(Shadows in the Dark)
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The night was unusually quiet, save for the occasional rustle of leaves in the wind and the distant sound of a city asleep. Suguru Geto, former sorcerer turned curse user, moved silently through an ancient temple, his black robes trailing behind him as he searched for something—something that had been eluding him for far too long: the remaining fingers of Sukuna.
Ever since Sukuna's partial resurgence through Yuji Itadori, Suguru had become obsessed with locating the rest of the cursed king's fingers. With Sukuna's full power, his plans to reshape the world with curses would be unstoppable. He had already gathered cursed spirits loyal to him, his influence spreading like a plague across the sorcerer world.
But something—or someone—was hindering his progress.
Suguru stopped in front of a weathered stone altar, feeling the faint pulse of cursed energy still lingering from ages past. He knelt, placing his hand on the ground, channeling his own cursed energy through the temple's ancient ley lines. His goal was to trace the flow of cursed energy, to see if any nearby locations hid one of Sukuna's remaining fingers.
Yet, as his cursed energy spread out, he felt something… wrong. A disturbance, faint but unmistakable. Suguru's sharp instincts flared, and he immediately stood, scanning the shadows of the temple.
"You've been following me, haven't you?" Suguru's voice echoed through the temple, calm yet filled with menace.
For a moment, there was silence. Then, a figure stepped out from the shadows, the air growing colder with his presence. Itachi Uchiha, his Mangekyō Sharingan glowing faintly in the darkness, stood calmly in front of Suguru. His black cloak, adorned with the red clouds of his past, seemed to blend into the night as he regarded the former sorcerer.
"You've become reckless," Itachi said, his voice as cold and sharp as a blade. "You've made it easy to track you."
Suguru narrowed his eyes, his gaze locking onto Itachi with a mixture of curiosity and irritation. "Itachi Uchiha," he said, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. I've heard stories about you."
"I've heard more than enough about you as well," Itachi replied, his expression unreadable. "You've been gathering cursed spirits, consolidating your power. And now, you're after Sukuna's fingers."
Suguru's smirk widened. "So, you've been spying on me, collecting information in the shadows. How fitting for someone like you."
For weeks, Itachi had been observing Suguru, watching his movements from the darkness. He had tracked the curse user across several cities, gathering intel on his plans to recover Sukuna's remaining fingers. Itachi's skills as a shinobi had made him a perfect ghost, never detected by Suguru's followers or cursed spirits. But now, it was time to confront him directly.
"You won't find what you're looking for here," Itachi said flatly, taking a step closer. "The fingers are hidden in places even your cursed spirits can't reach."
Suguru tilted his head slightly, intrigued. "You think you know where the remaining fingers are?"
"I know enough," Itachi said. "And I know that you won't live long enough to collect them."
Suguru's smirk vanished, replaced with a cold stare. "You think you can stop me? You, dare to challenge me?"
Itachi's Sharingan spun slowly, and the air around them seemed to grow heavier. "I don't need to challenge you," he said calmly. "I've already seen through your plans."
Suguru clenched his fist, dark cursed energy swirling around him like a storm. "Arrogant, aren't you? I've destroyed more powerful opponents than you."
Before Suguru could finish, Itachi's Sharingan glinted, and in an instant, the world around Suguru shifted. The temple, the air, the very ground beneath him warped and twisted as he was pulled into a genjutsu.
Suguru's eyes widened as the scene before him transformed into a nightmarish landscape. The skies turned blood-red, and the earth cracked open, revealing endless depths of darkness. Massive, twisted crows circled the sky, their cries echoing in his mind. He was no longer in control.
Tsukuyomi.
In this world, Itachi controlled everything—time, space, even the very laws of reality. Suguru found himself bound in place, unable to move, unable to act as the genjutsu slowly unraveled his mind.
"What… is this?" Suguru growled, trying to channel his cursed energy to break free, but no matter how much power he summoned, it was useless. In the world of Tsukuyomi, he was at Itachi's mercy.
Itachi stepped closer, his eyes cold and unrelenting. "This is the result of your arrogance. You believe yourself invincible, above everyone else. But you're no different from the countless others who thought they could control the world through violence and manipulation."
Suguru's body trembled as the pain began to set in. Each moment felt like an eternity, his mind and body subjected to Itachi's endless torment. He had never experienced anything like this—a technique that targeted not just the body, but the soul.
"Itachi!" Suguru snarled, his voice filled with rage. "You think this will stop me? I will reshape the world! I will—"
"You'll die here," Itachi interrupted, his voice devoid of emotion. "This world doesn't need another monster like you."
Time within the Tsukuyomi moved differently—what felt like days of agony for Suguru passed in mere seconds in the real world. Itachi could have dragged the genjutsu on for longer, but he had no interest in prolonging Suguru's suffering. This was an execution, not a battle.
With a final glance at Suguru, Itachi ended the genjutsu.
In the real world, Suguru collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. His mind, fractured from the illusion, struggled to process what had just happened. He had lost. He, Suguru Geto, who had manipulated the strongest curses, who had brought sorcerers to their knees, had been brought low by a single man.
Itachi stood over him, his Mangekyō Sharingan still glowing ominously. "Your ambitions end here."
Before Suguru could respond, Itachi moved with blinding speed. In a single motion, he drew his blade and slashed across Suguru's throat, silencing the curse user forever. Blood splattered across the temple floor as Suguru's body collapsed, his once-mighty presence now reduced to nothing.
The night was quiet once more, the cursed energy that had filled the air slowly dissipating.
Itachi sheathed his blade, his expression unchanged as he glanced at the fallen Suguru. The threat he posed was over, but Itachi knew that the hunt for Sukuna's fingers wasn't finished. Other enemies would come, driven by the same desire for power, and Itachi would continue to watch from the shadows, ready to strike when necessary.
As the wind rustled through the trees, Itachi turned and vanished into the darkness, leaving behind nothing but silence and the fallen body of Suguru Geto.
