Silly author note: Sukuna Tweets:
"Binding vows > attacks. The math checks out. Stop whining and take notes, mortals." in Response to the previous allegations.
===
They moved at the same time.
Shinra shot forward, low to the ground. Sukuna vanished then reappeared behind him, hand already mid-swing aimed at Shinra's spine. Blind spot attack. The kind of speed that made Megumi want to summon Mahoraga just to feel safe.
Shinra didn't turn around.
He just leaned forward. The strike grazed his shoulder instead of connecting cleanly. Used the momentum to spin, elbow coming back hard.
CLANG.
Sukuna blocked it with his forearm. His eyes widened. Just a little.
"No Cursed Energy?" Sukuna tilted his head. "You're fighting me with pure muscle and... whatever this movement is?"
"It's called martial arts, Sukuna." Shinra slid under a roundhouse kick that shattered the stone pillar behind him. "You told me I didn't have technique last time. So I learned one. You should try it sometime. Might help with the ego."
Sukuna laughed.
Dark and Genuine.
"Bold! I've lived a thousand years, and no one has dared to lecture me on combat!"
He turned up the heat.
His strikes became a blur endless combinations, each one meant to kill. Punches, kicks, elbows, knees. A rhythmic slaughter designed to overwhelm.
Shinra stayed in the pocket.
Flowing Water, Crushing Rock. Every time Sukuna swung, Shinra was already flowing to the side. His hands traced arcs in the air catching wrists, deflecting elbows, redirecting momentum. He wasn't blocking. He was guiding.
Sukuna threw a hook aimed at his temple. Shinra caught the fist with his palm, twisted, sent the force harmlessly past his ear. Sukuna followed with a knee. Shinra's hip checked it, spun, came back with a palm strike that Sukuna barely dodged.
They broke apart for half a second.
Sukuna was grinning.
"You're enjoying this brat," he said.
"aren't you?."
"Obviously."
He came again.
This time it was different. Faster. Meaner. Sukuna was done testing now he was trying to kill. His strikes blurred, each one aimed at something vital. Throat. Eyes. Heart. Spine.
Shinra kept flowing.
He couldn't keep up forever. Sukuna was too fast, too experienced. But for now for this moment he was matching him. Parrying the King of Curses with nothing but technique and instinct.
Sukuna wound up. Massive overhead haymaker, meant to bury Shinra into the floor.
Shinra caught the fist.
Sukuna's eyes went wide. That shouldn't be possible. His strength at three fingers should have blown through any block. But Shinra's hand was wrapped in something that black armor Yuji's memory's . Harder than steel. Stronger than cursed energy reinforcement.
"What," Sukuna hissed, trying to pull back, "is this?"
Shinra didn't answer.
He unleashed a Flowing Water palm strike directly into Sukuna's chest.
Full output cursed energy. Full Armament Haki. Everything he had packed into one hit.
BOOM.
Sukuna flew.
He crashed through three concrete walls each impact sending chunks of debris flying. The whole detention center shook. Dust exploded everywhere.
Then the dust moved.
Hundreds of Dismantles shot out of the rubble, aimed directly at Shinra. No pattern. No warning. Just death from every angle.
Shinra brought his arms up. Coated himself in CE and Haki. Let the blades rain down.
SLICE. SLASH. CLANG.
They cut into him not deep, but enough. His uniform shredded. Blood welled from a dozen small wounds. But he stayed standing.
Sukuna stepped out of the rubble.
His shirt was torn. A thin trail of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. His chest had a visible bruise forming where Shinra's palm strike landed.
He looked thrilled.
"Hey, kid." Sukuna touched his ribs. Winced. Then laughed. "Throughout my life, you might be the most interesting person I've fought."
Cursed energy flickered. The wounds healed. RCT.
"You told me about that guy Gojo. Strongest of the modern era." Sukuna rolled his shoulders. "I don't think his title's gonna last long."
Shinra said nothing. Just kept his stance.
"I can sense it, you know." Sukuna pointed at him. "You still haven't awakened your innate technique. Whatever that black armor is it's not your cursed technique. It's something else. Interesting, but not yours."
He reached into Yuji's chest.
Shinra's stomach dropped.
Sukuna's hand emerged holding Yuji's heart. Still beating. Still pumping blood that dripped through his fingers.
"I don't need a heart to live," Sukuna said calmly. "I'm a curse. But the brat? If he switches back now, he dies."
He tossed the heart aside. It hit the ground with a wet sound.
"Oh, and thanks for the extra finger." Sukuna's grin widened. "Three fingers now. Much better."
He blurred forward.
---
This time was different, sukuna was holding back previously.
They clashed again punch for punch, kick for kick. But now, whenever they made contact, Shinra felt it. A split-second something happening at the point of impact.
Cleave.
Sukuna was using Cleave on every hit.
Shinra's Haki held. His CE reinforcement held. But not perfectly. Every exchange left a new cut on his arms, his chest, his face. Small at first. Then deeper. Blood sprayed with every block.
This is bad.
Yeah, Rob commented. You're bleeding out. He's not.
Shut up.
I'm just saying. No RCT. No healing. You've got maybe three minutes before you can't lift your arms.
Shinra kept fighting.
Sukuna was relentless. A machine. Every strike precise, every combination designed to find gaps in his defense. Shinra flowed as best he could, but the cuts were adding up. His movements slowed. His reactions dulled.
CRACK. A punch to his ribs.
SLASH. A Cleave across his forearm.
THUD. A kick that sent him stumbling.
He was losing.
Sukuna pressed the advantage. Punches rained down. Shinra blocked, redirected, tried to flow but his body wouldn't cooperate. Blood loss. Exhaustion. The cuts were too many.
This is it, he thought. This is how I die. Fighting Fraudkuna in a haunted prison.
Would be a hell of a way to go, Rob said. Very entertaining. 10/10 content.
I hate you.
Love you too. Now lock in before you actually die.
Shinra focused.
Through the pain. Through the blood. Through the exhaustion pulling at his limbs. He looked at Sukuna really looked.
Three fingers. Limited output. Playing with his food.
But still the King of Curses.
I can do this.
Sukuna threw another punch.
Shinra saw it coming. the trajectory and the opening.
He didn't dodge.
He stepped into it.
The punch connected with his shoulder pain exploded, bone cracked but it put him exactly where he needed to be. Inside Sukuna's guard. Inches from his chest.
Shinra pulled back his fist.
Cursed energy. Maximum output.
Armament Haki. Maximum coating.
Every ounce of strength left in his body.
And something else. Something clicked.
= BLACK FLASH =
The punch landed.
BOOOOM.
Sukuna's eyes went wide. His body folded around the impact. Then he flew through the chamber, through walls, through everything. The detention center shook like an earthquake.
Shinra stood there, arm extended, breathing hard.
The dust settled.
Sukuna was embedded in the far wall. His chest had a hole in it not deep, but there. Smoke rose from the wound.
He looked at Shinra.
Grinning.
"Good hit."
The tattoos began to fade. Sukuna's eyes closed, but not before he got the last word.
"It was fun, brat. Let's do it again sometime."
And he was gone.
Yuji's body slumped forward.
Shinra dashed barely made it, caught him before he hit the ground. Yuji's chest was open. Empty. But he was breathing. Somehow, impossibly, breathing.
Sukuna's keeping him alive, Rob noted. Doesn't want to lose his vessel.
Good. Great. Awesome.
Shinra picked Yuji up. Draped him over his shoulder. Started walking.
Every step hurt. His body was screaming. Blood dripped from a dozen wounds, leaving a trail behind him. But he kept moving.
---
The outside air hit him like a wall.
Cold. Fresh. Real.
Megumi saw him first.
His face went pale. Then horrified. His eyes locked on Shinra on the blood, the wounds, the way he could barely stand then on Yuji's body draped over his shoulder.
"Shinra..."
Nobara turned. Her mouth opened. Nothing came out.
Ijichi made a sound like a dying animal.
Shinra took another step. Then another. Then stopped in front of them.
"Hey." His voice was rough. "Made it."
Megumi's eyes were fixed on Yuji's chest. On the gaping hole where his heart should be. "What... what happened in there?"
"Fought Sukuna." landed a Black Flash, then Shinra putted yuji down. "sukuna... He pulled out Yuji's heart. he's Keeping him alive somehow."
Nobara finally found her voice. "You're bleeding. Everywhere."
"Noticed."
Megumi stepped forward. His hand reached out then stopped, not sure where to touch. "We need to get you to Shoko. Both of you. Now."
Shinra nodded. Took another step.
His vision blurred.
One more step. Just one more.
He looked at them Megumi's worried face, Nobara's shocked one, Ijichi's panic.
"You guys..."
His knees buckled.
The ground rushed up to meet him.
Then nothing.
DING!
[MISSION COMPLETE: FINALLY GETTING YOUR TECHNIQUE]
Reward: Choose your Cursed Technique. (Pending selection...)
[END CHAPTER 9]
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A/N: as promised, here is the bonus chapter for reaching 100 power stones for the first time, btw if you want to support me for my work and also read some advanced chapters, link's in synopsis.
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Current power stone's
(101/300)