Chapter 110 110: I Am the Strongest

The moment Yuji said the name, Gojo Satoru's smile disappeared.

Asuramaru.

That was not a name anyone in the jujutsu world could casually ignore.

Behind the blindfold, Gojo's sky-blue eyes narrowed. His Six Eyes swept over Yuji Itadori from head to toe, studying every inch of him, every ripple of cursed energy, every abnormality in the body that had just swallowed Ryomen Sukuna's finger.

Nothing.

He could see Sukuna's presence inside the boy. He could see the cursed energy that had begun to coil through Yuji's body after ingesting the finger. He could even feel the faint disharmony of something ancient and malignant sharing space with a boy who looked far too honest for this nonsense.

But Asuramaru?

There was no trace.

No visible cursed technique. No sign of a Cursed Spirit. No spiritual outline, no foreign cursed energy, no recognizable Cursed Tool signature.

Nothing at all.

That, in itself, was a problem.

Gojo tilted his head slightly. The casual air around him remained, but the playfulness had thinned.

"So," he asked, "did this Asuramaru tell you how to earn his recognition?"

Yuji nodded without hesitation. He was the sort of person who answered questions with dangerous honesty.

"He said I need a desire strong enough to move him. Other than that, there's another way."

"What way?"

"Defeat his first Sword Master."

"Desire, huh..."

Gojo lowered his head, thinking.

Desire was a broad word. Too broad, really. It could mean ambition, hatred, obsession, grief, love, hunger, regret. In the world of jujutsu, however, one interpretation stood out immediately.

Negative emotion.

Cursed energy itself was born from negative emotion. If Asuramaru responded to desire, then perhaps what he truly responded to was an exceptionally powerful emotional core.

By that logic, someone like Yuta might be a perfect match.

Of course, that was only a guess.

A legend that could hide even from his Six Eyes had no obligation to follow common sense.

Gojo's interest shifted to the second condition.

"And did you try challenging that Sword Master?"

Yuji's eyes lit up at once, despite the situation.

"I did! He was insanely strong. Like, really strong. I threw one punch and the fight was already over. Sukuna tried too, but that Sword Master cut off his head in one strike."

Megumi's face stiffened.

Gojo's mouth curved into a slow smile.

"Oh?"

Now that was interesting.

A Sword Master who could behead Sukuna inside an Innate Domain. Even if Sukuna only had one finger's worth of power right now, that was still Ryomen Sukuna. A thousand years of legend did not vanish because his strength had been divided.

Gojo straightened and stretched lazily, as though they were discussing a weekend club activity instead of an ancient disaster living inside a teenager.

"Do you feel anything strange in your body right now?" he asked. "Can you switch control with Sukuna freely?"

Yuji closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again.

"I think so."

"Great."

Gojo tossed the souvenir bag in his hand toward Megumi.

Megumi caught it by reflex, then looked at him with suspicion.

"Sensei?"

"Hold that for me." Gojo rolled his shoulders. "Yuji, let Sukuna out for twenty seconds. Switch back after that."

Yuji blinked.

"Are you sure that's okay?"

Megumi's expression changed.

"Gojo-sensei, wait, that's too reckless."

Gojo only grinned.

There was no arrogance in his posture, because arrogance implied he needed to posture at all. He stood beneath the night sky with both hands loose at his sides, relaxed enough to be insulting.

"Don't worry."

His voice was light.

"I'm the strongest."

Yuji stared at him for a second.

Then, strangely enough, he believed him.

"Okay."

He closed his eyes and released control.

Black markings spread across his body once more. A second pair of eyes opened beneath his own, and Sukuna returned with a grin full of malice.

The instant he gained control, he lunged.

The rooftop exploded beneath his feet. Concrete cracked, dust burst upward, and Sukuna's body shot forward with a speed no normal human could follow.

In the cloud of dust, Gojo's voice drifted out, irritatingly calm.

"You know, these were supposed to be my snacks for the ride back. Kikufuku's different from regular sweets. The cream with edamame filling? Perfect."

When the dust cleared, Sukuna was face-down on the ground.

Gojo sat on his back, one leg crossed over the other, still holding the casual elegance of someone waiting for a train.

Megumi stared.

Yuji, trapped somewhere inside his own body, had no idea what expression he would have made if he had been in control.

Sukuna's cheek twitched.

Then he twisted around violently, throwing himself up from the ground and swinging a killing blow at Gojo's head.

Gojo vanished.

Sukuna's fist struck empty air.

"In front of my student," Gojo said from behind him, "I should show off a little."

Sukuna turned and attacked again.

Every strike was vicious. Every movement targeted a vital point. He did not test, did not feint for fun, did not waste motion. His body moved like a curse given human form, all murderous instinct and flawless timing.

Gojo dodged without effort.

He disappeared from one position and appeared in another, always half a step beyond reach. He moved so lightly that it almost looked like Sukuna was chasing an illusion.

"So," Gojo asked, hands in his pockets again, "what's it like having three people in one body? Crowded? Annoying? Is there a schedule?"

Sukuna's expression darkened.

Gojo leaned a little closer.

"And this Asuramaru. What does he look like? Cute? Beautiful? Scary? Come on, give me something."

Sukuna answered with his fist.

Gojo slipped past it and drove a punch into Sukuna's stomach.

The blow sent Sukuna flying across the rooftop. He crashed into the railing hard enough to twist the metal, but landed on his feet a moment later, grinning with bared teeth.

"Damn jujutsu sorcerers," Sukuna spat. "No matter the era, you're all troublesome."

He turned and leaped into the air.

His hand lifted.

"Dismantle."

Invisible slashes cut through the night.

They swept across Gojo's position in an instant. The rooftop beneath him split apart. The wall of the school building behind him collapsed with a thunderous crash, chunks of concrete dropping into the darkness below.

Dust surged upward like smoke after an explosion.

Sukuna hung in the air, the corner of his mouth lifting.

"Is that all?"

The dust thinned.

Gojo Satoru stood exactly where he had been.

Unharmed.

Not a strand of hair out of place. Not a cut on his clothes. Not even dust clinging to his uniform.

He waved one hand in front of his face, fanning the air.

"Not willing to answer? Cold." He glanced at Yuji's body. "But time's about up."

The moment those words fell, Yuji seized control again.

It was abrupt.

Sukuna felt his hold on the body snap loose as if he had been kicked out of the driver's seat.

The black markings vanished from Yuji's skin.

The second pair of eyes closed.

Yuji blinked, looked down at himself, then raised a hand.

"I'm back."

Inside him, Sukuna fell silent.

This time, he understood.

It was not Asuramaru.

The boy had done it himself.

Yuji Itadori, a brat who had known nothing of jujutsu until tonight, had swallowed his finger, housed his soul, and forced him back down after twenty seconds.

What exactly is this kid?

At that moment, within the Innate Domain, a system notification rang in Asuramaru's mind.

[Ding! Detected intense negative emotions from the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna. Obtained 5,000 emotion points!]

Asuramaru's brows rose slightly.

"Five thousand in one go?"

He had expected something decent, but this was still more generous than he thought.

Then again, Sukuna was not Muzan Kibutsuji. Their levels were not even comparable. A stronger soul naturally produced stronger emotional fluctuations.

A faint smile touched Asuramaru's lips.

In that case, provoking Sukuna from time to time might be a very efficient method.

Outside, Gojo walked over and looked Yuji up and down.

"I really didn't expect you to control him."

Yuji scratched his head.

"I can still hear his voice, though. He keeps talking in here."

"If that's the only problem, then this is already a miracle."

Gojo stepped forward and placed two fingers against Yuji's forehead.

Yuji's eyes rolled back.

He collapsed instantly.

Megumi's expression twitched.

"Sensei!"

"He's fine." Gojo caught Yuji easily and slung him over his shoulder as if he weighed nothing. "If he wakes up and Sukuna still hasn't taken control, then there's no doubt. He's a vessel."

His voice turned thoughtful.

"But honestly, I'm more interested in the cursed technique inside him."

Megumi looked at Yuji, then at Gojo.

"Asuramaru... Is it really that Asuramaru? The divine sword from the legend, the one said to house a god?" His tone carried disbelief, but also caution. "The legend says whoever gains its recognition will become the strongest of all time."

"Hard to say." Gojo smiled again, but this time, the smile did not quite reach the rest of his face. "But whether the legend is true or not, it's already troublesome."

Megumi frowned.

"Because of the higher-ups?"

"Exactly."

Gojo shifted Yuji on his shoulder and glanced toward the distant city lights.

"The jujutsu higher-ups are basically a den of demons wearing old people's skin. If those arrogant fools find out Asuramaru might really exist, they'll definitely get ideas."

His smile returned, sharp and bright.

"And honestly, I'm interested too."

.....

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