"Fushiguro, I'm fine. I've evacuated!"
Fushiguro looked down at his phone, reading Hayashi's message. After a moment, he smiled bitterly, "There's no way you're fine. But at least you're alive."
Seeing that Hayashi was okay, Fushiguro let out a small sigh of relief. Now, he just had to wait for Itadori to return.
Under the gloomy sky, light rain drizzled down. Fushiguro gazed toward the direction of the Juvenile Detention Center. At that moment, he felt something off.
"It's unfortunate, but he won't be coming back."
A calm voice echoed behind him, one he didn't want to hear. Fushiguro didn't flee because he knew it was impossible to escape from such a close distance. If the speaker wanted to kill him, it would be over in an instant.
Sukuna glanced at Fushiguro, who was standing still, and walked a few steps forward. "I'm in a good mood right now, so let's talk. This is the price for him using me so recklessly. He must've run into some trouble and can't switch me back."
"But that's only a matter of time." Sukuna raised his hands and ripped off his shirt, revealing his muscular body and the black tattoos across his skin. "So, what should I do now?"
Fushiguro's face paled as he watched Sukuna's hand plunge into his own chest, pulling out Itadori's heart. Blood gushed out, mixing with the rain on the ground.
Sukuna dangled Itadori's heart in his hand and grinned, "I'll use the brat as a hostage."
"Hostage?"
"That's right. I can live without this, but the brat can't." Sukuna casually tossed Itadori's heart onto the rain-soaked ground like it was trash. "If he switches me back, he'll die. And then, I'll finish him off."
Sukuna pulled out the cursed finger from the Cursed Womb's body and swallowed it whole.
"It was Sukuna's finger? Did that special-grade curse absorb it?" Fushiguro's initial panic subsided, but his alertness only heightened.
"Well then, I'm finally free. Now you can start being afraid. I'll kill you, just because." Sukuna spread his sharp fingers, the black claws on them looking terrifying.
"It's just like back then, except the roles are reversed." Fushiguro murmured to himself, a memory flashing through his mind—a beautiful woman lying with her eyes closed on a bed. "The only thing that exists equally in this world is unfair reality."
Sukuna stared blankly at Fushiguro's self-talk. After snapping out of it, Fushiguro took a fighting stance, focusing his gaze on Sukuna. "You don't understand, do you? Itadori will come back. Even if it means death, he'll return. That's just the kind of person he is."
"You're overestimating him. He's just a little tougher and slower than the average person. He was trembling with fear, talking big while terrified of death," Sukuna said, wiping the blood from his mouth with a smile. "I'm certain he doesn't have the guts to die."
Fushiguro didn't pay attention to Sukuna's words. He knew Itadori didn't need to be judged by him. Instead, he was focused on Sukuna's physical state. "His hand is healed. He can use Reverse Cursed Technique for healing. Sukuna is fully in control. Even without a heart, he's still a threat. I have to make him think that without a heart, he can't beat me before Itadori comes back."
"Can I do it?" Fushiguro suppressed his nervousness and anxiety. "I couldn't even move against that special-grade curse. It's not about 'can I,' it's about 'I have to.'"
"Nue!"
From the shadow behind Fushiguro, a massive brown bird emerged. It had a human-like face, resembling an owl in some ways.
"Since we're outside, I'll let loose," Sukuna said, stretching lazily, his hands still in his pockets as he watched Fushiguro charge at him.
Fushiguro launched punches at Sukuna, but Sukuna casually dodged them like he was taking a leisurely stroll.
"Interesting. You're attacking yourself even though you're using Shikigami?"
At that moment, Nue swooped down, attacking Sukuna alongside Fushiguro. But just like before, they couldn't land a hit.
"Come on, that's not enough. Not nearly enough! Show me more of your cursed energy!" Sukuna grabbed Fushiguro's hand, pulling him closer, and kicked him away.
Blood trickled from Fushiguro's mouth as he crashed to the ground. He quickly formed hand seals again. "Great Serpent!"
A massive white snake with black stripes emerged from the shadow and lunged at Sukuna, biting into him and lifting him into the air.
"All together!" Fushiguro knew that relying on the snake's strength alone wasn't enough. They had to attack together if they wanted a chance at victory.
Nue had been waiting in the sky for an opportunity. As the snake carried Sukuna upward, Nue's wings crackled with electricity as it swooped down onto Sukuna.
They attacked back and forth four or five times, but Sukuna remained unharmed, growing more excited instead. The next moment, the snake's head exploded, its body blown apart.
Sukuna landed behind Fushiguro and grabbed him by the back of his shirt, tossing him into the distance. "I told you, didn't I? Let loose!"
Fushiguro flew through the air, the scenery around him blurring as he flew far. "Just how strong is his throw?"
Before he could think further, Sukuna caught up to him mid-air and kicked him in the stomach. Fushiguro spat out blood as he crashed down onto a rooftop, bouncing across it like a ragdoll.
Before he could land, Sukuna appeared in front of him again, punching him through one building and out the other side.
Nue caught Fushiguro in mid-air, carrying him away to safety.
"Ugh..." Fushiguro's face was covered in blood, with droplets falling from his mouth as his vision blurred. "It's not a matter of cursed energy. The difference in strength and speed is overwhelming."
"Your technique's not bad," Sukuna's voice rang in Fushiguro's ears, as if right beside him. Sukuna clasped his hands together and smashed them down onto Nue.
Boom!
Nue and Fushiguro crashed through the walls and floor, finally hitting the ground.
Despite being injured, Nue shielded Fushiguro with its wing, though it was clearly near its limit.
"What should I do? I've already used all my Shikigami to break through the Domain. Nue and Great Serpent were both destroyed, and even Nue has reached its limit. I should dispel it before it's destroyed," Fushiguro thought as he placed his hand on Nue's fluffy head. The Shikigami disappeared in a puff of smoke.