The air had stopped pretending this was a normal fight.
Every exchange now bent reality just a little further out of shape than it should have been able to survive.
Sukuna stood in Takeru's real body—steady, blood still at the nose, expression sharpened into something far more focused than before.
Across from him, Takeru's manifested form tilted its head slightly.
And then—
he smiled.
Slowly.
Almost kindly.
"…Oh silly Sukuna…"
A pause.
The cursed energy in the space tightened.
"…You forgot one variable here."
Yuji's eyes widened instantly.
"…What does he mean—"
Takeru lifted his head slightly.
Calm.
Certain.
"…I'm in a manifested body."
"…Not a real one."
Megumi's eyes narrowed sharply.
"…That's not a limitation…"
Nobara:
"…That sounds like a BAD THING."
Gojo didn't speak immediately.
His expression had changed again.
Less surprise now.
More concern.
"…Oh."
A quiet pause.
"…He optimized separation."
And then—
it happened.
Takeru's cursed energy split outward.
Not into clones.
Not into illusions.
But into functional limbs of execution.
Two arms became four.
Four became six.
Three on each side.
Balanced.
Controlled.
Perfectly distributed cursed output channels.
Yuji stepped back.
"…He has SIX ARMS NOW?!"
Nobara screamed.
"…WHY DOES HE GET MORE ARMS?!"
Megumi's voice was low.
"…That's more than Heian Sukuna…"
Gojo muttered under his breath.
"…Yeah, that's not great."
Inside Takeru's manifested body—
his six arms moved independently.
But not chaotically.
Like a single mind running multiple combat threads.
"…Now."
Two arms snapped forward instantly.
BLACK FLASH.
BLACK FLASH.
Each punch detonated against Sukuna's guard inside Takeru's real body.
No pause.
No recovery window.
Yuji's voice cracked.
"…That's too fast…"
Nobara:
"…THAT'S NOT EVEN FAIR ANYMORE!"
Sukuna shifted his stance, adjusting—
but before he could fully stabilize—
Takeru moved again.
His legs wrapped around Sukuna's waist—
locking him in place.
Yuji froze.
"…WAIT WHAT—"
Megumi blinked.
"…He's grappling him?"
Gojo's expression tilted slightly.
"…That's… actually smart."
A pause.
"…And also kind of insane."
Sukuna clicked his tongue.
"…Tch."
And then—
Takeru's remaining four arms activated.
One:
Hollow Purple.
One:
Idle Death Gamble output spike—"Gamble" compression state.
One:
Ten Shadows cursed energy projection surged outward—
shadow constructs erupting mid-air.
And one—
a shadow ripple formed behind Sukuna's position.
Yuji's eyes widened instantly.
"…Is that—"
Megumi whispered.
"…Mahoraga."
From behind Sukuna—
a partial adaptation projection struck forward.
Not full manifestation.
But enough to interfere with reaction timing.
Sukuna's expression finally changed.
Slight.
But real.
"…You're layering outputs…"
Takeru leaned forward slightly.
Still smiling.
Still calm.
"…Correct."
And then—
all six arms moved at once.
BLACK FLASH. BLACK FLASH. BLACK FLASH. BLACK FLASH.
The air detonated repeatedly.
Sukuna was forced backward for the first time in a sustained chain.
Yuji whispered.
"…He's… overwhelming him…"
Nobara:
"…That's Sukuna… being pushed back…"
Megumi's voice was tight.
"…This isn't power scaling."
"…This is resource saturation."
Gojo finally spoke again.
But quieter than before.
"…Sukuna's not scared."
A pause.
"…But he's definitely adjusting his expectations downward."
Inside the chaos—
Sukuna's eyes narrowed.
Now fully serious.
No amusement left.
No curiosity.
Just calculation.
"…So that's your structure."
Takeru didn't respond.
Six arms kept moving.
Six channels of destruction kept cycling.
Sukuna exhaled slowly inside Takeru's body.
"…You've turned yourself into a machine."
Takeru answered calmly.
"…No."
A pause.
Then—
slightly sharper.
"…I turned myself into a system that cannot be overloaded."
Silence.
Sukuna's expression tightened again.
Just slightly.
And for the first time in this entire fight—
there was something in him that wasn't confidence.
Not fear.
Not panic.
But recognition of a variable he could not easily reduce.
"…Troublesome."
Gojo narrowed his eyes.
"…That's the first time he's said that."
Yuji whispered.
"…Is Sukuna actually…"
Nobara didn't finish the sentence.
She couldn't.
Because Takeru's six arms were still moving.
And Sukuna—
for the first time—
was no longer dictating the pace of anything.