"Satoru Gojo, as far as I'm concerned, you're all nothing more than fish waiting to be cut up on a chopping board. And you're merely one of the two liveliest fish among them."
Sukuna raised both hands into a fighting stance as soon as the man in front of him began speaking so rudely. "Once I peel off every last scale from your body, I hope you'll still be able to talk as tough as you do now."
"Is that so? Then why are you still walking around with Yuta's face?" Satoru blinked, putting on a fake look of disbelief while immediately calling out Sukuna's petty game. "Hoping I'll go easy on you? Too bad for you, because beating Yuta to a pulp is actually my specialty."
Satoru also took a fighting stance as cursed energy began wrapping around both of his fists.
To be fair, what he said wasn't entirely a joke.
Most of the students at Jujutsu High were still far too inexperienced. Even Yuji, whom he had the highest hopes for, was still a kid who had only recently entered the school. Only Yuta and Hakari had been acknowledged by him as students who could withstand him getting somewhat serious and beating them up without suffering any serious consequences.
Because of that, he had long since gotten used to beating up that face.
Then, in an atmosphere that wasn't particularly tense and even felt somewhat like two old friends exchanging greetings, the battle suddenly erupted.
The moment the words left their mouths, the two figures radiating terrifying cursed energy collided.
'Infinity...'
Sukuna's fist slammed forward, only to be blocked by the arm Satoru raised. However, upon closer inspection, it was clear that the two had not actually made contact at all.
The Limitless technique wasn't a barrier that could be broken simply by outputting enough cursed energy. It was the absolute existence of "infinity."
But the scene changed in the very next moment.
Sukuna swung his other fist. The cursed energy surrounding it seemed somewhat different from before.
Smack!
A crisp sound rang out as Satoru extended his palm and stopped the punch.
* * *
"What was that?! Sukuna actually broke through Gojo's Infinity?!"
Everyone in the viewing room saw it clearly. Sukuna's fist had completely made contact with Satoru's palm.
Kusakabe slapped both hands against his thighs and widened his eyes.
"Can you actually do that? Isn't the only way to break through Gojo-sensei's technique by using a Domain Expansion?" Yuji frowned as he rested his chin on his hand. In his understanding, Domain Expansion is the only thing that can get through Infinity.
"I see. So this is the 'Domain Amplification' that Fushiguro and Gojo mentioned before." Nanami adjusted his goggles as he began explaining.
Instead of expanding a domain, the user covered their hands with something similar to a domain, or a refined version of Simple Domain, which neutralized Satoru's technique and allowed them to make contact.
Still, this seemingly cheating-like method had a drawback. Domain Amplification and a cursed technique could not be used at the same time.
"Can you do it too, Sensei?"
Momo and Miwa, who were at the bottom of the combat rankings, blinked their large eyes as they looked toward Kusakabe.
"What kind of joke is that?! Do you think something like this is easy? How could I possibly..."
The corner of Kusakabe's eye twitched. Before he knew it, he had bitten through the toothpick hanging from the corner of his mouth.
"Although that's how it works in theory, this should only be possible for someone who knows how to expand a domain. There are simply too many things involved," Yuki stared at the battle on the screen as she also chimed in.
In reality, she had wanted to team up with Satoru and attack Sukuna, but Kashimo, who had entered the battlefield first, rejected the idea.
Not to mention that Sukuna's follower had yet to show himself, even though her cursed technique and physical training had given her powerful close-combat abilities, she was still no match for the two people currently fighting.
To put it bluntly, aside from using a highly lethal method like "self-destruction," there really wasn't a good way for her to join the current battlefield. Satoru might even hold back because he had to worry about her.
* * *
"You're really going to such great lengths just to deal with me."
Meanwhile, Satoru remained even more relaxed despite Sukuna managing to bypass Infinity at close range. As the two exchanged blows, he spoke to his opponent.
This wasn't his first time dealing with Domain Amplification. Clearly, this was a gift the King of Curses had prepared specifically for him.
The more effort Sukuna put into preparing for him, the more Satoru could feel just how great a threat he posed to Sukuna.
"Don't flatter yourself. I just don't want to waste too much energy on a single fish," Sukuna sneered in response.
Both of them genuinely meant what they said because the conditions for victory in their battle were completely different.
After seeing that Sukuna had survived even after tearing out Yuji's heart, Satoru only needed to give his all and beat him until he was as close to death as possible.
Sukuna, however, had to consider far more than that.
From his perspective, even after defeating Satoru, he would still have to face the other special grade jujutsu sorcerers who might swarm him afterward, potentially including Mukuro.
Whether Kenjaku's plan would actually succeed was still unknown. Because of that, Sukuna had to kill Satoru while consuming as little of his strength as possible from the very beginning.
Of course, that idea was practically impossible.
"Over there."
As another one of Sukuna's attacks came toward him, Satoru dodged by leaning straight backward until he was flat, hovering parallel to the ground.
He then flicked his finger sideways, slamming a wall of repulsive force directly into Sukuna.
Caught off guard, Sukuna was sent flying backward and embedded into the outer wall of a nearby building. The impact shattered the floor and sent him crashing deeper into the building.
Satoru didn't let the opening slip away. He stepped through the air with both feet and quickly chased after him.
Although his feet never touched the floors he passed through, the powerful repulsive force left deep craters along the way that almost pierced through the floors.
"Dismantle."
Just as Satoru was about to catch up, Sukuna swung his hand and released a slash. The target wasn't Satoru. Instead, he aimed at the building they were both inside.
Boom!
As the upper floors began to collapse, Sukuna stopped Satoru from teleporting away.
He wanted to force Satoru into close combat within this narrow space. That was the only way he could maximize the effectiveness of Domain Amplification.
Crack!
Sukuna casually grabbed the doorknob of an office beside him. With a little force, he tore the entire door from its hinges and threw it toward his opponent.
At the same time, Domain Amplification disappeared from his hands. He turned his palm and pulled at the space beside him.
"Thin Ice Breaker."
The moment the door blocked Satoru's vision, his fist was already filled with cursed energy.
Boom!
The building, more than a dozen floors tall and already collapsing, exploded with a deafening roar.
Smoke and rubble shot into the sky, and the people watching the live broadcast could no longer see what was happening.
Yet two figures gradually became visible through the smoke.
Neither of them was as spotless as before. A trace of blood had also appeared at the corners of both their mouths.
One had used the Thin Ice Breaker, which attacked space itself, while the other had infused his fist with the cursed energy of Blue.
Their exchange had ended evenly. Neither side had gained a clear advantage.
"You're paying for all the damage," Satoru said as he lightly wiped the tiny amount of blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb and pushed the blame onto Sukuna.
"You really have the nerve to say that." Sukuna shook his head with a laugh.
Their casual exchange didn't sound like something two enemies would say to each other at all.
"Caw! Caw!"
"Huh? Wait. Mei is broadcasting this..."
The cawing of crows from the sky suddenly made Satoru realize something was wrong.
'Then doesn't that mean all the destruction I caused is being broadcast too...?'
* * *
Back in the viewing room, everyone at Jujutsu High had already begun discussing the intense battle they had just witnessed.
"Although Sukuna can't use his technique while using Domain Amplification, doesn't that mean he can still fight Satoru evenly even under those conditions…?" Panda asked hesitantly.
"Then why doesn't Sukuna use Domain Expansion? If he can fight Gojo like this without using his technique, then once his technique becomes available again after the burnout, he'll win." On Hana's face, Angel analyzed the situation.
"Could it be that Sukuna thinks he can't win a domain clash against Gojo-san?" Ui Ui offered his own theory.
"Impossible. If that's the case, the Six Eyes would definitely allow Gojo to figure it out. And with his naturally twisted personality, he'd definitely use Domain Expansion," Shoko rejected his idea. "Besides, according to Fushiguro and Itadori, Sukuna's domain, like Geto's, doesn't close its barrier. If that's the case, it would put Gojo at a disadvantage."
They had already tested it during this period. However, because the two techniques differed in offensive power, they still didn't know whether Satoru's domain could withstand the external slashes from Sukuna's.
"Could it be because he wants to save cursed energy? Even if Gojo-san's cursed energy output and recovery are almost equal, that's only under normal circumstances. Domain Expansion consumes a huge amount of cursed energy." Ino was slightly more optimistic.
"No. If it's only once, it's completely within the amount of cursed energy Gojo-sensei can afford to spend. And Sukuna's terrifying amount of cursed energy might be more than twice Yuta's..."
As one of the strongest grade 1 sorcerers of the new generation, Hakari had noticed many things.
"So, neither Gojo nor Sukuna is avoiding Domain Expansion because of cursed energy consumption." Nanami summed it up.
Then what was the reason?
The thoughts of absolute powerhouses were impossible to guess unless one had reached the same level.
The next moment, Higuruma, who had been staring silently at the screen all this time, suddenly spoke.
"It's coming."
A terrifying surge of cursed energy erupted.
Simultaneously, Satoru and Sukuna formed their hand signs.
**
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