The whole sequence unfolded in the blink of an eye! Nanami Kento's movements were efficient, precise, and ruthless, without the slightest hesitation. He displayed the overwhelming combat experience and destructive power of a Special Grade Sorcerer!
"Mr. Nanami! Why?!" Itadori struggled to his feet amid the rubble, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and shouted in shock and anger.
He couldn't believe that Nanami, a senior who had always looked out for him and acted fairly, would suddenly try to kill them!
Nanami Kento adjusted his glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold glint.
"Itadori, I have no resentment or hatred toward you or Fushiguro. I'm just doing my job."
His words landed like a sledgehammer on both of them.
Itadori clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. Fushiguro Megumi's pupils contracted sharply, and cold sweat trickled down his back. They understood in an instant—it was an order from the Jujutsu world's higher-ups. Kill Itadori and prevent Satoru Gojo from being unsealed.
"Mr. Nanami..." Itadori's voice trembled, not with fear, but anger.
He thought of the ordinary people who had died during the Shibuya Incident, and of the moment Gojo-sensei had been sealed. Now even the most reliable Nanami was going to kill him?
Fushiguro Megumi had already formed a hand sign. "Nue!"
He lowered his voice and said to Itadori, "Get ready to break through. Angel is still—"
"Yuji Itadori?"
A deep male voice cut in without warning. All four of them turned at once.
A sallow-faced man in a black suit approached at an unhurried pace. When he stopped, his dress shoes tapped crisply against the ground.
"I'm Haguruma." The pages of his book turned by themselves. "I've come to judge you for your crimes during the Shibuya Incident."
The air froze.
Nanami Kento frowned. "A trial? Now isn't the time." The Tuodao in his hand remained trained on Fushiguro Megumi.
Haguruma's voice was utterly flat. "Under the current regulations, Yuji Itadori, as Sukuna's vessel, bears joint responsibility for the 23,411 civilian casualties in the Shibuya Incident."
Itadori's face went deathly pale. The images returned—blood, screams, Sukuna laughing wildly inside him...
Fushiguro Megumi stepped in front of Itadori. "What kind of nonsense is that? It wasn't Itadori's fault!"
The shadow behind him began to twist. "That's..."
"Objection denied." Haguruma raised a hand. "The court will decide whether you're guilty."
A complex formation suddenly spread beneath his feet, and countless chains shot out of thin air!
"Domain Expansion—Sentence of Death!"
A blinding white light erupted, swallowing all four of them. When their vision returned, they were standing in the middle of a vast courtroom.
High above them, a gigantic black-robed Shikigami sat on the judge's bench, its arms spread wide, with a scale hanging from each hand. Haguruma stood before it, holding a Wooden Mallet.
Nanami Kento and Fushiguro Megumi were seated in the witness stand, while Itadori stood in the dock. To everyone's surprise, Kurusu Hana—the Angel—was seated among the jurors, her golden eyes thoughtful.
"Court is now in session." The mallet came down. The entire space began to tremble, and the black Shikigami's voice rang out. "Yuji Itadori is suspected of mass murder in Shibuya on October 31, 2018."
Fushiguro Megumi whipped his head toward Nanami Kento. He saw the senior's brow furrow, then tried to summon his Cursed Energy—only to find that it had been stripped away inside the Domain.
Fushiguro Megumi was stunned by the Domain's immense power.
Everyone looked at Yuji Itadori. Though he'd been slightly out of breath just moments earlier, he was now calm.
He looked at the Shikigami and spoke with complete composure.
"Yeah, I killed them. That's not a lie, and I'm not denying it."
"Guilty! Confiscation! Death penalty!"
As the black Shikigami roared, the entire courtroom shook violently.
An invisible pressure crashed down. Itadori grunted as his body suddenly grew heavy. The Cursed Energy circulating inside him dried up completely, like water being drained from a well!
Cursed Energy confiscation—this was the rule of the Domain Expansion: Execution!
"Yuji!!!" Fushiguro Megumi cried out in alarm.
Fushiguro Megumi's face turned ashen. He tried to force his power into action, but his shadow didn't respond.
Nanami Kento's gaze sharpened behind his glasses. His muscles tensed as he tried to stand, but the Domain's rules held him firmly in the witness stand.
His heart sank. This was bad. Haguruma was serious! He'd only meant to pretend to carry out the order and buy time, but now Itadori's life was hanging by a thread!
Haguruma's expression didn't change. Light flared in his hand, gathering into a long sword wreathed in lethal white radiance—the [Executioner's Sword]!
"Face your punishment." The judge's voice was as cold as its sentence.
Haguruma vanished from where he stood! He was so fast that only a blur remained! The sword's tip shot straight for Itadori's heart!
Itadori's pupils shrank! His Cursed Energy was gone, leaving him with nothing but a body honed through countless battles!
At the brink of death, instinct forged through countless life-or-death fights took over!
"Raaah!" Itadori roared. His right foot slammed into the ground, shattering the concrete! Relying on pure muscular force, he dragged his body half a foot to the left!
The white blade grazed his right side! It sliced through his jacket and flesh with ease, and blood sprayed out at once!
"Itadori!" Fushiguro Megumi's eyes blazed with fury. He desperately struggled against the invisible restraint, his knuckles turning white, but it was no use.
Nanami Kento watched Haguruma's movements intently, his mind racing. The rules... the Domain's compulsion... There had to be a loophole!
Haguruma's first strike missed. With a slight turn of his wrist, the light sword swept sideways without a pause, aiming to cut Itadori in half!
The blade covered too wide an area to dodge!
Itadori's eyes turned fierce. Instead of retreating, he charged forward! He lowered his center of gravity like a tiger pouncing on its prey and launched himself into a forward roll the instant the blade reached him!
The light sword passed almost flush with his back, slicing off a few strands of hair!
Itadori hit the ground and rolled, his movements a little clumsy. The wound in his ribs throbbed with pain, but he'd managed to close the distance!
"This isn't over!" He roared and sprang up. Using only his physical strength, he twisted his waist and spun, launching a full-force roundhouse kick that tore through the air and slammed toward Haguruma's head!
He was fighting with his life on the line!
At last, a flicker of surprise crossed Haguruma's cold eyes.
He hadn't expected Itadori, stripped of Cursed Energy, to unleash such a fierce counterattack through sheer physical strength and willpower. Instinctively, he raised his left arm to block—
A dull impact rang out! Haguruma's body swayed. Itadori's full-force kick had actually staggered the Special Grade Sorcerer!
"I got him...!" A glimmer of hope had just sparked in Itadori's eyes—
Haguruma's left arm, which had blocked the kick, hadn't budged at all. But the light sword in his right hand was already darting forward like a silent serpent!
They were too close! The sword's tip aimed straight for Itadori's throat! Its icy killing intent locked onto him!
"It's over," Haguruma declared.
Itadori had exhausted his strength and hadn't yet recovered. He was still in midair and had no way to dodge! All he could do was watch as the white light of death rapidly grew larger in his vision!
"Yuji!" Fushiguro Megumi's desperate scream rang out.
Just as the light sword was about to pierce Itadori's throat—
"Kai... Kō..."
Sukuna Changes Hosts
"Kai... Kō..."
The moment the hoarse syllables tore through the air, a viscous darkness poured from Itadori's body!
It wasn't Cursed Energy, but pure malice that had settled for a thousand years!
The Cursed Marks on his cheeks writhed like living snakes and spread. The skin beneath his eyes split open, and two narrow, crimson eyes suddenly opened!
The determination that had defined Itadori was torn away completely, replaced by a cruel, arrogant grin that looked down on all living things.
He casually raised his right hand—smack!
His palm, covered in strange black markings, caught the tip of Haguruma's [Executioner's Sword]!
The light, powerful enough to cut through a Cursed Technique, flickered and wailed in his palm, but couldn't advance a fraction!
"My, my," 'Itadori' said, tilting his head as his crimson eyes studied the blade with interest. His voice was warped and mocking. "I never thought I'd see such an amusing little trial these days."
His fingers tightened slightly. The light sword hummed.
Haguruma's pupils shrank! An enormous sense of danger, rising from the instinct to survive, drenched him like ice water!
He didn't even have time to think. His body acted on instinct, forcefully leaping backward!
He retreated at high speed three times in a row, instantly putting over ten meters between them. All trace of his earlier composure had vanished, replaced by a grave expression.
"Ryomen Sukuna?!"
'Itadori'—or rather, the King of Curses now occupying his body—grinned and released his grip.
Freed from his hold, the light sword vanished as Haguruma dispelled it.
Sukuna leisurely slicked Itadori's disheveled pink hair back, revealing a smooth forehead and three pairs of hair-raising eyes.
"Oh?" Sukuna's voice brimmed with exaggerated delight as he looked at Haguruma. "You recognized me? Not bad, little judge."
"Sukuna?!" Fushiguro Megumi cried out, nearly losing his heartbeat.
A cold gleam flashed behind Nanami Kento's glasses, and every muscle in his body tensed to the limit! Even Kurusu Hana, the Angel, who had silently observed until now, showed turbulent ripples in her golden eyes!
"How... how is this possible?!" Fushiguro Megumi's voice broke with shock.
Itadori hadn't lost control of his body! How had this guy come out?!
Sukuna seemed to find the question amusing. A low, pleased gurgle rumbled in his throat as all three pairs of eyes turned toward Fushiguro Megumi and Nanami Kento.
"Don't make such a fuss." He spread his hands, his posture lazy but carrying a deadly pressure. "This foolish, naive brat and I..." He tapped his temple. "Made a little Binding Vow."
He raised a finger covered in black Cursed Marks, his crimson tongue sliding over a sharp canine. "As long as I say the words 'Kai Kō,' I can take over this body... for one minute."
He paused deliberately, savoring the change in everyone's expressions. His grin grew even more malicious. "Of course, the terms of the vow are that for this one minute, I 'can't hurt or kill anyone.'"
He emphasized the vow's restrictions, but sounded more like he was boasting about the rules of his game.
The sharp crack of breaking bones burst like firecrackers!
Sukuna ripped the little finger and ring finger off his own left hand. Blood splattered across the courtroom floor.
He raised the severed fingers before his eyes and licked the wounds with his crimson tongue, laughing wildly. "But it never said I couldn't hurt myself! Hahahaha!"
Haguruma's expression changed. "Damn it!" He swung the mallet hard, trying to reinforce the Domain, but it was too late—
Sukuna shot forward like lightning!
Before Fushiguro Megumi could react, he found himself face-to-face with those frenzied vertical pupils!
"Fushiguro! Get out of the way!" Nanami Kento's warning overlapped with Sukuna's twisted voice. "Try my special candy~"
Sukuna's bloodied hand clamped onto Fushiguro Megumi's jaw. He roughly shoved the two severed fingers into Fushiguro Megumi's forced-open mouth!
Fushiguro Megumi's pupils shrank to pinpricks, and a choking, gurgling sound escaped his throat.
"Boom—!!!"
A torrent of pitch-black Cursed Energy erupted from Fushiguro Megumi's every opening!
The shock wave hurled Nanami Kento into a wall. The Angel, Kurusu Hana, unfurled her wings of light and retreated at high speed, while Haguruma raised both hands to shield himself from the blast!
At the storm's center, Fushiguro Megumi's body floated strangely in the air.
Cursed Marks identical to Sukuna's appeared on his cheeks. The skin beneath his eyes split open, and two new crimson eyes suddenly opened!
"Cough... cough!" Yuji Itadori suddenly dropped to his knees, regaining consciousness. He looked up in confusion and met the gaze of "Fushiguro Megumi," who slowly turned toward him.
The familiar face wore an unfamiliar, wicked grin, but the voice had Sukuna's cadence. "Remember? Because I wanted to see something interesting..."
'Fushiguro' slapped aside Itadori's hand as he tried to help him up. All four eyes narrowed at once. "I told you so." He tilted his head, studying Itadori's terrified expression. "Brat."
As soon as Sukuna finished speaking, his fist slammed into Itadori's stomach!
The impact landed with a dull thud! Itadori didn't even have time to block. He flew backward like he'd been hit by a speeding truck, sent soaring like a cannonball!
He smashed straight through a stone pillar in the courtroom. Dust and rubble filled the air!
"Itadori!" Nanami Kento growled, but his body was sluggish from the Domain's lingering effects and the sudden turn of events.
Sukuna didn't even look at Itadori as he flew away.
He leisurely raised a hand, plunged his fingers into Fushiguro Megumi's formerly spiky black hair, and slicked it sharply back! His black hair was forced into a bold, arrogant slicked-back style, revealing a smooth forehead and two pairs of malicious crimson eyes.
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