Chapter 150: The Taming Ritual!
The shadow of death fell over Mahito.
It was like a scythe pressed against his neck, ready to reap his life in the next breath.
At that moment, he finally understood fear.
His eyes widened. Tears even welled in them, not from pain, but from the terror of prey cornered by a stronger predator.
Powerless.
Desperate.
His will to resist collapsed completely. Only the instinct to survive remained, forcing him to cry out in panic.
"Geto..."
But Kenjaku could do nothing.
It was already too late.
No matter what they tried now, they could only watch Yuji Itadori complete that strike.
In that instant, Yuji's sword form reached completion.
All twelve forms of Sun Breathing passed through him in a single flash.
The world around him seemed to lose its color.
Everything turned gray.
Time itself appeared to stop.
Only Yuji continued moving, slowly swinging the sword in his hands.
The price for forcing his body past its limit arrived at once.
His flesh split open.
Blood burst from his wounds.
His muscles tore, and his bones screamed under the strain.
But nothing could shake his will to kill Mahito.
At this moment, Yuji surpassed his limits.
He held Arcana with both hands and slashed forward.
"One-Sword Rakshasa!"
Countless sword flowers filled Mahito's vision.
There was nowhere to flee.
No angle to dodge.
No trick to survive.
All Mahito could feel was fire.
Burning pain spread through every inch of him, as if every cell and every fragment of his soul were screaming inside the flames.
Then the strike ended.
Mahito was gone.
All that remained was a mask.
In the next moment, Sukuna, who had regained control of Yuji's body, looked down at the mask in his hand and fell into a brief silence.
He had never expected that the brat he looked down on could unleash such an astonishing strike.
What Sukuna did not know was that Yuji had not only touched the Transparent World with that attack. He had also drawn out his own potential at the edge of life and death.
Sukuna's Cursed Technique was finally etched into Yuji's brain.
Malevolent Shrine.
Inside Yuji's body, Asuramaru watched the scene with a faint smile.
Yuji Itadori was now worthy of his recognition.
Not because of that strike.
But because of his will.
The system prompts rang in Asuramaru's mind one after another.
[Ding! Intense negative emotions detected from the Human Calamity, Mahito, before death. Gained 80,000 emotion points!]
[Ding! Intense negative emotions detected from Kenjaku. Gained 10,000 emotion points!]
[Ding! Detected Sukuna...]
More prompts continued.
Listening to them, Asuramaru could not help revealing a mischievous smile.
"Without Mahito, Kenjaku, how will you continue your plan?"
In the outside world, Kenjaku's expression had turned completely grim.
Mahito had practically been within his grasp.
Yet he had been killed directly by Yuji Itadori.
Without Mahito, the Culling Game could not be activated.
The plan Kenjaku had spent so long preparing now stood on the edge of collapse.
Even so, he stepped forward and asked urgently, "Sukuna, can you use Mahito now?"
Sukuna sensed for a moment, then answered impatiently, "Even with the Binding Vow, I can't use the mask."
Kenjaku's expression grew even uglier.
After a brief pause, he spoke again.
"Then we proceed with the Taming Ritual as planned. There are only nineteen fingers, but your strength should already be close to what it was before your death."
With that, the group immediately returned to the station.
They boarded the train bound for Shibuya Station and headed toward their destination.
On the train, Sukuna spoke within his mind.
"Asuramaru, begin the Taming Ritual."
The moment his words fell, his consciousness was pulled inward.
At the boundary between heaven and sea, Sukuna opened his eyes.
By now, he had grown familiar with this place. He walked straight forward, his expression more serious than usual, and looked toward Asuramaru.
"If I'm not mistaken," Sukuna said calmly, "you can adjust the difference in time between this place and the outside world."
Asuramaru met him with crimson eyes.
"One hour of challenge time here equals one minute outside."
Sukuna smiled.
"Then let's begin."
Excitement gradually appeared on his face.
He had been looking forward to this battle for a long time.
Not only because of Asuramaru.
But because he could finally fight Tanjiro Kamado head-on.
At the same time, Asuramaru changed the terrain again, creating space for the coming battle.
A sunken arena appeared.
Sukuna stood within it and looked ahead.
A giant sword floated in midair.
From within that sword, a figure slowly emerged.
The first Sword Master.
Tanjiro Kamado.
The instant Tanjiro appeared, Sukuna moved.
His hands formed a gesture.
"Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine!"
He opened his Domain immediately.
This was the conclusion Sukuna had reached.
Tanjiro's close combat strength was terrifying. Allowing him to close the distance would be foolish. Opening a Domain at the start was the optimal choice.
The moment Malevolent Shrine manifested, a shrine built from countless skeletal remains appeared behind Sukuna.
At the same time, he compressed the range of the Domain to roughly one hundred meters and activated his Cursed Technique.
Invisible slashes of Dismantle, along with dense sure-hit Cleaves adjusted by Cursed Energy, rained down on Tanjiro like a violent storm.
Tanjiro answered with his own Domain Expansion.
"Ashura Kannon!"
The next moment, swords and slashes collided wildly within the narrow space.
The clash of metal rang out without pause.
In the Domain clash, Sukuna was clearly at a disadvantage.
Both sides exchanged attacks continuously, but after several minutes, the shrine behind Sukuna shattered first.
His Domain collapsed.
In the same instant, countless sharp swords pierced through his body.
However, the giant sword behind Tanjiro also showed visible damage.
Sukuna immediately clenched both hands.
"Secret Technique: Hollow Wicker Basket!"
While rapidly dodging inside Tanjiro's Domain, he used Reverse Cursed Technique to heal the burnout in his brain.
A moment later, he formed hand signs again.
His Domain opened a second time.
Another Domain clash erupted.
But the result did not change.
Sukuna was defeated quickly once more.
This time, however, the giant sword behind Tanjiro finally shattered as well.
The Domain collapsed.
Yet Tanjiro himself appeared unaffected.
He gripped Asuramaru with one hand.
"Please, Asuramaru."
From above, Asuramaru, who had been watching the battle, immediately lent him power.
Demonization and Ittō Shura activated at the same time.
Demon Power surged through Tanjiro's body.
He raised the sword and spoke.
"Asuramaru, open fan."
The moment his words fell, ten swords burning with black flames spread behind him like a fan.
Tanjiro swung Asuramaru.
The ten black-flame swords behind him slashed down at the same time.
"Getsuga Tensho!"
Eleven pitch-black crescent slashes rushed toward Sukuna.
Sukuna's brow furrowed.
His Domain shattered, yet he didn't enter Cursed Technique burnout?
That was beyond his expectations.
After all, Sukuna had been the one to break the Domain first.
.....
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