Brothers of Two Districts

"Choose the cursed spirits. At least the world they want to create will benefit us."

"The three of us are one. For our brothers, as long as it's for our brothers..."

"We'll walk through fire and water without hesitation..."

On the highway, Kechizu and Eso had hemmed Itadori and Kugisaki into an encirclement, creating a strange standoff.

But rather than a standoff, it was more like Itadori and Kugisaki were being worn down one-sidedly-

As two of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, Kechizu and Eso both had blood with corrosive properties resembling venom.

Now they had splashed their respective poisons onto Itadori and Kugisaki. The two kinds of poisonous blood had mingled, accelerating the breakdown of their opponents' flesh under Kechizu's [Corrosive Cursed Technique: Rot].

In theory, then, even if Kechizu and Eso never attacked, they only needed to stall for time, and Itadori and Kugisaki would slowly die under Kechizu's cursed technique...

But-

"Resonance."

Kugisaki tossed a nail into the air and raised her hammer. Under Kechizu and Eso's astonished gazes, she drove the cursed-energy-infused nail straight into her own wrist.

"What is this... Agh!!!"

Agony erupted deep in Kechizu's soul, instantly covering his forehead with beads of sweat.

He had never imagined that his opponent's cursed technique could reflect damage.

The poisonous blood mingling with their blood had, under the effects of the Corrosive Cursed Technique, become the perfect medium for Kugisaki to activate Resonance.

All she had to do was keep inflicting Resonance damage on herself, and Kugisaki could reflect that damage while keeping them completely under control...

It hurts... but it isn't fatal...

As long as I can hold out...

Clutching his chest, Kechizu still imagined Kugisaki collapsing first, but his gaze suddenly sharpened, fixing on the figure already moving behind her:

[Yuji Itadori] [Sukuna's vessel].

As the King of Curses' incarnated vessel, Itadori possessed an innate immunity to the negative effects of all poisons.

Kechizu and Eso's poisonous blood did affect the nerves, paralyzing their opponents' movements.

Combined with the decomposition caused by [Rot], this move could easily subdue and kill an ordinary jujutsu sorcerer.

But...

Not Yuji Itadori.

His nerves would not be affected by the poison. His steps would not falter as poisonous blood invaded his body.

His fists would only strike harder, and his resolve would only grow stronger under the pain of [Rot].

A barrage of heavy punches knocked Eso to the ground. Turning in perfect sync with Kugisaki, Itadori switched opponents with her...

This guy... is he trying to pressure me into releasing my cursed technique?!

But... I'm stronger than Eso. He can't finish me with a single punch!

That woman is already on her last legs... I won't... I absolutely won't release my cursed technique!!

Gritting his teeth, Kechizu charged at Itadori. While using his cursed technique, he could not unleash [Maximum Technique: Wing King].

All he could do now was gamble on Eso surviving Kugisaki's all-out strike...

"B-Brother..."

Eso's voice rang out. By the time Kechizu came to his senses, he had already released his cursed technique.

To save Eso's life, Kechizu ultimately chose to release his cursed technique and attack Kugisaki with Wing King, forcing her to turn her attention toward him.

But Itadori's incoming heavy punch shattered that plan outright:

So fast! So heavy!

Fully focused, Itadori pushed his body's speed and strength to their limits.

As he swiftly dodged the Blood Arrows and Wing King unleashed by Kechizu, he rapidly closed the distance between them, preventing Kechizu from approaching Eso.

Pale blue flames of cursed energy gathered around his knuckles. After Itadori sent Kechizu flying with a punch, both he and Kugisaki wound up for their next strikes...

"Black Flash."

Half of Eso's body and Kechizu's right arm were torn apart in an instant. Black lightning broke through their desperate defenses, shattering the balance of the battle...

Having no idea what Black Flash was, Kechizu was too stunned to speak. But before he could react, the grievously wounded Eso made one last, desperate gamble:

His enormous maw, coated in poisonous blood, opened wide, and his fat, bloated body leaped high into the air.

The pain had stripped Eso of all fighting skill and rational thought. All he wanted now was to attack with everything he had and make Kugisaki pay for hurting him...

The problem was that the nails in Kugisaki's hand were already right in front of him...

"Eso!!!!"

The crushing pressure of his brother's impending death drew unparalleled potential out of Kechizu.

Enormous wings of blood burst open. Every last ounce of cursed energy in his body poured into this frenzied strike for his brother...

But he was still... too slow.

"Straw Doll Technique."

"Hairpin."

Kugisaki turned away with swagger and snapped her fingers-

It was an expression of absolute confidence in her mastery of her cursed technique, and a lethal declaration of Eso's death...

Shrrrip-!!!

The sound of flesh tearing echoed across the highway. The patter of spilling blood demanded attention like piano keys falling silent.

A heavy thud rang out as a body hit the ground. Both Kechizu's and Itadori's eyes filled with shock and astonishment-

Nobara Kugisaki had fallen.

Yes, the one who had fallen was Kugisaki.

A massive gash stretched from her left shoulder to the right side of her waist. Blood sprayed out in torrents, staining the entire highway red...

A half-human, half-lion beast stood before the dying Eso, its golden, slit-pupiled eyes brimming with mockery for Kugisaki:

"Turning your back on an enemy? Humans are always so stupid."

It flicked its bear-like claws forcefully. Warm blood mixed with Kechizu and Eso's poisonous blood spattered onto the flowers and grass beside the road, steeping the land in the thick scent of slaughter.

It strode forward. Though it had saved Eso, the words spilling from its lion's mouth held no kindness toward Kechizu:

"Retrieving a single Sukuna's Finger left you in this pathetic state. Humans will always be humans-useless trash that never accomplishes anything!"

"Since you're of no use, I'll kill you all right here..."

"At least that way, you won't go to waste!!!"

Thousand Fangs lunged like a sharp sword. Its target was not just Yuji Itadori or Kechizu...

It was targeting both of them!

In its eyes, whether they were jujutsu sorcerers or curse users...

If they lacked the strength to be useful, then as long as they were human...

They were all food on its plate!!!