That evening, Gojo, as usual, dragged Itadori to a new training location.
After Sukuna briefly took over and applied a healing spell, Itadori, who had switched back, felt his body healed by Sukuna and his eyes widened in surprise.
"So, so amazing!"
He said, delighted.
"I really don't feel tired at all!"
At this moment, Itadori felt refreshed and invigorated. He, who was previously so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open, now felt energized, as if he'd had a shot of adrenaline, eager for a Curse to rush up so he could take it down.
Sukuna sat in his inner world, watching the lively Tiger cub, and couldn't help but feel a little better.
He looked at the happy Itadori, a smile playing on his lips, and thought leisurely to himself... Sigh, his child was too easily satisfied~
He also felt happy that Yuji could be so joyful.
Although this operation made him feel like a Tool-Sukuna, switching on just to cast a healing Cursed Technique, like some hidden profession for the Tiger cub... but having Reverse Cursed Technique felt pretty good. He could heal his Tiger cub anytime in the future; it wasn't a waste... Hmm, but... he thought for a moment, then couldn't help but speak, asking the doubt in his heart.
[But... don't you feel uncomfortable not being able to rest for 24 hours?]
If it were him, he definitely couldn't stand it. Even if he wasn't tired at night, he would just want to lie flat.
"How could that be?"
Itadori asked in surprise, excitedly.
"Doesn't this mean I get twice the time to train?"
Thinking of this wonderful situation, he felt incredibly lucky!
Who could have such good luck as him? He had Gojo-sensei helping him find training locations and Sukuna helping him extend his training time!
Sukuna was silent: [...]
Hmm... alright.
This was the difference between the ambitious and the laid-back.
He couldn't keep up with the Tiger cub's pace.
He just wanted to be a Lazy Bum; hard work still had to rely on his Tiger cub.
—Thumbs up for Yuji!
...Gojo looked at Itadori, who was clearly excited but whose doll on his back remained asleep, and nodded in satisfaction.
He hadn't expected that by the second night, Yuji would already be able to maintain continuous Cursed Energy output. His progress was truly remarkable.
Indeed, using Sukuna to stimulate Yuji was very effective.
—Having a goal to chase after, dangling in front, was most suitable for an ambitious child like Yuji to unleash his potential.
Of course, Sukuna's Reverse Cursed Technique also played a big role, ensuring Yuji had enough stamina to perform exercises beyond his normal endurance.
It seems he can continue to increase the difficulty now~
"Yosh!"
He clapped his hands, attracting Itadori's attention.
Then, he pointed to a spot not far from them—
They were currently standing atop a cliff, and at the bottom of the cliff was a dark, vast, dense forest.
The pitch-black forest was dimly silhouetted under the faint moonlight, and the aura of Curses continuously emanated from within.
"Tonight, your task is still to train your Cursed Energy output, but the form will be a little different."
Gojo said.
"In the forest below, there's a type of fast-moving Grade 4 Cursed Spirit. Although it's only Grade 4, it's very sensitive to Cursed Energy. Once an object emitting Cursed Energy appears, it will immediately chase and attack it—for you, who is currently carrying a doll and must continuously output Cursed Energy, this forest is an excellent training ground."
"These Cursed Spirits are very weak, so your task is not to exorcise them, but to dodge. Do everything possible not to be hit by the Cursed Spirits while also maintaining the doll's Cursed Energy output."
"Persist for as long as possible. This way, as Cursed Energy is continuously consumed and replenished, your total Cursed Energy will increase. If you really can't hold on, you can switch to Sukuna to help you recover."
"Of course, the fewer times you recover, and the longer the intervals, the more strength you'll be able to gain."
Itadori understood.
It meant he needed to be able to continuously control his Cursed Energy output even while focused on dodging, which was different from when he output Cursed Energy while sitting quietly during the day.
At the same time, he needed to try to face it himself and reduce external help—after all, if he sought outside help every time he made a mistake, it would easily form bad habits, and he would be in trouble on the battlefield.
"Understood!"
Itadori's eyes sparkled. He felt that completing this task would bring him one step closer to Sukuna.
He wanted to catch up to Sukuna soon, stand on the same front line as him, and not be a protected object who could only provide a vessel for him.
He walked to the edge of the cliff, looked down at the dozens of meters below, and thought about how to descend. Several suitable footholds appeared in his sight, and he quickly calculated his route.
Just as he was about to step out, he suddenly heard Gojo-sensei behind him say, "Let's go."
Then, his back was suddenly pulled and thrown by some force, and he was already flying in mid-air... Eh?
Before he could react, a sudden sense of weightlessness came, and he rapidly fell downwards—
The wonderful surprise of freefall came unexpectedly—
"Go~~~jo~~~Sen~~~sei~~~ahhhhhhh!"
Itadori's terrified scream echoed wildly in the silent forest... [Stop screaming, stop screaming, watch your landing!—]
Sukuna roared in Itadori's mind.
Itadori calmed down, quickly shut his mouth, and looked at the forest below, beginning to adjust his posture.
This height was not dangerous for him; it was just the suddenness that startled him a bit.
After falling into the tree canopy, he immediately used the branches to cushion his fall and landed steadily on the ground.
—Immediately afterward, Itadori quickly reached out and grabbed the doll on his back, completing the Cursed Energy input the moment its eyes opened.
He was scared to death!
He almost got hit again!
Before he could even catch his breath, he heard Sukuna's sharp intake of breath in his mind.
[What the hell!—]
[Is that Gojo guy poisonous?]
[Run, run, run, run—!!]
Itadori looked up at the sound, and his hair immediately stood on end—
Less than ten meters in front of him, a two-meter-tall, three-meter-long grotesque Curse, resembling a hybrid of a leech and a millipede, was rushing towards him at high speed, dozens of worm-like tentacles sliding rapidly along the ground.
Facing him, its circular mouth contained dense, sharp teeth like those of an electric eel, with viscous liquid constantly flowing out.
And behind this Cursed Spirit were more than a dozen similar figures, also rushing forward, appearing and disappearing among the trees.
They charged at him with terrifying speed—
Itadori's scalp instantly tingled, and he turned and ran without hesitation.
He already saw that these Cursed Spirits were not slow at all compared to him!
And... his heart was filled with immense grief.
Full of indignation at being betrayed by someone he trusted—
Gojo-sensei...! You never said there were so many Grade 4 Cursed Spirits!—
...Itadori was in pain, but Sukuna inside him was even more so—
Itadori could only see the dozen or so nearby, but Sukuna's spiritual power covered hundreds of meters around, allowing him to see hundreds of such Curses densely packed throughout the forest—
After being startled by Itadori's scream when he fell, all of them were crawling towards this direction—
It was a scene that would trigger intense trypophobia!
—And he was the sole audience enjoying the closest, clearest view of the scene.
Help...!
I'm going to die!!
Sukuna covered his mouth, feeling his breathing about to stop... He hated slimy, soft-bodied creatures like leeches and earthworms the most; what was he going to do!!
You, you guys, don't come over ahhhhhh!!!— (Screaming)
...Gojo Satoru on the cliff had a hand shading his eyes, looking down at Itadori, who was running swiftly.
Behind the boy's small figure, hundreds of wriggling Cursed Spirits chased in a swarm, cheering as they rushed towards the feast before them, as if celebrating a grand carnival.
Ah~ Young people, so full of energy~~
Gojo sighed contentedly, thinking cheerfully to himself.
—Filled with a cold, ruthless spectating atmosphere~
...Itadori swiftly weaved through the jungle, dodging attacks from countless Curses around him.
Cursed Spirits came from all directions, and the boy's figure was like an agile leopard, twisting and turning among the trees.
He pushed off the ground, dashing forward to evade an attack from a Curse on his side, then immediately took a few steps onto a tree trunk, using the leverage to leap onto the canopy of another tree, only to be forced back to the ground by Curses climbing onto the canopy.
Dozens of Curses densely surrounded him, and he struggled to break out of the encirclement without touching them, only to find a new circle of Curses outside in an instant.
If it were purely dodging, he would be at ease, but with the continuous Cursed Energy output he had to maintain on his back, it became somewhat difficult.
As Cursed Energy continuously flowed into the doll on his back, his physical strength rapidly diminished.
He gasped for air, his chest heaving like bellows.
In less than half an hour, he was drenched in sweat.
"Suk... Sukuna... *huff*... I feel like my... Cursed Energy is... *cough cough*... running out..."
During the day, outputting Cursed Energy while sitting quietly could last a whole day.
However, at this moment, most of his attention was focused on dodging, and his Cursed Energy output was fluctuating. In just a short while, he felt like he was being drained dry.
The doll on his back had opened its eyes several times. Each time, just as he was about to be hit, he quickly resupplied Cursed Energy, thus narrowly escaping.
He desperately needed someone to give him a boost.
[...Don't worry...]
Sukuna's voice, even weaker than his own, came through.
[...Every time you... run out of Cursed Energy, take a close look at those Curses—don't you feel very panicked?]
[Cursed Energy comes from... human negative emotions... fear is one of them.]
[Thus, your Cursed Energy will appear.]
Sukuna didn't even dare to open his eyes when he spoke.
He didn't know if Itadori would gain Cursed Energy by doing this, but he certainly would.
He said, trembling with his eyes closed, feeling like he could faint at any moment.
He had even retracted all his spiritual power, fearing that a Cursed Spirit might accidentally hit him head-on.
Itadori: "..."
...Well, that's a truly great idea.
He looked back at the densely packed, bizarre figures of the Curses.
After struggling for a long time, he finally had a sudden realization.
So that's it...!
He understood!
He didn't know if his Cursed Energy would increase with these Curses around, but he at least knew one thing—
Tonight, he shouldn't expect Sukuna to come out and heal him—
Trypophobic Sukuna, ascending online... Classmate Itadori, abandoned consecutively by Gojo-sensei and Sukuna, began to fight alone.
He ran while thinking about how to obtain more Cursed Energy.
Perhaps Sukuna's description had an effect, as he began to try various ways to adjust his emotions.
Pain, sadness, anger... keeping his emotions in a state of subtle, tense alertness.
His physical exhaustion and Cursed Energy output finally reached a delicate balance.
Itadori struggled to hold on, minute by minute, with only one thought in his mind: he absolutely could not let these Curses entangle him... Gojo, who had been secretly following Itadori, was somewhat surprised.
He hadn't expected Yuji to still not switch to Sukuna until now.
Itadori's Cursed Energy was clearly at rock bottom, yet he was still squeezing it out bit by bit.
Being able to persist until now truly exceeded his expectations.
He couldn't help but sigh again in his heart; the child's character was good.
If Tiger cub could hear his thoughts right now, he would righteously tell him—
"Not wanting to switch" and "being unable to switch" are two completely different things!
...Finally, when Itadori was about to collapse again, Sukuna, in his mind, uttered two difficult words.
[Climb tree.]
Itadori almost sleepwalked his way to the treetop, and then, just before he was about to faint, successfully switched to Sukuna.
Sukuna looked at the Curses rapidly climbing up the tree trunk below, and almost with the fastest speed in his life, he cast a wave of healing on Itadori.
Then immediately went offline—
Leaving behind the Tiger cub, who was finally fully recovered.
Itadori, who had switched back, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He almost thought he was going to be gone.
"Sukuna."
He whispered.
"How about you sleep for a while? I'll call you when I need healing."
This way, Sukuna wouldn't have to see those Curses.
[I've been... trying to sleep...]
Sukuna replied in a whisper.
Itadori: "..."
Alright, it's clear the symptoms are very severe...
To reduce Sukuna's trypophobia episodes, Itadori began to handle his Cursed Energy output with increasing care.
Half an hour... 40 minutes... an hour... the time he could persist grew longer and longer each time.
It wasn't until dawn broke, five hours later, that he realized, vaguely, that he had finally completed his training for the night.
He looked up at the sky, feeling as if a very long time had passed.
Finally... it's done...
He stared blankly at the brightening sky for a while.
Then he lowered his head and softly called out, "Sukuna..."
[...Mm...]
The familiar, incredibly weak and barely audible voice still echoed in his mind.
Itadori curved his lips, his exhaustion unable to hide the smile in his eyes.
Even though Sukuna was so afraid of these Curses, he had stayed with him through these long five hours.
And he would respond every time he called out—
Never disappearing for a moment.
In the pink-haired boy's smiling, light-brown eyes, starlight seemed to fall...