I'm not going to be an Spirit! (Translate)

Yuji Itadori was completely confused about the current situation.

Where was this place?

Why had he ended up here?

Who was this grotesque creature that looked like a cursed spirit?

Why did it possess so many of Sukuna fingers?

Although his heart was filled with confusion, upon hearing the words of the monster with six eyes before him, he quickly composed himself.

What mattered most right now wasn't these meaningless questions.

Gojo-sensei was facing the threat of death. If he hesitated any longer, Gojo-sensei would definitely be killed by the Nightmare.

And only he—or rather, only Sukuna, the King of Curses sealed within him—held any chance of breaking the deadlock.

With that thought, Yuji Itadori immediately grabbed the withered fingers from the wooden box and shoved them into his mouth without chewing.

He didn't even have the time to count how many he had eaten.

Every second counted!

"Sukuna, you want revenge against the Nightmare too, don't you?"

As he felt the surging power swelling within him, Yuji Itadori felt his consciousness being constantly pushed aside.

If he had only swallowed one or two of Sukuna fingers, Yuji Itadori could have easily maintained control over his body.

But even as a natural vessel for Sukuna, swallowing so many of his fingers all at once inevitably threw him into an uncontrollable state.

Until he fully adapted to the surging power, control of his body would be forcibly handed over to Sukuna, granting him a period of complete freedom.

However, at this moment, Yuji Itadori had no intention of fighting for control. On the contrary, he actively chose to yield.

The upcoming battle was not one he could participate in.

Yuji Itadori closed his eyes.

Black markings quickly appeared like ink across his skin, adding an aura of malevolence and savagery to him.

Sukuna opened his eyes.

With the awakening of the King of Curses, even the surrounding air seemed to grow heavier.

Seeing Sukuna—now nearly restored to his peak—standing before him, Tengen couldn't help but feel a trace of dread in his heart.

The fingers that Itadori had just consumed totaled sixteen.

Combined with the three he had already ingested previously, that made nineteen.

There was still one finger left—hidden away by Satoru Gojo as a contingency, in a place known only to a few.

But if Sukuna, now possessing nineteen fingers, still couldn't defeat the Nightmare, then having one more or one less wouldn't make much difference.

"I'll leave the Nightmare to you, Sukuna."

Facing this formidable being who now truly deserved the title "King of Curses," Tengen had no intention of letting him remain within his domain.

With a wave of his massive hand, space twisted, and Sukuna—now in control of the body—was instantly transported to the center of the arena where the final battle would take place.

Gazing at the projection of Sukuna appearing in the coliseum, Tengen fell into silence.

As the one who controlled the barrier that encompassed Japan, he naturally knew the true identity of the new head of the Kamo Clan—it was Kenjaku.

And what Kenjaku truly sought, Tengen had long suspected.

This most evil sorcerer in history had stolen Geto Suguru's body likely with the ultimate aim of enslaving Tengen, who had evolved from human into a cursed spirit.

If Satoru Gojo were to be defeated and Sukuna took the stage instead, then Tengen knew his fate would not be a good one.

In his view, while the Nightmare was indeed strong, in terms of pure attack power, Sukuna—nearly at his full power—was stronger.

Satoru Gojo defeat had largely come from the fact that his Domain Expansion was a control-type domain with no offensive capabilities.

Once the opponent became immune to control, the Unlimited Void became meaningless.

Sukuna Domain Expansion, however, was indisputably an offensive-type domain.

Previously, Sukuna couldn't defeat the Nightmare simply because he wasn't strong enough, and even if he killed it, he was only destroying a clone.

But now, Sukuna power was nearly at its peak, and due to the rules of the arena, the Nightmare was forced to fight using its true body.

The final outcome was no longer in doubt—it would be Sukuna victory.

"...Sigh."

Tengen slowly closed his six eyes and let out a weary sigh once more.

If Sukuna won, what would happen next?

Tengen silently watched the projection, waiting for the result.

Meanwhile, in the coliseum.

Just as Tokisaki Kurumi was about to kill Satoru Gojo and completely extinguish the last hope of the Jujutsu world—thus completing the main storyline mission—she suddenly sensed an unfamiliar presence appear in the arena.

Turning around, she saw Sukuna had appeared nearby at some point.

"So, you've come after all…"

Outwardly maintaining her calm, Tokisaki Kurumi couldn't help but feel a trace of helplessness inside.

As Satoru Gojo student, Yuji Itadori was every bit as reckless as his teacher.

Although she had already anticipated the possibility of Itadori showing up, his actual arrival still made her want to laugh.

"How foolish of you, Yuji Itadori."

Shifting her gaze away from the motionless Satoru Gojo, she asked blandly, "Did you even consider the consequences before coming here?"

"Isn't it just a matter of taking some risks?"

A mouth split open across Sukuna face, and Yuji Itadori voice came from within:

"Nightmare, I won't sit by and watch important people die in front of me, powerless to do anything anymore!"

"And that's exactly why I say you're foolish."

Tokisaki Kurumi eyes showed a mix of pity and mockery. With a half-smile, she asked,

"Did you really think through the rules of the arena?"

"Rules?"

Yuji Itadori froze for a moment, recalling the two rules announced by the little golden bug.

Since he had relinquished control of his body entirely to Sukuna, he wouldn't be participating in the battle himself. Thus, this didn't count as substitute participation.

Then the rule mentioned by the Nightmare must refer to the first one.

Suddenly, as if realizing something, Yuji Itadori pupils contracted sharply in the mental realm.

The rule of the coliseum was—only one person could walk out alive.

In his haste to save his teacher, Yuji Itadori hadn't considered this at all. It wasn't until the Nightmare brought it up that he realized how reckless he'd been.

If Sukuna won, then next would be a battle between Sukuna and Satoru Gojo.

One of them would have to die.

"And there's only one way to avoid a tragic clash between teacher and student," Tokisaki Kurumi continued.

"That is, to have Tengen actively dismantle the barrier that covers Japan, removing the coliseum's anchoring structure and forcing it to disappear."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but laugh.

But if Tengen were to dismantle the barrier, then he would be exposed to Kenjaku location, becoming a direct target of his plans.

This was a classic "open conspiracy."

The plan was linked step by step, not only using Satoru Gojo and Sukuna as pawns—but even Tokisaki Kurumi herself.

To manipulate three top-tier powerhouses into killing each other, and then still perfectly achieve her ultimate goal—

It could only be said, she truly lived up to the title of the most malevolent Cursed User in history.

"Even if I have to fight that white-haired brat to the death, it'll only be after I've killed you first."

Sukuna expression remained calm, not showing even the slightest hint of urgency for revenge. Instead, he asked with interest, "But you don't seem to be worried about your life at all."

Indeed, Sukuna had no intention of rushing his revenge.

Even though he was within the influence range of the City of Consumption, and could feel his cursed energy and physical strength constantly draining, he didn't mind.

Returning to his peak state had granted him power worthy of his arrogance.

Just like Master Tengen, he clearly saw that the reason Satoru Gojo had failed was due to the poor compatibility between his Unlimited Void and Nightmare abilities.

But his own Domain Expansion, Malevolent Shrine, could completely annihilate the woman before him in an overwhelming display of power.

For Sukuna, the most troublesome part of Nightmare was her ability to create clones.

No matter how many times he killed her, if it was just a clone, it would only waste his cursed energy.

But now, standing before him was the real body.

With his current power, he only needed to seize the right moment to unleash a "Hachi" (捌) to destroy her defensive barrier and kill her true body right here.

Tokisaki Kurumi was well aware of that too.

To be honest, managing to defeat Satoru Gojo was already a narrow victory.

If she hadn't grasped the core mechanism of Dream Space and used the power of the Spirit World Will to shatter Gojo Unlimited Void, she would never have had a chance.

Had Gojo mastered high-level Binding Vows—such as placing restrictions like,

"I sacrifice the future durability of my body to temporarily gain enhanced strength for 30 seconds",

or "I weaken my future technique output in exchange for instantly casting my next Hollow Purple",

then Tokisaki Kurumi would've been in serious danger.

Binding Vows, in a sense, were like legal cheats—

A temporary power-up in exchange for a heavy cost afterward.

If that had happened, she would've had no choice but to rely on item cards to escape.

"It seems I'll have to use some trump cards,"

Tokisaki Kurumi tapped her cheek with her finger and said helplessly,

"Since the challenger is now the King of Curses, I can't afford to hold back anymore."

Hearing Nightmare words, Yuji Itadori immediately snapped back to focus.

Although he knew that after defeating Nightmare, Sukuna and Gojo would definitely clash and only one could survive, a cruel fact that tormented him—

If Sukuna couldn't even kill Nightmare, then she would be the one to walk out alive.

That would be the worst-case scenario.

Even if, in the end, only one between himself and Gojo-sensei could leave alive—

It would still be far better than letting Nightmare escape!

"Sukuna, stop chatting! She might have a second phase!" Yuji Itadori shouted in panic.

"Hurry up and finish her before something unexpected happens!"

"Second phase? What's that?"

"When the enemy senses danger, they unleash a more powerful and frenzied form of attack, no longer holding back!"

"Like… me?"

A smirk appeared on Sukuna face.

The next moment, the flesh on the right side of his face began to writhe. A bony mask covered his eye, revealing a pair of crimson eyes that granted him an expanded field of vision.

Then, deep black markings spread further across his skin, and an additional pair of muscular arms emerged beneath his original arms, giving him a more intimidating and aggressive aura.

The demon god with two faces and four arms, the King of Curses who once dominated an era, had once again revealed his true form in the modern era after a thousand years!

Feeling the surging power within his body, Sukuna stretched all four arms open wide, as if reminiscing about this familiar yet distant form.

"Woman, you better understand something clearly."

With indifferent eyes, Sukuna looked down at Tokisaki Kurumi and spoke in a condescending tone:

"You're the challenger here."

Limited offensive methods were Nightmare greatest weakness.

Aside from those two flintlock pistols, her only other reliance was her physical strength.

But after consuming sixteen fingers, Sukuna had now further mastered the host body and restored his prime from a thousand years ago.

In this state, just with physical strength alone—

Even Satoru Gojo would have to admit defeat!

And if he were to obtain two more special-grade cursed tools, he would once again reign supreme over an entire era!

So even as Yuji Itadori kept urging him, he remained in no rush.

To simply kill the woman who had humiliated him so many times—

That would be letting her off too easily.

Seeing this, Tokisaki Kurumi pinched the air before her, and a card materialized in her hand out of nothing.

Before Itadori and Sukuna could even get a good look at it, the card turned into starlight and vanished from her hand.

"Second phase, huh?"

Tokisaki Kurumi murmured, tossing her flintlock pistols to the ground.

The next moment, the dark-golden flintlocks and the heavy, time-imbued Roman clock disappeared.

"I have one too."

She raised one hand to her chest, where starlight took the place of the original Zafkiel, reconstructing a new clock's phantom form.

"Zafkiel!"

As Tokisaki Kurumi called out, a pair of pure white wings spread out from both sides of the clock, instantly turning the illusion into reality.

Sukuna brow furrowed slightly as he stared at the completely transformed clock.

Pure, holy, dreamlike—

As if descending from the highest heavenly realm beyond infinity.

No… it could no longer be called a "clock."

Because in addition to the Roman numerals, it now had a circular ring engraved with countless constellations, glowing with soft, ethereal light.

With her right hand raised to her chest, Tokisaki Kurumi grasped a long, curved cavalry saber that appeared out of thin air.

Her slightly lowered left hand held a silver-white flintlock pistol engraved with intricate designs.

The dominator of space—the Pure White Angel—

Had descended!

"Well then, Sukuna,"

Tokisaki Kurumi pointed the tip of her saber at the now solemn-looking King of Curses, her chin slightly raised.

"Round two—are you ready?"