Chapter 109 109: Is Your Cursed Technique Turning Into a Girl?

Sukuna's body moved before thought could catch up.

The slash was too fast. Tanjiro had crossed the distance in a streak of golden lightning, his sword already aimed at Sukuna's neck. Even for the King of Curses, there was no time to evade cleanly.

So his body defended itself.

A mouth split open across Sukuna's neck, fangs snapping shut toward the incoming sword.

The teeth bit down.

For a fraction of a second, they stopped the edge.

Then lightning erupted.

The golden current crawling along the sword flooded into Sukuna's flesh, numbing his body for that briefest instant. The paralysis was short, but against Tanjiro, even a blink was too long.

The sword tore through the mouth, teeth and all, then continued into Sukuna's neck without losing momentum.

Sukuna's eyes narrowed.

Not bad.

His palm flipped over.

"Dismantle."

Invisible slashes burst outward from point-blank range, rushing toward Tanjiro from every angle. Each cut was silent, precise, and lethal, meant to shred the swordsman apart before the blade could finish its work.

Tanjiro's eyes followed every line.

Through the Transparent World, nothing was hidden from him. The trajectory, the pressure, the timing, all of it lay exposed.

But he did not dodge.

His grip tightened.

The lightning coiling around his sword blazed brighter for an instant, then transformed. Scorching flames erupted along the steel, brilliant and fierce, burning with the sacred heat of the Hinokami Kagura.

"Hinokami Kagura."

The sword swept through.

"Circular Dance."

Fire drew a perfect arc through the air.

Sukuna's neck was severed cleanly.

His head flew upward.

For the first time, shock flashed through Sukuna's eyes.

Below, his invisible slashes landed.

Tanjiro's crimson samurai uniform split apart beneath the assault. The cuts struck flesh next, but instead of carving him open, they left only shallow streaks of blood across his skin.

Then even those wounds vanished.

They healed in the next instant, leaving no mark behind.

Sukuna's head struck the surface of the water and rolled once.

For a moment, silence fell over the Innate Domain.

Then Sukuna's expression settled.

His shock faded, replaced by a dangerous, almost delighted calm.

Speed beyond ordinary perception. He closed the distance and aimed for the neck first. Lightning with a paralytic effect. Flames released through the sword. Physical toughness high enough to withstand Dismantle at point-blank range and come away with scratches. Regeneration too, but not Reverse Cursed Technique. No cursed energy.

For the first time in a thousand years, Sukuna had been defeated.

Not forced back.

Not outmaneuvered.

Defeated.

With a single decisive exchange.

And yet, instead of humiliation, what rose in his chest was excitement so fierce it bordered on joy.

It was real.

The legendary Asuramaru truly existed.

The world blurred.

When Sukuna's sight returned, his head was once again attached to his body. He stood beside Yuji Itadori as though the previous exchange had never happened.

Across from them, Asuramaru stood with his back turned, balanced lightly upon the tip of a sword. His purple-and-white attire drifted in a wind that did not exist, elegant enough to seem out of place in such a sharp and dangerous world.

His voice carried over the water.

"Unfortunately, both of you failed."

Yuji blinked, then raised a hand like a student asking a question in class.

"Can we try again next time? Or was that our only chance?"

Sukuna did not speak, but his attention sharpened.

He cared about the answer too.

Asuramaru glanced back at them from the corner of his eye.

"I can allow a few more chances. Challenge me whenever you wish."

Sukuna's smile deepened.

He had no intention of trying again now.

The previous battle had already made the difference painfully clear. That was not a gap he could cross with one finger's worth of strength. He had not even drawn out Tanjiro's full ability, much less Asuramaru's true power.

Continuing would be pointless.

What he needed now was to gather the rest of his fingers. Restore his strength. Reclaim what was his.

Then...

Asuramaru will be mine.

Yuji, by contrast, had already accepted his loss with remarkable peace. Since he could not win, there was no point brooding over it.

His more immediate concern was practical.

"So, uh... how do I get out of here?"

Asuramaru looked at him.

For one brief moment, he truly wanted to say it.

You are the worst Sword Master I have ever had.

In the end, he decided not to waste his breath.

He snapped his fingers.

The consciousnesses of Yuji and Sukuna were forcibly expelled from the Innate Domain.

On the rooftop of Sugisawa Third High, Megumi Fushiguro stood with his battered body barely holding together. Blood ran down the side of his face, and his breathing was rough, but his hands were already forming the beginning of a stance.

His eyes locked onto Yuji.

Or rather, onto whatever was standing in Yuji's body.

This is bad.

Sukuna had incarnated.

If he hesitated, people would die.

Should I kill him now?

Before he could decide, Yuji's body moved.

The black markings had not yet faded from his skin. He raised one hand and rubbed his chin, looking oddly thoughtful. The arrogance from earlier was gone, replaced by a strange calm.

"As expected, the priority is collecting the fingers and restoring my power..."

Megumi's expression hardened.

"Itadori Yuji."

Sukuna turned his head.

Megumi forced himself to stand straighter despite the pain.

"You're no longer human. Under jujutsu regulations, I have to exorcise you."

Sukuna's face twisted into mockery.

But before he could speak, he felt something wrong with the body.

Control was slipping.

His expression darkened.

Did Asuramaru do this?

No.

The black markings across Yuji's body gradually faded.

Yuji blinked, then looked down at himself. A second later, he raised both hands in a hurry.

"Huh? Wait, I'm fine! I'm not being controlled."

Megumi gritted his teeth.

He could not tell.

Was this really Yuji?

Or was Sukuna pretending?

Before the standoff could continue, a casual voice came from nearby.

"So, what's the situation here?"

Megumi turned sharply.

A tall young man with white hair stood on the rooftop, hands tucked into his pockets. A black blindfold covered his eyes, yet he carried himself with the careless ease of someone who did not need sight to understand everything around him.

"Gojo-sensei?!"

The tension in Megumi's shoulders loosened at once.

Gojo Satoru.

The strongest jujutsu sorcerer of the modern era.

If he was here, the situation would not spiral out of control.

Probably.

Gojo took one look at Megumi and immediately pulled out his phone.

"Wow, Megumi. You look terrible." He lifted the phone and started taking pictures. "I'm definitely showing these to the second-years."

"Sensei..."

"The higher-ups are going to nag me to death about losing a Special Grade Cursed Object." Gojo lowered the phone slightly. "So, did you find it?"

Before Megumi could answer, Yuji raised his hand again.

"Um... I ate the finger."

Gojo paused.

Megumi's face went stiff.

Yuji continued honestly, "Then I went to this weird place. I think it was called an Innate Domain. There was a girl inside who said she was my Cursed Technique."

Megumi stared at him.

For a moment, he forgot his injuries.

Gojo turned toward Yuji with far more interest than before.

"Really now?" He walked closer and leaned in, studying Yuji as though he had found a very funny, very suspicious toy. "You awakened a Cursed Technique at this age, and it's a girl? Don't tell me the legendary Sukuna is actually a girl."

Yuji waved his hands frantically.

"No, no, Sukuna looked like me, except with four eyes and those markings. We both saw the girl in the Innate Domain."

"Oh?"

Gojo's tone sharpened beneath the playfulness.

"So Sukuna really is mixed up in there with you." He tilted his head. "But why can't I see this Cursed Technique? Can you use it? What's its name?"

Then his grin widened.

"Don't tell me your Cursed Technique is turning into a girl?"

Yuji did not seem to notice the teasing.

He answered with complete sincerity.

"He said I have to earn his acknowledgment before I can use the Cursed Technique. As for the name... I think it was Asuramaru."

.....

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