Chapter 129: Wake Up, Yuji Itadori!

Jogo forced his eyes open.

The moment he saw what had emerged from the swords behind Tanjiro, his single eye widened to the limit.

His pupil shrank violently.

"No..."

His voice came out hoarse, almost broken.

"This is impossible!"

Above the arena, even Kenjaku could no longer maintain his usual composure.

Excitement surged through him. Curiosity sharpened into something close to obsession. His gaze locked onto the figures that had appeared below, and the smile on his face became harder and harder to suppress.

"Asuramaru," he murmured, "just what exactly is your Cursed Technique?"

Beside him, Sukuna threw his head back and laughed.

"Show me more!"

His grin was wild, greedy, almost intoxicated.

"Make me fall for you completely, Asuramaru!"

Below, two figures had emerged from the swords.

Ryomen Sukuna.

Satoru Gojo.

The strongest Curse in history.

The strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer of the modern era.

Jogo lay on the ground, his Cursed Technique burned out and his Domain shattered. Even standing was impossible, let alone fighting back.

Sukuna raised one hand.

Without any chant or warning, slashes tore through the air.

Jogo's body was instantly carved apart.

His limbs separated. His torso split. Blood and Cursed Energy scattered across the arena floor.

But it did not end there.

Gojo stood with his arms loosely crossed, eyes hidden beneath the black blindfold, facing forward as if the broken Cursed Spirit before him was not worth a second glance.

"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue."

Blue gathered behind him, distorting space.

"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red."

Red flared into existence beside it.

The two forces collided, merging into a mass of impossible power that seemed to erase the distance between destruction and emptiness.

Gojo lifted his finger toward Jogo.

"Hollow Technique: Purple."

The full-force Purple fired.

A violet torrent swallowed Jogo's shattered figure whole.

In an instant, he was annihilated.

When it was done, the two figures faded. Sukuna and Gojo dissolved back into mist and returned to the swords from which they had emerged.

Silence fell over the arena.

Then Tanjiro turned.

His eyes settled on Mahito.

Mahito had already turned to run.

The Cursed Spirit's instincts screamed at him. He no longer looked playful. His body twisted, preparing to reshape itself through the manipulation of his own soul.

Too late.

Tanjiro leaned forward.

"Thunder Breathing, Seventh Form: Honoikazuchi no Kami."

A thunderclap split the arena.

Tanjiro vanished in a streak of lightning.

Mahito's body was sliced apart before he could finish changing shape. Arms, legs, torso, all severed in clean flashes of light.

He crashed to the ground in pieces.

In the end, Mahito could only use one severed arm to prop up his severed head. His mismatched eyes trembled as he stared at Tanjiro.

For some reason, Tanjiro did not finish him off immediately.

He walked forward slowly, step by step, twin swords held at his sides.

The pressure around him was suffocating.

Then he asked, voice cold and clear, "Why do you plunder?"

Mahito's eyes shook.

"Why do you trample on life?"

Tanjiro stopped before him.

"Why don't you understand that lives that have passed away will never return?"

His grip tightened around the swords.

"What do you think life is?"

Mahito could not answer.

For the first time since his birth, he experienced true terror.

It was not the fear of injury. Not the fear of losing a fight. Not even the fear of death itself.

It was the fear of being seen.

Of having every excuse, every game, every childish philosophy stripped away beneath a gaze that despised his very existence.

Tanjiro's figure burned itself into Mahito's mind.

The closer he came to death, the more Mahito felt his own Cursed Technique reach its peak. In that instant, his understanding of the soul deepened. The boundary between body and soul became clearer than ever before.

Yet even with that realization, he did not dare open his Domain.

Domain Expansion.

A sorcerer's greatest technique.

A curse's ultimate territory.

But in front of Tanjiro, Mahito could not even muster the courage to try.

He felt like prey beneath the claws of a natural predator.

A helpless thing waiting to be slaughtered.

"No..."

His voice cracked.

"Please..."

Tanjiro raised his sword.

Mahito's desperate plea ended there.

The sword fell.

His life was severed completely.

That despair was not felt by Mahito alone.

Someone else experienced it just as deeply.

The next moment, the arena disappeared.

The colosseum, the swords, the Domain, and the vast pressure all faded away. The world returned to the calm boundary of sky and sea.

Jogo, Hanami, and Mahito reappeared along with everyone else.

Their deaths inside the Innate Domain had not affected their real bodies, but their minds had returned with everything intact.

Jogo came back silent.

Hanami was silent as well.

Mahito, however, looked utterly hollow.

The playful smile was gone.

The madness remained, but something had cracked beneath it.

At the same time, the system's voice rang in Asuramaru's mind.

[Ding! Intense negative emotions detected from Jogo. Gained 20,000 emotion points!]

[Ding! Intense negative emotions detected from Hanami. Gained 13,000 emotion points!]

[Ding! Intense negative emotions detected from Mahito. Gained 30,000 emotion points!]

One notification after another echoed through Asuramaru's mind.

The corners of his lips lifted faintly.

With such a harvest, he temporarily abandoned the idea of killing all three Disaster Curses.

For now, keeping them alive had value.

Asuramaru looked over the group and asked lightly, "So, does anyone else want to challenge me?"

No one answered.

Jogo's face was dark.

Challenge?

How were they supposed to challenge that?

They had been destroyed one after another. Even before Tanjiro's full strength could truly be displayed, they had already been crushed.

And it was not just Tanjiro.

The records of Sukuna and Gojo Satoru had appeared as well.

Any one of them was already enough to make the Disaster Curses despair.

Kenjaku also said nothing for a while.

Logically, every Cursed Technique should have a flaw.

A limitation.

A price.

Some crack through which it could be dismantled.

But for now, he could not see it.

The so-called legendary god was even more troublesome than he had expected.

After a moment, Kenjaku smiled.

"It seems no one else wishes to try. In that case, please send us out, Asuramaru."

Yuji, standing nearby, finally let out a breath of relief.

Good.

They had failed.

Asuramaru glanced at them, then waved them away.

Everyone's consciousness was expelled from the Innate Domain.

The sea and sky became empty once more.

Looking at the silent space, Asuramaru could not help but feel speechless.

These people really treated his Innate Domain like a dungeon.

Back in the outside world, consciousness returned.

The black threads binding them to the inner world dissolved into smoke.

Inside the Yoshino household, Kenjaku stood in the living room, his mood excellent.

Asuramaru had given him far more than he expected.

The legendary god.

The sword that could summon records.

The first Sword Master.

The incomprehensible Domain.

The ability to manifest even Sukuna and Gojo Satoru as blades within that world.

Every piece of information was a pleasure.

Jogo, on the other hand, was silent.

He had been beaten into seclusion in the truest sense.

First by Gojo.

Then by Tanjiro.

The confidence he had once held as a Disaster Cursed Spirit had begun to crack.

Can Cursed Spirits really win against Jujutsu Sorcerers?

Can the world we desire truly be realized?

Mahito also regained awareness.

But the terror in his mind did not fade.

Tanjiro's questions still echoed inside him.

Why do you plunder?

Why do you trample on life?

What do you think life is?

The fear had been carved deep into his soul.

"Aaaah..."

Mahito's body trembled.

Then his face twisted.

"Why?"

His voice grew sharper.

"You ask me what life is?"

He released Junpei and Mrs. Yoshino, dropping them back onto the floor.

Yuji immediately looked toward them.

They were alive.

For a brief moment, relief flooded him so strongly that his legs almost weakened.

But Junpei struggled to sit up, eyes full of disbelief as he looked at Mahito.

"Mr. Mahito... why?"

His voice shook.

"Was it..."

"Stop!" Yuji shouted at once. "Junpei, don't!"

But Mahito had already heard him.

Kenjaku, Jogo, and Hanami stood nearby, watching with interest.

Mahito turned his head slowly, and the smile that spread across his face was far darker than before.

"Thinking deeply can sometimes lead to worse results than thinking shallowly," Mahito said. "You're the perfect example, Junpei."

His eyes curved with mockery.

"You're even stupider than the people you call fools."

Junpei froze.

Mahito laughed.

"You ask me what life is?"

The laughter rose in pitch.

"Life isn't worth anything at all!"

Yuji's expression changed.

Mahito spread his arms, smiling like a child who had found a new toy.

"Since I can't kill Junpei and his mother, I'll just kill everyone on this street instead!"

"Hahahaha!"

Yuji's eyes widened.

"You already made a vow..."

His words stopped halfway.

His face went pale.

He finally understood.

The Binding Vow protected Junpei and his mother.

Only them.

Not the neighbors.

Not the people outside.

Not anyone else on the street.

A system notification sounded in Asuramaru's mind.

[Ding! Intense negative emotions detected from Sword Master Yuji Itadori. Gained 2,000 emotion points!]

Asuramaru stared at the scene for a moment, unable to find the right words.

Neither of his Sword Masters liked using their brains.

Tanjiro had been bad enough in certain ways.

Yuji was even worse.

But this was also an opportunity.

Yuji's expression changed.

Something inside him finally cracked open.

"No..."

His voice was low at first.

Then it rose into a roar.

"You can't do that!"

Inside him, Sukuna chose that moment to speak.

"Make a Binding Vow. Give me control of your body, and I'll kill these Cursed Spirits for you."

Yuji clenched his teeth.

He was naive, but he was not that stupid.

If Sukuna took control, the disaster would only become worse.

All of this.

The hostage situation.

The vow.

Mahito's loophole.

The threat to innocent people outside.

All of it happened because he was too weak.

Because he still wanted to believe there was a clean answer.

Because he still tried to face curses like he could reason with them.

At this moment, Yuji finally saw everything clearly.

These things were curses.

Not misunderstood people.

Not opponents with limits.

Not enemies who would honor kindness unless forced by rules.

Curses.

A kind of malice that fed on humans.

Yuji let go of his old hesitation.

Black mist surged around his hands.

The twin swords formed.

"I'll stop you!"

He charged forward.

But the difference in strength was still too great.

Before he could reach Mahito, he was easily subdued, forced down beneath overwhelming pressure.

Mahito glanced at him and smiled.

"Just watch, Itadori."

He turned toward the door.

"I'll go kill those humans now."

Pinned to the ground, Yuji's eyes turned bloodshot.

"I'll kill you..."

His voice scraped out of his throat.

"I'll kill you."

The words grew louder.

"I'll kill all Cursed Spirits!"

His hands clawed at the floor.

"Fight... fight..."

His Cursed Energy churned violently.

"I'll cut down every single curse!"

The next instant, Yuji's consciousness fell.

He opened his eyes and found himself in the world of sky and sea.

The calm water reflected the endless blue above.

Asuramaru was crouching beside him, chin resting on one hand, a smile playing across his lips.

"I feel it."

His crimson eyes gleamed.

"That intense desire of yours."

Yuji stared at him.

Asuramaru reached out, his voice soft and dangerous.

"This time, I'll begrudgingly acknowledge you a little more."

The world trembled faintly.

"Use my power and vent every last bit of that desire."

Asuramaru's smile widened.

"Wake up, Yuji Itadori!"

.....

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