Chapter 111: Domain Expansion! A Challenge from the Commander!
Jujutsu High.
Chu Yang was confined in a room filled with curse inscriptions.
Perhaps "confined" isn't the right word—he walked in voluntarily.
Before he entered, Gojo Satoru spoke a few words to the higher-ups of Jujutsu High.
"This room can't hold him. He's only playing along to humor you. It's meaningless."
"In the entire jujutsu world, no one can guarantee a victory against him except for me."
"So, don't provoke him, or things will only become more complicated."
The leader of the conservative faction, Yoshinobu Gakuganji, the principal of Kyoto Jujutsu High, was an old man of indeterminate age. Leaning on his cane, he responded in a hoarse and heavy voice, "Gojo Satoru, how can you guarantee he won't become an enemy of the jujutsu world?"
"If he consumes all of Sukuna's fingers and turns into something more troublesome than Sukuna, what then?"
"Our goal is to eliminate the threat posed by this special-grade cursed object, not to create a greater one!"
Gojo scanned the room with his confident smile. "If that happens, I'll handle it."
His words plunged the higher-ups, including Gakuganji, into silence.
With just that one sentence, they had no grounds to argue.
If something arose that even Gojo Satoru couldn't handle, there would be no point in harboring any further hopes.
The negotiations ended much faster than Chu Yang had expected. Before long, Gojo appeared in the room filled with curse inscriptions.
Chu Yang sat on a chair, legs crossed, dozing off, completely unconcerned about his fate.
Gojo casually tossed him six sealed Sukuna fingers.
"Think you can stomach all these? Don't overdo it and drop dead on me. I just bragged about you to those old geezers."
Sukuna's twenty fingers were scattered worldwide, with six stored at Jujutsu High. After some maneuvering, Gojo had managed to bring them all to Chu Yang.
Gojo had his own agenda. He was eager to see how powerful Chu Yang would become after consuming all of Sukuna's fingers.
He anticipated an unprecedentedly formidable opponent.
But Gojo didn't truly understand Chu Yang.
He didn't know that the man before him was growing stronger at an exponential rate.
Each of Chu Yang's avatars in different worlds improved slightly, but together, these minor gains accumulated into transformative progress.
Nine Yin Manual, Nine Yang Divine Skill, Dugu Nine Swords—martial arts classics of the highest order.
Fengdu and Tianque, two Zanpakuto fused with Chu Yang's unique traits, strong enough to complete the Hōgyoku directly.
The insights into swordsmanship and breathing techniques from Demon Slayer.
The continuously refined Ōtsutsuki bloodline from Naruto.
The Conqueror's Haki, now comparable to that of Pirate Emperors in One Piece.
And the evolving magic systems from both the magical and Marvel universes, merging all learned spell-based skills into a unified system.
With so many resources backing him, Chu Yang didn't believe he could lose to Gojo.
Taking the Sukuna fingers from Gojo, Chu Yang calmly peeled away the cursed seals, as if unwrapping candy.
"I'd suggest you eat them slowly. Don't—"
Before Gojo could finish, Chu Yang tilted his head back and swallowed all six fingers at once.
"You have no idea how disgusting these things taste…"
For Chu Yang, it was better to rip off the bandage quickly. The thought of tasting them one by one was unbearable.
As the six Sukuna fingers reached his stomach, his consciousness plunged into chaos.
---
When he opened his eyes again, Chu Yang found himself in Sukuna's domain.
The surroundings were littered with corpses, and Sukuna sat lazily on a throne, resting his chin on his hand, one leg crossed over the other.
"This time, it's just you?" Sukuna's eyes gleamed coldly.
"I'm surprised too," Chu Yang replied, having expected the Soul Palace to appear again. Instead, this time, he had been pulled into Sukuna's domain.
It seemed the Soul Palace appeared at random, and Sukuna's fingers were merely a trigger.
Sukuna slowly rose, his killing intent flooding out like a dam bursting, drowning Chu Yang.
Standing at the center of the storm of murderous intent, Chu Yang summoned Susanoo.
The humanoid entity enveloped Chu Yang, and in an instant, Armament Haki covered Susanoo entirely.
"Another unfamiliar technique. You've got quite the arsenal, don't you?" Sukuna narrowed his eyes, forming hand seals.
"Malevolent Shrine."
Within his domain, Sukuna unleashed terrifying slashes categorized as Cleave and Dismantle.
Anything with or without cursed energy within the domain was sliced to pieces.
The destructive power rivaled Gojo's Limitless Cursed Technique.
But to Chu Yang, Sukuna's pure physical attacks were easier to handle compared to Gojo's versatile spatial abilities.
Susanoo, towering and massive, almost broke through Sukuna's domain. With just a glance, Chu Yang could lock onto his target.
Countless silver threads shimmered in the void, each one a razor-sharp slash tearing through space.
Like a torrential downpour, they rained down on Susanoo.
The slashes collided with the Armament Haki, producing dazzling sparks, but the Haki was gradually worn away. The remaining slashes were endured by Susanoo.
"Huh? You actually blocked it?" Sukuna was stunned. This was the first time someone had withstood his attacks head-on.
Chu Yang was equally surprised. Sukuna's slashes were stronger than expected, capable of breaking through Armament Haki.
Susanoo nocked an arrow made of chakra and fired at Sukuna.
In response, Sukuna unleashed more slashes, forming a storm that obliterated the arrow.
At that moment, Susanoo moved. Its massive body flashed like lightning, appearing before Sukuna in an instant.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
Sukuna's pupils shrank. He had assumed that the bulky Susanoo would be slow, only to find it teleporting right in front of him.
With three heads and six arms, Susanoo wielded six chakra swords, slashing at Sukuna furiously.
Sukuna dodged with near-instantaneous movements, avoiding Susanoo's relentless attacks. The entire domain trembled violently, on the verge of collapse.
Locking eyes with Chu Yang inside Susanoo, Sukuna clasped his hands together, shrinking his domain to enhance the power of his slashes to the limit.
Countless slashes fell like a world-ending storm, turning the area into a blinding sea of white light.
Susanoo disappeared, consumed by the barrage of attacks.
"HAHAHAHA!" Sukuna laughed maniacally, relishing his apparent victory.
"Sorry to interrupt your celebration, but don't you think it's a bit early to laugh?"
Chu Yang emerged unscathed from the smoke, forming hand seals. Massive amounts of cursed energy poured out, constructing an unfamiliar domain.
"Now it's my turn."
"Domain Expansion!"
Sukuna's laughter abruptly stopped as he watched Chu Yang's domain devour his own, his expression shifting to one of doubt and alarm.
"Deathmatch Corridor!"
This was a looping corridor where the battle would only end when one party died. Until then, no jujutsu sorcerer, no matter how powerful, could break the domain.
Sukuna's face darkened. He could feel the oppressive force of Deathmatch Corridor.
This domain imposed strict limitations on its user, akin to Toji Fushiguro's Heavenly Restriction—trading all cursed energy for a superhuman body.
Deathmatch Corridor had similar constraints on Chu Yang.
Strangely, though, Sukuna's Malevolent Shrine grew larger within the domain.
Feeling uneasy, Sukuna tested the waters with a slash.
The result shocked him: the slash tore through space, creating a rift before vanishing.
"My cursed energy has nearly doubled…"
"This kid's domain makes his enemies stronger? What's the point of that?"
Sukuna frowned deeply. He refused to believe there were fools in the world who would harm themselves to benefit others.
Chu Yang punched through the slash that seemed to be forged from silvery light.
His entire body erupted with crackling lightning.
The Origin Breathing was operating at full capacity, and faint glimmers of sunlight, moonlight, and starlight seemed to fall with each of his breaths.
Chu Yang's body was even more resilient than Susanoo.
The wooden sword in his hand was no longer a simple blade but two ancient swords of entirely different colors.
Although he hadn't yet fully grasped the abilities of the two Zanpakutō, it didn't hinder Chu Yang from displaying his swordsmanship.
In this world, no weapon was stronger than these two ancient swords.
As the battle was about to erupt, Sukuna couldn't resist asking a question.
"Why does your domain make me stronger?"
"What exactly do you gain in return for this?"
Faced with Sukuna's question, Chu Yang smiled faintly and replied with only one sentence.
"In the Deathmatch Corridor, the victor takes everything from the defeated."
Sukuna's pupils contracted sharply.
The sword [Fengdu] in Chu Yang's hand exuded a bone-chilling coldness. As he casually waved it, a gentle moonlight flowed like a stream along the blade.
"Anything else you'd like to say? Next time we meet, it'll probably be a while. By then, I'll have gathered all your fingers and taken all your cursed energy," Chu Yang kindly reminded Sukuna.
Sukuna sneered coldly, raising his arms silently. Flames burst from his fingertips, no longer the sharp slashes he had wielded earlier.
"Double my cursed energy? Then go to hell obediently!"
The air filled with searing heatwaves as Sukuna revealed a new technique for the first time.
The flames burned hotter than anything produced by Fire Release or the Breath of Flames, surpassing even the temperatures of molten lava.
With a snap of his fingers, flames illuminated the entire space, reducing the bones beneath their feet to ash in an instant.
Even with all his buffs stacked, Chu Yang could still feel the scorching pain.
The crimson flames gradually took on a golden hue as their temperature continued to rise.
Sukuna waved his hand, seemingly grasping the surrounding sea of fire, and hurled it at Chu Yang.
As the firestorm approached, [Fengdu] seemed to react, its blade trembling violently as if something within was about to burst forth.
Chu Yang paid no attention, gripping his swords with both hands and executing the second form of the Origin Breathing.
Sunlight and moonlight intertwined, forming a massive wheel that shielded him from the raging flames.
The wheel spun, drawing in the firestorm, while the combined light of the sun and moon gradually eroded it.
"This guy's techniques… how can he have so many?" Sukuna thought, perplexed.
Within Sukuna's shrine, many techniques remained sealed, each requiring specific conditions to use. He had yet to regain his peak state and couldn't wield them freely.
To Sukuna, Chu Yang's ability to use techniques without apparent limitations was incomprehensible.
"If this continues, I might lose…"
Sukuna decided to gamble everything. Since his opponent had numerous techniques, he chose to engage in close combat.
In terms of physical capabilities, Sukuna's body was unparalleled in the entire world of cursed techniques.
Amid the fierce clash between flames and the sun-moon wheel, Sukuna's figure vanished abruptly, reappearing behind Chu Yang to launch a surprise attack.
Sukuna's fist aimed straight for Chu Yang's heart.
The sound of the air splitting reached Chu Yang's ears. It was as if he had eyes on the back of his head; he reversed his grip on his swords, crossing them behind him in a defensive stance.
Sukuna's fist struck the point where the two swords intersected.
Clang!