Yuki's Domain

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Toge Inumaki, the heir of the Inumaki Clan's Cursed Speech.

Inumaki had arrived at the battlefield earlier with Kusakabe and Panda.

Only now did he use what could be called a killing move.

When they surrounded Kenjaku earlier, Itsuki Zenin had been standing right beside him.

Only Inumaki's Cursed Speech had any chance of stopping Itsuki from acting for even a moment.

Otherwise, even if they managed to steal the Prison Realm, the monster who had personally sealed Satoru Gojo would never allow them to take it away.

And against two special grades far beyond anything they had faced before, Inumaki, whose strength was only semi-Grade 1, could at most stop one of them briefly even at the cost of grave injury.

Then there was Itsuki's phasing.

Before entering the battle, Inumaki had been assigned to watch Itsuki Zenin specifically.

"Convergence: Piercing Blood!"

"Blood Manipulation: Slicing Exorcism!"

The blood markings on Choso's and Kamo's faces deepened and extended.

They squeezed their potential to its limit and released the strongest attacks they could.

Two crimson rays faster than sound aimed at both sides of Itsuki's brain.

Choso's Piercing Blood was especially dangerous.

The compressed blood line contained a poison that even Reverse Cursed Technique could not heal in a short time.

...

Attacks closed in from both sides, while Yuki's reinforced iron fist came from the front.

Spurt!

Itsuki had not been hit.

Inumaki was the one who coughed up a huge mouthful of blood and collapsed with severe injuries.

The backlash came far worse than he had imagined.

Inumaki, who had once tested his technique against Satoru Gojo, felt his pupils shrink.

Because as he hit the ground, he also saw Yuki flying backward while coughing blood.

How was that possible?

The sorcerers from Jujutsu High stared, their pupils shaking violently.

A heavy stone seemed to crush their hearts. Even breathing became difficult.

That had been Cursed Speech.

Had Itsuki Zenin truly not been frozen for even a few thousandths of a second?

He had once served as a Jujutsu High teacher. He definitely understood Inumaki's technique.

They had even skipped the step of explaining the technique, which should have strengthened Cursed Speech.

Even if Itsuki had covered his ears and brain with cursed energy in advance, there should have been at least a fraction of a second where he was stopped.

Looking at Itsuki Zenin, completely unharmed across from them, a deep terror surfaced in their eyes.

A monster.

Reverse Cursed Technique activated.

Yuki Tsukumo stood, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and looked frighteningly grim.

Itsuki Zenin was far stronger than she had imagined.

Since she had been the closest to him, she had roughly identified why Cursed Speech had failed.

In the original plan, Inumaki's words should have frozen Itsuki for an instant.

Yuki, reinforced by Simple Domain, would then strike his brain with Star Rage, preventing him from activating his technique.

Even if Itsuki prepared against Cursed Speech by covering his ears with cursed energy ahead of time, that fraction of a second should have existed.

They had even considered the possibility that Itsuki was strong enough to shift his head slightly despite being restrained.

The two Blood Manipulation attacks had been prepared to deal with exactly that.

But after that close-range contact, Yuki understood that Cursed Speech had not been useless.

Instead...

"Two worlds."

Todo spoke in a low voice, his expression extremely heavy.

"It's not just that my technique can't sense the conditions needed to affect him."

"Inumaki's voice is the same."

"Sound cannot cross worlds."

The sorcerers murmured the words, their expressions worsening.

"Damn it."

Yuki stared at Itsuki's blood-red eyes, her brow deeply furrowed.

...

Across from them, Itsuki's face remained calm.

Everything was under control.

Arrogance was acceptable.

Overconfidence was not.

He possessed strength far beyond everyone else.

He possessed cursed techniques with development potential far beyond everyone else.

Pride was natural.

It was even appropriate.

But overconfidence was unacceptable.

That was not disrespect toward the enemy.

It was disrespect toward himself.

That was the lesson the manga's fallen Gojo had taught him.

Itsuki had no intention of turning himself into a joke.

He already knew the effects of every technique they possessed.

How could he let himself be caught?

His scarlet gaze focused.

The instant ripples spread through the void...

Clap!

Panda's severed arm hit the ground, and Todo's technique activated.

First, Panda had thrown out his arm to block the space where Inumaki's head had been.

Then Todo saved him at the critical moment.

The collapsed Inumaki barely escaped death.

"Maki!"

Todo shouted.

Maki, whose expression had gone stiff, threw Dragon-Bone to him at once.

Not just Mai.

Brother Itsuki had truly intended to kill Inumaki just now.

Complicated emotions churned in Maki's chest, and the resolve in her eyes was no longer as firm as before.

Todo did not hesitate.

The instant he caught the cursed tool, cursed energy surged.

He leaned back and gathered force.

Whoosh!

Dragon-Bone, reinforced with cursed energy, shot toward Itsuki's chest like a bullet, tearing transparent shockwaves through the air.

Without a domain's support, there was no need for Itsuki to dodge this attack.

Which meant their follow-up was...

Itsuki's scarlet gaze tracked the incoming cursed tool as faint ripples moved through the void.

Just as he expected, the next second came.

Clap!

Todo could not swap Itsuki's position, but he could swap a cursed tool with a sorcerer.

A surprise attack.

Hm?

The light in Itsuki's scarlet pupils dimmed for an instant, and the surging void stilled.

His first guess had been that Todo would swap Yuki with the cursed tool.

Then Yuki would either attack him from the front with Star Rage, or open her domain.

He had not expected this.

"Brother!"

"Aaaah!"

Yuji Itadori, his face covered in blood, appeared in the swapped position.

Black-red waves rolled around him as his cursed energy rose to its limit.

The mysterious sorcerer occupying Suguru Geto's body, and Itsuki Zenin standing here now...

Their attitude toward Yuji, or rather toward Ryomen Sukuna inside him, showed that neither intended to kill him for the time being.

There were two pieces of evidence.

The first was the part of the Goodwill Event recording that concerned Yuji.

The second was that before the others arrived, Yuji had faced both men alone and still survived.

Todo's gaze sharpened with calculation.

During those short ten seconds of communication, he had already arranged all the available information.

They had a chance.

That was Todo's judgment after combining Yuki's power with the techniques of everyone present.

"Black Flash!"

Pure physical damage had no chance of piercing the void.

But Yuji's fist, thrown with all his strength...

Boom!

The ground beneath Itsuki's feet was smashed into a deep pit by Yuji's punch.

Broken stone and dust burst upward, blocking Itsuki's vision.

Yuji loosened his palm and let a cursed-energy-laced pebble fall less than half a meter in front of Itsuki.

Clap!

A pale-blue Simple Domain with a radius of two meters appeared.

A terrifying fist reinforced with virtual mass slammed toward Itsuki head-on.

"Star Rage!"

So that was it.

Itsuki's expression remained calm.

The void boiled.

Boom!

Blood-red tubes dropped in overlapping layers.

A fist enhanced with virtual mass was indeed powerful.

But the roots and vines pouring from the void surged like waves, each stronger than the last.

Yuki's iron fist punched through layer after layer of obstruction.

But it consumed the most precious thing they had.

Time.

That extra fraction of a second was enough for Itsuki to smile faintly at her.

"A decent plan. Too bad you're too weak."

"Is that so?"

Yuki gave him a fierce grin and opened her other hand, scattering a handful of long nails across the ground.

Clink.

Clatter.

"Straw Doll Technique!"

Nobara's cursed energy infused into the nails was not meant to attack.

It became a set of precise coordinates for Todo's swap.

Clap!

Yuki appeared behind Itsuki as if teleporting, avoiding the countless roots at the same time.

Immense cursed energy swept across the battlefield.

"Domain Expansion: Star Rage Prize Ring!"

Boom!

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