the attack.
Sukuna's eyes widened.
He tried to activate the vessel technique to teleport away.
But Gojo had already flooded Sukuna's body with his own cursed energy again.
The technique failed.
In the final moment, Sukuna forced Domain Amplification to its absolute maximum to survive the incoming blast.
The Hollow Purple detonated.
The explosion erased everything in its path.
When the light faded—
Sukuna's body was severely burned and torn apart.
Gojo himself had only minor injuries.
Using Sukuna as a shield had saved him from the worst of the blast.
Gojo didn't waste a single second.
He rushed forward and began pummeling Sukuna mercilessly.
Punch after punch crashed into Sukuna's body.
The already-damaged King of Curses struggled to respond.
Finally, Malevolent Shrine collapsed due to the damage Sukuna took.
Sukuna's domain collapsed.
And in the next instant, Unlimited Void swallowed him completely.
Information flooded Sukuna's brain endlessly.
Thoughts. Memories. Sensations. All incomplete.
Infinite data began pouring into his mind.
Sukuna froze.
His body stood still like a statue.
Gojo walked toward him calmly.
He tilted his head slightly.
"Didn't I say I'd win?"
Sukuna didn't respond.
His mind was completely overloaded.
Gojo sighed softly.
Then he stepped back.
"Stand proud, Sukuna."
He raised his hands and began forming another technique.
"You were strong."
Gojo's voice carried a rare hint of sincerity.
"I had fun fighting you."
He began chanting.
"Phase…"
"Twilight…"
"Eyes of wisdom…"
A Blue sphere formed in his palm.
"Phase…"
"Paramita…"
"Pillars of light…"
A Red sphere appeared in the other.
The two spheres drifted closer together.
Gojo spoke the final chant calmly.
"Nine ropes…"
"Polarized light…"
"Crow and Shomyo…"
"The gap between within and without."
The energies fused.
A massive Purple sphere formed.
Gojo fired it.
The beam engulfed Sukuna completely.
The King of Curses was erased before he could move.
Darkness.
Sukuna opened his eyes.
He stood in an empty void.
His body had returned to his Heian era form; he had four arms, four eyes, and he was tall, very tall.
Across from him stood Uraume.
Uraume was also in his original body, appearing as the young boy he had once been centuries ago.
Sukuna walked toward him and sat down casually.
Uraume clenched the fabric of his robe tightly.
His eyes were wet.
Sukuna noticed.
"Don't be sad," Sukuna said calmly.
"Losing was always a possibility."
He leaned back slightly.
"Besides…"
A faint smile appeared.
"I had immense fun."
He paused.
"It could've been even more fun."
A red-haired figure flickered briefly in his thoughts.
Sukuna shook his head.
"Gojo knew too much about me..."
"But information itself is also a strength, and I lost in that.
He chuckled quietly.
"If we fought without knowing each other's techniques…"
"That would have been perfect."
Uraume looked up at him.
His voice trembled.
"S-Sukuna-sama…"
"…How strong was Gojo Satoru?"
Sukuna answered without hesitation.
"He was the strongest person I have ever fought."
A short silence passed.
"Stronger than me."
Uraume's eyes widened slightly.
Sukuna stood up.
"If there is a next life…"
He looked forward into the darkness.
"…perhaps I'll take a different path."
Uraume stood beside him.
Then another figure appeared.
Kenjaku.
She looked around in confusion.
Her body had also returned to its original form from two thousand years ago.
Kenjaku raised a hand and examined it.
"I had forgotten what I originally looked like," she murmured as she was touching her face.
She looked toward Sukuna and Uraume.
Sukuna glanced at her with clear irritation.
Then he turned away and began walking.
Uraume followed immediately.
Kenjaku hurried after them.
"Wait!"
"Wait for me!"
But no matter how fast she moved—
She couldn't get closer.
The distance between them never changed.
She watched the two figures drift further into the darkness.
Kenjaku slowly stopped walking.
She looked around the endless void.
A quiet laugh escaped her.
"…So this is hell."
The darkness swallowed everything.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of chapter