Mahito Fights

Junpei's eyes lit up. He directed his shikigami to carry Yuji up to Sukuna.

After healing Yuji's wounds with Reverse Cursed Technique, Sukuna tossed him back down to rejoin the fight.

"That's so unfair!" Mahito, having fallen from the ceiling, saw a perfectly healed Yuji standing before him and pouted.

"If you don't like it, come and get me," Sukuna taunted with a smirk. It was a blatant provocation.

Mahito grinned, spreading his arms. In the blink of an eye, his arms transformed into wings. With a powerful flap, he soared towards the doorway.

This is my escape route!

Once outside, with his ability to fly, escaping would be a piece of cake.

"Hey! Don't run!"

Yuji immediately gave chase. Junpei followed close behind, and Yukino, without hesitation, shattered the window and jumped out onto the ledge.

But they were too slow. Mahito circled in the air, taunting them. "I had fun today. Let's play again sometime. Bye-bye~"

He flew towards the barrier, his mouth opening wide, his tongue morphing into a sharp spike that he thrust at the black curtain.

Crack!

The spike shattered the moment it touched the barrier, and Mahito slammed into it.

"What a sturdy barrier! I can't get out?!" He was momentarily stunned, then turned to see Sukuna calmly maintaining the hand seals for the barrier technique. He let out a frustrated laugh.

"It's you, you damn sorcerer!"

"Air combat is a bit unfair, don't you think?" Sukuna said, starting to shrink the barrier's range.

Mahito's back suddenly hit the edge of the barrier, and his altitude rapidly decreased as the barrier contracted, eventually limiting him to a height of four meters.

"Well then, shall we begin round two?"

Sukuna smiled.

He can modify the barrier's range?!

Mahito was shocked. Staying in the air would only make him an easy target for that girl with the invisible slashes.

His wings transformed back into arms as he landed, surrounded by Yukino, Yuji, and Junpei.

Two of them can directly harm my soul, Mahito thought, assessing the situation. Itadori's physical abilities are insane, that girl's attacks are invisible and impossible to dodge, and even though Junpei isn't much of a fighter, he's still annoying.

And then there's…

Mahito glanced up at the black-haired young man watching from the roof.

…that monster.

He was trapped in a hopeless situation.

Yet, even facing certain death, a crazed smile remained plastered on Mahito's face.

This tension, this fear, this despair!

He laughed maniacally, then suddenly bent over, his eyes rolling back as he vomited chunks of disfigured flesh. He flung them at Yuji, then charged towards Junpei.

Yuji moved to intercept, but the chunks of flesh twisted and transformed mid-air, becoming grotesque humanoid figures.

The transfigured humans lunged at Yuji, throwing him off balance.

Mahito smirked, pleased with his diversion.

Just as I expected, Itadori can't bring himself to attack humans.

I'll use these transfigured humans to stall him, then quickly kill Junpei before that guy on the roof can heal him... No, I can do better!

Faced with this desperate situation, Mahito felt a surge of inspiration. A sadistic glee poured from his crazed smile.

"A form that abandons all else, existing solely for slaughter!"

His right arm morphed into a chainsaw, a chain of razor-sharp blades that he whipped towards Junpei.

Junpei quickly encased himself in his jellyfish shikigami, retreating and using it as a shield.

But while the shikigami was effective against blunt attacks, it offered little protection against the whirling blades. The chainsaw effortlessly sliced through the shikigami, leaving bloody gashes on Junpei.

Invisible slashes flew from the distance, striking Mahito's shoulder. Yukino's support disrupted his attack, and Junpei took the opportunity to retreat.

Then, a powerful force slammed into the jellyfish shikigami, sending both it and Junpei crashing into the wall of a nearby house.

Mahito, having kicked Junpei away, immediately turned and swung his chainsaw arm at Yukino.

Faced with the flurry of blades, Yukino could only dodge, retreating out of range. The chainsaw carved deep grooves into the road, sending debris flying, obscuring her vision.

It was a feint. Mahito's arm returned to normal, and he chased after Junpei. He slammed his hand onto the dazed boy's face, smashing through the wall and dragging him into the house.

"Idle Transfiguration…" Mahito grinned, preparing to activate his technique. But in that instant, his right wrist, the one holding Junpei, was severed.

"So you finally decided to join the fight!"

He whirled around, his left arm transforming into a chainsaw that he lashed out at Ryōichi, who had appeared behind him.

He charged towards Sukuna.

His plan had worked. He had used the transfigured humans to stall Yuji, then attacked Junpei, using the building to obstruct Sukuna's view. If Sukuna wanted to save Junpei, he would have to get close.

Everything had been leading up to this moment, this attack aimed at Sukuna, who had let his guard down.

This was his chance!

He sacrificed accuracy for range, engulfing the entire space with his attack. Sukuna had nowhere to dodge. If Mahito could just touch him with his hand, it would all be over!

"Nice try."

A chuckle, laced with amusement, echoed through the room. Mahito's eyes widened in shock as he instinctively glanced back.

Sukuna was crouching down, healing Junpei's wounds.

When…?

Squelch!

Blood splattered as crimson flowers bloomed on Mahito's body. His chainsaw arm was severed, and invisible slashes tore through him.

He had no chance to create a transfigured human to escape.

Ah…

This cold, despairing sensation… What a novel inspiration.

Is this… what it feels like to die?

Now I can finally do it, can't I?

"Junpei!"

The door burst open, and Yuji and Yukino rushed in. They saw Mahito being relentlessly sliced apart. Yuji, who had been worried about Junpei, was now stunned.

Is this Sukuna-sensei's true strength?

Sukuna was simply standing there, seemingly doing nothing, yet Mahito was being systematically destroyed, his flesh sliced open, revealing bone, then the bone itself being severed, blood gushing like a fountain.

But even as he was being dismembered, Mahito grinned, his four miniature hands forming hand seals within his mouth.

"Domain Expansion: Self-Embodiment of Perfection."

Giant black hands erupted from the ground beneath him, spreading like blooming black lotuses, engulfing everyone present.

"This is... Domain Expansion?!"

Yukino, who had witnessed the Domain battle between Sukuna and Gojo, felt a surge of panic as the black hands reached for her.

Until a familiar figure stepped in front of her, blocking her view.

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"Domain Expansion: Self-Embodiment of Perfection!"

The giant black hands engulfed them. In the blink of an eye, the world turned dark, chains of interwoven arms surrounding them.

Mahito stood atop the outstretched hands, smiling gently.

"Thank you, sorcerer whose name I don't know," he said to Sukuna, spreading his arms as if offering a hug.

He gently brought his hands together. "Idle Transfiguration..."

Sukuna sighed. "You've just signed your own death warrant."

Suddenly, Mahito felt an overwhelmingly violent presence, a flash of red in his eyes. The scenery of his Innate Domain vanished, replaced by a world of carnage and blood.

The abrupt change stunned him.

"Touching my soul? You've got guts, fool."

A deep, magnetic voice boomed from above. Mahito looked up, his eyes widening as he saw a man sitting on a throne of bones, a figure identical to himself, yet with an extra pair of eyes and black markings covering his face.

"Where…?!"

Yuji also looked up, recognizing the figure.

"Sukuna!"

Yukino had been in this blood-red world before, but then, it had been Ryōichi on the throne, not Sukuna.

"I'll spare you this time, considering you dragged these others in as well."

Sukuna grinned, then turned his attention to Sukuna, who remained nonchalant. "Yo, we meet again, my copycat."

Ever since his defeat at the juvenile detention center, Sukuna had been pondering Sukuna's existence.

Not only was his cursed energy identical to Sukuna's, but so was his cursed technique. He was like another Sukuna, just with a different face.

But obviously, there couldn't be another Sukuna. And since Sukuna had no offspring in his previous life, the possibility of inherited techniques was ruled out.

There was only one answer: Sukuna had somehow stolen his power and technique, just like he had stolen the Ten Shadows Technique.

He was a fake.

"You seem awfully excited," Sukuna smirked. "Did that one finger give you a power boost?"

"You might be safe, but your students are all within my reach." A dangerous glint flickered in Sukuna's four eyes. "Can you guarantee you'll save them all?"

Mahito's mind reeled.

What's going on?

This guy is on par with Sukuna?

Why is he calling him a copycat… so his technique really is the same as Sukuna's?

Questions flooded his mind, but this was clearly not a conversation he could participate in. The oppressive presence emanating from Sukuna was overwhelming, freezing his thoughts.

Hearing Sukuna's threat, Yukino, who was standing behind Sukuna , felt a surge of worry. She tugged on his sleeve. "Sukuna-kun..."

"It's okay, don't worry," Sukuna reassured her softly.

Sukuna's threat was real. They were in his Innate Domain. Even if Sukuna countered with his own Domain Expansion, it would take time to activate.

Sukuna had ample time to kill them all.

Yet, Sukuna remained calm, a carefree smile on his face, as if Sukuna's threat was meaningless.

His confidence stemmed from the system notification that had already echoed in his mind:

Foreign entity detected invading host's soul. Eliminate?

That was why he had said Mahito had signed his own death warrant.

Ever since he had arrived in this world and understood the system's existence, Sukuna had realized the extent to which it protected his soul. Even when he had tried to forcefully take over Yukino's body, the system had issued a warning.

Although the warning hadn't stopped him, it was a clear indication of the system's priorities.

Sukuna suspected that the system itself was somehow linked to his soul.

Send everyone except Sukuna and Mahito out, Sukuna commanded mentally.

Understood.

Suddenly, Yukino, Yuji, and Junpei felt a repelling force. Before they could react, they found themselves back in the ruined house.

"Ah! We're out!" Yuji exclaimed.

"What just happened?" Junpei, still bewildered, asked. He was even more clueless about the world of jujutsu sorcery than Yuji and had been completely terrified when dragged into the Domain.

The barrier of Mahito's Domain still stood before them, an impenetrable black wall similar to a curtain.

"What do we do? We're out, but Sukuna-sensei is still inside!"

Yuji immediately lunged at the Domain, pounding on the barrier with his fists, trying to break through.

"Don't waste your energy, Itadori-kun. Sukuna-kun sent us out," Yukino said with a sigh. "Do you really think he needs our help?"

If only that were true... She was rescued by him yet again.

"Eh? Really?" Yuji paused, embarrassment coloring his cheeks. "I guess you're right. I was just panicking."

"Let's rest for a bit and wait for Sukuna-kun to come out," Yukino suggested, finding a relatively clean spot to sit down and closing her eyes.

Meanwhile, on the other side, streaks of white light pierced Sukuna's Domain Expansion, Malevolent Shrine. The blood-red world was gradually being "bleached," the towering bones slowly dissolving under the white light.

"Hmm? What did you do?"

Sukuna frowned. My Domain is being eroded?

Did this guy also activate a Domain Expansion?

No, impossible. I didn't see him form any hand seals.

The white light intensified, rapidly erasing the scenery of Sukuna's Innate Domain, leaving only a pure white space devoid of any landmarks.

Sukuna could no longer maintain his position on the throne, looking down at the others. He and Mahito turned to Sukuna, their gazes drawn to the massive, glowing blue sphere behind him.