The two continued exchanging attacks, neither willing to give the other an opening.
Kenji moved at incredible speeds, throwing punches while occasionally releasing Kinetic Pulses. Sukuna, on the other hand, relied on his slashes to keep Kenji at bay, forcing him to constantly move and change direction.
Watching the battle from a distance, Megumi couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.
'What kind of fight is this?'
His eyes followed the two figures as they moved across the battlefield. Their movements were so fast that he could barely keep up.
He had known that Kenji was strong since he was considered a Special Grade, but this was beyond anything he had imagined or seen.
And Sukuna was no different. He only had a fraction of his original strength, but even with his current limitations, the King of Curses was capable of keeping up with Kenji.
'These two are monsters.'
Megumi clenched his fists.
'I'm so weak.'
He couldn't help but remember how helpless he had been moments earlier. If not for Kenji's arrival, he would have been killed by Sukuna.
Even now, he was nothing more than a spectator.
'If only I were stronger...'
He wanted to protect the people around him, but time and time again, he found himself in situations where he couldn't do anything.
First, it was his sister. Now, it was Yuji and Nobara.
He hated it.
Meanwhile, Sukuna was thoroughly enjoying himself. Also, he was beginning to understand how Kenji's abilities worked.
'This brat is interesting.'
His eyes followed Kenji's movements as he continued dodging the incoming slashes.
'His cursed technique allows him to manipulate kinetic energy, enhancing his physical abilities and amplifying the force behind his attacks.'
Sukuna had already figured out the basics.
However, there were limitations.
'His strongest attacks require him to get close. Those ranged attacks are also troublesome, but they are too linear and easy to predict and dodge.'
More importantly, Kenji's speed was becoming a problem.
Despite his attempts, Sukuna hadn't been able to land a clean hit.
A grin spread across his face.
'Let's see how he handles this.'
Without warning, Sukuna charges into a building, and Kenji quickly follows.
Seeing Kenji following him, Sukuna does something unexpected; instead of directly targeting Kenji, he turns his attention towards the surrounding buildings.
{CLEAVE}
Several slashes tore through the structures around them.
The buildings crumbled, sending enormous chunks of concrete and debris crashing down on their heads.
Kenji immediately noticed the change.
'What is he doing?'
Before he could figure it out, Sukuna sent another series of slashes through the falling debris. Due to the scattered pieces of concrete falling, there was too much Kinetic energy for Kenji to keep track of the slashes.
*Tch!*
Kenji immediately changed direction, dodging the incoming slashes using his normal perception.
However, Kenji also lost track of Sukuna for a short moment. Sukuna took advantage of the situation and moved in.
{Dismantle}
Several invisible slashes shot towards Kenji.
While caught by surprise, Kenji had already anticipated Sukuna's ambush. He reacted quickly and managed to dodge most of them.
Unfortunately, dodging the continuous barrage of attacks and avoiding debris that was about to bury him was beginning to overwhelm him.
One of the slashes grazed his arm, leaving a shallow cut.
Another followed immediately, forcing him to twist his body to avoid it.
'This bastard!'
Kenji clicked his tongue, but he didn't panic.
{FULL BODY PULSE}
A powerful burst of kinetic energy is released from Kenji's body, pushing all the debris away from him.
This was a technique that Kenji created to mimic the {ALL MIGHTY PUSH}. While not at the same level as the original, it was still very powerful.
Sukuna also wasn't spared, as he was pushed back. This caused a pause in his rapid attack, allowing Kenji to take a breath.
The battle was a bit more intense than Kenji expected. More importantly, Sukuna was beginning to dictate the pace of the fight.
Sukuna was always keeping a certain distance from Kenji, never allowing him to close in to deal fatal damage with his {KINETIC IMPACT}.
'I need to be more careful.'
Unfortunately, he wasn't given the opportunity to think any further. Sukuna starts attacking more aggressively.
{Dismantle}
Kenji, now able to sense them due to reduced kinetic activity, moves out of the way as another slash passes through the space where his body had been.
He quickly moves in, closing the distance between them.
However, Sukuna doesn't move away but instead amplifies the power of his slashes, with the intention of cutting Kenji in half.
Similarly, Kenji doesn't dodge the incoming slashes. He uses his curse technique {ENERGY FORMULA} to redirect the slashes' kinetic energy in another direction, deflecting them.
Sukuna was surprised at Kenji's ability to deflect his attacks. He quickly backed away, trying to create distance from Kenji.
Unfortunately, Kenji had already closed in with his fist cloaked in his Curse Technique.
{KINETIC IMPACT}
Kenji's fist came close, but Sukuna was able to dodge the attack at the last second.
The force of Kenji's attack created a huge crater in the ground, causing rocks and debris to go flying in the air.
At this time, Sukuna had already moved some distance away. But before he could relax, he saw Kenji pointing in his direction.
Kenji used Curse Technique to manipulate the kinetic energy of the rocks and debris around him
This caused all the rocks and debris in the air to suddenly change direction and amplify their kinetic energy, allowing them to rush at Sukuna at near-Mach speeds.
Sukuna doesn't panic as he also points at the incoming debris. Before they could even reach him, he slashes them all to dust.
Watching the dust settle on the ground. Kenji could feel an itch growing that he wasn't able to scratch, but more than that, he felt just as excited.
With the exception of Satoru Gojo, Kenji had never had anyone who could make him utilize all of the skills in his arsenal.
His overwhelming physical abilities gained from his cursed technique allowed him to dominate most of his previous opponents. As a result, he hadn't needed to use his combat skills to the same extent.
Sukuna, on the other hand, was also enjoying every moment.
"Hehehe! What's wrong, brat? You've gotten a little quiet!"
"What do you expect? I'm fighting the King of Curses. I have to take it very seriously"
Kenji spoke as he would to a friend, not having the fear that others have in Sukuna's presence.
At the same time, he was beginning to understand something.
Against someone like Sukuna, that lack of experience was becoming increasingly apparent.
'So this is what it means to fight someone on Satoru-nii's level.'
Kenji narrowed his eyes.
'I need to stop holding back.'
He had been treating the fight as an opportunity to test his abilities against the King of Curses.
But things were different now; he couldn't afford to play around. Forcing Sukuna to heal his heart was proving harder than he thought.
Now Yuji's life was at stake, and he wasn't willing to gamble his own future on the idea that everything would work out like in the original story
Just as Kenji was thinking about what his next move should be, Sukuna suddenly changed direction.
His gaze shifted towards Megumi.
{Dismantle}
A slash shot towards the young sorcerer. Megumi's eyes widened.
He hadn't expected Sukuna to suddenly target him.
Before he could react, a figure appeared in front of him.
"Watch out!"
Kenji moved instantaneously, placing himself between Megumi and the incoming slash.
He managed to deflect the attack with a swing of his arm. However, that wasn't the end.
Another slash followed, hiding directly in the shadow of the first.
'It was a trap.'
Kenji, who had been acting hastily to protect Megumi, failed to notice the second attack until the very last moment.
He barely had enough time to reinforce his body with cursed energy.
The slash struck his chest.
A thin line of blood appeared as Kenji was pushed backwards.
Fortunately, his reinforcement had reduced the damage considerably.
"Tch..."
Looking down, he noticed the blood on his fingers.
'That was close.'
Behind him, Megumi stared in shock.
"Kenji!"
Kenji glanced over his shoulder.
"Don't worry, I will live"
Kenji turned his attention back to Sukuna.
The King of Curses was standing several meters away, wearing an amused expression.
"What's wrong, brat? I expected more from you."
Kenji didn't respond.
"You can't even use Reverse Cursed Technique to heal yourself?"
Sukuna chuckled.
"How disappointing."
Megumi's expression changed.
'Reverse Cursed Technique?'
He looked at Kenji's injuries.
'Does he not know how to use it?'
Megumi couldn't help but feel that he was becoming a burden.
If Kenji hadn't intervened, he would have been injured or, worse, died.
But before either of them could say anything, something unexpected happened.
The wounds on Kenji's chest and arms began to close.
The bleeding stopped, and his damaged skin gradually returned to normal.
Both Sukuna and Megumi noticed the change.
"Hmm?"
Sukuna narrowed his eyes.
'That's not Reverse Cursed Technique.'
He could tell that Kenji wasn't using positive energy to heal himself. More importantly, the healing wasn't coming from his cursed technique either.
Kenji reached towards his neck and pulled out a small object hanging from a chain.
It was a coin.
"This?"
Kenji held it between his fingers.
"It's a cursed object called the Exchange Coin."
He gave the coin a brief glance before putting it back around his neck.
"It can exchange cursed energy for healing, physical boosts, and other things. But it costs several more curse energy to use than RCT"
Sukuna looked at the object with interest.
"Oh?"
He hadn't expected Kenji to possess something like that.
"How convenient."
Kenji shrugged.
Looking at the King of Curses, Kenji's expression gradually changed. The playful smile that had been on his face disappeared.
'Enough playing around.'
He had originally intended to preserve the future he remembered as much as he could.
After all, he had been reincarnated into this world with knowledge of its events. Naturally, he wanted to use that knowledge to his advantage.
But what was the point of preserving the original story if doing so meant allowing the people around him to die?
He couldn't afford to be so passive.
If he couldn't save Yuji while following the original storyline, then so be it.
He would change it.
Even if it meant destroying everything he thought he knew about the future.
Kenji took a deep breath.
His cursed energy began to swell, reaching more than three times what he originally showed.
The atmosphere around him changed as an enormous amount of cursed energy poured out of his body.
Megumi's eyes widened.
'What is this cursed energy!?'
Even Sukuna raised an eyebrow.
For the first time since their battle began, Kenji had been using a Binding Vow that was holding back the amount of cursed energy by more than half.
Now, he was no longer concealing his strength.
"Sorry, Megumi."
Kenji spoke without taking his eyes off Sukuna.
"I might not be able to save Yuji."
Megumi froze.
He knew exactly what Kenji meant. Sukuna was still holding Yuji's body hostage. And as long as he refused to restore the heart, Yuji couldn't take back control without dying.
"..." Megumi remained quiet.
He clenched his fists.
'I've failed.'
He had promised Yuji that he would return.
Yet here he was, unable to do anything.
Meanwhile, Sukuna looked at Kenji with an increasingly interested expression.
"Hehehe..."
His grin widened.
"Now that's more like it."
The King of Curses was delighted. He always thought that Kenji was a bit weaker than he wanted.
'To think that he was hiding this much strength. He must have been using a Binding Vow'
Sukuna was able to deduce what Kenji had done. He could finally see what Kenji was truly capable of.
However, before either of them could make their next move, something unexpected happened.
Megumi stood up with a stern expression
"He will definitely come back"
Megumi said in a loud voice, seemingly speaking to Yuji
"I didn't have any logical reason for saving you; it was just me being selfish, and I don't regret it"
Suddenly, Sukuna's expression changed.
"Hmm?"
His body suddenly began to behave strangely.
The cursed energy surrounding him fluctuated as he felt the familiar sensation of losing control.
'The brat?'
Yuji Itadori was regaining control of his body.
Sukuna's expression twisted.
"What the hell...?"
He had been so focused on fighting Kenji that he hadn't expected Yuji to regain consciousness at this moment.
But there was nothing he could do.
His time was up.
Before long, the markings on Yuji's body began to disappear. The extra eyes vanished, and his appearance returned to normal.
Yuji was back.
"Yuji!"
Megumi immediately called out.
Kenji was a bit surprised at how things were playing out. It was similar to how his original story went, meaning that there is a high chance that Yuji would survive.
The moment Yuji regained control, A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Seems like you have thought a lot about it"
It seemed he had reached the end.
His body began to lose strength as he slowly collapsed.
"ITADORI!"
Megumi rushed towards him.
But Kenji moved faster, catching Yuji's cold body before it fell to the ground.