"Boom—!"
The last supporting pillar in the Shibuya underground transfer hall was completely pulverized in the collision between Black Flash and violent blood!
The ancient aura erupting from Yuji Itadori's body was like a ferocious beast breaking free from thousand-year-old shackles, instantly tearing apart the massive blood sphere overhead.
A rain of blood mixed with concrete fragments poured down, turning the ruins into a true hell on earth.
Choso stared intently at the figure gasping in the rain of blood, his usually hollow and dead eyes now filled with turbulent waves of emotion.
'This aura... this resonance that can even make my soul tremble...'
Choso's body trembled uncontrollably.
It was the most primitive instinctual reaction from the depths of his lineage, the call of identical blood to one another.
But how was this possible?!
Why did this boy, the vessel for Sukuna and the enemy he intended to kill, emit an aura that only the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings possessed?
"Huff... huff..."
Yuji Itadori knelt on the ground, gasping for breath.
The puncture wound in his right shoulder continued to bleed, and the intense pain made his vision blur.
But he didn't fall.
Blue cursed energy burned stubbornly on his fists like leaping flames.
That burst just now had nearly drained all the strength from his body, but it had successfully blocked Choso's lethal strike.
"I don't care what crazy things you're saying..."
Yuji stood up with difficulty, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.
His eyes were as fierce as an injured lone wolf, locking onto Choso ahead of him.
"As long as I have one breath left, I will never let you pass!"
"Gojo-sensei is still waiting for us... everyone is fighting with their lives on the line..."
"I absolutely cannot... fall here!"
The moment he finished speaking, Yuji fiercely kicked off the ground, shattering it.
"Bang!"
He turned into a streak of blue lightning, dragging his heavily injured body to charge at Choso once again!
"Foolish!"
Seeing Yuji dare to take the initiative to attack, the shock in Choso's eyes was instantly replaced by cold killing intent.
No matter what was strange about this boy, and no matter what that blood resonance was about.
As the eldest brother, his primary mission now was to avenge his fallen comrades and complete the task assigned by Kenjaku!
"Since you seek death, I shall grant it to you!"
Choso slammed his hands together in front of him.
"Blood Manipulation: Convergence!"
"Hum—!"
The scattered blood in the vicinity was instantly compressed to a high degree, forming a dark-red, high-density blood orb between his palms.
Violent cursed energy compressed and collided frantically inside the blood orb, emitting a heart-pounding aura of destruction.
"Piercing Blood!"
"Boom!"
A condensed beam of blood, like a laser cannon piercing the heavens and earth, roared toward the charging Yuji with an ear-piercing sonic boom!
This was the most destructive single-target attack in Blood Manipulation, with speed and penetration exceeding the speed of sound!
Facing this unavoidable lethal blow, there was not the slightest retreat in Yuji's eyes.
His brain entered a state of absolute clarity and extreme focus at this moment.
All surrounding sounds vanished, and time seemed to stretch infinitely.
In his vision, only the magnifying crimson beam remained, along with his right fist gradually being enveloped in blue cursed energy.
"Black Flash!"
"Bang!"
The distortion of black space exploded on Yuji's knuckles!
This was the ultimate strike produced by a conflict of cursed energy within one-millionth of a second!
The terrifying power of the Black Flash actually split Choso's Piercing Blood in half down the middle!
The violent shockwave ravaged the surroundings, carving deep ravines into the nearby walls and floor.
"What?!"
Choso's pupils shrank.
He never imagined that this boy, who was already at his limit, could still burst forth with such terrifying power!
"Aaaaaah!"
Yuji roared, pushing through the violent air currents generated by the split Piercing Blood, and charged right in front of Choso.
That right fist, wrapped in black lightning, smashed toward Choso's face with unwavering determination!
"How naive!"
Choso was, after all, a battle-hardened Special Grade Cursed Spirit incarnated vessel.
After the initial shock, he reacted quickly.
"Blood Manipulation: Blood Blade!"
He raised his right hand, and the blood gushing from his palm instantly transformed into a sharp crimson blade, precisely blocking Yuji's fist.
"Clang—!"
Fist and blood blade collided, producing an ear-grating screech of metal on metal.
Although Yuji's Black Flash was incredibly powerful, it was at its end after consecutively breaking through Convergence and Piercing Blood.
This punch was ultimately blocked by Choso's blood blade.
"It's over."
Choso's cold voice echoed in Yuji's ear.
He swung his left hand, and a massive scythe condensed from blood slashed toward Yuji's neck with terrifying force that threatened to tear through everything!
At this moment, Yuji was in a state where his old strength was spent and his new strength had yet to form.
His body had become incredibly stiff due to overexertion, making it impossible to dodge this fatal blow.
The shadow of death completely loomed over Yuji's heart in this instant.
Was it... going to end like this?
However, at the very moment the blood scythe was about to sever Yuji's head...
An anomaly occurred!
"Hum—!"
A strange spiritual ripple suddenly exploded in Choso's mind.
Choso's movements froze.
The blood scythe, less than a centimeter from Yuji's neck, stopped dead in mid-air.
His eyes instantly lost focus, his pupils trembling violently.
Deep in his mind, vivid yet incredibly unfamiliar images flashed like a slideshow.
It was a sunny afternoon.
In a slightly worn yet warm Japanese wooden house.
On a large low table, steaming hot food was laid out.
Eso, wearing his signature revealing leather clothes, was hurriedly bringing a pot of miso soup out of the kitchen.
"Big brother! The soup is ready! Come and try it!"
Kechizu was clapping his hands excitedly like a child, drool practically running down his chin.
"It smells so good! Big brother, I'm hungry!"
And he himself, Choso, was wearing ordinary casual clothes, sitting at the head of the low table.
His face lacked its usual coldness and killing intent, replaced by a deep, doting smile.
"Eat slowly, no one is going to take it from you."
The scene was warm and harmonious—the ordinary family life he had always dreamed of.
However, what truly felt like a bolt from the blue for Choso was the person sitting opposite him.
That boy with pink hair, stuffing rice into his mouth so fast that his face was covered in grains.
"Mmph... the food Big Brother makes is just too delicious!"
The boy looked up, revealing a bright, completely unguarded smile.
That face, those clear eyes, that familiar smile...
It was none other than Yuji Itadori, the one he had pushed into a corner and almost killed with his own hands!
"This is..."
Choso's breath stopped completely.
His brain descended into unprecedented confusion and turmoil.
What was this?
What was going on?!
Why would such a scene appear in his mind?
Why, in that scene representing the softest and most desired "home" in his heart, was this boy there?!
"Big Brother, what's wrong?"
In the vision, Yuji Itadori seemed to notice his abnormality and tilted his head in confusion.
"Is the food not to your taste?"
Eso and Kechizu also stopped what they were doing, looking at him with concern.
"Big Brother?"
That cry of "Big Brother" slammed into the depths of Choso's soul like a heavy hammer.
He suddenly snapped back to reality, and the illusion instantly shattered like a bubble.
What met his eyes was still the ruined underground transfer hall and the blood-covered pink-haired boy kneeling on the ground, gasping for air.
But everything had changed.
Choso stared blankly at Yuji.
Through that mystical bloodline sensing, he once again carefully and unreservedly felt the aura within Yuji's body.
There was no mistake.
Absolutely no mistake!
That aura, that ancient power that erupted at the brink of life and death... it was completely identical to his own, Eso's, and Kechizu's Cursed Womb: Death Painting bloodlines!
Like fruit from the same tree, or branches from the same river.
It was an absolutely real blood bond that could not be faked by any means!
A shocking, world-shaking fact split through the fog in his mind like lightning.
Yuji Itadori.
This boy who was Sukuna's vessel.
This human he had always seen as an enemy.
He wasn't some ordinary high school student at all!
He was the unmentioned... tenth brother of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings!
He was the biological younger brother of Choso, Eso, and Kechizu!
"Clatter—!"
The massive scythe condensed from blood instantly collapsed, scattering into ordinary blood on the ground.
Choso retreated several large steps, as if struck by lightning.
His hollow eyes were now filled with unconcealed shock, disbelief, and... a hint of deep fear.
Fear that he had almost... almost killed his only blood-related younger brother left in this world with his own hands!
"..."
Choso reached out a trembling right hand, pointing at the kneeling Yuji, his lips quivering violently, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.
Yuji Itadori was completely baffled by Choso's sudden, bizarre behavior.
He had already prepared himself for death, even closing his eyes.
But after waiting for a while, the fatal blow never fell.
He opened his eyes with difficulty, only to see the man who had just been full of murderous intent, as if wanting to tear him to pieces, looking at him like he'd seen a ghost and even backing away.
In those eyes, the previous coldness and killing intent were gone, replaced by an extremely complex emotion that even made his skin crawl.
"You... what is wrong with you?"
Yuji warily clenched his fists, ready to respond to any possible sudden attack.
"How can this be..."
Choso ignored Yuji's defensiveness.
He clutched his head tightly, crouching on the ground in agony.
Memories that didn't exist.
A real blood resonance.
The silhouette of the demonic man pulling the strings behind the scenes gradually emerged in his mind.
Kenjaku!
It had to be him!
That bastard who created the nine of them and treated them like experimental subjects—how many more secrets had he hidden within Yuji's body?!
"Brother..."
Choso murmured to himself, his voice carrying an irrepressible tremor.
He looked up sharply, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at Yuji.
Since the truth was right before him, how should he, as the eldest brother, face this cruel reality?
Should he continue that ridiculous mission, or... give everything to protect this brother he had just recognized?
The air in the underground hall seemed to freeze at this moment.
The gears of fate had completely veered off their original track because of these non-existent memories.