Chapter 4
The Shinjuku Disaster
This power, it shook Killua to his core.
His shroud of ren intensified as a reflex, streams of electricity rupturing into existence within the white flame as it shielded its master from the waves of monstrous energy that emanated from the swordsman.
More than ever before, Killua was struck by how different the power of these Jujutsu Sorcerers felt. As if their life energy had been turned inside out and then stabbed beyond recognition.
A pillar of undulating black hair, amber eyes dulled to black, lifeless as a wrathful fist shattered the earth-
Scoffing, Killua pushed back the memories. 'It's like the worst kind of Nen.'
"Don't do it Okkotsu!"
A middle-aged man donning a beige trench coat now stood by Okkotsu's side. Tension lined his hard features, countenance grim as he shook his ally's shoulder roughly. "Calm the hell down, kid! We can't let her out. No matter what!"
The man dared not look away from the stare of his foe across the tattered remains of the road. His spare hand lay poised upon the tsuka of his unsheathed katana, a defiant edge hardening his gaze.
"She's a much bigger threat than this brat."
The tense silence stretched on as Okkotsu seemed to weigh his options. The invisible weight grew heavier, just as Killua prepared for the inevitable attack he finally felt that suffocating presence start to ebb away.
"My bad, Mr. Kusakabe." Okkotsu looked less than pleased, but seemed to have regained some semblance of composure.
"Go." Kusakabe shoved him back. "Get the others and regroup."
He unsheathed his sword, slipping into an iaido stance with the effortless grace of a master.
"I'll deal with this one."
'Why me?'
Perspiration dampened Kusakabe's temple, his brow furrowed in utmost concentration. The eerie, almost luminous shroud surrounding the boy like a second skin was not nearly as intimidating as the sheer quantity of killing intent that seemed to radiate from him.
Kusakabe had never felt malice so intense from another person, with the exception of one. But that man was the exception among exceptions. It made him ponder if this boy was even human.
And yet, it was still eclipsed by that infinitesimal glimpse of Rika Orimoto's twisted power.
'If I'd let that Special-Grade Spirit manifest, my death would have just been a footnote in history!'
'At least this way,' He steeled his resolve, glaring at the glacial eyes of his adversary. 'I have a chance!'
Anticipating the brat to make the first move, the First Class Sorcerer heightened his senses to his limits. He may lack a Cursed Technique, but he could still fortify his defenses with his Cursed Energy better than almost anyone else.
He prepared to cover his allies, for any Curse User worth their salt would have taken this golden opportunity to eliminate as many of the enemy forces as possible.
Yet this brat stayed put, seeming content to just observe the swordsman.
Kusakabe's grip tightened, vein bulging on his temple.
"So," the boy drawled casually, accent barely noticeable. "You gonna talk?"
Kusakabe weighed his options. He could tell that Maki and Toge had been taken to safety, but Panda and Mei Mei were yet to be secured, still somewhere laying helplessly on the battlefield.
Kusakabe needed to stall.
"We're after the Cursed Object you have." He stated. "Give it up and we'll have no problems."
"Cursed Object?" The boy blinked, tilting his head. "The hell is that?"
"Don't play games, kid!" Kusakabe snapped. "Do you have any idea what you're dealing with? Whatever you have has been drawing cursed spirits to the city like moths to a flame! Risking the lives of millions!"
For a brief moment, Kusakabe swore he saw something breach the cold detachedness in those eyes. But then that cryptic mask returned, eerie as it was effective.
'What the hell made a kid like this?'He had just met Yuta, he had known this boy almost as long as he had known Yuta, yet even he was struck by the staggering difference.
Kusakabe promptly suppressed that line of thinking. He needed to focus on the present like his life depended on it. He knew he could not afford to let his judgement be clouded.
"I don't have it." The brat repeated, taking a step forward.
The bloodlust became suffocating. "Your turn. What's Jujutsu Tech?"
'Shit!' Sweat trailed down Kusakabe's tensed neck.
Revealing Special Grade secrets to an outsider was punishable by death by default, never mind one suspected to be in league with the most powerful Curse User in Japan.
It seemed that this was the inevitable end of civil dialogue.
In the foreground, Kusakabe caught sight of the last of Mei Mei's crows leaving the area. That meant that Yuta had secured the others.
'Good work, kid.' Kusakabe sighed inwardly, the slouch of his shoulders relaxing.
It was so much easier fighting to the death with a single life on the line.
With the ghost of a smile, Atsuya Kusakabe charged.
He had picked the first floor of a nearby building to hide out in, apparently the office of a fancy real estate agency. It was far enough from the enemy while still providing a decent view of the battlefield from the front windows.
"Thanks, Yuta," Panda grunted.
Propped up against a wall next to his severed leg, the cotton from his stumps rhythmically pulsing in an organ-like fashion.
Yuta just shook his head, teeth clenched. Back against the wall, he slid down to his rump.
He knew little about the physiology of Cursed Dolls. Panda seemed not too concerned, which somewhat lessened his worries.
But that was more than could be said for the others.
Inumaki was still unconscious, laying supine on one of the couches. It was strange. His quiet friend was one of the strongest people he knew. To see him reduced to such a state, lichtenburg scars dotting his arms . . .
The faint stench of burning flesh made Yuta sick to his stomach.
Mei Mei was still unconscious as well, laid out on the floor, although she had briefly regained consciousness long enough to send a messenger crow for reinforcements. She outwardly appeared the least hurt, but she had been dealt with the most damage. Yuta wouldn't be surprised if she had serious internal bleeding.
'Damn it!' His nails dug into his palms, fists shaking.
He knew how strong Kusakabe was, but he had just abandoned him against an enemy who had taken out four Jujutsu Sorcerers at the same time, a Grade I specialist at that. Even Kusakabe couldn't win alone. He had left him todie.
'If I was just stronger!'
He looked on as Kusakabe and the silver-haired kid prepared for battle, and the frustration threatened to boil over. Guided by desperation, he instinctively reached towards the whispers buried in the recesses of his mind.
"Yutaaaa~"
He tried to ignore it.
"Yutaaaaaaa~"
"Please, no." He scrunched his eyes shut, grabbing his hair.
"Yuuutaaa~ let me helllllp~"
"Stop!-"
"I loove yo-"
Something whacked his head, the pain forcing him to snap open his eyes.
"Hey noob." Maki glared down at him through bloodstained glasses. "Stop it."
"Huh?" He blinked, rubbing the bump.
"Stop it." Maki simply repeated. "Quit doing that."
She suddenly erupted into a coughing fit, but her raised hand stopped Yuta in his tracks.
"Fucker got my lung." She grunted, dropping down next to Yuta nonetheless. Her eyes half-lidded, she struggled to stay conscious. At his worried expression, she simply shrugged. "I'll live."
As Maki gazed at the battlefield, Yuta noticed the lines of tension strewn across her expression, her hands clenching on her lap, fingernails breaking skin. This was the angriest he had ever seen her.
Yuta's eyes widened.
"That kid made me look like a joke." Maki's eyes glistened, her voice barely above a whisper. "He'll pay. I swear it, he'll pay."
His fists clenched.
"He will." Yuta promised.
Mei Mei was far superior to him in both firepower and physicality, and she had lost while being supported by a Cursed Speech User, a Zenin clan prodigy and the strongest Cursed Doll. He was on his own and nowhere near as gifted.
But Atsuya Kusakabe had a secret weapon; he was simply too cowardly to die.
As his target effortlessly dodged his opening slashes, deftly slipping behind him with lethal intent, Kusakabe grabbed the hilt of his blade and shifted his stances seamlessly.
'New Shadow Style: Simple Domain!'
Kusakabe's opening attack had been too telegraphed by was tailor-made to fail, to get the enemy within his reach, and it had even worked on this creepy prodigy.
Anything in his Simple Domain would get sliced to pieces the instant it entered his range, and Killua was no exception.
Kusakabe's blade slashed dozens of times as soon as the target entered its field, the speed of each slash unfathomably faster than what he was normally capable of.
'What the hell!?'
His blood ran cold as blinding streams of lightning entrenched the boy for the split second in which he evaded every single swing.
He was too stunned to avoid the sudden palm strike smashed into his sternum that knocked the wind out of him, sending him smashing through a wall, the small shop sign above him crashing onto him as a result.
Unbeknownst to him, Killua's Nen was what had countered Simple Domain.
Anticipating the speed of an iaido master, Killua had electrified his aura for a split second. Anything that entered his ren acted as a stimulus, alerting him of the upcoming blow and triggering a response. Though he was still unable to useen,his range had nearly doubled since the battle with the Ortho Siblings.
Batting away the dust clouds, Kusakabe raised his katana just in time to deflect a piece of rebar from piercing his chest, sparks flying as the force rattled his bones, he was inwardly surprised that his katana had not sliced right through 's when he noticed the shimmering hue coating the piece of steel, identical to the boy's strange energy.
'Innate technique!?'
The energy coating suddenly flared and Kusakabe's Cursed Tool snapped.
Cursing, he narrowly ducked under the rebar, which blew another hole through the building upon impact with the wall behind him.
An uppercut rocked him back, then a crushing kick slamming across his shoulders launched him through the new opening.
Back on the street, Kusakabe coughed blood. His Cursed Energy had narrowly saved him from a broken spine, but he could feel the bruises blossoming.
'Shit, I can't even touch him! He has some kind of evasive Innate Technique!' He furrowed his brow, trying to track his enemy through the plumes of smoke and dust. But the kid barely made a sound.
He inhaled deeply through clenched teeth. He had a narrow window to act, just before the kid went for the kill.
He had to time this perfectly.
'Hazy Moon!'
His Cursed Energy formed a blade along his broken katana a microsecond after a shadow fell upon him.
'Simple Domain!'
Kusakabe unleashed dozens of slashes upon his foe, making mincemeat of the reinforced rebar and carving through his opponent's flesh.
Killua grimaced, forced to give ground as he narrowly avoided losing his arm, blood bursting forth from the deep cuts on his arms and chest.
Even before he'd broken it, he could tell that the weapon was imbued with a ridiculous amount of power, enough to get past his defences if he was struck head-on, similar to the Nen technique shu.
The speed gap between them had also been closed, even more so than when Kusakabe had used this technique before.
For the first time in this battle, Killua was the slower one.
Kusakabe's flurry was ferocious yet precise. Even for the Zoldyck, he could not evade every slash and each cut that landed was deeper than the last, Killua needed to neutralize it fast.
He did not want to resort to Whirlwind again unless he absolutely had no choice, his reserves already drained from the battle with the others, which left only one avenue.
Killua surged Ryu into his limbs, he deftly parried the slashes with his claws, gritting his teeth as he broke two of his fingers. Not skipping a beat, he stomped on the pavement to create a barrage of rubble and smoke.
Suspended for barely a few milliseconds, they dotted Kusakabe's Simple Domain and masked his true target as Killua tapped into In to cloak his presence.
That was all the time needed for sharpened phalanges to shred through Kusakabe's arms.
Kusakabe cried out as his broken katana slipped through his numbed fingers, his blood-soaked arms hanging uselessly by his sides.
Somethingrammed behind his left leg and he felt his knee pop out of the socket, forcing him to fall onto his back with a scream.
The boy loomed over him, the setting sun casting a shadow over him with those haunting eyes being the sole light through the settling dust.
Kusakabe smiled weakly, the blood loss darkening his vision.
'What did I expect . . .'
Flicking the blood off his lacerated arms with a grimace, Killua scowled at the fallen swordsman. Fortunately, the wounds had missed major ligaments.
'I underestimated him!'He reset his broken fingers with more force then necessary.
Killua's plan had been to incapacitate and question him, just like he'd done with the other Sorcerers. But Kusakabe had been too damn crafty for his own good.
Fortunately, Killua had crossed paths with another iaido master with similar powers long ago and had learned much from that one-sided encounter. Without that experience, he would be in a far worse position after this battle.
Watching the crimson puddle expand beneath the unconscious man, frustration bubbled inside him. 'Fucking idiot!'
He still had no clue why these Jujutsu Sorcerers were after him, the Kusakabe had revealed nothing and bought enough time for his allies to regroup.
Kusakabe seemed to have spoken the truth, as far as Killua could tell as an experienced liar himself. But he still had no clue whatever the fuck a Cursed Object is and why Jujutsu Tech thought he had there was Suguru Geto, what was the extent of his connection with Jujutsu Tech?
As Killua realized he had more questions than answers thanks to the troublesome swordsman, he spared another annoyed glance at his fallen adversary.
His irritation gave way to shock.
'I looked away for a few seconds, damn it!'
Kusakabe was gone. A bloody puddle with the imprint of a body in his place.
Thenit suddenly bombarded his senses, that same mountain of unparalleled malevolence from earlier, as saccharine as it was twisted. A cold sweat broke out over his skin, his hairs standing on end, feeling as if he was bombarded by a thousand tiny knives coated in venom.
"You'll pay for that."
There atop a two story building stood the source of it all, the unconscious Kusakabe slung over his shoulder.
The ex-assassin's gaze hardened.
So it would seem Okkotsu had tapped into that same dreadful power as earlier.
"You could've killed my friends, but you didn't." Okkotsu's voice was cold as it was calm. "So I'll give you some courtesy. Surrender now."
"Huhh?" Killua balked, wondering if he had understood correctly. This guy had jumped him with his friends, each of whom tried their best to take his head off with little fanfare. Now he wanted Killua to surrender?
He furrowed his brow. "Are you just dumb?"
Okkotsu was unamused. "Rika."
Killua stiffened as that twisted energy magnified.
The ghastly white spirit returned, two-stories tall, it loomed over the young swordsman, its pink maw of fangs, its hair of tentacles and massive claws.
An unpleasant memory invaded his mind.
"Doctor Blythe."
He shook his head. 'Not now!'
"Yessss Yuta~"
"I want him." Yuta beckoned towards the ex-assassin with the tip of his katana.
That sickening maw morphed into a vicious smile.
Then it shot towards him like a railgun.
Its giant sickle-like claws mere inches away from widened sapphire eyes, Killua barely leapt back in time. To call her fast was an understatement, he was forced to evade without any time to retaliate as he was chased across the city blocks, the Cursed Spirit mowing down anything in her path.
The Cursed Spirit pursued him relentlessly, the ground lurching from her sheer power, shockwaves collapsing the nearest buildings as Rika came within inches of her elusive target.
Blood splattered across his face, those claws coming glimmers away from blinding him. He could feel the power and ferocity behind its attacks, and their range far surpassed his own. He knew a direct hit would be devastating if not fatal.
Too focused on the tenacious Cursed Spirit hunting him, Killua was unable to avoid the crushing boot from planting on his face. Sent rocketing through several walls, he crashed into a pile of rubble on the tenth floor of a building several blocks away.
Blinking the dots from his vision, Killua spat blood. He felt his cheekbone swell up.
'Was he holding back before!?'
Okkotsu's sneak attack from earlier had been a love tap compared to this! Worse still, his speed and presence had magnified and morphed into something vast!
The figure of a scarlet eyed avenger invaded his mind with the next disconcerting thought.
'Does this Cursed Energy have contracts like Nen!?'
A ghastly wail interrupted his thoughts, then the building itself started to shake.
The floor beneath him exploded as if struck with a missile, the Spirit bursting through with murderous zeal.
She scoured for her missing prey. But the sun had set, and Killua had hidden his presence and blended into the shadows just in time.
Though ryu, Killua limbs surged with Aura, as he shot off from the ceiling to smash a thunderous spinning kick with all his might into the back of Rika's massive head. The Cursed Spirit was sent hurtling down to the empty streets below.
Killua barely had a moment to breathe. The subtle shift of air above him was his only warning before a katana blade suddenly fell on his head.
Killua narrowly ducked in time, swinging his legs at Okkotsu's knees.
Yuta leapt over the attempted sweep, unleashing a flurry from his blade that forced Killua to fall back with a contorted somersault.
The speed of the swordsman was increasing with every attack, the gap between them rapidly closing. What was worse, Killua felt his own movement gradually become muddled, as if he had just woken up after a deep sleep.
'I need to end this!'
Grabbing Yuta's ankle while the swordsman was still off-balance, Killua whirled his body and slammed him onto his back with a harsh thud.
Yuta spat blood, the wind knocked out of him. He almost missed the glimpse of the shadow rapidly descending, rolling just barely in time to avoid the thunderous stomp that would have crushed his midsection.
Rubble shot in every direction like shrapnel as the two toppled down to the next floor, both landing into a crouch.
No sooner had Killua landed that he felt the floor tremble beneath him once more.
'Shit, this thing again!?'
"Stay still."
Killua's eyes widened, every muscle in his body painfully spàmed, locking him in place.
He saw the megaphone in Yuta's hand vanish just as the walls exploded around him.
Just like with the white-haired guy, Killua had managed to fight back the effect on his body, compelling as it was it was not nearly as potent as his brother's Needles.
Yet just like last time, he wasn't quick enough.
Killua felt those chilled, cadaver-like fingers wrap around him, squeezing, crushing his arms against his sides. Gritting his teeth, his eyes widened, he felt his bones bend as the grip tightened, knowing his ken could not hold out much longer.
Rika growled, raising Killua over her head, she screamed,
"STOP WRIGGLING!"
The Cursed Spiritdove through the floor using Killua as the battering ram.
As each floor shattered under his back, Killua gasped, clenching his teeth.
'You're pissing me off!'
His now unrestrained blood thirst surged his Nen, his reinvigorated aura wrapped around his limbs.
Dislocating his elbows, hepushedwith all his strength, making enough room to kick apart Rika's hands, freeing himself from her grasp at last.
Killua slid up her back as a silver blur, locking his legs around her neck in a vice grip, he squeezed it between his thighs as hard as he could.
"Makkō no Raijin!"
Blinding torrents of lightning enveloped the both of them, its deafening screech heard through the city.
Rika screamed, writhing as the two continued to crash through the remaining two floors of the building, plummeting down onto the concrete below.
Forcing his breathing to slow down, Killua pulled himself to his feet. Ignoring the stench of the smoking Cursed Spirit, he peered around knowing its master must not be too far behind.
He snapped his fingers, scoffing when his Nen remained clear. 'Damn it, I'm out of juice. I lost it and used it all up on this thing!' He had developed that new ability as a last resort, and it was far from being perfect. It exhausted his Electric Aura stores, and now, he had none left.
Sudden white hot pain made him stumble with a pained gasp, darkness dancing in the corners of his vision.
This was yet another side effect of Raijin. For all intents and purposes, it was a kamikaze attack, and while Killua had resistance to electricity it was not enough to nullify the damage to his body.
He needed to escape.
He knew he couldn't defeat Yuta Okkotsu, ay least not before reinforcements arrived, not like this.
He was too drained to escape on foot now, and he no longer had enough aura to use Speed of Lightning.
His options were limited.
Forcing his body to relax with practiced ease, Killua walked in an offbeat cadence, his footwork precise.
"HOW DARE YOU!"
The tip of a katana skewered his chest.
Or at least it seemed to before he faded away like mist.
Yuta's furious eyes widened when multiple Killuas surrounded, each vanishing like smoke when he slashed through them.
"COME OUT!"
Yuta spun on his heels, locking gazes with soulless sapphire eyes, and intercepted the ex-assassin's attack with a flurry of slashes.
Covering his vitals with Ryu reinforced arms, Killua was unable to avoid the crushing kicks to his abdomen that sent him flying.
Ribs snapped, but Killua's gaze only grew colder. Backed into a corner, it as if a reflex was triggered and that deeply ingrained bloodlust took over.
Yuta's eyes widened when the ex-assassin dislocated his arms, swinging them wildly at blinding speeds.
Still in midair, Yuta's own mobility was compromised.
The Snake Awakens, a Zoldyck Family favorite, was exceptional at dismemberment.
Yuta cried out, his dominant armsmashedby his side by a devastating blow, his katana sent clattering far beyond reach.
Bones shattered, shards protruded through his skin.
Vision made blurry by the pain, he failed to notice the silver blur shoot at him from his blindspot.
A knee rammed into his neck at the perfect angle, Yuta felt his spine separate before darkness consumed him.
Killua landed heavily. He retched blood, feeling his broken ribs poke into his guts.
Slowing his racing heartbeat, he worked on measuring his breaths as he gazed at the fallen swordsman.
The Jujutsu Sorcerer's neck was slightly bent at an angle, his breathing slowly fading.
Killua gritted his teeth. Suddenly hit with vertigo, he tightly shut his eyes.
The body was tiny, blackened and skeletal bits peeking out from under all that hair. Charred organs spilling out onto the scorched earth, rank with the stench of boiling blood. This had to be a sick joke. Some kind of Nen trick! There was no way this was him! No way this was his best friend! This couldn't be Gon! It couldn't be-
Killua slapped his own face, hard. "STOP!"
He clenched his jaw hard enough to feel molars crack, forcing his mind to blank, forcing the nausea back.
Killua wassick of it.Sick of being hunted constantly! Sick of reliving those shitty memories! Sick of being lost in an unknown world, with no clue if his sister or his friends were even alive! With no clue if he would ever even see them again! He was fucking sick of it. Sick of it all!
Killua's frustration boiled over, his breathing grew labored and a cold sweat soaked his the tattered, bloodstained remains of his clothes. His near-perfect aura flow became sporadic, his ten destroyed from within by a flair of Aura. Clusters ofsomethingburst forth within his shroud of white flame, expanding and coalescing into black stria.
"There's no fire in you, just darkness."
"Shut up." Killua groaned, palming his spinning head. This was worse than any torture he had been put through,farworse. A hundred fold worse than ripping out Illumi's Needle from his brain.
Killua couldn't breathe.
Of course, he "This is a declaration of war! I not even register the figure racing towards him at a speed that would have impressed the Ant King himself.
A glaring pain was all he felt before darkness wrapped him in its sweet embrace.
'What a disaster.'
His blindfold pulled back, Satoru Gojo emotionlessly loomed over his unconscious pupil. His fists clenched by his sides, the glow of the Six Eyes unerring.
Yuta was still breathing, if barely. The jagged ends of bone grotesquely distending the skin of his broken neck. His right arm was mangled even worse, a barely recognizable mess of blood and torn muscle.
'Damn it all.'
The report of the supposed rogue Cursed Object had coincided with a report of several Grade I and Grade II Cursed Spirits running rampant in various rural towns in the outskirts of Hokaido prefecture. They had overwhelmed the few Sorcerers stationed there.
Deemed by the Inspector General of the Jujutsu Council as the only one swift enough to get there in time and prevent substantial casualties, Satoru Gojo had been assigned the mission of neutralizing the horde.
'I should have been faster.'
"The Strongest" had only just returned when Mei Mei's distress call had requested backup. Reaching the battlefield barely in time to save his student despite using a teleportation seal.
Shoko Ieiri was kneeling by Yuta's side, placing her hands over his neck she activated her Reverse Cursed Technique.
Gently pressing the broken bones back to their place, Shoko channeled her positive Cursed Energy into Yuta's neck. Bones audibly knitted back together and the bruising faded along with the whistling of Yuta's breaths.
"Shoko?"
"He'll live." Shoko confirmed, seamlessly switching to the shattered arm.
Though it pained him that he was not able to spectate the whole process, (it was always fascinating to see how different Shoko's Reverse Cursed Technique was to his own useless version. The version that could not be used on others,) he focused his attention completely on the source of all this trouble.
The culprit lay several meters away, half-lidded eyes glazed. Satoru was impressed with the boy still fading in and out of consciousness after his sucker punch. He had not exactly been gentle.
When the boy's breathing grew shallow, Gojo was not surprised.
The more he looked at him, the more disturbed he became. It was not just because of his eerily similar looks to himself either, although it was fucking creepy to look at what could easily pass for his son. Rather it was what the Six Eyes were unveiled.
Bright, solid light.
It defied the very nature of Cursed Energy as he knew it. It was too pure, too natural in its ebbs and flows, pulsing with every heartbeat and ascending like vapour from the top of the boy's head.
'It's so potent.' Satoru tried not to marvel. 'Even when he's half dead.'
But within the pure energy, there were embers of something else. Nuclei of twisted malevolence, embodying the very worst of humanity's zeal. These impurities he recognized instantly.
'Two types of Cursed Energy. . . At war?' This was no Innate Technique that he knew of, and that meant it wasn't an Innate Technique at all.
"Satoru."
He acknowledged Shoko with a hum.
"Any thoughts on your little doppelganger?"
Satoru didn't need the Six Eyes to feel Shoko's accusatory glare burn holes right through him. She was hardly the only one, he could feelIjichi's eyeballs protrude from their sockets.
"I'm as baffled as you are." He shook his head, unable to find it in himself to be coy. "He's not from the Gojo Clan, I can guarantee that."
"Sure." Shoko hummed, discarding her finished cigarette. "I'm still taking a DNA sample."
Satoru did not deign to acknowledge that as he bend down and began to place his sealing tags on the boy's legs. Next to him, Shoko extricated a veil from her lab coat, deftly collecting congealed blood from the boy's pale face.
Contrary to popular belief, Satoru Gojo was a very careful man.
Okay, perhaps not "very", but he did not take his bloodline lightly. Nor was he sadistic enough to share the burden of "the Strongest" or all the other nonsense with anyone.
In the few trysts he had indulged in, he had made sure that an illegitimate child was out of the realm of possibility.
So this boy could not be his, no matter how much of a clone he looked like. Never mind this boy appeared much older than any hypothetical child of his would be.
And right now, that was the least of his concerns.
Satoru laced his fingers, forming the hand signs required to complete the sealing.
'Now for Rika.'
"Nanami-san, keep an eye on this one while I secure the Special Grade."
Kento Nanami fixed him with the same incendiary look Shoko had, but nodded. Regarding the unconscious silver-haired teen with a barely detectable mix of profound unease and pity. "The fact this boy did all this . . . It's terrifying."
Satoru smiled ruefully. "Can't argue with you there, Nanami-san."
The Special Grade Vengeful Spirit, Rika Orimoto lay in the center of a small crater.
Though conscious, she could not move, for every twitch of a muscle resulted in blinding bursts of electricity coursing through her, her pained screams echoing through the ruins.
It was not ordinary electricity, far beyond any meteorological phenomenon.
Each time it manifested, it exuded that same ethereal aura as the boy's yet a thousand times more intense.
Evidently, it was keeping Rika Orimoto from disappearing back within her host.
The Six Eyes bestowed upon their user the ultimate understanding of Cursed Energy. Its flow, its temperament, its very nature.
And yet, Satoru Gojo could not make sense of the scene before him.
"Oh Satoru, you haven't lost your touch."
He snapped his head in the direction of that voice, his heart catching in his throat.
"It is as vexing as I remember." The Special Grade Curse User, Suguru Geto, smiled serenely. "Twenty Grade I Curses across the country, and yet you're just barely late to the party."
Clad in his black hakama trimmed with gold, he stood tall with his back to Gojo's doppelganger.
A large shirtless muscle-man and well dressed strawberry blond woman flanked him, several ghastly Curses surrounding all three of them.
Nanami dusted himself off several meters away, a bruise blossoming on his cheek, evidently having been forced from his post by a sneak attack. He positioned himself between Shoko and the enemy, loosening his polkadot orange tie.
Following his mentor's lead, Takuma Inu donned his ski-mask, his Auspicious Beast Summons a finger's breadth away.
Not that Gojo cared about any of that.
The piercing Six Eyes fixed solely on his former best friend. The man who was once his only confidant.
"Do you have a death wish?"
"Satoru." Geto sighed. "We haven't met in five years and that's what you have to say? Is our old bond so dead and gone?"
"Cut the bullshit," Gojo bit out through grit teeth. "I know you're behind this. All of it."
Surprise briefly interrupted Geto's ever present smirk. "You give me too much credit. I am simply making the most of good fortune."
Geto spread out his arms, voice booming.
"This is a declaration of war! I will eradicate all monkeys and rid this world of their repugnant Curses!"
He raised three fingers.
"Three days from now, I will unleash one thousand Curses in the capital of every prefecture!"
"Stand with me or stand against me, it makes no difference." Geto stated. "The result will remain the same! Japan will be the first place free of Curses! I swear my life and my Jujutsu on it!"
Gojo listened numbly, his tongue feeling like lead.
"Geto." Shoko's tone was devoid of emotion, cigarette falling limply from her lips. "You can't win. You've lost your mind."
"Just as much as every great revolutionary in history." The cult leader shrugged, a smooth smile returning as he repossessed his calm facade.
Geto had just blinked, when Gojo suddenly stood just inches away from him.
"Did you really think you'd live through this?"
'Curse Technique Lapse: Blue'
The various Curses surrounding him erupted into a fine mist of magenta, along with the cult leader's right arm. Such an attack would have eviscerated any other Sorcerer.
Yet Suguru Geto merely replaced the vanquished Curses with dozens of newer ones, forming an ever expanding wall of rancid meat between himself and "the Strongest" as he raced towards the incapacitated Rika Orimoto.
Limited by the presence of his allies within range of his more destructive techniques, Gojo was forced to play the chasing game, easilydrillingthrough the wall of Curses.
Gaining quickly, Geto barely turned in time to deflect a kick that sent him flying anyway, having summoned Playful Cloud in time.
Landing on his feet on a slanted rooftop, isolated from his allies and faced with the the wrath of "the Strongest" closing in on him, Suguru Geto merely smiled.
With a wave of his remaining hand, a the building beneath him was instantly crushed to dust with the weight of the gargantuan eight-headed serpentine Special Grade Curse he unleashed.
Coated in emerald scales, the whip of its heads easily leveled the remainder of the city block and pushed back even Satoru Gojo's assault.
Widened Six Eyes assessed the situation, their wielder, levitating against the dark night sky, stared down at the Curse User.
"I'm impressed, Satoru. You didn't hesitate at all." Geto hummed, blithely tearing off his sleeve, he wrapped it around the stump of his arm to quench the bleeding. "You've grown up."
"I was saving this ace for the war," he gestured to the Curse he currently stood on top of, shielded by eight hissing heads. "Oh well. Meet Yamata no Orochi. Or what's left of it after facing the wrath of Su'sanoo. Namely its hatred of monkeys."
"You think this will stop me?" Gojo coldly raised a finger. Crimson Cursed Energy gathered at his fingertip, condensing into the size of a marvel.
'Red.'
Geto smiled darkly.
An ear-splitting wail echoed through the smoking streets as the ground trembled.
"No-" Gojo's head snapped at the source, his eyes widened.
The Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit Rika Orimoto, somehow free from her bindings, had transformed into a gargantuan version of herself.
"WHERE IS YUTAAAAAA!?"
In an enraged frenzy, she chased the Jujutsu Sorcerers nearby, crushing several agents beneath her as mere collateral. Takuma and Shoko leapt for cover, narrowly avoiding maiming blows that produced plumes of smoke.
Nanami seemed preoccupied, dueling with a dark skinned foreigner flaunting a rope-like Cursed Tool of some kind.
"This was fun, Satoru!"
Gojo turned in time to merely catch a glimpse.
The woman from earlier and the muscle man had somehow appeared by Geto's side, the latter carrying the unconscious silver-haired boy bridal style.
'A teleportation based Innate Technique!? He wants the boy!?'
Gojo rushed forward, using Blue to enhance his speed even further.
But he was not quick enough.
The group flickered out of existence just as his fingers passed the space that the Curse User's face had occupied.
Satoru Gojo cursed.
With a irritated growl, he turned his full attention to the rampaging Vengeful Cursed Spirit.
Through the Six Eyes, he noticed several Grade I Curses attached to her face, forcing repugnant Cursed Energy into her mind. Likely manipulating her through well-crafted hallucinations.
As Shinjuku bled out, "the Strongest" appeared before the wrath of the Mother of all Curses.
The deadly incandescence of the Six Eyes pierced through the darkness as two fingers intertwined.
"Infinite Void."
A/N: Better late than never, right? I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. Probably the most pivotal chapter yet.
Last few months were really busy for me. Kusakabe hijacking the start of this chapter didn't help. I tried to make him interesting though instead of "exposition guy™", let me know how I did.
—"Makkō no Raijin" (aka "furious scream of the Lightning God") is an attack I made up. Killua already has Narukami (aka "raging Thunder God") so it made sense to me. I'd expect him to develop his non-Godspeed lightning Nen eventually.
The effect is more powerful than Narukami because Killua has to be as close as possible to the target and shock himself as much as he shocks /
As we know, Nen gets stronger with restrictions, so the effect lasts longer than with Menthuthuyoupi.
—I wanted Yuta/Rika vs Killua to be close and intense. I hope I delivered.
—So our blue eyed kings finally meet~ ah so wholesome.
—I might start calling "Grade I" etc Sorcerers "First Class" etc instead. Seems to flow and sound better while reading imo. Let me know your opinion.
—Unfortunately we never saw Shoko's powers on screen, so I'm going to fill in the blanks with my own theories.
—Yamata no Orochi is based on Shinto mythology and was referenced by Sukuna once. Geto only possesses a shell of its former self, but it's still extremely powerful. Geto needed some equalizers. If I stick only to what we were shown, he'd be laughably easy for Gojo to kill.
—Manami Suda, the lady with Geto, never showed anything on screen. So I gave her a Teleportation ability.
Your comments keep this going, please keep them coming! I can't wait to see what you all thought. Please don't hold back, the more detailed the better.
Until next time!