Domain Expansion. Constructing an illusory barrier using cursed energy and imbuing one's innate technique into this barrier.
Enemies within the Domain are subjected to "sure-hit" and "sure-kill" effects.
Among all registered modern sorcerers—excluding Yuji and Kenjaku—only four sorcerers have mastered this "ultimate technique," including three Special Grade sorcerers.
Because constructing the barrier and imbuing the technique for Domain Expansion consumes a massive amount of cursed energy, the originally cursed-energy-deficient Yuji couldn't use it. However, with the cursed energy given to him by Sukuna, this problem was finally resolved.
"..."
The interior of Jogo's Domain looked like purgatory. The surroundings were composed of enclosed brownish volcanic rock. The surface of the rock was covered in irregular, curved patterns, with magma flowing continuously.
The shrine behind Yuji was completely enveloped by Jogo's Domain. The vermilion torii gates stood in the center of the magma, illuminated brightly.
When two sorcerers expand their Domains simultaneously, the "sure-hit effects" within the barrier cancel each other out, creating a stalemate.
Just like now.
"...Is this Sukuna's Domain?"
"You brat—you can actually even use Sukuna's Innate Domain?!"
Jogo originally thought it could gain an advantage in terms of Domains because, according to Kenjaku, this brat had only been in contact with jujutsu for about five days. It was absolutely impossible for him to learn a top-tier skill like Domain Expansion.
Could it be because he's influenced by Sukuna's cursed energy? But even if this brat has Sukuna's cursed energy, constructing a Domain still requires a foundation in barrier techniques, doesn't it?
...Regardless, Kenjaku, you fucking lied to me again.
Jogo gritted its teeth. It felt its Domain and Yuji's Domain engaging in a "tug-of-war."
The "sure-hit effects" of both sides canceled each other out, creating a temporary stalemate.
And since it couldn't win in terms of Domains, it meant everything was back to square one.
Jogo needed to inflict heavy damage on Yuji within the Domain to win this battle. But...
This was too difficult!
Cold sweat broke out on Jogo's face. It raised its hand and pointed at Yuji again. Countless Ember Insects flew toward the pink-haired boy, and small volcanoes bulged from the pitch-black rock walls once more.
"...You should know by now that this won't work on me, right?"
The corners of Yuji's mouth curled up slightly.
"Using the same trick over and over again. Even I'm getting bored."
He was now certain that even with the cursed energy of just one finger, he could completely overpower Jogo—who had the strength of eight or nine of Sukuna's fingers.
Swarms of mosquito-like insects lunged at Yuji. The latter sighed softly, slowly raised his right hand, and swiped outward.
"Dismantle."
BOOM—!
The swarms exploded before they could even get close to Yuji. The flames spewing from the small craters were even cleaved apart by the invisible slashes released by the boy.
"Damn it..."
Seeing this, Jogo wanted to increase its cursed energy output. But what it didn't know was...
Malevolent Shrine, unlike ordinary enclosed Innate Domains, didn't require a barrier as an outer shell. It was a divine technique akin to painting directly on the sky without a canvas.
Indeed, within the barrier of Coffin of the Iron Mountain, Jogo and Yuji's "sure-hit effects" were in a stalemate.
But the effect of Coffin of the Iron Mountain couldn't reach outside the barrier—while Malevolent Shrine, being an open-barrier Domain, could continuously use Dismantle and Cleave to attack the outer shell of the Coffin of the Iron Mountain barrier during this time.
The maximum range of the "sure-hit effect" was a 200-meter radius. To prevent catching the surrounding students in the crossfire, Yuji adjusted the barrier's range to within a 50-meter radius.
Crack—
And at this moment, what Jogo inside the barrier didn't know was that the outer shell of its Domain was gradually failing to withstand the pressure from the outside. Cracks spread from above in all directions until they covered the entire barrier.
BANG—!
"...What?"
Under Jogo's shocked gaze, its Domain shattered at the sound. Sparse fragments of the barrier's outer shell scattered in mid-air like broken glass—and were then sliced into even finer powder by the slashes of Malevolent Shrine.
SQUISH!
The moment the Domain shattered, dense, fine cuts began to appear on Jogo's body.
At the same time, Yuji opened his palm, five fingers naturally extended. A fluid-like mass of flames appeared in his palm.
"Open."
After using a Domain, the innate technique experiences a brief "technique burnout"—just like an overheated generator needing to cool down. At this moment, Jogo could no longer mobilize its own technique and could only use cursed energy for simple defense.
Realizing this, Yuji used this technique of Ryomen Sukuna's—crowned with the title "Flames of Certain Death."
The boy raised his hands, making the gesture of drawing a bow and releasing an arrow. The ground—which had already been leveled by Malevolent Shrine—was ignited by raging flames once again.
"..."
The dancing firelight caught the curse's eyes. At this moment, Jogo actually closed its eyes subconsciously.
The Domain was shattered. It had suffered a complete defeat against Yuji Itadori in this Domain battle.
It had already lost.
Is this... my end...
Jogo's mind was unusually clear at this moment. It understood.
Currently experiencing technique burnout and within the opponent's Domain, it had absolutely no chance of survival. Therefore, Jogo had completely given up on any pointless struggle.
How embarrassing... To actually lose to a brat like this... But even if I could make it back alive, I wouldn't know how to face Hanami and the others...
I'm sorry, Hanami, Mahito, Dagon. I've let you down...
Yuji Itadori is simply too strong. I even feel like he hasn't used his full strength yet...
You guys have to live on... and continue fulfilling our grand ideal... As for me... I'll have to leave this world before you...
Goodbye... everyone...
The fire arrow in Yuji's palm was released. The ground left a charred trail where the flaming arrow passed as it shot straight toward Jogo.
"Open" wasn't particularly fast, but relying on the dust created by the slashes, its range could cover Yuji's entire Domain.
And just as Jogo had closed its eyes to accept its fate—
A white shadow suddenly rushed into Yuji's Domain and stood in front of Jogo—
BOOM—!
"...?"
The sky-filling flames exploded in front of Jogo, but the volcano-headed curse only felt the approaching intense heat. The severe pain didn't reach its nerves. It opened its eyes in confusion, only to find a completely pale curse spreading its arms, standing in front of it.
"...Hanami?!"
"Hiss—Urgh..."
Hanami's wail rang out as the soaring flames completely enveloped its body. However, this curse spontaneously exhausted its last bit of cursed energy to condense a wall made of countless intertwined tree roots, separating Jogo from the flames behind it.
"Why..."
Jogo's eyes widened.
"Why are you here? I should have let you escape! Judging by the time, you should be far away from Jujutsu High by now!"
"Why on earth would you..."
"Jogo, listen to me... You are stronger than me. Much stronger than the three of us combined."
Hanami's back was already starting to melt under the intense heat. The tree roots shielding Jogo were gradually turning into charcoal. But this curse stubbornly squeezed out the last ounce of cursed energy in its body, continuously sprouting new plants from the ground to firmly separate Jogo from the crimson flames.
"And I am the weakest among us."
"You are undoubtedly more capable of realizing our ideals as curses than I am."
"I didn't want to just run away like that. Because I was worried about you, I turned back and stayed nearby—recovering my cursed energy while secretly observing."
"Besides, it's clearly because you transferred too much cursed energy to me earlier... that your own cursed energy is near depletion now, right? Mahito says you're... hot-tempered... but I know... deep down, you care more about the safety of us companions than anyone else..."
Hanami's voice was gradually weakening. Its entire body was engulfed by the raging flames.
"You and Mahito, and Dagon... you all must live on well..."
"Go quickly... the time I can buy for you is too short... Take our ideals with you... Jogo..."
"We promised... to become the new humans together..."
After saying this, half of Hanami's body had already melted. But even speaking these words in such a ghastly state, it still made Jogo feel a pang in its nose.
Even though curses are born from humanity's negative emotions, they also possess human-like emotions.
"Hanami, you—!"
"We will meet again... in the wasteland a hundred years from now..."
The moment Hanami's words fell, the ground began to tremble.
As if some behemoth was about to burst from the earth, countless thick tree roots and plants shot up from the ground. These roots were thicker than any he had seen before, their surfaces covered in dense spikes.
The plant roots grew wildly like living creatures until they almost pierced the sky. However, they didn't attack Yuji. Instead, they began to intertwine and overlap around the pink-haired boy, building a massive cage around him from all directions.
"...?"
Yuji frowned slightly.
Against an attack of this level, Malevolent Shrine should have been able to slice them into pieces instantly.
But just as this thought arose in his mind, he realized that the dense slashes inflicted by the Domain did indeed cause some damage to these plant roots—but the cuts were very shallow.
Within a few short seconds, these wildly growing tree roots had closed above his head. The sky-blotting branches and leaves completely blocked the last rays of the setting sun. From the outside, Yuji looked as if he had been sealed inside a millennium-old tree.
...This isn't normal.
Relying on his rich combat experience, Yuji quickly understood the reason.
This guy... can actually go this far...?
I see. Is it a Binding Vow?
Burning all of its life force as the price—exchanging it for a brief burst of 300%... or even more of the technique's effect. But such an action was like a moth darting into a flame. Hanami wouldn't even need to wait for the damage from "Open" to heavily injure it—it would die immediately on its own.
Having figured this out, Yuji increased his cursed energy output efficiency.
Crack—
Following a crisp sound, the giant tree trapping Yuji in the center was sliced into countless pieces. However, before the sky full of wood chips and debris could fall from mid-air, they turned into ash due to the caster's death.
Yuji followed the cursed energy trajectory and looked forward. The afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto the ground, dyeing everything golden-red.
Hanami was kneeling with its back to him under the setting sun, head bowed. Its body—which had completely turned to charcoal—was burning fiercely.
And Jogo's cursed energy had completely disappeared from Yuji's perception range.
Hanami clearly felt its body dissipating.
Its consciousness gradually blurred. On its deathbed, it felt the surrounding scenery distorting and blurring like a water-soaked painting.
"..."
When Hanami came back to its senses, it found itself standing in a pure white space.
It looked around in surprise for a moment, then realized Yuji was standing behind it.
The pink-haired boy's expression was very calm. The way he looked at it wasn't like looking at an "enemy."
"A cursed spirit actually has the resolve to sacrifice itself for a companion?"
Yuji asked.
"...?"
Hanami was stunned by this question. Curses are born from humanity's negative emotions, so they have the ability to sense malice.
Hanami looked at Yuji's amber eyes. Those eyes were incredibly clear—containing no mockery, no contempt, and not even hostility.
"In my understanding, curses are born from humanity's negative emotions. They are pure evil—and existences that should be exorcised."
"But just now, when you saved Jogo, I saw something in you that is the same as humans."
"Bonds."
"Friendship."
"These are all things I thought could never appear in curses."
"..."
Hanami was silent for a while, then slowly spoke. "Every curse among us has its own name: Hanami, Jogo, Dagon, Mahito... Like humans, we also have our own emotions."
Hearing this, Yuji continued.
"Because you want to become humans?"
"..."
"Ah, to be precise—you want to replace humans. Take our place, right?"
Regarding this point, Yuji could also glean a thing or two from what Mahito had told him in his past life.
"...That's right."
Hanami nodded.
"This is our mission. So you must exorcise us, and we must kill you."
"There is no possibility of reconciliation between us. No room for coexistence. It's either you die, or we perish."
Hearing this, Yuji suddenly revealed a smile.
"Ah. Indeed."
The smile on the pink-haired boy's face, like his amber eyes, carried not the slightest hint of contempt or hostility.
"Although we stand on different sides, I think what you did just now was right."
"...What did you say?"
Hanami was stunned.
"I said—your action of saving your companion was right."
Yuji repeated, his tone serious.
"No matter your identity. No matter what side you stand on. Sacrificing yourself to protect someone important—this action itself is not wrong."
"I admire you, Hanami."
"...You admire me? But I'm a curse."
Hanami's body trembled slightly from excitement.
"Yes." Yuji nodded. "I think you did well. Even as a human, I have to praise you."
"..."
Hanami was silent for a while.
From its birth until now, this was the first time it had experienced the feeling of being acknowledged by a jujutsu sorcerer.
"Is that so... Thank you, Yuji Itadori."
In reality.
Hanami was still kneeling on the now-leveled ground, head bowed. Its body had almost completely burned to ashes.
Yuji stood before its corpse, hands clasped together, and bowed slightly.
It's a pity I couldn't keep that guy named Jogo here...
Ah well... But managing to do this much should barely be considered a passing grade. I can't even imagine how much Gojo-sensei is going to brag about me when he gets back...
"For the sake of your hard work, I'll pray for you a little."
"I hope you fare well in hell. However, cursed spirits cannot reincarnate as humans. I hope you don't reincarnate again and disrupt the peace of the human world."
After saying this, the pink-haired boy turned and left.
A warm breeze blew past. Hanami's corpse completely dissipated with the wind.
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