"Declaring war on four Special Grades at once... Kenjaku, you've certainly got nerve."
Sukuna stared at Kenjaku with ice-cold eyes, his voice dripping with mockery.
Kenjaku shrugged, a thin smile playing on his lips. "Isn't this all to create the perfect conditions for your duel with Souma Gojo?"
"Oh, by the way... the cursed tools I handed over to you, 'Kamutoke' and 'Hiten.' I assume you've noticed their new properties?"
Sukuna raised a hand, looking at the artifacts. "Ah. 'Construction Technique,' isn't it? Yorozu's ability."
"Precisely. Under my guidance, Yorozu used her very life as a 'Binding Vow' to forge those tools anew. The moment she died, the Vow took effect. 'Kamutoke' and 'Hiten' now possess a property similar to the 'Inverted Spear of Heaven'—the power to forcibly nullify techniques. A necessary edge to bypass the Six Eyes' 'Infinity.'"
Kenjaku chuckled. "Even though there was a slight hiccup—Yorozu dying almost immediately after her reincarnation—the Vow remains intact. She knew the moment the contract was signed that her destiny was to be a sacrifice for your weapons. Yet, the moment she heard they were for you, she didn't hesitate for a second."
Thud!
In a blur of motion, Sukuna's hand clamped around Kenjaku's throat, lifting him off the ground.
Kenjaku struggled, gasping for air, but his eyes remained defiant. "What? Does the great King of Curses feel a twinge of pity? Or have you actually developed feelings for that woman?"
"Pity?" Sukuna's face twisted into a sneer of pure disdain. "Do you truly think I harbor such useless waste?"
"As for feelings for Yorozu? Don't make me laugh. A thousand years ago, she came to me spewing nonsense, so I cut her in half because she was annoying."
"I am simply displeased that you dared to alter my tools without my consent."
Kenjaku's face turned a deep shade of purple, his limbs thrashing. Just as he was on the verge of losing consciousness, Sukuna tossed him aside like a piece of trash.
"If it weren't for our 'Binding Vow,' I would kill you where you stand."
"Cough... hack...!"
Kenjaku doubled over, coughing violently before looking up with a strained smile. "Don't be so sensitive. Those modifications are perfectly suited for dealing with Souma Gojo. I've increased your chances of winning, haven't I?"
"Tch."
Sukuna snorted but didn't argue. He knew that Souma Gojo brought a level of tension he hadn't felt in a millennium. Even if relying on external tools felt slightly beneath the King of Curses, Sukuna was far too pragmatic to refuse an advantage. He was confident, but he wasn't a fool.
Seeing Sukuna's grim expression, Kenjaku laughed. "Even the King of Curses feels the pressure, it seems. So? Two days until the showdown. Do you have confidence?"
"I will win."
Sukuna's answer was short, accompanied by a faint, predatory smile. "You, on the other hand... facing four Special Grades alone? You'd better start thinking about your own funeral."
Sukuna turned and walked away into the shadows.
"Four Special Grades, hm?"
Kenjaku stood alone, his eyes narrowing as he descended into a hidden basement. He let out a long breath, his gaze turning solemn. "It seems I'll have to empty the entire treasury for this one."
He pulled four glass vessels from his robes. Floating within a translucent, blood-red fluid were four Cursed Wombs. Feeling the concentrated malice radiating from them, Kenjaku's smile returned.
He looked at the first one. The face of the fetus bore a haunting resemblance to Naoya Zenin. "The essence of the Zenin bloodline."
He turned to the next, which mirrored the features of Oka Kamo. "The essence of the Kamo bloodline."
"And... the Gojo bloodline I've collected over a thousand years, including the two Six Eyes users I personally ended."
"Finally... the recently harvested Emperor and the rest of the Imperial family."
Kenjaku's face turned fervent. "The strongest sorcerer in history is undoubtedly Ryomen Sukuna. But after his 'death,' this land of Japan did not find peace. Instead, it fell into a chaotic era of shadows!"
"Vengeful spirits that haunted for centuries, a puppet Emperor who cursed the royal line with letters of blood, treacherous ministers born of the Serpent Mother who sparked coups, Imperial Princes who died in wrongful agony..."
"What a magnificent era of monsters!"
"These four entities... even if they cannot match Sukuna, their power is far from simple. They are so volatile that even my 'Binding Vow' cannot fully control them. But no matter. Once they run wild, it will be the four Special Grades who have to deal with the headache."
Kenjaku then solemnly withdrew a small scroll: The Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.
"As for the rest of Jujutsu High... enjoy the festivities I've prepared for you."
Jujutsu High
"Domain Expansion: No-Man's Land."
Souma Gojo sat cross-legged within his domain, eyes closed, feeling the structural flow of the space. Opposite him, Satoru stood perfectly still, acting as the world's most powerful lab rat.
"Satoru, can you feel your cursed energy?"
Satoru's face was long. "Of course not. There isn't a single drop left in me."
Souma rested his chin in his hand. "Stripping away all cursed energy... where does it go? Is it absorbed by me or the domain? I don't feel a surge of power. Is it possible it's not being stripped, but rather the target's connection to it is being severed, making them think it's gone?"
Souma stood up and walked over, placing a hand on Satoru's chest. The latter immediately crossed his arms over his chest and squealed, "Dame~!"
"..."
Souma slapped him with a deadpan expression. "Be serious for once."
He probed Satoru's body with his own energy. The result was startling: the cursed energy within Satoru had truly vanished. No transfer, no blockage. It was gone, as if erased from existence by a three-dimensional eraser.
Depriving... existence?
Souma felt he was on the verge of grasping something profound, yet a thin veil still obscured the truth.
"Souma! Satoru! It's bad! Get out here, now!"
A loud shout from outside the domain shattered Souma's concentration. He collapsed the barrier to find Utahime Iori running toward them, gasping for breath.
"Oh, look, it's Utahime!" Satoru chirped. "Tired after just a few steps? Your physical conditioning is as pathetic as ever for a teacher~"
"You bastard! Scum!"
Utahime launched a flying kick at Satoru, only to bounce off his 'Infinity.'
Souma rubbed his temples. For some reason, whenever Satoru and Utahime met, it was instant fireworks. Satoru was seemingly oblivious to the fact that Utahime genuinely despised him, convinced they were just "bantering."
"Knock it off, both of you. Utahime, what happened?"
Utahime's face was pale with urgency. "Tokyo! It's Tokyo! Five minutes ago, a massive wave of cursed spirits appeared across the entire city! There are reports of multiple Special Grades!"
Satoru froze. "Kenjaku? But the duel isn't until tomorrow!"
Souma glanced at his phone. It was 12:05 AM.
His eye twitched. "Technically... it is tomorrow. To exploit a loophole like that... Kenjaku, you really are a shameless bastard."
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