Rescue

Susanoo slowly dissipated, turning into motes of light that dissolved into the rain.

Madara stood where he was, not even the hem of his clothes stirring.

Sukuna took two steps back, his wrist beginning to heal at a visible rate-Reverse Cursed Technique, an advanced technique that converted negative cursed energy into healing power.

Bones reassembled, flesh regenerated, and within seconds, his wrist was restored, without even a scar.

But Sukuna's expression changed.

"Interesting..." He flexed his wrist, all four eyes fixed on Madara.

Madara tilted his head, his blood-red Sharingan looking particularly eerie in the rain.

"Since you're not at full strength-"

He extended his right hand and beckoned Sukuna with his fingers.

"-I'll go a little easy on you. Come on, close combat. Let me see how good the thousand-year-old King of Curses is at taijutsu."

A provocation.

An undisguised provocation.

Sukuna's lips spread into a savage grin.

He was no fool. He could see that Madara was deliberately provoking him, trying to make him choose close combat to prove himself.

But as the King of Curses, as someone who had once stood at the pinnacle of Jujutsu Society, his pride would not allow him to back down.

Besides, his earlier battle with the special grade cursed spirit, followed by expanding his domain to suppress Itadori's consciousness, really had consumed a considerable amount of cursed energy.

"In that case," Sukuna said, his voice lowering as he took a fighting stance, "I'll give you exactly what you want."

Cursed energy surged through his body, reinforcing his muscles, his bones, and every inch of his skin.

The ground exploded beneath his feet, and the rain was blasted into white mist.

Sukuna became a blur, crossing ten meters in an instant as his fists hammered toward Madara's vital points from different angles.

Every punch could pierce a steel plate. Every punch carried the destructive power of cursed energy compressed to its limit.

Madara's Sharingan spun rapidly, and Sukuna's movements slowed to a crawl in his eyes.

He unhurriedly dodged every blow, then counterattacked!

Counterattacks launched even as he dodged, with precision so exact it was outrageous.

Sukuna's pupils contracted, and he was forced to retreat, but Madara followed like his shadow.

Sukuna could only raise his arms to block, but Madara's attacks were heavier than he could have imagined.

A technique that concentrated cursed energy at a single point, unleashing maximum destructive force over the smallest possible area.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dull impacts echoed through the rain.

With every blow Sukuna blocked, the ground beneath his feet cracked further.

Rainwater and mud flew, forming an empty zone around the two of them.

After several exchanges, Sukuna actually found himself getting the worst of it again and again.

None of his attacks could land-he had been completely seen through.

And every counterattack Madara launched struck precisely at his vital points.

Those blood-red eyes seemed capable of seeing through everything about him.

Damn brat... Sukuna cursed inwardly, the savagery in his four eyes growing stronger. What exactly... are those eyes?

He recalled Madara breaking into his mental domain, recalled those eyes that could perceive the soul.

His control over cursed energy is probably on par with mine, and his taijutsu has been honed through countless trials. More importantly, those eyes...

Sukuna rapidly calculated his options as he blocked Madara's relentless onslaught.

If I could get this body...

He had originally set his sights on Megumi Fushiguro's body-the Ten Shadows Technique held enormous potential.

But now, Madara's appearance had given him another choice.

This body, these eyes, this precise control over cursed energy...

But first, I have to win.

Their fists collided once more.

Sukuna was driven back three steps, leaving deep footprints in the ground.

Madara remained firmly in place, not even his breathing disturbed.

Nearby, Megumi Fushiguro, barely managing to stand against a wall, stared in astonishment.

He had seen Satoru Gojo fight-that was power beyond reason.

He had seen Yuta Okkotsu fight-that was a combination of immense cursed energy and supreme skill.

But Madara's fighting style was completely different.

Like a combination of the two... No, Madara had his own style!

So strong...

Megumi Fushiguro pressed a hand over his wound, blood seeping between his fingers, but his eyes stayed fixed on the battlefield.

Is this what Okkotsu-senpai meant by... unfathomable?

Another heavy punch.

Sukuna tried to block with both arms at once, but Madara's fist slipped eerily through a gap in his guard and slammed into his abdomen.

Crack-

The sound of ribs breaking rang out clearly.

Sukuna flew backward, smashed through a ruined wall, and rolled several times through the rubble before coming to a stop.

He lay among the broken stones, all four eyes fixed on the curtain of rain overhead. His abdomen had caved in, but Reverse Cursed Technique was already working, rapidly repairing his bones and internal organs.

Madara did not pursue him.

He stood where he was, shook out his wrist, then looked down at Sukuna in the rubble, his gaze terrifyingly calm.

"Is that... all?"

His voice was quiet, but it sounded particularly grating amid the hushed patter of rain.

Sukuna slowly sat up, his injuries already mostly healed.

He stared at Madara, excitement appearing in all four eyes.

"Heh." He laughed, his shoulders trembling.

"I know what you're trying to do. You want to provoke me into using more cursed energy to prove myself, even using Reverse Cursed Technique to heal this brat, right?"

Madara did not deny it. He merely shrugged.

"Glad you understand. You're far too weak like this. I'm getting a little bored fighting you."

He even gave a perfunctory yawn.

An insult.

An utter insult.

But Sukuna did not fly into a rage. Instead, he burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha!! Interesting, interesting!" He rocked back and forth with laughter, as though he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

"You really are an interesting brat! To think someone this interesting would appear after a thousand years!"

His laughter gradually subsided.

Sukuna rose from the rubble and brushed the dust off himself.

The wound in his abdomen had healed completely.

He looked at Madara, a dangerous, excited gleam flickering in all four eyes.

"All right," he said, his tone suddenly relaxed. "I'll give you this one chance."

He raised a hand and pressed it against his chest-the spot where his heart had been torn out.

He used Reverse Cursed Technique, and cursed energy writhed like a living thing, filling the hollow and reconstructing the organ.

Seconds later, his heart reappeared and began to beat.

"I hope you're still this interesting the next time we meet," Sukuna said with a grin. "Otherwise, I'll be very disappointed."

He understood that there was no point in continuing the fight.

This body was not his, his cursed energy was limited, and Madara's strength far exceeded his expectations-dragging this out would only consume more power, and he might even suffer an unexpected defeat.

Rather than stay here and be humiliated by Madara, he might as well back down for now, return inside Itadori, and wait for a better opportunity.

After all, he had already found two interesting "vessels."

Megumi Fushiguro and Madara Uchiha.

Both were excellent choices.

As his injuries healed, Itadori's consciousness began to regain control of his body.

The black markings faded from his skin, the two extra eyes slowly closed, and his scarlet pupils returned to normal.

Sukuna's presence disappeared.

Yuji Itadori blinked, staring blankly at his surroundings-the collapsed walls, the cracked ground, Megumi Fushiguro standing nearby covered in injuries, and...

"Madara-senpai."

"Welcome back," Madara said, his Sharingan already deactivated, his eyes ordinary and black again.

Megumi Fushiguro forced himself upright and staggered over to Itadori. "Itadori!"

"Fushiguro!" Itadori hurried to support him. Seeing Fushiguro's injuries, his expression immediately changed. "Your injuries... We need to get Fushiguro treated right away!"

"Yes." Madara nodded, but then changed tack. "Itadori, you need to stay here."

"Huh?!" Itadori froze. "Why?"

Madara looked at him, his gaze serious.

"Because someone at Jujutsu High wants you dead."

Those words hit Itadori like a bucket of cold water.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out.

The mission flashed through his mind-it had only been reconnaissance, yet they had encountered a special grade cursed spirit.

"This mission," Madara continued, his voice calm but leaving no room for doubt.

"Was meant to kill you. Some of the higher-ups in Jujutsu Society can't accept the existence of Sukuna's vessel. They wanted to use a cursed spirit to get rid of you."

Itadori's face went pale.

He lowered his head and clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms.

"Then... what should I do?"

"Don't worry. Gojo-sensei will be here soon," Madara said, then formed hand seals-the seal for the Shadow Clone Technique.

A clone identical to him appeared at his side.

Then the clone formed another hand seal-Transformation Technique.

The clone's appearance began to change: height, build, features... A few seconds later, another "Yuji Itadori" stood there, even the damage to his uniform exactly the same.

"What is this?!" Itadori's eyes widened.

"Just a disguise," the real Madara explained.

"I'll disguise this clone as your corpse to make it look like you're dead. In the meantime, you need to stay hidden and work hard to get stronger."

He looked at Itadori, his tone solemn.

"You can't even control cursed energy yet, can you? You couldn't fight back at all against a special grade cursed spirit, yet you still naively thought you were strong. As you are now, you can't even protect yourself, let alone anyone else."

Itadori fell silent.

Madara was right.

On this mission, he had accomplished nothing except relying on Sukuna's power.

Fushiguro was badly injured, Kugisaki was badly injured, and if Madara had not arrived in time, he might even have died.

He was too weak.

So weak that he could not even control his own fate.

Just then, a lighthearted voice came from the distance.

"Oh~ You're pretty badly hurt, Megumi."

At some point, Satoru Gojo had appeared at the edge of the battlefield, his hands in his pockets, his lips curved in a familiar smile beneath his blindfold.

He first checked Megumi Fushiguro's injuries, then turned his gaze to Madara.

"Sorry for the trouble this time, Madara."

Madara nodded. "Don't worry. Looking after my juniors is what I should do."

He helped Megumi Fushiguro up, then told Itadori, "Remember, from now on, you're 'dead.' Until Gojo-sensei has made the arrangements, don't let anyone see you."

Itadori nodded firmly. "I understand."

"Let's go, Fushiguro." Madara supported Megumi Fushiguro, nodded to Satoru Gojo, then turned and left, soon disappearing into the curtain of rain.

Satoru Gojo walked over to Itadori and patted his shoulder.

"Then let's get going too."

Itadori took one last look in the direction Madara had gone, then looked at the clone identical to himself and drew a deep breath.

"Yeah."

The rain kept falling.