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'Reverse Cursed Energy? When did he master it?' Kenjaku wondered with genuine surprise. His eyes scanned Itadori's condition—now fully healed from the injuries of their previous battles. The bandages on his arms had come loose, discarded to reveal skin unmarred by scars.
It had truly been a shock when Itadori appeared before him. Kenjaku had been certain Leviathan would defeat him, but it seemed the young sorcerer was even more capable than the curse user had initially believed.
His cursed energy output was higher than during their last encounter, and his control even more refined. Kenjaku had measured Yuji's growth against Satoru's, assuming that even if Itadori's evolution was absurd, it couldn't compare to Gojo's.
But he was wrong.
Yuji Itadori had been a sorcerer for less than a year, and in that short time, he'd reached heights most sorcerers could only dream of… Given that, no matter how absurd it seemed, Kenjaku found himself unable to deny it.
Yuji Itadori's talent surpassed even Satoru Gojo's.
He lacked experience, of course. But the danger he posed was undeniable. If he'd grown this much in just a few days, what would happen if he had another month to strengthen himself?
The mere thought irritated Kenjaku.
A single Satoru Gojo had been troublesome enough to eliminate—he had no intention of dealing with a second.
"..." Narrowing his eyes, Kenjaku sighed and raised his hands in a defensive stance.
He had to end this now. Itadori had strayed too far from his intended role. Kenjaku wouldn't let his plans be derailed by an outlier.
Losing a significant portion of Sukuna's power would be regrettable, but this was undoubtedly the best course of action.
For his plans to proceed unimpeded…
He would kill Yuji Itadori.
Even if he was his own son…
'Ah… Memories.' His gaze drifted upward as if lost in thought. Moments he'd undeniably enjoyed during his time in Kaori Itadori's body.
!
But he was forced back to reality when a fist flew toward his head. Kenjaku leaned away, dodging before leaping back to create distance.
"Hey, I don't know what you were thinking, but the face you were making was disgusting…" Itadori clenched his fist, having barely missed Kenjaku's head, his eyes burning with hostility as the curse user retreated.
"Oh…" Kenjaku blinked, then smirked. "I was just reminiscing."
"..?" Itadori's face twisted in confusion, but sensing that trying to decipher his words would be a waste, he just shrugged.
This guy's a freak.
With that thought, Itadori took a deep breath, raising his hands in front of him, ready to block if Kenjaku closed the gap.
The hostility between them, previously tempered by mutual recognition of each other's strength, now intensified—a sign that the battle was about to escalate. From this point onward, every wound inflicted would become a decisive factor, potentially reversing their roles.
With deadly seriousness, the two prepared to fight to kill.
A battle between father and son, each confident in their victory.
!
. . .
In the chamber where Tengen kept the Death Painting brothers, Yuki sighed as her body fully healed. Her eyes, which had been fixed on her injured forearms, now settled on Choso's sleeping face, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
"Relieved to still be alive so you can keep watching him?"
Her eyes narrowed in irritation at Tengen's voice. She turned to see the hermit standing at the room's entrance.
"I've noticed how you observe him."
Yuki clicked her tongue. "It's not like I'm hiding it. If I'm interested in someone, I make it obvious."
"Well, I—"
"I'm not here for your love advice, Tengen. Just tell me—how's the kid doing?"
Tengen pressed his lips together at the interruption but showed no offense. Instead, he faced the wall, where a window opened to reveal Itadori and Kenjaku's battle.
Yuki watched silently, surprised by how well Itadori handled the waves of curses and dominated close combat. The sudden Uzumaki startled her, but seeing the boy's face heal, she exhaled in relief.
"What are his chances?" She bit her thumb, anxiety creeping in as the two fighters sized each other up.
"Now that he's fully recovered… I'd say 50%. That's assuming Kenjaku's still feeling the aftereffects of the Black Flash."
"What if I joined now?"
"..." Tengen hesitated. "I… don't know what he's planning. He asked me to keep you out of the fight, so I can't answer that."
"I see…" Yuki watched curiously, wondering what the kid had in mind. "A hidden card, then…"
As much as it irked her to stand by, the best move was to wait and see Itadori's plan. If he was this confident, she'd have to trust him.
Besides, if things went south, she could always jump in.
For now, this was the best scenario they could hope for. With no escape route, Kenjaku would have to endure whatever Itadori had prepared.
And even if he survived, she'd be there to stop him.
. . .
Boom!
A sea of lava erupted from the ground, surging toward Kenjaku, who swiftly summoned a curse as a shield. The heat threatened to scorch his clothes, but a thin layer of cursed energy protected him from severe burns.
The lava covered the terrain around him, forcing him to summon another curse beneath his feet to avoid the molten ground.
'He's trying to limit my movement.' Kenjaku noted, scanning the blistering battlefield. A flicker of acknowledgment crossed his face, but it vanished as his reflexes saved him from a fire blast with a leap.
Swoosh!
Twisting midair, he saw Itadori charging toward him. Kenjaku gritted his teeth as a slash split his chest open—just before the sorcerer crashed into him, a punch to his guard sending him crashing into the ground like a bullet.
Swoosh! Swoosh—!
Itadori shook out his fist, frustrated he hadn't landed another Black Flash, and unleashed a barrage of slashes at the rubble where Kenjaku lay buried.
Kenjaku was cunning and adaptable. Itadori wouldn't give him a second to think.
With countless techniques at his disposal, he could overwhelm him. So after varying the intensity of his slashes, he finished with a wave of flames that swallowed the debris whole.
"..." He felt the drain on his reserves. It wasn't exhausting, but it made him cautious—if he wanted to expand his domain later, he couldn't fight like a one-man artillery.
His cursed energy output was monstrous, but his reserves—even after consuming Sukuna's fingers—still fell short.
"..."
Silence dominated the battlefield. Itadori kept his guard up, eyes locked on the rubble. An attack like that would've killed most sorcerers or curses, but he'd be a fool to put Kenjaku in that category. If anyone could survive, it was the curse user who'd once withstood a literal black hole in another timeline.
So even without sensing Kenjaku's energy, Itadori stayed alert, his sharp gaze scanning the area.
In terms of raw power, Kenjaku wasn't the first name that came to mind. He paled in comparison to legends like Gojo, Sukuna—or even Itadori himself. Without powerful curses at his disposal, all he had was his domain expansion and a collection of mediocre or weak curses.
And that was what made Kenjaku so dangerous. His millennia of battle experience and cunning were threats on their own, but not knowing what curses he still had could lead to a fatal reversal—one Itadori needed to avoid at all costs.
The giant serpent was likely under Kenjaku's control, along with the wind-manipulating curse and the Ganesha-like one… Itadori hoped the latter was dead.
Three powerful curses that, if used together, would be a nightmare. But all three were gone—Itadori had bisected one and stolen another's technique.
So with them out of the picture… What card did Kenjaku still have left?
A few possibilities crossed Itadori's mind. Kenjaku shouldn't know he could survive a guaranteed-hit domain, so using it would've been the quickest solution.
But since he hadn't, only two options remained: Either Kenjaku still wasn't taking him seriously (unlikely, given the curse user's impatience to end this)…
Or he was hiding one last curse for the perfect moment.
And that thought made Itadori uneasy.
He felt like he was walking a tightrope. One misstep, and he'd fall into the abyss.
How… irritating.
With a frustrated sigh, Itadori crossed his arms, still waiting for Kenjaku's next move. "Hey, I doubt you'd die from that. Show yourself already!"
"...How tedious."
!
The rubble shifted as Kenjaku's voice reached him. A hand emerged, pushing debris aside. His clothes were torn and bloodied, but no major injuries were visible.
Brushing dust off his shoulders, he cracked his neck with eerie calm.
Arrogance radiated from him, his smug eyes implying the previous assault had been nothing more than a nuisance. But Itadori knew better—after an intense fight, a Black Flash, and multiple uses of reverse cursed energy, there was no way he was unharmed.
Besides, exhaustion bled through his soul. Itadori's gaze pierced him, seeing wounds his body hid but his soul couldn't conceal.
That look made Kenjaku's eye twitch in irritation—and Itadori smirked.
"To think you'd come this far in such a short time… I'm impressed, boy." His words, though laced with venom, carried a hint of sincerity.
Itadori raised an eyebrow, tapping his bicep as if considering how to respond…
"What? Trying to score 'father points' now? Or should I say… mother?"
Kenjaku's eyes widened, clearly caught off guard. Meanwhile, Yuji let out a dry laugh. Even someone like Kenjaku could feel awkward when confronted with his past.
"Ha…" But contrary to Itadori's expectations, Kenjaku just shook his head with an amused smile, utterly unbothered. "I didn't think you'd remember such distant memories. It's a shame things turned out this way."
Itadori scoffed. "You're the one doing all this for… what? Curiosity? And you call it a 'shame'? After millennia, can you even feel anything anymore?"
His gaze was neutral, waiting for Kenjaku's reaction.
"..."
The silence stretched before Kenjaku finally sighed.
"Nothing I say will change your mind, so this conversation is pointless." Raising his hands, cursed energy swirling around him, his voice turned icy. "Let's end this. I've wasted enough time on you."
A sharp grin split Itadori's face as cursed energy cloaked him like a mantle. "Finally something we agree on. Nothing you say will change what I'm about to do to you."
Kenjaku shrugged, unfazed. "We'll see, sorcerer."
!
A hand burst from the ground beside Kenjaku, fingers digging into the earth as the rest of its body emerged. The new presence shifted the atmosphere, cursed energy seeming to drain from the air as the figure rose—standing over two meters tall.
"How much can you handle, Yuji Itadori?"
Kenjaku's challenge hung in the air as Itadori's eyes locked onto the newcomer, probing for secrets behind this final enemy.
There it was.
The trump card Itadori had been waiting for.