Pugilism, one of the very first martial arts Ryomen Sukuna ever learned in his entire life, was simply the art of hitting the opponent without getting hit, yourself. In theory, it was pretty much the simplest martial art out there, perhaps second only to grappling, which was to grab the other guy and toss him or her away. Before he ever became a Jujutsu Sorcerer, Sukuna grew up poor and struggling in coastal cities, where sailors and merchant oft engaged in heavy gambling over who won or who lost the local martial arts tournaments. As a child, Sukuna found it to be an easy and efficient way to earn money. A cut of the bets were allotted to the fighters, after all, and each win garnered him enough coin to buy a hot meal.
Ryomen Sukuna still remembered all the proper movements of pugilism as, compared to every other martial art he'd ever studied and mastered, this one occupied a very dear place in his heart, one of the very few links to his humanity. And, contrary to what his enemies might've thought of him, back in the Heian Era, at least, Ryomen Sukuna did retain plenty of humanity. After all, what was life without a little variety? What was life if all he actually did was walk around fighting and killing everything and everyone? It'd be terribly dull. So, unlike the monstrous cannibalistic monster his enemies often portrayed him to be, Sukuna actually enjoyed quite a lot of mundane things. He liked painting, for instance, and cooking; he even learned how to make noodles from a humble noodle-maker, an old man who had absolutely no idea who Ryomen Sukuna was.
Sukuna wasn't entirely sure why he suddenly remembered all these things as he pivoted and narrowly dodged a straight right punch by Horus, who followed up his attack with a series of kicks and punches, each one containing enough power to rip a normal human apart in a single hit. Sukuna avoided all of them, of course – not because he'd take any real damage, but simply because his pugilistic instincts told him to. Fighting against Horus Lupercal, who'd shed his power armor and was now fighting only in his loincloth, reminded Sukuna of simpler days.
"You're quick on your feet!" Horus chuckled as Sukuna bounced from one place to another, avoiding each of Horus' attacks. For this fight, he'd chosen not to use any Cursed Energy at all, just the strength and power of his Primarch Body and nothing else. It was a refreshing change, honestly, because Horus was clearly the physically superior between the two of them. The bald man wasn't just bigger and stronger, he was also faster, which was a neat little challenge that made things more interesting. And Horus wasn't lacking in martial ability, either. And, more importantly, for this challenge, Sukuna chose to use only pugilism.
And it really wasn't working well in his favor. But it certainly made things fun.
"I could say the same about you!" Sukuna grinned as he ducked, weaved, and threw a counter right hook right at Horus' face. His fellow Primarch leaned back and threw a counter of his own, which Sukuna narrowly avoided by pivoting to the left, countering with a left hook that Horus also quickly evaded.
Their spar had gone on for ten minutes now and neither of them was yet to land a single attack. A crowd of Astartes had gathered at a respectable distance around them, both Sukuna's Devourers and Horus' Luna Wolves, the two groups almost studying their every movement – almost because Sukuna was pretty sure the Astartes could just barely follow them. If Horus had access to Cursed Energy, then they'd be moving even faster, Sukuna mused as he ducked under a powerful high kick by his fellow Primarch.
Horus then paused, still grinning, still chuckling, still jovial. Sukuna could not help but laugh with him. He'd forgotten how fun this sort of thing could be. "You know what? Since you're only using pugilism, how about we settle this with only that? No fancy martial arts. Just two brothers, bashing each other with their fists till one surrenders."
Sukuna chuckled. Ah, this took him waaay back. Sometimes, Sukuna wondered where life would've taken him if he never discovered his talent for Jujutsu, if that wandering priest never found him and taught him to harness Cursed Energy, if he never became the King of Curses. At the time, all he wanted to be was a chef. But he knew the answer to that question already. He'd die in relative obscurity, nameless and forgotten. Not that he cared about his title as the King of Curses, but it certainly sounded better than King of Noodles. Would he have found the same sort of happiness, though? Also probably not. Sukuna was a lot of things, but he'd never been a romantic.
Life would be really shitty if he never became a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
Still, it was good to remember one's origins, no matter how humble, no matter how mundane. "Sounds good."
They charged each other and, this time, neither of them bothered dodging. Sukuna threw a straight right into Horus' face, while his fellow Primarch sent an uppercut into Sukuna's lower left rib cage. The both of them shattered each others' bones and sent each other skidding back. But, whatever injuries they sustained in that brief clash quickly healed as their Primarch physiology was far from the human norm. And so, within moments, Horus and Sukuna clashed once more.
The air erupted around them as hundreds and hundreds of punches were thrown within moments, their limbs moving faster than even the eyes of an Astartes could follow. And, as they clashed, Sukuna noted one, very peculiar thing: both he and Horus were growing stronger and faster. The more they clashed and damaged each other, the more powerful their punches became and the faster they regenerated the damage. Of course, the difference was minimal, but even little things added up. For instance, Sukuna noted that he was now 1% stronger and faster than he was an hour ago, before their spar began.
He hadn't noticed this before. Sukuna had assumed that such growth was only possible under life and death circumstances, such as his battle against Skarbrand, the swell guy. But, he didn't think he'd find any sort of growth in a friendly spar.
That made things interesting, because Horus had the same potential. The both of them were growing at the same rate.
If only his fellow Primarch had access to Cursed Energy, then this would be ten times as fun.
His skull cracked as Horus' fist crashed into his temple. Sukuna responded by shattering several of Horus' ribs with an uppercut that would've torn apart a human being, even an Astartes. The speed at which they healed meant that whatever damage they suffered regenerated within milliseconds. And, soon enough, a barrage of punches was exchanged between the two Primarchs, blasting great and powerful gales of wind and dust around them, creating a swirling maelstrom that sent debris into the air. As time ticked on, however, it became painfully obvious that neither of them were going to win as they were.
Sukuna had better technique, but Horus was physically stronger.
Neither of them would break. If there was one thing this fight taught him about his enemy, it was that Horus was just as stubborn as himself. The injuries they sustained, however briefly, carried with it immense pain; lesser men would've already given up. But, neither Sukuna nor Horus ever entertained the idea of surrender. He could respect that. Sure, the bald one was weaker than himself in overall power, but even Sukuna could acknowledge Horus' personal prowess.
In fact, Horus was likely strong enough to defeat quite a lot of the Jujutsu Sorcerers that Sukuna could still remember, including some of the strongest ones from his world. Both Yamamoto Genryusai and Loras Thorn, for instance, would get blitzed if they ever faced Horus, despite their Cursed Energy Augmentation and despite the both of them being stronger than the rest of the Devourers.
Sukuna had to wonder if every other Primarch was anything like Horus. Or if the bald one was simply an outlier.
A mutual headbutt sent the both of them skidding away from each other, their skulls cracked open and bleeding heavily. Sukuna watched as Horus' skull mended itself back into shape. Horus himself then let out a hearty laugh. "Hah! This is fun! But it seems that neither of us are going to win if we continue in such a manner, brother."
"True," Sukuna nodded, jumping in place. "Wanna step it up a notch?"
"A free for all of every martial arts that we know of?" Horus grinned. "That should certainly make things more interesting."
Sukuna grinned back. "Noted."
Once more, Ryomen Sukuna couldn't recall the last time he found himself using only pure martial arts. No Cursed Energy Augmentation or Cursed Technique, just martial arts and the purity of the human body – the ripping of flesh and the breaking of bone.
Around them, the Space Marines sat and watched fervently.
Horus adopted a low stance, both hands held out. At a glance, it was clearly a martial discipline that favored grappling, like Judo or Aikidi. The best counter to grappling was striking. Grinning, Sukuna settled into a boxer's stance, but with his legs spread wider than what was considered normal in pugilism. Because this wasn't just boxing; no, this was Toi Muay, the ultimate striking-based martial arts in Sukuna's repertoire. He honestly couldn't even remember the last time he used this one. It'd been so long; he'd almost forgotten just how fun it could actually be.
Sukuna rushed forward and threw a light jab, which Horus batted away. Sukuna then threw another and another and ano- oh shit. Horus, with the barest amount of skin contact, flipped and threw Sukuna headfirst into the ground, cracking his skull. Sukuna laughed as he then pushed himself right off and backed away. That was... unexpected. That sort of grappling technique was only possible for one who reached the pinnacle of Judo. Horus grinned. "Had enough?"
"I should be the one asking you that question." Sukuna chuckled as his skull fixed itself. If he wasn't a Primarch, then that throw would've killed him outright. Dangerous. Very dangerous. But not unbeatable. Sukuna rushed forward, focusing all his physical power into his legs, breaking the ground at his feet with every powerful step forward. Horus met him head on, but Sukuna weaved around his fellow Primarch's grappling attempt and delivered a bone-crushing uppercut right into Horus' chin, breaking his jaw and sending him flying backwards.
A classic way to deal with grapplers.
This time, it was Sukuna's turn to ask, "Had enough?"
Horus wobbled to his feet, grinning as he rubbed his broken jaw. "Ouch, but not good enough, brother. I've been struck by grandmothers who hit me harder than that."
Sukuna grinned right back. "Let's then this with the next clash. Last one still standing wins."
"Fine by me," Horus chuckled. "This is honestly getting repetitive."
Sukuna breathed in, his eyes narrowing. Simple striking wasn't going to work anymore. By this point, Sukuna knew Horus well enough to figure that out on his own. No, he needed something greater, something he'd mastered but never used once before, simply because no enemy necessitated its use and because of its defensive nature. The pinnacle of martial arts, in his mind, was the Art of Redirection, taking an enemy's power and using it against them. It was far more complex than just that, but that was essentially the gist of it.
Horus was the first to charge. Sukuna, instead, stood in place and waited. His fellow Primarch, it seemed, was going for a tackle of some kind, using the full mass of his whole body to try and overpower him – martial arts at its simplest and most effective.
Right before they clashed, however, Horus suddenly stopped, eyes wide.
And then, Sukuna felt it, a flicker of Cursed Energy from within his fellow Primarch.
AN: Chapter 23 is up on (Pat)reon!