Domain Expansion, Susanoo!

Lin Mu's calm tone carried an unquestionable authority. In his eyes, the King of Curses seemed no different from any other cursed spirit.

"Fushiguro, go rest first. Leave this to me."

Fushiguro had finally recovered from the shock of what had just happened.

He had not seen the instant Lin Mu blocked Sukuna's attack, and still believed Lin Mu's strength was the same as before.

"Lin Mu, he's strong! You can't beat him."

"Stall for as long as you can and wait for reinforcements from Tokyo Jujutsu High."

Lin Mu did not respond. Instead, Sukuna burst into loud laughter.

"Do you think I'll let you wait until then?"

Sukuna's expression twisted instantly, and his hands formed a gesture that filled Fushiguro with despair.

"Domain Expansion, Malevolent Shrine!"

The world fell silent in an instant. Terrifying pressure took tangible form, becoming a demonic face with two pairs of blood-red eyes that lunged at them.

Behind Sukuna, a crimson shrine standing atop a mountain of corpses and a sea of bones suddenly appeared.

At the center of the shrine was a horrifying, bottomless maw, from which the stench of death surged like ocean waves!

Sweat streamed wildly down Fushiguro's face. Even the sound of it hitting the ground was ear-piercing in the silence.

"A domain..."

If Fushiguro had held onto even the slightest hope before, now he was utterly and completely despairing.

In the jujutsu world, the most basic of common knowledge was that, under normal circumstances, someone without a domain could never defeat someone who had one!

Cursed techniques unleashed within a domain gained a sure-hit effect. Once dragged into someone else's domain, you became fish on the chopping block, left to be slaughtered.

To resist it, one either had to counter a domain with another domain; use a Simple Domain to negate the sure-hit effect and buy time; or be one in ten thousand with a Heavenly Restriction, capable of evading a domain's sure-hit judgment.

He could not do any of those things, and neither could Lin Mu.

It could be said that death was the only outcome awaiting them!

Cursed energy began to churn within Sukuna's body, and invisible, lethal slashes swept toward Lin Mu and Fushiguro from all directions!

Though he could not see them, an unprecedented sense of danger surged through Fushiguro's heart.

He knew Sukuna's attack was already right in front of them!

Just as he had prepared himself to accept his own death, a violent surge of energy erupted from Lin Mu's direction. It actually began to contend against Sukuna's domain!

The blue-black Tokyo Jujutsu High uniform fluttered wildly, as if an immense power was about to burst from Lin Mu's body!

"Susanoo!"

Lin Mu's Mangekyō Sharingan erupted with crimson light, and that violent energy gradually solidified into form.

Deep-blue energy swirled around Lin Mu, gradually condensing into a rib-shaped skeleton that encased his entire body.

Not only that, a massive skeletal hand appeared beside the skeleton and covered Fushiguro as well, shielding his entire body.

"What is this?" Fushiguro's mind shook violently. He sensed the aura of a domain from the ability Lin Mu had unleashed!

The sheer terror of this ability had robbed Fushiguro of his ability to judge it. He could not even determine what kind of power Lin Mu had used.

The next second, the sound of metal striking stone rang out, and dense cutting marks appeared across the surface of the skeletal hand.

Though he could not see them, Fushiguro could sense that Sukuna's attack from just now had possessed enough power to slice through steel bars and split boulders!

Yet when it struck the skeletal exoskeleton Lin Mu had summoned, it had only left a few shallow cuts!

Its hardness was likely greater than any material in the world!

Compared to Fushiguro, Sukuna was even more shocked. He had used this move to kill countless jujutsu sorcerers and cursed spirits!

No matter how tough the body or weapon, the only result had ever been to be cut apart. Yet today, it had failed to break through Lin Mu's defense!

"What kind of damn cursed technique is this? Or is it a domain?"

As the strongest of a thousand years ago, Sukuna had likewise never seen the power Lin Mu displayed. He only knew that it was terrifyingly strong!

Given enough time, he might be able to break Lin Mu's exoskeleton. But maintaining a domain rapidly consumed cursed energy, and in his current physical condition, he could not last until the exoskeleton was torn apart.

Sukuna had no intention of gambling on whether his cursed energy would run out first or Lin Mu's exoskeleton would disappear first.

He dispelled his domain and rapidly closed in. A slash hidden within his palm struck Lin Mu squarely in the chest.

The more powerful, concentrated slash clearly dealt greater damage to the exoskeleton. Several ribs developed obvious cracks, and tiny fragments of bone were cut away.

"Brat, that exoskeleton of yours won't hold out much longer, will it?"

"Once it's gone, can you still withstand my attacks?"

As the strongest of ancient times, Sukuna's combat experience was immensely rich. Realizing that wide-range attacks could not break through Lin Mu's defenses, he immediately changed his strategy.

He focused the slashes in his palm and targeted a single part of Lin Mu's body.

This not only consumed less cursed energy, but would also break through Lin Mu's exoskeleton faster.

Lin Mu controlled Susanoo's hand to throw Fushiguro into a safe area, then cast a calm glance at Sukuna.

He was indeed right. Maintaining Susanoo consumed a great deal of both chakra and ocular power, but Lin Mu had no need to waste chakra keeping Susanoo active right now.

He had summoned Susanoo earlier only to deal with Sukuna's Domain. That did not mean he could not fight Sukuna without Susanoo.

Sukuna secretly rejoiced and was about to continue attacking the exoskeleton around Lin Mu's chest.

But the exoskeleton enveloping Lin Mu suddenly disintegrated on its own, before Sukuna could understand what was happening.

Lin Mu's figure vanished in an instant!

"Where are you looking?" Lin Mu smiled faintly, his back pressed against Sukuna's.

Sukuna's mouth twitched. The scene felt familiar to him, and it disgusted him just as much.

When he had first emerged, Satoru Gojo had toyed with him like this. Who would have thought that so soon afterward, he would be toyed with again in exactly the same way!

Sukuna turned and swung upward. Not only did his claws strike out, but slashes also shot from his palm at the same time.

Lin Mu had no time to evade. Sharp slashes struck every vital point across his body.

Sukuna laughed arrogantly. "Don't put on airs if you don't have the strength. This is the price for daring to toy with me!"

Yet what puzzled Sukuna was that the sensation of hitting Lin Mu felt wrong. It was strangely weightless, as though he had cut through a sheet of paper!

Sure enough, not long afterward, the "Lin Mu" Sukuna had slashed suddenly burst into a cloud of white smoke. That was not Lin Mu's real body at all!

By the time Sukuna realized it, a scorching blast of air had already surged from behind him!

"Fire Release: Majestic Flame Destroyer!"

Enhanced by the Mangekyō Sharingan, an absurdly vast sea of flames surged toward Sukuna, filling nearly his entire field of vision with firelight.

Though its range was enormous, Sukuna could still barely dodge it if he went all out!

"Don't underestimate me! You damned brat!!" Being toyed with by Lin Mu again and again had truly enraged him. As the strongest, he had always been the one to toy with others!

Just as Sukuna was considering how to counterattack after dodging this strike, he suddenly felt something gripping him tightly.

Looking down, he saw nearly ten thick branches, like giant pythons, coiling upward from his calves toward his upper body.

In the span of a single breath, Sukuna's lower body had been completely covered by the branches, leaving him utterly unable to move.

Boom—

The terrifying wave of flames from Fire Release: Majestic Flame Destroyer crashed down, completely swallowing Sukuna!