Becoming Sukuna

Bang!

As the fist connected, the cursed spirit's head exploded, and its body collapsed powerlessly.

"That should be the last one," Yukino Yukinoshita muttered, catching her breath as she straightened up and surveyed the now-ravaged cafeteria.

With the cafeteria clear of curses, it was time to head to the second floor.

"Current points: 23400"

"Excellent, excellent! Keep up the good work, woman. This vessel's getting hungry," Sukuna chuckled, his tone a mixture of amusement and disdain. He was clearly enjoying the carnage, but Yukino was just a means to an end—a way to satiate his desire for destruction.

"Are you thinking something incredibly rude, Sukuna?" Yukino glared, not bothering to hide her annoyance. His arrogant demeanor and predatory gaze set her on edge.

"Why would you think that? Don't you trust your esteemed king?" Sukuna scoffed, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Trust you? You're a curse, a parasite! Hardly someone deserving of trust," Yukino retorted, her voice laced with both defiance and a hint of fear.

"You're right."

He couldn't refute it; in his current state, he was indeed not entirely human.

Yukino Yukinoshita, having finally gained the upper hand in her verbal sparring with Sukuna, appeared exceptionally pleased. A smile played on her lips as she ascended the staircase near the cafeteria, her steps noticeably lighter.

According to the floor plan on the first floor, the second floor housed classrooms and a multi-purpose hall. Who knew how many cursed spirits lurked there?

After the exhilarating battles on the first floor, Yukino had a clear grasp of her own strength, and her confidence had grown considerably.

Hachiman Hikigaya, depleted of cursed energy, was kindly kept by Satoru Gojo's side to avoid hindering Yukino's fight.

However, unlike the swarms of low-level cursed spirits on the first floor, as soon as Yukino reached the second floor, she saw a slender, motionless black shadow standing in the middle of the corridor.

"Only one?" Yukino took a fighting stance, her fists enveloped in a layer of blue cursed energy.

She didn't rush to attack. This cursed spirit felt different from the small fry downstairs. The cursed energy emanating from the shadow spoke for itself.

It was on a completely different level.

"The weaker the cursed spirit, the more they need to huddle together. The opposite also holds true," Sukuna's voice reminded her. "Be careful; this opponent is not like the ones before."

"I know."

Yukino's expression turned serious as she cautiously watched the stationary shadow.

The elongated shadow seemed to finally notice her presence. Its bamboo-like figure swayed, and a multitude of bloodshot eyeballs suddenly popped up on its shadowy body. After darting around, all the eyes focused on Yukino in unison.

The sight was truly chilling. Disgust flickered across Yukino's face, and she instinctively took a step back.

"Mommy... Daddy... Don't leave... me..."

Despite its eerie appearance, a child's voice emerged.

"Don't leave... Ah... Ah? AHHH!!!"

The faltering voice abruptly stopped, followed by a sharp shriek. Invisible sound waves rippled outward, shattering the windows in the hallway. Yukino hurriedly covered her ears, but the shockwave still left her head spinning and ears ringing.

The shadow's body began to writhe grotesquely, bubbling like boiling water. Its slender form rapidly expanded, soon reaching the ceiling. But the cursed spirit's growth didn't stop there. The ceiling groaned under the pressure, cracks spider-webbing across its surface.

The entire building started to shake violently, the cracks extending towards Yukino. Debris rained down from above.

"Hey, what's happening in there?" Hachiman Hikigaya, feeling the intense tremors beneath his feet, turned to the tall man beside him.

"It's out," Satoru Gojo said with a relaxed smile.

"What's out?"

Hachiman was bewildered. Wasn't this guy being a bit too calm?

"A Grade 2 cursed spirit... no, perhaps a quasi-Grade 1," Gojo's lips curled into a slight smirk.

"Isn't that bad!?"

Boom!

A tremendous explosion erupted. Hachiman gripped the railing and peered down. A giant black hand had smashed a hole through the wall. Amidst the flying debris, a figure burst through the smoke and dust, ejected from the second floor:

"Yukino!?"

The shadow cursed spirit swung its massive hand, large enough to fill the entire corridor. Unable to dodge, Yukino raised her arms to block, only to be swatted away like a fly. She crashed heavily onto the ground outside, rolling once before her feet touched the ground. She skidded for a distance before finally coming to a halt.

Blood trickled from her ears, and her Sobu High uniform was ripped and covered in dust. She glanced at the several cuts on her legs beneath her skirt.

"It really would have been better to wear the gym uniform. Remind me next time, before a fight."

On the rooftop, Hachiman heaved a sigh of relief as he saw Yukino stand up again. Then he remembered Sukuna; with him around, Yukino wouldn't be in any real danger.

"It's alright. Cursed energy strengthens the body. Jujutsu sorcerers are quite durable," Gojo said, placing a hand on Hachiman's back. "We should get out of here, too."

"Huh?"

A sudden suction force pulled at his back, and Hachiman found himself floating, plastered against Gojo's hand as if held by a powerful vacuum.

Gojo swiftly retreated from the rooftop with Hachiman in tow.

Barely a second later, a massive hole erupted in the roof. The shadow cursed spirit's gigantic body squeezed through the shattered ceiling.

"That's terrifying. And this is just a quasi-Grade 1?"

Hachiman, securely held in Gojo's grasp, looked back at the monstrous form of the cursed spirit with lingering fear.

"Size doesn't always equate to strength. Don't misjudge an opponent based on their appearance," Gojo offered a kind reminder.

They landed gracefully on the ground, and Gojo released Hachiman.

"Speaking of which, aren't you going to help, Gojo-sensei?" Hachiman asked.

"Of course not," Gojo chuckled. "My mission is to monitor Sukuna. Besides, that girl doesn't need my help."

Monitor Sukuna? Why? Weren't they partners?

Questions piled up in Hachiman's mind, but he knew this wasn't the right time to ask. He fell silent, shifting his attention back to the battle between Yukino and the cursed spirit.

Anyway, with Sukuna on Yukino's side, if she couldn't defeat the shadow cursed spirit, he would surely step in and finish it off swiftly.

He didn't need to worry about Yukino.

Reassured by this thought, Hachiman relaxed and focused on observing the fight.

However, the white-haired man beside him displayed a sudden shift in demeanor.

Staring at a message from the higher-ups on his phone, Gojo's eyes widened in alarm. He then looked up sharply towards Yukino.

A special grade cursed object, one of Sukuna's fingers, was missing!

Was it Sukuna's doing? No, impossible. He was right here under his surveillance. And the missing finger was the one in Sendai City. There was no way Sukuna, residing within Yukino, could have slipped away to Sendai from Chiba with him watching.

Unless... the higher-ups had only just learned about the missing finger. There was a time lag in the information. Sukuna would have had ample time to act… But how would he know the finger's location?

In an instant, a torrent of questions and possibilities flooded Gojo's mind.

There was no use overthinking it now. He left Hachiman's side and stepped away to make a call to Megumi Fushiguro:

"Hello, Megumi? Where are you now?"

"In the dormitory at Jujutsu High. What's wrong?" Megumi asked, puzzled. "Is there a mission?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Megumi, who was lying on his bed in his dorm room, saw Gojo push the door open and walk in. He sat up from the bed:

"Gojo-sensei? What happened?"

Gojo strode over, pulled him off the bed, and started drawing a complex array of symbols on the floor, explaining rapidly as he channeled cursed energy to carve the incantation:

"Emergency situation. One of Sukuna's fingers is missing. I'm sending you to Sugisawa Third High School in Sendai City. Go investigate."

"What!? Sukuna's finger is missing!?" Megumi's eyes widened in surprise. "Could it be Sukuna... Did that Sukuna do it?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm sending you to confirm."

Gojo quickly finished the incantation, clapped his hands together, and Megumi vanished from the spot in an instant, leaving behind cracked floorboards.

After sending Megumi off, Gojo returned to the orphanage, his gaze fixed on Yukino, who was still in the midst of battle.

Assuming it was indeed Sukuna who stole the finger, and considering that when he arrived here and met with him, he hadn't sensed any increase in Sukuna's cursed energy, it meant the finger hadn't been merged yet.

If Megumi couldn't find the missing finger, he would have to restrain Sukuna here and now until it was found.

Or... confront Sukuna directly and exorcise him on the spot.

Meanwhile, Sukuna, residing within Yukino, was naturally unaware that he had been framed for a theft he didn't commit. He was busy counting the points earned today while watching Yukino's performance.

After the previous battles, Yukino was fully in the zone. Cursed energy flowed through her body, further enhancing her already formidable physique, honed by the system. Her previous injuries had been healed by Sukuna using Reverse Cursed Technique.

Yukino was currently in peak condition!

The shadow cursed spirit had climbed to the rooftop of the three-story building, giving everyone a full view of its form.

In stark contrast to its massive upper body were its disproportionately small, almost polio-stricken lower limbs, which somehow managed to support its bulk. Its body was covered in a grotesque tapestry of eyes, varying in size, the mere sight of which seemed to inflict mental pollution.

It plunged its shadowy claws into the building beneath it, ripping out a massive chunk of concrete and hurling it towards Yukino.

The boulder tore through the air with a sharp shriek, hurtling straight towards the tiny figure on the ground. However, before it could land, Yukino took a step forward. With an explosive burst of power from her legs, she shot towards the building like a bullet fired from a gun.

The boulder crashed down behind her, but she had already reached the base of the building. Bending her knees slightly, she leaped upwards. Then, to Hachiman's astonishment, she began running vertically up the wall, each step leaving a deep crater in the concrete.

Was this even humanly possible?

The three-story height was cleared in the blink of an eye. The shadow cursed spirit roared, extending its claws to snatch the airborne girl.

Yukino's lithe body twisted in mid-air, executing a graceful backflip to evade the grasp. Her hands landed on one of the claws, and like a gymnast completing a difficult maneuver, she landed lightly. Then, she sprinted along the cursed spirit's arm towards its head.

Solidified cursed energy ignited on her hands like blue flames. She unleashed a powerful punch, cursed energy erupting outwards. The translucent blue instantly transformed into a black-red, crackling with energy and branching out into black lightning with red edges.

Black Flash!

"The color of her cursed energy changed!?"

Hachiman gasped. Yukino had shocked him countless times today. First with her valiant warrior's spirit, then with her inhuman physical prowess, capable of shattering the ground and running vertically up walls, and now this sudden change in her cursed energy.

His mind was filled with nothing but astonishment.

"That's Black Flash," Gojo's voice came from behind him.

"Gojo-sensei, you're back," Hachiman turned to look.

"Yeah, just took care of some minor business." Gojo nodded, then explained, "Black Flash is a phenomenon where, when an attack and cursed energy are released within 0.000001 seconds of each other, it causes a distortion in space, and the cursed energy flashes black."

"A Black Flash attack has 2.5 times the normal power. It's extremely difficult to trigger intentionally, so no sorcerer can deliberately perform it."

"And after executing a Black Flash, the sorcerer's potential increases by 120% for a period of time."

"I see..." Hachiman nodded in understanding.

To think she could pull off such a high-level technique. He figured he wouldn't be surprised by anything Yukino did from now on.

However, he was proven wrong almost immediately.

The shadow cursed spirit reeled back from the punch with a hoarse shriek, and Yukino was thrown into the air by the force of its movement.

A strange intuition surged through her.

Sukuna's words echoed in her mind:

"Though you have no innate technique now, Yukinoshita, in time, my technique will be etched onto your body."

I should be able to do it now!

Acting on a sudden inspiration, she extended two fingers and drew a line in the air before her.