Everyone looked shocked, saying, "A small barrier?!"
Mei Mei then said, "Well, in theory, it could serve to strengthen the barrier..."
Megumi then said, "It's not even the size of a basketball!"
Kusakabe looked at this and said, "Hold on a sec, that's impossible."
Mei Mei then said, "Just how many times have things been [Impossible] today already?"
Maki then said, "Why? A barrier's outward appearance and how big it is on the inside almost never match. That's why once you're in a domain, unless you somehow manage to find the edge, you don't even have the option to escape. And even if you can reach the edge, a normal domain is resistant to attacks from the inside."
Kusakabe then said, "Still, there are limits, musclehead."
Maki deadpanned, saying, "Don't blame me. Blame my dumbass teacher."
Kuskabe then said, "What's most important with barrier techniques is a concrete image. Usually, if you tried to envision a barrier too small to even hold yourself and your opponent, the barrier would just collapse."
Choso then said, "The prison realm."
Kusakabe looked shocked before saying, "I see. His experience being sealed in the prison realm is now coming into play. Talk about an awful learning opportunity."
Kiyotaka then said, "Gojo-Sensei is trying to buy time to damage Sukuna enough to break his Domain. Either that or he's aiming to destroy the shrine again. The shrinking of the Domain is a play he made to force Sukuna's attention away from the interior. I'm sure of it."
Yuta looked surprised, saying, "Then there's a chance."
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The Domain barrier shattered as the shrine broke, and Sukuna's Domain faded away as well to reveal Gojo unscathed and Sukuna with a punching wound on his chest while grinning.
Sukuna ran up onto a bridge as Gojo chased after him, thinking, 'Why hasn't Sukuna used Equalisation yet?'
Sukuna fired a dismantle at the bridge and kicked up that part of the bridge, obscuring Gojo's vision as he swung his fist at it, only for Gojo to break through it and catch his, saying, "Sorry, but that kind of tactic doesn't work on me."
They both smirked and made the hand signs, chanting, "Domain Expansion!"
Gojo then started slamming his fists into Sukuna, who blocked with his arms as Gojo appeared behind him and punched him, sending him flying into the shrine as it broke apart and the domain fell.
The skin on the left side of Sukuna's face looked as if it had been torn off as he smirked, and Gojo punched him, sending him flying into a pillar of the bridge.
They made the hand signs and again chanted, "Domain Expansion!"
It wasn't even for 0.001 second but... Infinite Void formed first, and so, due to experiencing the effects of Satoru Gojo's Cursed Technique, Sukuna froze on the spot, and his Domain collapsed.
Gojo rushed towards Sukuna to finish the job, but as he launched his fist at Sukuna, Sukuna managed to choke out, "Bhrasta."
A Shikigami appeared. It resembled a Buddha with fangs and Sukuna's distinctive 4 eyes and arms and rotting flesh hanging from its fangs and hands.
Such was a blasphemous representation of a corrupt Buddha. A disgusting attempt to mock all things such as love, kindness, pureness and fairness.
It made hand signs as Gojo's domain fell, and Sukuna blocked Gojo's fist and then slammed his fist into Gojo's stomach, sending him flying back as Sukuna smirked and said, "Here is what I think of your meaningless concepts such as love, kindness, pureness and fairness."
Gojo stood up, spitting out the blood in his mouth and looking at the Shikigami, thinking, 'A Shikigami? I can still feel the use of the Limitless Technique, but not Infinity. That Shikigami has got to have something to do with it.'
Bhrasta is a Shikigami made from the Equalisation Cursed Technique. Upon realising that Equalisation reduced the Output of Shrine to a significant degree, Sukuna instead created a Shikigami to use Equalisation instead. In exchange for limiting the Cursed Technique Maximum's usage to only Infinity through a binding vow, the Cursed Technique would now only respond to Infinity, and so Bhrasta could focus on maintaining the situation in that state, therefore removing the need for Sukuna to give it commands. This means that while Bhrasta is active, Shrine's Output is no longer limited to any degree, and Infinity can no longer protect Satoru Gojo.
Gojo aimed at the Shikigami and chanted, "Cursed Technique Reversal: Red!"
He fired a red at the Shikigami, but it simply passed through it.
During its creation, a binding vow was made. In exchange for Bhrasta not being allowed to attack and constantly consuming Cursed Energy from Sukuna while in use, it cannot be attacked or destroyed.
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Everyone looked shocked as Yuta said, "He... actually managed to hit Gojo-Sensei."
Kiyotaka sighed and said, "As expected. I thought he'd do something like this."
Yuta looked to Kiyotaka and asked, "What's the counter play?"
Kiyotaka shook his head and said, "There is none. That Shikigami likely isn't allowed to attack anyone, so right now what Gojo-Sensei needs to do is..."
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Gojo smirked and said, "I just have to kill you, right? Since all that Shikigami can probably do is sit around and watch as I kick your ass."
Sukuna grinned and asked, "What are you so happy about?"
Gojo smirked and said, "That you're fighting more desperately than I thought."
Sukuna laughed and said, "Not as desperate as you. [Infinite Void]. An ability that is only enabled inside your Domain Expansion. To be honest, I thought it was annoying. I wanted to rid your hand of that card."
Gojo smirked and said, "That Shikigami survived Infinite Void because of you using Equalisation to equal out our Cursed Techniques, and then you offloaded the Technique to the Shikigami right after. It was a desperate gamble that you just barely survived. Since insertion of information isn't technically an attack, it'll affect that Shikigami. If I use my Domain again, then your Shikigami will get overloaded with information."
Gojo said this as he made the hand sign, but Sukuna smirked and said, "You can't expand your Domain anymore."
Gojo began bleeding from his nose as Sukuna smirked, pointing to his head and saying, "You're using that strategy to recover from Cursed Technique Burnout, right? The one Ayanokoji used against that Hidaka girl. It involved destroying your prefrontal cortex and then restoring it with the Reverse Cursed technique to rest the burnt-out Cursed Technique. You overexerted yourself."
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Everyone looked shocked as Yuta shouted, "That's way too reckless to even use once!"
Yuta turned to Kiyotaka and said, "I know you told us he had a way to do it, but like this?"
Kuskabe then said, "The brain... especially the part that relates to the Cursed Technique is a black box. It's not that simple to fix, even if you can think of it.
Kiyotaka nodded and said, "If it were me. I'd likely be able to do it about 9 to 10 times before a massive error put me in the same situation, but Gojo-Sensei can't make those kinds of calculations. That's why he's suffering from the recoil after 5 uses."
Choso then said, "It's fair to say that the amount of time he used it caused him to almost die."
Shoko looked at this, saying, "I thought Gojo was getting accustomed to healing his brain, but he still had after effects. Sukuna healed less, so he has fewer aftereffects.
Kiyotaka looked at the screen and said, "Sukuna baited Gojo-Snsei into using several Domain Expansions, betting on Gojo-Sensei using that strategy each time. It's likely due to him not wanting to put Bhrasta in danger of information overload."
Miwa then asked, "Why doesn't he just make a binding vow to make the Shikigami immune to information overload?"
"That's not possible. It requires information processing to use Equalisation. If Sukuna made it immune to Infinite Void, wouldnt' be able to do its job nearly as effectively. It would make it useless."
Kiyotaka said this as everyone realised it.
Satoru Gojo had fallen for this trap, and now Bhrasta was free to remove the barrier of Infinity without the threat of being information overload.
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Gojo fell to one knee as Sukuna grinned and said, "Using the Reverse Cursed Technique on the brain is different from anywhere else. There are limits compared to flesh and bone. Even if you open a Domain, you'll either die or you won't have the precision to combat me. At that stage, even if Bhrasta is information overloaded, I can simply cut you in half."
Sukuna made the hand signs and said, 'Now I'll close the barrier so you have nowhere to run and then dice you into pieces like the fish on a cutting board that you are. Goodbye [Strongest Sorcerer]. It turns out you were lucky to be born in an Era when I wasn't around. In the end, you turned out to be painfully ordinary."
Sukuna grinned and chanted, "Domain Expansion."
But his domain collapsed, and he bled from his eyes and nose.
The amount of time that Ryomen Sukuna was exposed to Infinite Void was less than 10 seconds. Nonetheless... just like Satoru Gojo... he took enough damage to his brain that opening a Domain was impossible.
Gojo laughed with glee, shouting, "Looks like it had an effect on you after all!"
He grinned as he pointed to Mei Mei's crows that were broadcasting the battle and said, "My students are watching... so help me look even cooler, okay?"
Gojo appeared next to Sukuna and slammed his fist into him, sending him flying through a building
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Kiyotaka grinned and said, "Your Infinite Void paid off. That was pretty awesome."
Everyone else was grinning as well, thinking, 'Finally! Get yourself together and kick his ass!'
Yuki looked to Kiyotaka in shock, thinking, 'I'm excited. I get that. Gojo-San did something amazing after all, but... even Kiyotaka is getting drawn into the fight.'
Kuskabe then asked, "Who here has taken a serious punch from Gojo?"
Maki and Panda said, "No. I did try to punch him... but it didn't land."
Kiyotaka then said, "He once applied the limitless technique while punching me."
Yuta and Hakari put their hands up, saying, "Same here."
Kusakabe then said, "He overlaps the effect from Blue, which sucks things in, with his Cursed Energy Reinforcement."
Hakari then said, "Not only does the impact get stronger, but it feels like you're getting hit by a counter, even though it's supposed to be a normal punch."
Kirara then asked, "Did it hurt?"
Yuta and Hakari both said, "I... threw up."
Kiyotaka sighed and said, "I was increasing my defences to their maximum, and even still, it was immensely painful."
Kirara then asked, "So you didn't throw up?"
"I didn't."
Kiyotaka said this as Kusakabe then said, 'What I want to say is, I don't know what Gojo is doing. So don't ask me."
Everyone turned back to the screen.
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Gojo grabbed Sukuna and dragged his face across several buildings before throwing him towards the street, as Sukuna got back on his feet as they went into an exchange of blows, blocking each other's punches and kicks as Sukuna jumped back and chanted, "Dismantle", as Gojo's arm was cut clean off.
Sukuna licked his lips and said, "I finally managed to peel off a scale."
Gojo regenerated his arm with the Reverse Cursed Technique and said, "If it took you that long, doesn't that make you a shitty cook?"
Sukuna looked to him and said, "I'll admit it, Satoru Gojo. While you are a fish on my chopping board, you at least have a name."
Sukuna grinned and then said, "And a fish that fights back is more satisfying to gut and cook."
Gojo took a stance, thinking, 'His Dismantle cut through my arm. I need to increase my Cursed Energy Reinforcement.'
A thin film of Cursed Energy formed around Gojo as Sukuna thought, 'He can still use Full Body Domain Amplification even though he shouldn't be able to draw out his Domain? So the damage isn't that bad, huh?'
Due to training in Kiyotaka's body via soul swap training, Gojo's efficiency in calculations had improved to a degree, and so he was able to mitigate the damage to his brain from the reset method enough to allow him to partially draw it out in a Full Body Domain Amplification. However, this improvement was not enough to allow him to expand his Domain.
Sukuna took a stance and attempted to bring forth his Full Body Domain Amplification, but his nose started bleeding as he thought, 'What?! The damage I received is worse?!'
Gojo slammed his fist into Sukuna, undoing his Full Body Domain Amplification and switching to the use of Blue at the moment of contact as Sukuna was sent flying through two buildings as he got up, grinning and thinking, 'That brat is using it to increase the force of his strikes and cancelling it right before contact to increase his striking force further with Blue.'
Sukuna got up as Gojo rushed towards him, dodging several dismantles as the two went into another exchange with Sukuna thinking, 'You're using Full Body Domain Amplification to try to crusch me through overwhelming force since you know I can't use mine.'
Gojo used Blue to make after-images of himself as he pummelled Sukuna from every angle, as Sukuna thought, 'There's still only one of you.'
Sukuna reacted to the real Gojo and pushed his hands away with his own while chanting, "Cleave", as Gojo's hands were sliced to bits, and Sukuna slammed his fist into Gojo as Black Sparks flew, and Gojo was sent flying back.
Sukuna saw Gojo healing his hands and smirked, saying, "Try to overwhelm me with physical force now, Satoru Gojo. Let's see how that might turn out."
Gojo then summoned multiple Blues as Sukuna dodged, and they tore up the area he was standing in as Gojo thought, 'Now I'll give him hell! I've thoroughly convinced him that all I'll use is Blue. With this timing, he won't be able to react.'
Gojo aimed at Sukuna and thought, 'Red!' as the attack hit a pillar, launching debris liek shrapnel at Sukuna, who blocked it with his arms as he was sent flying back.
Gojo looked annoyed, thinking, 'He managed to survive it due to the aftereffects of his Black Flash?'
Sukuna smirked, saying, "You're sloppy. Are you panicking because I saw through you?"
Gojo looked to him and said, "Actually... Red hasn't exploded yet."
Gojo said this as the red came back around, slamming into Sukuna's back, making him think, "From behind? The building's layout. Did he plan from the start to have Red strike after making a full lap around?!' and propelling Sukuna forward towards Gojo, who slammed his fist into him, generating Black Sparks.
Sukuna coughed up blood as he felt his consciousness leave him, but his eyes snapped back into focus as he jumped back, thinking, 'If this body was any weaker, that would have knocked me out cold.'
Sukuna smirked and said, "Aren't you tugging at the reel quite a bit. Fighting quite hard for your life, aren't you?"
Gojo smirked as they went into another exchange of blows, landing a punch in each other's face and sending each other flying back as Black Sparks flew.
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Everyone started thinking, 'They're dead, even on Black Flash count now. Two each. Eniother of them wants to give up ground.'
Yuta turned to Kiyotaka and asked, "How do you think things are looking?"
"Gojo-Sensei's Full Body Domain Amplification was already far superior to Sukuna's, and now Sukuna can't use it so... Gojo-Sensei has the advantage, but... I feel a sense of unease at the idea that Infinity can't protect Gojo-Sensei. He's not untouchable anymore. It worries me."
Kiyotaka said this as Yuta nodded, saying, "I feel the same. Before, I wouldn't be able to think of Gojo-Sensei losing, but now..."
Nobara looked annoyed, saying, "Will you two shut up? He isn't going to lose. He's Gojo-Sensei."
Yuta smield and said, "You're right. It's Gojo-Sensei after all."
Kiyotaka wasn't convinced by that thinking, 'Sukuna isn't going all out. He's likely conserving himself because he knows he'll have more opponents after Gojo-Sensei. The question is...'
Can Satoru Gojo take advantage of Ryomen Sukuna's need to conserve himself and defeat him?
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Gojo slammed his fist into Sukuna, sending him flying back as Black Sparks flew and then teleported above him.
Sukuna waved his hands, sending out a web of dismantles as Gojo teleported next to Sukuna and slammed his leg into him, kicking him into the ground as Black Sparks flew from the impact of his strike.
Four Black Flashes tie Satoru Gojo with Nanami Kento for the Consecutive Black Flash record.
Gojo smirked as Sukuna looked to him and asked, "What're you so happy about? Even with a few Black Flashes..."
Gojo pointed to him and said, "No matter what tricks you pull out, you can't beat me. The reason you were the strongest in history... is simply because I wasn't born yet. Sukuna. I'm not Satoru Gojo because I'm the strongest. I'm the strongest because I'm Satoru Gojo."
Sukuna glared, saying, "Overconfident brat."
A declaration of unshakable strength from the Strongest Sorcerer Of The Modern Age unnerves the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna, to his core before the battle reaches its climax.
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To Be Continued
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Rating Out Of 10 For This Chapter?
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