Inside Sukuna's Innate Domain, he sat atop a high pile of bones, legs crossed, resting his head on one hand.
He looked at his other palm; only now did he realize exactly what Fushiguro Shin had poured onto his body back then.
If he wasn't mistaken, that strange liquid should be the special fluid of 'The Bath.'
But Sukuna couldn't understand why Fushiguro Shin could summon such a thing.
Furthermore, it was very strange why 'The Bath' summoned by Fushiguro Shin would have the opposite effect on him.
Normally, 'The Bath' is a method to bring an object closer to the 'demonic,' and it should have caused the soul of Itadori, whose body was occupied, to sink further.
There was no reason for him, the King of Curses, to sink because of 'The Bath.'
Sukuna finally concluded that it was indeed an issue with Fushiguro Shin's strange Domain.
Including that punch Fushiguro Shin threw earlier, there was clearly something very wrong with it.
Sukuna felt that if Fushiguro Shin could have landed such a blow before, there was no reason for him to use Black Flash for a strike intended to kill him when they first met.
Sukuna muttered to himself, "Despite having a Reverse Heavenly Restriction, he can explode with massive Cursed Energy and even use a Domain. If that punch was also an effect of the Domain, then it seems he hasn't even shown his Cursed Technique yet. Fushiguro Shin, you truly are fascinating~"
Sukuna continued to mutter, his mind filled with the way Fushiguro Shin had looked at him like trash, and the disdain and disgust he felt. His lips curled up unconsciously.
[Sukuna's Favorability increased to 17, gained 500 EXP.]
Itadori's voice rang out within the Domain.
"Hey, you! Where is this place?!"
Sukuna glanced at Itadori below. Compared to Fushiguro Shin, Itadori was far too boring.
"So you're here too. It seems the effects of 'The Bath' have affected you more or less as well."
"Don't say things I can't understand! Let me out of here, now!"
A cunning expression appeared on Sukuna's face.
"Let's make a deal. If you agree to two conditions, I'll let you out."
...A certain memory of Fushiguro Shin.
Toji looked at Megumi, who was crying in his mother's arms, then glanced at Shin, who was also watching Megumi from the side.
This confirmed that, as expected, Shin was the only brat who wouldn't cry.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Shin grabbed Toji's finger with his small hand, looked at Toji, and said in a childish voice, "Megumi is my younger brother, and I'm the big brother, so I'll protect Megumi!"
Toji's mouth hung open, and many thoughts flashed through his mind for a moment.
Such as, in the world of Jujutsu, protection might not be so simple. Why could such words come out of Shin's mouth? Was he really only a one-year-old? Was being precocious really this exaggerated?
Finally, Toji laughed self-deprecatingly. What was he doing, talking about this with a one-year-old?
Finally, Toji patted Shin's head and said, "Then I'll leave it to you."
Shin also nodded his little head and replied seriously.
"Mhm."
Toji had also suspected whether Shin was possessed by some curse, but he found no problems.
One could even say that since Shin possessed the same Heaven and Curse as himself, his innate resistance to Cursed Energy meant that ordinary curses couldn't harm him at all.
If it wasn't for Megumi's appearance, Toji might have even felt that raising a child wasn't that difficult.
After all, the strength brought by the Heaven and Curse allowed one-year-old Shin to already take care of himself.
.....
...Fushiguro Shin was a bit disgusted by the inexplicable increase in Sukuna's favorability.
He just felt that trash had something wrong with him. Just thinking about Sukuna's self-inflicted favorability boost made him feel nauseous.
Fushiguro Shin threw two bottles of water he bought from the vending machine to Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki respectively.
"Why are you guys being so negative? It's not your fault Itadori hasn't woken up."
Fushiguro Shin felt that if he really looked into it, compared to the original reason of Itadori falling into a slumber because Sukuna ripped out his heart, although the specific reason for Itadori's slumber this time was unclear, it was likely related to him.
Nobara Kugisaki toyed with the water bottle and said dejectedly, "That's true, but I just feel like I was completely useless."
Megumi Fushiguro also echoed, "Agreed."
Fushiguro Shin comforted them, "That was a Special Grade Cursed Spirit, after all. It was beyond what you could handle. Being able to leave unscathed is already a stroke of luck."
Nobara Kugisaki stared at Fushiguro Shin and complained, "Shin, you're so sly. You're clearly so strong, but you never show it normally."
Fushiguro Shin shook his head with a smile and defended himself.
"But normally, I don't need to use it, do I?"
Megumi Fushiguro also helped his brother out, "He's always been very low-key. If it weren't for him this time, I don't know how things would have turned out. I definitely couldn't have done as well as he did..."
Megumi Fushiguro spoke, and he couldn't help but remember his cowardice when facing the Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
Fushiguro Shin patted Megumi Fushiguro's shoulder and sat down beside him.
"Actually, Megumi, you can completely handle enemies of that level; you just need a little more time to adapt and control your power."
Megumi Fushiguro knew that Fushiguro Shin was referring to the Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga.
He also knew that if he summoned Mahoraga, he should be able to kill that Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
It was just that Megumi Fushiguro wasn't confident in handling things after the Cursed Spirit was eliminated.
"Mhm."
Watching them, Nobara Kugisaki could feel the warmth of an older brother caring for his younger brother, but she felt like she shouldn't stay there.
They were waiting for Satoru Gojo, who had gone to check on the situation with Itadori.
Coincidentally, at this moment, the three Second-years also arrived.
Maki Zenin was about to speak and lecture them on their negative attitudes, but Satoru Gojo appeared before Fushiguro Shin and the others first.
"Shin, let me see a bit of how you subdued the Sukuna who killed the Special Grade Cursed Spirit."
Hearing Satoru Gojo's statement, Panda, Inumaki, and Maki were all stunned. Although they had heard that the four first-years had just gone on a mission and someone had an issue, they didn't know the details.
Maki Zenin had the biggest reaction. After all, she possessed a similar Reverse Heavenly Restriction and had always considered Shin one of her own.
It was truly hard to believe that Shin was actually so much stronger than her!
"What? Shin, you can handle a Special Grade?!"
"Is that true, Gojo-sensei?"
Fushiguro Shin was dissatisfied with Satoru Gojo making this information public in front of so many people and said decisively.
"I refuse."
Satoru Gojo said with a smile.
"Refusal is invalid. This isn't a request, it's an order!"
...
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