A binding vow with Ryomen Sukuna

Once he calmed down and thought about it, Aikawa Kaze could easily guess why Megumi Fushiguro was here-he had probably read the note Kaze left and followed him out of concern.

Thinking about it now, the two Special Grade Sorcerers he knew were both absent because of him: Satoru Gojo was looking for something in India, and Suguru Geto had gone shopping at a convenience store. He hardly knew what to say.

Aikawa Kaze glanced at the unconscious Megumi Fushiguro and spoke seriously.

"Tell me your terms! I'd suggest thinking them through before you speak-I do want to save him, but if you ask too much, I'll wipe you both out and avenge him directly."

"...You're pretty decisive."

Aikawa Kaze's reaction caught Ryomen Sukuna off guard for a moment.

In his experience, Jujutsu Sorcerers whose loved ones had been taken hostage either surrendered or fought.

The only difference was whether they attacked in a furious rage while cursing and demanding he release the hostage, or struck through their tears, shouting things like, "I'll avenge you!"

This was his first time seeing someone calmly "negotiate" with Ryomen Sukuna like this.

More importantly, with his keen sensitivity to cursed energy and emotions, Ryomen Sukuna discovered to his astonishment that Aikawa Kaze meant every word.

The boy who had destroyed one of his twenty fingers genuinely loved the hostage and wanted to save him, but if negotiations broke down, he would also strike without hesitation.

"Hahahaha! Not bad. I like that straightforward attitude."

Ryomen Sukuna didn't dislike straightforward people. He grinned, his eyes twisting into eerily amused crescents.

"Make a binding vow with me. You stop attacking me, and I'll release this child. How about it?"

"You think I'd agree to that?"

Aikawa Kaze sneered.

This cursed spirit possessed by Ryomen Sukuna had deliberately released its domain's aura to draw his attention, then specifically sealed off the entrance until he was alone.

Clearly, it had come after him specifically.

Even Megumi Fushiguro, who had arrived later than they had, had gotten inside, yet Suguru Geto still hadn't entered. That was definitely deliberate.

Aikawa Kaze wasn't in the habit of rambling on with his enemies. He wasn't some manga artist trying to pad out a fight.

Hearing Sukuna propose this "binding vow" that took him for an idiot immediately left Aikawa Kaze speechless. Did he look even easier to fool than the innocent Yuji?

He would release Megumi, but hadn't said he wouldn't capture or kill him again-and he wanted Kaze to stop attacking him, too? How shameless could he get?

Aikawa Kaze raised his sword without hesitation.

"Release the Thirteen Restraints-"

"Wait, wait! I was only joking!"

Ryomen Sukuna stiffened. Realizing Aikawa Kaze was serious, he gave a dry cough.

"We can change the terms..."

"Are you stalling?" Aikawa Kaze keenly picked up on the problem and said coldly, "Last chance. Think before you speak. You have one minute."

"Are you sure? Stalling doesn't benefit me. After all, you have another Special Grade Sorcerer who could come to your aid at any moment. That works more in your favor, doesn't it?"

Countless scarlet eyes opened across the blue-green skin as Ryomen Sukuna spoke in a coaxing tone.

"It's not often I get to come out for some fresh air. Why not chat a little longer? Maybe that guy with the bun will show up any second."

"Normally, since you deliberately waited until I was alone to drag me into your domain, you shouldn't be wasting time. But since that's what you're doing..."

Aikawa Kaze remained expressionless, the Holy Sword in his hand already glowing.

"I don't know what you're planning, but I know one thing: whatever the enemy wants to do, I have to stop it."

Of course, Ryomen Sukuna might also be bluffing, trying to provoke him into doing something rash.

Still, judging by Sukuna's personality, he probably wasn't the sort to take such a roundabout approach.

After a moment's thought, Aikawa Kaze made what he believed was the best decision.

Ryomen Sukuna probably hadn't taken a "liking" to Megumi Fushiguro yet, so he might genuinely kill him. That went against what Aikawa Kaze wanted. Of course he wanted to save Megumi.

He wasn't an American soldier. Unless he had absolutely no choice, he would rather not use the "kill the hostage so they can't threaten you" method of rescue.

"You're the one who needs something from me now. Make a binding vow: I can refrain from attacking you today, but you must also release Megumi and refrain from attacking us today."

Aikawa Kaze didn't want his hands tied in the future, so he added the time limit of "today" to every condition.

Clearly, however, that didn't meet Ryomen Sukuna's expectations.

"This isn't the only hostage I have!"

Ryomen Sukuna shook Megumi Fushiguro as he spoke with malicious intent.

"Because of you, the will residing in all my fingers sensed something and received the images that part saw before it vanished."

"..."

"Hahahahaha! Looks like you understand what that means."

Ryomen Sukuna's expressions grew increasingly exaggerated, his body twisting.

"That's right! All my fingers have begun to resonate-awakening, rampaging, slaughtering! Jujutsu Sorcerer, my hostages are all the humans threatened by those fingers. Do you understand?"

If Ryomen Sukuna's fingers awakened and ran amok while everyone was unprepared, the casualties would indeed be immense.

Even though Aikawa Kaze hated being threatened, he couldn't help being trapped by this moral blackmail.

Staring at the wildly laughing "Ryomen Sukuna," he gradually began to understand.

Rather than growing stronger, he looked more like... he was struggling to suppress something.

A flash of inspiration crossed his mind. Aikawa Kaze's expression turned serious as he suddenly realized something.

"Your current condition... you haven't strengthened this cursed spirit. You're restraining your own power, trying to keep it stable?"

It was like what had happened with the first finger Aikawa Kaze encountered.

That cursed spirit had foolishly tried to devour Ryomen Sukuna's finger. As a result, after allowing the King of Curses to manifest briefly, it had immediately burst because it couldn't contain all that power.

Aikawa Kaze quickly understood: Ryomen Sukuna was putting pressure on him.

"If this cursed spirit collapses, we won't be able to make a binding vow-then all the people who die because of [Resonance] will be your fault! Hahahaha!"

"..."

"If you stop attacking me, I can halt the resonance between the fingers for one year right now, and release this brat."

"Are you treating me like some kid you can fool? If I can't attack you, am I supposed to wait around to die?"

Aikawa Kaze sneered, though inwardly he was deep in thought.

One year later would be around the time Yuji Itadori, the protagonist of the Jujutsu Kaisen world, swallowed Ryomen Sukuna's finger. It was also roughly when the resonance was originally supposed to occur.

Aikawa Kaze had heard that Ryomen Sukuna had ties to Brain, though he didn't know the specifics.

From the looks of it, perhaps Ryomen Sukuna's "incarnation" was an unspoken plan between the two?

As countless thoughts raced through his mind, Aikawa Kaze kept pressing the point about "attacking."

"You release Megumi and stop the fingers' resonance for one year, and I... for one year, as long as you don't attack me, I won't initiate an attack against you either. How about that?"

Without changing his expression, Aikawa Kaze revised the terms of the binding vow, pretending he had made a concession.

"I can't give up the ability to protect myself. Both our restrictions last one year. That's fair, isn't it?"

"Halting the resonance for a year in exchange for you not initiating an attack for a year is fine."

Ryomen Sukuna maliciously poked Megumi Fushiguro's cheek and grinned.

"But this brat will cost you extra."

"Don't... worry about me..."

Megumi Fushiguro had regained consciousness by then. Aikawa Kaze didn't know how much he had heard, but from the movements of his lips, he could roughly guess what his foolish little brother was saying.

"Then let's add another condition."

Aikawa Kaze thought for a moment. Remembering that Sukuna had always coveted Megumi Fushiguro's body, and reportedly succeeded in taking it over later, he immediately had an idea.

"You never attack Megumi Fushiguro, and I'll swear never to attack you with [the same power] I used when I destroyed your finger. How about it? That's a fair deal, isn't it?"

Sukuna laughed and nodded, and the two established their binding vow.

Ryomen Sukuna believed he had removed a major threat to himself. Once he revived a year later and gathered all his power, he wouldn't necessarily lose to Aikawa Kaze.

As for Aikawa Kaze... he gave himself a mental thumbs-up.

When he destroyed Sukuna that time, he had released seven of the Thirteen Restraints for his attack.

The binding vow forbade him from ever attacking Ryomen Sukuna with [the same power] he had used to destroy his finger. Didn't that mean he could get around it by using [different power]?

After this, he simply had to find a way to release one to six restraints, or more than seven.

The only thing Aikawa Kaze needed to worry about now was the "one-year" time limit.

But that was fine. The same applied to Ryomen Sukuna. They were both waiting for the crucial "protagonist" to appear.

Aikawa Kaze and Ryomen Sukuna smiled at each other, each harboring his own schemes. It almost felt as though they were "settling their grudges with a smile."

Only they knew exactly what devious plans they were cooking up.

Even Megumi Fushiguro, who had heard almost the entire exchange, was thoroughly confused and had no idea how things had developed this way.

From Megumi Fushiguro's perspective, he had come looking for his little brother, been subdued by a terrifying cursed spirit in one blow, and then...

His little brother had exchanged verbal blows with a cursed spirit? After they established a bizarre contract, the cursed spirit let him go, then inexplicably exploded?

Even when Aikawa Kaze pulled Megumi Fushiguro up from the ground, he still hadn't figured out what had happened.

"It's all right. It's over now."

Smiling, Aikawa Kaze took out a paper napkin and, with obvious distaste, used it to wrap up Ryomen Sukuna's finger as he picked it up from the ground.

The cursed spirit had finally failed to hold on and exploded. Its domain naturally dissolved, leaving only a dead man's claw behind.

Since he had agreed not to initiate an attack, should he hand this thing over to Satoru Gojo?

Aikawa Kaze wasn't too keen on that. Giving it to Satoru Gojo was effectively giving it to the higher-ups of Jujutsu Society, and he still remembered all the threats those Old Conservatives had made against him last time!

After thinking for a moment, he spotted Suguru Geto circling around nearby with several bags, looking for them, and a light bulb went off in his head.

"Sorry, Mr. Geto. That cursed spirit died."

Aikawa Kaze gave him a polite, apologetic smile.

"As compensation, this Chicken Foot is yours! If one of your cursed spirits uses it, I'm sure it'll make a great addition."

"???"

Suguru Geto was thunderstruck.

He had only gone to buy a few things, and the ultra-rare shiny SSR he had his eye on was already gone? That was a Pokémon-scratch that, a cursed spirit-with a domain!

But before he could mourn the loss, something resembling a chicken foot was shoved into his hand.

"This is... a Special Grade Cursed Object? Ryomen Sukuna's finger?"

"That's right. This thing should be like an all-purpose super tonic for cursed spirits. It should be very useful to a Cursed Spirit Manipulator, right?"

It was like a ridiculously powerful piece of universal equipment with both crit stats. He could equip any cursed spirit with it to strengthen its abilities. Who wouldn't love that?

"Thank you. It's a wonderful gift. I like it very much."

Suguru Geto gladly accepted this "compensation for emotional distress."

He no longer mourned his rare Pokémon. Now he only wanted more good things like this to happen.

If every one of his cursed spirits had a Sukuna's Finger equipped, wouldn't their combat power shoot straight up?

"Look on the bright side. If one of your cursed spirits can swallow the finger without exploding and absorb Ryomen Sukuna's power, wouldn't that mean you'd have a little Sukuna as a shikigami?"

"!!!"

That sounded even more tempting!

Suguru Geto was itching to try, but after considering his current collection, he set the idea aside for now and spoke with considerable regret.

"The King of Curses' power isn't that easy to absorb. One mistake and they explode. The cursed spirits I currently have aren't quite suitable."

After all, anything below special grade was definitely unqualified to attempt it.

The few Special Grade Cursed Spirits in Suguru Geto's collection were all ones he was reasonably pleased with. Losing one to something like this would hurt.

For now, he would just use it as an equipped accessory to boost their stats.

After some thought, Suguru Geto summoned Rainbow Dragon and tucked Sukuna's Finger onto its body.

After all, it was one of the few shikigami he had captured that was handsome, powerful, and could even fly. He was extremely happy with it!

While Suguru Geto dealt with his spoils, Aikawa Kaze had already checked Megumi Fushiguro's injuries. Fortunately, they were all superficial and didn't affect his mobility.

"Go get bandaged up at the hospital! Then change your clothes."

"...Okay."

Megumi Fushiguro didn't refuse. Although he wasn't badly injured, he looked pretty battered. His sister would definitely worry if he went home like this, but...

"Kaze, you..."

"I'll wait for those idiots with a death wish. Might as well see this through!"

Aikawa Kaze hadn't forgotten that he also considered this an apology for making Tsumiki cry. He had to finish what he started.

He decided to knock them out as soon as they arrived and let them think they had encountered a ghost. At least it would teach them a lesson.

"If you mean those Monkeys, they're over there."

Pleased to sense that Rainbow Dragon had recovered much of its strength and was still growing stronger, Suguru Geto was in an unusually good mood. He came over and offered a comment, pointing to several unconscious teenagers nearby.

Judging by their numbers, they were probably Tsumiki's friends.

"That's surprising. You actually didn't kill them?"

After checking and discovering that the reckless exploration team was indeed alive and merely unconscious, Aikawa Kaze was rather surprised.

Earlier, Suguru Geto had been mouthing off about cursed spirits born from Monkeys killing Jujutsu Sorcerers and how he hated Monkeys. Yet this seemed fairly mild?

Had Kaze's talking actually moved him? Or had Darwin's theory of evolution given him a fresh shock?

"Don't misunderstand. There are all kinds of Monkeys."

Seeing Aikawa Kaze's expression, Suguru Geto curled his lip.

"There are Monkeys who offer money, and Monkeys who are completely useless... their existence simply showed me another kind of Monkey-ones who can offer faith. That kind is fairly useful, too. Your discovery was a good one."

"...Do you want me to thank you?"

"Suit yourself. Though I really do owe you thanks!"

Suguru Geto stroked Rainbow Dragon's beautiful scales, the corners of his lips lifting.

After all, without Aikawa Kaze, he wouldn't have been able to possess his favorite collectible again!