What a Miraculous Piece of Good News~

At Sukuna's over-the-top acting, Gojo's silence was deafening.

Seriously, Sukuna, don't you think this is a little out of character...?

...Sigh... Whatever...

If you say you can't do it, I'll take your word for it...

Although Gojo didn't know why Sukuna's Domain Expansion had failed, he didn't dwell on it.

After all, Sukuna did seem pretty unreliable right now, so an actual failure would have been understandable.

Judging by what happened just now, he was at least eighty percent of the way there. I'll let him see a few more domains when the opportunity comes...

Gojo rubbed his chin as he thought.

That opportunity came soon enough-

The next evening, Itadori was happily chatting with Sukuna in his Innate Domain when his teacher suddenly whisked him away and brought him straight to a curse with a strange volcano-shaped head.

He stared in surprise at the talking special grade cursed spirit before him and whispered to Sukuna.

"Sukuna, Sukuna, look! This guy looks like a person, and he can talk!"

Jogo, who had just taken a beating from Gojo: "?"

Wait, did I just hear you call out to Sukuna?

Since when did a vessel like you get along so well with the King of Curses?

Sukuna glanced at the One-Eyed Volcano Head before him and, with cool, lofty disdain, uttered a single word.

[Ugly.]

Itadori immediately nodded. "True, he's nowhere near your level." (In terms of looks.)

Jogo: "..."

I feel personally attacked!

Even if my strength is nowhere near Sukuna's level, that's not for a brat like you to say!

And why the hell did Satoru Gojo bring Sukuna's vessel here???

"All right, all right, enough chatting. Time for a practical lesson."

Gojo patted Itadori's head, the curl of his lips plainly saying: You're absolutely right~

Then he continued pointedly.

"Pay attention and learn how to expand a domain. Don't fail again next time~"

Sukuna, the target of that pointed remark: [...]

Why do you have to keep pushing me to expand my domain? Don't I have any dignity?

I know how. I just don't dare let you see it...

Still, he was also interested in other people's domains. This Volcano Head might have been ugly, but he was pretty strong-by Sukuna's estimate, just a tiny bit stronger than he currently was.

He quickly told Yuji to quiet down, and the two listened attentively together.

The Volcano Head opposite them exploded with rage at Satoru Gojo's remark of "You're really weak."

He formed a hand sign, and a low, murderous voice rang from his mouth.

"Domain Expansion-!"

[Coffin of the Iron Mountain]

Red magma and thick volcanic smoke enveloped Satoru Gojo and Itadori.

An enormous volcanic rock hurtled toward Gojo, only for him to shatter it with a punch.

Itadori stared in shock at everything before him. This was his first time truly witnessing a domain.

He had never seen such an overwhelming presence even from Sukuna!

Meanwhile, inside him, Sukuna was focused on only one thing-

Why...

Did I...

...not hear that Volcano Head say his domain's name?

-Wait, does that mean you don't have to shout the words that come after?!

His eyes widened, shock written all over his face.

So-you only have to shout "Domain Expansion" to expand your domain?!

He shot to his feet in his inner world, his eyes shining.

Then I wouldn't expose my domain's name at all?!

What a miraculous piece of good news~!!

That lesson in my head yesterday was kind of unreliable. It didn't even explain this...

No, no, I have to hurry and find somewhere to try again! Maybe I'll be able to expand my domain whenever I want from now on!

-My thanks to this practical lesson and the Volcano Head over there for their contributions to my Domain Expansion endeavors!

Outside, Itadori listened earnestly to Teacher Gojo's lesson, while Sukuna happily planned his next Domain Expansion in his inner world.

Both were thoroughly satisfied with tonight's extracurricular lesson and looked forward to having more of them.

The practical lesson came to a definitive end when Gojo KO'd the Volcano Head with a single Unlimited Void.

Jogo, deceased.

Oh, wait, not deceased yet. He still had his head.

Sukuna watched with mixed feelings as the head kept yapping away beneath Gojo's foot.

What kind of insane vitality is this? He can still talk with only his head left?

The special grade cursed spirit he had cut down last time hadn't been capable of anything like this.

...Isn't the variation among special grade cursed spirits a little too extreme...?

Wait...

Am I... a special grade cursed spirit now, too?

Would I still be alive and kicking if my head got chopped off?!

He clapped a hand over his mouth.

Help! I can't think about it! The second I do, the image hits me right in the face!

Please, when I die, leave my body in one piece. Don't cut off my head!

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he failed to react in time when vines suddenly burst out of the ground and hoisted Itadori into the air. Gojo had to step in to save poor Yuji, which also allowed the newly arrived special grade curse capable of releasing flowers to rescue the Volcano Head.

[...Sorry.]

Sukuna apologized awkwardly.

"I-it's okay. I wasn't paying attention either."

Itadori felt miserable. Why was he always the one holding everyone back?

He wanted to grow stronger.

But aside from Divergent Fist, he didn't have a Cursed Technique of his own.

Teacher Gojo had said he could use Sukuna's, though.

"Sukuna, teach me your Cursed Technique."

[...All right.]

Sukuna agreed.

Now came the question: should he teach Dismantle or flames?

Which one would be less likely to expose the fact that he was a cook?

"If you're going to teach him, obviously you should teach him both~"

Faced with the question of which Cursed Technique to teach first, Gojo offered a very Gojo-like suggestion.

Only kids choose. Adults take them all!

"But for Yuji, we really should start with Dismantle. It'll work better with his hand-to-hand combat."

Deep within his inner world, Sukuna nodded in agreement.

He also thought starting with Dismantle would be better.

Itadori was strictly a close-range fighter who attacked at a high frequency, so pairing that with a close-to-mid-range attack like Dismantle could produce good results.

His flames, on the other hand, were not only more troublesome to summon, requiring him to recite [■ Open] first, but were also far too powerful. The slightest contact could easily burn someone to ash, making them difficult to control. Used poorly, they could even interfere with Itadori's hand-to-hand combat. Besides, records identified Sukuna's Cursed Technique as Dismantle, so minimizing his use of flames would let him keep them hidden as a trump card as much as possible. At present, only Gojo and the three youngsters knew he could use flames. If handled properly, he could keep that secret for quite some time.

"Then Yuji's next assignment is to learn Dismantle."

Gojo clapped his hands, bringing their discussion to a close.

He then turned his question to Sukuna.

"Sukuna, did you just say you wanted to try expanding your domain again?"

Was this extracurricular lesson really that effective? He got it after watching just once?

Since it worked so well, I'll forgive that special grade cursed spirit from earlier~

Next time, I'll make sure to put a little more effort into sending him to his grave~