Viltrumite, Is This Strongest-in-the-World Chat Group of Yours Fake?

When he turned his head again, it was no longer a winged-eyed monster, but a rather handsome young man.

"Huh?"

For some reason, the man's hand trembled, and Megumi Fushiguro's consciousness sank into darkness the next second.

"That was a pretty cool special entrance."

Having been summoned into the world of jujutsu in Mahoraga's place, Leon immediately caught the scent of cursed spirits.

It was a feeling that was hard to describe.

At least to a Viltrumite's sense of smell, it was like every foul odor imaginable had been mixed together.

He frowned and looked at the boy floating in midair, who was just about to swallow the finger himself.

"Yo, Itadori."

"Ah, Mr. Leon, you're already here? Good evening!"

He still had the presence of mind to greet him. As big-hearted as ever.

"I'll get you out first."

Leon instantly took flight, using a hand chop to sever the invisible arm.

Only then did the building debris on the ground seem to react, blasting backward with the burst of air.

Sure enough, people without cursed energy couldn't see cursed spirits.

But with a Viltrumite's heightened senses, there were plenty of ways to detect an opponent without relying on sight.

He grabbed Itadori by the hood, and the two retreated together.

"The feel's wrong. Itadori, check on that thing for me."

"The part you cut off... it's healing quickly!"

"Physical attacks don't work? Wait here."

Leon released the hood and slowly approached the cursed spirit.

From Itadori's perspective, the cursed spirit kept throwing punches, but it couldn't move Leon even the slightest bit.

Instead, it broke its own hands again and again, blood splattering everywhere.

Then, as it threw another futile punch, Leon felt around and found its head.

Thump!

A shockwave suddenly erupted around them, blowing Itadori and Megumi several meters away.

Holding the cursed spirit, Leon broke through the atmosphere within seconds.

Then he accelerated further, the heat from the friction burning away every last trace of cursed spirit blood on him.

When he stopped in space, barely anything remained of the cursed spirit in his hand.

"Can't think of a solution for now, so you can stay here first."

After letting go and waving goodbye to it, Leon returned to Earth.

"Mr. Leon can fly that high?!"

Back where he had been, Itadori stared up at a sudden hole in the clouds in amazement.

Thinking back to what had just happened, he couldn't imagine how strong someone had to be to pull off something like that.

Compared to that, his strength to blow through walls with a single punch seemed a little unimpressive.

Could Mr. Leon be the strongest athlete after all?

"I really want to become that strong..."

In the blink of an eye, Itadori saw Leon drifting back toward them, his gaze settling on the finger in Itadori's hand.

"You threw that thing into space?"

"More or less."

Leon nodded.

"Now, let's talk about this finger. Do you still plan to eat it?"

Chapter 10: Sukuna's Going to Hit Me? Seriously?

Itadori froze for a moment before understanding what Leon meant. He lowered his head and stared blankly at Sukuna's finger.

The chat group's so-called progress, the strongest in the world... this thing was the root of it all, right?

He could imagine it.

Without the chat group, or Leon coming to support him, he would have swallowed this finger to save Megumi.

The outcome would have been death or possession, and he had gambled correctly on the latter.

He would have gained cursed energy and stepped into the world of jujutsu sorcerers.

The joke he had made with Fujimaru before would have come true. It seemed he really would have used his fists to exorcise demons.

But now, he didn't need to do that anymore, did he?

He could draw a clear line between himself and that bizarre world, return to his everyday life, and make a fortune as an athlete with his natural physical abilities.

Using that money for charity would also be a way of saving people, right?

But...

Itadori clenched the finger tightly and turned to the reliable adult beside him for help.

"Leon, what would you choose?"

So he's tossing the question back to me?

Leon crossed his arms.

"If we're talking personal gain, I'd advise you to eat it. I gained quite a lot from the last mission, and you have that same potential.

"If it were me, I'd eat it too. Compared to living as a weakling, I'd rather die on the path toward becoming strong."

He couldn't be bothered to hide his intentions in this matter. What was wrong with pursuing strength?

It wasn't like he would abandon everything just for power.

"That's such a self-centered thing to say..."

Itadori sighed, his gaze unfocused as he sank into his memories.

"My grandpa said I was strong, that I should save others, and that I should die surrounded by lots of people.

"Everyone's world is complicated. I don't want to go through that kind of hesitation caused by a lack of strength a second time."

When he looked up again, his eyes were clear and resolute.

"I'm going to eat it."

"Did you only remember half of what he said? As a grandfather, no matter what, he would've added, 'within your means.'"

Unless your grandfather was from Viltrum.

"Hah, now that you put it that way, you're right."

Itadori laughed. Leon really didn't care about the mood at all. Was that the bearing of a strong person too?

He began examining the finger, sniffing it now and then, before finally looking at Leon again.

"If anything goes wrong, I'm counting on you."

"Don't worry. If I can't beat it back, consider the job a bust."

Leon lightly tapped off the ground and floated into the air, quietly watching the changes in Itadori.

Itadori tossed the finger into his mouth, chewed a few times, then stuck out his tongue and dry-heaved.

"It tastes awful."

The moment he finished speaking, black markings appeared on his cheeks, and his entire aura instantly became fierce and menacing.

Black energy spread outward from him, its presence countless times stronger than that Grade Two cursed spirit.

"Experiencing moonlight firsthand really is the best!"

The two small eyes at the corners of his eyes opened, and the awakened Sukuna laughed at the moon.

"In this era, women and children crawl everywhere like maggots. How wonderful. I can finally go on a killing spree!"

"How many should I kill in a day? A hundred? A thousand?"

Leon looked at Sukuna like an old Hogwarts Legacy player looking at Voldemort.

Sukuna was laughing one moment, then immediately darkened his expression and exhaled at Leon, his dragon-like bearing fully revealed.

"Hey. You're flying too high. You're blocking my moon."

With only one finger's worth of Sukuna, Leon naturally couldn't be bothered with him. He called out instead.

"Tiger, you there?"

The body's right hand grabbed its chin.

"Y-Yeah, I'm here!"

"Can you feel it when you're possessed?"

"A little."

Leon didn't waste words.

"Good. When we start fighting, pay close attention. Watch how Sukuna uses cursed energy and all that, you get the idea."

"If you want to be useful, start learning now. This is a teaching match."

He descended onto the rooftop, pacing with his hands behind his back before finally facing Sukuna.

That completely unguarded posture displeased Sukuna somewhat. Cursed energy gathered in his fists as he grinned savagely.

"Your cursed energy is so weak I can't even sense it, yet you're this arrogant. I acknowledge your courage.

"I'll give you the chance to witness what—"

INVINCIBLE (black text on pink background)

He talked a big game, but in Sukuna's eyes, Leon was an extremely bizarre existence.

Rather than having no cursed energy, it was more like Leon had a lid placed over him, with a churning volcanic crater beneath it.

He had to deal with him in the safest way possible, going all out from the start—

Sukuna burst forward, each step tearing up several rooftop tiles.

The instant he closed in on Leon, he leaped high into the air, his cursed-energy-filled fist cracking through the air.

Boom!

The punch landed, and the shockwave kicked up a massive cloud of dust that blanketed the rooftop.

When the smoke cleared, that punch, a punch strong enough to smash the rooftop apart, a punch strong enough to blow a jujutsu sorcerer's head off—

It rested lightly against Leon's cheek, turning his head only slightly.

"What?!"

Still unable to understand, Sukuna watched Leon's head return to position against the force of his fist as if it were nothing, looking down at him.

His indifferent eyes reflected Sukuna's furrowed face.

That really hurt.

Leon thought that.

This was only one-finger Sukuna. If he gathered a few more fingers, then one punch might...

Maybe he'd actually be able to hurt me, right?

Leon was deeply looking forward to it. His fighting spirit rose as his smart atoms began to spin!

And the change in his eyes made Sukuna extremely wary.