Shion and Sukuna stood facing each other in silence, looking at one another almost like old friends.
After a long pause, Sukuna chuckled softly and sat down cross-legged.
"I used everything I had. I held nothing back."
"In the dull and meaningless thousand years behind me, I have never experienced a fight like this. This was enjoyable. Truly enjoyable."
Shion smirked slightly. "What now, are you already giving a speech? Are you about to say something dramatic like, do it, Shion, I have no regrets left?"
Sukuna suddenly raised his head and revealed a savage grin.
"What kind of joke is that?"
Boom.
Countless Cleaves filled the sky in an instant, as if he intended to tear the entire world apart.
"You think a single Purify can defeat me?"
"I am the strongest jujutsu sorcerer in history, the one honored throughout heaven and earth."
Even though he knew he had no real chance of winning anymore, Sukuna still attacked with absolute arrogance. Losing a fight was one thing. Accepting defeat was something else entirely.
How could the King of Curses kneel before anyone?
The terrifying Cleaves swept forward like a storm, yet Shion stood perfectly still, straight and calm.
"You're still refusing to give up?" Shion said quietly.
"Tch."
Sukuna snorted and formed a hand sign. "I'm not refusing to give up. I'm going to kill you."
"Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine..."
Suddenly, a sharp pain burst through his chest.
"Pfft."
Sukuna coughed violently and spat out blood. The countless Cleaves surrounding him disappeared at once.
His body began to swell and distort uncontrollably.
"Domain Expansion: Womb Profusion."
"Domain Expansion: Vajra Fallen Prison."
Two enormous Domains suddenly appeared, pressing down from the sky like mountains.
The sudden pressure forced Shion to teleport backward immediately.
At that moment, the ground beneath Sukuna shattered, and a monk crawled out from below and placed both hands on his body.
Shion's eyes narrowed.
Even though the monk's face was unfamiliar, the stitches across his forehead made his identity obvious.
"Kenjaku."
Both Shion and Sukuna spoke the name at the same time.
Kenjaku laughed loudly.
"Shion, I truly need to thank you. If you hadn't drained nearly ninety percent of Sukuna's cursed energy, I wouldn't have been able to take his body."
"Take his body?" Sukuna's eyes widened in rage. "Kenjaku, you dare?"
Kenjaku's expression turned cruel. "I have wanted this perfect body for a thousand years."
"Sukuna, you've already fulfilled your purpose. Now you can disappear."
"Cursed Womb: Daiten, release."
"Eight Empty Zen Vajra Demon-Subduing Mudra, open."
A blinding light burst into the sky, illuminating the entire battlefield. Kenjaku laughed like a madman while Sukuna's voice slowly faded.
Finally, Sukuna lowered his head. His eyes became empty.
Then Kenjaku activated Idle Transfiguration.
His body began to stretch and expand like soft clay, wrapping around Sukuna and slowly merging with him.
In only a moment, a completely new body was formed.
Four arms. Two faces. A mouth on the abdomen.
But the main face was neither Sukuna's nor the monk's.
Instead, it was the face of a handsome man with long hair that reached his shoulders.
"Hahaha..."
Kenjaku laughed uncontrollably. "At last. I finally have it. The perfect body."
He turned and looked directly at Shion.
"I never expected someone capable of defeating Sukuna to appear in this era. That part surprised me the most."
He smiled coldly.
"It's a pity I already tampered with Sukuna's incarnation long ago. Otherwise, I might have tried taking your body instead."
Shion snorted. "I'll pass."
"I don't like the idea of someone else living inside me."
Kenjaku tilted his head slightly, curious.
"Why do you look completely calm? Aren't you surprised that I took Sukuna's body?"
Shion shrugged.
"I didn't predict it exactly. But it was one of the possibilities I considered."
"Sukuna was never something you could control. Even if you wanted to use him against me, you would still have to get rid of him afterward."
"You gave him the fingers. You created the incarnation. It's obvious you would prepare a way to deal with him."
Kenjaku laughed again. "I'm starting to like you more and more, Shion."
"You're completely right. With Sukuna's personality, he would eventually become my enemy. That's why I prepared for this long ago."
Then he looked at Shion seriously.
"Do you want to hear the full story? It's quite interesting. It even involves Sukuna's origin."
Shion sat down on the ground casually and gestured toward him.
"Go ahead. I'm listening."
It wasn't that Shion was truly interested. After the long battle, his cursed energy was almost completely exhausted.
Even with the Six Eyes reducing energy consumption to almost zero, using Maximum Technique: Hollow and Maximum Technique: Purify still consumed an enormous amount.
Kenjaku was in the same situation. The body he had just taken was also nearly empty.
Neither of them said it directly, but both needed time to recover.
Kenjaku looked up at the night sky, and memories from a thousand years ago slowly surfaced.
"The body I used to revive Sukuna was called Daiten. But in truth, it wasn't perfect. It was only a replica."
"The truly perfect vessel is actually Itadori Yuji. More accurately, Yuji's body itself."
"When Yuji was born, he was just an ordinary human. But I replaced his body at the moment of birth. Only in that chaotic moment can a body be changed."
"That body is the real Daiten."
Kenjaku looked back at Shion and smiled slightly.
"In fact, you and Sukuna are very similar. You are both the older brothers of twins."
Shion raised an eyebrow. "Twins?"
"That's right. Sukuna is a twin. And his real name isn't Sukuna. It was Datten."
Kenjaku laughed quietly.
"But unlike you and your brother, the twins Datten and Daiten had completely opposite personalities."
"Datten was cruel, bloodthirsty, and reckless. He only followed his instincts."
"But Daiten was the exact opposite. Calm, disciplined, and righteous. People even treated him like a saint."
"What's even more interesting is that Datten's cursed technique didn't work on Daiten at all."
"The Sukuna of that time could defeat everyone, except his own younger brother. And eventually, Daiten reached enlightenment and died in a mountain cave."
"That is why I wanted the Daiten body in the first place."
"First, twins are originally one being, so Sukuna wouldn't notice anything wrong. He would believe it was his own body."
"Second, Daiten's body could suppress Datten's soul, which would make it easier for me to take control at the right moment."
Kenjaku smiled again.
"But even after planning everything for a thousand years, I didn't expect you to notice Yuji's special nature and ruin my plan."
"So in the end, I had no choice but to use a replica."
"Still, everything worked out in the end."