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Naoya stood near Megumi and looked the boy up and down.
"...You look like shit."
Megumi looked at his uncle/teacher and gave him a stink eye.
He was fighting against the King of Curses. Naoya should be glad that he wasn't dead yet.
Naoya made a hand sign and summoned a shikigami.
"Kakuzu, give him some cursed energy."
The debt collector shikigami nodded and let the excess stored cursed energy within him flow into Megumi.
Naoya gave Megumi one last glance before he turned towards the battlefield.
Itadori Yuji...
No, Ryomen Sukuna.
The Special Grade cursed spirit Jogo.
And Megumi's [Mahoraga].
"Looks like you had too much on your plate if you had to summon [Mahoraga]..."
Naoya kept his gaze on the other three.
"Give me a brief report on what's going on."
Jogo was looking at him cautiously.
Naoya Zenin was regarded as the strongest sorcerer of the current era, alongside Satoru Gojo.
And just moments ago, he had sent Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses, flying with a single punch.
Even the shikigami that had been clashing with Sukuna earlier was eyeing Naoya warily.
All of this made Jogo feel a little unsettled.
'Should I interfere? Unlike Satoru Gojo, I can actually hit him,' thought Jogo.
Megumi looked at the scene in front of him with mild amazement.
Just his uncle's presence was enough to make these powerful special grades stop fighting and reconsider their next moves.
Feeling some of his strength return after his cursed energy reserves were replenished, Megumi got back on his feet.
"The situation is bad, as you can see. Itadori seems to be unable to hold Sukuna back at the moment; Satoru-sensei is captured. Okkotsu-senpai went to save him, but we haven't got a word from him. The civilians are trapped and are being held hostage, and the advisors are being hunted."
"...Wait. What do you mean Satoru is captured?"
Naoya finally turned towards Megumi.
"How the hell did that happen?"
He was genuinely taken aback by the news.
The moment Naoya seemed distracted, Jogo and [Mahoraga] moved in to attack him.
[Mahoraga]'s targets were Megumi, Sukuna, and Jogo. These were the ones who were part of the ritual. However, Naoya's entry made Mahoraga realise that he could not harm Megumi as long as Naoya was present and immediately marked him as a target as well.
Jogo's extended palm lit ablaze while [Mahoraga]'s blade glowed with positive energy.
The two were coming at Naoya at their max speed and were fast enough for Megumi not to even realise that the two of them were going to attack.
...For Naoya, though, they were not fast enough.
Before either of them could even graze him, both were trapped inside a frame.
Sukuna, who was looking at the scene from the side, was mildly amused.
Naoya noticed that gaze as well and looked back at the king of curses.
"...Leave the explanation for later. For now, get out of here."
Naoya kicked the frozen Jogo away, sending the disaster curse flying through the road before crashing into a building.
As for the frozen [Mahoraga], Naoya sent the shikigami flying into the air.
He then pointed his hand towards it and began chanting while activating [Projection Sorcery].
Within seconds, a massive sphere made of shadows formed above Naoya.
[Cursed Technique Black: Absolute Null Sphere]
The giant sphere flew straight towards the unfrozen [Mahoraga], who was now unframed.
Mahoraga saw the incoming attack and planned to slash the sphere into two; however, the moment the sphere made contact, the divine general felt his body being disintegrated
Sukuna watched the entire thing unfold right in front of his eyes, and his mild surprise immediately turned to shock. The shikigami that he had been fighting for a while was obliterated by the young man in a single attack. What should he take it as?
'From what I can make out of the brat's memories, this man has the same technique as Megumi Fushiguro's. He probably already knows how to take out that shikigami... still an attack that was able to destroy that shikigami instantly? My slashes were able to cut it too, but the shikigami came back all healed up instantly... so the key was to destroy it whole...'
Sukuna pieced everything together and walked back towards Naoya and Megumi.
"Impressive technique. Looks like the sorcerers of this era are not all that hopeless." Ryomen Sukuna clapped his hands and gave a smirk to Naoya.
"The Heian-era sorcerer, Ryomen Sukuna, I presume." Naoya ignored the compliment; from what he could feel, the incarnated sorcerer had way more fingers within him than what Itadori Yuji had consumed.
"Correct."
"I'll ask nicely first."
Naoya looked directly at him.
"Go back to rest and give the body back to the boy."
"Hm? What should I do? I'm rather enjoying this freedo—"
Before Sukuna could finish, Naoya appeared in front of him and unleashed a flurry of punches.
Ryomen Sukuna barely caught the movement and was struck by the Special Grade Zenin.
Each hit felt as heavy as being struck by a warhammer, and that too when he was reinforcing his body with CE.
The final hit made the king of curses' face plummet into the road.
"This was my first and only warning. Ryomen Sukuna, go back and rest. This is not your era." Naoya spoke coldly.
Being from a great clan, Naoya was well-versed in the knowledge of the Jujutsu world. That included the history as well, and someone who knew how feared a sorcerer like Ryomen Sukuna was, Naoya was not in the mood to play around, especially when Satoru was somehow trapped by the enemies.
Jogo, who had emerged from the building he had crashed into, saw Sukuna lying face-first on the road.
The weirdly powerful shikigami was gone as well.
He wasn't stupid enough to miss the reason behind that.
Naoya Zenin.
The sorcerer was looking coldly at the Heian-era menace.
Naoya was eyeing Sukuna when suddenly the cursed energy around him wavered, and Naoya immediately jumped back.
[Dismantle]
"Man, that hurt a bit. You are quite strong and fast."
Flying slashes flew out of Sukuna, who stood back, all healed up.
"So then, your warning shot is over, right? Let's get started for real." Sukuna taunted and gave a "come at me" gesture to Naoya.
Naoya glanced back at Megumi and made a hand sign.
[Hanami]
The Special Grade curse turned shikigami emerged from Naoya's shadows and looked towards its summoner for orders.
"H-Hanami...."
Jogo's voice escaped him upon seeing his old comrade.
The curse looked a little different after being turned into a shikigami, but there was no denying that it was still the cursed spirit who had once cooperated with them towards their grand goal.
"Hanami, take Megumi away and keep him safe and the other safe."
"Understood."
Hanami grabbed Megumi and rushed away from the scene.
"Nii-san! Itadori is sti-" Megumi tried to voice his request but stopped, seeing Naoya giving a thumbs-up
As Megumi and Hanami got out of sight, Naoya focused back on Sukuna.
"Now, then let's get back to business."
Sukuna's grin widened; he might be able to get a good fight after all.
While the two sorcerers were about to start duking it out, a blur rushed towards Naoya, surrounded by a fiery glow.
'...I will avenge Hanami.'
Jogo locked onto Naoya and went in straight with the intention to kill him
Naoya's shadow rippled, and the [Rainbow Dragon] emerged out of the shadows.
Jogo struck the dragon with its flaming palm and used his technique to blast everything in its path.
...However, the only thing that happened after the dragon was struck was its scales getting charred.
Naoya and Shenron looked at Jogo, whose outstretched hand was touching the dragon shikigami.
Shenron roared and tossed Jogo away and dematerialised into shadows.
Naoya ducked as Sukuna's fist passed through his afterimage.
He then proceeded to flip and kick Sukuna into the air, who immediately followed with a series of flying slashes.
[Dismantle]
Naoya's shadows rose like a wall, but the slashes sliced through them. Naoya dodged the incoming slashes as they carved the road.
Naoya's face darted to his right as a blast of scorching heat engulfed him.
Jogo narrowed his single eye, wondering if that attack was enough to melt the sorcerer.
A strong punch struck the back of his head and sent him skidding through the road.
Naoya Zenin stood without any scratches and looked at the other two special grades near him.
"A 2 v/s 1?" Naoya snorted.
Sukuna landed on his feet, and Jogo, albeit heavily injured, got up and glared at Naoya.
"Fine by me."
[Will of Shadows: Divine Dogs - Twin Fang Bracers]
A black and a white metallic gauntlet manifested around Naoya's hands.
Naoya stretched his palms once and dashed off towards Jogo.
'Better to exorcise the curse first.' Naoya thought.
Jogo couldn't see Naoya moving, but he knew that the sorcerer was coming towards him.
Cursed Energy immediately flowed into the ground, and miniature volcano openings formed on the ground.
[Ember Insects]
A swarm of buzzing, blazing insects erupted out of the volcano and surrounded Jogo in a protective barrier.
"Is that supposed to protect you?" Naoya asked, already standing in front of Jogo, who had only just realised that Naoya was already inside the insect dome.
Without a second thought, Jogo ordered the insects to rush in and erupt.
Wings sprouted out of Naoya's back, and strong bolts of violent electricity thrashed around Naoya.
The electricity killed the insects in an instant, making them detonate, but the cursed energy blasts from Naoya made sure that the explosions never reached him.
Jogo, meanwhile, lowered his head and prepared a maximum output blast, only for Naoya to trap him inside a frame and punch him up in the air.
[Black Flash]
Cursed energy sparked black as the frame shattered and Jogo burst out of the frame, with half of his body destroyed.
Naoya was about to finish off the cursed spirit when he sensed a fluctuation in the cursed energy nearby.
Flying slashes came at him, which he dodged promptly, followed by Sukuna himself, who went in to get some action as well.
Sukuna jumped in with an excited look on his face.
[Cleave]
However, his hand never felt any contact. Out of nowhere, pain surged around his waist as he realised that Naoya was already behind him and had successfully landed a kick.
Though that wasn't the end of it.
[Black Flash]
Cursed energy sparked black once again and sent the King of Curses blasting through multiple buildings.
Seeing the destruction that he caused, Naoya blinked dumbfoundedly.
"...Should I hold back more?"
As those words left Naoya's mouth, he started to feel hot.
"...It's getting too hot."
Naoya's gaze moved towards the building where he punched Jogo, and sure enough, the cursed spirit that looked to be on the verge of dying was up to something.
"Naoya Zenin..."
Jogo's voice echoed through the area.
"For the crime of tarnishing Hanami..."
His single eye burned with hatred.
"...You must repent."
The concrete started to melt
The roads were already turning into lava from the intense heat.
Naoya, who stood on top of a shadowed platform, immediately wove some hand signs
The [Twin Fang Bracers] moved from his hands and transformed into two additional prosthetic arms.
The new hands also began forming hand signs.
[Ten Shadows: Well of Unknown Abyss]
[Rabbit Escape + Max Mammoth+ Nue]
A shikigami made from the combination of three shikigami shot out of Naoya's shadows.
It began multiplying as it flew into the air.
"Cool it down."
Naoya ordered, making the shikigami swell up, only to blast jets of ice-cold water everywhere.
The sky was filled with an army of composite shikigami blasting water on buildings and the roads, making the entire area covered in steam.
Jogo cursed Naoya under his breath as he saw the sorcerer vanish behind the steam.
Though he couldn't see him, the massive CE within Naoya told Jogo exactly where he was.
"Move away if you don't wanna die."
The malicious feeling came from behind, making Jogo blast the roof he was standing on and fall.
A moment later, Naoya arrived at the same spot and was engulfed in a series of slashes.
[Dismantle]
Jogo saw the building, along with Naoya, getting diced apart... or so it seemed.
Naoya's figure seemed to glitch, and a moment later he was high up in the air.
Jogo ran out of the building as fast as he could and barely dodged getting dissected along with the building.
*Thump*
Sukuna landed beside him and looked towards the steam-covered skies, or more accurately towards Naoya, who was behind the steam wall.
"Sukuna...."
"Hm? You survived that? You are good at running away." Sukuna commented before he focused back on Naoya.
A small smirk formed on his lips.
"That man is holding back."
"...Huh?"
Jogo looked at Sukuna in surprise.
Holding back?
He was facing a Special Grade cursed spirit and Ryomen Sukuna, and yet neither of them had managed to land a proper hit on Naoya Zenin.
And Sukuna was saying that he was holding back?
"He is."
Sukuna answered the question forming in Jogo's head.
"If the attack he used earlier on that shikigami wasn't a one-time trick, then he is most definitely holding back."
Jogo looked towards the steamy skies as well.
For what reason was the sorcerer holding back against his enemies? Didn't he know that time is of the essence here?
Sukuna snorted.
"Must be because of the stupid sorcerer-weakling mentality of keeping the destruction in check so that the civilians are not killed... or not kill this brat's body... probably both."
Jogo narrowed his eyes. That made sense. They caught Satoru Gojo in a similar manner as well. Sorcerers loved protecting civilians.
"Whatever, if he isn't willing to fight at his best, then he will d-"
As Sukuna spoke that, the ground below their feet started trembling.
Jogo and Sukuna looked down; the hardened lava was covered with water... and that said water was now turning into pitch-black shadows.
[Solid Shadows: Shadow Terrain]
The cursed energy within the water gave rise to shadows that spread rapidly.
Soon, the surrounding buildings and roads were covered in pitch-black shadows.
Jogo and Sukuna watched silently as their surroundings turned dark.
[Up]
Naoya's command resonated within the shadows, and the entire shadowy mould of the city section started rising up in the air.
Sukuna realised what was happening and started smiling.
"Cursed Spirit."
"Yes?"
"Get ready?"
"Ready? For what?"
The massive shadowy platform rose above the steam, and there they saw him.
With the glowing moon behind him, beneath the cover of the night sky, a four-armed figure of Naoya Zenin floated above them.
A slight smirk rested on his face.
"Ready for the real boss fight?"
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A/N: Hi! Author here. Hope you like the first half of the fight. Sorry for the late update