Author Note: Hey guys! I am back with a new chapter. This was very fun to write, really. Thanks for all the support you guys have been giving me, it means a lot to me. Now, lets begin...
Chapter Eight: Demon VS Monster
In the shadowed annals of Jujutsu's forgotten past, there exists a whispered legend—the Child of Prophecy.
Centuries ago, Master Kush Sarito, the venerable architect of Japan's arcane Jujutsu laws, was visited by an enigmatic dream. Within its veiled folds, he glimpsed a foreboding future—a world teetering on the precipice of revelation. Cursed spirits, once concealed in the shrouds of obscurity, would emerge into the harsh light of day. Jujutsu sorcerers, their powers both mystical and perilous, would stride forth, their destinies entwined with chaos and upheaval.
But the heart of this prophecy harboured a darker secret: an apostate among the sorcerers, a traitor born from Sarito's own tutelage. This malevolent sorcerer would ignite cataclysmic flames, scorching the earth and staining it crimson. Hundreds of thousands would perish, their souls adrift in the tempest of malevolence. Millions more would wander, bereft of home and hope.
Master Kush Sarito's legacy rested upon three disciples, each a constellation of fate:
His first student, Ryomen Sukuna, once a prodigious student became a monstrous aberration. His arrogance unbridled, he revelled in the slaughter of innocents. Thousands fell beneath his wrath, their cries echoing through the ages. The sorcerers rallied, their unity forged in desperation. They sundered Sukuna's essence into twenty fragments—his fingers—and bound them in cryptic seals.
Sarito's only female student, Tengen, the silent sentinel, her duty etched in stone. She stood as guardian of Japan's mystical barrier, her gaze fixed on the unseen horrors that prowled beyond. But her mandate was clear: no interference in the affairs of Jujutsu. For fear that even she, too, might succumb to the shadows.
But his favourite student was neither Tengen nor Sukuna. It was Kenjaku. Kenjaku—the fallen star. Once hailed as the brightest of Sarito's pupils, he vanished into the labyrinthine folds of betrayal. His footsteps echoed in whispers, a phantom haunting the edges of memory. None glimpsed his face again.
Somewhere in the world, a child will be born with eyes that will pierce the sky. A child who will lose everything, and gain the power to shape everything. A child whose fate will be a mystery, a paradox, a riddle. Will they be a saviour or a destroyer? A rebel or a tyrant? Kenjaku, the renegade sorcerer, will leave behind his kin and his creed, driven by a single obsession: to find the child and speak to them. To unravel the enigma of the Child of Prophecy. To understand cursed energy to the atomic level.
But the Child of Prophecy will be hidden, their identity shrouded by ages and intrigues. The world will wait, anxious and hopeful, for the next twist in this secret epic—a story of magic, martyrdom, and the phantom who will elude the grasp of destiny.
—The Darkest of Heian Era
-Rai Tsuchiko
~• •~
Nanami and Satoru's nephew, Naruto, were walking in a crowded mall, looking for a place to eat.
"Sunglass-sensei, can I ask you something?" Naruto said, as they passed by a bookstore.
"Sure, what is it?" Nanami said, glancing at the books on display.
"What are curses, exactly? I mean, I know they are bad, and we have to exorcise them, but I want to know more accurately."
Nanami sighed. He knew Naruto was curious, and he wanted to help him, but he also knew that explaining curses was not an easy task. Curses were complex and mysterious phenomena that defied common sense and logic. They were the result of the distortion of reality, caused by the accumulation of negative emotions and energy in certain places or objects. They were made of cursed energy, a type of energy that was invisible and intangible to normal people, but could be seen and manipulated by Jujutsu sorcerers. They had different shapes, sizes, and abilities, depending on the source and the amount of cursed energy they possessed. They were dangerous and unpredictable, and could harm or kill anyone who came in contact with them.
"Curses are... complicated," Nanami said, trying to find a simple way to explain. "They are not natural, but they are not unnatural either. They are not alive, but they are not dead either. They are not real, but they are not unreal either. They are the product of the imbalance of the world, the manifestation of the negative aspects of human nature. They are the enemies of Jujutsu sorcerers, the threats to the peace and order of society. They are the things that we have to fight, and eliminate, no matter what."
Naruto nodded, but he looked confused. He wanted to understand more, but he felt overwhelmed by the information. He wondered if he would ever be able to master Jujutsu. "Sunglass-sensei, how do you fight curses? How do you exorcise them?" Naruto asked, as they entered a food court.
Nanami looked around, and spotted a table near a window. He gestured for Naruto to follow him, and they sat down. He took out his wallet, and handed Naruto some money.
"Let's go and buy us some food. I'll explain while we eat," Nanami said.
Naruto took the money, and ran to the nearest stall. He ordered two burgers and two drinks, and returned to the table. He gave Nanami his food, and sat down. He opened his burger, and took a bite. He waited for Nanami to speak.
Nanami opened his burger, and took a bite. He swallowed, and cleared his throat.
"To fight curses, you need to use cursed energy," Nanami said. "Cursed energy is the energy that Jujutsu sorcerers use to perform Jujutsu, the art of manipulating reality. Cursed energy is similar to curses, but it is different. Curses are the result of the excess of cursed energy, while cursed energy is the result of the control of cursed energy. Curses are the problem, while cursed energy is the solution. Do you understand?"
Naruto nodded, but he looked doubtful. He wondered if he was following Nanami's words, or if he was just nodding to be polite.
"Cursed energy is the energy that flows in your body, and in the world. It is the energy that connects you to the world, and the world to you. It is the energy that you can use to change the world, and the world can use to change you. It is the energy that you can see with your eyes, and feel with your skin. It is the energy that you can shape with your mind, and release with your hands. It is the energy that you can use to create Jujutsu techniques, the tools that you use to fight curses. Do you understand?"
Naruto nodded, but he looked puzzled. He wondered if he was seeing and feeling cursed energy, or if he was just imagining it.
"Jujutsu techniques are the expressions of cursed energy, the forms that cursed energy takes. They are the weapons that you use to attack curses, and the shields that you use to defend yourself from curses. They are the skills that you learn to master Jujutsu, and the abilities that you develop to improve Jujutsu. They are the methods that you use to exorcise curses, and the ways that you use to exercise cursed energy. Do you understand?"
Naruto nodded, but he looked curious. He wondered if he had any Jujutsu techniques, or if he was just using brute force.
"There are many types of Jujutsu techniques, depending on the source, the nature, and the purpose of cursed energy. There are innate techniques, which are the techniques that you are born with, and that are unique to you. There are inherited techniques, which are the techniques that you inherit from your family, and that are shared by your bloodline. There are learned techniques, which are the techniques that you learn from others, and that are common to many. There are simple techniques, which are the techniques that are easy to use, and that are basic to Jujutsu. There are complex techniques, which are the techniques that are hard to use, and that are advanced to Jujutsu. There are offensive techniques, which are the techniques that are used to damage curses, and that are aggressive to Jujutsu. There are defensive techniques, which are the techniques that are used to protect yourself from curses, and that are passive to Jujutsu. There are supportive techniques, which are the techniques that are used to assist yourself or others in Jujutsu, and that are auxiliary to Jujutsu. Do you understand?"
Naruto nodded, but he looked amazed. He wondered if he could learn all those types of techniques.
"The most important thing to remember about Jujutsu techniques is that they are not fixed, but flexible. They are not static, but dynamic. They are not rigid, but adaptable. They are not absolute, but relative. They are not the same, but different. They are not the end, but the means. They are not the goal, but the process. They are not the answer, but the question. Do you understand?"
Naruto nodded, but he looked confused. He wondered if he was understanding anything, or if he was just confused by everything.
Nanami smiled, and finished his burger. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, and drank his drink. He looked at Naruto, and saw the confusion and curiosity in his eyes. He knew he had given him a lot of information, and he knew he had not explained everything. He knew he had only scratched the surface of Jujutsu, and he knew he had more to teach him. He knew he had a long way to go, and he knew he had a lot of work to do. But he also knew he had a good student, and he knew he had a bright future. He knew he had a potential, and he knew he had a hope.
"Sunglass-man, I have more questions," Naruto said, raising his hand.
Nanami nodded, and smiled.
"Of course you do, kid. And I have more answers. But not now. Now, we have to go. We have some work to do. We have to exorcise some curses."
Naruto nodded, and smiled.
"Okay, Let's go. Let's exorcise some curses."
"Do we really have to?" Naruto pouted.
"Let's go, kid." Nanami repeated. "Let's exorcise some curses."
Naruto sighed.
They got up from the table, and left the food court. They walked through the mall, and headed to the exit. They blended in with the crowd, and looked like normal people. But they were not normal people. They were Jujutsu sorcerers. They were the ones who fought curses, and protected the world. They were the ones who used Jujutsu, and manipulated reality. They were the ones who understood curses, and exorcised them. They were the ones who lived in the shadows, and shone in the dark. They were the ones who were complicated, and simple. They were the ones who were limitless, and infinite. They were the ones who were Jujutsu kaisen.
~• •~
In the dimly lit alleyways of Tokyo, the air was thick with the malevolent aura of curses. Mahito, with his twisted grin, roamed with a singular purpose: to collect humans for his nefarious plans. Unbeknownst to him, Kento Nanami, a stoic and determined Jujutsu sorcerer, was on his trail, exorcising low-grade curses with methodical precision.
Nanami was not alone a few moments ago as Tenodakume Gojo or Naruto was with him. The boy was tired and Nanami decided to put him in a nearby daycare to rest, much to the boy's annoyance. He himself was tired, but had more than enough energy to deal with some low grade cursed spirits. The boy had insisted that he could talk some sense into those cursed spirits and befriend them. Nanami was… annoyed.
Upon hearing some muffled noise, he looked into the alley from which the sound had come.
Mahito and Nanami, their paths converged unexpectedly. Nanami, his eyes sharp behind his glasses, spotted Mahito. He was… 'playing' with his victims. The cursed spirit's presence was like a stain on the world, a distortion that Nanami was all too eager to cleanse. Mahito turned, his curiosity piqued by the sorcerer's confident stance.
"Ah, the ratio Jujutsu sorcerer comes to play," Mahito taunted, his voice echoing off the walls. "Shall we finish what we had started?"
Nanami didn't rise to the bait. He was tired from exorcising curses all day long. He didn't have much strength left. "I was here to exorcise low level curses. Didn't think that I'll be seeing any lower than that, you, Mahito. Your existence is a threat to the natural order," he declared, his cursed energy beginning to flow like a silent river. "I shall exorcise you, here."
"Really?" Mahito licked his hand, which turned into a blade. "Let's curse each other, then!"
Nanami, a man of discipline and precision, stood tall. His eyes were sharp, focused, and full of determination. His hands were steady, gripping the hilt of his weapon with a firmness that spoke of countless hours of practice. His posture was relaxed yet alert, a testament to his years of training. He was a picture of calm, a stark contrast to the chaotic energy that radiated from Mahito.
Mahito, on the other hand, was a creature of chaos. His wild hair framed a face that was twisted into a crazed grin. His eyes gleamed with malice, his fingers twitching with anticipation. He was unpredictable, a fact that Nanami was well aware of. Mahito thrived on chaos, his movements erratic and his attacks unorthodox.
The silence was deafening as they circled each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. The tension was palpable, a tangible force that seemed to electrify the air around them. It was a standoff, a moment of calm before the storm.
With a sudden burst of movement, Mahito lunged forward. His attack was as erratic as his personality, a flurry of strikes aimed at Nanami. But Nanami was ready. He parried the attack with a swift, precise movement, his years of training evident in his fluid motions.
The fight was a dance, a deadly ballet of strikes and parries. It was a clash of styles, Nanami's precision against Mahito's unpredictability. Each move was met with a countermove, each attack with a defence. The alley echoed with the sounds of their battle, the clash of metal against metal, the grunt of exertion, the hiss of pain.
Despite Mahito's chaotic energy, Nanami held his ground. His movements were calculated, his attacks precise. He was a rock amidst a storm, unyielding and steadfast. His discipline was his strength, his precision, his weapon.
Nanami's attacks were a symphony of precision and power, each strike a testament to his years of rigorous training and unwavering dedication. Yet, Mahito proved to be a formidable adversary, his body morphing into grotesque shapes to evade Nanami's relentless onslaught.
"Your efforts are futile, Nanami," Mahito taunted, his voice dripping with scorn. "Humans are nothing more than clay for us to mould."
Unfazed by Mahito's derision, Nanami retorted, "It's my sworn duty to protect these 'clay figures' from abominations like you." His blade cut through the air, its path illuminated by the glow of his cursed energy.
Nanami's unique technique, the Ratio Technique, allowed him to create weak points on any object or being, rendering them vulnerable to his attacks. He exploited this to his advantage, targeting the areas on Mahito's body that seemed most unstable during his grotesque transformations.
Sensing the tide of the battle shifting against him, Mahito unleashed a surge of cursed energy, conjuring a horde of transfigured humans to swarm Nanami. But Nanami remained undeterred, his blade dancing a deadly ballet, slicing through each monstrous creation that dared to approach him.
"You're losing your touch!" Mahito sneered, appearing behind Nanami. "Idle Transfiguration...!"
Nanami braced himself for the impending attack, his breath hitching in his throat. But the expected blow never came. He felt as if he had teleported with Satoru for a moment. Confusion washed over him, then realisation dawned.
A new presence had entered the battlefield. A presence that was impossible to ignore. The aura of the one and only Grand Grade sorcerer in training. Tenodakume Gojo, also known to the world as Naruto, had arrived.
~• •~
You have 13 missed calls from Satoru Gojo
New message from Satoru received
JujutsuChat
Satoru Gojo is online
You: What do you want?
Satoru: Ahhh…is my junior mad at me?!
You: Get to the point. I do not have as much free time as you.
Satoru: Always so formal. :-( Anyway,I want you to take my nephew on missions.
You: I refuse.
Satoru: He has the Six-Eyes. An evolved version.
You: …carry on.
Satoru: His mother and father are dead and are now cursed spirits bound to him.
You: How old is he?
Satoru: Six next week.
You: It's too reckless.
Satoru: The higher-ups sent an assassin to kill him.
You: What?
Satoru: The boy is… a danger to both himself and everyone around him.
You: But he is too young for missions.
Satoru: He has the strength to kill, but is too soft.
You: Well,that's a child you are talking about.
Satoru: No, try to understand, the boy believes that not all cursed spirits are bad. Heck, he even wants to befriend them.
You:...what?
Satoru: Take him to some missions, show him the dark side of the cursed spirits.
You: I will consider this. However, only low level missions, no higher than Third Grade.
Satoru: Hehe, I knew I could count on you, my junior!
You: Anyways, how strong is the child?
Satoru: Well…
~• •~
He was sleeping in the daycare when he felt a malicious cursed energy spike from somewhere close. He woke up immediately and ran towards the door and went away before any of the caretakers could say anything.
He sprinted like his life was depending on it. Within a few secconds, he was there.
By the time he reached the place, he was not sad. He was angry. He was furious.
For the first time as Tenodakume Gojo, Naruto felt something very foreign— hate.
He looked at the grinning form of a stitch-faced person— a cursed spirit. Grinning at him.
In a dimly lit alley, the cobblestones slick with rain, Naruto, a mere five-year-old, stood defiantly before the sinister figure of Mahito. His alabaster hair clung to his forehead, raindrops tracing rivulets down his pale cheeks. But appearances were deceiving—this child harboured a power beyond imagination. But he must not express his inner thoughts.
Naruto was not wearing his blindfold over his eyes. His keen eyes scanned the area and saw the mutilated corpses of… people and a bruised body of his current sensei— Nanami Kento.
"H-h-help…me…" a half-dead creature… human said in a pleading tune before a pale hand grabbed the head of it and… crushed it.
Six-Eyes, they called it—a rare and forbidden ability that transcended the mortal realm. Naruto's irises glowed with an otherworldly light, each eye a portal to realms unseen. Yet, unlike the shinobi of legend, he lacked the familiar arsenal of chakra and ninjutsu. Instead, he wielded something darker, more primal: cursed energy.
Mahito sneered, his twisted features contorting with malice. "What can a child do against me?" he taunted, tendrils of cursed energy writhing around his fingers.
Naruto's response was a silent one. He didn't need words; his intent crackled in the air. The alley trembled, shadows coalescing into spectral forms. The very fabric of reality quivered as Naruto tapped into the forbidden wellspring within him.
Mahito, his features twisted into a sneer of contempt, taunted Naruto. "Tell me, what can a mere child do against me?" His voice was a hiss of malice that echoed off the damp walls of the alley. Tendrils of cursed energy writhed around his fingers like serpents ready to strike.
Naruto's response was not verbal but palpable. He didn't need words; his intent crackled in the air, a silent promise of the storm to come. The alley trembled, shadows coalescing into spectral forms. The very fabric of reality quivered as Naruto tapped into the forbidden wellspring within him, a power so ancient and vast it made the earth beneath them pulse in rhythm.
Mahito lunged, his cursed energy lashing out like serpents. But Naruto sidestepped effortlessly, his movements fluid and precise. He didn't dodge; he flowed. Each step resonated with ancient power, and the alley itself seemed to pulse in rhythm.
Their clash was cataclysmic. Mahito's attacks met empty air, while Naruto's retaliation was swift and unyielding. Cursed energy surged, tearing through the veil between worlds. Reality buckled, and the things around them turned to ash.
Mahito sneered, his voice a hiss of malice. "Foolish child, do you think your tricks can beat me? I am beyond your mortal comprehension. And why?" Mahito spat, desperation etching lines on his face. "And why fight for a mere human? I feel like you aren't even one."
Naruto's eyes blazed. "Because Nanami Kento deserves better, everyone does." he replied, his voice echoing with centuries of determination. "Because even a child can defy fate."
Mahito laughed and then he turned into a rhinoceros and ran towards the boy.
And so they continued—a five-year-old boy and a cursed spirit. The alley bore witness to their clash, its walls scarred by energies beyond comprehension. Naruto's white hair danced in the tempest, and his Six-Eyes blazed like dying stars.
"You don't understand the fun of seeing these pathetic so-called humans suffer, child!" Mahito yelled.
The battle continued. Naruto summoned a sphere of spiralling energy formed in his palm, its bright blue light illuminating the alley. "You're wrong. It's you who doesn't understand," Naruto declared, launching the attack. "Cursed Technique: Blue Rasengan!"
Mahito wasn't quick enough to dodge it, the energy ball hit him in his chest, sending him a few metres away. The cursed spirit gave himself no leisure to moan in pain as he produced a blade with his hands and jumped at Naruto.
Mahito countered with his own dark powers, but Naruto was relentless. He invoked another attack, "Tsunade Style: Black Flash!" his fist crackling with a crimson-black aura. "This is the strength of those who believe in hope!" he shouted, his punch landing with a thunderous impact.
The cursed spirit recoiled, then, in desperation, decided to expand his domain. "Domain Expansion: Self-Embodiment of Perfection!"
Huge hands upon hands appeared out of nowhere, overlapping one-another, creating a synchronized motion that was both beautiful and sinister.
"You cannot touch me here. I am untouchable!" Mahito boasted, his voice echoing in the distorted space. "Your Infinity barrier doesn't work here!" Mahito then yelled, "Idle Transfiguration…!"
Pin drop silence.
…
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Is that all? Believe me, I am not impressed."
Mahito yelled in frustration. The boy's Infinity Barrier was not working here. Then why can't he feel his soul…
…wait…
He can feel it…
…but can't understand it.
"What… are y-you?" He mustered all his courage to vocalize those words.
The answer that he got was unpredicted.
"A person who wants to understand who he is." Naruto said. "A demon? A jinchuriki? A monster? A child? A Shinobi? A sorcerer? What am I?"
"W-what?"
Naruto didn't say anything, instead, he raised his hands and made a dragon seal. "Domain Expansion—."
Mahito looked around in awe. What? Where's the attack? Why is his domain not shattering…
Oh…
His eyes widened in horror.
~• •~
A few days ago…
In the heart of Tokyo, within the walls of the Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical School, Tenodakume Gojo found himself in a quiet room with Satoru Gojo. The room was simple, with a single table and two chairs. It was here that they often discussed the complexities of jujutsu, away from the prying eyes of the other students.
"Old-man-sensei," Naruto began, his voice steady despite the nervousness he felt. "I've been thinking about Domain Expansion. That tree-curse that day tried to use it that day."
Satoru looked at him, his eyes hidden behind the bandages that always covered his face. There was a moment of silence before he responded. "Domain Expansion, huh? That's a big step, Naru-chan."
Naruto nodded, his determination clear. "I know it's advanced, but I want to learn. I want to become stronger."
Satoru studied him for a moment before leaning back in his chair. "Alright," he said finally. "Let's talk about Domain Expansion."
And so, they delved into the intricacies of Domain Expansion, Satoru explaining the concept with a clarity that only he could provide. He spoke of the immense concentration required, the understanding of one's own cursed energy, and the dangers of incomplete expansion.
Naruto listened, absorbing every word. He asked questions, sought clarifications, and took mental notes. It was a lot to take in, but he was determined to understand.
Satoru leaned forward, his hands clasped together on the table. "Domain Expansion," he began, "is the pinnacle of jujutsu techniques. It's not something that can be learned overnight."
He paused, ensuring Naruto was following along. "To use Domain Expansion, you need to have a deep understanding of your own cursed energy. It's about creating a space where your cursed technique is guaranteed to hit. It's like creating your own world, your own domain."
Satoru picked up a piece of chalk and began to draw on the blackboard. He sketched a circle, representing the domain, and a stick figure, representing the jujutsu sorcerer. "When you use Domain Expansion, you're essentially enveloping your opponent in your domain. Inside this space, your attacks are unavoidable."
He drew a series of lines from the stick figure to the edge of the circle, representing the attacks. "However, creating a domain requires a huge amount of cursed energy. It's not something you can use lightly. And if your domain is incomplete, it can be invaded or even taken over by a stronger opponent."
Satoru put down the chalk and turned back to Naruto. "The key to Domain Expansion is control. You need to be able to control your cursed energy to the point where you can shape it into a domain. And you need to be able to maintain that control even in the heat of battle."
He leaned back in his chair, his explanation complete. "It's a difficult technique, Naru-chan. But I believe you have the potential to master it."
"Hey, old man," Naruto said. "Mom's innate technique was to show people their deepest desire, right? And you said it's also my innate technique?"
"Yep!" "Yep!" Both his mother and uncle spoke in unison. One sitting inside his mind while the other one sitting in front of him.
"What if I use Reversal Red on it after amplifying it with Blue?" Naruto asked with a finger on his chin.
Satoru grinned, "Dream becomes a violet nightmare."
~• •~
"—Tsukuyomi."
And with that, Mahito's domain crumbled. As well as Mahito.
Narutoi's eyes, violet with the power of the Six-Eyes, locked onto Mahito's form. With a swift motion, he activated domain, casting both himself and Mahito into an ethereal world created from the darkest corners of the mind. Here, seconds stretched into days, and reality was at the mercy of Naruto's will.
"Surprise." Naruto said, but Mahito couldn't see him anywhere. "This is an incomplete technique. Although, in here, I am in control. Believe it."
From Mahito's perspective, being trapped inside Naruto's Tsukuyomi was an utterly disorienting and harrowing experience. As a master of soul manipulation himself, Mahito was accustomed to being in control, but within this world, all control was stripped away.
Imagine Mahito suddenly finding himself in a world that defies the laws of physics and reason. The landscape around him shifts constantly—now he's in a vast desert, now a dense forest, now floating in an endless void. Time warps and bends; seconds stretch into hours, and hours shrink into moments. He witnessed his own body twisting and morphing into grotesque forms, feeling every sensation as if it were real, yet unable to stop or even understand it.
In Tsukuyomi, Naruto doesn't just attack the body; he attacks the very essence of the soul. For Mahito, it looked like living through a nightmare from which there is no awakening, a series of events that challenge his identity and existence. It's a place where Naruto's will is absolute, and Mahito is nothing but a pawn in a twisted game of the mind.
Mahito, a being of cursed energy, found himself in a human body, vulnerable and confused. Naruto, with a mere glance, transfigured Mahito's form, twisting it into shapes and beings far from its original essence. Each transformation was more harrowing than the last, a grotesque parade of Mahito's potential forms. And just as Mahito began to comprehend his new shape, Naruto would rewind the illusion, subjecting him to torment all over again.
Days passed in the span of heartbeats, each cycle stripping away layers of Mahito's confidence and sanity. The cursed spirit's shock turned to horror as he realised the depth of Naruto's domain. It was a relentless assault on his very being, a punishment that transcended physical pain and delved into the core of his cursed core.
The psychological impact is immense. Mahito, who thrives on the fear and pain of others, is now the one experiencing fear and confusion. He's bombarded with images and scenarios designed to break his spirit, each one more intense than the last. It's a relentless assault on his psyche, leaving him to question what is real and what is illusion.
As the domain finally shattered, Mahito was left gasping on the battlefield, his mind a tangle of fear and disbelief. Naruto stood over him, his eyes still glowing with the power of his domain. The cursed spirit had been broken, not by brute force, but by the sheer psychological dominance of Naruto's Tsukuyomi. Mahito is left with more than just the memory of pain and confusion. He is left with doubt, with the unsettling notion that his abilities, his very identity, might be built on a foundation less solid than he had ever imagined.
Naruto's voice was soft but firm. "I've shown you the power of the human spirit, something you'll never understand."
"M-m-m-monster!" Mahito yelled as liquids were coming down his eyes. He crawled backwards.
Naruto's eyes narrowed, a silent vow to conclude the chaos that had unfurled. "This charade has gone on long enough," he murmured, a surge of determination stealing his voice. "Let's put an end to it." With a swift motion, chakra coalesced in his palm, a mesmerising dance of cursed energy that spiralled into a sphere of ominous purple, adorned with ethereal rings.
Mahito, the Special Grade cursed spirit, gazed upon the spectacle, his usual smirk long replaced by a horrified look. "Hollow Style: Purple Rasengan," Naruto announced, the name of the technique echoing like a harbinger of doom.
Propelled by an unseen force, the Rasengan hurtled towards Mahito, a blur of violet fury. It struck with the ferocity of a tempest, ravaging the space where it landed and tearing through the fabric of Mahito's existence. The impact sent him reeling into the alley's wall, his soul's integrity compromised by the technique's voracious appetite.
"How... can you obliterate a fragment of my soul?" Mahito gasped, his voice a mix of pain and incredulity.
"Soul?" Naruto's voice was a whisper, yet it carried the weight of untold secrets. "The entities you've toyed with... they are nothing but replicas of what you believe them to be."
What.
Naruto reveals a profound truth to Mahito. "The forms you believed you were manipulating," Naruto says with a calm yet piercing gaze, "were not souls. They were mere shadows, echoes of what you perceived as the soul."
Mahito, still reeling from the relentless domain, tries to process this revelation. In his arrogance, he had thought himself the ultimate manipulator of life's essence, but Naruto's words cut deeper than any physical wound. "Your power," Naruto continues, "is limited to the surface, to the transient. You touch something beautiful, but it's not the soul. You do not understand its depths, its resilience."
The cursed spirit's mind races, his own cursed technique called into question. Has his understanding been so superficial? Naruto's domain was not just a trap but a lesson, a demonstration of the true nature of power and perception.
"Those are just cores," continued the boy. "The core of cursed energy. You are so confused that you can't differentiate between soul and a curse energy core. Obviously it is not your fault as no one can understand the soul." Naruto smiled, his very form looking like a professor of wisdom talking with an ignorant child. "You are a cursed spirit. A 'spirit'— Just a manifestation of emotion. AND YOU HAVE NO SOUL."
Mahito's eyes widened and he muttered some incoherent words before he could say anything else, in a sudden twist, Hanami emerged, his presence as silent as the growing flora he commands. With a flourish of his hand, the alleyway transforms into a labyrinth of verdant life. Vines creep and flowers bloom with unnatural speed, a living barrier between Naruto and his quarry.
Naruto, momentarily taken aback by this unexpected intervention, finds his attention ensnared by the botanical mirage. Hanami seizes the opportunity, his limbs extending with the fluid grace of branches in the wind, ensnaring Mahito and retreating with the swiftness of a startled deer.
The two figures vanish into the greenery, leaving Naruto alone with the rustling whispers of leaves—a fleeting reminder of the cursed spirits' solidarity and the ever-present unpredictability of their world.
Naruto walked towards Nanami. "Sunglass-sensei, are you okay?"
Nanami's gaze settled on the youth before him, and in the quiet of his mind, a single thought resonated: 'Strong' was a gross understatement. Words unspoken, he acknowledged the raw, almost otherworldly power that emanated from the boy—a force so potent it bordered on the demonic.
With a silent nod of respect, Nanami conceded internally, 'To wield strength comparable to twelve fingers of Sukuna... truly remarkable.'
Nanami Kento would live another day, thanks to a child who defied the rules of existence. Naruto, the boy with Six-Eyes, stood still in the alley, a beacon of hope in a world teetering on the edge of chaos.
"Yes, I am fine. Let's go."
Author Note:
Wow! Borderline six thousand words... Thanks for reading this story! The next chapter will come with bundles of surprises. If you think Naruto in this chapter is broken, then you are wrong. Very very wrong...
I shall update this story when I hit 400+ Favorites and 500+ follows. I know its crazy, but not impossible. So make sure to stay tuned!
Till next time!