Judging the King of Curses

In the courtroom, Okkotsu held a gavel as he faced Sukuna, who stood in the defendant's dock.

Sukuna looked somewhat impatient, his four arms folded across his chest, his fingertips tapping lightly against his arms. When did this brat copy that lawyer's domain? When I cut off his left arm?

Just moments earlier, as he unleashed a slash at Gu Yanzhi, Okkotsu's Cursed Technique had forcibly interrupted the attack-the domain of Deadly Sentencing had opened at the last possible moment, dragging him into this trial.

"These bastards really are persistent."

Gu Yanzhi had told everyone at Jujutsu High that if Sukuna possessed both a Cursed Technique and a Cursed Tool, Higuruma's domain, Deadly Sentencing, would likely prioritize confiscating the target's Cursed Tool. Their original plan to confiscate Sukuna's Cursed Technique and then kill him with the Executioner's Sword would therefore most likely fail.

To address that, Gu Yanzhi had proposed a new plan-put Sukuna on trial twice.

After Higuruma used Deadly Sentencing once, Okkotsu would copy his Cursed Technique and conduct a second trial.

Thus, during their month of battle preparations, while Itadori received lessons in Barrier Technique theory from Gu Yanzhi, Okkotsu also underwent a month-long crash course in law taught by Higuruma.

Rika's enormous body manifested beside Okkotsu. He drew out the space within her where he usually stored Cursed Tools and retrieved a hefty legal code. Notes containing various defense strategies left by Higuruma were clipped to its cover, their dense handwriting recording his interpretations of every legal provision and strategies for addressing them.

Itadori stood beside Gu Yanzhi, his palms slick with nervous sweat. Gu Yanzhi wore a grave expression, his gaze fixed on the judge Shikigami in the center of the courtroom.

"So he actually used this move."

This plan was only a fallback.

Everyone knew it depended heavily on luck. Unlike Higuruma, Okkotsu had never prosecuted Itadori before, so he could not bring Itadori into a third trial as Higuruma had and thereby guarantee Sukuna's death sentence.

If they prosecuted Sukuna directly, which case the court would hear was entirely down to chance.

The judge Shikigami's head, with one eye open and the other closed, slowly turned. At last, it spoke, its voice devoid of emotion, like a court officer mechanically reading a case file. "Ryomen Sukuna, you are hereby charged with damaging public property at the Juvenile Detention Center."

Okkotsu's shoulders slumped slightly. Gu Yanzhi closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

Luck had not been on their side.

Damaging public property-at most, that charge could confiscate a portion of Sukuna's cursed energy. It was nowhere near sufficient to trigger the death sentence that would grant the Executioner's Sword.

Sukuna spread all four hands and threw his head back, laughing wildly. His laughter echoed beneath the courtroom's vaulted ceiling, mocking and piercing. "What can you brats accomplish with all this running around? Those disappointed faces-they're absolutely delicious."

He pleaded guilty outright, not even bothering to defend himself.

The judge loudly pronounced the verdict: "Confiscation! Guilty!"

The domain's boundaries dissolved as the verdict rang out. Most of Sukuna's cursed energy was stripped away, but his smile did not fade in the slightest.

To deny Okkotsu the chance to conduct a second trial, he immediately formed a hand sign with two hands. The damage Unlimited Void had inflicted on his brain had already healed. Now, he intended to finish them off.

"Domain Expansion-Malevolent Shrine."

A shrine rose behind Sukuna. To guard against a surprise attack from Maki, he made this an Open Domain.

Malevolent Shrine's range instantly engulfed Okkotsu's slowly crumbling domain, and countless slashes rained down like a torrential storm. Okkotsu's Authentic Mutual Love shattered completely beneath Malevolent Shrine's storm of slashes, scattering into specks of light, while his Cursed Technique burned out.

With the slashes about to descend, they quickly deployed Simple Domains to defend themselves.

Gu Yanzhi's brows knitted tightly. The domain Sukuna had unleashed this time was incredibly powerful. Even after losing most of his cursed energy, he could still deploy Malevolent Shrine on this scale. This monster's total reserves were absurd. Okkotsu's and Itadori's Simple Domains would probably struggle to withstand it.

He formed a hand sign and shouted, "I'm going all in!"

"Domain Expansion"

"-Court of Ten Thousand Treasured Arms!"

A black barrier spread outward from Gu Yanzhi. Sukuna merely gave a disdainful smile, not even bothering to raise his eyelids. "A dying man's struggle."

The instant those words left his mouth, Gu Yanzhi's domain began to shatter. Crushed beneath Malevolent Shrine's slashes, the incomplete domain could not withstand a direct confrontation, and dense cracks spread across the barrier's surface.

At the sight, Okkotsu's and Itadori's hearts sank further. Even Mr. Gu's domain barrier can't hold? What do we do? How are we supposed to withstand Sukuna's Malevolent Shrine?

But Gu Yanzhi, his face smeared with blood, did not stop. His voice was hoarse, yet brimming with fury. "Don't underestimate me, King of Curses!"

"I'm the third-greatest Barrier Technique master in history!"

Gu Yanzhi's domain shattered completely.

Fragments of the barrier burst apart in midair like shattered glass.

Yet the corners of Sukuna's mouth curled upward slightly. This one's interesting. My slashes didn't shatter it. The brat did it deliberately.

He was transforming his domain into an Open Domain-removing the barrier's boundaries and relinquishing the sure-hit effect, trading a completely open domain for total control over everything within it.

What Sukuna did not know, however, was that Gu Yanzhi's domain had never been complete and had no sure-hit effect. His success now rested entirely on his profound knowledge of Barrier Techniques and his reckless courage.

After shattering completely, the incomplete domain pieced itself back together. Its barrier boundaries vanished, and its range extended outward from Gu Yanzhi.

Gu Yanzhi's transformation into an Open Domain was complete.

Yet his domain remained incomplete. It could not contend with Sukuna's as a true Open Domain could. It could only weaken the slashes, not neutralize them entirely.

Sukuna's slashes remained. Though weakened, they still swept toward the group from every direction.

Okkotsu and Itadori suddenly lost control of their bodies and flew backward. It was Gu Yanzhi-he had used Psychokinesis to push them out of the slashes' range.

Gu Yanzhi stood alone at the center of Malevolent Shrine's storm of slashes.

Countless slashes struck from every direction, leaving densely packed wounds across his body. Blades split his skin and severed muscle fibers, and blood gushed from dozens of wounds at once. Within a few breaths, his arms had been sliced open, their flesh torn apart, while his chest and thighs were mangled masses of blood and flesh.

But his remaining cursed energy surged wildly. His Psychokinesis pierced the storm of slashes and coiled around Sukuna's limbs and torso. He poured every last bit of his cursed energy into restraining Sukuna, pinning him firmly in place.

"If the judge shields you from your crimes-then I'll pass judgment myself!" Gu Yanzhi laughed wildly, the sound especially piercing amid the roar of the slashes, carrying the madness of a man pushed to his limits.

As he spoke, he pointed toward the sky.

A blade blazing with brilliant golden light plunged into the domain from above-the Executioner's Sword. Its golden radiance illuminated the entire Open Domain, carving a dazzling trail through Malevolent Shrine's darkness as it descended straight toward the top of Sukuna's head.

"Take another guess-where do you think that Executioner's Sword is?"

Gu Yanzhi's laughter grew even more crazed. With every laugh, more bloody froth spilled from his mouth.

Sukuna reeled in shock. His cursed energy surged, and his domain's slashes grew fiercer. All four of his hands struggled at once as he tried to break free of the Psychokinesis restraining him.

The density of the slashes multiplied several times over. The air was filled with the shriek of cutting blades. Gu Yanzhi was drenched in blood, with scarcely a patch of intact skin remaining. His arms had been sliced down to the white bone, and the backlash from his Cursed Technique had ruptured his liver, sending blood streaming from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. His bloodshot eyes could barely see, and the skin over his nose and cheekbones had split from the cursed energy backlash. Yet he did not let go, and his laughter only grew more crazed.

The Executioner's Sword's golden light drew ever closer to Sukuna. Gu Yanzhi grinned through the blood smeared across his face, Sukuna's shocked expression reflected in his bloodshot eyes.

"Come on, Sukuna! Let me see-can the legendary King of Curses withstand this killing blow?"