Ryomen Sukuna crawled out of his shadow for the fourth time.
This had entirely exceeded his expectations. In his initial calculations, while Satoru Gojo was undoubtedly strong, he still fell significantly short of the King of Cursed Spirits, who now commanded the limitless potential of Fate. Out of his [Eleven Lives], Sukuna had mentally budgeted exactly three lives to deal with Gojo.
This wasn't arrogance; it was a deeply ingrained assessment of Gojo's combat strength.
Had Gojo not been wielding the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey], that assessment would have been remarkably conservative. In the original timeline, Mahoraga had managed to adapt to the Limitless within the span of a single life. And since Sukuna had already copied the Limitless via Mimicry, if he summoned Mahoraga now, the Divine General would spawn fully adapted to the Limitless from the very start.
Gojo's entire offensive and defensive repertoire was, at its core, entirely reliant on the Limitless. Precisely because the Limitless was already an overwhelmingly perfect technique, Gojo rarely bothered integrating other methods. If Sukuna could just neutralize the Limitless, he was absolutely certain Gojo wouldn't even be able to last a single round against him.
Based on the original narrative, this was completely accurate.
But the Satoru Gojo standing here right now was vastly different from his original counterpart.
He had gained a chillingly clear understanding of the absolute limits of his own Limitless! During his duel with Mahito, aside from mobility, the Limitless had offered virtually zero tactical advantage. And even that mobility edge had vanished the moment Mahito manifested the Dragon God Armor on the fly.
Mahito had practically dragged every aspect of the Limitless through the mud, utterly trampling on its glory and dignity!
While the current Gojo still utilized the Limitless, the trauma of that fight had instilled a hyper-vigilant reflex in him. He no longer relied on it as an absolute crutch. Instead, he was constantly on guard against techniques capable of bypassing the Limitless. This profound shift in mindset was exactly why he had chosen the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey].
When the [Purification] ability was active, Gojo's own Limitless would naturally fail. But to this new Gojo, that was no longer a fatal flaw: he had already completely adapted to fighting without it. And Ryomen Sukuna had the misfortune of being his first live-fire test subject!
Sukuna had fatally miscalculated. He thought the anti-god countermeasures he had provided would force Gojo into a predictable, single-track tactical corner. Instead, Gojo used the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey] to teach Sukuna a brutal lesson—
—*I'm done playing with Cursed Energy!*
The moment Sukuna revived, the very first thing he saw was the heavy metal head of the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey]. The Purifying Chime of the Buddha rang out!
Accompanied by the resonant tolling of the bell, Sukuna was stripped of even the most basic ability to extract Cursed Energy. He had no choice but to frantically dodge. His close-quarters combat skills were peerless, but the violent sonic booms trailing every swing of the staff told him that blocking was absolute suicide. Gojo marched relentlessly forward, driving Sukuna back across the massive crater, systematically cutting off all his escape routes.
This massive crater was the lingering scar of Sukuna's previous death, carved out by the unleashed fury of Malevolent Shrine. The apocalyptic storm of slashes with a 200-meter radius had atomized absolutely everything within it, carving deep into the bedrock beneath the desert. Sukuna bobbed and weaved through the blasted terrain, tentatively using his four hands to graze the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey].
He wasn't trying to block it outright. Instead, he was attempting to skillfully use Gojo's own momentum to deflect the strikes—a martial arts technique akin to redirecting a thousand pounds of force with a single ounce.
But the instant his forearm brushed against the staff, the sickening snap of breaking bone echoed through the crater.
The core principle of 'redirecting a thousand pounds with a single ounce' requires you to actually possess that initial ounce of force. Against Satoru Gojo, who was freely pumping Positive Energy through his muscles for physical reinforcement, Sukuna's raw physical strength didn't even amount to an ounce. His arm shattered on contact, and in the exact same fraction of a second, the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey] swung back around for the kill.
Sukuna had only one option: retreat!
He scrambled backward, reduced to a desperate prey animal being hunted in a cage of his own making. Only by constantly fleeing could he prevent the hunter from crushing his skull. The arrogant smirk had long since vanished from his face; his brain was working in panicked overdrive as he ran for his life.
*The [Purification] effect is mutual! If I can't extract Cursed Energy to refine it into Positive Energy, Gojo shouldn't be able to either! Yet he's somehow using Positive Energy to reinforce himself while I can't. Why?!*
If Sukuna possessed the Six Eyes of the Gojo clan, he would have instantly seen through the trick. But he didn't. He was forced to deduce it blindly while fighting for his life.
Just as Gojo had taunted, a battle of jujutsu was a battle of information. Sukuna's critical lack of intelligence had led directly to this humiliating, desperate flight.
But he had not despaired.
Every brutal death, every frantic retreat, was buying precious time for Mahoraga's adaptation! If he simply summoned Mahoraga directly, a single tap from the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey] would vaporize it. Mahoraga, despite its divine nature, was ultimately a construct of Cursed Energy; it couldn't possibly survive the Purifying Chime. But if Sukuna himself bore the burden of adaptation, the equation changed entirely.
Ryomen Sukuna was a flesh-and-blood human being! No matter how deformed or grotesque his body had become, his fundamental status as a human could not be erased. Because he was human, he could survive inside the [Purification] zone. He could physically endure the effects of the Buddha's Chime, allowing his own flesh to experience the phenomenon and shoulder the adaptation process on Mahoraga's behalf!
Now, it was a pure race against the clock.
Could Gojo burn through all [Eleven Lives] before the time ran out? Or would Sukuna sacrifice enough lives to complete the adaptation to the Purifying Chime and sound the horn for a devastating counterattack?
Ryomen Sukuna refused to surrender!
Gojo blurred out of existence, practically teleporting to Sukuna's flank via raw physical speed. Sukuna frantically shifted his footing, crossing all four arms in a desperate attempt to deflect the incoming staff. But despite his flawless reaction, the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey] simply bypassed his guard and crushed his skull.
*BANG—!*
Satoru Gojo killed Ryomen Sukuna for the fourth time. [Eleven Lives], minus four.
"Not yet... it's not over yet—!" Sukuna dragged himself out of the shadow, his two mouths overlapping in a venomous, hate-filled roar. "Satoru Gojo... I will not die here!"
"I can slaughter you a hundred times over, Sukuna!" Gojo laughed uproariously.
Despite his arrogant taunt, Gojo's survival instincts were screaming at him.
Under these completely one-sided conditions, Sukuna still hadn't summoned Mahoraga. Why? And more importantly, what exactly was the mechanic behind Sukuna's resurrection?
Contrary to his relaxed exterior, Gojo's body was beginning to feel incredibly heavy. He had lied to Sukuna during their earlier exchange.
'Positive Energy physical reinforcement' simply did not exist in this world. Positive Energy was inherently too gentle; it was fundamentally incompatible with physical enhancement. To the human body, Positive Energy served only one single purpose: healing.
Reverse Cursed Technique was the ultimate, exclusive application of Positive Energy. Nothing else.
So, how exactly was Gojo utilizing Positive Energy?
There is a specific anime titled *Is This a Zombie?*
In that story, the protagonist is turned into a zombie, becoming an immortal entity capable of regenerating his body no matter how severely it is destroyed.
And by weaponizing his undead regenerative abilities, he unlocks an ultimate move: [1000% Power].
The human body possesses natural limiters. Pushing past these thresholds grants access to incomprehensible, superhuman strength. But this is not a blessing. These limiters exist strictly to protect the body from destroying itself. Breaking past them grants unimaginable power, but in exchange, the sheer force tears the human body apart, causing catastrophic, often fatal damage.
Using 1000% power guarantees immediate death upon use.
It is an ultimate attack that only a regenerating zombie could ever survive.
Gojo's 'Positive Energy physical reinforcement' was exactly this concept brought to life!
He hadn't even developed this technique in the last two months. Years ago, back in high school, the moment he mastered Reverse Cursed Technique, he developed a method to keep the Limitless active 24/7. That method involved constantly healing his brain with RCT to counteract the massive strain of overusing the Limitless. Thanks to the Six Eyes, he could effortlessly pinpoint and maintain the exact equilibrium between physical destruction and cellular regeneration.
The man known as Satoru Gojo had discovered the secret to 'Positive Energy physical reinforcement' back in high school! And right now, he was applying that exact same principle to his muscles.
By forcing his body to shatter its natural physical limiters, he unleashed devastating physical attacks. As his muscles and bones tore themselves apart from the sheer stress, he simultaneously pumped Reverse Cursed Technique through his body to instantly heal the damage. Destroying and healing, over and over again, continuously amplifying his physical output. It was identical to how he sustained his 24/7 Limitless—a self-sustaining bootstrap loop.
That was the secret behind how he could physically overpower Ryomen Sukuna!
Sukuna was widely recognized as possessing the 'Perfect Sorcerer's Body'. His base physical specs were absurdly high, even without Cursed Energy reinforcement. In the original timeline, when Angel unleashed [Jacob's Ladder] from the sky, the cataclysmic blast obliterated everything in the vicinity. With Technique Extinguishment active, nothing bathed in that light could use Cursed Energy. Naturally, that included Cursed Energy reinforcement.
Yet, under those exact conditions, Sukuna simply stomped on the levitating debris, violently kicking off the falling rubble to ascend into the sky. He did all of that without a single drop of Cursed Energy, relying entirely on raw, unadulterated physical athleticism.
It was utterly terrifying!
Gojo didn't doubt for a second that if neither of them used Cursed Techniques or Cursed Energy, and fought purely with base physical stats, he would be reduced to an unrecognizable paste the moment Sukuna's fists touched him.
Despite his mocking demeanor, going toe-to-toe with Sukuna in close-quarters combat was placing an immense, agonizing strain on Gojo's body.
Therefore, Gojo had only one objective: butcher Sukuna over and over again before he could figure out a countermeasure, until he was permanently dead!
Gojo had sharply observed that every time Sukuna revived, his physical state was completely reset. Even his Cursed Energy reserves were restored to their absolute peak. What did this imply? It implied that Sukuna's resurrection wasn't an Innate Technique application like Mahito's.
It was the result of a Binding Vow.
And whenever a Binding Vow was involved, there was no such thing as a free lunch. It required sacrificing something of immense, equivalent value. A Vow capable of dictating life and death—capable of achieving literal resurrection—must be bound by terrifyingly strict, agonizing conditions. Such a Vow absolutely could not be infinite.
As long as he kept killing, killing, and killing, Ryomen Sukuna would eventually stay dead!
Furthermore, Gojo wasn't just mindlessly slaughtering him. He was actively observing. He was analyzing Sukuna's comprehension and application of the concept of 'resurrection'.
Sukuna's Shrine had once shattered the cycle of positive and negative energy that defined a deity, allowing him to commit deicide. So, could Shrine's slash theoretically sever the very *concept* of [Resurrection]? Previously, even if Gojo had this hypothesis, he couldn't test it, because Mahito was the only entity in the world capable of self-resurrection. But now, Ryomen Sukuna was endlessly reviving right in front of him.
If he could sever the concept of resurrection, he could permanently interrupt Sukuna's revival cycle, and by extension, completely invalidate Mahito's self-resurrection!
*Can it be done?* Gojo asked himself.
An instant later, he answered his own question in his mind: *—[Of course it can]!*
"Come on, Sukuna!" Gojo roared with laughter. "Offer up your lives to forge my legend as a God-Slayer!"
"SA! TO! RU! GO! JO—!" Sukuna bellowed.
Gojo brutally thrust the tail end of the staff straight through Sukuna's chest. The sheer, overwhelming kinetic force blew a massive, gaping hole through Sukuna's torso, large enough to clearly see the scenery behind him. Shattered bone and pulverized organs were violently ejected from his back, painting the air with a horrific, lingering mist of blood.
[Eleven Lives], minus five.
Sukuna's body tumbled to the side. But the very microsecond his head tilted up, Gojo's foot was already descending.
[Eleven Lives], minus six.
This time, Sukuna adapted. He sprinted in wide circles around Gojo, desperately attempting to mold Cursed Energy for a counterattack while on the run. But Gojo stuck to him like a shadow, using his inhuman leg strength to vault directly behind Sukuna. Foregoing a melee strike, Gojo simply hurled the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey] like a javelin. Like Odin's Gungnir, the staff effortlessly impaled Sukuna.
[Eleven Lives], minus seven.
Gojo was mildly surprised to see that upon his next revival, Sukuna chose to engage in a direct, head-on clash, completely abandoning his evasive tactics.
This was because Sukuna had realized Gojo's movements weren't entirely flawless. Sukuna's combat ocular tracking was peerless. In terms of pure martial arts technique, Satoru Gojo wasn't actually invincible. In the original timeline, Gojo himself admitted that if he was stripped of the Six Eyes and his Cursed Techniques, his pure hand-to-hand combat skills were incredible in terms of broad application, but lacked absolute, pinpoint refinement.
This proved that Gojo had grown accustomed to relying on overwhelming power to crush opponents, rather than relying on the absolute zenith of martial technique. His technique could be surpassed.
Sukuna seized upon this weakness, hoping to stall for more time through direct, technical clashes.
Fifteen minutes later. His head was blown off again.
[Eleven Lives], minus eight.
The gap in raw physical stats was simply too massive! Upon reviving again, Sukuna immediately abandoned head-on confrontations. Even though he could read Gojo's technical flaws, in the face of logic-defying, physics-breaking physical strikes, all martial arts techniques were utterly meaningless. Ultimately, while Sukuna's body was a biological marvel, he was still fighting as an ordinary human completely stripped of Cursed Energy. Against Satoru Gojo, who was endlessly looping Positive Energy through his system, Sukuna could only stand there and accept death!
Caught once more, Sukuna's heart was violently pierced by the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey].
[Eleven Lives], minus nine.
"SATORU GOJO!" Sukuna roared in pure, unadulterated fury. "I AM GOING TO FLAY EVERY INCH OF SKIN FROM YOUR BODY! I WILL BOIL YOUR FLESH AND ORGANS INTO STEW AND FEED IT TO THE PIGS! I WILL BUTCHER EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS AND BUILD A TOWER FROM THEIR SKULLS! I WILL DRAG YOU... INTO THE LOWEST DEPTHS OF AVICI HELL!"
Gojo didn't even bother replying. He swung the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey] in a brutal arc aimed directly at Sukuna's face.
He expected this strike to obliterate Sukuna's head just like the previous times. But a fraction of a second before impact, Sukuna's four hands blurred through hand signs. His upper mouth unleashed a guttural roar:
"Furube Yurayura..."
In the exact same microsecond, the mouth on his abdomen roared:
"—Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga!"
Incantations and hand signs executed simultaneously at maximum speed. Technique complete.
*He's summoning Mahoraga now?!* Gojo refused to give him an inch. He instantly slammed the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey] down, projecting the Purifying Chime of the Buddha.
*CLANG!*
Accompanied by the resonant bell toll, the shadow beneath Sukuna's feet naturally evaporated. There was absolutely no way Mahoraga could manifest within the [Purification] zone...
...Right?
"—!"
A massive blade suddenly erupted from Sukuna's shadow. The long, straight blade easily exceeded two meters in length. With less than a hair's breadth to spare, Gojo frantically brought the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey] up to block. Amidst the deafening screech of colliding metal, a towering, imposing figure slowly rose from the darkness behind Sukuna.
[Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga]!
The legendary Divine General that had slaughtered the previous inheritors of the Six Eyes and the Limitless had finally been summoned. The golden halo of the Purifying Chime crashed against its body, yet it had absolutely zero effect. The towering entity stood tall, resting its massive, straight-bladed greatsword upon its shoulder.
Gojo clicked his tongue, instantly understanding why the Purifying Chime had failed.
"Are you telling me... you used your own body to complete Mahoraga's adaptation? Hey, hey, that's way too much of a stretch. I've never heard of Mahoraga being used like that before."
It was indeed a method entirely unprecedented in history. In fact, in the original timeline, this was exactly why Satoru Gojo was killed by the Space-Cleaving Slash. Gojo simply did not comprehend that Mahoraga could adapt to a phenomenon *before* being summoned. He didn't even know that concept existed.
Because of that critical blind spot, the moment he obliterated Mahoraga with a single strike, Gojo had completely dropped his guard. He was entirely unprepared for Sukuna's meticulously calculated Space-Cleaving Slash, and was consequently bisected on the spot.
Only in death did he realize that Sukuna had pre-emptively started the adaptation process. And upon deeper reflection, he deduced that Sukuna hadn't even used his own soul for the adaptation; he had forced Megumi Fushiguro's soul to bear the burden. It was a multi-layered, flawlessly executed deception.
He had been completely duped by that meticulously crafted trap. And the same thing was happening right now.
Had the Limitless protecting Gojo's body not been forcibly disabled by his own [Purification], he never would have bothered bracing for Mahoraga's sudden ambush. Fortunately, because his absolute defense was deactivated, he didn't dare test the lethal potential of Mahoraga's blade with his bare flesh. He instinctively blocked it with the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey].
In the original timeline, the absolute defense of the Limitless had led to Gojo's death. Here, ironically, the *absence* of that absolute defense had saved his life.
"What a pity. I was so close to killing you. If only you had been arrogant enough to try and block my [Futsu-no-Mitama] with your own body!"
Sukuna took two steps forward, extending an open hand. Mahoraga lowered the straight-bladed greatsword. Sukuna gripped the hilt, casually resting the flat of the massive blade against his shoulder.
Gojo's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
"—The [Futsu-no-Mitama]?!"