"I'm sorry about that."

Itadori frowned as the new figure apologized. The man dressed strangely, and though Itadori wasn't one to judge others by appearance, he couldn't help but notice how peculiarly he was dressed.

"Our goal doesn't involve eliminating Jujutsu sorcerers; we just want to retrieve Sukuna's fingers, but... I fear that might be your goal too."

Itadori spat out a bit of blood collecting in his mouth, a small smile forming on his lips as he turned to the man.

"Well, I can't say that's a lie."

"Darn, this blood burns," Itadori growled as the blood covering his body began to sting his skin, his eyes narrowing. "Poison, perhaps? Well, it won't have any effect anyway."

As Sukuna's vessel, Itadori was immune to any kind of toxin. Whether the blood was poisonous or not mattered little.

If there's only pain, Itadori can keep fighting until the end.

"He's strong, big bro," Echizu commented, earning a nod of acknowledgment from Eso.

"I apologize for the lack of honor, but you're dangerous," Eso stepped forward, the curse by his side grinning toothily as cursed energy flowed from his hands. "Let's join forces to defeat him."

Itadori smiled proudly, his fist clenching as he anticipated, assuming a defensive stance.

"Hey, you're just feeding my ego with that."

But as the three enemies seemed about to begin the battle, Itadori discreetly grabbed his phone, and without even looking, he used his muscle memory to send a message to his group with Megumi and Nobara.

!

But while he was still typing, he had to leap backward as Echizu lunged at him, trying to spit blood on him again.

"We won't let you call for help!"

But as he believed he had evaded the attack, he gritted his teeth when he blocked a kick from Eso, who closed the distance quickly.

Itadori, taking advantage of the short distance, immediately moved forward to attack, but a burst of cursed energy pushed him back.

'They're attacking in an orderly manner.'

Jumping when a wave of blood threatened to engulf him, Itadori landed with both feet on Echizu's head, crushing him to the ground.

"Big bro!"

And seeing him call for his brother, Itadori lifted his head to see Eso already in front of him, about to kick him.

'But still, they're not in sync!'

Grabbing the man by the neck, Itadori hit him with a precise punch to his chest, Eso spitting blood as he was pushed away.

And seizing this moment, Itadori raised his foot to stomp on Echizu.

Boom!

But before he could complete the move, an explosion of cursed energy flew towards him, forcing him to raise his arms to block it.

"Kekeke!"

A curtain of dust rose, but as the curse laughed, its smile vanished when it noticed a movement beside it, its vision taken by a blue glow advancing towards it like a bullet.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"Ke?"

The curse's stomach was crushed by a fist, Itadori flashing an excited smile as he sent the enemy flying through the cave.

"Next."

With cursed energy flowing from his fists, the boy turned with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Eso watched the boy cautiously, his eyes narrowing when he realized the sorcerer was even more dangerous than he believed.

'His fighting instinct is high; I can't hold back, or my brother and I might end up dead.'

"You're truly impressive, kid," Eso praised, his face taking on an irritated expression as his body contorted. "I fear we won't be holding back."

Itadori widened his eyes as wings of blood suddenly sprouted from the man's back, his fists rising as he took a few steps back.

"Death brought by the wasp! King of Wings!"

!

Itadori felt the danger emanating from the enemy, his instincts screaming for him to move away, which he quickly obeyed, running towards some pillars in the cave.

And as the blood suddenly pierced through the pillar, narrowly missing his face, he realized his instincts were correct.

'Piercing blood? Damn, now I remember.'

Acrobatically dodging numerous jets of blood threatening to pierce him, Itadori continued to move through the cave.

'These are Choso's brothers!'

Throwing his head back when a jet of blood grazed his face, he quickly moved behind a pillar.

"We're in an enclosed environment! You can't escape forever!"

"I know that, Captain Obvious."

Itadori growled, ducking as a jet passed over his body.

"That's why I'm not just running away."

Eso, who was about to send more jets of blood, was surprised when the pillar the boy was hiding behind flew towards him, quickly using the blood to destroy it.

"I'm getting closer!"

Eso widened his eyes when he realized the boy was already in front of him, and gritting his teeth, he raised his defense to block a punch.

Boom!

But the force behind the attack was too much to defend against, his body colliding with a cave wall and causing some chunks of earth to fall onto his body.

"I'll help you, big bro!"

Echizu, seeing his brother being attacked, appeared on Itadori's back intending to bite him.

"Ugh!"

But a kick to his stomach stopped him, his body flying backward as he vomited blood all over the ground.

"Damn, this blood hurts too much," Itadori shook his foot, his head turning to find Eso already getting up. "Well, you held your ground in the end."

"You hurt my brother, kid," Eso wiped the blood from his lips and opened a disdainful smile. "You think you'll get away with it?"

"Yes," Itadori was not intimidated by the man's posture. At this point, he had the advantage.

"Haha... You feel like you're in control, don't you?" Eso's smile widened, but this was not simply due to his pure confidence in victory. "Well, think again!"

!

Itadori, surprised by the man's confidence, turned when he noticed movement in his peripheral vision, his defense instinctively rising in time to block a fist charged with cursed energy.

"Kekeke!"

"Still standing, huh!"

Receiving a punch to the chin, the curse staggered to the side, Itadori advancing towards it with cursed energy dancing around his fist.

"Not so fast!"

But before he could reach it, his eyes widened as numerous jets of blood appeared in front of him, one of them hitting the side of his face while the others struck his body.

Itadori groaned as he felt some of the attacks lightly pierce his flesh, but that was far from the biggest problem.

Because before him, the curse wore a huge toothy smile, cursed energy accumulating chaotically in its hands.

He realized he would be unable to dodge this attack.

Boom!

An explosion of cursed energy engulfed the boy's body, smashing him against the cave wall and making it tremble like an earthquake.

Smoke emanated from his body, parts of his clothes burnt, while he had some new wounds on his body.

"You think it's over, kid?"

But as he breathed tiredly, his ears caught Eso's voice, his attention returning to the man who watched him with a victorious smile.

"Supreme Rot Technique: Decadence."

Itadori was surprised as he felt his body paralyzed, marks with a floral pattern appearing all over his body, indicating the activation of the technique.

"Ha..." But as the paralysis vanished faster than it appeared, Itadori smiled disdainfully, Eso seeing this and furrowing his brow in irritation.

"What are you laughing at, kid?"

Ignoring him, Itadori lowered his head as he looked at his hands, some burn marks on his skin.

"Damn, I acted without thinking, and almost died because of it."

Itadori took a deep breath, his smile widening as he raised his head to face Eso and the curse, cursed energy bursting from his body in a way that made both enemies take a step back.

"But screw it, I just have to get stronger next time."

Clasping his hands together in a simple, thoughtless gesture, he let his cursed energy spread throughout the cave.

"This fight is too disadvantageous for me! Let's even the odds!"

Eso felt sweat dripping down his forehead, a sense of urgency overtaking him and causing him to send numerous jets of blood toward the boy.

"DOMAIN EXPANSION..."

As the barrier expanded, the jets of blood dissipated in their trajectory, Eso freezing as the cold front hit his skin, a heavy snowstorm appearing in front of his eyes, while his feet were engulfed by the snow.

"HUNTING TERRITORY!"

*Howl