Becoming Sukuna

"Death Swarm!"

A torrent of grotesque fish-like shikigami erupted from Dagon's hands, their jaws snapping as they lunged towards Yukino.

But instead of retreating, Yukino charged forward, her eyes locked onto Dagon.

The invisible shikigami materialized before her, their fangs bared, but they were instantly sliced apart by equally invisible slashes.

Blood and flesh splattered in her wake, painting a gruesome path across the sand.

"What?! The sure-hit effect isn't working on her?!" Dagon was shocked, then it noticed something. "No, wait… That's…"

Dagon hadn't considered Yukino a threat. Although she could injure him, Naobito had been the main attacker until now.

But now, seeing the girl charging towards him, he realized his mistake.

Is her technique... Cleave?

He observed as smooth, deep cuts appeared in the sand before Yukino's feet, only to be instantly filled in by her next step.

She's constantly activating Cleave around her body to destroy my shikigami before they can even attack!

His assumption was correct. Yukino, inspired by Naobito's Falling Blossom Emotion, was using her cursed technique to create an invisible shield of slashes.

And it was working perfectly.

"You damn woman!"

Dagon roared and threw a punch, but Yukino vanished from his sight.

"Ugh!"

Yukino slid between his legs, her Cleave attack leaving a deep gash.

Dagon's Achilles tendon was severed, and he stumbled, falling to one knee. He instinctively swung his elbow, but it hit nothing.

Yukino hadn't attacked him from behind as he had expected.

Sensing another invisible slash coming from behind, Dagon quickly took to the sky, his injured leg hindering his movements.

"You can fly, after all." Naobito's voice came from above. "If I were you, I'd run too."

"What?!"

Before Dagon could react, his body was encased in a mirror dimension. Then, with a shattering sound, Naobito kicked him towards Yukino.

And waiting for him was…

A brilliant black flash!

Black!

Cursed energy exploded from Yukino's fist, and black lightning crackled. Dagon was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into the sand.

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[FLASHBACK]

"What does Sukuna-kun think about during battle?"

After a sparring session, Yukino, lying on the ground, asked, catching her breath.

"Hmm? Let me think..."

Sukuna pretended to ponder.*

"Nothing!"

Yukino glared at him.

"Okay, okay, don't get mad." Sukuna raised his hands defensively.

"It's normal to think during battle," he explained. "But if it's a desperate fight, I just let my instincts take over."

"Thinking too much slows you down."

"If you're ever in trouble, just let go. Let your instincts guide you."

"Stop thinking… will that work?" Yukino mumbled skeptically.

"All the training you've done is for that moment."

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Yukino charged towards Dagon.

A giant eel emerged from Dagon's waist, but it was instantly sliced apart.

Dagon landed and threw a punch, but Yukino's fist shattered it.

Black lightning crackled. BLACK FLASH

Dagon stumbled, and Yukino pressed her hand against its stomach.

Cleave activated, and blood splattered.

This woman!

Dagon slammed its hands on the ground.

Giant sea creatures emerged, knocking Yukino away.

It takes time to cut through those huge shikigami…

Dagon had realized this.

"The ocean is the origin of all life! My Death Swarm is endless!"

I'll use fifty percent of my power on her!

"With the pressure off me..." Naobito muttered as he saw the number of shikigami attacking him decrease. He deactivated Falling Blossom Emotion and activated his own technique, Projection Sorcery.

Dagon froze, unable to move.

Naobito's technique allowed him to divide a second into 24 frames and project his movements in advance. Anyone he touched with his hand was also forced to move in 1/24-second intervals, or be frozen for a full second.

He couldn't change his movements mid-attack, and excessive defiance of physics would also freeze him.

This was the reason for Naobito's unique fighting style.

Thanks to his talent for precise movements, Naobito was known as "the fastest sorcerer after Gojo Satoru."

He punched Dagon, sending it flying, then resumed his defensive stance to deal with the remaining shikigami.

After clearing a wave of shikigami, he deactivated Falling Blossom Emotion, activated Projection Sorcery again, and charged towards Dagon.

Dagon was now fully focused on Yukino and Naobito, leaving Ino and Nobara alone.

"This gives me an opening!" Ino grinned, deactivating his Black Tortoise. "I should have enough cursed energy for one more."

He raised his hands and shouted, "Invited Beast Number Four: Azure Dragon!"

A majestic Chinese dragon appeared, slightly smaller than before, but still formidable.

"Annoying flies!"

Although sent flying once again, Dagon seized the opportunity while Naobito was distracted and reached for Ino.

Two giant sharks suddenly emerged from the sand beneath Ino, snapping their jaws at him.

"Hey, shitty octopus... Don't forget about me!"

Despite being injured by Dagon's previous attack, Nobara had recovered enough to rejoin the fight.

She grinned, blood staining her lips.

Several nails shot towards Dagon, embedding themselves in his outstretched arm.

Although the nails didn't cause significant damage, it was enough for Nobara.

"Straw Doll Technique: Resonance!"

She clenched her fist, detonating the cursed energy within the nails.

The sharks attacking Ino, the shikigami swarming Naobito, and the giant sea creatures lunging at Yukino all exploded simultaneously.

"Thank you! You're such a reliable kouhai!" Ino grinned, then focused all his attention on controlling the Azure Dragon, which slammed into Dagon.

"One by one… How annoying!" Dagon roared in frustration, his attacks repeatedly interrupted.

Several eels erupted from his back, biting into the dragon.

But as he broke free from the dragon's grasp, he felt his ankle caught. Before he could react, he was frozen in place.

Naobito reappeared and kicked Dagon towards the beach.

Damn it!!!

Seeing Naobito spinning towards him, Dagon summoned a massive wave, engulfing himself in water.

Naobito's kick hit the wave, sending water spraying everywhere.

He glared at Dagon, who was now floating on the surface of the ocean, seemingly unfazed.

This curse has a lot of cursed energy…

Dagon unleashed another wave of shikigami, blotting out the sun.

I need to counter his Domain with my own…

Yukino thought, watching the approaching swarm.

"Domain Expansion? You're a hundred years too early to be able to do that! Learn to create a closed Domain first!"

Sukuna's mocking laughter echoed in her mind.

"The hardest part is creating the inner landscape, the scenery of your Domain. Once you can do that, adding your technique is simple."

You can do it, Yukino Yukinoshita.

I've seen Sukuna-kun's Domain Expansion.

I've been practicing barrier techniques… And isn't there a ready-made barrier right here?

While everyone else focused on the shikigami, bracing for the incoming attack, Yukino closed her eyes.

She raised her hands and formed the "Yamantaka" mudra.

"Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine."

She opened her eyes, a flash of crimson in their depths.

Dagon froze. It felt an overwhelming surge of cursed energy, and behind Yukino, it saw a terrifying figure with four glowing red eyes.

That's… Sukuna!

The ready-made barrier, the boost from the two Black Flashes, her tireless practice, her observations of stronger sorcerers, the muscle memory from when Sukuna had used her body for his Domain Expansion, and…

The lingering traces of Sukuna's cursed energy within her.

All these factors combined had allowed her to activate an incomplete Domain Expansion, piggybacking on Dagon's Domain.

A shrine materialized behind Yukino.

The clear blue seawater instantly turned crimson, transforming into a sea of blood.

"What?!"

"What's going on?!"

The three sorcerers turned around, their eyes wide with shock as they felt an overwhelming surge of cursed energy.

"She… She manifested a Domain Expansion?!" Ino's jaw dropped in disbelief. "What a monster!"

He had voiced everyone's thoughts.

"Well then…"

Naobito turned back to Dagon, who was standing on the surface of the blood-red sea.

A ferocious piranha shikigami suddenly appeared before him, but before he could react, it was sliced into pieces.

The swarm of invisible shikigami reappeared, but they were also being systematically destroyed by invisible slashes, their dismembered bodies raining down from the sky.

"This is…?!" Dagon, finally recovering from its shock, stared in disbelief. "She's using my Domain's barrier to construct her own Domain?!"

"How is that even possible?!"

It glared at Yukino, who was maintaining her Domain with a focused expression, blood trickling from her nose.

"It seems she can't maintain it for long. If I can just wait until her Domain collapses, I'll regain the sure-hit effect and kill them all!"

"I'll take care of those shikigami. Everyone... Please… defeat the enemy quickly…" Yukino's voice was strained. "I can't hold on much longer!"

The consumption is too much!

My head feels like it's burning… I can only last another two minutes, then my Domain will collapse.

"Two minutes, huh?" Naobito vanished from sight. "That's enough!"

"Defeating a special grade curse in two minutes? What a rush!" Ino grinned behind his mask. "If I survive this, I'll definitely be promoted to Grade 1!"

"Invited Beast Number Three: Qilin!"

This was the only beast he could summon while maintaining another, and it granted him a temporary boost, suppressing pain and fatigue.

But once it wears off, I'll be out of commission.

"Invited Beast Number Two: Black Tortoise!"

Ino, now clad in his Black Tortoise armor, followed Naobito.

Naobito, after a few swift movements, reached Dagon.

Dagon quickly summoned a wall of water, but Naobito appeared behind it, pressing his palm against its back.

One second frozen.

With a shattering sound, Dagon was kicked towards Ino.

Ino's fist, reinforced with cursed energy, slammed into Dagon's stomach, stopping its momentum. Dagon coughed up blood.

Naobito appeared beside it, landing a punch to its face, followed by Ino's uppercut.

Dagon was bounced back and forth like a ball before finally landing on the sand.

Without the sure-hit effect, Dagon was no match for Naobito's speed.

I can't… I can't lose to these humans!

Dagon finally found an opening and retreated to the sea, sinking beneath the waves.

That woman's Domain is just an imitation, based on mine. It can only temporarily negate the sure-hit effect.

If I can just stall, I'll win!

"Tch," Naobito clicked his tongue.

"Damn it! It went into the ocean! What do we do now?!" Ino exclaimed.

They had no way to attack Dagon underwater.

"I'll do it!" Nobara stepped forward. "Yukino, let some shikigami through!"

Yukino nodded.

A shikigami slipped past her defenses and lunged at her, but Nobara intercepted it, pinning it to the ground with her nails.

"Straw Doll Technique: Resonance!"

She slammed her hammer down, and Dagon, deep underwater, felt a surge of pain, both physical and spiritual.

"Ugh!" Dagon gritted its teeth, refusing to surface. "I just need to endure this, and I'll win!"

Nobara continued to attack, using the shikigami as mediums to damage Dagon.

But her nails eventually ran out.

"Damn it! This thing isn't an octopus, it's a turtle!"

She was exhausted.

And Yukino was clearly reaching her limit as well.

With a shattering sound, her Domain collapsed. The sky and sea returned to their normal colors, and the Death Swarm shikigami reappeared, emerging from the water.

Dagon rose from the depths, its body battered, but a triumphant grin on its face. "Despite all your efforts, I'm the one who will win in the end!"

"Tch... Don't be a coward!" Nobara yelled.

Naobito silently assumed a defensive stance.

Ino, weakened by the aftereffects of his technique, lay on the sand, unable to move.

Yukino, her lips bitten until they bled, stared at Dagon with frustration.

Her Domain was gone, her cursed energy nearly depleted. She collapsed onto the sand, exhaustion and pain washing over her.

Is this it…?

Even with my Domain Expansion, I'm still no match for a special grade…

I'm… too weak…

Dagon appeared before Yukino. "Awakening a Domain Expansion in the middle of battle... Such talent and potential. I can't let you live. You might become another Gojo Satoru."

It raised its hand.

The next moment, its head was severed.

"Yo, good work." A familiar voice echoed, and Yukino's eyes snapped open.

She looked up and saw Sukuna, a gentle smile on his face.

"You did your best."