Chapter 169 (Patreon)

Once Satoru Gojo became able to perceive Sukuna’s attacks, the gap between them gradually began to narrow.

Still, Gojo knew that he had only caught Sukuna off guard.

Once Sukuna adjusted to the change and adapted to the flow of battle, dealing with him would become far more difficult.

“What’s wrong? Are your attacks useless now that I can see them?”

Gojo casually taunted Sukuna even as he deflected one attack after another.

Anyone watching might have mistaken them for old friends reuniting after years apart.

“You certainly talk a lot,” Sukuna replied coldly. “Must you keep running your mouth even in the middle of a fight?”

Despite their relaxed conversation, every attack they exchanged was intended to kill.

A single moment of carelessness would mean death.

Sukuna stared at Gojo as he considered his next move. Allowing the battle to drag on would place him at a severe disadvantage.

Gojo was not the only sorcerer on their side whose strength transcended the boundaries of Special Grade.

Ragnar Kagenou had yet to enter the battle.

Sukuna might have been slightly stronger than Gojo, but the difference was nowhere near enough for him to overwhelm the Six Eyes user.

If Ragnar appeared now, Sukuna would have no chance of leaving alive.

He could not allow this battle to continue much longer.

He needed to unleash his strongest attack and kill Gojo before he had a chance to react.

With that thought, the intensity of Sukuna’s offensive gradually diminished. He focused entirely on finding the single instant when Gojo’s guard would falter.

Gojo immediately noticed the change.

What is he doing?

Is he running out of strength?

No. That’s impossible.

Sukuna was the King of Curses. His overall strength still surpassed Gojo’s, so there was no reason for his stamina to fail first.

Then he must be preparing something.

Gojo focused the Six Eyes upon Sukuna, carefully observing every movement in the flow of his cursed energy. If it suddenly began gathering anywhere, he would notice immediately.

So, what are you planning, Sukuna?

Are you conserving your strength in case Ragnar suddenly intervenes?

Or are you preparing to kill me in a single strike?

Let me see it.

If you refuse to attack, I’ll take the initiative myself!

Gojo drove his fist into Sukuna’s chest.

“Cursed Technique Reversal: Red.”

Boom!

Crimson light erupted at point-blank range.

Sukuna was sent hurtling across the mountains and forested ravines before finally crashing into the heart of Osaka.

At the same moment, the domains maintained by Gojo and Sukuna reached their limits and collapsed.

Rumble!

“W-What was that?!”

The deafening impact terrified the lower-ranked sorcerers who had been cautiously moving through Osaka while avoiding the cursed spirits infesting the city.

“C-Captain! Look over there!”

The leader of the squad cautiously approached the crater left behind by the impact.

“Is that... a person?”

“A person? That’s impossible! Whatever it was fell from the sky and brought down an entire building!”

“No human could possibly survive something like that.”

The sorcerers swallowed nervously.

“Could it be... a cursed spirit?”

At that moment, Sukuna rose from the rubble, one hand pressed against his head. Gojo’s attack had left his thoughts slightly disoriented.

“A human...?”

“I-It spoke!”

Sukuna stared at the dozens of weak humans standing before him.

With a casual sweep of his hand, an invisible slash tore through the air.

Slash!

In an instant, the entire squad of sorcerers was severed at the waist. Blood erupted from their bodies and scattered across the ruined street.

Only one woman survived, having fallen flat against the ground before the attack reached her.

Yet even though she was alive, her mind had nearly broken.

The sight of the companions she had fought beside being butchered before her eyes was more than she could endure.

“How irritating.”

Annoyance flickered across Sukuna’s face. He raised his hand, preparing to finish her—

But Gojo appeared between them.

“I can’t let you do that.”

Crimson light blossomed within Gojo’s palm.

An instant later, another thunderous explosion flattened everything around Sukuna.

Before the surviving sorcerer could even thank him, Gojo used Blue to propel himself instantly toward the place where Sukuna had been blasted away.

“You truly are stronger than every previous bearer of the Six Eyes,” Sukuna’s voice emerged from within the dense cloud of dust. “It seems I’ll have to use everything I have against you.”

An invisible slash split the smoke apart.

Sukuna burst from the ruins.

“An ordinary domain won’t be enough against him.”

Sukuna brought his hands together.

“Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine.”

His domain manifested once more, this time restricted to a radius of only two hundred meters.

However, a crimson barrier now covered its outer edge. Within it, everything was stained blood-red, transforming the entire area into a scene resembling hell itself.

Although Sukuna had reduced the domain’s range, he had incorporated an additional barrier technique into it.

“Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void!”

Both Sukuna and Gojo had been using reverse cursed technique to repair the damaged portions of their brains where their innate techniques were engraved, allowing them to activate their domains again in rapid succession.

Healing the brain with cursed energy was extraordinarily dangerous.

But both of them were fighting with their lives at stake.

The first to hesitate would die.

Unlimited Void is being eroded by Sukuna’s domain?

Gojo could clearly sense the edges of his domain being consumed by Malevolent Shrine, albeit at a very slow rate.

What did Sukuna change?

It must be connected to that crimson light within his domain.

Did he add another barrier technique?

For the moment, Gojo could only determine that the new barrier surrounding Malevolent Shrine possessed the ability to erode cursed energy.

Sukuna smiled.

His figure vanished like a specter.

When he reappeared, he brought with him the slash that severed the world itself.

“Dismantle.”

Nothing could stop it.

Gojo had no time to evade. Even the Infinity could not defend against that attack.

At the final instant, he twisted his body just enough to protect his vital points.

Thud.

One of Gojo’s severed arms struck the ground.

“What was that attack...?”

More than the loss of his arm, Gojo was concerned by the terrifying change in Sukuna’s slash.

Before he could activate reverse cursed technique, Sukuna attacked again.

A web of invisible slashes tore across Gojo’s body.

Blood burst through the air.

Sukuna calmly wiped a streak of it from his cheek.

Boom!

With a powerful backhand, Sukuna sent Gojo flying before preparing another slash capable of severing the world.

The sky split apart.

The earth was torn open.

That overwhelming slash seemed beyond anyone’s power to stop.

Gojo gritted his teeth. Using the blood pouring from his severed arm, he activated another technique.

“Cursed Technique: Blood Manipulation.”

The blood scattered through the air was infused with cursed energy and transformed into countless miniature manifestations of Blue.

A pale blue radiance appeared within every drop surrounding Sukuna.

The blood appeared to have scattered at random, but every droplet had fallen precisely where Gojo intended.

The miniature Blues formed a gravitational matrix around Sukuna. Space violently distorted under their combined attraction, forcibly bending the trajectory of the world-severing slash and sending it back toward its caster.

Surprise flickered within Sukuna’s eyes.

The slash that severed the world was, in essence, an attack that cut through space itself.

Yet in only a few moments, Gojo had found a way to counter it.

“Domain Expansion... Malevolent Shrine.”

A grotesque shrine manifested behind Sukuna as pitch-black cursed energy enveloped his entire body.

“You are the first person to force me this far, Satoru Gojo.”

A savage smile spread across Sukuna’s face.

“Take pride in that.”