Inside the Innate Domain.
Araki Itsuki grinned viciously and suddenly appeared on the finger cursed spirit's right.
The hideous giant scythe in his hand swept across, effortlessly severing the right arm the finger cursed spirit had barely raised to block him.
Blood gushed from the stump.
Rhaast's savage laughter rang out alongside the cursed spirit's wails.
"Even a cursed spirit feels pain when an arm gets cut off, right?"
Araki Itsuki smiled, filthy blood still dripping from the monstrous scythe in his right hand, while his left gripped the finger cursed spirit's severed arm.
Squelch!
Under the finger cursed spirit's gaze, he brutally crushed it!
Humiliated and furious, the finger cursed spirit formed two dense masses of cursed energy around its hands.
It twisted around and launched both cursed energy projectiles at Araki Itsuki.
Boom!
Araki Itsuki took the attack head-on without dodging. The blast engulfed his sturdy frame, yet he remained unmoved.
Like a massive dam barring a raging river, he forcibly split the surging torrent in two.
Countless sharp stone fragments whistled past. The wall behind Araki Itsuki was riddled with holes, and countless gouges scarred the passage.
He brushed the dust off himself, his expression contemptuous.
"You can't even put any strength into a hit, and you call yourself a special grade cursed spirit?"
The finger cursed spirit ground its teeth in rage, its face contorted.
Its strange eyes fixed on Araki Itsuki, as though it wanted to tear him limb from limb.
It spread its arms and stretched out its body, unleashing its violent cursed energy without restraint.
The surrounding walls began to crumble.
Yuji Itadori had recovered his senses and could move again.
He hurriedly raised his arms against the shock wave, only to find his uniform sleeves being brutally torn apart.
"What terrifying power!"
After unleashing its violent cursed energy, the finger cursed spirit clutched its head with both hands, then began whipping its arms about.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Countless projectiles formed from cursed energy bombarded Araki Itsuki. Dust billowed, and the entire area shook.
Araki Itsuki disappeared beneath the barrage, with no further sign of movement.
Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro gradually adjusted to the special grade cursed spirit's oppressive presence. They retreated to the rear, quickly assessing its strength.
The longer they watched, the more their hearts sank. How were they supposed to fight that?!
A long while passed.
The finger cursed spirit panted heavily, certain that Araki Itsuki had not escaped the explosions.
Its ugly face broke into a toothy grin. Its strange claws cradled its chin as its body squirmed back and forth like an earthworm.
"Hee hee... hee hee... hee hee hee!"
But just then.
The dust cleared. Araki Itsuki covered his forehead in exasperation and sneered:
"What an idiot. Don't you know smoke means no damage?"
His figure flickered, and he vanished.
The finger cursed spirit was terrified and bewildered, unable to understand why Araki Itsuki had suffered no injuries.
It hurriedly shaped its hands into blades, intending to slash all around itself and force Araki Itsuki out of hiding.
Crack!
A crisp snap of bone echoed. Before it could react, Araki Itsuki mercilessly severed the arm it had barely raised.
Suppressing its terror and the agony in its severed arm, it bent its legs to retreat.
Disgusting buds of flesh emerged from the stump, wriggling like maggots.
It intended to gain some distance and restore its arm.
Unfortunately, a flash of blood-red light swept past.
Before its arm could heal, its bent thighs were brutally severed, spraying blood.
The finger cursed spirit's mutilated body fell to the ground. It wondered whether it was dreaming.
I haven't even left the starter village, and you're throwing an opponent like this at me?!
Meanwhile.
Megumi Fushiguro stared at Araki Itsuki in disbelief and murmured, "He's so strong. They're not even in the same league."
"In Araki's hands, that special grade cursed spirit is like a little rabbit trapped in a tiger's jaws. It's a total slaughter. It doesn't have the slightest chance to fight back."
Yuji Itadori nodded earnestly in agreement. "Compared to Araki, I'm way too weak."
Araki Itsuki looked at the finger cursed spirit, its limbs severed and its body sprawled like a dead dog, and irritably stamped on its head.
"How boring."
Then he kicked it flying toward Megumi Fushiguro and Yuji Itadori.
"I'll leave the rest to you."
"Fushiguro, you're a prodigy of a jujutsu sorcerer. Show everyone what the Ten Shadows Technique can do."
Fushiguro jumped back, moving away from the deep crater the finger cursed spirit had smashed into the ground.
He drew a deep breath and formed the hand sign for his cursed technique.
"Divine Dogs!"
A wolf-like dog with a pitch-black body and powerful white limbs emerged from his shadow.
It was Totality, who had inherited the white Divine Dog's power.
Unlike his previous husky-like form, Totality now had long, sharp-clawed limbs and a stronger build.
He bared his teeth ferociously, the fangs in his mouth ready to tear through the enemy's flesh at any moment.
"Nue!"
Fushiguro crossed his hands and hooked his thumbs together.
The owl-like Nue spread his wings and soared, circling overhead at high speed to improve their mobility.
The finger cursed spirit regrew its limbs and had only just crawled out of the shattered crater.
It saw a boy and a dog charging toward it, attacking simultaneously from either side.
It felt deeply insulted. The toys that had been too terrified to move earlier actually dared to fight back.
It immediately screamed in fury: I'm a special grade cursed spirit! I might not be able to deal with that monster, but you think I can't deal with you?!
Fushiguro rushed up, drove his left foot hard into the ground, and twisted his body to put his strength behind a right kick that chopped toward the finger cursed spirit like an axe.
Smack!
When the finger cursed spirit blocked with its arm, he immediately pulled away, ducking his head and bending low beneath its sweeping arm before circling behind it.
With cursed energy wrapped around his fist, he drove a straight punch into its exposed back.
The finger cursed spirit staggered two steps in pain, steadied itself, then swung a fist at Fushiguro's head.
But a black-and-white figure leaped into the air. Sharp claws flashed coldly, gouging deep wounds into its arm.
At the same time, a vicious, bloodstained maw lunged for the finger cursed spirit's neck.
Struck again, the finger cursed spirit had no choice but to abandon its punch at Fushiguro's head.
Its right hand blocked Fushiguro's blow while its left seized Totality by the neck, holding his bloody jaws at bay to protect its own throat.
As the three remained locked together, the Tiger of West Junior High moved.
This monster weighed eighty kilograms with a single-digit body-fat percentage, and had been able to run fifty meters in three seconds even in high school.
Now that Ryomen Sukuna's cursed energy had contaminated and strengthened him, his physical abilities could only be more formidable.
Yuji Itadori's thighs suddenly bulged, pulling even his loose uniform taut.
An afterimage trailed behind him as he closed rapidly on the finger cursed spirit.
As he drew near, Yuji Itadori leaned sideways, his soles scraping violently against the ground.
He gripped the cleaver-shaped Slaughter Demon with all the strength in his upper body and slashed hard at the finger cursed spirit's crotch.
"Aah!"
From Araki Itsuki's perspective.
Yuji Itadori slid toward the finger cursed spirit's groin, mercilessly slashing at its privates.
Whether a humanoid cursed spirit even had privates was another question.
A chill swept through the special grade cursed spirit's crotch, and it struggled to fling Totality and Fushiguro away.
But Fushiguro wrapped himself around its arm, pinning its body firmly and refusing to let it move.
With a crack, blood sprayed.
Ignoring the filthy blood covering his head, Yuji Itadori hurriedly stood and brought the cleaver straight down, slashing at the special grade cursed spirit's head from behind.
However.
Bang!
The agonized special grade cursed spirit unleashed a violent burst of cursed energy, blasting both boys and the dog away.
It reached down to feel its ice-cold crotch, then ignored everyone else and charged straight at Yuji Itadori.
Totality may be a dog, but you're the real bastard!
Yuji Itadori shielded his head with both hands, frantically trying to fend off the finger cursed spirit's attacks.
"This is so unfair!"
"You didn't even have anything down there! Why do you keep coming after me?!"
He had barely finished complaining when the finger cursed spirit punched him into the air.
It leaned back, its cheeks swelling as dense cursed energy gathered at its mouth.
"Oh, crap!"
Yuji Itadori's expression changed. He had no way to dodge in midair!
Thump, thump, thump!
Three masses of condensed cursed energy shot skyward toward Yuji Itadori, who had nothing to push off against.
At the critical moment,
A strange eagle-like cry rang out.
The owl-like Nue swooped in, caught the falling Yuji Itadori, and rapidly climbed.
He dodged the three cursed energy projectiles and carried him to Fushiguro's side.
Yuji Itadori wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Thanks."
Fushiguro's expression was grave. He kept his eyes fixed on the special grade cursed spirit without daring to relax, his thoughts racing:
Araki didn't intervene even when Itadori was in that much danger. Looks like he really intends to make us exorcise this special grade cursed spirit.
He gave a bitter chuckle:
"Mr. Satoru Gojo was right. He really does do whatever he wants."
Araki Itsuki stood high on the stairs, watching the battlefield below with interest. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted down:
"Fushiguro, quit overthinking!"
"Existence, fairness, kindness, happiness-to hell with all of it!"
"Enjoy the thrill of battle, the beauty of slaughter, the feeling of your life hanging by a thread!"
Finally, he burst into wild laughter.
"The soul is bloodthirsty by nature! You don't need a reason! Kill that beast!!!"
Before you continue