Inside the barrier, in an abandoned underground space, a campfire flickered, casting light over Itadori's pale face.
Beside Itadori, Okkotsu watched him with faint nervousness.
Before long, the color gradually returned to Itadori's face, and his eyes slowly opened.
"Where am I?"
Itadori stared blankly at the dark ceiling. Then, as if he had suddenly remembered something, he sprang up and warily looked at Okkotsu beside him.
"What's going on here?"
Itadori clearly remembered Okkotsu's blade piercing through his heart. An injury like that should have made survival nearly impossible, so why was he completely unharmed now?
Okkotsu let out a long breath. "It's good that you're okay."
"Don't worry, you're fine now. After you died, I immediately repaired your heart with a Reverse Cursed Technique."
Itadori asked in confusion, "Why did you do that? Weren't you supposed to execute me?"
Okkotsu waved a hand. "You're a student the teacher cares deeply about. How could I really kill you?"
"I only did it to get around the 'binding vow' I made with those old men in the higher-ups."
"The vow required me to kill you, but it didn't restrict me from treating you after you died."
"So, by healing you after piercing your heart, I both fulfilled the vow I made with those old men and saved you."
Itadori touched his chest, sounding somewhat emotional. "Why save someone like me?"
"I'm useless. I can't even control my own power properly."
Itadori's voice was full of self-reproach.
In his eyes, Satoru Gojo had been sealed because of him.
And at the crucial moment of rescuing their teacher, he had lost control and endangered Lin Mu.
If he hadn't lost control of his body, perhaps Lin Mu would have had enough time to arrive and rescue Satoru Gojo directly.
That guy who