Chapter 125 : Meeting in the Innate Domain
Because he was residing in Itadori Yuji's body, Ryomen Sukuna's current form was also similar to Itadori Yuji's, no longer the two-meter-tall, four-armed demon god appearance from a thousand years ago.
Although his form had changed to two arms, Ryomen Sukuna was still accustomed to wearing loose-fitting kimono, which was women's kimono.
Jiang Lai steadied himself and tore down the spatial code barrier he had erected. His gaze fell on Ryomen Sukuna for a second, then shifted to the cattle bones and blood water floating on the ground.
Because Jiang Lai habitually isolated himself with a thin spatial layer around his body, like Limitless, this blood water wouldn't touch him.
He raised his hand slightly, using his technique to lift up a cattle skull and weighed it in his hand to test it.
Not bad texture. Jiang Lai thought to himself. It seemed to be quite real cattle bones.
Ryomen Sukuna, sitting cross-legged on the cattle bone mountain, saw Jiang Lai's action and narrowed his crimson eyes, supporting his face with one hand: "What, still haven't reacted? Barging into someone else's domain so casually, how truly irritating."
Jiang Lai still held the cattle skull in his hand as he looked up, not directly responding to Ryomen Sukuna's words, but calmly said: "Why don't you come down to talk?"
"I think this height difference is just right." Ryomen Sukuna's tone was leisurely as he switched to crossing the other leg, "Although my usual rule is that without permission, no looking up, I'm rather pleased to see your ridiculous appearance of looking up at me right now."
"No, I didn't make that suggestion because of the viewing angle, it's just..." Jiang Lai paused, tapping the white cattle skull in his hand with his knuckles, asking sincerely, "Sitting on such hard things, while striking a cool pose, don't you find it uncomfortably hard after sitting for a while?"
Ryomen Sukuna: "..."
Such a topic was truly unexpected, but Ryomen Sukuna still showed no particular expression.
As a true thousand-year-old monster, he naturally wouldn't break character over such words.
"I felt something was off about you last time, and seeing you like this, you're indeed severely injured... including your brain." Ryomen Sukuna snorted with laughter, "To actually focus your attention on such boring things."
Jiang Lai: Actually my real focus is that you'd definitely be shorter than me if you came down.jpg
Ryomen Sukuna, residing in Itadori Yuji's body, was currently the same height as Itadori Yuji, both one meter seventy-three.
Thinking this casually in his heart, Jiang Lai didn't say it aloud, but put down the cattle skull in his hand and looked up at Ryomen Sukuna on top of the cattle bone mountain.
He adjusted his expression, his eyes showing slight ripples mixed with some inconspicuous confusion: "Actually, I wanted to ask earlier, why do you act like you know me so well... Do we know each other?"
In the brief time just now, Jiang Lai had already analyzed things in his mind, then decided to continue pretending to have amnesia.
Ryomen Sukuna had been tricked by Kenjaku a thousand years ago, and this grudge-holding guy was determined to chop Kenjaku into pieces the next time they met. So logically, he was also on the opposing side to the Supervisory Committee controlled by Kenjaku.
However, according to Ryomen Sukuna's twisted personality, it would be difficult to achieve truly reassuring cooperation.
The other party probably wanted to eliminate Kenjaku while also eliminating everyone else who had offended him, so basically, except for himself, no one else should expect to have it easy.
They might cooperate in the future, but given the current situation, Jiang Lai didn't need to reach a cooperation agreement with Ryomen Sukuna just yet.
Therefore, after careful consideration, he decided to continue pretending to have amnesia for now.
Although Ryomen Sukuna was currently inside Itadori Yuji's body and didn't have direct contact with the Supervisory Committee, just to be safe, it was better to hide things from him for now.
For this reason, Jiang Lai adjusted his facial expression and tone, making the response he just gave.
Hearing this, Ryomen Sukuna slowly lowered the hand supporting his face: "Hah?"
His canines slightly showed as he made a disdainful sound from his nose, "Using the same trick twice is meaningless, we played this game once a thousand years ago. Repeating the same routine is very boring."
Jiang Lai: Back then it was a second of teasing, now it's sustained acting, hardly the same routine.
He made this comment in his heart while showing nothing on his face.
Below the cattle bone mountain, the black-haired young man maintained that same expression. Hearing Ryomen Sukuna's response, he frowned slightly: "Sorry, but I don't understand what you're talking about."
The latter half even carried a certain sincerity, "I'm not clear why I appeared here, but I find you somewhat familiar, perhaps it's the companion effect of being fellow Special-Grade Cursed Spirits."
"Somewhat familiar? The companion effect of fellow Special-Grade Cursed Spirits?" As if hearing something very amusing, Ryomen Sukuna showed a strangely sarcastic smile, "Hearing these two phrases from your mouth is truly ridiculous."
"But when I first saw you that winter night, you seemed to still be in human form. Now you've become a cursed spirit? Though not completely."
Ryomen Sukuna placed one hand on his chin, "Somewhat interesting, but having become such a hybrid, don't you find it disgusting and regrettable?"
Jiang Lai's expression showed ripples as he blinked: "It seems you pay close attention to me, but I don't mind what state my appearance is in, as long as my inner self remains me."
"The same boring response as back then." Ryomen Sukuna snorted, his eyebrows rising with a somewhat malicious smile, "Can you really completely not care about your appearance and state? How about I break your limbs and play with you, watching you struggle like an insect, that might be quite interesting to think about."
Facing the malice from the Special-Grade Cursed Spirit in front of him, Jiang Lai remained composed, his words retorting back: "Since you find it interesting, why don't you perform first?"
Ryomen Sukuna stood up, those crimson eyes looking down from above at the black-haired young man on the blood water, carrying a certain oppressive and probing meaning:
"The jokes can end here, state the reason for your unprovoked intrusion into my domain."
"My answer is the same as before." Jiang Lai said calmly, "The reason for appearing here, I also don't know."
Since he had no plans to cooperate or make deals for now, Jiang Lai didn't reveal the fact that he had obtained the other party's fingers and had touched the fragments.
He began his mode of knowing nothing about everything, his watertight expression absolutely showing not the slightest trace of lying.
Ryomen Sukuna narrowed his eyes, then suddenly leaped down from the cattle bone mountain top, splashing blood when he landed.
The moment he landed, he twisted his wrist, his nails slashing sharp cursed blades through the air!
Jiang Lai dodged to the side, avoiding the incoming cursed blades, his fingertips flipping to stir up a strand of cursed energy code, hurling the solid cattle skull!
Ryomen Sukuna caught the incoming cattle skull with his backhand, directly crushed it with one hand, and threw it into the blood water of the Innate Domain. His footsteps moved quickly, his form flashing like teleportation as he rushed in front of the black-haired young man!
The two began fighting back and forth in the Innate Domain, the piled cattle bone mountain was destroyed by cursed energy shock waves then restored, splashing and surging blood water crashed like giant waves in the space!
Ryomen Sukuna, who hadn't gathered the power of all his fingers, and Jiang Lai, whose strength was reduced but still formidable, once again fought to an evenly matched draw.
This was Ryomen Sukuna's Innate Domain, but Jiang Lai, within the other party's domain, wasn't constrained or negatively affected. It was as if he was half-detached and half-immersed, like a projection.
Finally, when both used the same cursed blades to cross in the air forming an X, the thunderous shock wave pushed them away in opposite directions, and only then did they simultaneously stop their attacking postures.
"I said I didn't come here intentionally, why resort to violence?" Jiang Lai lowered his left arm that had been horizontal in front, his brown eyes gazing over, "Or perhaps you've mistaken me for a former enemy? I have no memory of knowing you, you've got the wrong person."
Ryomen Sukuna tucked his hands together, his wide white kimono sleeves concealing his wrists marked with black patterns, the indigo thin butterfly knot at his waist naturally hanging down.
His demeanor looked displeased, but it seemed not because of the draw from the battle just now.
"Really memory confusion, or acting again? This appearance, how truly pathetic."
Ryomen Sukuna stared at him intently from a distance, his face showing some probing contemplation, those crimson eyes like a fierce beast.
Jiang Lai knew the other party wasn't easy to fool, so he didn't relax for a moment, his acting skills honed in the Detective Conan world fully activated, weaving a web sufficient to deceive others.
"I don't think you have the right to casually comment on others." Jiang Lai replied blandly, "Compared to my accidental intrusion, right now you're more like the guy who's being persistently annoying."
"Hah? I am indeed persistent, persistently wanting to kill you." Ryomen Sukuna's tone was contemptuous, his posture showing casual arrogance. He raised his hand slightly, his index finger touching his lips, revealing a thoughtful expression, "I've thought about cooking methods for a long time, I can cut you into pieces bit by bit, trying each one to see which tastes better."
Facing the undisguised malicious killing intent from the cursed spirit before him, Jiang Lai remained unperturbed.
He didn't want to waste time on meaningless bickering and thought about taking advantage of being in the other party's Innate Domain to simply explore the situation.
Jiang Lai didn't know when he would leave the other party's domain, perhaps when his body woke up from the dream.
Currently, not being negatively impacted by the domain, he wouldn't be hurt by Ryomen Sukuna, so he could pretend to wander casually while actually searching for fragments.
Last time Ryomen Sukuna had taken the light green fragment from Satozakura Middle School, so logically the fragment should be in the other party's domain.
However, due to the domain's influence, Jiang Lai couldn't sense the fragment's specific location.
Before this idea could be put into practice, Jiang Lai's thoughts were interrupted by another voice at the scene.
Another figure fell into the center of the Innate Domain, it was Itadori Yuji!
Jiang Lai was somewhat surprised by Ryomen Sukuna's action of pulling Itadori Yuji into the Innate Domain, then quickly speculated whether this was another form of testing by Ryomen Sukuna.
The cherry-pink haired boy supported himself on the blood water ground with both hands, stunned for a second before quickly reacting. He rubbed his elbow as he stood up, energetically glaring at Ryomen Sukuna in front of him, shouting without courtesy:
"What are you doing, Sukuna! Pulling me in here again?"
Ryomen Sukuna snorted lightly, wearing a strange smile on his face, rarely not sending a cursed blade at Itadori Yuji for this behavior.
He turned his face slightly, indicating for Itadori Yuji to look to the side, drawing out his tone: "Let you meet an intruder, brat, do you want to see him?"