Flashback.

"And to think that you would develop your own innate domain..."

In the middle of a snow-covered forest, an incessant snowstorm dominated the surroundings.

In the middle of what should have been a clearing, now taken over by the blizzard, a Gojo Satoru was standing, his head turning from side to side as he seemed quite curious about his surroundings.

"That's extraordinary, Yuji."

Gojo spoke with great sincerity in his voice, his head turning downwards so that he could see his own hands.

"I feel that my induction of cursed energy has decreased significantly, so is that the effect of your domain?"

Feeling his ability to emit cursed energy reduced, Gojo noticed with a small smile. He still didn't know how Itadori's domain worked, but this effect alone was quite impressive.

He felt that his ability to use cursed energy had been reduced by at least 30%, and it didn't seem to be something that could be circumvented, since it wasn't really a guaranteed hit.

It was certainly something to be praised.

"I really can't say."

Emerging from the blizzard, Itadori stopped in front of his teacher, his arms crossed as he looked around as curious as Gojo.

"I thought that some kind of information would pop into my head, but that's not the case. I'm as lost as you are, sensei."

Satoru scratched his chin thoughtfully. An Innate Technique was something imprinted on the body from birth and manifested at a young age. A person should have, even if only a little, a sense of how their technique works from the moment it manifests itself.

But that didn't seem to be the case with Itadori, who, strangely enough, had manifested his innate technique at the age of 15.

"Don't worry about it. The information will be burned into your body over time, but until then, I have new training for you!"

Gojo cracked a smile, which made Itadori wince a little.

"You're going to practice your domain until you understand how it works!"

*Break

But, surprising them both, the barrier crumbled as Gojo finished speaking, Itadori falling to his knees as sweat poured down his face.

"Shit, that uses up too much cursed energy."

Gojo observed this in silence, before finally saying. "You can hold it for 30 seconds... That's good, it'll be more than enough!"

"Uh?!"

.

When the domains expanded, a conflict between the territories soon broke out.

Hanami couldn't allow Itadori to overpower her. She understood well that, at that point, she would certainly be exorcised if she lost the fight.

The dispute between domains, even more so when there was a difference between them, didn't take long. The more refined domain would quickly devour the other's barrier.

And at that moment, the most refined domain was certainly Hanami's.

But there were a few factors that made the winner of that contest indefinite.

Hanami had taken too much damage during her fight against the two sorcerers. That alone shouldn't have diminished the curse's cursed energy output to the point where she lost to such an inexperienced boy.

But the boy's punches were different. She felt her energy weaken with each successful Black Flash.

She certainly hadn't expected that either of them would be able to use a domain expansion, and unfortunately, she would have to pay for her carelessness.

'I'm...'

Hanami, feeling the dispute approaching its end, thought with clear fear.

'Am I being defeated?!'

If it had been a day earlier, Itadori wouldn't have had a hope in hell of beating Hanami, especially in a domination match.

But thanks to the Black Flash, and his body operating at 120% of its maximum potential, he felt more than capable of it.

Stolen story; please report.

His production of cursed energy was greater than ever, and he felt in harmony with it like never before.

Even after Gojo's training, he still didn't have the confidence to expand his domain freely, at least not when facing a special grade of curse.

But thanks to his new understanding of cursed energy, he no longer feared it.

He was able to exorcise Hanami.

!

Feeling her grip falter, Hanami was shocked when she felt her barrier being shattered, darkness covering her for a moment, before she found herself in the middle of a heavy snowfall that threatened to engulf her at any moment.

She had lost.

'What is it?' she asked as she felt her cursed energy weaken, her teeth clenching as she looked around in awe. 'I just need to survive, he certainly won't be able to keep his hold for long.'

!

But as the curse took position, his mouth dropped open as a fist smashed into his stomach, his body flying through the forest like a bullet.

"Hey, plant head."

Hanami, who was struggling to get up at this point, turned to Itadori while spitting blood. 'That punch was stronger than any other.

"It's time for the hunt."

Itadori, letting the cursed energy flow from his fists to the ground, slowly began to approach the curse, his gaze emitting an orange glow that made him quite menacing in the midst of the storm.

'I...' Hanami, who had struggled to recover from that injury, clenched her teeth as she stepped back.

Boom!

But just as the curse was about to retreat quickly, she was shocked when Itadori swept the distance between them in the blink of an eye, his arms rising to block a powerful kick that sent her backwards.

"My expansion of dominance turns the entire environment around me into my hunting ground."

Hanami, feeling her arms break, immediately concentrated on healing them, her head turning as the boy suddenly began to speak.

"There are some effects I should mention to you."

Itadori raised his hand and showed his index finger.

"First, there is a reduction in the cursed energy output of the target I select. The percentage will depend on how weakened the target is."

"And secondly..."

Boom!

Hanami choked as his solar plexus was hit by a powerful punch, black electricity exploding from the attack as Itadori retracted his fist with a hardened expression.

"During my hunt, my cursed energy production and physical attributes improve gradually, which means..."

Holding Hanami by the wrist, Itadori hit her with three consecutive punches, before knocking her away with an elbow to the chest.

"The longer this hunt goes on, the stronger I'll become."

Itadori watched Hanami spit blood with little expression, her imposing body towering over the curse, even though she was considerably taller than him.

"Why are you telling me this?" Hanami, keeping a tight grip on her chest, asked as she struggled to stand. She sensed that in addition to the absurd strength behind the boy's attacks, there was something else, which seemed to be weakening his cursed energy more and more. She felt she needed to buy as much time as possible.

But Itadori realized the intent of the curse, his fist exploding towards her and hitting her defense hard enough to send her flying into some trees.

"It makes the strengthening process a little quicker."

Hanami stood up from the pieces of wood with clenched teeth, blood dripping down her chin as she quickly reset her arms.

"Foolish child!" Curse cursed, his hand opening as a wooden ball formed.

But as she prepared to advance, Itadori covered the distance, the curse sending the wooden ball exploding into thorns.

"Even if you've weakened my cursed energy..."

Itadori blocked the thorns with ease, quickly punching them away to continue his advance.

!

But the moment he took it out of his field of vision, his eyes widened as he noticed the glow of the flower on Hanami's shoulder increase.

"It doesn't mean that the energy from the plants I converted was too!"

Itadori gritted his teeth and immediately raised his defense as he retreated.

"At this distance, I won't go wrong!"

The curse reverberated, the cursed energy concentrated in the flower becoming chaotic for a moment, before being completely released in a strong burst of energy that advanced towards the boy.

"Die, Jujutsu Sorcerer!"

Boom!

The attack hit hard, the smoke rising and spreading throughout the site, before being quickly dissipated by the strong winds of the blizzard.

Hanami's chest rose and fell intensely, an indication of her exhausted state.

'His domain hasn't fallen apart, but he's certainly weaker after this attack. I can defeat him and run away straight away!

But as the curse prepared to continue its attack, in order to end it while the boy was supposed to be bewildered by the attack, she froze when the ground suddenly shook.

'What was that?

The curse felt the atmosphere shake once again, and turning quickly, she conjured up three wooden balls that floated around her.

'That pressure...' The curse felt fear run through her body, her mouth opening and closing as she looked around cautiously. 'Where is it coming from?

!

Hanami, stopping when a shadow hovered over her body, slowly turned to see a huge figure towering over her.

'A giant wolf?

Curse questioned fearfully, and quickly threw his wooden balls towards the wolf, surprised when the creature just swallowed the attacks as if they were nothing.

'That creature is dangerous!

Hanami realized and jumped back, but again, she was taken by surprise when the wolf lunged forward in a frightening display of speed, her teeth clenching as she pushed its body aside.

But her dodging proved to be too slow when the wolf bit past her, her right arm being torn off in one fell swoop.

"Fucking animal-"

The curse, holding the site of the bite which was now gushing blood, tried to heal him as quickly as possible.

"Black..."

But while she was concentrating on the animal, Hanami didn't notice when an Itadori with cuts all over its body emerged from the snow behind her, its head turning just in time to see Sukuna's receptacle sketching a huge toothy grin.

"Flash!"

The punch hit hard, and black lightning flew all over the place, the curse flying away as the domain suddenly shattered.

"Shit..."

Itadori felt his legs weaken, his eyes half open as blood oozed from his wounds.

"I faltered."

He grumbled, the cursed energy in his body weakening as he watched the curse collide with some dead trees.

"Two minutes, that's a new record." He smiled to himself, and taking a deep breath, he concentrated on the curse, which was rising from the wreckage with difficulty.

"Brother!" Todo, who had escaped the collision of domains moments before the barriers expanded, approached Itadori with concern. "Are you all right?"

Seeing the state of his best friend, who had wounds all over his body, he couldn't help but worry.

"The curse hit me precisely, but most of the injuries are superficial. In comparison, she's much worse off than I am." Itadori explained. "I'm more exhausted by the expenditure of cursed energy than injured."

"That's good, great job!" All praise for the boy, a proud smile on his lips. "Now, leave that to your best friend!"

!

Todo snapped his fingers, and about to advance against the bruised curse, he stopped when the barrier around the forest finally broke down.

"Oh, looks like the party's over!"

Gojo Satoru had arrived for the battle.