Megumi Fushiguro's heart sank. He immediately understood what was happening—the cursed spirit had swallowed the finger. A special-grade cursed object merging with a cursed spirit would give birth to something even more terrifying.
I can't let it complete the fusion… He gritted his teeth, ready to summon the tiger burial.
But it was too late.
The mass of flesh suddenly stopped moving.
In Megumi's eyes, it instantly crumbled into powder and disappeared, replaced by—
A tall, powerfully built, naked man.
He had short, cherry-pink hair, and his face and body were covered in black lines.
The man—no, Ryomen Sukuna—slowly opened his eyes.
They were crimson beast's eyes. The pupils were thin vertical slits, devoid of emotion, containing only a pure, cold killing intent.
He looked at his own hand, clenching and unclenching his fist. Then he raised his head and looked at Megumi Fushiguro.
No, to be precise, he was looking at the two Jade Dogs beside Megumi Fushiguro.
At that moment, Megumi noticed the change in the cursed spirit's expression.
From indifference to doubt… and then shock?
Sukuna's four eyes stared at Jade Dog Black and Jade Dog White, his crimson pupils contracting sharply.
He even took a half-step back—just half a step, but the fear in that action was so obvious it couldn't be ignored.
Megumi was stunned. What kind of reaction was that?
Sukuna opened his mouth, his voice hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time:
"Ten… Shadows Technique?"
There was disbelief in his voice, and also a hint of… anticipation?
Megumi didn't answer. He kept his hands in a sealing posture, staring intently at the cursed spirit. Jade Dog Black and Jade Dog White resumed their fighting stances. Although wounded, their gazes remained fierce.
Sukuna's gaze darted between the two Jade Dogs and Megumi. His expression grew increasingly complex, a mix of suspicion, confusion, and some deeper, unfathomable feeling that Megumi couldn't understand.
"Interesting," Sukuna suddenly laughed. The mouth at the base of his ear grinned even wider. "This is truly interesting. A thousand years have passed, and the Zen'in clan still hasn't died out? No, wait…"
His consciousness seemed to be suppressed by something, and his originally ferocious aura softened.
"Oh, it's lively over here~"
A sharp voice suddenly interrupted.
Megumi and the possessed boy both turned their heads.
Next to the vending machine at the edge of the playground, another person had appeared at some point.
He was tall, with short white hair, a black blindfold covering the upper half of his face, and a cynical smile at the corner of his lips. In one hand, he held a paper bag with a dessert shop logo, casually waving it.
"Megumi~ Teacher brought you some sweets! The edamame whipped cream flavor is really delicious!"
Satoru Gojo.
The strongest sorcerer of the modern era. The wielder of the Six Eyes and the user of the Limitless technique.
He stood there so casually, as if what he was seeing wasn't ruins and a special-grade cursed spirit, but an ordinary campus after school.
Satoru Gojo tilted his head and took a bite of the sweet in his hand. Cream dripped from the corner of his mouth, and he stuck out his tongue to lick it off, moving as naturally as if he were in his own living room.
"Where's Sukuna's finger? Did you find it yet?"
"I ate it," the boy beside him raised his hand.
"Is that really true?" Satoru Gojo leaned in front of the boy and observed him. "You're very confused, but you're quite interesting. You swallowed Sukuna's finger, but you weren't taken over by his consciousness… instead, you retained yourself? A rare breed."
"Can you switch consciousness? Sukuna—that cursed thing inside your body?"
"It should be possible."
"Then switch for ten seconds. You'll switch back in ten seconds."
Satoru Gojo did some warm-up stretches.
The boy closed his eyes, his breathing becoming extremely rapid.
The man opened his four eyes.
"Get out of the way, Six Eyes," he hissed. "You don't interest me. The one I'm looking for is Zen'in Genji."
Satoru Gojo raised an eyebrow. "Zen'in Genji? Oh~ you mean the ancestor from a thousand years ago. Why are you looking for him? To reminisce? For revenge? Or…"
He paused, and his tone suddenly became dangerous. "Do you want him to beat you up again?"
Sukuna was enraged.
Without warning—without any incantation. He instantly disappeared from his spot, and the next moment, he was already in front of Satoru Gojo, his fist exploding forward. The punch was faster than the speed of sound, the air tearing with a piercing screech.
But the fist stopped an inch in front of Satoru Gojo.
No, not stopped—it could no longer move forward. It was as if there was an infinitely thin, but absolutely impassable, barrier in front of his fist.
"Limitless technique: Infinity," Satoru Gojo said casually, taking another bite of his sweet. "It's useless~ Your attacks will never reach me."
The cursed spirit let out a furious roar. He struck out with his four arms—fists, palms, claws, fingers—various attacks raining down like a storm. Each punch was enough to destroy reinforced concrete, each strike carrying a special cursed energy.
But they all stopped an inch in front of Satoru Gojo.
Without exception.
"My turn now, right?" Satoru Gojo finished the last piece of his sweet and brushed the powdered sugar off his hand. He raised his right hand, index and middle fingers together, pointing at the cursed spirit.
"Cursed Technique Reversal—"
Cursed energy gathered at his fingertips, compressing and changing in quality.
"Hollow Purple."
A dark red sphere of energy shot forward.
Sukuna didn't even have time to react. A hole the size of a bowl appeared in his chest. There was no bleeding, no shredded flesh—everything in that area—flesh, bones, internal organs—disappeared in an instant, as if it had never existed.
Sukuna staggered back, looking down at the void in his chest. First stunned, then… ecstatic?
"Ha… hahaha…" He laughed softly, the laughter growing louder and louder, eventually turning into a maniacal cackle. "Yes! This is it! This is the power! Only at this level… is he worthy of being my rival!"
His wound began to heal.
Within a few seconds, his chest had returned to normal, not even a scar left.
"Interesting," Satoru Gojo whistled. "Reverse Cursed Technique…"
He paused, and the Six Eyes beneath his blindfold seemed to see through everything.
Sukuna seemed to realize something and immediately returned control of his body to the boy, retreating to his inner domain.
Inside his throne room, littered with bones, Ryomen Sukuna propped his cheek on one hand, looking with boredom at the floating image before him—the live feed of the outside world.
"Zen'in Genji, you must revive. Without you, I would have been bored to death in this era. You are the only one who can match me. This is the choice of fate."
---
Satoru Gojo whistled.
"This really is interesting."
He said with a smile, then took out his phone and quickly edited a message.
To: Suguru Geto
Message:
"Hey, Geto, I just ran into something interesting. Sukuna seems to be awake, but not fully. By the way, I found a pink-haired kid who swallowed Sukuna's finger and survived. I'm planning to take him back and train him. Meet at the usual place tonight. We'll talk in detail. – Satoru"
Sent.
Satoru Gojo put away his phone, hooked one arm around Yuji Itadori's neck, and threw the other over Megumi Fushiguro's shoulder.
"Let's go, let's go~ Teacher's treating you to dessert! Celebrating another day of saving the world!"
"Gojo-sensei, please let go…"
"Eh~ Megumi is so cold!"
The setting sun completely disappeared below the horizon.