Kiyotaka looked to Jogo, thinking, 'This fight won't be pretty.'
Kiyotaka clasped his hands together, making Jogo think, 'Blood manipulation?'
Kiyotaka then chanted, "Piercing Mass!" as a line of liquid shot out from his hands towards Jogo, who dodged behind a pillar, thinking, 'He's replicating Choso's Cursed Technique? It's faster with a quicker wind-up too.'
Kiyotaka let his hands fall to his side, knowing that wasting Cursed Energy would be a bad decision.
Kiyotaka checked himself over, thinking, 'My physical condition? I've got some bruises here and there. My fatigue isn't too bad, but it's still worrisome. As for my Cursed Energy Reserves. I'm at 70% left?'
Kiyotaka sighed, thinking, 'The effects of that Black Flash have worn off, too.'
Kiyotaka rushed towards the pillar as he funnelled Cursed Energy into his fist, appearing next to Jogo and throwing a punch as Jogo dodged the attack and fired lava at Kiyotaka, who threw himself off to the side, thinking, 'Even getting grazed could be fatal.'
Kiyotaka steadied himself, thinking, 'But he didn't follow up that attack with another. Is he holding back? Why?'
Jogo fired off ember insects as Kiyotaka chanted, "Manifest!" creating spikes that intercepted each of them, triggering their explosions as Kiyotaka rushed in through the dust of the debris, chanting, "Shift!" as a staff formed in his hand, hitting Jogo in the stomach and sending him flying back.
Jogo composed himself as he fired off a wave of lava, thinking, 'No need to worry too much. I can leave him burnt to a crisp and force-feed him. Sukuna will be able to heal the vessel.'
Kiyotaka's eyes widened as he chanted, "Manifest", jumping up onto footholds as he thought, 'He's not holding back anymore? What are his motives? Could he be trying to incapacitate me? Let's test it out a little.'
Kiyotaka punched a hole through the ceiling and jumped up and through it as Jogo's eyes widened, and he burst up from the bottom floor when he saw Kiyotaka standing there, his hands clasped together, already ready as he chanted, "Piercing Mass!" and fired i9t piercing through Jogo's arms and chest.
Jogo coughed up blood, thinking, 'This bastard baited me!'
Kiyotaka looked to Jogo, thinking, 'He followed immediately, so there are two options. He doesn't liek to let his opponents or prey get away or... he's been actively searching for me.'
Kiyotaka dodged to the side, hiding behind a pillar as he thought, 'If he really was looking for me, then he probably wants to feed Sukuna's fingers to me. It's highly unlikely that I'll be able to keep control if I'm fed multiple fingers at once.'
Kiyotaka calculates his odds, thinking, 'His close and long-range abilities are both incredible. At close range, his lava is lethal, and for long range, he uses quick and explosive insects.'
Kiyotaka clicked his tongue, thinking, 'What a disaster.'
Suddenly, insects impacted the pillar Kiyotaka was hiding behind as he expected an explosion, but they began screeching as Kiyotaka yelled in pain for a second while covering his ear, thinking, 'Sonic attacks?!!'
He began funnelling Cursed Energy into his ears to protect himself, gritting his teeth from the pain.
Jogo walked over, thinking, 'Why is he still hiding behind the pillar? Isn't he going to come out of a fight more?'
Jogo's eyes widened to see that he wasn't there any more as he exclaimed, "Where did he..."
Suddenly, a combo of blows hit Jogo in the chest as a cloak tore, revealing Kiyotaka as he continued slamming his fists into Jogo, thinking, 'Kill him! Kill him! Kill him now! Before he can recover and go on the offensive.'
For the first time in his life, since his early days in the White Room, The Masterpiece Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was desperate to protect his own life.
Kiyotaka slammed his fists into Jogo over and over, creating puncture marks and not giving him a second to breathe while thinking, 'Kill him now!'
That's when Jogo began exuding heat as Kiyotaka's eyes widened and he thought, 'Not good!'
Kiyotaka heavily coated himself in Cursed Energy as the entire building exploded, and Kiyotaka was sent flying out of a window as he lost consciousness for a second before his eyes snapped open, and he created a foothold for himself.
He lowered himself to the ground as his legs and arms shook from pain, making him think, 'This is the worst. I used up so much Cursed Energy, but it still hurts this badly. Enough to knock me unconscious for a few seconds, too. Using that cloak again didn't help with my reserves either.'
Jogo jumped down and said, "You're still conscious? Not bad for a human."
Kiyotaka looked to him and said, "Gojo-Sensei can say what he wants since he's Gojo-Sensei, but... you're strong."
Jogo smirks, saying, "Of course I am."
Kiyotaka took a breath as the shaking in his arms and legs stopped, and he said, "Gojo-Sensei told me to become at least as strong as you. Not a bad time to fulfil his expectations."
Jogo smirked, saying, "That won't be possible in your conditions."
Kiyotaka sighed, thinking, 'He's not wrong, I only have about 60% of my reserves left, but I won't go down without a fight. I'll stake my life on this fight.'
Kiyotaka took a breath, thinking, 'I still have that, but it'll take up too much Cursed Energy to use right now. I'll save it for later.'
Kiyotaka rushed in towards Jogo, who thought, 'He's still going on the offensive?'
Jogo readied his lava as Kiyotaka chanted, "Manifest!" creating a wave of liquid and firing it as Jogo fired his lava. The two attacks met as steam was released from the reaction.
That's when Kiyotaka popped up from beneath Jogo's feet, grabbing Jogo's face and chanting, "Manifest" as he created air between his hand and Jogo's face, vibrating it at an intense speed, burning Jogo's face as he jumped back, thinking, 'What was that? How can he use fire? Or was it heat?'
Jogo began healing his face as Kiyotaka didn't let up, clasping his hands together and chanting, "Piercing Mass: Rapid Fire!" as he fired multiple liquid projectiles at Jogo, putting holes all over Jogo's body, stunning him.
Jogo staggered for a second as Kiyotaka rushed in, charging Cursed Energy into his hand and then slamming it into Jogo as Black Sparks flew, and Kiyotaka felt his mind lighten as he thought, 'Ah! There's that feeling of light-headedness.'
Kiyotaka smiled, thinking, 'There we go. I'm getting back into it.'
Kiyotaka chanted, "Manifest", creating knives as he began stabbing Jogo's face repeatedly, saying, "This is where you're weak, right? You're not as durable as your plant friend was, are you?!"
Kiyotaka felt some heat and jumped back, chanting, "Manifest" to create a wall of gas between him and Jogo's heat explosion.
Jogo began grabbing his face, trying to keep it together as he healed himself, thinking, 'He's dangerous! He almost killed me just now.'
Kiyotaka sighed, thinking, 'Well, that didn't work,' as he dismissed his weapons.
Jogo glared, thinking, 'No more.'
Jogo made hand signs as he shouted, "Domain Expansion: Coffin Of The Iron Mountain!"
A domain formed around the two, as Jogo thought, 'I'll remove the effect that incinerates people who enter the domain in exchange for more control and speed.'
Jogo unleashed a barrage of straight-forward attacks as Kiyotaka dodged them, making Jogo think, 'He... dodged?!!! How?!!'
Kiyotaka used Kinetic Anchor as he slammed his leg onto Jogo, propelling him off to the side, thinking, 'Time to pile on the hits!'
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka read about Simple Domains made to counter Domain Expansions, but upon realising the nature of the Sure Hit Effect of Domains, opted to dismiss them entirely. He had no need for a Simple Domain. Domains assign a Sure Hit Effect by recognising Cursed Energy. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's Cursed Energy is invisible. Nothing perceives it. Not even Ayanokoji Kiyotaka himself. Not even a Domain can register it, and so Ayanokoji Kiyotaka is a natural counter to Domains.
Kiyotaka began piling on the hits, not giving Jogo time to breathe as he thought, 'If I can stun lock him until the end of the Domain, then he'll experience burnout. After that, I can exorcise him!'
Kiyotaka slammed his fist into Jogo again, thinking, 'I'm down to 55%. Keep going! Keep going! Stun him!'
That's when the heat began to exude from Jogo again as Kiyotaka clicked his tongue, jumping back and clasping his hands together, shouting, "Periecing Mass: Rapid Fire!" allowing himself to get out of range and maintaining the stun lock.
Jogo regained consciousness from sheer willpower as Kiyotaka's eyes widened, thinking, 'Damn it.'
That's when mountainous pillars formed around Kiyotaka and fired off rays of fire scorching him as his skin charred, and he screamed out in agony and collapsed as Jogo dismissed his domain, thinking, 'This brat drained me to 60% of my reserves. He was strong.'
Despite his injuries and the overwhelming pain, Kiyotaka's mind still worked, thinking, 'Everyone's healing rate seems to be so high after meeting Shoko-San. Was it a Cursed Technique that heals people? Or maybe... something else? Curses heal all the time, right? But they're made out of Negative Cursed Energy. For humans, that wouldn't work, right? Maybe... is there a way to turn Cursed Energy into positive energy?'
Jogo took a breath, thinking, 'I suffered a lot of injuries as well.'
That's when Kiyotaka stood back up, his charred skin healing until the only wound left was the scar Choso's Supernova had left across his nosebridge.
Jogo turned to him in shock, thinking, 'He healed?!!'
Kiyotaka laughed, saying, "This feels amazing! Even after a Black Flash, was I this far from the core of Cursed Energy? It all feels so much clearer now!"
Jogo stared at him, thinking, 'What in the world? Is he... feeling that excited? Did he... just learn it on the spot?'
Kiyotaka took a deep breath, thinking, 'After blocking that attack, I was down to 30%, and I still couldn't prevent it from charring my skin. The healing took me down to just 25% of my reserves. One last attack. That's all I have in me. I'll use that.'
Kiyotaka made a hand sign. His hands were next to each other, one thumb on top of the other, and his fingers spread out as far as possible, creating a net as he chanted, "Friction Of The Heavens. Blood Of Light Itself. Ignition Of All Things. Maximum Technique: Plasma!"
A hot energy filled the space right in front of Kiyotaka's hands as Jogo's eyes widened, thinking, 'A Maximum technique?!!' as he put his hands in front of him, preparing an attack of his own.
Kiyotaka smirked and said, "Just this once, I want to gamble everything here and now and push myself."
They fired their attacks as they met in the middle, and Kiyotaka's overwhelmed Jogo's expanding and vaporising him from existence, leaving not a single trace left as Kiyotaka collapsed onto the ground thinking, 'It hink it's fair to consider the conclusion of this fight as a tie. I'm all out of Cursed Energy. Sorry Gojo-Sensei. You'll have to... wait... a bit... longer' as he fell unconscious. But he felt something worse overtaking him.
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Kiyotaka sighed as he saw Sukuna in the space of a ribcage as he asked, "Why did you bring me here?'
Sukuna laughed and said, "Don't act stupid. We both know that you just died. Your Reverse Cursed technique is extraordinarily good, considering it was your first time. You were able to heal yourself enough to stand back up and release that last attack, but still not good enough to properly heal yourself as well."
Kiyotaka thought of Gojo and thought, 'I don't think the binding vow will activate. After all, I died fighting a Curse. Not from execution. He should be fine.'
Sukuna laughed and said, "You've managed to impress me at every turn. I'm having a lot of fun in here. Heh heh."
Kiyotaka deadpanned, saying, "I'm glad you've been having fun seeing me fighting for my life."
Sukuna laughed a little and asked, "So? What did it feel like?"
Kiyotaka sighed as he gripped his hand and said, "I felt that exhilaration from pushing myself against someone stronger than me. It was fun."
Sukuna smirked, thinking, 'I'm starting to really like this kid. Heh heh.'
Sukuna showed two fingers and said, "I'll bring you back to life and replenish your Cursed Energy under two conditions. Do you want to hear them?"
Kiyotaka looked to Sukuna and sighed, saying, "What are they?"
Sukuna smirked and said, "One. You will give me access to your body for 1 minute when I say the word [Enchain]. Two. You will completely forget about this deal we've made."
Kiyotaka looked at him and said, 'After [Enchain] I forbid you from harming others."
Sukuna laughed and said, "Very well, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. I look forward to seeing how much more interesting you become."
Kiyotaka sighed and said, "As long as you stay put."
Sukuna looked surprised, saying, "Oh? Looks like someone wants me to come out and play."
Kiyotaka's eyes widened, thinking, 'What? He won't be bound by the clause if he doesn't use the chant [Enchain]!'
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Two girls approached Kiyotaka as the one with brown hair said, "There he is."
They walked towards him as the brown-haired one asked, "He's alive, right?"
The black-haired girl nodded, saying, "Yeah. He's alive but just barely. His body is so cold. As if he were dead just a second ago. It's weird."
The brown-haired girl knelt down, holding Kiyotaka's face and said, "Then let's get started."
They looked to see Sukuna's fingers on the ground as they thought, 'More of them? Did this guy somehow manage to kill the volcano head Curse?'
The black-haired girl then said, "Make him eat those, too. We need to hurry, Nanako. The fingers might draw Cursed Spirits here."
Nanako held a finger and held Kiyotaka's face with her other, saying, "I know."
She fed him a finger, saying, "Please, come out, Sukuna-sama."
They kept feeding him as they slowly felt the heat from Kiyotaka's body return to a normal human body temperature. Sukuna was fulfilling his part in the binding vow that he had made with Kiyotaka.
Eventually, they fed him all of them as the markings of Sukuna became more pronounced, equalling a total of 14 fingers.
They stepped back as "Kiyotaka's" eyes opened as they shivered, thinking, 'Breathe! Breathe, breathe! Breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe! It's okay to breathe, right? He won't kill us for that, right?'
Sukuna walked forward, slicking back Kiyotaka's hair and saying, "You hold your heads quite high."
The two dropped to their arms and knees as a slash tore through the wall behind them.
He looked to them and said, "You brats, you wished to speak with me, yes? I'll grant you an audience. Now speak."
Nanako sweated as she then said, "B-Below us, there's a man in monk's robes with a suture across his forehead" as she thought, 'I've had enough of that thing using Geto-sama's body. Sukuna is my only hope to lay Geto-sama to rest.'
She lowered her head more, saying, "P-please kill him."
"Please free Geto-sama."
Nanako kept her head bowed while thinking, 'We'll never forgive Satoru Gojo for killing Geto-sama, so long as we live.'
The black-haired girl seemed to continue her thought, thinking, 'But we did feel that was appropriate. After all, Satoru Gojo was Geto-sama's one and only best friend.'
They thought of "Geto" taking off the top of Geto's head, revealing itself to be a brain living inside his body, as they thought, 'But you are different. Go to hell! We'll make you regret this!'
Nanako then said, "We know the location of one other finger. If you'll kill that man for us, we'll tell you where it is. So please..."
Sukuna interrupted her, saying, "Raise your heads."
They looked up as the black-haired girl's head was cut cleanly off as blood splattered around her corpse, and Nanako's eyes widened as she shook the corpse desperately, shouting, "Mimiko! Mimiko! Mimiko! Mimiko! Mimiko! No! Mimiko!"
Sukuna seemed unimpressed, saying, "Did you really think a measly one of two fingers would grant you the right to order me around?"
Nanako shouted, "No way, no way! Mimiko! Mimiko! Mimiko!"
Sukuna lokoked displeased, saying, "How offensive."
Nanako turned to face Sukuna, shouting, "Sukuna! Die!" as she pointed her phone camera at him, only for her entire body to be diced into pieces as Sukuna caught the phone.
"Hm, a cell phone? No, the photo function, huh? It was probably some ability to do with whatever was pictured in the photo."
Sukuna said this as he crushed the phone in his had thorwing it off to the side and saying, "Boring."
He smirked, looking out at the sky and saying, "Now. Let's find something exciting to do."
He laughed manically. With the actions of those two girls, a Calamity had been unleashed upon Shibuya.
Uraume arrived next to Sukuna on one knee as Sukuna asked, "Who are you?"
"I've come to welcome you, Sukuna-sama."
Sukuna smirked, saying, "So it's you, Uraume!"
Uraume smiled, saying, "It's been a long time."
Sukuna smiled, saying, "It indeed has."
Uraume then asked, "How is the vessel?"
Sukuna smiled and said, "Excellent. It would be perfect if not for the fact that it's a cage."
Uraume looked annoyed, saying, "How dare that brat hold down your consciousness!"
"Don't write off this vessel as a brat. I looked into Ayanokoji's memories. He's not bad. In his past, he pushed his classmates into the dirt to become the best, knowing they would die. Self-preservation as he reached the top of what ordinary humans could accomplish. But in the end, he did the same thing as me. He burned everyone around him. Heh Heh."
Sukuna said this as he smiled and said, "He's reached Special Grade Status as a Sorcerer now, even if it's at the bottom of the ranks."
Uraume looked surprised before syaing, "If Sukuna-sama sees fit to respect him, then I shall as well."
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Megumi sat there bleeding from the stomach as he thought, 'Is that... Sukuna's presence? What the hell is going on in Shibuya?!'
Haruta began babbling gleefully, holding his blade with blood dripping from it when he turned to Megumi, who said, 'While a Shikigami can't be used without first subjugating it, the user can summon them as many times as necessary for the purpose of subjugating them.'
Haruta looked shocked, saying, "You don't mean..."
Megumi made a hand sign and thought, 'In all of sorcerer history, there's never been anyone who managed to subjugate this one.'
Megumi remembered his talk with Gojo before thinking, 'I imagine the head of the clan used this in much the same way back then. With This Treasure, I Summon.
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Sukuna looked to his side as he thought, 'Hm? That Cursed Energy. From that Fushiguro brat?'
Uraume looked to him, saying, "Sukuna-sama?"
"Urgent business."
"I see."
Sukuna smiled and said, "It won't be much longer before I'm free. Do not slack on our preparations. See you later, Uraume."
They bowed their head, saying, "As you wish. I will await your return."
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Shadows appeared around Megumi as wolves appeared and howled. Toads stood next to the wolves as a creature that was sealed with cloth restraints and wires appeared behind Megumi.
Haruta looked horrified, thinking, 'He tricked me. He started that subjugation ritual, and he's forcing me to participate in it with him.'
Megumi then chanted, "Eight-Gripped Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga!" as the creature freed its mouth from the restraints, and the wires snapped.
It began freeing its arms as Megumi thought, 'Sorry, Ayanokoji. This should take care of Haruta and Sukuna if I'm lucky.'
Megumi looked to Haruta and said, "Hey, you damn bastard. I'll be dying first. Give it your best shot."
He said this with a wide grin as the Shikigami slammed his arm into Megumi and sent him flying into a wall, putting him into a suspended state of death.
Haruta looked to him and then the Shikigami and begged, "Wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait! Oh, fuck you! Damn it!"
He fell over as Mahoraga aimed its hand at him and shouted, "Wake up, you shitty Jujutsu Sorcerer!"
Suddenly, he was away from the Shikigami as Sukuna was carrying him by his shirt as he said, "Huh?"
They were next to Megumi as Sukuna noted, "Suspended animation, huh?"
He looked to Haruta and thought, 'I see. So saving this piece of trash really was the right move.'
Sukuna looked to Mahoraga, thinking, 'He probably forced this trash to participate in the subjagation ritual with him. Once this trash dies, too, the ritual will be complete. Then Fushiguro Megumi's death will be established, as well.'
Sukuna put his hand on Megumi's body and began healing him via RCT Output, saying, "Don't die on me. There are things I need you to do for me."
Haruta looked to him, saying, U-um..."
"Silence"
Sukuna walked up to Mahoraga, thinking, 'It doesn't recognise me as an intruder?'
Suddenly, the wheel spun as its attention turned to Sukuna, making him think, 'The wheel spun, and then it recognised me? How interesting.'
Sukuna's gaze sharpened as he thought, 'For Fushiguro Megumi to survive, I'll have to defeat this Shikigami as an intruder and nullify his subjagation ritual.'
Sukuna got ready, saying, "Time for a taste, then."
A blade appeared on Mahoraga's arm as he rushed in, attacking Sukuna, who blocked the attack and the ground cratered under his feet, the glass in the buildings surrounding them shattering.
Sukuna noticed the blade glow as he dashed out of the way as the sword hit the ground, and Sukuna kicked Mahoraga, chanting "Dismantle" as two slashing marks appeared on Mahoraga's chest.
Sukuna swung his arm using another dismatle as Mahoraga also swung its arm. They were both flung back into buildings.
Sukuna walked out holding a cup of soda in one hand and a box of popcorn in the other.
He drank from the soda through a straw, thinking, 'That sword... It's the Sword Of Extermination, specialised in combating Cursed Spirits.'
He threw away the soda and spat it out while thinking, 'It's packed with the same positive energy generated by a Reverse Cursed Technique. If I was a Cursed Spirit, that would have eliminated me on the first blow.'
He took a bite of the popcorn before saying, "It tastes awful" and spitting it out. He then flicked his hand, slashing Mahoraga as it tilted its body back and then fixed its posture, healing from the attack.
It rushed in, grabbing Sukuna and dragging him across a building as Sukuna jumped away onto another building, asking, "You wanna go?!"
Sukuna tried to access Kiyotaka's Cursed Technique, only to find that he was unable to, as he thought, 'That kid used a binding vow to lock me out of the use of his Cursed Technique. How cheeky. Heh heh. Probably something like [I can't use my Cursed Technique unless I'm completely conscious, and in exchange I get a 20% boost in efficiency]. In turn, it locks me out. What a beautiful abuse of the system. To make a vow like that in the instant you realised I was going to take control. Truly, you really are something, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.'
Sukuna laughed, thinking, 'Fine, fine. I'll do it myself.'
Sukuna sighed as he knocked on Kiyotaka's head, thinking, 'So much noise. How can the kid stand having so many thoughts at once?'
Sukuna looks to Mahoraga and refocuses on the battle that would lead to the deaths of hundreds of civilians.
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To Be Continued
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Rating Out Of 10 For This Chapter?
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