The next morning, Tsumiki went to school while Toji and Megumi headed straight for Eighty-Eight Bridge.
Toji dialed Gojo Shion's number, relying on the latter's uncanny insight to gather whatever useful information he could.
"Yorozu… a dangerous woman obsessed with the King of Curses, Sukuna," Shion so had warned.
After processing that, Toji formed a rough estimate of her strength.
He could probably, maybe, likely, more or less, beat the crap out of her.
Underneath Eighty-Eight Bridge, Megumi Fushiguro stared at the Cursed Spirits scattered around and gulped.
Toji smirked beside him. "What? Scared?"
"Are you kidding me?" Megumi braced himself, forcing confidence into his voice. "I trained under Satoru Gojo. These are just low-level Cursed Spirits."
"Divine Dogs!"
Megumi shaped his hands like canine jaws. Two pools of shifting shadows surged from the ground, coalescing into a black wolf and a white wolf—his Divine Dog Shikigami.
Toji raised an eyebrow. "Not bad."
Megumi didn't waste a second. "Divine Dogs, attack!"
With a single command, the pair bounded forward like lightning.
Within minutes, their sharp claws shredded every low-level Cursed Spirit in the vicinity.
Megumi lifted his chin. "How was that?"
Toji glanced over casually. "Both of them have the strength comparable to Grade 1 Cursed Spirits. They're decent."
Megumi beamed. "See? Told you!"
"If you're impressed, just say so. No need to put on a show," Megumi teased.
Megumi laughed freely. Without the weight of tragedy hanging over him this time, he was more relaxed, even teasing back.
"Toji," Megumi said, smirking, "don't pretend you're not impressed."
Toji turned his head and fell silent.
Stupid brat… I'll show you what real strength looks like soon enough.
They continued on until suddenly the ground beneath them gave way.
Toji reacted instantly, snatching Megumi up and hoisting him with one hand. After a few deft flips, he managed to land without injury, though Megumi was left dazed.
When Megumi blinked and focused again, the scenery had completely changed.
They were in an underground world—an eerie crimson cavern filled with stalagmites that seemed almost alive.
"What is this place?" Megumi rubbed his head, confused.
Toji surveyed their surroundings and answered, "An innate Domain formed with a massive amount of Cursed Energy. Domains amplify technique power."
"A… Domain Expansion?" Megumi stuttered.
"To an extent," Toji confirmed.
Megumi's face drained of color.
Domain Expansion was the pinnacle of Jujutsu techniques—the ultimate trump card sorcerers used in life-or-death fights.
According to Satoru, only three of the four Special Grades in the entire world could perform one.
"How can this be a Domain Expansion? We should—run… but no, you can't escape a domain once it's formed…"
Megumi rattled on anxiously, eyes wide.
Toji let out a slow breath. "Relax. It's a crude domain. It doesn't guarantee a sure-hit."
Megumi's expression twisted. "You say 'crude,' but this is a Domain Expansion!"
Toji teased, "What would someone like you, who spent years unemployed, know about power?"
Megumi froze, reddening.
Before he could reply, something appeared.
A Cursed Spirit as tall and thick as a grown man stepped into view. Its body reminded Megumi of that amphibious creature from The Shape of Water, grotesque and powerful.
Its Cursed Energy slammed through the cavern like a rising tide.
Megumi's eyes widened. Even his Divine Dogs began to lower their stances.
"A Special Grade Cursed Spirit."
Megumi's voice trembled.
He had expected a minor hunt. Instead, they'd stumbled straight into a boss-level threat.
That was it. They were done for.
The Cursed Spirit singled them out with a twisted grin.
A kid with abundant Cursed Energy like Megumi would taste… exquisite.
And the other one, who emitted no cursed aura at all? A plaything.
Then, in a blur, Megumi felt himself lifted and dropped onto the back of one of his Divine Dogs.
Looking up, he saw his father—Toji Fushiguro—blade in hand and the head of the Special Grade Cursed Spirit dangling from it, blood dripping like rain.
"Pathetic," Toji muttered. "This can't be Yorozu, right?"
Megumi stared in disbelief.
What just happened?
The Cursed Spirit's body dissolved, leaving behind only a dark purple finger.
Toji blinked, picked it up, and examined it.
Suddenly, a blazing slash cut toward him.
A furious female shout echoed through the cavern. "Put down Lord Sukuna's finger, you beast!"
Toji raised his blade, but the force still slammed him backward.
He flipped through the air and landed beside Megumi without losing balance.
Ahead of them, a completely naked woman approached, rage radiating off her.
Megumi turned his head instantly.
Toji, on the other hand, looked rather… intrigued.
The woman seethed. "Filthy man!"
Toji tilted his head. "This body isn't yours, right? I'm curious how you were resurrected through Incarnation if the seal on the Cursed Object is still intact."
Gojo had told him about Incarnation: if a Cursed Object was sealed, it could only put its vessel into a coma, not resurrect it.
The woman's eyes gleamed with obsession—clearly unhinged.
"By love, of course," she declared. "Part of Lord Sukuna's body awakened me from the seal!"
Megumi shivered at her fanaticism.
"…A crazy woman," Toji muttered.
Megumi tilted his head. "Who is she?"
Toji's voice dipped into dry humor. "A powerful sorcerer from a thousand years ago who liked cutting off handsome men's heads and displaying them."
Megumi felt chills.
The woman covered her mouth with a wicked smile, eyes gleaming. "They were toys for my amusement. Isn't that delightful?"
She paced closer. "You two could be new entertainments for me."
Toji's veins bulged with anger; his eyes radiated killing intent.
"What's so funny? What's so interesting? Do you take life for a joke?"
Yorozu didn't seem fazed.
Toji, once known as the Sorcerer Killer, actually broke a sweat.
Despite eight years of retirement, he tensed.
"Enough talk. Let's fight."
Toji Fushiguro raised his inverted spear and charged like a lightning strike.
The woman's eyes widened. "That speed… without cursed energy?"
Boom.
Her abdomen was struck with brutal force, folding her over like a bent twig.
"No! That attack just now wasn't a strike… it was an afterimage!"
Facing Toji's grin up close, Yorozu finally understood exactly what kind of monster she was dealing with.
And she knew she needed her true power, or she would die.
___
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