Becoming Sukuna

"Are we really doing this? Now? Right here?"

Fushiguro Megumi nervously shifted into a combat stance, preparing to summon his Shikigami. Not to engage, but to protect himself in case things escalated between Gojo-sensei and Sukuna.

Behind them, Ijichi Juntaro's tension was palpable. With no combat abilities of his own, he was nothing but a liability in this situation. He whispered, "Gojo-sensei, fighting here could put too many civilians at risk."

"Yeah, I know. Even if we evacuate them, it'll be too late," Gojo Satoru replied, his voice tense as his mind worked rapidly to evaluate their options.

Gojo was weighing his choices carefully. Whether to face Sukuna head-on or let him walk away, either path would bring devastation.

It had all started with the thought that they were dealing with a potential ally, only to discover the truth—that the girl was a vessel for Sukuna. That revelation had changed everything.

Being Sukuna's vessel made her a once-in-a-lifetime kind of talent. And that wasn't something they could ignore.

"Are we really going to fight?" Yukinoshita Yukino asked, worry evident in her voice.

"No choice, huh? This guy's been provoking us non-stop. You don't want to just let him do whatever he pleases, right?" Sukuna said casually, trying to lighten the mood.

But Yukinoshita wasn't concerned about Sukuna fighting—she knew he wouldn't back down. What bothered her was the possibility of Sukuna getting hurt. Though the risk was to her own body, she wouldn't admit it, so she stayed silent.

Sukuna took her silence as consent. He untied Yukinoshita's two red hair ties and gathered her long hair into a high ponytail for himself.

"Seems like you're a little troubled. Stick close to me." With that, Sukuna vanished in an instant.

Yukinoshita was gone in the blink of an eye. Fushiguro's pupils constricted—he couldn't keep up with Sukuna's speed. If Sukuna had attacked just now, he wouldn't have even seen it coming.

"Megumi, Ijichi, stay here." Gojo didn't need to say more. He knew if Sukuna wanted to wreak havoc, there was nothing they could do to stop him.

With a sharp snap of his fingers, Gojo disappeared, his cursed energy surging like a storm as he moved at breakneck speed.

Sukuna's sudden disappearance was pure speed in action, but Gojo's was the product of his Limitless Cursed Technique—true teleportation.

The chase took them far from the city's edge, into the outskirts, where Gojo kept pace with Sukuna without losing ground.

"You really brought this fight here. Does Sukuna actually care about the lives of civilians?" Gojo said, voice tinged with surprise.

"If we wait too long, it'll be no fun, right?" Sukuna shrugged, stretching his limbs. "Plus, I have to make sure her emotions stay in check."

"Appreciate that," Gojo said with a grin. "You're really helping me out."

Before Gojo could finish his sentence, a shadow lunged at him. A fist laced with cursed energy aimed for his face—but the punch stopped just short of making contact.

Sukuna's eyes narrowed.

"Not in a rush, huh? You look confused. This is my technique..." Gojo started to explain, but Sukuna cut him off.

"I see. It's like an infinite series converging, right?" Sukuna smirked. "This is your Limitless Cursed Technique, right?"

He'd seen it listed in the system exchange, and it wasn't cheap—100,000 points.

Gojo, caught off guard by the interruption and his technique being exposed, could only grin awkwardly. "Living like an ancient relic, yet you know about this kind of stuff? I'm impressed."

"What's the big deal? Isn't it just advanced math? When my buddy Lu Chugo was tortured, that was a real nightmare."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Gojo laughed, shaking his head.

After a failed strike, Sukuna quickly retreated, narrowly dodging Gojo's counterattack. But just as he thought he'd avoided it, he felt a force pushing against his abdomen.

"Dodged it?" Gojo removed his blindfold, revealing his glowing blue eyes. He glanced at Sukuna, who had casually seated himself on a nearby tree trunk, chin propped up on his hand. "You've got some impressive reflexes."

Even without a cursed technique boosting his strength, Sukuna's ability to evade the force was remarkable. His power was undeniable.

"Chibaku Tensei? What are you, Nagato?" Sukuna commented lazily.

The glowing eyes were a telltale sign of the Six Eyes, the key to unlocking the full potential of Gojo's Limitless Cursed Technique. Without them, Gojo wouldn't be able to use his technique to its full extent.

The system had listed the Six Eyes at 400,000 points—four times the cost of the Limitless Cursed Technique.

So, Gojo was worth half a million points. Talent really couldn't be measured.

"I'm a Jujutsu Sorcerer, not a ninja," Gojo teased, his voice now coming from behind.

A gust of wind preceded a punch wrapped in cursed energy aimed at Sukuna.

Sukuna didn't even flinch. He caught the punch with no effort, his expression neutral.

They exchanged dozens of blows in a split second, their fists moving so fast they left afterimages behind. The surrounding trees cracked and splintered under the force of their strikes.

Suddenly, Gojo found himself grabbed by the collar of his uniform and thrown several meters. He crashed into trees, finally coming to a stop.

"Touched me?" Gojo raised an eyebrow, surprised, but otherwise unharmed.

"That's a troublesome technique. You can hit me, but I can't hit you... Not exactly fair, is it? If I expand my domain, I should be able to counter your Limitless Technique, right?"

Sukuna shrugged, brushing off his skirt. "Next time, make sure I'm in proper combat attire."

Yukinoshita Yukino rolled her eyes internally.

"Expanding your domain? No wonder you're called the King of Curses. You figured out my Limitless Cursed Technique in no time." Gojo said, genuinely impressed. "But you still won't be able to use your own techniques. The imbalance remains."

"So, what will you do now, Sukuna?"

"What do you plan to do, Sukuna?"

Staring at the crazed white-haired man, Sukuna sighed in frustration.

This guy is a battle maniac—how troublesome.

While he sighed, the dazzling azure orb, radiating immense energy, tore through the surroundings like a miniature black hole, uprooting trees and vegetation as it hurtled toward Sukuna with unstoppable force.

"Cursed Technique Reversal: Blue!" Under Gojo Satoru's control, the orb relentlessly pursued Sukuna as he weaved through the forest with remarkable agility.

"So persistent…"

In an instant, Sukuna appeared before Gojo, his lips curling into a smirk. He struck with a palm aimed at Gojo's abdomen.

The relentless Blue was abruptly halted as Gojo ceased its manipulation. However, in the same moment, Gojo raised his fingers, aiming at the Sukuna now right in his face.

A faint red glow ignited at his fingertips, and with a force akin to Nagato's almighty push, a colossal repulsion sent Sukuna flying.

Several trees snapped in half as Sukuna's body barreled through them, their collapse kicking up clouds of dust. Sunlight filtered through the scattering leaves, casting dappled patterns on the ground.

Yet, the hasty attack failed to inflict significant damage. Sukuna's clothes were torn and dirtied, nothing more.

Glaring at the gashes on his school uniform jacket caused by tree branches, Sukuna frowned in irritation.

Hey, are you alright!? Yukinoshita Yukino's concerned voice echoed in his mind, coming from the VIP observation seat linked to his perspective.

Before Sukuna could reply, a piercing sound cut through the air above.

"You look like you're having fun!"

Dodging Gojo's aerial kick with a backstep, Sukuna swiftly reached out to grab his neck. Though Gojo managed to block with his arm, Sukuna still slammed him into a nearby tree trunk, sending wood splinters flying.

"Cleave!"

An invisible slash shot from Sukuna's hand. While the seamless transition between his domain and innate technique couldn't pierce through Gojo's Infinity, it still sent him hurtling backward, cutting down a swath of vegetation in its wake.

"It's been so long since I've faced anyone like you!"

Gojo's exhilarated grin remained as he recovered midair using his Cursed Technique. Floating in place, he negated the force that had thrown him.

But the next moment, Sukuna's cursed energy-infused fist collided with Gojo's face, distorting his expression.

Barely a second passed before Gojo counterattacked, launching another punch. Sukuna blocked, and the two clashed in close combat, fists and feet trading blows at breakneck speed.

Cursed energy-powered strikes collided and separated repeatedly, each impact resonating like a drumbeat. Sukuna took a straight punch to the face, while Gojo's head snapped back from an uppercut the next moment. Any injuries they sustained healed instantly through Reverse Cursed Techniques. They fought like humanized avatars of pure combat, their fists leaving afterimages in the air.

The shockwaves of their battle uprooted trees, scattered leaves, and unleashed bursts of cursed energy that obliterated everything in the vicinity.

Their frenzied melee ended with Gojo detonating a blast that included himself in its radius.

Both combatants were flung backward, carving deep trenches into the earth before coming to a halt.

Who… who won? Yukino, sharing Sukuna's perspective, was utterly bewildered. The speed of their movements made it impossible for her to follow.

Neither… No, Gojo lost the upper hand in close combat.

Though the difference was slight, it was undeniable.

"Close combat, kid." Sukuna mocked as he healed his wounds with a Reverse Cursed Technique. His tone was filled with pride.

Since childhood, Sukuna had admired the hand-to-hand combat techniques seen in action movies. Now, armed with extraordinary abilities from his innate talent and unmatched physique, he had perfected those combat methods, elevating them beyond their original forms into his own unparalleled fighting style.

His close-combat prowess had evolved to surpass even what Ryomen Sukuna had once achieved.

"Warm-up's over." With his wounds fully healed, Sukuna's confidence was unshaken. Gojo, similarly recovered, faced him once more.

"Yukino, watch closely. You're about to witness the pinnacle of jujutsu combat—Domain Expansion." Sukuna smiled, raising both hands. "Learn well."

"Domain Expansion." x2

"Unlimited Void." "Malevolent Shrine."

Behind Sukuna, a grotesque and towering skeletal structure emerged, supporting an eerie shrine. A blood-red barrier rapidly extended outward, consuming the surroundings.

Opposite him, a radiant white sphere enveloped the battlefield, painting everything black as though ink spilled over a blank canvas. Stars and nebulae appeared, creating the illusion of an infinite cosmos.

Surrounded by this surreal scene, Yukino instinctively panicked. Did we lose?

"Domain Expansion constructs an innate technique-infused barrier using cursed energy. It's highly draining but grants an environmental advantage and ensures technique hits," Sukuna explained with a confident smile. "I've already won."

Inside the domains, their guaranteed-hit effects clashed and neutralized one another. However, Sukuna's domain began expanding, overwhelming Gojo's territory.

Countless slashes bombarded the outer edges of Gojo's domain, cracks spidering across its surface as sunlight pierced through the gaps.

With a shattering sound, Gojo's domain collapsed.

As Gojo stood in stunned silence, the destructive slashes descended upon him.

Blood splattered. In an instant, the white-haired man was reduced to a bloodied figure.

"When a domain collapses, the innate technique is interrupted, rendering the user incapable of activating it until it's restored," Sukuna remarked, his tone mocking.

Are you… are you going to kill him? Yukino asked hesitantly.

"He's not that easy to kill. Can't you see he's desperately using a Reverse Cursed Technique to heal?" Sukuna replied. Though he maintained the pressure with his slashes, he refrained from directly attacking Gojo.

"New Shadow Style: Simple Domain!"

Panting heavily, Gojo deployed a Simple Domain to counter Sukuna's guaranteed-hit effect, buying himself precious seconds to recover.

Looking up at Sukuna, who stood high before his shrine, looking down on him, Gojo couldn't help but feel irritated. With a grin, he taunted, "Not going for the kill? You're about to win, aren't you?"

"Haven't I already won?" Sukuna retorted with a smile.

"That's not for sure." Gojo raised his fingers once more. "Domain Exp—"

"Hold on." Sukuna abruptly deactivated his domain, cutting off Gojo's chant.

Seeing Sukuna withdraw his domain, Gojo paused, curious about his intentions.

From his pocket, Sukuna retrieved a vibrating phone. He glanced at the caller ID and said, "Yukino, your mom's calling."