Natsuki Riu brushed his hair back, revealing his left eye as the Mangekyō Sharingan pattern spun ominously. His gaze locked onto Sukuna's head.
Kamui!
Space began to distort as eerie spirals formed.
An overwhelming sense of death enveloped Sukuna, and his pupils contracted as he dodged with incredible speed.
CRACK!
Though he evaded in time, Sukuna's arm was gruesomely twisted off mid-motion!
Clutching his bleeding stump, Sukuna turned to Natsuki with a rare trace of fear in his expression. His spine tingled as cold sweat dripped down his back.
"Twisting space to forcibly sever parts of the body…?"
If he hadn't reacted so quickly, his head would've been torn off instead of his arm!
What a domineering ability! It felt even stronger than Sukuna's own Dismantle or Cleave!
Using a reverse cursed technique, Sukuna's severed arm regenerated, good as new.
Meanwhile, Gojo Satoru and Fushiguro Megumi witnessed the entire scene, their expressions frozen in shock.
Fushiguro swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "This… this is just unfair. He twisted Sukuna's arm off with a glance?"
"Gojo-sensei, just who is Natsuki Riu?"
Fushiguro glanced at Gojo, unable to believe that Natsuki was merely a rookie jujutsu sorcerer.
It wasn't just Natsuki's ability that stunned Fushiguro, but his calm demeanor in the face of Sukuna—a Special-Grade threat.
Gojo, on the other hand, was more concerned about Itadori's survival. If Sukuna hadn't dodged in time, Natsuki's attack might have killed Itadori outright!
Gojo rubbed his chin thoughtfully. As far as he could tell with the Six Eyes, Natsuki held no malice.
For now, that was enough.
Meanwhile, Natsuki deliberately clutched his left eye, feigning pain.
Though the Kamui intangibility didn't have much of an impact, using the offensive ability of Kamui strained his eye significantly. It left his left eye dry after a single use.
But he wasn't just pretending to be in pain for fun—it was all part of his strategy.
He knew from reading the manga that Sukuna was a master of gathering intelligence. His fight against Gojo proved just how strategic the King of Curses could be.
Seeing Natsuki's apparent struggle, Sukuna sneered. "Ah, so there's a backlash to using that ability, isn't there? If you keep using it, will you end up blind?"
Believing he had deduced Natsuki's weakness, Sukuna became more confident.
The truth was, Natsuki could use Kamui again, but now wasn't the time to reveal his full hand.
Ding! Task completed. Reward: Eight Gates of Dunjia unlocked…
The system's voice echoed in Natsuki's mind, and he couldn't help but grin.
The Eight Gates of Dunjia, a legendary technique from Naruto!
Opening the Eighth Gate, the Gate of Death, was so powerful it caused spatial distortion—nearly ending the Naruto series with a single kick!
A wave of energy surged through Natsuki's body as information about the Eight Gates filled his mind.
Heat coursed through his veins, his body brimming with newfound strength. He felt like he could crush a cursed spirit's skull with a single punch.
"Gate of Healing… OPEN!"
With a loud thud, Natsuki opened the second gate, the Gate of Healing!
Air currents swirled violently around him, his clothes flapping in the wind. The unleashed energy made the atmosphere around him boil.
With his strength and speed drastically enhanced, Natsuki took a step forward, shattering the ground beneath him.
In a flash, he appeared behind Sukuna and delivered an uppercut that sent him flying into the air.
"You're fast…"
Still disoriented mid-air, Sukuna caught a glimpse of a black shoe approaching his face.
BANG!
Sukuna's body was slammed into the ground like a meteor.
The Gate of Healing was the highest gate Natsuki could currently open without damaging his body. But for this stage of Sukuna's power, it was more than enough.
Crawling out of the crater, Sukuna burst into laughter. "Interesting! How fascinating! I didn't expect the world a thousand years later to be so lively!"
Pointing a clawed finger at Natsuki, Sukuna smirked. "I'll remember you. I look forward to our next fight."
With that, Sukuna's body collapsed, and Itadori Yuji regained control, unconscious once more.
From a distance, Fushiguro Megumi couldn't believe what he had just witnessed.
A rookie jujutsu sorcerer had just pummeled the King of Curses, even if it was only his one-finger state!
Could he have survived ten moves against Sukuna? Probably not.
He glanced at Gojo, muttering to himself, "Where on earth did Gojo-sensei find this monster?"
Gojo placed a hand on Natsuki's shoulder, grinning. "Wow, Natsuki-kun, keeping secrets from your sensei? That's not very honest of you."
It wasn't just Natsuki's abilities that surprised Gojo, but his mastery of advanced taijutsu. It was impossible to achieve such a level without rigorous training.
Perhaps Natsuki hadn't needed Gojo's help at all.
Natsuki, meanwhile, sighed. He knew there was no explaining this now. Let them come up with their own theories—it wasn't his problem.
Before leaving, Natsuki used Kamui to mark the battlefield as a waypoint.
Kamui's teleportation allowed him to travel across vast distances, provided he had marked the location beforehand.
This could prove useful for his long-term goal of establishing the "Akatsuki" organization. The marked location might serve as its base in the future.
And the reward for completing the task? The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan!
On the way back to Jujutsu High, Natsuki gazed out the bus window, admiring the moonlit night.
The world of jujutsu was as dangerous as it was fascinating. Even someone as powerful as Gojo could be defeated by Sukuna's Domain Expansion.
If Sukuna hadn't used a "loan" for that battle, the outcome might have been different.
This reminded Natsuki not to rely too heavily on his Kamui's intangibility.
No matter what, he needed to grow stronger—strong enough to stand above everyone, free from fear and control!
Looking out at the moon, Natsuki resolved to reshape this world. The tragedies in the manga would never happen. The revolving lantern would cease to exist!
Strong enough to casually say, "I don't eat beef!"
After all, this world was incredibly dangerous. Even someone as powerful as Gojo Satoru was still defeated by Sukuna's Domain Expansion in mere moments.
If Sukuna hadn't used Domain Amplification, who would've won that battle? The outcome would've been uncertain!
Thus, Natsuki Riu would never lower his guard, even with the intangibility granted by Kamui.
Perhaps even if the system hadn't assigned him the task of creating the Akatsuki Organization, he would have taken the initiative to build his own force.
The corrupt higher-ups in Jujutsu society were not worth trusting.
Now, he had gained the power of dual Kamui and the Eight Gates.
From the recent battle, it was clear: Kamui's decapitation technique worked best when catching the opponent off guard.
First, at long distances, it was hard to precisely focus on the head.
This was evident from Naruto, when Kakashi used Kamui to sever Deidara's arm. His original intent was to decapitate Deidara instantly, but the distance caused an error in judgment!
Moreover, Kamui wasn't instantaneous, giving the enemy a chance to react.
As for the Eight Gates, with his current physical limits, he could only open up to the second gate.
In the anime, Guy pushed himself too far and nearly perished by opening the Gate of Death.
At that thought, Natsuki suddenly sat upright.
If he could master an automatic reverse curse technique like Kinji Hakari's, could he potentially open all Eight Gates without harm?
The absurd self-healing ability—could it neutralize the damage caused by the Gate of Death?
Natsuki felt a surge of excitement at the possibility.
For now, though, the priority was returning to Jujutsu High and stealing their talents!
He needed to recruit at least three people to earn the system's reward.
If his memory served him correctly, the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan had many powerful abilities, including the Perfect Susanoo!
From the system's previous appearances, Natsuki had gleaned one key insight:
Interacting with Jujutsu sorcerers or participating in significant events increased the probability of triggering life-altering choices.