Inside the sealed cave barrier, the cursed spirit Fearsome Womb scratched its head in frustration as it stared at the calm-faced black-haired girl before it.
This woman… she didn't seem scared of him.
Why not?
In a bustling city like Tokyo, even third-grade cursed spirits possessed some intelligence. As for special-grade spirits, they were born with intelligence on par with humans. Some, like Jogo, could even speak fluently.
As a special-grade, the cursed spirit Fearsome Womb naturally had intelligence as well—it just couldn't speak human language.
It could sense the steady, powerful heartbeat of the woman before it. Her composed expression wasn't an act—she truly wasn't afraid.
Why wasn't she afraid?
Fearsome Womb couldn't understand. It was a special-grade cursed spirit! Yet this woman stood before it as if it were nothing more than a lowly third-grade spirit she could exorcise with ease.
She needed to be taught a lesson!
The special-grade cursed spirit bared its fangs and suddenly radiated golden light. A concentrated mass of cursed energy gathered in its hand, glowing like a bomb that could explode at any moment.
Sensing the energy's intensity, Yukinoshita Yukino's gaze shifted slightly, and her expression finally turned serious.
No matter what, this was still a special-grade cursed spirit. And if her senses weren't mistaken, this one—despite looking identical to the one Hayashizaki had slain so effortlessly at the juvenile detention center—was much stronger.
It wasn't an opponent she could defeat easily.
Without using the trump card Hayashizaki had left her, she wasn't entirely confident in winning.
She was only about 80% sure.
Seeing the black-haired girl's expression finally change, Fearsome Womb grinned and hurled the cursed energy projectile in its hand.
A golden flash streaked through the air like an arrow, flying toward Yukinoshita Yukino at lightning speed.
A deafening explosion followed as the golden energy detonated, sending shattered rocks flying and dust billowing. When the dust finally settled, the spot where Yukinoshita Yukino had stood was now a massive crater.
But the girl was nowhere to be seen.
Fearsome Womb tilted its head in confusion—only for a sudden gust of wind to sweep past from behind.
A powerful kick struck its head, sending it flying like a ragdoll and smashing bone spikes along the way.
The cursed spirit steadied itself, eyes filled with disbelief as it lifted its head, its four eyes locking onto the black-haired girl.
It hadn't even seen her move.
Though part of it had been careless, the fact remained—her speed was extraordinary.
Fearsome Womb finally put away its playful, cat-and-mouse attitude.
It was time to get serious.
"Don't look at me with those four eyes." Yukinoshita Yukino noticed the way the creature was sizing her up and immediately frowned in annoyance.
If she remembered correctly, the curse inside the juvenile detention center had one of Sukuna's fingers, which was why it mutated into a special-grade curse the moment it was born.
This one should be the same. It must have a Sukuna finger inside it too.
Better take care of this thing quickly and have Itadori eat the finger.
Itadori Yuji and Fushiguro Megumi were outside the barrier, fighting an unknown enemy. That enemy might be connected to the mastermind behind the Shinjuku attack. She had no idea if those two could handle it, so she needed to hurry and help them.
Finish this fast!
The black-haired girl stepped forward, and cracks spread across the ground beneath her feet. In the next instant, she shot toward the curse like an arrow leaving the bowstring.
Yukinoshita Yukino's sudden burst of speed made Fearsome Womb's pupils shrink instinctively. Its mouth opened wide, and a dense mass of cursed energy rapidly gathered before it fired.
The cursed energy turned into a golden beam that obliterated everything in its path, carving a deep trench into the solid stone floor.
The sheer power from a simple blast of cursed energy was astonishing.
However, no matter how strong an attack is, if it doesn't hit, it's meaningless.
Sensing something, the special-grade curse quickly lifted its head. Above, a sharp silhouette was diving down like a falcon.
A pale fist, blazing with cursed energy, grew larger and larger in its vision before smashing into its face without mercy, sending it staggering backward.
Enraged, Fearsome Womb swung a fist before even regaining its balance. Yukinoshita Yukino hurriedly crossed her arms in front of her body.
The curse's massive fist—far bigger than the girl's two hands combined—slammed into her slender forearms, forcing her to slide backward.
She glanced down at her slightly trembling arm, feeling the pain spreading through it. Without a word, Yukinoshita Yukino charged at the special-grade curse again, hands forming seals.
Head-on combat was tricky. Better use her brain.
A black and a white wolf emerged from the shadows, swiftly dodging Fearsome Womb's cursed energy blasts as they flanked it from behind.
Meanwhile, Yukinoshita Yukino attacked directly from the front.
Unable to defend against three opponents at once, Fearsome Womb had no choice but to focus on the greatest threat—the black-haired girl.
It twisted its face into a snarl and took Yukinoshita Yukino's punch head-on. But the next moment, blood burst from its back.
After deflecting the black-haired girl's attack, Fearsome Womb immediately turned around, ready to kill the two weak shikigami—only to see the Divine Dogs fading into shadows.
Yukinoshita Yukino released the technique, smoothly switching to Nue. She slashed twice, leaving a cross-shaped wound on the curse's thick back. As purple blood splattered, Fearsome Womb let out a furious roar.
A powerful surge of cursed energy erupted from its body, sending Yukinoshita Yukino flying.
"Tch." Yukinoshita Yukino clicked her tongue.
This thing didn't have a technique. It was just relying on raw cursed energy and its tough body, yet it was already such a hassle to deal with.
So this is a special-grade…
Still, the gap between them wasn't too big.
After several exchanges, Yukinoshita Yukino had a rough grasp of its strength.
Her 80% confidence had now turned into 100%.
Fearsome Womb cracked its neck, the sound echoing as the wounds on its back healed completely.
It grinned viciously and, for the first time, took the initiative to attack.
Its speed was just as shocking. In a single step, it closed the distance, and a fist wrapped in golden cursed energy came crashing down.
Fast, but not as fast as Gojo-sensei.
And definitely not as fast as Hayashizaki-kun.
The black-haired girl calmly turned to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. The fist grazed her fair cheek, leaving a thin trail of blood. At the same time, her delicate hand silently pressed against the curse's chest.
Technique Eight activated. A slashing attack, capable of adjusting its power based on the enemy's cursed energy, cut through Fearsome Womb's entire body from top to bottom in an instant, turning it into a blood-soaked figure.
"Ahhhhhh!!!"
A sharp, ear-piercing scream echoed through the sealed cave, making Yukinoshita Yukino frown slightly.
Her fist struck the curse's chin, smashing its jaw into a mangled mess of flesh and blood. The sharp scream immediately turned into a strangled whimper.
If this thing kept screaming, her eardrums would burst.
A golden light exploded from the curse's hand, engulfing both Yukinoshita Yukino and itself in the blast.
A cloud of dust burst into the air, and shattered rocks flew through the smoke. A slender figure tumbled out of the explosion, looking slightly disheveled.
Yukinoshita Yukino, who had been blasted away, adjusted her stance and steadied herself before looking toward the lingering smoke.
As the dust settled, Fearsome Womb reappeared—completely unharmed.
Its wounds had fully healed with cursed energy, while Yukinoshita Yukino, who had been dominating the fight so far, was now covered in injuries, looking battered and exhausted.
The curse's four eyes glowed with a menacing red light. Its muscles tensed, heat rising from its body as if it had entered a state of pure rage.
A special-grade curse—one that had even swallowed a piece of Sukuna's finger. Dragging this fight out any longer would be bad for her.
She had no choice but to use that move.
Yukinoshita Yukino let out a small sigh. Initially, she had wanted to see if she could take down a special-grade curse using only Kitchen Knife and Ten Shadows techniques.
But it seemed too much of a stretch.
"I guess I really should focus on improving the quality and amount of my cursed energy first…" she muttered under her breath, extending both hands.
The curse in the distance seemed to sense danger. Its four eyes narrowed, staring at Yukinoshita Yukino with heightened vigilance.
"It's time to end this."
The black-haired girl formed the hand seal of Enma.
"Domain Expansion: Binding Kitchen Knife."
Her cold voice rang out, as sharp as the freezing winds of Siberia. A crimson vision of the mindscape surged forward, engulfing the curse Fearsome Womb.
A shrine stood atop a sea of white bones, rising from the blood-soaked waters, making the black-haired girl look like a demonic god.
Seeing its own barrier swallowed by another's domain, the curse's face twisted in human-like fear. Its eyes widened in shock as it locked onto the girl standing before the bone shrine—almost as if it could see the shadow of a four-eyed, four-armed demon behind her.
Even the Sukuna finger it had swallowed began trembling from the overwhelming presence of similar energy.
There was no time for the curse to process its fear. Slashes from Kai and Eight struck its body relentlessly, purple bursts of blood blooming across its massive frame.
It had no chance to heal with cursed energy. Fearsome Womb was cut into countless pieces, its remains turning to ashes and scattering in the air.
A single withered finger, now lifeless wax, dropped into the sea of blood.
"Itadori!"
"Oh!"
Fushiguro Megumi shouted, and a powerful gust of wind surged from above.
Itadori Yuji responded with a loud shout, raising his right hand over his head.
A massive shadow loomed over him as the owl shikigami swooped down, grabbing the pink-haired boy's raised hand and lifting him into the air.
A moment later, a high-pressure stream of blood shot like an arrow through the spot where he had just been standing.
Nue carried him up toward the highway above the canyon. The moment he landed, he rolled backward several times to dodge the incoming crimson ribbons that stabbed at him like spikes.
"Tch, what a pain!" Itadori grumbled while dodging the relentless attacks from Choso.
His technique, Wing King, was ridiculously troublesome. The sheer number of blood-red ribbons made it nearly impossible to get close.
While Itadori Yuji and Choso clashed on the canyon's highway, Fushiguro Megumi summoned a Great Serpent down below.
The completely white Great Serpent suddenly lashed its tail, sending the green, toad-like figure of Choso flying as he crashed heavily into the cliffside of the canyon, letting out a pained cry.
"Ow! That hurts! That really hurts!"
Choso's scream caught Kechizu's attention. Worried about his brother, he immediately turned around to help him. But there was no way Itadori Yuji would just let him team up with Choso to attack Fushiguro Megumi together.
"Hey, where do you think you're looking?"
A serious and firm voice came from behind, making Kechizu's eyes widen in shock. "So fast?!"
He had just forced him back, yet within seconds, this boy had already closed the distance and appeared behind him?
A fist infused with cursed energy smashed hard into Kechizu's face, sending him flying.
Itadori Yuji immediately followed up, not giving his opponent a chance to catch his breath.
Below the cliff, Choso puffed up his cheeks and spat a stream of blood at Fushiguro Megumi. Megumi didn't have time to dodge, but just as the attack was about to hit, a long tongue shot out from the side, wrapping around his waist and pulling him away.
Using the toad's tongue to reposition himself, Megumi narrowly avoided the poisonous blood attack. He let out a relieved sigh, still shaken.
That was way too close...
Earlier, his Divine Dog had been hit by Kechizu's poisonous blood and instantly lost its ability to move. He had no choice but to unsummon it, which meant losing one of his strongest attacks against a special-grade opponent.
There was no way he could take the brothers' poisonous blood head-on. Even a body reinforced with cursed energy wasn't as tough as Divine Dog.
If that blood attack had hit him just now, it would've been game over.
He couldn't afford to be careless at all.
Megumi placed his hand on the toad shikigami's head and dismissed it. Then, he looked up at Itadori, who was still locked in battle above, and his mind started working on a plan.
If it's one-on-one, neither Itadori nor I can take down our opponents quickly. The best option is still to work together and take one of them out first...
A solid strategy formed in his mind. But for some reason, a conversation with Gojo Satoru suddenly surfaced in his memory.
"Teamwork between sorcerers is important, right?"
"Sure, having allies is great." The white-haired man had laughed at Megumi's question, but then his tone suddenly turned serious. "But when a sorcerer dies, they die alone."
His thoughts were interrupted by Choso charging at him. Clicking his tongue in frustration, Megumi's cursed energy flared up as he met the attack head-on.
How annoying.
Fine, then. I'll get serious.
…
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