Exposed to the eyes of almost everyone at Jujutsu High, Sukuna stretched out both hands and somehow tore at the space that should have been visible yet untouchable.
The plane of space twisted completely under his pull, like a curtain being dragged out of shape.
The bolt of lightning that should have caught up with him from behind, powerful enough to tear through the atmosphere, was instead drawn into the distorted plane of space under his control. Then, under Kashimo's disbelieving gaze, Sukuna twisted the plane again and directly redirected the lightning toward him.
Boom!
Thunder rumbled as terrifying currents of electricity spread in every direction after striking Kashimo, forcibly tearing one crack after another across the ground.
* * *
"That's Uro's technique! But Sukuna shouldn't have met her while using Okkotsu-senpai's body..."
Inside the viewing room, Yuji finally confirmed his guess. What he could not understand was how Sukuna could use Uro's Sky Manipulation when he had never even gone in her direction after leaving his body.
"Brother, we never actually checked on Takako Uro after that day, did we?"
Because special grade sorcerers were involved, the Culling Game was brought under control much faster than everyone had expected. They had never paid much attention to the players who posed no threat.
Todo rested a hand against his chin. He already had a certain guess in mind, but since he did not know the exact conditions for Yuta's technique, he asked the question first.
"Yuta's technique is Copy, but it's not the kind where seeing something once means he can completely understand it."
At that moment, Satoru, acting as the teacher, finally revealed the details of the technique.
Everyone at Jujutsu High had already learned about Yuta's technique during this period. After all, having more information would make it easier to deal with the enemy. However, the specific conditions for Copy had never been explained in too much detail, because neither Satoru nor Mukuro had any techniques that Sukuna could copy.
They had already told the students everything they knew about Yuta's copied techniques as thoroughly as possible, but there was still a new variable appearing now. That was why Satoru spoke up.
There were two ways for Yuta to use Copy.
The first was like Toge's Cursed Speech. Yuta could learn directly from Toge himself. Once he was taught by the Cursed Speech user and understood the key principles behind the technique, he could copy it.
The other method was related to Rika.
Rika was a special grade vengeful cursed spirit created from Yuta's terrifying cursed energy, the intense feelings shared between the two of them, and countless curses. The biggest difference between her and cursed spirits that were simply born from nature was that she was bound to Yuta.
Rika had already become a part of Yuta.
If she swallowed a sorcerer's body or part of their torso, she could obtain the corresponding cursed technique.
Of course, the two methods also resulted in differences in how Yuta could use copied techniques. With the first method, once he understood the principles behind the technique, he could theoretically use it an unlimited number of times.
With the second method, the number of times he could use the technique, along with its strength and duration, depended on which part of the body was swallowed and how important that part was.
Naturally, there were also many techniques with extremely strict conditions that were difficult to copy.
(This setting differs from the original work. The Volume 0 version was stronger, while the main series weakened it. Here, the setting has been modified because Rika has not passed on.)
"Could it be... Kogane! Check player Takako Uro's current status!"
After hearing the explanation, Yuji clenched his fists. He swallowed nervously before giving an order to his shikigami.
"Player Takako Uro~ Current points: 1. She isn't inside any colony~"
Kogane opened the points panel and displayed it directly in front of everyone.
"She's not dead... Thank goodness."
Yuji was the only one in the entire viewing room who let out a sigh of relief. His tightly clenched fists finally relaxed, but when he came back to his senses and looked at his companions, his brows furrowed again.
'Maybe... I shouldn't have held back...'
The thought surfaced in his mind.
He knew from personal experience just how troublesome Uro's technique was, and now it had fallen into the hands of the most troublesome person of all.
Even as regret spread through him, Yuji still could not say for certain that he would have killed her if he had been returned to that exact moment.
"She doesn't seem like the kind of player who would kill ordinary people, right? Then I don't think Yuji did anything wrong. When you're trying to survive, it's perfectly normal for players to fight and kill each other."
Seeing his student's guilt, Satoru grinned broadly and spoke in a relaxed tone, as if he did not consider the matter important. He simply glossed over the details of the technique.
"That's right. Yuji was only doing his best to do what he needed to do."
As the eldest brother, Choso immediately nodded in agreement. His two younger brothers also spoke up one after another.
"We've talked about this before, haven't we? What would happen if someone we saved ended up hurting someone else? If it were me, I might have done the same thing."
Megumi picked up their old discussion again. His expression remained as blank as ever, but there was a hint of comfort in his words.
"After all, we're only jujutsu sorcerers. We can't know everything that's going on. As long as we follow our own judgment and have nothing to be ashamed of, that's enough."
"Sensei... everyone..."
Yuji clenched his teeth and took a deep breath before turning his eyes back toward the screen.
There was no time to keep regretting the past. He could not allow himself to be trapped by something that everyone else had already accepted.
The atmosphere seemed to become warm and harmonious again.
Yet, when no one noticed, Satoru's expression grew heavy.
In truth, he and Mukuro had already anticipated that Sukuna might use Yuta's body to copy unexpected techniques, and they had investigated the matter as well. They simply had not expected that there would still be someone they had missed.
* * *
(The story returns to the day Sukuna separated from Yuji's body.)
"Sukuna-sama, please forgive me for taking the liberty of capturing this woman. I don't know whether she might be useful to you."
Not long after leaving with Rika from in front of Mukuro and Satoru, Sukuna caught up with Uraume. He found someone trapped inside an iceberg beside her.
It was Uro, who had previously fought Yuji.
With her strength, there was no way Uraume should have been able to capture her so easily. Unfortunately, Uro had fallen into Uraume's hands while her technique was still in its burnout period.
"Th... The King of Curses!"
When Uro heard the way Uraume addressed the newcomer and saw that familiar face with the extra eyes beneath his normal pair, her voice began to tremble.
The fear she had felt a thousand years ago surged through her once again.
"You did well. I'm very pleased."
Looking at the face that had gone pale with fear, Sukuna came up with a new idea.
While he was still inside the brat's body, he had already considered that Sky Manipulation might come in handy.
"What should we do? Should I kill her, or cut off a part of her body?"
The cold air spreading from Uraume's fingertips instantly turned into an ice blade as she waited for Sukuna's command.
From her understanding of Sukuna-sama, there was no way Uro could become an ally.
"Neither."
Sukuna had a different idea.
If Rika swallowed only a part of the body, the technique she gained would inevitably be somewhat unstable. Of course, that problem would not exist if she swallowed the entire person.
But would Yuta's technique really be unknown to Satoru and Mukuro?
To deal with him, they would definitely investigate whether the bodies of powerful players who had died during the Culling Game were still around. In that case, Kogane could serve as an excellent distraction.
In other words, a living Uro was far more useful than a dead one.
"Tell me everything about Sky Manipulation. If I'm in a good mood, I might just spare your life, provided you don't play any tricks before I fully understand it."
Sukuna took a step forward. Like a mountain, he cast his shadow over Uro.
"I... I understand..."
(Flashback End)
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