Chapter 39 — Why Won't You Use Your Strength?
At the same time, elsewhere on the exchange battlefield—
---
Blood flowed.
Miwa Kasumi gripped her sword with both hands. Her entire body trembled, joints creaking, barely able to remain upright.
S-Sukuna… Ryomen Sukuna… is bleeding…
Her eyes were wide as she stared at the pink-haired boy standing not far in front of her.
Moments earlier, somehow, everyone had instinctively found an opponent.
Miwa had still been hesitating, wondering what role someone as weak as her was even supposed to play in a battle like this.
Then Noritoshi Kamo had ordered her to stall Sukuna's vessel.
What kind of joke was that?
Her?
A mere Grade 3 sorcerer?
A sorcerer without an innate technique?
Useless Miwa—
Stall Sukuna?
But the vessel, Yuji Itadori, had apparently heard Kamo's order as well. He rushed straight toward her.
Under crushing fear, Miwa didn't think.
New Shadow Style—Simple Domain—Iai!
She activated it with everything she had.
Too late.
The instant the Simple Domain manifested, she realized—
It was already too late.
The vessel's speed was overwhelming.
Not as fast as Ren—but far beyond her own.
His movement speed vastly exceeded her attack speed.
By all logic, he should have been able to avoid her strike.
And yet—
For reasons she couldn't comprehend, he didn't dodge.
He threw a punch directly at her blade.
Head-on.
Is this… Sukuna?
Even injured, he doesn't hesitate. Even at the cost of his own body, he charges forward.
In that moment, Miwa felt she glimpsed something of the legendary cruelty of the King of Curses from a thousand years ago.
A brutality that did not spare even himself.
And now—
She had drawn blood from such a being.
…Was she going to survive this?
---
Elsewhere in the forest—
Inside an old wooden manor.
Two figures stood in a narrow corridor, tension crackling between them.
Noritoshi Kamo, eyes closed as always, faced the spiky-haired boy across from him—Megumi Fushiguro.
"I intend to kill Yuji Itadori."
"You understand why."
"You and I are the same."
"We are not," Fushiguro replied flatly.
Kamo froze.
"Yes, we are."
"No."
"Yes."
"No. Say that to Maki-senpai. I have nothing to do with the Zen'in clan anymore."
Kamo froze again.
What was going on?
Lately, it felt as though something in the world had shifted—like the very timeline had gone off-course.
His own teammates were completely disunited, uncontrollable. The school had issued a direct order to eliminate Yuji Itadori, yet not one of them truly cooperated.
Not one obeyed wholeheartedly.
And now—
After abandoning hope in his fellow Kyoto students, he had placed his expectations on Fushiguro—another heir of one of the Three Great Clans, someone of "noble blood" who should understand responsibility.
Only to have him disavow his own clan outright.
Damn it.
As the legitimate heir of the Kamo family, he only wanted to shoulder the burden of the Three Great Clans. To protect the stability of the jujutsu world.
Why was that so difficult?
---
Back in the forest—
Ren leaned casually against his cursed-energy naginata, confusion evident in his expression as he watched the girl before him suddenly pale.
"Why are you dodging?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.
___
Maki stared at the terrifying trench carved into the earth, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she confirmed it again.
If she wanted to clash head-on with that weapon, only a special-grade cursed tool like Playful Cloud might withstand it.
And she didn't have it.
"…Ah."
Ren followed her gaze—first to the fissure in the ground, then to his blade, then to the weapon in her hands.
Suddenly, realization dawned on him.
"I see."
He tightened his grip slightly.
The deep blue glow of the cursed-energy naginata dimmed. The weapon grew visibly duller, thinner—its presence less overwhelming.
"There," Ren said once he was satisfied. "The tool you're using isn't particularly high-grade. It can't compare to a weapon forged purely from cursed energy."
"But I've lowered the output on mine. I've also blunted the edge."
"Now we're on equal footing."
Maki's eyes widened.
What the hell is he doing!?
Why would he deliberately weaken himself?
Doesn't he want to win?
As if reading her confusion, Ren smiled faintly.
"If you won't fight at full strength," he said calmly,
"then neither will I."
"Get ready. I'm coming."
Whoosh—
The half-meter blade tore through the air toward her.
Clang!
Cursed tool and cursed-energy blade collided midair with an explosive crash.
A violent shockwave surged back through her arms.
Maki retreated again.
As she stepped back to bleed off the force, turmoil surged inside her.
What is he talking about?
What does he mean, 'if you won't fight at full strength'?
I already am fighting at full strength!
I've been fighting at full strength from the very beginning!
Before her stunned eyes, Ren pressed forward once more.
Maki dragged her naginata up and met him again.
---
The forest erupted with relentless metallic clashes.
Steel rang against energy.
Leaves exploded into the air. Trees split and cracked under stray blows.
Half an hour passed.
Maki staggered back against a tree trunk, bracing herself with her weapon.
Her legs trembled.
Her arms burned.
Her body swayed dangerously.
Her chest heaved as she gulped air. The flushed red in her cheeks had faded toward pale exhaustion.
Under Ren's high-intensity, unceasing offense, her stamina had drained rapidly.
If this continued—
She would collapse.
It was hard to imagine that someone known for physical prowess would lose due to stamina depletion.
But the reality was undeniable.
His physique far surpassed hers.
She bit her lip and stared at him.
Ren landed lightly several meters away, maintaining distance.
He looked completely composed.
Calm.
Breathing steady.
And that same baffled expression lingered on his face.
"Why?" he asked.
"Why won't you use your full strength?"
"Don't you see?" His tone carried genuine sincerity. "At this level, you absolutely—absolutely—cannot defeat me."
I already am using my full strength!
Maki felt like screaming.
Anger and humiliation burned in her chest.
Why does he keep insisting I'm holding back?
I'm not!
Is this some new method of psychological humiliation?
Damn it.
The only explanation was simple—
She wasn't strong enough.
But she couldn't let him belittle her like this.
Planting the naginata into the ground for support, Maki forced herself upright, ready to launch another attack—
When—
A thunderous roar erupted in the distance.
It sounded like a mountain collapsing.
At the same time—
High above the forest canopy—
A dark, viscous mass appeared in the sky.
Like liquid shadow.
The inky substance spread outward, dripping and expanding—
Until it unfurled into a vast black curtain.
It swallowed the sky whole.