As the mist descended down the steps of Ryūdōji Temple, Shirou and Tachie ascended step by step, their eyes alert to every shadow. The air there seemed denser, charged with an energy that unnerved even the most experienced, and Shirou could feel it brush against his skin like invisible threads of tension.
"We're being watched." Tachie said, her hand already on her spirit blade. Her warrior's eyes gleamed in the dim moonlight.
"I know. Ever since we stepped onto the first step." Shirou replied, adjusting his posture. His instincts were screaming.
When they reached the top, there was no surprise. In the center of the darkness, between the courtyard trees and the temple gates, he stood. Assassin.
Wearing his flowing robe like an ancient specter, the Assassin-class servant stood with deadly elegance, the long, curved katana dangling from his right hand. The wind blew his hair gently, but his eyes were fixed on only one thing: the intruders.
"Will you return the same way, or will you find eternal silence right here?" Assassin asked, his voice sharp and low, almost a drawn-out whisper.
Tachie stepped forward, her eyes flashing. "Last time you were lucky. Now... no."
Assassin didn't smile. He merely inclined his head slightly, as if accepting an invitation. "Then come... Tachie. Let me finish what I left unfinished."
Shirou pulled out a projecting blade, eyes intent. "You will not touch it."
"Oh?" Assassin glided his feet smoothly across the stone floor, like a specter. "Then show me the value of that conviction."
The already suffocating tension tore apart, and in the blink of an eye, the fight began.
Just as Tachie and Assassin lunged toward each other, the sharp sound of the wind was interrupted by a sudden presence. Two silhouettes appeared at the top of the steps leading to the temple courtyard, their energy as intense as a storm about to explode.
Shirou turned in alarm as he sensed their approach, and his eyes widened. "Choso...? Rin?"
Choso descended with heavy steps, his dark eyes filled with silent fury, his fist clenched as if to crush fate itself. Rin, close behind, maintained a grave but firm expression, concern in his eyes, determination in his posture.
"Shirou." Rin said quickly, glancing at Tachie and Assassin before turning back to him. "No time for long explanations. Something very wrong is happening."
Choso stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Shirou, anger mixed with anguish in his voice. "Sakura has been captured."
The impact of those words hit Shirou like a silent thunderclap. For a second, his world stunned. Her name was still fresh in his mind, her smiling that morning, cooking with Hana… and now?
"What…? How did this happen?" Shirou asked in disbelief.
Choso gritted his teeth. "Caster. That woman we faced at the temple. Not only did she survive… but she was draining my family's mana. She used that same sleep spell on everyone, like in the attack on the school. And now she's taken Sakura."
Tachie paused, breathing heavily, turning to Shirou. Assassin also backed away for a moment, curious about the new developments, but in a fighting stance, still imposing.
Rin spoke quietly but firmly: "They're at the temple for a reason, Shirou. Time is running out. We need to act together."
Shirou took a deep breath, his expression hardening. "Then we'll bring her back. Whatever the cost."
Assassin chuckled softly in the background. "A touching reunion... but if you want to pass through here, you'll have to deal with me first."
Choso stepped forward. "You're on the wrong path. And I'm... not in a good mood."
The forces were now gathered, and the real confrontation was about to begin.
As the night winds blew up the steps of the Ryūdōji temple, Tachie kept Assassin busy with quick, precise strikes, her feet barely touching the ground as her blade swung in silvery arcs.
"Shirou!" she shouted, her eyes never leaving the enemy. "Go with them! Climb the temple now and finish off Caster before it's too late!"
Shirou hesitated for a moment, watching the battle with clenched fists. He knew how powerful Tachie was, but he also knew that Assassin was no ordinary person. Still, there was something in her gaze: unwavering determination, the confidence of someone who knew what they were doing.
"But what about you?!"
"I'm staying! I've faced this guy once, I can hold out longer!" she shouted, dodging a vertical slash and countering with a spinning kick that forced Assassin back. "You have to save Sakura. Now!"
Choso was already advancing up the steps, ignoring any hesitation. Rin ran after him, channeling her energy as she prepared the seals in her hands. "Shirou, let's go! This battle will only end if we take the serpent's head!"
Shirou nodded, finally convinced. He took one last look at Tachie, who was exchanging blows with the enemy under the pale moon, and then turned, running after Choso and Rin.
With each step, the air grew heavier. The temple awaited them at the top, along with Caster, the mind behind the curtain of sleep that shrouded Fuyuki, and the one responsible for kidnapping Sakura.
It was time to end this nightmare.
Tachie spun on her heel, blocking a precise strike from Assassin with the flat of her blade. The force of the impact made the stone floor tremble beneath her feet. With each exchange of blows, it became clear: this was no ordinary enemy. Assassin moved like a shadow, his attacks silent and lethal, and his presence seemed always hidden behind an invisible cloak of hidden intentions.
But Tachie was no longer the same girl who had retreated in her first battle with him. Now, her breathing was steady, her eyes were open, and she fought not only for herself, but to protect those who trusted her.
"Are you going to continue hiding behind that nameless face?" she shouted, spinning and unleashing a slashing wave that split a nearby column. "Or are you going to truly show why you're called 'Assassin'?"
Assassin didn't answer. He simply glided through the air, reappearing behind her in a flash. His blade lunged forward in a sure thrust toward Tachie's back, but she had expected that.
She spun sideways and caught his arm with her elbow, sending the blade plunging into the ground beside her. With a furious scream, she kicked him in the abdomen, sending him sliding back several meters, breaking part of the side staircase.
"I'm not that lost girl from the beginning of the war anymore!" she declared, her voice firm.
Assassin stood, her posture still calm, but there was something different now. A slight adjustment in her posture. A silent acknowledgment.
He took her seriously.
Tachie took a deep breath. She could feel the mana of the barrier around the temple pulsing more intensely. Her allies were close to confronting Caster. Her job was to hold Assassin back... or defeat him right there.
Eyes fixed on the enemy, she advanced once more. The battle was far from over, but for the first time, Tachie felt she could win.
changing perspective...
The hydroelectric plant roared like a wounded monster. The turbines spun wildly, sparks flew from the control boxes, and the sound of the raging water resounded like incessant thunder. Arturia and I arrived at the site atop a hill, observing the unstable structure and workers trying to escape the chaos.
"Over there," I said, pointing to the suspension bridge that led to the plant's entrance. "There are people trapped. Arturia…"
She was already activating her armor, eyes sharp as the steel of her sword.
"Understood. I'll get them out," she said firmly, leaping toward the danger.
I looked up at the sky. Lightning danced in the distance. It was as if time itself had been distorted in that area. I felt the electricity and cursed energy in the air vibrate against my skin—a sensation I knew well. It wasn't natural.
It was him.
Hajime Kashimo.
I ran to the most damaged section of the plant, where the energy coils vibrated dangerously, and the air seemed to be cut by invisible currents. An explosion caused part of the wall to collapse, revealing a lone figure at the center of the artificial storm.
White hair stood on end like condensed thunder. A smile that blended insanity with the joy of battle. It was as if he'd been waiting for this forever.
Kashimo.
"So you're the remaining vessel of Sukuna," Kashimo said, without moving. "Finally, a decent challenge."
I stopped and stared at him. "You're the last of the reincarnated. The time for fun is over."
"Heh." Kashimo snapped his fingers, and the electricity around him exploded in small arcs. "It's not over. In fact... it's just beginning."
And with a crack of thunder ripping through the sky above us, the battle that would decide the fate of yet another of the reincarnated was about to begin.
The storm roared like an omen.
Kashimo advanced with slow steps, his eyes shining amid the lightning that seemed to respond to his murderous desire.
"Don't pretend to be someone you're not." He growled. "If you're not Sukuna. Who are you? Where is he? Give me the King of Curses. I've waited over a thousand years for this."
I stood firm, the wind whipping my hair back as sparks flashed through it like blades of light.
"You will not fight him," I said, my voice low but firm. "Sukuna… he will die with me. But before that… you will have to defeat me."
Kashimo narrowed his eyes, a flash of irritation through his face. "Do you really think you can satisfy me, container?"
I took a deep breath, feeling the cursed energy pulse inside me. Power that I dominated.
"I'm not Sukuna ... I'm no longer a container either." I bent down, taking on my fighting stance. "I'm Yuji Itadori. A great empty sanctuary .."
Kashimo gave a wide smile, the sparks around increasing as if they celebrated those words. "Hahaha… perfect. Make me forget the boredom of this pathetic age. Give me a decent death!"
And in an instant Kashimo disappeared into a beam of lightning, emerging in front of me with a blow to pure electricity.
The floor cracked under impact, but I blocked my arm wrapped in cursed energy, being dragged back. Sparks cut his face, but he smiled a certain smile, as if he said "is it all you have?"
The battle between the two of us began, a confrontation of pure force against fierce resistance.
I wasn't going to let Sukuna fight.
I would show that the world already had a new kind of monster.
Kashimo disappeared into a flash. A thunderous thunder exploded seconds later, shaking the night sky. He advanced as an incarnate radius, the pure personification of thunder in human form.
As soon as I had time to raise my fists before I was hit. The impact was brutal. The air exploded around both of us as if the world had punched. I was thrown against a concrete wall of the plant, cracking it with the body.
The sound of thunder echoed like a divine roar.
Kashimo appeared right ahead, descending like an electric spear. His eyes shone with blood and purpose.
"You're strong ... but it's not enough." He said, with his voice resonating in electrical distortion. "I am the god of thunder. I don't fight… I think!"
He raised his hand, lightning dancing around his arm as snakes.
But even with his face wounded and blood dripping through his mouth, I lifted myself with a clenched fist. The floor under my crackly feet. I breathed firmly.
"Do you want a real fight?" Blood spit and smile. "So ... I'll show you what it means to resist."
In an explosive movement, I advanced against Kashimo, eus fists involved in red cursed energy as a lava. The impact of my blows collided with Kashimo's rays, creating shock waves that destroyed everything around.
Kashimo retreated a few steps, laughing dryly, his eyes sparkling with electricity.
"So you really are an idiot." He spat on the floor, sparks jumping from his fingers. "You carry Sukuna inside you, it's his receptacle… And yet prefer to fight like an ordinary wizard?"
I stared firmly, with the blood dripping from the forehead, the heavy breath. My body was already injured, but my determination did not hesitate.
"I'm not the substitute for Sukuna." I squeezed the fists, every tense muscle like a spring about to explode. "I am Sensei Yuji Itadori, master of my students, brother of my siblins ... and I will defeat you as I am, with my own hands. Not with his."
The air got heavy. For a short moment, even the thunder seemed to silence. Kashimo watched him with a more serious look now, as a warrior recognizing another.
"Then entertain me, Yuji Itadori." He said with a body being wrapped in pure electricity, as a deity about to descend on the earth. "Prove that a human can defeat a god without using the power of another monster."
And for the next moment, the storm resumed.
Kashimo advanced as a pure lightning, cutting the distance into milliseconds. I lowered myself and deviated by a hair, the thunder popping behind me, destroying part of the structure of the plant.
I turned my body and fell straight into Kashimo's stomach with all my strength, my fist shining with its own cursed energy, not from Sukuna, but born of my own hatred, pain and desire to protect.
The fight was just beginning.
And I had sworn to beat without inheriting anything from the demon within him.
Kashimo spinned the staff nyou with mastery. With each rotation, the air snaps on violent electrical discharges, the soil below them being marked by burns and craters of pure concentrated power.
"If you are Sukuna's replacement ..." said Kashimo, moving on zigzag with supersonic speed "then fight like a king, or die like a dog!"
He struck a sequence of horizontal blows, which I deviated by a wire. The stick passed so close that it pulled strands out of hair and cut the wind like Sonic razors.
Slipping under a blow, spinning the body and jumped against a wall using the impulse to counterattack. My cursed fist reached the bat, and the collision created a blast that exploded nearby windows.
Kashimo spun and tried to strike me with the lower end of the staff, energized to the point of sparking like a living furnace. But I, with almost instinctive precision, gripped the staff with both hands and blocked the blow, my muscles trembling with exertion.
"I told you I'm not Sukuna..." he said through gritted teeth, "and I don't need his powers to finish you off."
Kashimo's smile widened with excitement.
"So that's it!!" he shouted. "FIGHT, YUJI ITADORI!"
A bolt of lightning descended from the sky, summoned by the Nyou staff itself, striking Kashimo and further energizing him. His hair fluttered with electricity, his eyes blazed like contained storms.
I clenched my fists. The ground cracked beneath my feet. My eyes burned with raw determination.
The next exchange of blows would be deadly.
And neither of us intended to back down.
I twisted my body to the side, narrowly dodging a vertical strike from the Nyou staff, which sparked as it hit the ground and cracked the concrete structure beneath his feet. I felt electricity course through the air even without touching it; it was like fighting in the middle of a living storm.
Kashimo smiled, his eyes sparkling with the excitement of combat.
"You'll die if you keep this up, Substitute." He swung the staff and stabbed it into the ground, channeling electrical energy that coursed through the ground like living lightning bolts toward me.
I leaped back, fists clenched and eyes focused. I knew it: I had to take that staff from Kashimo. It was the key to his opponent's electrical advantage.
But Arturia, watching from afar while keeping the civilians safe, couldn't get involved. Not yet. This was my battle not against Sukuna, but against the shadows Sukuna left behind.
I gritted my teeth. If I wanted to win, I would have to do it on my own merit.
I zigzagged, dodging sparks and lightning from the staff, and launched a direct attack, my right fist slamming into Kashimo's face while my left leg aimed a powerful kick at the staff. The shock was immediate.
Kashimo advanced ferociously, his Nyou staff vibrating with electricity, crackling like miniature thunderclaps with each blow. The pressure was brutal; I needed all my concentration and reflexes to dodge the precise strikes. The air around me became dense and charged, as if a storm were about to break upon him.
Kashimo swung the staff with both hands and tried to strike my side. I slid backward, my foot scraping the wet floor of the power plant structure, sparks dancing around me. Another blow came from above, and I crossed my arms, partially blocking the impact, but feeling the electric vibration spread through my bones. His muscles stiffened. Time seemed to compress into milliseconds.
"I need to get that staff away from him!" I thought, staring at the weapon Kashimo wielded like a natural extension of his own body.
Taking advantage of the momentum of a mistimed side attack, I grabbed the staff with both hands, planting my feet firmly on the ground. Kashimo's eyes widened, surprised by my boldness. For a second, we were both locked in a stalemate of brute force, thunder against the earth.
With a determined roar, I twisted my body to the left and simultaneously pulled the staff back with a spinning kick. The force of the movement caused Kashimo to momentarily release the weapon, which flew away, scraping the metal floor of the power plant platform and leaving a trail of sparks.
"Tsk!" Kashimo grumbled, preparing to summon lightning directly with his body.
Before he could react, a shadow crossed his field of vision.
Arturia.
Like a knight emerging from the mists, she appeared with a swift leap, snatching the staff from the air with both hands. With the same coolness and precision she used in war, she spun the staff in a circular motion and threw it with superhuman force far away, so far that the staff landed on the other side of the dam, falling into the water reservoir like a bolt of lightning swallowed by the abyss.
Kashimo gritted his teeth, eyes fixed on Arturia. She said nothing, just stared at him firmly, like a sentinel making it clear: "This is not your fight... but if you touch Yuji in a cowardly way, I will intervene."
Now free of the threat of the staff, I took a deep breath and felt the electric pressure subside.
"No toys now," I said, clenching my fists. "You'll have to face me on equal terms, Kashimo."
Kashimo smiled. An animalistic, savage smile, exactly the kind of challenge he wanted.
"Heh... then show me what you can do, boy."
And then, the two rushed at each other, ready for a fight where only true strength and the will to live would decide the outcome.
Kashimo barely had time to react. I advanced like a reverse lightning bolt, not emitting a single spark, my fists clenched and a dark, dense aura. My entire body seemed to vibrate with the tension of muscles poised for destruction. It was different from before; my Iron Fists, a gift inherited indirectly through all the pain and evolution alongside Sukuna, were active. The ground cracked with each firm step, as if the ground itself were retreating before his presence.
Kashimo let out a cheerful laugh, even though he was unarmed.
"Heh... so now you want to play for real?" he said, sparks dancing on his shoulders and hair with pure residual discharge. "It's not fair, but it's fun."
I responded with the silence of a serious warrior, and threw the first punch.
The blow hit Kashimo's shoulder with such force that the air around him exploded with a sharp sound, like a dam breaking. The thunder warrior was thrown backward, tearing the ground in a straight line for dozens of meters before digging in his feet to stop his slide. His body tingled with involuntary electricity, and his arm trembled.
"Those fists…" he murmured, still smiling. "They're better than I expected."
I ran again, his speed nearly matching Kashimo's now. The two of us began a frenetic exchange of blows, with sheer brute force and deadly precision, Kashimo with explosive agility, dodging like an electrified serpent. Each impact was like the sound of thunder dueling.
Kashimo tried to knee him, but I caught his leg in midair and turned him, slamming him into one of the plant's concrete walls. The structure shuddered, cracks spreading across the foundations. Kashimo fell to his knees, blood dripping from his forehead. He looked at me with something resembling respect. "You don't want to use Sukuna's powers... but those punches... are almost as cruel."
I finally replied, "Let's see how long you can withstand the resonance..."
Kashimo stood up laughing, spitting blood. "Good... a punch to my soul. Then go all out. Let's see if your justice can withstand the thunder."
And so, the fight resumed, with me in my purest, most human, and ferocious form, facing the incarnate lightning with nothing but fists, determination... and the will to prove I was no one's vessel. I was Yuji Itadori, and that was enough.
The atmosphere grew heavy, the sky above the plant darkening with heavy clouds that seemed to respond to Kashimo's call. The air vibrated as if about to erupt in thunder. Sparks snaked down his arms, leaping in chaotic dances until they focused on his eyes, now covered in a pulsating blue glow.
I maintained my stance, my hands clenched like stone, my chest heaving in a controlled rhythm. I knew I was facing someone who yearned for death, for an epic death. Kashimo wasn't just strong. He was savage, and more than anything, determined to fight "Sukuna."
But I wasn't Sukuna.
And I was there to prove it.
Kashimo raised his arms and let out a roar that resounded like a thunderclap. Real lightning bolts descended from the sky, striking his body as if absorbed directly through his skin. The energy concentrated in his muscles, his feet, his fists—he was a walking lightning bolt.
I thought: If I use Sukuna's domain expansion here, I risk destroying the entire plant. And there are innocent people… I can't do that.
I took a step forward. The earth shook under the impact. My fists began to darken with the "Iron Fists" technique I had trained so diligently since Sukuna's fall. It was my technique. Mine. None of it came from the demon within me. It was Yuji Itadori himself, flesh, blood, and will.
"You'll regret not using everything you've got, boy..." Kashimo growled, grinning wildly.
I didn't respond. Instead, I charged forward, dodging the lightning that landed inches from his head. My speed surprised even the God of Thunder. The first punch connected with Kashimo's shoulder, but he used the residual electrical discharge to repel me.
An electric field formed around Kashimo, like living armor. "You'll need more than that, Substitute."
I didn't back down. I spun, planted my right foot, and delivered a straight punch to Kashimo's abdomen. The sound of the impact was drowned out by the crack of lightning, but Kashimo's body flew backward, slashing a trail of destruction across the plant's metal structure.
Arturia, in the distance, watched silently. She had guided the civilians to safety. Her shining eyes, now serious, watched the fight intently. She knew this wasn't the time to intervene; I needed to prove to myself that I could win without relying on what I hated.
Kashimo slowly rose to his feet, spitting blood and laughing. "So… you really are interesting."
I took a deep breath, my fists still trembling from the energy of the impact.
"I told you I'm not Sukuna," he declared. "But if you want to die in a dignified fight… then I'll give you this."
We both stared at each other. The electrical field crackled around Kashimo. The ground around me began to crackle under the pressure of my concentrated cursed energy.
Kashimo's electricity was beginning to spiral out of control.
The ground around me was scorched, melted. The air crackled. Lightning stretched like tentacles around the cursed warrior's body, who was panting, sweating, as the energy built to insane levels.
I took a step back, my fists still clenched, his body vibrating with dark energy. I'd never seen anything like it, not on Kashimo. It was as if the curse was trying to consume the user himself.
"You're killing yourself..." I muttered, my eyes narrowed.
Kashimo gave a crooked smile, completely bathed in lightning, his skin cracking in spots inside his power armor. "Don't be arrogant. This is... the final form of someone who doesn't fear death!" he roared.
The sky darkened.
Electricity wasn't just flowing from Kashimo, it was devouring everything around him. Trees evaporated. The ground formed deep craters. The staff Arturia had thrown began to melt even dozens of meters away.
I felt my body vibrate. As if my very heart was being pulled by that force.
I knew that if I stood still... I would be obliterated.
But I also knew that if I advanced carelessly... I would be swallowed.
Then he made a decision.
"...This is it," he said, his tone lower. His eyes gleamed with determination.
He advanced.
Like a bullet.
He passed straight through the first layer of electricity. The impact against his skin was absurd. Like diving into living lava. But he held on.
The second step made his arm tingle. The third, his right leg almost gave out.
But he didn't stop.
With a shout, I activated the black cursed energy technique in both fists. The curses in his body vibrated. Primal instinct took over.
Kashimo laughed loudly, like a madman, opening his arms as if embracing his own demise.
"COME ON, YUJI ITADORI! LET'S SEE WHAT'S LEFT OF YOU AFTER THIS!!!"
BOOM
The two collided.
Fist met fist.
Energy exploded in all directions, like a supernova made of electricity and cursed energy.
For a moment… silence.
There was only light.
And then…
The smoke slowly dissipated.
And so he was "consumed" by electricity.
Even with his body disintegrating, even with his bones crackling under the energy he released... he still wanted to fight.
His eyes didn't plead for salvation, but for more confrontation.
Even reduced to a nearly unrecognizable form, the burning desire for combat still burned within him.
Because for Kashimo, dying fighting...
...was the only worthy end.
I was panting, my fists throbbing, my body on the verge of collapse. The marks of electricity still ran across my skin like living scars, and the metallic taste in the back of my throat betrayed how far I had already surpassed my limits.
But even in that state...
I smiled.
For a moment, I silently admitted to myself, almost embarrassed, that I was enjoying myself.
After so long... after so much pain, so much death, so much weight on his shoulders...
There, in that brutal struggle, I had felt something forgotten.
Freedom.
But the feeling passed quickly.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and whispered to myself: "This ends here."
When I opened my eyes again, there was no hesitation.
There was no mercy.
The cursed energy around me swirled like a whirlwind, collapsing space and forcing reality back.
I reached out. "If I won't use Sukuna's, I'll use mine..."
"Domain Expansion: Territorial Hunt."
The world distorted.
The cracked ground of the battle disappeared. The sky, charged with electricity, dissolved like smoke in the wind. In its place, a dense, humid, living forest rose, each tree pulsing with cursed energy, as if they were breathing along with me.
The atmosphere was heavy, yet strangely silent.
It was as if even sounds were afraid to echo within.
I walked through the thick branches, the undergrowth parting at the touch of his presence. This domain was almost a reflection of the real world, something primal, like instinct before thought. The land of a predator.
And then I saw it.
Kashimo stood between two trees, motionless. But... different.
He was no longer the warrior charged with crazed electricity.
He was not the monster screaming for battle.
He was an old man.
Shaggy white hair, tied in a low bun. His face was lined with deep wrinkles. His eyes were half-closed, tired, but even more serene.
This was the true appearance of Hajime Kashimo.
I stopped before him, surprised. For a second, I didn't know what to say.
Kashimo slowly turned his face, his eyes unhurried. His tone was calm, husky, almost... human. "Hmph... so this is where you chose to hunt me. A forest?
It's not what I expected from someone like you."
I took a step forward. "It's not about the place. It's about what I've become."
Kashimo stared at the trees, the branches twisted like fangs and the trunks like bones. The domain pulsed, and each pulse was a heartbeat.
Instinctive. Wild.
"I see..." the old man murmured, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "This... is your hunting territory."
I nodded, then assumed a fighting stance. "In here, I don't chase death. I hunt those who insist on not falling."
Kashimo closed his eyes.
For the first time, he seemed... at peace.
I walked slowly through the domain's forest, my eyes fixed on the old man in front of me. The branches crackled beneath his feet, and his breath mingled with the hot, dense, almost wild air of that place.
But there was something burning in my throat. A question I should have asked some time ago.
I stopped, still panting from the previous fight, and stared at the man who seemed so different from the Kashimo I had known until now.
"Tell me something..." I broke the silence. "Both in my world and here... why are you so obsessed with Sukuna?
You're not even from his time. You've never seen him. You've never fought him.
Why the hell would someone like you want to fight over someone who didn't even exist in your time?"
Kashimo remained silent for a moment.
The leaves swayed gently. The forest, for a second, seemed to hold its breath.
Then he answered, without looking at me: "Because he's a living legend!"
His voice was low, but charged with conviction. "I don't need to have seen it. I don't need records. Sukuna isn't just a sorcerer.
He's a concept.
The embodiment of supremacy. Of absolute strength.
The world turns... and yet... everyone talks about him."
I frowned. I didn't understand. I didn't want to understand.
Kashimo slowly turned his face, his aged gaze now sharper.
"I was brought to this time for a purpose. Not to be happy. Not to love.
But to find the limit of human existence in combat.
And that limit has a name. Sukuna Ryomen."
He gave a faint smile, melancholic, almost bitter. "But in the end... you're the one who carries it, aren't you?"
I felt the weight of those words. And the bitter taste of truth that came with them.
I wanted to deny it.
But I knew.
Kashimo took a deep breath and took a step forward. "If you are the bridge between this world and that king...
Then, boy...
you are my final battlefield."
I clenched my fists, the domain's energy pulsing with fury. "Then I'll give you what you want.
But you'll leave here knowing who I am.
Not just Sukuna's vessel."
He advanced.
And the hunt continued.
Kashimo advanced like a beast unleashed. His feet no longer touching the ground, he slashed through the domain like a silent lightning bolt, his eyes fixed on me, hungry for confrontation.
"LET'S GO, YUJI ITADORI!!!"
I didn't back down.
My entire body reacted instinctively.
Legs firmly planted on the ground. Torso rotating with precision. Cursed energy concentrated in my right fist, dense as lead, alive as an internal roar.
And the instant Kashimo tried to pierce me,
I struck him square in the chest.
The impact reverberated through the domain like a hollow thunderclap. Kashimo was thrown back a few steps, kneeling among the twisted roots of the living forest, his hand pressed to the center of his chest where my blow had landed.
Even there, panting and his body failing him, he laughed. Softly at first, then louder. "Hah... heh... so that's it...
Sukuna was the strongest in his era...
I-I... was the strongest in mine."
He looked up at me, still smiling, even through the blood dripping from his lips. "I presume then... that you are the strongest in the current era."
I didn't answer right away. The domain pulsed silently around me, as if awaiting his answer.
I took a deep breath, my eyes narrowed. My expression wasn't one of pride. Nor of denial.
"…
"Perhaps…" he said finally, subdued.
Kashimo nodded, almost as if accepting a fate he already knew. But then I continued, my voice firm, but charged with something deeper. "But someone stronger than you will always be born.
Someone faster. Smarter.
More... free."
I looked up at the forest sky, where the light barely penetrated the thick leaves.
And for an instant... the image of Satoru Gojo flashed through my mind.
His provocative laugh.
The unbearable gleam in his eyes.
The arrogant yet protective manner of my sensei, who was now my student.
Then I whispered as if speaking to that memory: "I saw it with my own eyes."
Kashimo stared at him silently.
And for the first time...
He didn't answer.
Kashimo stood slowly, his body trembling, his eyes now devoid of hatred, only... acceptance. The laughter had ceased. The insatiable desire for battle had finally been satisfied.
With a barely perceptible sigh, he reached inside his robe and withdrew something wrapped in a thick, stained cloth.
I frowned in confusion.
Kashimo slowly opened the cloth, revealing there, intact, a Finger of Sukuna.
The cursed energy emanating from it was dense, suffocating. Even there, in its grip, the object seemed to pull reality toward itself like a black hole.
Kashimo reached out with difficulty, holding the finger. "You won.
He who defeats the strongest...
bears the weight of the strongest."
I hesitated. His eyes were fixed on the finger. It was as if it symbolized not only power, but curse, responsibility, sacrifice.
"Why... did you have this?" I asked quietly.
Kashimo gave a tired smile. "I kept it... because I knew only the truly strongest could bear it to the end.
Now... it is your burden."
I took the finger. The contact with the cursed energy made me shiver inside, but I didn't let go.
And then, around them, the forest trembled.
Branches began to shatter. Trees bent. The light from the sky dimmed.
The domain began to crumble.
The roots dissolved like smoke. The earth fragmented. Everything that was instinct, everything that was territory, fell away slowly... as if I were waking from a brutal dream.
Kashimo closed his eyes, standing in the center of the destruction. "Farewell, boy.
Perhaps, if there is another world...
I will challenge it again."
I stared at him until the end, Sukuna's finger clenched in his hand.
The last leaf fell.
And the domain finally disappeared.
When I opened my eyes, I was back in the real world.
The gray sky still roared in the distance, but the battlefield was quiet. The dust settled slowly. In the center of the crater, Kashimo's body lay motionless, as if he were merely sleeping, with no signs of charring, no open wounds. Intact.
I still held Sukuna's finger in one hand. The other trembled slightly, a reflection of what my body had endured within the domain's expanse.
It was then that a voice cut through the silence: "So that was it?
Were you there... having fun by yourself?"
I turned, panting, but a faint smile appeared on his face as he saw Arturia walking calmly through the rubble.
She rested her sword on her shoulder, her eyes narrowed, a small, mocking smile on her face. "So much light, thunder, and no invitation. I'm starting to think you don't want my help, Yuji Itadori."
I let out a short, tired laugh. "It wasn't exactly fun."
"No?" She tilted her head. "Your smile said something else."
I looked away, a little embarrassed.
But soon I returned to staring at Kashimo's body. And something inside me called to him.
His soul.
I knelt beside the body and placed my hand on the warrior's chest. My fingers sank lightly into the skin, and there, between the flesh and the remaining energy, I felt it.
The trace of Kashimo's soul still existed. Warm. Vibrant.
Trapped.
I closed my eyes.
"You gave me this burden..." I murmured. "But I won't let your body be lost with him."
With almost instinctive focus, I pulled on his soul.
The cursed energy reacted. The soul released itself like a thread of light pulled from a deep ocean.
I pulled it out.
Not to destroy.
But to save.
Kashimo, the original body, now void of the curse, lay in peace.
Safe.
Arturia watched silently, the wind ruffling her golden hair.
"Are you going to carry even that now?" she asked, without irony.
I stood up slowly, holding Kashimo's soul as if it were something delicate. "He died fighting as he wanted.
The least I can do… is make sure it isn't lost."
The sky was beginning to clear.
A beam of light pierced the clouds.
And once again, I took a step forward.
"It's not long until the end of this war…"
End of Chapter 21