"Big Brother..."
In the forest, Eso, who was closely following behind Choso, finally couldn't hold it in any longer and asked, "Are we really doing the right thing?"
Having just experienced betrayal, he naturally understood how painful it was to be betrayed.
When he saw their allies abandoning them without hesitation, using them as pawns to stall the Nightmare, he felt an emotion in his 150 years of life he had never experienced before—
Rage.
And yet, not long after, they were now doing the very same thing as those damn traitors. This filled Choso's heart with deep conflict.
Because what they were doing now meant they were becoming the same as the people who had abandoned them.
In their lives as the Cursed Wombs: Death Paintings, they had always viewed themselves as victims.
And indeed, they were victims.
Forced abortions, transformed into cursed objects, sealed away for 150 years, and now betrayed by their allies.
But now, they had become the aggressors—villains in someone else's eyes.
No—even worse.
Because in this situation, when he and his younger brother had no choice but to face the Nightmare, Sukuna appearance was nothing short of a savior.
And yet, they—rather than fighting alongside their savior—shamefully chose betrayal.
What they did was more despicable than even cursed spirits.
"This was my decision. You don't need to feel guilty about it."
Still focused on moving forward, Choso didn't even turn his head. His tone was unwavering.
Eso opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
But in the end, he remained silent.
"I'm sorry, Second Brother, for making you carry a sin that wasn't yours."
Though maintaining a calm exterior, Choso was also wracked with guilt in his heart. He thought silently:
But this is something we must do—for the sake of the three of us.
From the very first day they became incarnated in flesh, Choso had made a decision.
In this cruel world, he would create a chance for happiness for all three of them.
He did nothing wrong.
They did nothing wrong.
As beings that were neither human nor cursed spirit, all they ever wanted was to survive in this world.
And to achieve that goal, no matter how heavy the sins he had to bear, as the eldest brother, he would shoulder them without hesitation.
"Hurry, I can feel that Sukuna can't hold on much longer."
Although just as conflicted as Eso inside, the reason Choso made such a decisive betrayal wasn't just out of fear of the Nightmare strength.
More than that—it was because he could sense that their third brother, Kechizu, was on the brink of death.
Blood Manipulation Technique this was Choso's inherited technique. It allowed him to control his own blood in combat. It was also a bloodline technique passed down by the Kamo Clan, one of the three major clans.
Even though he hated everything about the "father" who created him—Kamo Noritoshi—he never particularly disliked the technique he had inherited from that man.
Because Blood Manipulation gave him a deep sensitivity to blood, allowing him to feel the bond between him and his brothers. Through that, he could monitor their conditions at any time.
And at this moment, within his awareness, he could feel that Kechizu condition was extremely dire.
Naturally so.
Although Kechizu had special-grade strength, he lacked battle experience, and in the 150 years of being sealed, he hadn't studied his technique in depth.
Thus, he was the first to be severely injured by the Nightmare in battle.
If they didn't treat him soon, he'd be dead within ten minutes.
"Kechizu, hang in there!"
As Choso recalled the moments he had spent with Kechizu—
His steps suddenly froze.
Because the memories in his mind abruptly stopped.
In their place, were nonexistent memories.
On the day he was incarnated, Choso had once fantasized about a future where he and his two younger brothers lived happily.
But for some reason, that imagined future suddenly resurfaced in his mind now.
And this time—Yuji Itadori figure had naturally become part of those memories.
He was laughing and spending time joyfully with them, just like a real brother.
Choso's expression became blank, his mind a tangled mess.
"Big Brother?"
Eso noticed Choso's strange behavior and asked nervously, "What's wrong? Don't tell me Kechizu..."
"It's not Kechizu!"
Choso clutched his head tightly and shouted in a sharp voice that Eso couldn't comprehend:
"It's Yuji Itadori! Yuji Itadori is in danger!"
"Big Brother, what are you talking about? Of course Yuji Itadori is in danger."
Eso looked at his brother with a complicated expression and said,
"And aren't we the ones who put him in danger?"
But his words did not calm Choso.
Instead, they made his expression twist even more.
His body began to tremble violently, as if he were about to collapse.
Because just now, he had realized a truth that nearly broke him:
"We have to go back... go back and help him..."
His voice still trembled, but it carried absolute determination:
"We must go back—go back and save him!"
Eso was completely stunned.
Was this… Big Brother's conscience kicking in?
But wasn't it a bit too late?
Even so, Choso no longer had time to care about Eso's thoughts.
Realizing how urgent the situation was, he didn't have the time to explain slowly. He turned and ran back the way they had fled.
"Big Brother! What the hell is going on?!"
Eso didn't understand, but trusting his brother, he chased after him.
However, Choso, now focused entirely on rescuing Yuji Itadori, shut out everything else.
His eyes were locked in Yuji direction, his speed even faster than before.
Blood Manipulation gave him the ability to sense the condition of those connected to him by blood.
Until now, he had focused only on his two brothers—Eso and Kechizu—because only the three of them were special grade.
And just moments ago, those nonexistent memories that flashed through his mind made him realize something he would never have imagined—
Yuji Itadori was his blood-related younger brother.
Those false memories were actually warnings granted by Blood Manipulation.
And this warning came with such force, such clarity, and such suddenness that Choso could only come to one conclusion:
Yuji Itadori is about to die.
In a haze of consciousness, Yuji Itadori opened his eyes.
What came into view was not a forest shrouded in night, but an endless expanse of blood.
Blood flowed across the ground, forming the very foundation of this crimson world, making everything here seem so gloomy and malevolent.
"I... should be dead."
Yuji Itadori climbed up from the ground, gazing blankly at the blood-colored surroundings.
"Which means... this is Hell?"
"Hmph..."
At that moment, a cold snort echoed from behind him.
Yuji turned around and saw, within the crimson river behind him, countless bones piled up.
There were human skeletons, and those of animals—these ghastly remains were heaped together, forming a hill of white bones.
At the summit of that bony hill stood a throne also made of bones.
Seated upon that throne of bones... was himself.
No—more precisely, it was Sukuna, who shared his appearance.
"Sukuna, so you're dead too," Yuji lips curled into a smile, though whether it was bitter or mocking was hard to tell.
"Well, I guess that's fine. At least when I died, I took away three of your fingers' worth of power. I suppose that counts as some tiny contribution to the world."
"Heh... Even if you're dead, I am not," Sukuna said arrogantly from his lofty seat.
"Seventeen of my fingers are still out there. At most, I've lost only three-twentieths of my power."
"Besides, you're not dead yet."
"Not dead?" Yuji glanced around.
"Isn't this Hell?"
"This is the Innate Domain of my inner world," Sukuna said coolly.
"Your soul, just before dying, was dragged in by me. So for now, you still live."
"Tch... Doing unnecessary things again."
Upon hearing that he wasn't actually dead and that this wasn't Hell, Yuji expression immediately dimmed again.
"Let me out. I don't want to live anymore."
Seeing Yuji in such a state, completely devoid of the will to go on, Sukuna fingers tapped impatiently on the throne's armrest, his face flashing with irritation.
If it were possible, he wouldn't want to care about this brat at all.
But he had been sealed for over a thousand years, and finally got this rare opportunity to take on flesh. If this kid really died, who knew how long it would be before he'd see the light of day again?
Sure, being trapped in Yuji body was no great joy. But compared to another millennium of stagnation, it was certainly the better option.
Thinking this, Sukuna forced himself to be patient. He jumped down from his throne and walked over to Yuji.
"You're pathetic," Sukuna sneered.
"Just one betrayal, and you've lost all will to live? Just because you got a friend killed, now you think you deserve death?"
Yuji remained silent.
"Heh... Things like that—you should've been prepared for them before becoming a Jujutsu Sorcerer," Sukuna continued.
"Or were you treating it like child's play when you chose this path?"
Still, Yuji said nothing.
"Your friends, the other sorcerers you know... they've all made peace with the idea of sacrificing themselves for humanity," Sukuna said with scorn.
"But you? Look at yourself. Making a mistake because of your naivety, then choosing to run away—choosing death over responsibility. Compared to them, you don't deserve to be called a sorcerer!"
"I..."
Yuji clenched his fists, wanting to argue—but no words came out.
In the end, he could only bow his head in shame.
Because Sukuna was right.
Even though he didn't want to admit it, he was just running away.
Running from his mission, running from the responsibility of killing Tokisaki Kurumi.
The thought that such things would happen again and again in the future, the sheer weight of it—it crushed him. That's why he wanted to die and be done with it.
"Unbelievable, Yuji Itadori," Sukuna said in exasperation.
"Your teacher placed great expectations on you.
Your grandfather gave you his heartfelt blessing.
Your comrades placed their trust and friendship in you.
And this... is how you repay all of them?
By dying like some coward?"
As he spoke, he grabbed Yuji by the collar and lifted him up.
"If you're still a man, then hand over control of your body to me! Let me restore your heart!" Sukuna shouted.
"Then—bear your sins and responsibilities, and live on!"
"Heh... Hearing that from the guy who ripped my heart out two weeks ago is really something," Yuji said with a twisted, bitter expression.
His face was full of inner conflict and torment—but soon, that twisted expression gave way to darkness.
"You're only saying all this because you don't want to go back to being sealed, right?"
Seeing that Yuji was still stubbornly unmoved, Sukuna ground his teeth in frustration.
To be honest, he had no idea how else to motivate this brat.
As the King of Curses, he had never spoken so many inspirational words in his entire life.
Sukuna gave up on forcing it.
He tossed Yuji to the ground, let out a sigh, and waved his hand.
In the next moment, Yuji consciousness was forcibly ejected from Sukuna Innate Domain, returning to his dying physical body.
"Yuji!"
Just as Yuji awareness was about to sink into darkness, he heard someone calling his name from afar.
Who... was that?
Yuji struggled to lift his heavy eyelids.
In his blurry vision, two figures gradually came into view.
"It's... those two?"
Seeing Choso and Eso running desperately toward him, Yuji felt a jolt of surprise in his heart.
Could it be... they didn't betray me?
And Blood-Paint didn't seem to be with them either. That meant they hadn't gone looking for Blood-Paint?
Tokisaki Kurumi... she might still be alive?
In that instant, a flicker of hope to live again ignited in Yuji heart.
And as he willingly handed control of his body to Sukuna, black markings once again surfaced on his skin—and his heart began to regenerate.
In just a few breaths, Choso arrived at Yuji side and gently helped him up.
"I'm truly sorry—for running away just now. But this time, we won't leave you behind again."
Choso and Eso stood protectively in front of Yuji, warily watching the surroundings.
"The three of us, as brothers—let's defeat this nightmare together!"