"Wait… wait a minute, Itadori…!"
Seto, struggling to keep up with Itadori, was already panting heavily.
As an assistant officer, Seto wasn't truly a combatant—at best, he was half of one. Naturally, he lacked Itadori's superhuman physical capabilities.
Kenjaku passed by, aiming a single strike at the neck of the doubled-over, panting Seto. The strike killed him effortlessly, leaving no trace behind.
Meanwhile, Itadori chased "Yoshino Junpei" into the sewers, where a thick, pungent stench of blood hit him in the face.
The smell immediately put him on high alert.
He didn't stop until he saw the Cleaver lying on the ground—the one originally belonging to Nanami.
Itadori picked it up and muttered in disbelief,"This is definitely Nanamin's Cursed Tool… but why is it here?"
At that moment, Sukuna's mouth and single eye appeared on Itadori's face, taunting him."How could a Jujutsu Sorcerer just discard their Cursed Tool? Obviously, that guy is dead!"
Itadori quickly covered Sukuna's mouth and snapped,"Shut up! Nanamin will be fine!"
Clutching the Cleaver, he pressed on deeper into the sewers.
Soon, he saw Nanami's limbs scattered across the floor, a grim result of the battle.
Sukuna's mouth sneered again."That guy really is pathetic. If he'd gone on a mission with anyone else, he might have been useful. Instead, he ended up in this miserable state, worrying about your safety."
Sukuna found it amusing to watch Itadori slowly descend into despair—far more so than when Itadori had shown fearlessness toward him.
Then, Itadori saw it—not just hands and feet, but Nanami's headless, limbless, naked corpse.
Before he could even process, a figure emerged from the shadows deep within the sewer.
"Itadori, why are you here?"
Itadori froze—the voice sounded just like Nanami's."Nanamin?"
The figure stepped forward. The blood-stained suit appeared slightly ill-fitting, but Itadori immediately saw through the illusion."You're not Nanami!"
The imposter likely noticed the flaw. The body beneath the suit squirmed, and then the suit adjusted perfectly.
Pushing up the goggles, the figure smiled."This should be fine now, right?"
Itadori felt nothing but rage. Even if he didn't want to accept Nanami's death, his mind told him the person in front of him was the one who had killed Nanami—and was now mocking him by wearing Nanami's face.
"Was it you? The one who—"
Before he could finish, Mahito suddenly appeared and delivered an uppercut to Itadori's chest.
Cursed Energy condensed on Mahito's fist, turning pitch black in an instant. The energy crackled like lightning—a clear Black Flash.
The punch sent Itadori flying, slamming him into the sewer ceiling at terrifying speed with a loud bang, the impact causing a slight tremor.
The Black Flash temporarily enhanced Mahito's Cursed Energy efficiency.
After observing Itadori, Mahito realized his body was indeed formidable. Although Itadori had absorbed only a few of Sukuna's Fingers, one had nourished him since childhood, granting him immense power.
[Anti-troll Note: For those unfamiliar with Jujutsu lore, before Itadori swallowed the finger at school, he already had a finger sealed within his body.]
Mahito picked up the Cleaver that Itadori had dropped and calmly rolled up his sleeves.
"Isn't the King of Curses planning to show up? Are you really indifferent while I'm about to kill this brat?"
Holding the Cleaver, Mahito now perfectly resembled Nanami—except for the Cursed Energy, which remained Mahito's own, since he wasn't using a Séance-style method to summon the deceased's physical information.
He didn't continue attacking immediately because he wasn't sure if Sukuna would flee rather than fight directly. Using Idle Transfiguration on Sukuna would be risky, and in physical combat, Sukuna's Reverse Cursed Technique made Mahito uncertain about killing him.
For now, Mahito's priority was ensuring the move had maximum impact—forcing Sukuna into using the Binding Vow, "Pledge," so he couldn't use it freely later to create a threat.
As for Mahoraga, Mahito hadn't found a way to deal with it yet. That creature was too powerful for a Cursed Spirit, and he couldn't allow Sukuna to use it.
At that moment, an enraged Itadori fell from the ceiling, swinging a Divergent Fist at Mahito.
Mahito leaned aside effortlessly, dodging.
While evading, he partially transformed the right hand holding the Cleaver via Idle Transfiguration and slashed at Itadori's left arm at the 3:7 ratio point.
The Cleaver's Cursed Technique, "Wara Wara," activated. The critical strike severed Itadori's left arm.
"As expected, it works. Convenient~" Mahito murmured with satisfaction.
"Aaaaaah!"
The bone-piercing pain immediately paralyzed Itadori.
Taking advantage of the brief opening, Mahito morphed the back portion of his right arm, aiming another critical strike at the 3:7 ratio point of Itadori's right arm—severing it as well.
Sukuna, still on Itadori's cheek, remained silent, his thoughts unreadable.
Mahito knew that even without a heart, Sukuna could control Itadori's body—so these injuries were insufficient.
Mahito pinned Itadori's head with his left hand, exposing his neck, and swung the Cleaver with his right, taunting Sukuna."If you can survive without a heart using Cursed Energy… can you still do it if I cut off your head, King of Curses?"