Gojo Satoru had no doubt that if both sides refrained from using Cursed Techniques and Cursed Energy and simply engaged in close combat with pure physical prowess, he would instantly become an irregularly shaped lump of flesh the moment he collided with Ryomen Sukuna's fist.
Contrary to his outwardly relaxed demeanor, Gojo Satoru felt immense pressure while fighting Ryomen Sukuna in close combat.
Therefore, Gojo Satoru had only one objective:
Before Ryomen Sukuna could react, kill him over and over until he was truly dead!
Gojo Satoru had keenly noticed that Ryomen Sukuna's condition reset every time he revived. Even the Cursed Energy inside his body returned to its peak state after each resurrection.
What did that imply?
It implied that Ryomen Sukuna's resurrection was not a Cursed Technique like Mahito's.
It was some kind of Binding Vow.
Anything involving a Binding Vow could never be flawless. It must require sacrificing something extremely important, especially a Binding Vow concerning life and death. If it could even accomplish resurrection, then it had to be an unimaginably strict Binding Vow, and such a Binding Vow could never be limitless.
As long as he kept killing...
Killing...
Killing...
He would eventually kill Ryomen Sukuna!
Furthermore, Gojo Satoru wasn't merely slaughtering him repeatedly. He was also observing Ryomen Sukuna's understanding and application of resurrection.
Ryomen Sukuna's Malevolent Shrine had once broken the cycle of positive and negative energy that sustained deities, allowing it to kill gods.
So...
Could the new slash of Malevolent Shrine also sever the very concept of resurrection?
Previously, even if Gojo Satoru had conceived of such an idea, he had no opportunity to test it, because Mahito was the only being in the world capable of self-resurrection.
Now, however, Ryomen Sukuna was repeatedly reviving right before his eyes.
Could resurrection itself be cut apart?
Gojo Satoru asked himself.
Then he answered his own question.
"—Of course!"
"Come on, Sukuna!" Gojo Satoru laughed loudly. "Use your life to build my legend as a God Slayer!"
"GO! JO! SA! TO! RU!"
Ryomen Sukuna roared.
Gojo Satoru violently thrust Six Eastward Crossings through Ryomen Sukuna's chest.
The tremendous power and impact blasted an enormous hole straight through his torso, allowing the distant scenery to be seen through his body.
Shattered bones and ruptured organs were hurled backward by the overwhelming force, creating a shocking mist of blood behind Ryomen Sukuna.
Eleven Lives, minus five.
Ryomen Sukuna rolled across the ground.
The instant he looked up—
he saw Gojo Satoru's foot descending.
Eleven Lives, minus six.
This time, Ryomen Sukuna became smarter.
He circled around Gojo Satoru while retreating, attempting to launch counterattacks with Cursed Energy.
Gojo Satoru followed immediately behind him.
Using astonishing footwork, he leaped directly behind Ryomen Sukuna.
Rather than striking him, he simply threw Six Eastward Crossings, which pierced Ryomen Sukuna like Odin's Gungnir.
Eleven Lives, minus seven.
Gojo Satoru was surprised to discover that this time Ryomen Sukuna chose to confront him head-on.
Previously, Ryomen Sukuna had been doing everything possible to stall for time.
The reason was simple.
Ryomen Sukuna had realized that Gojo Satoru's movements were not flawless.
His eyesight truly was extraordinary.
If one looked purely at combat technique, Gojo Satoru was not invincible.
In the original work, Gojo Satoru himself admitted that if neither the Six Eyes nor Cursed Techniques were used, and everything came down solely to close combat, then although he excelled in movement along lines, he was weaker when it came to controlling points.
In other words, Gojo Satoru tended to fight by overwhelming his opponents with raw power.
His technical skills were not the absolute pinnacle.
That meant they could be overcome.
Ryomen Sukuna seized upon this weakness, hoping to continue buying time through direct combat.
Then—
fifteen minutes later—
he was decapitated once again.
Eleven Lives, minus eight.
The gap in raw ability was simply too enormous.
After reviving, Ryomen Sukuna no longer attempted direct confrontation.
Although he had indeed discovered flaws in Gojo Satoru's techniques, those flaws became meaningless before power that completely transcended common sense.
Ryomen Sukuna's physical body now truly surpassed that of ordinary humans.
However—
he was still merely a human who couldn't use Cursed Energy.
Against Gojo Satoru, who could sustain himself through positive energy circulation—
death was his only possible outcome.
After being caught once more, Ryomen Sukuna had his heart pierced by Six Eastward Crossings.
Eleven Lives, minus nine.
"GOJO SATORU!"
Ryomen Sukuna roared.
"I will peel away all your skin, boil your flesh and organs into soup, and throw it into a pigsty for white pigs to devour! I will kill every one of your friends and build a tower from their heads! I will drag you... into the Avīci Hell!"
Gojo Satoru couldn't even be bothered to answer.
He simply smashed Six Eastward Crossings directly toward Ryomen Sukuna's face.
He assumed the strike would decapitate Ryomen Sukuna as usual.
However—
before it landed—
Ryomen Sukuna had already completed a hand seal with all four hands.
His upper mouth roared,
"With this treasure… I summon—"
At the same time, the mouth on his abdomen proclaimed furiously,
"—Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga!"
The incantation and hand seals were completed at astonishing speed.
The Cursed Technique activated.
Using Mahoraga here?!
Gojo Satoru gave him no opportunity.
He immediately activated Buddha's Sound Purifying the World through Six Eastward Crossings.
Clang!
As the bell rang, the shadow beneath Ryomen Sukuna naturally disappeared.
Mahoraga should have been unable to manifest inside the World Purification.
Or so it seemed.
"—!"
A blade suddenly extended from Ryomen Sukuna's shadow.
The straight blade exceeded two meters in length.
Without hesitation, Gojo Satoru used Six Eastward Crossings to intercept it.
Clang!
The sound of steel colliding with steel rang out.
A towering figure slowly emerged from Ryomen Sukuna's shadow.
Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga!
The Divine General that was said to have killed the previous wielder of the Six Eyes and Limitless had finally appeared.
The golden radiance of Buddha's Sound Purifying the World struck its body—
yet produced no effect whatsoever.
It slowly stood upright.
The enormous straight-bladed greatsword resting in its hand was casually placed upon its shoulder.
Gojo Satoru pursed his lips.
He immediately understood why Buddha's Sound Purifying the World had failed against Mahoraga.
"So... you actually used your own body to complete Mahoraga's adaptation?"
(T/N: That's some bullshit)
"Wow..."
"That's way too outrageous."
"I've never heard of Mahoraga being used like this."
This truly was an unprecedented method.
In fact, one of the major reasons Gojo Satoru had been killed by Dismantle in the original work was exactly this.
He never imagined Mahoraga could adapt in advance.
The concept simply didn't exist in his mind.
Thus, after destroying Mahoraga in a single blow, he let down his guard.
Later, when Ryomen Sukuna unleashed the carefully prepared Dismantle, Gojo Satoru was completely unprepared and was cut cleanly in half at the waist.
Only after his death did he realize Ryomen Sukuna had prepared Mahoraga's adaptation beforehand.
After further reflection, he concluded that Ryomen Sukuna had probably used Fushiguro Megumi to bear the adaptation instead of himself.
It had been a double-layered deception.
Gojo Satoru had been completely fooled by that meticulously crafted trick.
The situation now was much the same.
Had his Limitless not already been nullified by Buddha's Sound Purifying the World, he probably wouldn't have defended against Mahoraga's sudden slash.
Fortunately, because his Limitless had already become unusable under the World Purification, he never trusted his own body to withstand the unknown straight-bladed greatsword.
Instead—
he instinctively blocked it with Six Eastward Crossings.
In the original work, the absolute defense of Limitless had led directly to Gojo Satoru's death.
Now—
precisely because that absolute defense no longer existed—
he survived.
"What a pity."
"I almost killed you."
"If you had confidently let your body collide with my Futsu no Mitama..."
Ryomen Sukuna took two steps forward and extended one hand.
Mahoraga lowered its straight-bladed greatsword.
Ryomen Sukuna accepted the weapon, resting the back of the blade upon his shoulder.
Gojo Satoru's pupils contracted.
"—Futsu no Mitama?!"
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Next Bonus Chapter at 700 Powerstones.