Chapter Forty-Two: The Supreme King… Gojo Satoru Arrives!
『RYON』
Enjoy~~~
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The chaotic world of Domain Expansion began to fade.
The massive bone pillars of the Malevolent Shrine collapsed and turned into black dust that scattered into the wind, while Ren's domain gradually disappeared, leaving behind Tokyo's sky, heavy with gray clouds.
Reality reasserted itself over the juvenile detention center—or what remained of it. Amid piles of rubble and twisted metal, Zenin Ren stood, letting out a breath of relief, while Ryomen Sukuna knelt on one knee before him, smoke rising from his scorched body.
Despite Ren's body screaming in pain, he showed no weakness. His single remaining eye was fixed on the King of Curses with extreme caution, his cursed aura still active, forming an invisible shield around him in case of any treacherous move.
Ren smiled—a smile that carried a mix of exhaustion and arrogance.
"Sukuna… you lost."
The words came out cold and decisive, like the verdict of a judge that accepts no appeal.
Sukuna slowly raised his head. There was no anger in his eyes—only something far more unsettling: enjoyment. He wiped the blood from his lips and grinned widely, exposing his fangs.
"Lost? Perhaps…" Sukuna said hoarsely as he slowly stood, ignoring his wounds. "But I'm glad you didn't die, brat. You've proven yourself worthy of interest. Soon, when I recover my full power… you'll be the main dish at my banquet."
Ren narrowed his eyes briefly, then let out a light sigh and shook his head, lowering part of his guard after seeing Sukuna's temporary submission.
"I'll look forward to that day. But for now… don't forget your promise."
Ren gestured toward Yuji (Sukuna's current body). "The spiritual contract between us is still in effect. I defeated you, and now you must pay the price. Heal that body."
Sukuna chuckled softly and closed his four eyes. Reverse cursed energy began to flow through Itadori Yuji's body, rebuilding torn flesh and shattered bones. At the same time, the distinctive black markings of the King of Curses slowly began to fade.
Ren watched the process like a hawk until the last marking disappeared. Only then did he allow himself to relax.
"It's over…" Ren whispered to himself.
Shwoooosh—
The cursed energy aura around him vanished, and the immense pressure of the "Shrine of the Fallen Sun" disappeared. The moment the domain faded, the external support that had been holding Ren's body together vanished as well.
"Kuh… kuh!"
Ren suddenly dropped to his knees and spat out a large amount of blood. It felt as if his insides were being torn apart. Combining Sun Breathing with cursed energy, and using Domain Expansion for the first time, had placed an enormous burden on a human body—even one that had been reinforced.
Activating Domain Expansion had created a disturbance in the seal placed on him, temporarily granting him double the amount of normal cursed energy.
Now, without the protection of the domain, and without the doubled cursed energy flow, Ren was once again just an exhausted, wounded, nearly dead person.
He would not have ended up like this if Sukuna had not used Domain Expansion; perhaps he would have won easily.
If there had been no seal on his full power and cursed technique, he could have trained in Domain Expansion long ago.
Ren sighed and decided this was not the time to think or complain.
He raised his head with difficulty and looked toward Yuji, expecting to see his friend regaining consciousness.
"Yuji… are you o—"
The words froze in his throat.
Before his eyes did not stand a confused Itadori Yuji.
"He" was standing there again.
The markings had not disappeared completely. They lay dormant beneath the skin—and now they resurfaced, glowing with even darker malice. Sukuna's smile was no longer mocking; it was purely demonic.
"You're truly naive…" Sukuna said, his voice dripping with venom.
Before Ren could process what was happening, Sukuna moved.
Bam!
A swift, direct kick to Ren's jaw. Ren didn't even see it. His body flew like a broken doll through the rubble, slamming into a concrete wall before crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust.
"Ghh…" Ren tried to rise, but his limbs wouldn't respond. Blood covered his face, and the vision in his remaining eye began to blur.
Sukuna appeared before him in an instant, walking slowly and confidently, like a king inspecting subjects sentenced to death.
"Did you really think fighting the King of Curses ends the moment you declare victory?" Sukuna mocked as he looked down at Ren. "In the world of curses, a battle only ends with one side's death… or its surrender to fate."
Sukuna stopped and bent down, gripping Ren's broken jaw with his powerful hand and lifting his face to stare directly into his dull emerald eyes.
"You won the battle, boy… that's true. You forced me to use Reverse Cursed Technique." Sukuna leaned in until their noses nearly touched. "But I won the war. And now, you'll watch your friends die… one by one… using this body of yours!"
Ren's eyes widened in shock. "W-what…?"
Sukuna laughed and straightened up. With a brutal, swift motion, he raised his left hand and bit down with his sharp fangs, tearing off his own index finger!
Blood sprayed, but Sukuna didn't even blink. He grabbed the severed finger, pulsing with terrifying cursed energy, and approached Ren again.
"Open your mouth…" Sukuna ordered.
Ren tried to keep his mouth shut, a final desperate resistance. "I won't… eat… this disgusting thing…" he muttered weakly, blood seeping between his lips. "You have… a spiritual contract… you can't—"
"The spiritual contract?" Sukuna interrupted with a mad laugh. "Ah, that thing. It's absolute, yes—but it's bound by the terms we agreed on. I healed that brat's body, didn't I? The contract didn't forbid me from finding a new vessel… nor did it forbid me from killing you!"
Sukuna waved his free hand.
Slash!
An invisible blade severed the muscles at the side of Ren's jaw. His lower jaw dropped grotesquely, completely immobile.
"Now… be obedient."
Sukuna forced the cursed finger down Ren's throat and made him swallow it.
Ren choked and tried to cough, but the finger's cursed energy had already begun spreading through his body. His cursed energy was replenished, and it felt as if his soul itself was burning.
Sukuna (in Yuji's body) stepped back and closed his eyes.
"Come on… wake up."
One second. Two seconds.
Suddenly, Ren's body convulsed violently on the ground. A silent scream escaped his open mouth. Black lines began appearing on his face, stretching from his eyes to his temples, and from his jaw down his neck.
Ren opened his eyes.
They were no longer clear emerald.
They were crimson red—the eyes of the King of Curses himself.
Meanwhile, Yuji's body collapsed to the ground, unconscious, then slowly began to regain awareness. Yuji opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. The markings had vanished from his body.
Yuji looked ahead and saw Ren standing there.
But it wasn't Ren.
"Ren" smiled, raised his hand to wipe the blood from his face, and laughed—a deep, evil, all-too-familiar laugh.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Sukuna's voice echoed from Ren's throat.
"It worked! This body… it's far better than I expected! That immense energy… those mysterious techniques… that unique Domain Expansion… all of it is now mine!"
Yuji's eyes widened in horror. "Ren…? Sukuna?!"
Sukuna (in Ren's body) looked at Yuji with a terrifying smile. "Start praying, brat… because your friend has now become the new King of Curses!"
"Noooo!" Yuji screamed and rushed at Sukuna with a fist charged with rage and despair.
Sukuna didn't move. He simply raised his hand (Ren's hand) and caught Yuji's punch.
"Weak," Sukuna said.
In an instant, Sukuna's hand glowed with a faint green light. He used Reverse Cursed Technique. The wounds on Ren's body began to heal at an insane speed. The shattered jaw returned to its place, and the missing eye regenerated.
"Oh right… let me heal that finger of yours too," Sukuna said, regenerating Yuji's severed finger.
Then Sukuna gently pushed Yuji back—but the overwhelming physical strength of Ren's body sent Yuji flying several meters away.
"The power of this body… incredible!" Sukuna admired his fist. "With this physical strength, and my techniques… it seems fitting to make you my first victim in this new era."
Sukuna raised his hands and began forming the domain hand sign once more.
"Ryōiki—"
But before he could finish, he froze.
He felt an immense pressure descending from the sky. A pressure he had not felt in a thousand years. A presence equal to—perhaps even greater than—his own.
Sukuna looked up.
Atop a collapsed wall stood a tall man with white hair fluttering in the wind. His black blindfold had been removed, revealing a pair of heavenly blue eyes that seemed to contain the entire universe.
Gojo Satoru.
He wasn't smiling. His eyes were cold, filled with endless, restrained anger.
Whoosh!
In less than a blink, Gojo was standing directly behind Sukuna (Ren).
"What happened here, Sukuna?" Gojo whispered calmly, yet his voice carried lethal intent. "Couldn't defeat my student, so you ran like a frightened rat and hid inside his body?"
Sukuna's eyes widened as he spun at impossible speed, delivering a devastating backward kick aimed at Gojo's head. The kick was so powerful it created a small tornado that shattered the ground beneath them.
But Gojo wasn't there. He had simply ducked, evaded the kick, and grabbed Sukuna's ankle with his bare hand.
"Hoooh…" Gojo whistled in admiration, seriousness still in his eyes. "That physical strength… it's not human. Ren's body has evolved in a terrifying way."
At the same time, Sukuna thought, "Fast! And that 'Limitless' surrounding him… annoying. But with this body, if I can activate Ren's domain and merge it with mine… I'll tear him apart."
Sukuna tried to pull his leg free, but Gojo's grip was like iron.
"You know, Sukuna…" Gojo said as he stared directly into the eyes of his possessed student. "You made a fatal mistake. Taking over Ren's body… might be the worst decision you've ever made in your miserable life."
"I'll kill you first… then I'll think about Ren later!" Satoru said coldly, murderous intent overflowing.
But suddenly, an image flashed through Gojo's mind. An old, blurry memory from his childhood. He saw a figure with indistinct features, smiling gently at him and saying:
"Satoru… one day, you'll face great evil. When that happens… don't hesitate. Use all your power."
Gojo returned to reality and looked at Ren's tattooed face. A mysterious smile formed on his lips.
"Hmmm… I think I understand now."
A chill ran through Sukuna—not fear, but instinctive caution. "What do you understand, bastard? Do you think you can kill me without killing this brat?"
"Who knows?" Gojo replied casually, tightening his grip and throwing Sukuna into the air like a rag doll.
Sukuna soared upward and regained his balance midair. "I'll kill you, Gojo Satoru! I'll kill you and drown this world in blood!"
Sukuna roared, gathering cursed energy for a devastating attack. But suddenly—
He stopped.
His hand began to tremble. The black markings on his face started to shrink and expand erratically.
"What… is this?" Sukuna muttered in shock. "This brat… is he resisting? No… he's unconscious… then what is—?"
Sukuna felt something pressing against him from within. Not Ren's soul—but something deeper. The King of Curses had not expected Ren to possess enough power to suppress him this quickly.
"Tsk! Damn you… Ren Zenin."
Sukuna lost control of the body. His eyes rolled back, and he fell from the sky like a stone.
Baf!
He didn't hit the ground. Gojo caught him before he touched the earth and casually slung him over his shoulder.
Ren was completely unconscious, the markings gone, his natural face returned—pale and exhausted, but free of any malice.
"This is going to be really troublesome…" Gojo sighed as he looked up at the sky, recalling those cryptic words once more.
"Gojo-sensei!"
Yuji came running, his face filled with tears and terror. "Ren! Is he… is Sukuna…?"
Yuji jumped, trying to hug Gojo (and Ren), but Gojo sidestepped, causing Yuji to fall face-first into the mud.
"I'm not interested in hugging men, Yuji-kun," Gojo said with his usual irritating smile.
Yuji stood up, wiped his face and tears, and looked anxiously at Ren on Gojo's shoulder. "Sensei… what are we going to do now? Sukuna is inside him… and Ren…"
Gojo looked at his sleeping student, then at Yuji. His smile widened, filled with confidence and challenge.
"Don't worry, Yuji."
Gojo adjusted Ren's position on his shoulder and began walking away from the devastated battlefield.
"What we're going to do now… is something very fun! It seems my students are full of surprises."
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End of Chapter 42
My passion is back… 8 comments and I'll post an extra chapter today!
Next chapter: The Death Sentence… and the Fate of the New Vessel!