Chapter 7: The Boy Who Swallowed a Finger
"Damn it! I can't hold it down anymore!"
Yuji Itadori let out a pained roar, both hands clamped over his face as though he wanted to tear off the extra mouth by force.
The concentration of cursed energy in the air skyrocketed in an instant, becoming so dense it was almost suffocating.
"Megumi, run!"
Yuji shouted those last words with everything he had.
Then, in the very next second, his body convulsed violently.
His eyes rolled back.
When they refocused, two scarlet pupils stared out from beneath lowered lids.
The warmth, the recklessness, the straightforward kindness that defined Yuji Itadori vanished completely.
In its place was something ancient, arrogant, and utterly inhuman, a gaze that looked upon all things as insects beneath its feet.
Black markings spread rapidly across his body like cursed vines.
Ryomen Sukuna had awakened.
"Hoo..."
Sukuna rolled his neck, producing a series of crisp cracks.
He ignored the pale faced Megumi Fushiguro.
Ignored Panda and Maki, who had already tensed into battle stances.
His eyes locked onto Yami from the very first moment.
"Found you."
A grin spread across Sukuna's face, sharp white teeth flashing.
"That disgusting smell. Like the sun itself."
Megumi's expression changed drastically, and his hands immediately moved into a hand sign.
"Divine Dogs!"
He knew it was almost hopeless.
But he could not just stand there and do nothing.
This was Sukuna.
The King of Curses.
Even with the power of only one finger, he was still a monster far beyond what they, as students, should be able to confront.
"Run, kid!"
Megumi shouted.
But Yami did not run.
Not only did he not retreat, he actually stepped forward.
That single step stunned everyone present.
Something about Yami was wrong.
The gentle, harmless air around him had disappeared completely.
In its place was a coldness so pure it was almost terrifying.
Hatred toward evil.
It was instinct carved into the depths of Yoriichi Tsugikuni's soul, an absolute refusal to forgive those who trampled life beneath their feet.
The thing before him was not Muzan Kibutsuji.
But the blood soaked malice, the casual cruelty, the contempt for human life
They were revoltingly similar.
"Pathetic creature," Yami said softly.
His voice was quiet, but in the frozen silence of the training ground, every person heard it clearly.
Sukuna paused for a fraction of a second.
Then he burst into manic laughter.
"Pathetic? You're talking about me?"
"Hahahaha! Interesting. Truly interesting!"
"For the first time in a thousand years, someone dares look at me like that!"
Boom!
The ground beneath Sukuna's feet shattered.
He shot forward like a cannonball, carrying enough force to make it feel as though the entire training ground might break apart beneath him.
"Die, brat!"
The attack was too fast.
So fast Megumi could not even follow the movement.
So fast Maki had only just tightened her grip on her spear when Sukuna was already in front of Yami.
His claw, wrapped in black markings and overflowing with raw brutality, tore through the air toward Yami's throat.
There was no technique to it.
No flourish.
Just overwhelming speed and power.
This was the King of Curses.
"It's over..."
Panda shut his eyes in despair.
But the expected bloodshed never came.
Clack.
A faint, almost insignificant sound rang out.
And against the screaming wind, it became unnaturally clear.
Time seemed to freeze.
Everyone stared.
In the middle of the training ground, Sukuna's charge had come to a dead stop.
The claw that could have torn through steel hung less than a centimeter from Yami's nose.
It could go no farther.
Because an ordinary wooden sword, worn and unremarkable, was pressed lightly against Sukuna's throat.
No cursed energy.
No Cursed Technique.
No brilliant flash of power.
Just total interception.
If Sukuna had advanced even a single millimeter more, the wooden blade would have pierced his throat without hesitation.
Of course, for the King of Curses, a punctured throat was not fatal.
But the thing that had truly stopped him was not the sword.
It was Yami's eyes.
Yami looked at him in complete silence.
Those dark red pupils seemed to burn like a rising sun.
There was no visible heat.
And yet Sukuna felt as though his soul itself was being scorched alive.
It was as if some god standing above mortal life had lowered its gaze upon him.
"Move," Yami said.
His voice was terrifyingly calm.
"And I'll kill you."
Arrogant.
Absolutely arrogant.
To say the words I'll kill you to Ryomen Sukuna was something no one in the history of the jujutsu world had ever dared to do.
And yet, strangely enough
Sukuna did not move.
The smile on his face froze.
His scarlet eyes narrowed slightly, as though confirming something.
Even if only for the briefest moment, he hesitated.
This brat was not bluffing.
That sword intent was real.
It was a killing intent sharp enough to split gods.
Of course, the wooden sword alone was not the only reason Sukuna had stopped.
His compound eyes shifted slightly, and from the corner of his vision he glanced toward the edge of the training ground.
"Tch. That troublesome guy is almost here too..."
With only the power of one finger, facing that white haired six eyed monster would be annoying.
And besides...
Sukuna's gaze returned to Yami, and a nearly imperceptible trace of appreciation flickered in the depths of his eyes.
No cursed energy.
Yet a will like this.
A will that felt capable of cutting through anything.
"Interesting. You're a very interesting little gem."
"Heh..."
Sukuna suddenly withdrew his hand and leaped backward several meters, widening the distance between them.
The black markings on his face began fading.
The consciousness that belonged to Yuji Itadori was starting to reclaim control of his body.
"Not bad."
"Very good."
Sukuna gave Yami a long, deliberate look, as though engraving the boy's existence into his memory.
"Kid. Your name."
Yami lowered the wooden sword in his hand. The murderous chill in his eyes gradually faded, replaced once more by that familiar gentleness.
"Yami."
"Yami... I'll remember that."
Sukuna's voice grew softer and softer, until it was little more than a whisper.
"Protect that head of yours well."
"When I truly come back, you'll be the first one I use to christen my blade."
The words were so brief they almost felt unreal.
Then, the black markings vanished completely from Yuji's body.
His strength gave out at once, and he collapsed.
Megumi reacted instantly and caught him.
"Yuji! You okay?"
Yuji blinked groggily and rubbed the back of his head.
"Huh? Fushiguro? What happened?"
"I feel like... I just had a weird dream."
Looking at the confused Yuji, then at Yami not far away, who had already returned to his usual harmless demeanor, everyone present felt a deep sense of unreality.
What had just happened was ridiculous.
The King of Curses, who had nearly crushed all of them with sheer presence alone
Had actually been forced back by a first year with no cursed energy, using nothing but a wooden sword.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
A burst of applause suddenly broke the silence.
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"
Satoru Gojo appeared atop the horizontal bar at the edge of the training ground, a bag of daifuku in one hand.
He clapped enthusiastically as he hopped down.
"I seriously didn't expect this. I only went out to buy local sweets, and while I was gone you guys put on a show this good?"
He walked straight up to Yami, smiling as he held out a daifuku.
"Here. Reward."
"Edamame cream flavor. Super tasty."
Yami hesitated for a moment, then instinctively accepted it.
"Thank you, sensei."
"You're welcome, you're welcome."
Gojo waved a hand casually, then turned to look at the others, his grin turning playful.
"Since everyone's already so fired up, let's just do it today."
"The entrance exam starts now."
Everyone: "Huh?!"
Gojo raised one finger and pointed first at Yami, then at Megumi and the newly recovered Yuji.
"The rules are simple."
"Yami is the examiner."
"Megumi and Yuji, you two come at him together."
"As long as you can force Yami to use that sword..."
Gojo pointed at the rusted blade hanging at Yami's waist, the one he had not drawn even once.
"You win."
That single sentence caused an uproar.
Two against one?
And it was Megumi Fushiguro and Yuji Itadori, two first years with absurd potential, against a transfer student with no cursed energy?
This setup was just too
"Isn't that kind of unfair?" Panda blurted out.
"Yeah," Maki said, nodding slowly as she looked at Yami with a complicated expression.
"But the one getting bullied probably isn't Yami."
The memory of those three precise strikes still made her wrist ache faintly.
That monster was someone who had even forced Sukuna to back off.
Megumi frowned and glanced at Yuji beside him.
"You sure you're okay?"
Yuji still looked confused, but the moment he heard the word exam, his energy immediately bounced back.
"No problem! I feel full of energy right now!"
"Good."
Megumi took a deep breath and formed a hand sign.
"Then let's find out."
"Just how strong this guy is, if even Gojo-sensei praises it that much."
Yami took a bite of the daifuku in his hand.
The sweetness of the cream spread through his mouth, easing the tension in his body just a little.
He looked at the two eager boys standing opposite him and sighed helplessly.
"Um... can I finish the daifuku first?"
"Nope," Gojo replied cheerfully. "It tastes better after the fight."
Yami: "..."
There was no helping it.
Since sensei had spoken, he had no choice.
Yami stuffed the rest of the daifuku into his mouth and mumbled around it,
"Then... nice to meet you."
In the next instant, his eyes changed.
Not the cold killing intent he had shown against Sukuna.
But the pure concentration of a swordsman standing at the beginning of a fight.
That was
Yoriichi Tsugikuni's opening stance.