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A one-on-one battle. Him, a sorcerer for less than a year, against a curse user with over a thousand years of experience.
From the outside, it seemed like an unfair situation. In this fight, Itadori was undoubtedly the underdog. If money were involved, he'd likely only have 20% of the betting odds. The more experienced fighter's victory seemed as clear as day.
But Itadori didn't see it that way.
It might sound arrogant, but Itadori felt he was exactly where he needed to be.
He didn't care if he was the underdog—after all, he wouldn't put himself in such a disadvantageous position if he didn't have a path to victory in mind.
Kenjaku was a formidable opponent, a curse user who undoubtedly sat comfortably near the top of the hierarchy as one of the strongest. Unlike Sukuna, he hadn't been sealed away for the past thousand years.
He had studied, learned, and refined his skills. His mastery of Jujutsu was leagues above anyone in this generation, limited only by the body he possessed. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that in this regard, Kenjaku even surpassed Tengen.
That's why Itadori knew this wouldn't be an easy fight.
But with the curse user worn out from his previous battle and freshly hit by a precise Black Flash, his chances had risen by at least 40%.
It didn't seem like much, but all things considered, it wasn't such a low probability.
Besides, Itadori hadn't been wasting his time in the colonies. His cursed-energy-less clone wasn't just a disposable tool. He had studied the Jujutsu books in the warehouse, absorbing their knowledge like a sponge.
Of course, theory was different from practice, but now, with all that new information in his mind after reabsorbing the clone, some of his doubts about Jujutsu had been cleared. The only question left was whether he could put his newfound knowledge into action.
"This is definitely an unexpected presence." Itadori raised an eyebrow as Kenjaku suddenly spoke, noticing how the curse user shook his head and sighed wearily. "I don't doubt that hermit would send a young man straight to his death… But I don't think that's the case here."
Yuji narrowed his eyes. It seemed Kenjaku was trying to buy time to recover from the Black Flash—clever, but Itadori had already seen through it.
"Last I checked, you were in Sendai Colony. It'd be impossible to get here so quickly just by running, even for someone like Naobito Zenin… And on top of that, you were the one who created the rule allowing players to leave their colonies." Kenjaku scratched his chin, a smug smile on his lips as he pieced together the sorcerer's actions. "You… took countermeasures in case I attacked."
His eyes gleamed for a moment. Pride? Interest? Itadori had no idea, and frankly, he didn't care. He felt no sympathy for Kenjaku—not after what he'd done, and certainly not for what he still planned to do.
"That's some impressive reasoning. Not just following orders, but making your own moves behind the scenes."
Itadori frowned, his fingers tensing as cursed energy subtly circulated through his body, slowly concentrating in his hand.
Something about this guy's tone irritated him… His attempt to sound surprised and proud, like some doting father, felt wrong—disgusting. Itadori could clearly see the lies in his rehearsed expressions.
"Would you like to see one of the possible resolutions to this conflict?"
His friendly demeanor, the smile on his lips as if he genuinely wanted to explain… An ordinary person might miss the deception beneath the subtlety, but Itadori, who could see the soul, saw right through it.
To anyone else, it might seem like Kenjaku truly wanted to explain his plans, but in Yuji's eyes, his hidden intentions were laid bare.
He was buying time to stabilize his cursed energy output.
"!"
But Itadori had no intention of letting that happen.
Swoosh!
Kenjaku leaned back just enough to evade a slash, the light in his eyes fading as his face turned indifferent—his true demeanor surfacing. "Oh? Seems I was read like an open book."
He sighed in disappointment. "I should've expected this. You did take Mahito's technique, after all."
Itadori smirked. He wasn't intimidated by Kenjaku's cold indifference; instead, he just scoffed with a shrug. "If you know that, then cut the tricks."
"Tricks, huh?" For the first time, Kenjaku gave a faint, genuine smile, his arrogant gaze settling on the young sorcerer as he raised his palm in a relaxed yet confident combat stance. "If you want to see real tricks, then I'll show you."
Itadori loosened his shoulders, raising his hands as he took his own stance, his aura radiating confidence even against such a troublesome opponent. "Surprise me."
"Oh? Almost sounds like I'm the challenger here." Kenjaku replied playfully, but his tone quickly shifted to seriousness. "Give it your all… Sorcerer."
Bam!
No ceremony, no signal—Itadori simply moved first, closing the distance between them in the blink of an eye.
A speed that would catch most sorcerers off guard, but one easily tracked by the experienced eyes of the curse user.
!
Proving it, instead of retreating, Kenjaku stepped right into Itadori's range, deflecting a punch and countering with his own.
Itadori didn't seem surprised. Blocking the strike with his shoulder, he grabbed Kenjaku by the nape, yanked him down, and slammed a knee into his guard with enough force to send him reeling back.
But the assault didn't stop there. He wouldn't give Kenjaku time to reassess—without wasting a second, he pressed forward, launching a knee kick that the curse user barely blocked.
Kenjaku pressed his lips together. He knew Itadori was strong, but this brief exchange confirmed that direct combat would be suicide. The moment of mutual assessment proved Kenjaku's fear true:
Itadori Yuji was the worst possible opponent for him right now.
The sorcerer advanced again, but as soon as he entered striking range, he leaned back to avoid a hook—only for his eyes to drop to Kenjaku's palm, where a swarm of small curses had formed.
Bam!
A burst of flames erupted as the curses were launched, the impact separating them and giving Kenjaku the moment he needed to recalibrate.
This exchange had served only to let them gauge each other. To an outsider, it might seem insignificant, but to Yuji and Kenjaku, it was more than enough.
From this brief clash, they understood something crucial for the battle ahead:
Itadori didn't need to fear the curses as much, and Kenjaku would have to fight cautiously. For now, the apparent advantage lay with Yuji.
But the young sorcerer didn't let it go to his head. Kenjaku wasn't someone to underestimate. If overconfidence made him drop his guard even for a second, it'd be his end.
He wouldn't let that happen.
The smoke slowly cleared, their eyes meeting as they sized each other up.
No words were needed to declare what came next. Their brief assessment was over—they wouldn't hold back in the next exchange. Like a card game between two eager children, the one with the better deck would win.
"...!"
Silence hung between them for a moment—broken by a single step from the sorcerer, who vanished from Kenjaku's sight, leaving only a fading afterimage.
'Projection sorcery?' Kenjaku wondered, startled, unaware that Itadori had taken Naoya's technique. 'How surprising!'
But it didn't faze him. Smiling, he turned just in time to see a fist inches from his face.
!
Yet as the punch was about to land, a pillar of curses erupted in front of him. Itadori retreated, incinerating them with a wave of flames that swallowed everything in their path.
Clicking his tongue, he cursed his opponent's reflexes, scanning the area—only to find him gone.
"Huh?"
But as he searched, his instincts screamed at him to move. His gaze snapped downward to see tiny curses seeping from cracks in the ground. 'He realized he can't fight me head-on.'
Leaping back just before a curse pillar exploded from below, Itadori burned them away with another fire blast—only for another wave of curses to come flying at him.
'He's trying to overwhelm me!' Grinning, he caught the curses with brute force, his palms heating up before reducing them to ash.
"...!"
But the moment he finished, his senses picked up Kenjaku's cursed energy. He turned—only for an immense weight to slam him into the ground, crushing him so hard the concrete beneath him cracked.
Gritting his teeth, Itadori struggled to rise, but finding it impossible, he pressed his fingers to the ground. Heat spread through the concrete before countless slashes erupted, shattering the floor and making Kenjaku stumble—a momentary distraction that disabled his anti-gravity field and let Itadori break free.
Seizing the chance, he lunged at Kenjaku, his fist charged with cursed energy.
"I had to prepare this in a hurry…"
But as he closed in, the hairs on his neck stood up at Kenjaku's voice. His eyes followed the curse user's palm—to a small cursed vortex hovering before his chest.
"But it should suffice." With cold indifference, the vortex glowed. "Uzumaki."
Boom!
Itadori had no time to dodge properly. Tilting his body just enough to avoid a direct hit, he still took the brunt of the blast, sent flying with half his face scorched and smoking.
'Bad move.' Itadori grimaced, peering at Kenjaku with one working eye. The curse user stood with crossed arms, assessing his condition. 'One miracle wasted… Three left.'
Unfazed by the missing chunks of his face, Itadori stood. Steam rose as the miracle's healing took effect, flesh knitting together in a painful process that made him clench his teeth.
'Alright…
Time to cut this guy down.'