Chapter 237 : Meeting Sukuna Again
With the decisive battle approaching, all matters required efficiency. After all, Brain-kun was also making intensive secret arrangements, and no one knew when he might light the final fuse.
After determining their next plan, Jiang Lai and Gojo Satoru decided to implement it as soon as possible.
It happened to be nighttime at the moment, so they could directly begin the dream connection.
Gojo Satoru's family head room was very safe. No one would accidentally intrude here. However, to be safe, Jiang Lai habitually added an additional spatial barrier inside the room.
"OK, I'm ready." Gojo Satoru snapped his fingers, naturally releasing his cursed energy to fill the entire room, fusing with Jiang Lai's cursed energy once again.
This laid the foundation for achieving dream connection together.
Jiang Lai used spatial techniques to construct an air hammock, lying suspended in the air in a comfortable position, nodding: "Mm, let's sleep early. See you in the dream."
This sounded like a joke, but was actually true. Both were task-focused people, so they didn't chat much, and the room quickly returned to quiet.
Jiang Lai waved his hand, using techniques to extinguish the candle flame beside the desk from a distance.
The room fell into dim darkness, with moonlight gently flowing and pouring down a lullaby.
……
The sound of dripping water echoed in his ears, a faint bloody smell lingered at his nose tip. Cold liquid flowed around his ankles, winding and slithering like snakes.
Jiang Lai opened his eyes to see a sea of cow bones and blood. On the mountain of white cow bones piled at the front sat Ryomen Sukuna, resting his chin on one hand.
The cherry-pink-haired man seemed to be daydreaming, or rather, removing "seemed," he was daydreaming.
Gege Akutami, the author of Jujutsu Kaisen, had personally confirmed that what Sukuna did most while inside Itadori's body was daydream. After all, he was a super time-killing expert who had been daydreaming for a thousand years.
Although Ryomen Sukuna's daydreaming was immersive, as the King of Curses, he could naturally keenly sense the additional cursed energy in his innate domain.
In an instant, a sharp cursed blade came slashing diagonally!
Jiang Lai raised his hand to block with spatial techniques, but faster than his movement was the sudden surge of cursed energy beside him. A small [Red] shot fiercely toward that cursed blade, the collision splashing blood throughout the domain!
Ryomen Sukuna on the cow bone mountain clicked his tongue. He looked down at the two people on the ground, his crimson eyes narrowing, saying thoughtfully: "How unexpected, to see you two guys here at the same time."
His gaze carried scrutiny, cutting over Jiang Lai and Gojo Satoru.
Sukuna chuckled: "What's this, didn't you prepare to fight Six Eyes last time? Now you two look quite harmonious... Is this temporary cooperation, or did you never have amnesia at all?"
By the end of his words, Ryomen Sukuna's voice suddenly tightened, carrying sharpness as if seeing through everything.
Just like every previous time, Ryomen Sukuna never gave up suspecting Jiang Lai's amnesia situation.
Previously, Jiang Lai would always skillfully act his way through it. But this time, he didn't plan to act anymore.
So Jiang Lai naturally answered: "You're right, I don't have amnesia."
Ryomen Sukuna: "?"
Having expected the other to start the old routine again, Ryomen Sukuna was rarely stunned for half a second. He hadn't expected Jiang Lai to admit it so frankly this time.
Gojo Satoru beside him leisurely spoke up: "Who said we were going to fight? Last time was clearly to suppress you. Don't spread rumors carelessly, we have a great relationship~"
Jiang Lai nodded with a sincere attitude: "Right, we've always been harmonious and loving good friends. Fighting and such naturally doesn't exist."
Ryomen Sukuna: "..."
The pause was only momentary. Ryomen Sukuna immediately realized that everything Jiang Lai had shown him before was deceptive.
The black-haired young man consistently used that harmless exterior to deceive, and he had actually believed this guy had amnesia!!
Ryomen Sukuna's expression darkened as he rose from the cow bone mountain. He stepped on the pale bones with one foot, his crimson eyes along with his opening secondary eyes appearing terrifying.
However, neither person present feared him.
Gojo Satoru looked completely carefree, but his azure eyes lifted to directly meet those crimson ones. The modern strongest and the King of Curses faced off in this brief clash of gazes.
Jiang Lai maintained his usual smile, calmly stating the topic: "Setting aside those trivial matters, we do have serious business today."
"Trivial matters?" Ryomen Sukuna laughed meaningfully.
"Aren't those trivial matters? Would you care?" Jiang Lai's gaze was frank as he tossed it back. "Whether I have amnesia or not, you're obsessed with making me into cooking ingredients. So the truth doesn't matter to you."
"It seems you remember the agreement about putting me in the pot." Ryomen Sukuna bared his lips, revealing sharp canines. "But I deeply detest others' deception. You've challenged my bottom line again and again."
"Aren't you also a deceiver yourself?" Jiang Lai smiled. "How many times have you deceived Itadori Yuji?"
"That brat." Ryomen Sukuna raised his eyebrows, looking completely unconcerned. "It's his own stupidity."
"Hey hey, saying that about my student in front of me as his teacher isn't very nice." Gojo Satoru spoke lightly, raising one hand while maintaining a battle-ready posture.
Actually, Ryomen Sukuna had also been maintaining a battle stance. These two had never truly relaxed.
The only one present not showing battle preparation was Jiang Lai himself.
Partly because Jiang Lai was familiar with Sukuna and trusted Gojo Satoru, knowing he didn't need to be constantly tense.
On the other hand, it was because he had spatial barrier protection, which was enough to shield him from a sudden attack.
"Back to the main topic." Jiang Lai coughed once, looking at Ryomen Sukuna and asking directly: "Do you want to come out?"
"Hmm?" Ryomen Sukuna crossed his arms over his chest, pausing briefly for half a second. "Come out?"
He sneered mockingly: "I heard the brat is going to be executed. Having me come out, are you planning to accelerate the process, or create an accident to interrupt the execution? Either way, I'm not interested."
"The 'coming out' I mean isn't this brief consciousness domination." Jiang Lai's expression was bright. "But you and Yuji separating, you are you, he is he."
Hearing this, Ryomen Sukuna's eyes showed slight surprise, then he quickly adjusted his emotions: "How unexpected. What are you planning to do? Find me a new vessel?"
"Use a [Separation] cursed tool." Jiang Lai explained directly. "This tool can separate you and Itadori Yuji without needing to find a new vessel. Because you should have been two people all along."
Ryomen Sukuna rested one hand on his chin, showing some contemplation, then grinned: "Oh, I understand. You don't want to kill Itadori Yuji, so you plan to separate us and then exorcise me alone? Are you that confident you can defeat me?"
The cherry-pink-haired man standing on the cow bone mountain exuded overwhelming presence as he looked down at the two people in the blood water below, savoring his words: "I'll make you regret today's decision."
"If we really wanted to exorcise you, there'd be no need for such trouble." Jiang Lai chuckled softly, his brown eyes calm. "Since I can enter your innate domain, I naturally have ways to exorcise you here. The soul's location is the most fundamental place. Why bother moving it outside to kill?"
This content was half-true, half-false.
Currently, Jiang Lai hadn't completely mastered direct soul-attacking methods, but after contact with [Birth]'s derivative, the turquoise kingfisher, he had vaguely gained some intuitive understanding.
Though the content was half-true and half-false, Jiang Lai showed no trace of guilt on his face. His bright eyes carried nothing but determination and confidence as they looked directly at those cold red eyes above.
Ryomen Sukuna narrowed his eyes, making his judgment.
At this moment, Gojo Satoru placed his middle finger on his index finger, making the hand gesture for domain expansion, his tone rising as he added: "Suddenly discovered I can apparently expand my domain here too~ If we really fight, can your soul world really withstand it?"
Two against one, and neither of these two was simple. Direct battle would be unwise.
Ryomen Sukuna had always been smart. After quickly assessing the situation, he grinned and slowly spoke, steering the situation back somewhat: "You're not that strong, and I'm not as disadvantaged as you claim. If the innate domain collapses, your souls will also be impacted. It's a double-edged sword."
"However, indeed, fighting now would be meaningless loss." Ryomen Sukuna shrugged, his crossed arms naturally dropping. "I permit you to continue your explanation."
He maintained a superior attitude, glancing at those below: "Speak, the reason you came here today."
"Cooperation against enemies, against the Supervisory Committee, or more precisely, against Brain-kun." Jiang Lai said. "We can give you the remaining two fingers to complete your power. At the same time, we'll separate you so you can independently possess a body and freedom."
"But correspondingly, you must return the fragment in your possession, and promise not to harm characters from our faction or do anything detrimental to our faction during cooperation. We'll sign binding vows with each other, neither violating our promises."
"This cooperation will continue until the enemy's end. After that, whatever accounts we have to settle, we'll clear them between us."
"I believe before settling accounts with me, you'd definitely prefer to settle accounts with the one who fooled you for so long a thousand years ago. Now is that opportunity."
Jiang Lai raised his eyelids, looking toward Ryomen Sukuna at the top of the cow bone mountain, his voice calm like a gentle breeze across water.
"Choose to take the key, open the gate, and walk out of the cage. Or choose to stay here, continuing your thousand-year-unchanged daydreaming until the end."
"At this moment, the choice is yours."