Tombs of the Star Corridor 4

Both Sukuna's and Uraume's expressions darkened.

Bam!

Before Uraume could react.

Satoru Gojo's fist, enhanced with [Blue], struck Uraume in the abdomen, sending Uraume flying through the Emptiness Barrier and into the final one.

This scene.

Perfectly recreated what had happened when Sukuna punched Ken Kaneki earlier.

"Now." Satoru Gojo smiled at Sukuna. "I approve your exit."

Crack!

Mahoraga broke free of the ice and fixed his gaze on Sukuna again. The Dharma Wheel above his head turned once more.

At this rate.

It would only take a few more turns for Mahoraga to fully adapt to Uraume's [Ice Formation].

Seeing this.

Sukuna sneered.

He formed the Flame Deva Seal with both hands and began expanding his domain, forcing Satoru Gojo to expand his own.

Because.

Ken Kaneki was also within his domain's range.

Now.

Satoru Gojo had no choice but to expand his domain to counter it.

After all.

Having only just been unsealed, Satoru Gojo did not know whether Ken Kaneki had mastered [Simple Domain].

That was something.

Even Sukuna did not know.

But he was certain Ken Kaneki could use it.

Little did he know.

Satoru Gojo had already intended to do this.

Next, just as Sukuna had anticipated, Satoru Gojo formed the Indra Seal with one hand and expanded his domain.

"Domain Expansion-Malevolent Shrine."

"Domain Expansion-Unlimited Void."

Both expanded their domains simultaneously, completely engulfing Ken Kaneki and Mahoraga.

Inside the domains.

Their sure-hit effects canceled each other out.

They were evenly matched.

Outside, Sukuna's [Malevolent Shrine] relentlessly slashed at the outer shell of Satoru Gojo's domain.

To Sukuna's surprise, the slashes did not destroy Satoru Gojo's domain.

However.

Satoru Gojo did not release his hand seal.

He actually shrank [Unlimited Void] to the size of a basketball.

Sukuna understood Satoru Gojo's intent. After dodging Mahoraga's attack, he chose to shrink his domain to the same size to increase his cursed technique's output.

But.

He was two seconds slower.

At this.

Kaneki was not surprised at all.

The Gojo Clan's acting clan head had once said that Satoru Gojo had investigated him before being sealed.

Combined with the changes during the Shibuya Incident.

He knew Satoru Gojo had probably read the book he had written, "Jujutsu Kaisen."

Now.

His suspicions had been confirmed.

At this moment.

Kaneki's injuries had mostly healed, and he rose to join the battle.

After taking that punch.

He had gained a profound understanding of how powerful Itadori's body was.

He also realized that Tiger-Skin Sukuna was very likely capable of lasting three minutes.

In the original story.

Apart from the final clash, when healing his body delayed Megumi-Skin Sukuna's domain expansion by 0.01 seconds and he lasted only two minutes and forty seconds.

The third and fourth domain clashes both ended in simultaneous destruction.

The original wording said that, at the same time Sukuna's domain shattered Gojo's domain, Gojo beat Sukuna so badly that he could no longer maintain his domain.

That also meant.

Sukuna had held out for three minutes in the domain battle.

If he had not lasted three minutes, he would have been hit by [Unlimited Void], just as he had in the final domain battle.

Only by lasting three minutes.

Would Sukuna's domain shatter the outer shell of Satoru Gojo's domain at three minutes and one second.

After realizing this.

Kaneki almost wanted to have Tengen outside dispel the Emptiness Barrier.

Megumi-Skin Sukuna could not possibly have the same physical capabilities as Tiger-Skin Sukuna.

In other words...

The current Tiger-Skin Sukuna could last beyond three minutes.

What truly surprised Satoru Gojo was that Sukuna was using [Domain Amplification] while expanding his domain.

When using [Domain Amplification].

One could not use the innate cursed technique engraved into one's body.

But.

A cursed technique already imbued into a domain was naturally a different matter.

This also demonstrated the King of Curses' true caliber. So far, Sukuna was the only person known to be capable of using [Domain Amplification] within a domain.

Of course.

Kenjaku, who had lived for a thousand years, might also be capable of it.

Realizing he had become a burden, Kaneki decisively abandoned the joint assault on Sukuna and retreated to the rear.

He counted the time in his head.

One minute and thirty seconds.

Every time he stepped forward, he gave Sukuna an opening to seize him and use him to hold Satoru Gojo and Mahoraga back.

Mahoraga was underperforming too.

But he was doing much better than Kaneki.

Without Kaneki dragging him down, Satoru Gojo fought more and more smoothly. For a time, he and Mahoraga kept Tiger-Skin Sukuna pinned down.

Now.

Kaneki had the feeling that he had somehow been handed [Chimera Beast-Agito]'s script.

He did not switch cursed techniques either.

He maintained [Limitless] to avoid being ambushed.

The gap was still too great.

At his current level, he could at most fight Kenjaku. Against Sukuna, he could only take a beating.

Without Satoru Gojo.

Sukuna would have seized an opening long ago and used [Open] to kill Mahoraga instantly.

At this moment.

He somewhat regretted dismissing the other nine shikigami.

Otherwise.

They could still disrupt Sukuna, though they might also disrupt Satoru Gojo.

Seeing that the three-minute mark was approaching.

Kaneki switched to [Star Rage], and a bracelet strung with eighteen Underworld Beads appeared around his wrist.

Mahoraga also began casually blocking Sukuna's line of sight, preventing him from looking at Ken Kaneki.

Kaneki pulled off one bead.

He began stacking [Mass].

He had once asked Yuki Tsukumo about it. The area affected by [Black Hole] could be restricted through one's own will.

With Itadori in mind.

This [Black Hole] could not cover too large an area.

He could not let Itadori die, but he had to leave him unable to maintain [Malevolent Shrine].

Sukuna also noticed the change in Mahoraga's tactics.

After a simple test, he deduced that Ken Kaneki had switched cursed techniques.

A savage grin appeared on his face.

Immediately afterward...

He knocked Satoru Gojo back, slipped around Mahoraga, and unleashed [Malevolent Shrine] at Ken Kaneki.

He had only just made the hand gesture.

Before he could release [Dismantle].

He saw Kaneki shoot an Underworld Bead at him first. A powerful suction erupted from the bead, frantically drawing in everything around it.

Seeing this.

Sukuna did not hesitate.

He unleashed several slashes at the Underworld Bead, trying to shatter it before it could reach him.

"Gojo!"

Kaneki called out to Satoru Gojo, gesturing for him to get away from Sukuna immediately.

Three minutes had already passed.

Even without his warning...

Satoru Gojo, who had been continuously observing with the Six Eyes, naturally understood what Ken Kaneki was doing.

However.

Satoru Gojo did not leave.

Instead, he deliberately moved in front of Sukuna.

With [Limitless] active, he was not pulled in by the gradually forming [Black Hole].

After intercepting Sukuna's slashes with his own body, he brought his hands together and used a short-range teleport to appear in front of Kaneki.

He had not only blocked the slashes, but also bought time for [Black Hole] to form.

Crack!

Just as the Underworld Bead was about to hit Sukuna, Satoru Gojo's [Unlimited Void] was sliced apart from the outside by Sukuna's [Malevolent Shrine].

Almost simultaneously.

Sukuna's domain's sure-hit effect activated.

Entering cursed technique burnout, Satoru Gojo immediately deployed [New Shadow Style: Simple Domain] and stood in front of Ken Kaneki.

He expanded Simple Domain to its maximum range, enclosing Ken Kaneki within it as well.

Then.

The two witnessed the birth of a black hole firsthand.

Everything, regardless of what it was, was drawn in by [Black Hole]'s immense gravity. Sukuna was completely hidden from view.

Kaneki did not have the Six Eyes.

He could only use [Malevolent Shrine] to determine whether Sukuna was still alive.

At the same time.

He used his will to suppress [Black Hole]'s size.

[Black Hole]'s size had nothing to do with the Underworld Bead's size. It depended on its structure.

The sturdier the structure.

The greater [Black Hole]'s range.

A [Black Hole] created by an Underworld Bead naturally could not compare to Yuki Tsukumo's unrestricted [Black Hole].

In the original story.

It had been stated that, without Yuki Tsukumo and Tengen suppressing it.

The [Black Hole] caused by her self-destruction could have affected the entire world.

An Underworld Bead naturally could not match that.

At most, it could reach the range of the suppressed [Black Hole] in the Tombs of the Star Corridor.

All of this.

Was thanks to cursed energy manipulation comparable to the Six Eyes.

Then...

Not only Sukuna's [Malevolent Shrine], but the entire Emptiness Barrier began to dissipate.

Four figures fell into the final Emptiness Barrier one after another.

Seeing that Mahoraga was unharmed, Satoru Gojo asked, "You had Mahoraga adapt to Yuki Tsukumo's Cursed Technique in advance?"

His Six Eyes allowed him to tell that this ability came from Yuki Tsukumo.

"Yeah."

Kaneki answered with a smile.

After swapping bodies with Yuki Tsukumo and obtaining her consent, he had used her body to attack Mahoraga.

He had kept at it until Mahoraga fully adapted to [Star Rage].

Otherwise.

He would have recalled Mahoraga long ago.

But considering the peculiar nature of [Black Hole], he had also ordered Mahoraga to evade it as much as possible.