Domain Expansion

When Satoru Gojo returned to the Underground Training Room, Yuji Itadori was sitting cross-legged in front of the television, holding the Little Bear Cursed Corpse in his arms and watching the screen intently.

The movie had reached its ending-the male and female leads embraced beneath the setting sun, with background music so sentimental it gave people goosebumps.

But Itadori's expression was calm. His eyes stayed on the screen, his breathing was even, and the cursed corpse lay limply across his lap like an ordinary stuffed toy.

Satoru Gojo stood in the doorway without speaking right away.

He clearly picked up the flow of cursed energy inside Itadori-steady and sustained, like a gentle stream, continuously feeding into the cursed corpse.

Not too much, not too little. Just enough.

Could it be...

A flicker of surprise crossed Satoru Gojo's eyes.

He walked silently behind Itadori, then suddenly shouted, "Hey! Itadori!"

"Whoa!" Itadori jolted, nearly jumping off the floor.

He whipped his head around. Seeing Satoru Gojo, he sighed in relief and complained, "Satoru Gojo-sensei!? Don't scare me like that! You nearly scared me to death!"

As he spoke, the cursed corpse in his arms remained still, without waking from the sudden fright.

Satoru Gojo stared at the cursed corpse for two seconds, and the corners of his mouth slowly lifted.

Good. Even with a sudden fright and a sharp fluctuation in his emotions, he can still maintain a stable output of cursed energy... Looks like the first step is complete.

"Haha~ Don't worry about it, don't worry about it~" Satoru Gojo waved a hand, walked up to Itadori, and bent down to pat his shoulder.

"Next, I'm taking you out for an outdoor lesson. Excited?"

"An outdoor lesson?" Itadori blinked, looking confused. "Where are we going? What are we learning?"

"You'll find out when we get there~" Satoru Gojo grinned and reached out to grab Itadori's shoulder.

The next second, Itadori felt his vision blur, and the scenery around him changed in an instant.

The dim basement became a mountain forest filled with fresh growth.

A breeze brushed his face, carrying the scent of earth and grass.

"Huh?!" Itadori's eyes widened as he looked around. "Where are we? How did I suddenly get here? Wasn't I indoors just now!?"

"All right, all right, don't make such a fuss~" Satoru Gojo let go, his tone casual.

Still in shock, Itadori swept his gaze around before fixing it on a familiar figure.

"Madara-senpai is here too?" He looked at Madara, who was sitting on a rock nearby, then back at Satoru Gojo, even more confused. "What kind of outdoor lesson is this?"

Rather than answering right away, Satoru Gojo walked over to Madara and patted his shoulder.

"The pinnacle of jujutsu combat-Domain Expansion," he told Itadori, then nodded to Madara.

"Sorry for the trouble, Madara."

Understanding his intent, Madara rose from the rock.

He glanced at Itadori, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, then formed hand seals in front of his chest.

"Domain Expansion: Heavenly Imperial Pillars."

Pure white light bloomed beneath Madara's feet.

At first, it was only a small circle, but it spread rapidly, like milk dropped into clear water, or ink bleeding across white paper.

Wherever the white passed, the green vegetation, the brown earth, the blue sky-everything began to lose its color, overwritten and reset.

In just two seconds, the world before Itadori's eyes changed completely.

Pure white.

White ground, white sky, white air.

There was no light source, yet the entire world glowed.

There were no boundaries. As far as the eye could see, there was only white stretching endlessly onward.

And within that white, enormous stone pillars rose from the ground.

One, two, three... countless pillars.

The pristine white stone pillars, their surfaces smooth as mirrors, towered into the "sky," arranged in rings around Madara.

Each pillar was carved with intricate spiral patterns that rotated slowly, radiating an imposing aura.

Itadori's mouth slowly fell open, his eyes reflecting the pure white world, filled with astonishment.

"Whoa!?" he exclaimed, turning his head from side to side, trying to take in every corner of the space.

"What, what!? What's this!? Are we still in the same place? Is this an illusion? Or did we really enter another world?"

Satoru Gojo walked up beside him, both hands in his pockets. His eyes scanned the domain, his tone as relaxed as if he were introducing a new dish.

"Domain Expansion means using cursed energy to construct an 'innate domain' imbued with a cursed technique around you," he said.

"You can think of it as using cursed energy to create an absolute home field that belongs to you alone."

He gestured at their surroundings.

"That warped space you saw in the prison, the one created by the cursed spirit, was an 'incomplete domain'-it had the beginnings of a domain, but wasn't imbued with a specific cursed technique. It simply changed the environment.

"A truly complete domain, like this one, doesn't just change the environment. It also has additional 'rules.'"

Itadori nodded, only half understanding. "Then if that cursed spirit had used a complete domain back then..."

"All of you would have died there in an instant." Satoru Gojo spoke casually, but his words sent a chill down Itadori's spine.

"Inside a complete domain, the caster's cursed technique gains a 'sure-hit' effect. Unless you have a way to counter domains, there's basically no answer to it."

Itadori swallowed and looked again at the towering stone pillars around them.

"Expanding a domain consumes an enormous amount of cursed energy. Under normal circumstances, jujutsu sorcerers don't use it lightly," Satoru Gojo continued.

"But it also brings plenty of benefits."

"First, there's the boost in abilities provided by the environment." He pointed at Madara. "Look at Madara's current state. His eyes have changed, right?"

Only then did Itadori notice that Madara's eyes had become the Rinnegan.

"Oh, they really have!" Itadori said in surprise. "Does everyone's eye design change when they use Domain Expansion?"

"Not everyone's." Satoru Gojo shook his head. "Expanding a domain enhances the caster in various ways-increased cursed energy, greater cursed technique power, expanded perception range.

"Sometimes these enhancements manifest as changes in appearance, such as the eyes, hair, skin, and so on. But the specific changes vary from person to person."

Madara listened quietly beside them before suddenly speaking up. "Uh... Gojo-sensei? The change in my eyes isn't caused by the domain. My eyes are my cursed technique. I can activate them at will anyway."

Silence fell for a second.

Without a change in expression, Satoru Gojo continued, "...Then there's the second point, which is also the most crucial."

Itadori said, "Are we just skipping over that?"

"Don't worry about the details~" Satoru Gojo waved a hand, his tone as relaxed as ever.

"The second point is the domain's most powerful characteristic: within a domain, the cursed technique the caster uses that's imbued into that domain-"

He paused, then said each word distinctly:

"Will. Absolutely. Hit."

Itadori blinked. "Absolutely?"

"Absolutely." Satoru Gojo nodded.

"If Madara weren't deliberately controlling it, you and I would probably already have been hit by the cursed technique in his domain.

"In this pure white space, his attacks don't need to be aimed, and he doesn't need to calculate their trajectories. As long as he wants, they can appear directly on the target."

Itadori drew in a sharp breath and looked around the pure white world again, a little more awe in his eyes.

"Then doesn't expanding a domain mean you've already won? Is the caster invincible inside their domain?"

"Yes, that's true in theory," Satoru Gojo admitted. "But there are plenty of ways to deal with a domain."

He raised one finger.

"First, use a cursed technique to counter the domain. For example, 'Simple Domain'-it isn't a true domain, but a barrier technique that can neutralize a domain's sure-hit effect within a certain range.

"Although it can't completely dismantle the domain, it can at least buy time. I'll teach you that later."

Itadori carefully committed it to memory. "Simple Domain..."

"Second." Satoru Gojo raised a second finger.

"Force your way out from inside the domain. This is the option I recommend least. A typical domain has extremely sturdy internal defenses, so breaking it from the inside is basically impossible. Unless your power far exceeds the caster's, or you have a cursed technique suited to countering it."

"And then there's the third." He raised his third and final finger.

"Expand a domain of our own."

Itadori's eyes lit up. "Oh!"

Satoru Gojo smiled.

He slowly raised a hand and removed his blindfold, revealing those blue eyes that seemed to hold the entire sky.

The Six Eyes shone especially brilliantly in the pure white light.

"When multiple domains are expanded at the same time," Satoru Gojo's voice grew low and imposing.

"The most refined domain, the strongest cursed technique, will gain the advantage and take control of the battlefield."

He formed a hand seal in front of his face with one hand.

"Domain Expansion-"

Satoru Gojo recited softly, his voice echoing through the pure white space.

"Unlimited Void."

In an instant, the world changed again.