"A challenger?"
Sukuna let out a mocking laugh, as if Satoru had said something amusing.
"It seems a successful sneak attack has made you quite arrogant."
Sukuna raised his head. Even while looking up, his aura was no weaker than Satoru's.
"You are merely an insignificant fish, jumping a little more lively on the chopping board than the others."
The same arrogance as Satoru appeared in Sukuna's eyes, mixed with a hint of disdain.
"Let me peel off your scales first."
Crack, crash.
The billboard, which had been broken by Sukuna and was hanging from the rooftop, finally snapped completely and fell.
The moment their vision was obscured by the billboard, both acted at the same time.
Bang.
Two fists, one large and one small, collided fiercely through the billboard, shattering it instantly with their immense power.
Satoru looked at Sukuna arrogantly, then increased the power in his hand again.
Whoosh, boom.
Sukuna was once again sent flying back into the building he had just exited.
"Tch, this body is really weak."
Sukuna looked at his flawless arm with dissatisfaction.
This was a hand that could stir desire and obsession with just a touch.
Especially for someone like Yoshikage Kira, who was obsessed with hands, it would be impossible to refuse such a beautiful one.
Clearly, this was not a hand meant for fighting.
Putting everything else aside, Satoru's arm was nearly twice as thick as this body's.
Fortunately, Sukuna's overwhelming Cursed Energy made up for this.
Satoru stepped through the air and punched toward Sukuna's head.
Sukuna, having experienced countless battles, reacted instantly.
First, he formed his left hand into a palm and struck Satoru's wrist.
The wrist is far more fragile than the fist, and a strike there prevents the fist from exerting its full force.
Then, Sukuna's right hand attacked Satoru's jaw.
If that blow landed, Satoru would fall into a brief daze from the impact.
Satoru flipped backward to avoid the attack, then crouched slightly.
After lowering his stance, he pushed off with his legs and shot forward at an even faster speed, aiming a punch directly at Sukuna's vital points.
The current Satoru was no longer the slender figure from his Tokyo Jujutsu High days.
To completely defeat Toji, he had invested far more into martial arts training than before.
As a result, his physique had become more robust.
He appeared lean when clothed, but muscular when not, his physical lethality rivaling Toji's.
"Tsk."
At that moment, Sukuna felt something strange.
He used to be taller and stronger than Satoru, always crushing others with absolute power.
Those opponents would cling desperately to life, relying on various minor tricks disguised as skill.
But now, he was the one relying on technique to fight.
Watching Satoru charge toward him at high speed, Sukuna immediately jumped backward. At the same time, he parried downward with his right hand, deflecting Satoru's heavy punch.
Satoru lightly tapped the ground with his toes to adjust his stance, then delivered a mid-level roundhouse kick toward Sukuna.
The height difference between them was too great, so a high kick would easily miss.
Sukuna bent his arm and raised his knee to block, but was still sent flying by the impact.
Crash.
Like a cannonball, Sukuna smashed through the glass and flew out the window, then spread his arms as he fell through the air.
Satoru followed closely, closing the distance once again.
"Dismantle!"
Sukuna curled his body, hugging his knees as he rotated, shifting from a spread-eagle fall into a standing position.
With a swing of his right hand, a powerful slash shot toward Satoru.
Since Sukuna used a Cursed Technique, Satoru no longer restricted himself to close combat.
Under the effect of Limitless, Sukuna's Dismantle failed to harm Satoru at all, instead slicing through the building behind them.
A trace of mockery appeared on Satoru's lips, irritating Sukuna.
Satoru pointed his right hand behind him, toward the collapsing half of the building.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue."
The falling structure was continuously compressed by Blue. Under Satoru's control, it shot toward Sukuna like a meteor hammer carrying immense force.
Sukuna responded with dozens of slashes, neutralizing the attack.
Bang, bang.
They landed almost at the same time, leaving two new craters in the previously flat asphalt road.
"You really are interesting."
Satoru stretched his shoulders, clearly pleased.
Although it was only a test, facing the legendary Sukuna meant he held nothing back and fought seriously.
There were not many who could endure such a beating from him and remain unharmed.
Even when he fought Toji, he had to hold back slightly.
Otherwise, Megumi would have cried.
Megumi's feelings toward his father were complicated. A small beating showed affection, but a severe one would cause real pain.
"Oh, right."
Satoru gave a thumbs-up, then pointed at the building behind him that had been partially sliced apart.
"All this damage is on your tab."
"Where do you get the nerve to say that?"
Sukuna's tone carried a hint of irritation.
The probing phase had ended, and both had gained a basic understanding of each other's abilities.
Satoru concluded that he had the advantage in close combat.
Sukuna also concluded that without returning to his true form, he would be at a disadvantage in hand-to-hand fighting.
Round two began, and the real battle was about to start.
Both formed hand signs at the same time, and vast Cursed Energy rapidly spread outward from them.
"Domain Expansion: Infinite Void."
"Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine."
A wilderness filled with countless skeletons spread beneath their feet. Atop hills formed from piled bones stood a shrine.
In contrast to the hellish ground, the sky within the Domain resembled a deep, star-filled sea.
At its center, something like an eye combined with a black hole gazed down upon the desolate land.
At that moment, Satoru stood in the sky like a god descending to punish evil.
Both Domains expanded simultaneously, and their sure-hit effects canceled each other out.
Since Satoru's Domain was a closed type, its range was smaller.
As a result, Sukuna's open-type Domain, Malevolent Shrine, completely enveloped Satoru's Domain.
Countless slashes struck the outer shell of Satoru's Domain from the outside.
'No, wait.'
Sukuna, who had been watching Satoru with mockery, suddenly noticed something was wrong.
The slashes had continued for some time, yet the outer shell of Satoru's Domain had not shattered.
"You reversed the conditions of the barrier, inside and outside?"
"That's right. Coincidentally, we also have someone who uses an open-type Domain, so I am quite familiar with them."
As Sukuna's smile gradually faded, Satoru's expression grew brighter.
Smiles do not disappear, they simply transfer.
During those brief seconds of Domain clash, Satoru also assessed Sukuna's Domain.
Under its assault, his Domain's outer shell could withstand a maximum of 216 seconds.
This was one-fifth longer than the three minutes Eichi had initially estimated.
Satoru immediately realized something.
The current Sukuna only had sixteen fingers, not twenty. Eichi's estimate was likely based on a fully restored Sukuna.
The condition for victory was clear.
Defeat the opponent before him using martial arts before the Domain shattered.
(To be continued.)