"It seems... to have quieted down..."
The tense atmosphere in the viewing room did not ease, but everyone seemed to have temporarily breathed a sigh of relief. Even so, that tightly stretched string had not loosened.
No one knew whether the King of Curses would break through the barrier of Unlimited Void again in the next moment and successfully escape.
"How did he even manage that? Gojo is being way too reckless. He shouldn't have chosen to clash domains with Sukuna from the very beginning..." Kusakabe couldn't help but mutter.
If Kashimo were still alive and heard those words, he would definitely have scolded him for having "the mindset of a loser."
Only someone who had once stood alone at the very top, an absolute powerhouse, could understand why he had made such a choice.
"Actually... I have something I'm wondering about. Even if it's Gojo-san and Sukuna, they shouldn't be able to keep using Domain Expansion without a break, right?"
In front of his seniors, Ino looked like an elementary school student as he raised one hand and asked the question.
Everyone knew how much cursed energy Domain Expansion consumed. If he were not watching the battle between these two with his own eyes, he would never have believed that anyone could waste their cursed energy like this.
"To give you the conclusion first, it's impossible."
Nanami was the first to answer as he met his junior's gaze.
Even other exceptionally talented sorcerers could only deploy a domain once in a short period of time, or at most once within a day.
Sukuna could do it because his cursed energy seemed bottomless and his control over it was incredibly precise. As for Satoru, the Six Eyes gave him an almost negligible amount of additional energy loss, allowing both of them to keep doing this.
However, no matter what state they were in right now, their recovery rate could not possibly keep up with their consumption.
With the constant use of Reverse Cursed Technique and innate techniques, combined with the massive consumption of Domain Expansion, the amount they recovered would certainly be far less than what they used.
In other words, this situation could not continue forever.
That was probably one of the reasons Sukuna and Satoru were so determined to settle their fight inside the domain. It was the most direct and fastest way to determine the winner. At the same time, it was also the clearest proof of just how far the two of them had gone in the art of jujutsu.
* * *
Inside the domain, their battle was still continuing. With every passing second, time became extremely precious to both of them.
Forty seconds.
Only about forty seconds remained before Unlimited Void completely collapsed.
'Yuki should have already taken Rika away from the battlefield, right? After all, I told her long ago not to let anyone within at least a thousand meters of this battlefield...'
As fists and feet exchanged blows, the seconds on the clock continued to tick away. Yet Satoru was still thinking about other things.
Inside the domain, neither of them could accurately sense the cursed energy outside. At this point, all he could do was trust his allies.
'Let's be a little bolder.'
The aura of Blue wrapped around both his fists.
"The way you're desperately trying to keep me inside your domain is quite amusing, Satoru Gojo."
After realizing his opponent's intention, Domain Amplification began to appear around Sukuna's right hand. If it was merely a close-range Blue punch, Domain Amplification would be enough to neutralize most of its power.
For the moment, it didn't matter if he remained on the defensive with ease. He was not the one running out of time.
His expression remained calm and carefree, as though he had already forgotten the embarrassment he had shown earlier after being caught by Unlimited Void for 0.01 seconds.
"Cursed Technique Amplification: Blue!"
Unexpectedly, during another exchange, Satoru suddenly created some distance between them. Instead of throwing another punch, he used his technique reversal outside his fist and directly condensed an entire Blue.
"Haven't you had enough?" Sukuna frowned in confusion.
Derived from the Limitless technique, Blue represented attraction, Red represented repulsion, and Purple was the imaginary mass created when the two collided.
None of the three were particularly fast, and their trajectories could be altered through Sky Manipulation. Compared to using those attacks, a Blue punch was much more practical.
Satoru's answer was to swing his arm slightly and send a Blue flying toward him.
Sukuna did not even bother dodging. Just as Blue was about to reach him, he gently moved the space with his other hand. Under the combined influence of Sky Manipulation and Blue's attraction, the space twisted in an even stranger way than before.
In the end, the result was still the same. Blue's trajectory was altered, sending it flying toward Sukuna's rear flank.
'Is it just my imagination...? The force behind this Blue is far too weak.'
The feeling was strange.
No, it was the output.
With Satoru's current condition, his cursed energy output should not have fallen to this level yet.
"What are you thinking about?"
There was no time to examine it carefully. Satoru had already slammed a fist into both of Sukuna's arms.
Five seconds.
"Alright. I think that's about enough."
After another round of exchanges, Satoru suddenly blasted Sukuna away. He then retreated several dozen meters and raised his right index finger in front of him.
"Phase, Paramita, Pillars of Light."
Using the chant as preparation, the cursed energy within his body surged. His output even exceeded the maximum level he could normally reach.
'It's Technique Reversal.'
Based on the degree to which the cursed energy had been awakened, Sukuna reached this conclusion. Sky Manipulation could easily deal with it as well.
However, he realized that his earlier feeling had been correct. The output of this Technique Reversal was far greater than that of the Blue just now.
So why had the power of the Blue been so low?
Sukuna suddenly thought of a possibility.
He abruptly turned his head toward the direction in which he had previously redirected Blue with Sky Manipulation.
The Blue had suffered no loss of power from a collision. It was now quietly floating along the edge of Unlimited Void's inner barrier.
Two sources of cursed energy belonging to Satoru were so close that they were almost touching. Combined with the fact that the first one's cursed energy output was relatively low, Sukuna had failed to notice it for a moment.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red!"
Three seconds.
The Red at Satoru's fingertip shot toward Blue.
Simultaneously, his body rushed toward Sukuna at full speed. The distance of several dozen meters disappeared in an instant.
'Change the trajectory of Red in advance or detonate it!'
Purple should not have posed any threat to him in the first place. Yet when Sukuna saw the smug look on his opponent's face, he instinctively sensed that something was wrong.
The slashing technique Dismantle had already been given to Malevolent Shrine as its guaranteed-hit technique. To strengthen the slashes, he had not simultaneously imbued the domain with Cleave.
However, neither Cleave nor Divine Flame was suitable for detonating Red at this distance and at this moment.
"The only thing you can use right now is Sky Manipulation!"
Satoru, who had already closed the distance and was now right in front of him, had reached the same conclusion.
Before Sukuna could make a move, his fist had already smashed into Sukuna's face.
Whether intentionally or not, the direction in which Sukuna's body was sent flying was precisely toward the approaching Technique Reversal and Technique Amplification.
Two seconds.
"An extremely foolish decision."
Sukuna looked toward Satoru, who did not pursue him. As he adjusted his body in midair, he forcefully tore at the surrounding space.
'The speed of Thin Ice Breaker is slightly slower, so directly interfering with the space and making it deviate is the smartest choice...'
The spatial plane twisted in his hands like a blanket being flipped upward. The area it affected continued to expand until its edge caught up with the Red, whose speed was already not particularly fast.
Blue and Red were almost about to merge, but their trajectories began to miss each other.
"Phase, Twilight, Eyes of Wisdom."
Amid Sukuna's mocking words, Satoru began chanting another incantation.
The swift and concise chant instantly pushed Blue's output to its maximum.
The space containing the Red, which had already begun to shift away, was dragged back by Blue's tremendous attraction.
One second.
The two attacks finally collided, and an extremely terrifying amount of cursed energy flashed within them.
At the very moment Unlimited Void was about to explode, the corners of Satoru's mouth lifted.
"Nine Ropes, Polarized Light, Crow and Declaration, Between Front and Back."
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