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It was not just about power.
It was also about adaptability, compatibility, and circumstance.
Itadori was not only powerful, he also had all three of those factors on his side.
Thanks to his many cursed techniques, he was able to adapt to any situation. In a battle like this, he was the worst possible opponent for Sukuna. Not only had he been bathed in the cursed energy of the King of Curses, granting him resistance to Sukuna's technique, but he had also awakened Sukuna's very own technique.
And the circumstances could not have been better.
Sukuna was weakened, having permanently lost power equivalent to five of his fingers, while his soul, still not accustomed to his new body, limited his cursed energy output even further.
A battle bordering on impossible, sustained only by Sukuna's vast experience and combat ability, which greatly surpassed Itadori's.
But even that was not enough to prevent the inevitable outcome.
Sukuna, as disgraceful as it was for the King of Curses to admit, was destined to lose this battle.
Twelve fingers worth of power was still immense, but at this point, to Itadori who was overflowing with cursed energy, Sukuna was no more threatening than the great serpent Leviathan.
A fifteen–year–old sorcerer, who less than a year ago had discovered the supernatural world of curses, now held the advantage.
Against the one once called the strongest. The King of Curses, feared as the two–faced demon.
Sukuna.
Boom.
An explosion erupted in the center of the crater. Itadori and Sukuna shot out of the curtain of smoke, the sorcerer landing firmly while the King of Curses, small sparks causing spasms throughout his body, regained balance with difficulty.
"What happened? Shocked, Sukuna?" Itadori gave a wide grin, his hands already condensing flames into a bright sphere.
Sukuna spat a bit of blood, his furious gaze never leaving his face as he wiped his lips. "Such tricks will not work, boy."
"Maybe." Itadori mocked. "But they are working well enough to irritate you."
Sukuna narrowed his eyes when Itadori vanished from his position, his reflexes flaring to the limit as he prepared for a charge.
"Got you." Feeling the boy's cursed energy, he turned and with a leg coated in cursed energy, kicked toward his head.
The sound of flesh and bone being crushed echoed throughout the crater, a crazed smile curling on Sukuna's lips as he saw Itadori's head explode with the powerful strike.
"Getting excited?"
But as soon as a voice came from behind him, Sukuna's eyes widened in confusion, his head turning to see Itadori unharmed, rushing at him with a glowing sphere in hand.
A clone. He thought urgently, twisting his body to block any attack.
Itadori, crossing the distance in the blink of an eye and moving against Sukuna's expectations, did not follow with a physical strike. Instead, the sphere of fire in his hands glowed even brighter.
"I would not stay if I were you."
Bam.
To Sukuna's surprise, the sphere burst not into an attack, but into a beam of light that struck his eyes so hard it blinded him completely. His teeth clenched as he swung a desperate slice to drive Itadori away.
"You little bastard"
But instead of withdrawing safely, his shoulder was grabbed, Sukuna barely having time to react as his torso was pulled down.
"Black Flash!"
A charged punch crashed into his stomach, the sensation of his organs being crushed with such force nearly making him faint as blood flew from his mouth. His body trembled, unable to retreat from the hand gripping his shoulder.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" Itadori asked without even looking down, where Sukuna was bent over from the punch. "But it is not over yet, so hang in there a bit longer, alright?"
Itadori patted his shoulder, a gesture that reduced the King of Curses to a pathetic wretch going through a hard moment. As mockery, it hit perfectly, driving Sukuna's fury to unimaginable levels.
The veins on his face bulged, his red eyes gleaming with a murderous rage he had never felt toward any form of life before.
That simple gesture, overflowing with supernatural disrespect toward someone like Sukuna, struck harder than any attack he had received in the battle.
If before he intended to destroy Itadori and everything he cared about, now he would destroy all of humanity.
Simply because Itadori belonged to this era.
He would not leave a single soul alive that shared a world where Itadori existed.
He would exterminate them like insects.
And he would start with the reason for his hatred.
Sukuna pulled back with a leap, fixing his gaze on Itadori and sending a huge slash toward him, cursed energy whipping chaotically through him in anticipation of the coming barrage.
But as the first slash was about to reach the sorcerer, his body disappeared once again without a trace. Sukuna gritted his teeth in fury, extending his arms as countless slashes spread around him in every direction.
It was a smart move, but pointless, as seen when Itadori appeared in the distance.
Sukuna had done this to avoid being caught off guard again and to strike Itadori during his charge, but Yuji was no fool to fall for such a simple trick. His advances against Sukuna were not random. Sukuna might have been weakened, but he was still dangerous.
That was why Itadori focused on forcing Sukuna to make decisions under pressure, creating traps to make him choose whether a risk was worth taking or not.
If Sukuna had not attacked the clone, he would not have been caught by the flash burst and might even have landed a serious counterattack on Itadori.
Irritating him was also a tactic. Itadori was sure Sukuna had never been so humiliated before. It was working well, considering the King of Curses had not even considered healing himself yet.
It might seem like a waste of time in such a crucial moment. Sukuna was weakened, and his body clearly unfamiliar with his soul. But Itadori knew he could not rush simply because it was so important.
He was building his victory, damaging Sukuna safely so he could deliver the final blow with peace of mind.
Mistakes would happen, but with this strategy, he intended to ensure none of them would be fatal.
"Your arrogance" Itadori raised an eyebrow when Sukuna suddenly spoke, as if venom could spill from his throat. "Your disrespect, boy. I will make you regret it forever."
The countless slashes stopped. A ferocious Sukuna appeared, cursed energy trembling violently around him.
"I will kill every one of your friends, family, allies." Sukuna's bloodshot eyes shifted, demonic malice shining as a toothy smile spread across his lips. "And those two women. I will let you watch while I have fun with them."
Itadori narrowed his eyes, his fingers tightening into a fist. Sukuna's words carried no lies. Itadori could feel that if he lost, the King of Curses truly would carry out every vile word.
But unfortunately for Sukuna, that was just one more reason why he could not afford to lose.
While Sukuna had nothing but his pride to lose, Itadori had everything.
"As I said before." A dangerous light flashed in the young sorcerer's eyes, his hand opening as he gestured with his finger for Sukuna to try approaching. "You are free to try."
Sukuna narrowed his eyes, fingers twisting in anticipation.
Their eyes met, one filled with malice and rage, the other shining with determination and courage.
Each had their reasons to fight, but something in common. Neither was willing to give in.
Sukuna was the first to move, his hand whipping forward to launch a slash while he rushed toward Itadori. The sorcerer watched carefully.
Whipping his own hand, Itadori sent a slash of his own to cancel Sukuna's. He did not fear Sukuna's approach and instead prepared to receive him.
From long range, medium range, and close range, Itadori held total advantage.
Boom.
Even knowing that, Itadori was slightly surprised when Sukuna did not stop his charge and collided with him. That surprise vanished quickly as they clashed directly, and Itadori easily took the upper hand.
A clean hit on Sukuna's guard pushed him back, his forearms cracking but healing instantly before he rushed again.
Itadori watched with suspicion, not daring to lose focus for a second. The difference in direct combat was obvious, yet Sukuna persisted. Something was off, something Itadori had not noticed yet.
Dodging a kick to his calf, Itadori stepped forward and struck Sukuna's face with rapid, machine–gun punches, seeming to stun him and opening a chance to prepare a powerful strike.
"Black"
His fist blazed with cursed energy, and as he launched it toward Sukuna's face
He was shocked to feel the attack connect, but instead of being thrown away, Sukuna forced himself forward against the natural motion, his face twisted as he lunged like a beast, his hand clamping onto Itadori's face before flipping behind him.
That He froze. His eyes went wide and shifted to a vivid red as thin slashes appeared all over his face, intense pain making him grit his teeth. He sacrificed himself.
Steam burst from his face, cursed energy fighting to heal him as fast as possible. But behind him, with a bloody smile twisting his features, Sukuna was already prepared, his fist glowing with cursed energy flying toward Itadori's spine before the sorcerer could escape.
"Black Flash."
The strike landed clean, Itadori coughing blood as he felt his spine crack, his body flying and crashing into the edge of the crater, dirt and debris spraying everywhere.
A full hit, carrying Sukuna's total force amplified by a Black Flash. It could not have been worse.
But Sukuna was not done. Even with that, he knew it was not enough to finish Itadori.
So without losing a second of advantage, he charged toward where Itadori had fallen and found the boy getting up with difficulty.
He did not waste the moment and struck him with a full punch to the jaw, disorienting him even further.
A barrage of attacks erupted from Sukuna, followed by powerful slashes. Itadori struggled to defend, his reverse cursed energy working to heal him while he tried to evade, only for Sukuna to pursue him relentlessly.
Damn it, I let my guard down and got hit with a critical right away. He thought in irritation, his arms blocking the endless flurry. I need distance, if this keeps up, I am definitely going to lose.
He tried to grab Sukuna, but the King of Curses was efficient, always close enough to hit, yet far enough to avoid being countered.
An impressive momentum. If earlier he was being pummeled, now he dominated completely, hitting Itadori everywhere while the boy could do nothing but survive.
A ridiculous shift in pace caused by one mistake.
Truly a pain in the ass.
A huge slash flew toward Itadori, Sukuna right behind it to strike as soon as he dodged.
But to Sukuna's surprise, Itadori did not dodge. He took the slash head on, his shoulder splitting open and spraying blood everywhere.
Bam.
Huh? Sukuna was confused for a moment, but that moment did not last when Itadori's fist appeared in front of his face, striking and sending him spinning like a frisbee, his body slamming into the crater wall.
"Got you, bastard." Itadori breathed heavily, stumbling back as steam burst from his wounds. His chest rose quickly as he grabbed his knees while trying to regulate his breath. "Damn, for a moment I thought I really was going to die. This guy can actually turn the tables like that, no wonder he survived for so long."
He muttered, hands on his knees, feeling his legs tremble. Even though he had healed his previous wounds, the constant fighting was taking its toll. Exhaustion hit him like weight added to his body, muscles stiff despite the healed injuries.
I might have healed from the battle with Kenjaku, but it is not like I got a new body. It is the same one from that fight. He sighed, placing a knee down to conserve energy. But it should not be different for Sukuna. His power is reduced, and I can see his soul is unstable in the new body. Besides, my hits targeted his soul to make it even more unstable.
At this point, he should be just as tired as me.
His eyes narrowed toward where Sukuna had been thrown, noticing a faint movement in the fading dust curtain. At least, I hope so.
Sukuna slowly emerged from the dust, his face healing at a pace Itadori could follow, his regeneration clearly far slower than at the start of the fight.
As soon as his face finished healing, his furious expression glared at Itadori with hatred, but the sweat on his forehead was impossible to ignore. Sukuna was getting overwhelmed, which was a very good sign.
"So, Sukuna, what now?" Itadori asked mockingly. "Looks like we are at a stalemate, but I feel like I still have a lot more cards to play than you do."
Sukuna did not respond, his eyes narrowing, fists clenching tightly.
"Is your plan another sacrifice? I doubt either of us is dumb enough to fall for the same trick twice, or maybe" Itadori smiled. "You want to expand your domain and end this at once. That would be effective, right?"
Itadori widened his eyes in false realization. "Oh wait, that would not be satisfying enough, would it? You want to destroy me, but you want to enjoy it."
"This is quite a dilemma."
A vein throbbed on Sukuna's forehead, but he had long understood Itadori's strategy of provoking him to gain an advantage over his lack of reason, so he forced himself to remain calm.
It was indeed a dilemma.
His new body was exhausted, and his soul refused to stabilize, likely due to the boy's blows. It was unsustainable to continue. The longer the fight dragged on, the lower his chances became.
In fact, the moment he had the best chance was during his previous charge.
Even expanding his domain now would be pointless. Feeling his cursed energy production growing erratic, he doubted he could maintain it for more than a few seconds.
It might be enough, but if not, he would be killed instantly by Itadori afterward.
It irritated him to think like that, but he could not ignore the facts. If not for the absurd surge of cursed energy from the boy, his chances would be much greater. But because of that, Itadori was like a walking machine gun of cursed techniques.
Not all could be used constantly, but Itadori used them well enough to overwhelm Sukuna at every exchange.
And his unnatural resistance to slashes… Sukuna found himself feeling helpless at times.
It wounded his pride, and what he was thinking of doing now would wound it even more.
"So? Shall we keep going, Sukuna?" Itadori's voice reached his ears, eyes filled with disdain as the sorcerer rose and covered his fists in cursed energy. "I want to see you keep your promises."
As much as he did not want to, as much as it hurt more than any blow he had ever taken, Sukuna could not ignore the circumstances and the obvious truth staring at him.
He would not be able to defeat Yuji Itadori in his current state.
And there was still Yuki Tsukumo, recovering little by little outside the battle.
Continuing this fight was nothing but accepting his own death.
And he could not give his life to the failed sorcerers of this era, he refused. Even if it meant hurting his pride now.
As long as he recovered his strength, he could fulfill his words later. But now, he needed time.
"Boy," Sukuna finally said.
Itadori raised an eyebrow, cautious of any attempt at surprise.
"Remember, you are nothing but another fish on my cutting board. A little tilapia that struggles more than the others, nothing more, nothing less." Sukuna's body tensed, making Itadori prepare himself. "That does not change anything, so get ready"
With a leap, Sukuna landed at the top edge of the crater, confusing Itadori for a moment before realization struck.
"I will still keep my word."
Itadori's eyes widened, veins bulging on his forehead as the muscles in his legs hardened in anticipation for a powerful charge.
"SUKUNA, DO NOT YOU DARE, COWARD"
Boom.
Itadori blasted forward like a bullet, but before he could reach Sukuna, the King of Curses was faster, sprinting away like a bullet train in a shameless escape.
Itadori turned to chase, but exhaustion caught him, and he stumbled forward before regaining balance.
"SUKUNA" he roared at the top of his lungs, cursed energy exploding in every direction so violently that it cracked the ground beneath him.
He could not believe Sukuna would run. He expected a fight to the death. Itadori did not even care if he had to give his own life to finish Sukuna, but instead, the proud King of Curses fled, afraid of death.
What kind of joke was that? Was Sukuna really this pathetic?
"Damn it" Itadori bit his lip and dropped to his knees, feeling just how exhausted his body was.
Once his blood cooled, even lifting his head became difficult.
Unfortunately, no matter how exhausted he was, he still could not rest. With Sukuna having escaped, and Megumi's sister still a pending problem, it seemed there was plenty of work before he could truly relax.
Damn it, Kenjaku. You almost seem like a simple problem now.
He could almost see Kenjaku's malicious smile staring at him.