Cursed Technique: Furious Flame Mound

[Name: Long Xi]

[Age: 17]

[Cursed energy: Grade 4]

[Cursed technique: Early Access! (LV.1)]

[Skill: Cursed Energy Manipulation (LV.1)]

[New cursed technique: Furious Flame Mound (LV.1)!]

[Support: Your next attack will include Cursed Words.]

[Cursed Words: Azure Flame, Spirit Awakening, Become Empty, Sever the Void. (One use remaining)]

[Assessment: You possess two cursed techniques, both with tremendous growth potential. Unfortunately, your cursed energy reserves are still insignificant. At this rate, you'll have a hard time keeping Lord Grade 3 Cursed Spirit entertained.]

"Then what else is there to say, bro?!"

"Just wait for Sukuna to show up! I'm taking out a massive loan!!"

Long Xi tried to suppress the corners of his mouth as they kept rising. He wanted to look straight ahead at Yuji Itadori, who was shouting something about friendship and the future, and appreciate the iconic scene.

Clearly, his mouth wasn't going to listen.

Thirty-five seconds... Just wait thirty-five seconds and declare my victory!

He didn't know whether this was a system reward or a bonus for receiving this assessment for the first time, but the technique he'd received was downright diabolical.

In a sense, this skill of his had something in common with Hulk from Marvel.

[Furious Flame Mound] didn't just give Long Xi's cursed energy a fire attribute and a burning effect.

It also massively increased his resistance.

In gaming terms, it gave him outright immunity to 10% of fire damage, and this was only level one. At higher levels, it would probably grant complete immunity.

Even Mahoraga would have to call it busted!

Aside from that, it merely gave him the ability to control fire, but that wasn't the most diabolical part!

The most diabolical part was that this technique would grow stronger through his emotions and those of the people around him, whether they were fired up for battle, consumed by boundless rage, or feeling desperate or deadly serious!

Although its boost capped at the "extremely weak" figure of 3,000%, that was barely enough for the current Long Xi.

Don't go thinking that 3,000% boost was easy to achieve. It required a lot of people around him to experience those emotions.

But... Early Access...

The emotions supplied by his viewers still counted! In other words, the more he stirred up his audience and the more exhilarating they found the fight, the longer he could keep fighting!

And every hit could deal thirty times its original damage! If I landed a Black Flash under these conditions, I can't even imagine how powerful I'd be!

Although it still had the drawback of requiring a long charge-up, that was completely negligible!

There was nothing more to say, then...

"Sukuna! You're the challenger!"

The two humans and one cursed spirit below had reached a stalemate, and Yuji Itadori swallowed the finger, just as he had in the original story.

Sukuna's appearance caught Megumi Fushiguro unprepared. He hadn't even imagined something like this could happen.

Having already grown accustomed to the body he inhabited, Sukuna killed the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit that had terrified all three of them with a casual wave of his hand!

Then he began stretching his body and unwinding for the first time in ages!

After all, his account had been banned for so long. Now that he'd finally come back to life, of course he was happy, and being happy naturally meant doing what a happy superhero ought to do!

At that moment, somewhere Sukuna couldn't see, Long Xi's lips spread into a broad, almost savage grin as an arrow made of fire appeared in his hand.

Even its shape was modeled after Sukuna!

But that still wasn't enough insurance!

I've only got one last option! A binding vow! Otherwise known as taking out a loan!

This was one of the core concepts in Jujutsu Kaisen. There were two kinds: binding vows made with oneself and binding vows made with others.

Long Xi intended to use the former, a binding vow with himself. As long as he didn't violate it, he would receive a tremendous boost.

How high could that boost go?

That depended on the price of the binding vow. As for Long Xi, who came from the modern world, had read the Jujutsu Kaisen manga, and had almost no limits to what he would do...

There was no need to say any more!

"Just as I expected, just as I expected, just as I expected, just as I expected!!!!"

Below, the newly incarnated Sukuna, who had only consumed one finger, was still considering how to turn children and women into what he called little buns!

Not once, not even for an instant, did he think of looking Long Xi's way. Or rather, he didn't care at all.

After all, Long Xi's cursed energy was only Grade 4 right now. But once he put every condition into play, that would change.

"Azure Flame, Spirit Awakening, Become Empty, Sever the Void..."

"I've emptied all my cursed energy! In exchange for being unable to use my cursed techniques for three days and not harming Yuji Itadori!"

"Channel everything into this one strike!"

"In return! Speed up the fulfillment of my technique's conditions! Give me an attack that strikes Sukuna himself directly!"

He expended every last bit of his cursed energy, using the complete depletion of his reserves as a baseline, while the audience's varied emotions provided a thirtyfold boost!

Then he added every binding vow he'd just made!

That barely brought his damage up to a level where it could affect the mighty Sukuna a tiny bit. Actually injuring him was out of the question...

But Long Xi only needed to make him freeze up for a moment!

And this one strike was already enough for that!

Long Xi's voice brimmed with uncontrollable madness. With every binding vow he recited, the flames around him surged higher.

Even after establishing those binding vows, the damage would still be laughable to his opponent. But all he wanted was to let Itadori take over the account sooner.

In the original story, Itadori had logged back in after a dozen or so seconds.

If I interfere a little, that should speed things up, right?

The little fire arrow in his hand, originally only as thick as a finger and shaped to resemble Sukuna, suddenly swelled the instant all his binding vows took effect.

Orange-red flames wrapped around black cursed energy, forming a terrifying Flame Spear over ten meters long. Its tip precisely took the shape of Sukuna's arrogant face. The surrounding air warped from the heat, and even the corridor walls began to hiss and smoke.

This strike had completely surpassed the limits of a Grade 4 Sorcerer. It was even several times more terrifying than the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit's full-powered attack.

Long Xi could clearly feel his cursed energy draining away at a frantic rate, as though a huge hole had opened inside him. His whole body began to weaken, but the savage grin on his face only widened.

[Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! What the hell is that?!]

[Absolute legend, he's become the king of loans. What else is there to say? Let me copy and paste that!]

[The streamer still isn't ruthless enough. Just sell your soul to Warhammer and your body to Fourth Sister Little Sheep. Wouldn't that blow Sukuna to bits?]

[A thirtyfold boost plus an all-in binding vow! That strike's gotta have special grade power!]

[You're still lowballing it!]

[Sukuna: Are you out of your fucking mind?!]

The live chat had gone completely wild. Densely packed comments nearly covered the entire screen.

The viewers' shock, excitement, and disbelief flooded into Long Xi like a tide. His nearly depleted cursed energy was forcibly replenished a little, and the Flame Spear's power surged once again.

Downstairs, Sukuna had just finished loosening his wrists and was about to turn around and go after Megumi Fushiguro.

He hadn't so much as glanced toward Long Xi out of the corner of his eye. To him, this brat, whose cursed energy was as feeble as an ant's, wasn't even worth attacking.

Until a wave of heat fierce enough to make even him feel a sting came crashing down from overhead.