Chapter 20: Cursed Vows

Chapter 20: Cursed Vows

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The night was thick, permeated with a freezing air that mixed with the scent of curses. The snow continued to fall with a disturbing softness, as if the world was trying to ignore the chaos that was unleashed around it. Pikachu, still shaken after his last confrontation with Kenjaku, was in a constant state of alert. He knew that Kenjaku would not leave things like that. The danger was still latent, and the threat of Sukuna had not been completely extinguished. He had managed to temporarily stop the rebirth of the King of Curses, but the cost had been high.

The young Zenin, who had been used as a vessel, was now unconscious, breathing with difficulty. Sukuna's trace was still imprinted on his soul, like a poison that could not be seen, but could be felt in the air, palpable, lurking. Pikachu, although exhausted, knew that he could not let his guard down. There was no time to rest.

"Tengen, we must get the boy to safety," Pikachu said as he carried the young man in his small but strong paws. Despite his size, the electric mouse radiated relentless determination, as always.

Tengen, who had been watching from the shadows, nodded. His eyes, wise and eternal, seemed to pick up on something beyond what Pikachu could see. He knew that the battle was just beginning, and Sukuna's presence was still felt in the air. Although they had managed to prevent his complete resurrection, the danger had not disappeared.

"We must be careful," Tengen replied in a deep voice, as he enveloped the young Zenin in a protective field of energy. "Sukuna's trace in his soul is still latent. Kenjaku left it as an anchor, a seed that can germinate at any moment. If we do not act quickly, not only will we lose the young man, but Sukuna's curse could be complete."

Pikachu frowned. He knew what that meant. Kenjaku was a master at manipulating curses and humans, and the fact that he had left a part of Sukuna in the young man meant that the King of Curses' rebirth could still happen, albeit in a different way. But there was no time to dwell on the details. Pikachu had to move on.

"Take him with you, Tengen," Pikachu said determinedly. "I'll go deal with the cursed spirits that are wreaking havoc in the nearby provinces. We can't let Kenjaku divert our attention while he tries to complete his plan."

Tengen nodded, understanding the urgency. Without another word, he disappeared alongside the young Zenin, enveloped in his barrier technique, protecting him from any outside influence. Pikachu watched as they faded into the distance before turning and focusing his attention on the immediate threat.

The cursed spirits.

They had begun to manifest themselves more aggressively in the past few days. Something in the air, in the very energy of the world, had changed. Kenjaku was behind these disturbances, creating a distraction while he plotted something far more sinister. Pikachu, with his keen electric sense, detected the presence of several spirits in the nearest provinces, but one in particular stood out above the rest: a gigantic cursed spirit shaped like a colossal snowman, who was terrorizing a mountain village.

Wasting no time, Pikachu charged towards the village, moving at breakneck speed, leaving a trail of sparks in his wake. The snowy landscape blurred as he went, but his focus was total. He knew that this cursed spirit was no simple obstacle. Reports indicated that it was creating an incomplete expansion of its domain, which was extremely dangerous for the inhabitants of the region.

Arriving at the village, the scene was bleak. Houses destroyed, snow dyed red, and a cursed pressure so intense that the air seemed to be cut off with each breath. The gigantic cursed spirit, a towering being made of snow and darkness, stood over the ruins of the village, its empty eyes shining with pure cursed energy. Its body emanated cold, a cold that was not natural, but the result of the accumulation of hatred and fear.

Pikachu wasted no time. He knew that these kinds of entities had to be eliminated immediately, before its incomplete expansion of domain grew stronger and began to devour the surroundings. Without a word, Pikachu charged up its energy, enveloping its body in electricity.

"Hollow Yellow," it muttered before unleashing the technique.

The attack was devastating. A yellow bolt of lightning shot out from Pikachu's body, piercing through the air with blinding intensity. The cursed spirit, unable to react in time, was hit directly. The power of Hollow Yellow not only destroyed the spirit, but razed a portion of the mountain behind it. Within seconds, the monster disintegrated, its cursed energy dispersing into the air, leaving behind nothing but silence.

Pikachu breathed heavily, steam rising from its small body into the cold air. Despite the victory, it did not relax. It knew this was just a distraction. Kenjaku was plotting something far more sinister.

Back with Tengen, things were not looking up. Kenjaku, true to his nature, had made his move again. Using the other two remains of Sukuna, he had found new vessels: a young man from the Gojo clan and another from the Kamo clan. By splitting Sukuna into three distinct bodies, Kenjaku had created an unprecedented threat.

The shrine where Tengen had taken the young Zenin was now under attack. The sorcerers guarding the place were desperately fighting the three vessels, each with a part of Sukuna inside. The remains of the King of Curses, though divided, were still incredibly powerful. Sukuna's presence was palpable in each of them, each body acting as an extension of the Cursed King himself, wreaking havoc and destruction in its wake.

Pikachu arrived just as the battle reached its climax. The mages defending Tengen were exhausted, fighting with everything they had to protect the last bastion of hope. Sukuna's three bodies advanced relentlessly, unleashing devastating cursed energy, their laughter filled with malice echoing through the air.

—"I will not allow this to continue," Pikachu thought as he prepared for battle.

With a cry charged with electricity, Pikachu charged forward, ready to face Sukuna's three bodies. He knew it would be harder this time, but he also knew he could not afford to fail.

The true battle had begun.

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Chapter 20: Cursed Vows II

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The snow continued to fall, covering the landscape in a silent white blanket, but the stillness of the storm was nothing compared to the chaos raging at the heart of the battle. Sukuna's three bodies stood, each radiating an overwhelming aura of cursed energy. Pikachu, his small body vibrating with power, had already deployed his Domain Expansion, a field of intense lightning that crackled around him. He enclosed Sukuna's vessels within it, seeking to buy time for Tengen's guards, who lay on the ground, injured but still alive.

—"I won't let you hurt anyone else," Pikachu thought, his eyes alight with determination.

Tengen's guards, weakened but conscious, were breathing heavily. Their bodies could barely move after enduring the attacks of the cursed vessels. Sukuna's presence, though fragmented into three, was enough to nearly suffocate the air on the battlefield. But Pikachu kept going, confident that his electrical expansion, though small compared to Sukuna's immense powers, would manage to hold them off long enough.

—"Pika… CHU!"—the small warrior let out an electrical roar, and the lightning around his domain crackled furiously, intensifying as he tried to consolidate his advantage.

Sukuna's three vessels, however, were not easy to contain. The eyes of the first, the one from the Zenin clan, narrowed in a sadistic smile as he felt the domain enveloping him. The second, a young man from the Gojo clan, let out a cold laugh, while the last, from the Kamo clan, watched calmly, measuring his opponent's strength.

And then, Sukuna moved.

Without warning, from each of the bodies, a dark and terrifying expansion of domain unfolded. Sukuna's technique, perfect and deadly, emanated from all three vessels at once, as if they were synchronized in a hellish dance. Each of his domains possessed its own lethality, but together, they created a collapse in Pikachu's electrical barrier.

—"This… can't be…" —Pikachu sensed the impending collapse. The barriers distorted, the sparks that formed the outline of his domain began to waver at the clash with Sukuna's domains.

The pressure was too much.

—"Three domains… at the same time…" —Pikachu's eyes widened in surprise. He had never faced anything like this. Sukuna, divided into three bodies, could generate not one, but three expansions of domain, each devastating in its own right.

The air grew heavy, the atmosphere throbbing with dark, cursed energy. Shadows intertwined with lightning, and soon, Sukuna's domain began to devour Pikachu's. Walls of electricity crackled, slowly buckling under the overwhelming pressure.

—"I can't let this end like this…"—Pikachu gritted his teeth, his body tired but determined.

But Sukuna wouldn't give him time. With a simple movement, one of the vessels launched an attack. The cursed technique materialized as a flurry of invisible slashes, sweeping away everything in its path. The lightning bolts split, and Pikachu was barely able to dodge the direct hit. However, the second and third attacks came immediately, devastating and precise.

Pikachu was thrown to the ground, his small body impacting against the blood-stained snow. The energy within him weakened, and for a moment, everything became a blur. The screams of Tengen's barely conscious guards echoed in the distance, but were inaudible against the roar of the colliding domains.

"No... I will give up..." Pikachu tried to get up, his fur covered in wounds and burn marks.

Then, a cold laugh rang through the air. Sukuna, from one of his bodies, watched him with disdain.

"Did you think you could stop me with something so pathetic? Your expansion is useless before my power." Sukuna spoke from all three vessels at once, as if their voices overlapped, creating an eerie echo.

The electric mouse could barely stand. His domain had completely collapsed, and the shadows and cursed energy flowing from Sukuna enveloped him, filling the air with a sense of hopelessness.

"This isn't over..." Pikachu thought, his mind struggling to find a solution.

Suddenly, a spark of hope appeared in her mind. Tengen. There was still one last chance.

"Tengen!" she shouted, her voice barely a whisper in the chaos.

From above, Tengen, the ancient and wise figure, felt the call. Though wounded by the earlier attack of Kenjaku and Sukuna's three vessels, Tengen had not been defeated. Her cursed energy, deep as the millennia she had lived, still glowed within her. With a subtle movement of his hand, Tengen activated a technique he had been saving: a sealing barrier. Although it was not strong enough to contain Sukuna completely, it could buy him time.

A soft light emerged from the ground, enveloping Sukuna's three bodies and slowing their movement. Pikachu, seeing the opportunity, gathered the last of his energy.

—"Cage Lightning!"—he launched his final attack, a burst of electricity that, while not comparable to his full power, was enough to shock all three vessels simultaneously.

The attack did not defeat them, but Sukuna fell back, momentarily weakened. The combination of Tengen's barrier and Pikachu's last-ditch effort had bought him precious seconds.

—"I can't win… not now," Pikachu muttered, falling to his knees, exhausted.

Sukuna, regaining his composure, laughed again, all three of his bodies now free of the time barrier.

—"This is just the beginning," he said with a terrifying smile. "My return is assured."

As darkness enveloped the battlefield, Pikachu closed his eyes, knowing that even though they had lost the battle, the war was not over. Sukuna had split his power into three, and his threat grew. But there were still allies left, and Tengen still stood.

The real fight was yet to come.

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Chapter 20: Cursed Vows III

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The snow continued to fall, but the battlefield no longer looked like a winter landscape, but a place ravaged by cursed power. The air was thick with dark energy, as Sukuna's three bodies prepared to unleash chaos with their combined abilities. Pikachu, wounded and exhausted, watched from the ground, his breathing heavy. He knew he was losing. With every passing second, Sukuna grew stronger, and the electric mouse could barely stand.

—"It can't end like this..."—Pikachu thought, his body shaking with fatigue. He had done his best, but Sukuna's power, split into three, was overwhelming.

Kenjaku had planned this perfectly. The fusion of the Zenin, Gojo, and Kamo clan techniques into the bodies Sukuna possessed gave him an insurmountable advantage. In the distance, the shadows of the Ten Shadow Dogs, summoned from the Zenin body, began to appear, lurking around Pikachu. They were huge, dark beasts that rose from the ground like specters, their fangs ready to attack.

On the other hand, from the young Kamo's body, the piercing attack manifested, a technique that could pierce through anything in its path. Cursed arrows floated in the air, ready to be fired at the speed of sound. Meanwhile, Sukuna's last body, the most fearsome, was preparing to unleash Dismantle, a technique that could destroy anything in its path with a simple gesture.

—"I can't stop them all... not like this..." — despair began to take hold of Pikachu.

But just when it seemed that all was lost, an idea arose in his mind. A Binding Vow.

Binding vows, an ancient and powerful agreement, offered a solution for those who needed immediate power, in exchange for a sacrifice. He knew it was risky, but he had no other choice. If he didn't do something now, it would all be over.

Pikachu closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He knew what he had to do.

"In exchange for getting my cursed energy back... I will reduce the scope of my domain expansion." he whispered.

The vow sealed itself within him, a promise that resonated within his soul. Immediately, he felt the cursed energy begin to flow within him again, filling every fiber of his being. His small body, covered in wounds, began to glow with renewed electricity. But just as he had promised, his domain expansion would now be smaller, limited to an area close to his body.

With his energy restored, Pikachu slowly stood up, a fierce look in his eyes.

"This isn't over yet." —his voice rang out firmly as his body crackled with electrical energy.

The Zenin shadow dogs advanced, their red eyes glowing in the darkness, but Pikachu, now more agile and powerful, met them with a blast of pure electricity. The beasts dissolved into the air, unable to withstand the force of the attack. Sukuna's first body faltered, surprised by the speed of the counterattack.

—"Not so fast!" Pikachu shouted, launching himself at the second body, the one controlling the Kamo clan's piercing arrows.

Before the arrows could be fired, Pikachu activated his Cage Beam, an attack that enveloped Sukuna's body and momentarily paralyzed him. The arrows fell harmlessly to the ground, unable to penetrate the barrier of electricity Pikachu had created.

But Sukuna's third body, the most dangerous, was not far behind. With a simple gesture, he began using Dismantle, an attack that cut through the air with deadly precision, capable of shattering anything in its path. Pikachu was barely able to dodge the first attack, feeling the cursed energy slice through the air around him.

"You can't escape forever." Sukuna's voice, cold and calculating, echoed from the three bodies. Although Pikachu had regained his energy, the King of Curses still had the numerical advantage.

Pikachu knew he couldn't afford any mistakes. If he wanted to win, he had to go all out.

With his Binding Vow still active, Pikachu focused all of his power into one last attack. His domain expansion, though limited in range, was now incredibly dense and precise. The electricity formed an impenetrable barrier around his body, and the lightning crackled with intensity.

"I'm going to end this!" Pikachu shouted, launching himself towards Sukuna's third body, the one controlling Dismantle.

The electricity engulfed him, forming a concentrated Hollow Yellow, a technique he had perfected alongside Tengen. The lightning bolt tore through the air, striking directly into the chest of Sukuna's third body, disintegrating some of its cursed energy.

Sukuna, though seriously injured, did not fall. But Pikachu did not stop. With lightning speed, he charged towards the other two bodies, firing electrical discharges with surgical precision. Shadows and cursed arrows couldn't reach him, and within seconds, all three of Sukuna's bodies were surrounded by Pikachu's power.

But then, something unexpected happened.

Sukuna, instead of defending himself, began to laugh.

"Do you think this is enough?" His voice echoed with deep malice. Despite Pikachu's attacks, the King of Curses still had one last trick up his sleeve.

Suddenly, the three domain expansions he had deployed began to merge into one, forming a dark, oppressive barrier that enveloped the entire battlefield. Sukuna's laughter grew louder as his power multiplied.

Pikachu, trapped within the new expansion, felt the pressure increasing. Darkness surrounded him, and Sukuna's cursed energy, now unified, was overwhelming.

"I can't give up now!" Pikachu thought, gathering the last of his energy.

With a final cry, Pikachu released his most powerful Hollow Yellow, unleashing all of its strength against Sukuna's barrier. Light and darkness collided in the air, creating an explosion that shook the battlefield.

When the dust settled, Pikachu fell to his knees, exhausted. He had managed to break through Sukuna's barrier, but he knew the battle wasn't over yet.

Sukuna, though weakened, was still standing, watching Pikachu with a wicked grin.

"You're strong, but this is just the beginning," Sukuna said before disappearing into the darkness, leaving Pikachu alone on the battlefield, exhausted but determined.

The war against Sukuna and Kenjaku wasn't over. But Pikachu, with his Binding Vow, had managed to survive another day.

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