Chapter 115: Tokyo Gourmand

Hearing that answer, Yuji quietly gathered his grandfather's ashes from the platform and placed them into the urn with his own hands.

By the time he turned around again, the hesitation in his eyes had vanished.

"Are you still carrying that finger?"

Gojo Satoru said nothing. He only reached into his pocket, took out the Sukuna Finger he had prepared, and passed it over.

Then, with a very natural motion, he stepped back two paces.

Yuji held the finger in his palm and stared at it for a moment.

Up close, the thing was even more revolting.

The darkened flesh. The withered nail. The strange, oppressive aura that clung to it like rot refusing to fade.

Yuji's face twisted.

"Looking at it closely... this thing really is disgusting."

Even so, he swallowed it.

The moment the finger slid down his throat, Sukuna stirred inside him like a beast waking beneath the skin.

A brutal will surged upward, trying to seize control of Yuji's body. The pressure was sharp, violent, and domineering, the kind of presence that would crush an ordinary mind into pulp before they even understood what had happened.

But Yuji held on.

A moment later, everything returned to silence.

Yuji stuck out his tongue, his whole face wrinkling with disgust.

"That tastes awful. Seriously awful. I almost couldn't get it down."

After confirming that Yuji was still himself, Gojo's lips curved slightly.

His physical endurance was astonishing. His ability to preserve his own will against Sukuna was even more absurd.

A once-in-a-thousand-years vessel.

No.

Gojo's thoughts shifted.

If Yuji managed to gain Asuramaru's recognition, then perhaps he would become something even greater.

Someone who could surpass Gojo Satoru himself.

With that thought, Yuji Itadori quietly rose to the very top of Gojo's list of priorities.

"So," Gojo said, "can I take that as your answer? You're ready?"

Yuji looked toward his grandfather's portrait.

The old man in the picture was smiling.

For a moment, Yuji heard that gruff voice again.

Help people.

Be surrounded by others when you die.

Yuji lowered his gaze.

"Not at all."

His answer was firm, but not heroic.

"I still think it's ridiculous. Why should I be sentenced to death?"

Then his hand tightened around the urn.

"But I'm not going to stand by and let curses hurt people either."

He looked back at Gojo.

"I'll eat all of Sukuna's Fingers. What happens after that has nothing to do with me. I'm already destined to die anyway, right?"

The instant those words left his mouth, Yuji's consciousness was pulled away.

The crematorium vanished.

The smell of smoke faded.

When Yuji opened his eyes again, he was standing at the boundary between sky and sea.

The endless water reflected the heavens like a mirror. The horizon seemed close enough to touch, yet distant enough to belong to another world.

Before him stood Asuramaru.

His crimson eyes held a faint trace of interest.

"It seems you've found a rather interesting desire."

Yuji blinked, then reacted with sudden excitement.

"So, does that mean you recognize me now?"

He looked almost hopeful.

Asuramaru gave him a cold, merciless answer.

"No."

Yuji deflated on the spot.

"Your desire has only managed to interest me a little," Asuramaru continued. "If you want my recognition, that level is far from enough."

Yuji scratched his head, his expression full of innocent confusion.

"Huh? Then why did you bring me here?"

For a brief moment, Asuramaru nearly failed to maintain his aloof expression.

This brat...

"You really are infuriating."

After that blunt complaint, Asuramaru's tone became more serious.

"Still, your desire isn't bad. I'll reluctantly lend you a small portion of my power."

Yuji immediately perked up.

"Really? What kind of ability? Is it a super cool sword technique like the previous Sword Master, Tanjiro?"

Asuramaru looked at him with a faintly helpless expression.

Before answering, he warned him instead.

"Remember this. To use my power, your heart must remain firm. If you waver, even slightly, I will take your body."

With that, Asuramaru snapped his fingers.

Yuji's consciousness was sent back out.

Only after Yuji disappeared did Asuramaru murmur to himself, "What should I call this desire of his? Sukuna on the Tip of the Tongue? Or Tokyo Gourmand?"

At the same time, Yuji's consciousness returned to his body.

He stood dazedly in place.

Memories that had never belonged to him began flooding into his mind.

They came too fast, as if someone had shoved an entire library into his skull and expected him to read it all at once.

His body froze.

His eyes lost focus.

His brain struggled to process the sudden knowledge: the twin swords, their basic abilities, the rhythm of Breathing, the sword forms of the Hinokami Kagura.

Beside him, Gojo had been smiling as he spoke.

"Very good. I don't dislike people like you. Welcome to the hell you chose. Pack your things today and..."

He stopped.

Something was wrong.

Gojo moved closer at once and examined Yuji carefully.

There was no rampaging Cursed Energy.

No visible sign of Sukuna taking over.

No external injury.

"He already suppressed Sukuna, so why is he like this?"

Then a thought crossed Gojo's mind.

Asuramaru.

Could Yuji's answer just now have counted as desire?

Did he accidentally gain recognition?

The more Gojo thought about it, the more possible it seemed.

Inside Yuji's mind, the new knowledge settled little by little.

The twin swords.

Wind.

Arcana.

The former carried the power of gales. The latter could cut directly into the soul.

There were also sword forms and Breathing rhythms, but Asuramaru had sealed and isolated the deeper portions of those memories. Sukuna, trapped within Yuji, could not perceive what Yuji had received.

When Yuji finally came back to himself, Gojo immediately leaned in.

"So? What happened just now? Did Asuramaru recognize you?"

Inside Yuji, Sukuna also listened closely.

Yuji answered with visible excitement.

"Asuramaru said my desire interested him, so he's willing to lend me a bit of his power!"

"Seriously?"

Even Gojo froze for a moment.

Guessing it was one thing. Hearing it confirmed was something else.

Then curiosity lit up his face.

"Quick, tell me. What abilities did you get?"

Yuji did not hide anything.

"Asuramaru gave me two swords. One is called Wind. It can control gales. The other is called Arcana, and it can attack the soul directly."

He counted them off as he spoke.

"Besides that, he gave me a Breathing Style and sword techniques, like the ones Tanjiro used in battle. These two swords have other abilities too, but Asuramaru didn't give me permission to use them yet, so I can't."

Then, as if remembering something important, he added, "Also, to use these abilities, I have to keep my heart firm. If I waver, he'll seize my body."

Gojo listened with rare seriousness.

Even the most basic abilities sounded comparable to Special Grade Cursed Tools.

Then again, what else should he expect from the legendary Asuramaru?

"Yuji," Gojo said, unable to hide his interest, "can you bring out the swords? Let me see them."

Yuji instinctively asked inwardly, "Asuramaru, are you there? I want to..."

Before he could finish, Asuramaru's irritated voice rang in his mind.

"Are you an idiot? I already told you how to summon me."

"Sorry, sorry," Yuji replied with a sheepish laugh. "A lot of things suddenly appeared in my head. I didn't notice."

He did not take the scolding to heart.

The next moment, black smoke bloomed from Yuji's waist.

It coiled outward and gathered on both sides of his body, rapidly condensing into two sheathed katana.

Yuji reached for the sword on his right.

Wind.

The moment he drew it, a current of air swirled around the blade. The edge hummed softly, and Yuji could feel the gale answering him, as if the surrounding air had become something he could grip with his own hands.

If he willed it, he could call forth a storm.

Gojo observed the two katana carefully.

They were different from the swords Tanjiro had used in Asuramaru's Domain.

But their power was not inferior in nature.

As for Sukuna, watching all of this from within Yuji, his expression had twisted into something dark and ugly.

.....

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