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Shibuya:
While Yuta Okkotsu was fighting Suguru Geto and his henchmen for possession of the [Prison Realm], another disaster was brewing nearby.
The aftermath of Yuji Itadori's and Choso's fight had left behind quite a wreck, and amidst that wreck lay the unmoving body of Yuji Itadori.
Although he wasn't dead yet, his life was slowly fading.
As Yuji lay unconscious, a new figure started to walk up to him.
"Yuji Itadori... Seems like he is dying. Better make it quick."
The words came, not from a human, but from a cursed spirit.
Jogo.
In their race for Yuji Itadori, Choso had won and gotten his chance to kill the boy, but before delivering the final blow, the cursed womb seemed to have a sudden change of mind and let the boy live, albeit he was still dying slowly.
Jogo grabbed Yuji by his hood and dragged him toward a wall before making him lean against it.
He then took out a rolled-up cloth, unrolled it, and revealed multiple Sukuna fingers inside.
"Time to wake up... Sukuna."
He grabbed Yuji's face before he started stuffing the fingers, one at a time, into his mouth.
As he fed the fingers to Yuji, black markings appeared on his face before slowly fading back.
As he fed him the final finger, Jogo narrowed his eye.
Yuji, or more accurately, Sukuna, was still not awake.
'By this point, Yuji Itadori has 15 fingers.'
He was wondering whether Sukuna would awaken or not when suddenly he heard the sound of approaching footsteps.
Someone was running towards them.
'Must be a sorcerer...' thought Jogo.
And just as he expected, a sorcerer came into view.
"Megumi Fushiguro, huh..." Jogo mumbled.
Megumi frowned when he saw the special-grade cursed spirit.
The scene was even more concerning because the cursed spirit had Yuji in his hands.
"Get away from him!" Megumi warned as he got ready to fight.
"Don't waste my time. I am busy at the mom—"
Jogo raised his hand towards Megumi, intending to blast him away...
But then he noticed something.
His hand was missing.
Purplish blood started spilling from the stump.
All of a sudden, an oppressive and malicious feeling descended over them.
And it continued to spread.
Megumi literally started sweating nervously.
Jogo would have been in a similar situation if he could sweat.
"I will give you 1 second."
Megumi and Jogo looked towards the tattooed Yuji.
"Move."
Jogo immediately let go of Sukuna and jumped away.
Sukuna stood up on his feet as the injuries that Yuji had sustained started healing rapidly.
'Sukuna!!!!'
Both Megumi and Jogo screamed internally.
Megumi had a brief encounter with Sukuna when Yuji first ate the finger, but the pressure oozing out of him now was on a whole other level.
Jogo was shocked and stunned as well.
He knew that Sukuna was overwhelmingly strong.
Probably comparable to Satoru Gojo as well.
But the overwhelming evil that his cursed energy carried was something even he wasn't expecting.
Sukuna dusted off his clothes and stretched his limbs before looking at the other two people staring at him nervously.
Feeling Sukuna's gaze on him, Megumi gulped as his hands unconsciously balled into fists.
He started making a hand sign.
Seeing that reaction, Sukuna snorted in amusement.
He then turned his back on Megumi and looked at Jogo.
"Cursed Spirit. You wished to speak with me, right? I will grant you ten fingers' worth of audience. Now speak."
"I—"
"Before that, though..."
Sukuna glanced at Jogo.
"Kneel."
Jogo immediately went down on one knee.
A flying slash cut through the top of his volcano-shaped head.
"Just one knee? Do you think that's enough?"
Sukuna asked as purple blood sprayed out of Jogo.
Jogo didn't say anything.
He simply stood still.
Sukuna yawned before glancing towards Megumi.
"That kid must be here to check on this brat and probably wants him back."
He then looked back at Jogo.
"What about you, cursed spirit? What do you want?"
"Me?"
Jogo started speaking before glancing at Sukuna.
"I want nothing."
Jogo stated firmly.
'Then why the hell did you awaken him?!?!'
Megumi thought.
"What?"
Sukuna asked in mild confusion.
"Our objective is your complete resurrection. Your freedom as of now is only temporary while Itadori struggles to adapt. I'm sure you know that better than anyone..."
Jogo pointed towards Yuji.
"Forge a binding vow with Itadori before he regains control! One that grants you permanent control over the body."
Hearing his words, Megumi looked at the cursed spirit with disbelief.
Sukuna remained calm and waited for the cursed spirit to finish.
"This place is crawling with Itadori's friends. One of them is standing right there. Plenty of ways to get it done."
"Ha..."
Sukuna's lips curled upwards.
"Hahaha!"
He started laughing.
Not even a normal laugh.
He threw his head back and laughed as if Jogo had just told him the funniest joke in the world.
"HAHAHAHA!"
Jogo's eye twitched.
But he held himself back from saying anything.
Though annoyed, he clearly knew that the man in front of him could kill him instantly.
Sukuna slowly looked back at him.
"You're actually serious."
Jogo gave a nod.
Sukuna grinned.
"You're asking me to permanently take over this brat's body..."
He looked down at his hands.
"...and kill everyone he cares about."
"Yes."
Sukuna's grin widened, and Jogo felt that the King of Curses was on board with the plan.
"Then you accept?"
Sukuna looked at him.
There was a brief silence.
"Sure."
Jogo sighed in relief.
"Don't misunderstand."
Sukuna's smile disappeared.
"I don't care about your stupid plan."
Jogo's expression stiffened.
Sukuna stepped forward.
"What interests me is the other part."
He pointed towards Yuji's chest.
"The brat."
Jogo said nothing.
Sukuna's grin returned.
"Imagine it."
He chuckled.
"He wakes up."
His eyes narrowed.
"His friends are dead."
He pointed towards Megumi.
"His body isn't his anymore."
And then his grin widened.
"And there's nothing he can do about it."
Sukuna's eyes gleamed with amusement.
"Wouldn't that be simply amusing?"
Sukuna asked loudly.
Megumi and Jogo clearly heard him.
Both of them came to the same conclusion.
The King of Curses was a loose screw.
Sukuna wasn't accepting the proposal because he wanted Yuji's body.
He simply wanted to see Yuji suffer because, to him, that seemed amusing.
While Sukuna and Jogo were discussing the deal, Megumi, who had been standing nearby, had heard enough.
Megumi quickly made some hand signs.
He decided to strike first.
[Well of Unknown Abyss]
[Nue + Divine Dogs: Totality]
Four shadows erupted out of his own shadow, and four winged werewolves jumped at their target.
Sukuna didn't even turn around.
He simply raised his hand.
A moment later, two of the four winged werewolves were sliced apart.
The other two flew over and pounced on Sukuna.
Sukuna simply took a step back before casually swiping his finger and making a slicing motion.
The two shikigami were sliced in half, destroying them before they turned back into shadows.
[Nue]
Lightning erupted from behind as Sukuna jumped back, making the ground explode behind him.
"So excited to die?"
Sukuna asked in amusement as he glanced towards Megumi.
Megumi had his hands clasped together as he pointed them at Sukuna.
[Max Elephant: Piercing Jet]
A super-pressurized jet of water shot out from between his hands and headed straight towards Sukuna.
The King of Curses simply pointed his fingers towards the incoming water jet.
[Dismantle]
The jet of water started splitting apart, with the divided streams heading back towards Megumi.
Megumi noticed this and immediately stopped using his technique before dodging the incoming attack.
"You're fast."
Sukuna commented sarcastically.
Megumi didn't respond.
He sent Nue forward while simultaneously sinking into his own shadow.
Sukuna raised an eyebrow.
The shadow Megumi had sunk into moved towards Sukuna and promptly emerged behind him.
[Giant Serpent: Striking Shadow Snake]
A snake made of cursed energy rose out of the shadows and struck Sukuna.
Sukuna simply used his technique to dice the cursed energy construct apart.
SQEEE!!!!!!
Lightning crackled behind him as Nue approached Sukuna.
Sukuna turned around to end the shikigami, but caught Megumi coming out of the shadows from the corner of his eye.
He stopped.
Then he turned back towards Megumi with a sinister smile on his face.
Sukuna gripped Megumi by the face before turning him towards Nue.
"How is it?"
He forced Megumi to face the incoming lightning.
"Feeling energized?"
"AH!!!"
The lightning struck Megumi directly.
Megumi cried out in pain as he felt the full brunt of the attack.
Nue stopped the moment it realized it was attacking Megumi.
But Sukuna had already thrown the Ten Shadows user flying.
Megumi crashed through the ceiling.
Then another.
And another.
Before finally finding himself in the sky.
His body was burned from being electrocuted, and he had multiple wounds with blood pouring out of them from being brutally thrown through the ceilings.
Megumi knew that he needed to heal.
And for that, he needed to move away for a bit and use [Round Deer].
He summoned [Nue] once again and had the shikigami grab him and fly away.
"Who said you can leave?"
Sukuna's voice came from behind.
The Special Grade Heian-era menace jumped out of the building and approached Megumi with a crazed smile on his face.
Sukuna could feel the turmoil that Yuji was causing within him.
And he was enjoying every second of it.
If he wanted, he could make the brat accept the deal to let him take over in exchange for something...
But that wouldn't break the brat enough.
He needed to corner him more.
Megumi decided to act fast and wove another set of hand signs.
[Well of Unknown Abyss]
[Giant Serpent + Max Elephant]
An enormous shadow burst out of Megumi as a giant, scaly elephant, thrice the size of a normal elephant, emerged from it.
The massive shikigami started falling towards Sukuna, intending to crush him underneath its enormous body.
[Dismantle]
However, before the shikigami could even reach the Heian-era sorcerer, its body was diced apart and burst into pieces.
Sukuna passed through the destroyed shikigami as he headed towards Megumi.
Only to find that the boy had vanished out of thin air.
Sukuna looked around.
Megumi was nowhere to be found.
He turned towards the destroyed shikigami and noticed the pieces falling through the air.
Sukuna squinted his eyes.
It was nighttime, but he could still make out a shadowy figure jumping from piece to piece.
"Such useless efforts."
Sukuna let his body fall freely and locked onto the shadow.
Megumi, who was inside the shadows, felt Sukuna coming closer and clicked his tongue.
What should I do? My shikigami aren't affecting him at all.
He destroys anything that comes at him before they can even get close to him.
Megumi knew Sukuna wasn't an opponent he could even scratch.
But that didn't mean he could simply let things be and allow the Heian-era sorcerer to cause mayhem throughout the city and kill everyone.
While both of them were falling, Megumi used [Round Deer] inside his shadows to heal himself.
However, because of [Round Deer]'s positive energy, Megumi's cursed technique destabilized.
His shadow immersion became weaker.
And a second later—
He felt someone grab him by his collar and pull him out of the shadows.
"Not very clever of you to combine both cursed and positive energies together."
Sukuna let go of Megumi before landing a kick on him.
Megumi was sent crashing through the building they had just come out of.
His body once again crashed through concrete before getting planted into the ground.
Jogo was sitting there with his legs crossed.
He looked at Megumi Fushiguro wheezing on the ground, blood coming out of his mouth.
"Should be enough leverage to get Yuji Itadori to give up control."
Megumi clearly heard that.
Knowing Yuji, that idiot would probably give up if it meant he could save him and the others, even if only for a while.
Megumi looked at Jogo, who was eyeing him with an amused smile.
He then looked up.
Sukuna was falling through the hole that had been made when Megumi crashed through the ceiling.
"Still alive?"
Sukuna muttered in amusement as he felt Yuji's turmoil.
"Good."
Megumi closed his eyes.
He was almost out of cursed energy.
He was almost out of ways to even attack.
But that didn't mean he was giving up just yet.
Megumi's hands moved up.
[Domain Expansion: Chimera Shadow Garden]
Shadows burst out of him and swallowed the entire area.
Sukuna, who was falling, and Jogo, who was nearby, were both caught up inside the Domain.
The Domain swallowed both of the nearby special grades and closed up.
A moment later, both Jogo and Sukuna found themselves in an endless sea of shadows.
Their bodies started to sink, but the two immediately adapted and used cursed energy on their feet to hold themselves above the shadows.
"A Domain, huh—"
Sukuna started to speak.
Suddenly, multiple werewolves chomped onto him.
Jogo was caught in a similar situation.
'The Domain's sure-hit effect is the shikigami latching onto and attacking the target, huh?'
Sukuna thought as he dissected every shikigami that had latched onto him.
He continued doing so without any care.
"What?"
Sukuna looked around.
"You think a measly Domain can harm me?"
He formed a hand sign.
[Hollow Wicker Basket]
He could have easily ended things by opening his own Domain.
But then he wouldn't be able to have his fun.
Hollow Wicker Basket was an anti-domain technique that nullified the sure-hit effect of the Domain.
Though the technique did require him to maintain the hand sign, it wasn't like he was going to need to deal with anything that the kid could throw at him.
Jogo, on the other hand, used [Domain Amplification] to cancel the sure-hit effect.
'Pulling in both of us when he can't even defeat one of us.'
The thought crossed Jogo's mind.
'The kid is an idiot.'
He snorted.
Megumi, who was hidden within his shadows, noticed that both special grades had used their anti-domain techniques and clicked his tongue.
'Forget it.'
'This is still better than the worst-case scenario of them destroying my Domain with theirs.'
Megumi emerged from the shadows and looked at Sukuna.
Sukuna locked eyes with him and got ready to fight.
However, he couldn't use his hands since he needed them to hold the anti-domain technique.
He could still use his legs.
And that was more than enough to defeat Megumi.
Megumi made numerous shikigami emerge from the shadows and sent them hurling towards Sukuna.
Sukuna waited for the shikigami with a grin.
Then he launched a cursed-energy-reinforced kick at the nearest shikigami.
The impact sent it flying along with a shockwave that sent the other shikigami flying as well.
A second later—
Sukuna appeared directly above Megumi.
He stomped on his face and planted him into the shadowy floor.
"Any tricks still left?"
Sukuna asked as he stomped harder.
Megumi gritted his teeth.
There was still one trick left.
...
And it seemed like he needed to use that.
His hands rose once again and balled into fists.
He slowly tilted his head to the side.
Took a deep breath.
And started speaking.
[With this treasure, I summon....]
As those words left Megumi's mouth, the surrounding cursed energy grew denser.
A statue covered in bindings emerged from the shadows.
The shackles around it started to break.
[Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General]
The shackles kept breaking until only the final one remained.
"Hm..."
Sukuna stopped.
"...Something interesting."
He stopped stomping Megumi and lifted his foot off him.
This new shikigami seemed to be competent.
Megumi didn't reply.
He simply maintained the hand sign and called out the shikigami.
[Mahoraga]
The final shackle broke.
The restraints around the shikigami disappeared.
"Itadori..."
Megumi mumbled.
"You better not die..."
With that, Megumi descended into the shadows.
Sukuna noticed Megumi disappearing into the shadows before turning his gaze back towards the new shikigami.
His eyes narrowed.
Then—
A fist came flying towards him at full speed.
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A/N: Hello guys. Hope you all are doing well. Been a while since I uploaded, so a huge thanks to all the readers who stayed. Hope you all liked the chapter.
As I stated earlier, life's still busy. No change in that. So the updates will still not be regular. Sorry for the inconvenience. Hope you all understand.
Anyways, have a good day, week, month ahead. Don't know when I will get to upload again. Until then, best of luck to you all with whatever you guys are doing.