Cursed Womb: Finger Bearer, merely unleashed cursed energy release, which formed a powerful wave of cursed energy. The orange-yellow energy surged out in all directions, heading straight for Itadori Yuji.
Itadori gritted his teeth, extending both arms in front of him, straining to hold his ground and not collapse.
Under the immense pressure of the cursed energy, the fingers on his remaining hand began to crack and disintegrate. The excruciating pain made Yuji grit his teeth even harder, tears of pain and frustration welling up in his eyes.
"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts… it's unbearable, unbearable, unbearable..." Yuji's mind was in turmoil, enduring this agony. "Why am I... If only I hadn't taken that finger, hadn't eaten it, back then... back then... Stop it! Stop thinking!"
"No, no... I just want to run away, I want to run away, I don't want to die..." Yuji's mind was filled with memories, but his heart was filled with the deep resentment of his crumbling hands. "If I die here, if I die here... does this count as a 'righteous death'?"
"AAAAHH!!!" Yuji let out a loud roar, and with the Finger Bearer's cursed energy attack, the bricks beneath him flew up, following Yuji as he was flung through the air.
"Am I really this weak?" As Yuji was sent flying, his grandfather's words echoed in his mind. But he was too weak; he couldn't save anyone. He couldn't even save himself.
The Finger Bearer, having finished releasing its cursed energy, slowly walked towards Yuji, amusement evident in its eyes. It was clear that it considered the human before it a mere toy, one it could crush at any time.
The question was, how much entertainment could it extract from its prey before the inevitable death?
Yuji collapsed on the ground, his back against a hard wall, which now had a large hole in it from the impact.
"I was too arrogant. I thought I was strong, strong enough to choose my own death. But no." Yuji raised his right hand, now left with only a thumb, as the other fingers had crumbled under the cursed energy's force. "I'm too weak, pathetically weak... I don't want to die... No, I don't..."
Yuji, trembling, slowly stood up, pressing his broken hands against his face. "But... I still have to die!"
In this short span of time, Yuji's thoughts flashed to Gojo Satoru, to Principal Yaga Masamichi, and to Hayashi.
"Curses are born from humanity's negative emotions. So... hatred, fear, regret... gather it all, and release it with this punch!"
Yuji clenched his right hand into a fist. A surge of red energy enveloped it as he fixed his gaze on the still-laughing Cursed Womb: Finger Bearer, and charged at it.
This punch carried with it too many emotions, too much meaning. Yuji felt an overwhelming surge of power in that moment, as he swung his fist towards the Cursed Womb's face.
Smack!
The Cursed Womb didn't move an inch. It casually caught Yuji's fist with one hand, as if telling him that his attack was utterly useless.
"Damn it!" Yuji immediately felt hopeless—there was too great a gap in their power.
"Howl~~~"
"Howl~~~"
"That howl..." Yuji's eyes suddenly lit up, and a smile crept onto his lips. "That's Fushiguro's signal!"
At that moment, Yuji's entire aura shifted. Black markings appeared on his face.
The Cursed Womb, which had just been mocking Yuji, immediately let go of his hand and took several steps back.
It could clearly sense that the human before it had undergone a complete transformation—not just in appearance, but in essence.
"This brat is really irritating, thinking so little of me." Sukuna's voice came from Yuji's mouth. Yuji had been fully possessed by Sukuna, and only Sukuna could fight the Cursed Womb on equal footing.
Sukuna glanced at the dumbfounded Cursed Womb, who didn't dare to move. As he passed by it, he patted its shoulder. "Wait a moment, I'm thinking."
"I'm thinking of how to make that brat regret." Sukuna's tone was calm, but the Cursed Womb, with Sukuna's hand on its shoulder, was far from calm.
The arrogance it had displayed earlier was completely gone. With Sukuna's hand on its shoulder, the Cursed Womb could feel an overwhelming sense of danger and power.
But Sukuna wasn't paying attention to it. He was focused on his own thoughts: "Before I catch up to them, the brat will suppress me. So, the best way to annoy him... is to leave him with this situation. Watch as all your efforts go to waste."
He was referring to Fushiguro and Hayashi. If he killed Fushiguro and Hayashi, Yuji would force him back. So the best thing to do was to keep the Cursed Womb around, knowing how much Yuji hated it.
"Hey, let's go kill those kids." Sukuna patted the Cursed Womb's shoulder again, then turned his back on it and began walking away.
As soon as Sukuna's hand left its shoulder, the Cursed Womb jumped back, retreating as quickly as it could.
"Follow me," Sukuna said, raising his hand. In an instant, Yuji's severed fingers were fully healed. Sukuna beckoned for the Cursed Womb to follow.
The Cursed Womb, though shaken, couldn't stand the humiliation any longer. Its pride as a special-grade curse refused to accept this level of disrespect.
With a mix of nervousness and anger, the Cursed Womb gathered orange-yellow cursed energy between its palms. When the energy reached a critical level, it thrust its hand forward, sending a terrifying blast of energy directly toward Sukuna.
"Idiot!" Sukuna scoffed, raising the severed hand as it fully restored, and with a casual wave, deflected the incoming cursed energy attack.
The attack, which would have shattered Yuji's arms, had no effect on Sukuna. Aside from kicking up some dust, it did nothing of substance.
Then Sukuna realized something. "Oops, I accidentally healed his hand too."
"Huh?" The Cursed Womb couldn't believe what it was seeing. That attack should have killed its target. How had it been blocked so easily? It was stunned.
"Don't like walking, huh?" Sukuna wasn't angry at the Cursed Womb's attack. "Makes sense. Curses don't stray far from where they were born. Fine, then."
Sukuna smiled, and in an instant, appeared right in front of the Cursed Womb. He placed his hand on its face. "Die right here."
Boom!
The Cursed Womb was slammed into the ground by Sukuna's hand, half its body buried deep into the ground from the force of the blow.
"What's wrong?" Sukuna leaned down, hands in his pockets, looking curiously at the Cursed Womb. "Could it be you're dead already?"