Frozen Star vs. Cannon

"You two ran away with your tails between your legs when Shiratori Gotsu was on the verge of death. You've finally come back to die."

Sukuna sneered at the two approaching him.

"Talk is cheap. Ishigori, let's go!" Okkotsu wasted no words. He drew his long sword and charged straight at Sukuna.

Almost instantly, his sword slammed against the Kamutoke.

"Damn you, Yuta Okkotsu!"

Uraume reacted at once and raised a hand. "Ice Formation..."

"Granite Blast!"

Before Uraume could gather her Cursed Energy, Ryu Ishigori's cannon struck her, blasting her back several meters.

Under Shiratori Gotsu's plan, Ryu Ishigori and Okkotsu were to make sure Sukuna was always fighting more than one opponent.

The aim was to ensure that the series of attacks planned against Sukuna would not be affected by anyone else's interference.

Ryu Ishigori was weaker than Okkotsu, while Okkotsu lacked effective long-range, wide-area attacks and could be hampered by Uraume's Cursed Technique.

Thus, having Ryu Ishigori take on Uraume was the best choice.

In only a few seconds, Okkotsu and Ryu Ishigori had worked together to split the battlefield into two, with dozens of meters between them.

Once they had made sure they would not interfere with each other, Okkotsu and Ryu Ishigori made nearly simultaneous, identical choices against Sukuna, whose Cursed Technique was in burnout, and Uraume, who had never learned Domain Expansion.

"Domain Expansion: Authentic Mutual Love!"

"Domain Expansion: Supreme Fireworks!"

Two black barrier spheres of almost identical size appeared on the battlefield, turning their respective fights into one-on-one duels.

Ryu Ishigori's domain, Supreme Fireworks, was essentially no different from those of the other ancient Jujutsu Sorcerers.

It simply enhanced his Cursed Technique's power and granted it a sure-hit effect, with no other special effects.

Against such a domain, Uraume, who had not learned Domain Expansion and could not counter it with a domain of her own, naturally had one best option:

"Secret art: Hollow Wicker Basket!"

She could use Hollow Wicker Basket to nullify the sure-hit effect, then counterattack.

"Ice Formation: Icefall!"

She would stop maintaining the hand signs so she could use both hands to fight, then deploy a new Hollow Wicker Basket the moment the domain's sure-hit effect crushed the old one.

And repeat.

This was the tactic Uraume, known as Frozen Star, had always used a thousand years ago.

"Granite Blast!"

Ryu Ishigori shouted, firing a beam of Cursed Energy from his cow-dung cannon hairstyle straight at Uraume's Icefall.

The moment the two attacks collided, shards of ice flew everywhere, and Ryu Ishigori took the opportunity to circle swiftly around to Uraume's side.

He struck out with his palm, Cursed Energy gathering in its center.

"Maximum Technique: Fireworks!"

Ryu Ishigori's Cursed Energy Discharge was an extremely basic, straightforward type of Cursed Technique.

Generally speaking, such simple Cursed Techniques had great potential for variation in their development.

Ryu Ishigori, however, had chosen a simple and direct path: overwhelming force.

Rather than make too many variations or develop flashy applications, he had followed a single path to its limit...

A few days earlier, just as the special training was about to end, Ryu Ishigori had suddenly gained an insight.

He had taken the concept of "discharge" in his Cursed Technique to its limit, creating a Cursed Energy bomb that exploded instantly in a designated direction.

This was Cursed Energy Discharge: Maximum Technique: Fireworks.

Heh... Judging by the amount of Cursed Energy, it's quite powerful, but it won't be a problem!

Uraume expected Hollow Wicker Basket to completely nullify the attack.

Then she could strike Ryu Ishigori in the opening after he had spent his strength and before he could muster more.

With that in mind, Uraume made no attempt to defend against the attack. She had even begun gathering Cursed Energy to use her own Cursed Technique.

But the next moment came a blinding white flash and a thunderous explosion. Caught completely off guard, Uraume was violently flung more than ten meters away.

Yet the Hollow Wicker Basket she had counted on remained completely intact.

After spending so much time with Shiratori Gotsu, how could Ryu Ishigori not have learned to hide a trick and catch someone off guard?

He had never given his domain barrier a sure-hit effect in the first place.

In other words, this domain was simply an octagonal cage used to amplify his Cursed Technique and trap his enemy!

Without a sure-hit effect, his Cursed Technique naturally would not be nullified by Hollow Wicker Basket!

"A trick I learned from that piece of shit Shiratori. I improvised, and it looks like it worked pretty well."

Ryu Ishigori looked down at the battered Uraume with a mocking smile.

"Tch... You got me there!" Uraume clutched her mangled side with one hand and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with the other.

She used Reverse Cursed Technique, and her injuries rapidly healed.

"But as Lord Sukuna's servant, I will not lose!"

She dispelled the useless Hollow Wicker Basket, then raised a hand and attacked Ryu Ishigori.

"Ice Formation: Frost Calm!"

"Heh... As that piece of shit's friend, I won't lose either!"

Ryu Ishigori raised both hands to face the frigid wind, which was powerful enough to freeze an entire lake in an instant, and used another brand-new move.

"Cursed Technique Reversal: Deep Draught!"

"What do you think the Cursed Technique Reversal of Cursed Energy Discharge would look like?"

Ever since Shiratori Gotsu had asked him that question that night, Ryu Ishigori had been experimenting along those lines.

At first, he had been completely trapped by the idea that Cursed Energy Discharge was essentially a pipe leading straight outside.

But after pushing his Cursed Technique to its limit and developing Maximum Technique: Fireworks, Ryu Ishigori realized something.

Even in the same pipe, the result would be entirely different if the flow went in a different direction!

He injected the positive energy produced by Reverse Cursed Technique directly into his Cursed Technique instead of discharging it through the technique.

In this way, he was able to reverse the concept of "discharge" contained in his Cursed Technique into "absorption"!

The instant Frost Calm touched Ryu Ishigori's palms, the Cursed Energy it contained was sucked dry, like water absorbed by a sponge.

Ryu Ishigori then gripped the cannon barrel on his head with both hands. "Here's your Cursed Energy back, doubled! Granite Blast!"

Before Uraume's disbelieving eyes, a thumb-thick beam of Cursed Energy, compressed until it was bright white, instantly pierced the left side of her chest.

Uraume spat out a mouthful of blood, but she did not fall.

With no time to use Reverse Cursed Technique, she decisively sealed the wound with ice, then attacked Ryu Ishigori again.

"Maximum output! Ice Formation: Icefall! Die!"

"Looks like I missed your heart? But it doesn't matter. Someone like you doesn't deserve a seat at my table!"

Ryu Ishigori charged straight at the torrent of ice pouring from Uraume's hand, Cursed Energy gathering at the muzzle on his head.

"Maximum power! Maximum Technique: Fireworks!"

A roar several times more powerful than the last exploded inside the domain, shaking even the air.

Amid a blinding white flash, the surging ice was instantly torn into fragments that filled the sky.

Ryu Ishigori immediately raised his hands again, a wild grin on his face.

"Cursed Technique Reversal: Deep Draught!"

In a single second, the fragments of ice filling the sky became pure Cursed Energy and were absorbed by him. Then, once again, he cried, "Take it back!"

A massive beam of Cursed Energy burst forth, blasting straight toward Uraume, who no longer had the strength to fight back.

An instant before Granite Blast struck her, scenes from Uraume's time with Sukuna suddenly flashed through her mind...

A thousand years ago, on the day she met Sukuna.

As a child, Uraume had sat curled up in the middle of a ruin, wearing thin clothes and surrounded by frozen corpses.

Sukuna had been passing by when he saw the scene. For some reason, the King of Curses, who was already infamous, had taken an interest in the young child.

"What's this?" He walked straight up to Uraume, his four eyes surveying the wreckage around her.

"I don't know..." Uraume answered softly. "It's always like this. By the time I realize it, everyone around me has gone cold..."

"My father and mother died like this because of me, too..."

After hearing this, Sukuna said little. He merely waved a hand and turned around.

"Follow me, kid."

Without asking any more questions or hesitating, Uraume got up and naturally fell into step behind Sukuna.

Everything that came after, the decades they had spent together day and night, passed before Uraume's eyes like frames of a film...

"Lord Sukuna... Please forgive me. I was not capable enough, and can only go on ahead..."

The next moment, Uraume's figure was swallowed by the ice-blue beam of Cursed Energy.