Chapter 156: Facing Inner Recognition!
They were memories of death.
After the previous mistake with Tanjiro, Asuramaru had spent no small amount of time studying the human mind. Now, it was finally time to test the results.
Within his slumber, Yuji Itadori saw everything.
He saw Satoru Gojo cut in half by Sukuna.
He saw Megumi Fushiguro after being possessed.
He saw Nobara Kugisaki dead.
He saw the people he knew, the people who had fought beside him, the people who had trusted him, fall one after another.
He saw the three brothers from different parents Asuramaru had once mentioned. After experiencing the warmth of family with them, he watched them die for his sake.
Companions.
Friends.
Teachers.
Family.
One by one, they left him.
Then came Shibuya.
He saw the massacre Sukuna had carried out while controlling his body.
Countless civilians died by his hands.
The weight of it crushed down on Yuji's mind until his consciousness reached the brink of collapse. It was like standing on the edge of a rooftop, one more step away from falling into a bottomless abyss.
And the only thought left in him was simple.
It's all my fault.
When the stimulation reached its limit, Yuji was forced awake inside the world Asuramaru had constructed.
He found himself standing in Shibuya.
A Shibuya reduced to ruins after battle.
The city's former prosperity had vanished. The streets were broken. Walls had collapsed. Debris covered the ground, and corpses lay everywhere.
Yuji raised his eyes.
A familiar figure appeared in front of him.
Satoru Gojo.
Perfectly intact.
"Gojo-sensei..."
Yuji instinctively tried to call out, but before he could finish, something in his subconscious overrode his will.
Gojo spoke first.
"Yuji, why didn't you wake up sooner?"
That familiar playful tone was still there, but now it cut deeper than any knife.
"Look at all the people who died here. This is all because of you."
Yuji looked around at the corpses scattered across the ruined street.
His knees weakened.
He collapsed to the ground, tears already filling his eyes.
"It's me..."
His voice trembled.
"If it weren't for me, no one would've died. If only I had woken up sooner..."
At some point, the scenery around him shifted again.
More figures appeared.
People he cherished.
Nanami Kento stood not far away, his expression calm and disappointed.
"Itadori-kun," Nanami said, "why didn't you wake up in time?"
Behind him, Nobara Kugisaki stepped forward.
"Our deaths are all because of someone disgusting like you."
Then the dead appeared one after another.
They surrounded Yuji at the center and raised their hands toward him, accusing him from every direction.
"You killed us!"
"Murderer!"
"It's your fault!"
"You should've died instead!"
The curses of the dead poured over him like black rain.
Amid the countless accusations, one gentle voice reached him.
"It's okay."
Yuji's head snapped up.
"Megumi..."
Megumi Fushiguro stood before him.
For a moment, Yuji looked at him like someone drowning who had finally seen a hand reach out.
But Megumi's expression changed.
"It's all because of you that Sukuna possessed me."
His voice turned cold.
"Why didn't you just die sooner?"
The moment he finished speaking, black tattoos appeared across Megumi's body.
Sukuna's markings.
Megumi looked down at Yuji with contempt, and a wicked smile spread across his face.
"Brat, all of this is thanks to you."
His voice was full of mockery.
"Take a good look. This is all your masterpiece."
Yuji's gaze shifted.
The people who had been accusing him fell back into pools of blood, becoming cold corpses once more.
The blows came one after another.
Yuji's consciousness trembled on the verge of collapse.
Then the voices returned.
"Avenge us, Yuji Itadori!"
"Don't you want revenge?"
"Are you trying to run away?"
"So many people died because of you. Don't you feel ashamed?"
"Risk everything and avenge us!"
Countless voices drilled into his ears and stabbed into his brain.
For a time, Yuji felt as if he were being torn apart.
Then his expression twisted.
"Revenge...?"
His voice shook.
"That's right. I need revenge."
The abyss opened beneath him.
He was about to fall.
At that moment, a pair of warm, withered hands tore through the darkness and rested on his shoulders.
His grandfather's final words echoed in his mind once more.
"Yuji, you're stronger than other people, so you have to protect them."
"If possible, I hope that in the end, you can die surrounded by people."
Yuji froze.
In that abyss of despair, he seemed to see a lamp.
A dim, fragile light.
But it was enough.
He reached toward it with everything he had and struggled out of the darkness.
When he crossed through the black and saw the dawn, Yuji seemed to finally see through his own heart.
His choice became firm.
His expression settled.
He stood where he was and spoke in a low, certain voice.
"I'll avenge all of you."
His hands clenched.
"Even if it costs me everything, I'll do it."
His voice no longer shook.
"This is my promise."
Those words made his heart clear.
At that moment, Yuji Itadori would never lose himself again.
The illusion shattered.
He returned once more to the boundary between sky and sea.
Standing before him was Asuramaru, who had been waiting for a long time. Those crimson eyes met Yuji's gaze.
Only now, as his subconscious receded, did Yuji finally realize that everything he had seen was false.
Asuramaru spoke haughtily.
"I felt it."
His voice carried a sharp, almost intoxicating pride.
"The powerful desire born from your hatred and despair. That magnificent desire has moved me."
He looked straight at Yuji.
"So from this moment on, I recognize you as my Sword Master."
The sea beneath them stirred.
"I shall become your power."
Asuramaru's crimson eyes gleamed.
"Open your eyes, Yuji Itadori. Use the sword in your hand to ignite that fierce desire of yours."
His voice rose.
"Show me everything you are!"
In the outside world, Satoru Gojo and Sukuna had already fought fiercely for a long time.
Even the swords in their hands had turned back into Demon Power and scattered into the wind.
Yet Gojo still could not get even a step closer to Yuji Itadori.
Under the suppression of Sukuna and Uraume, with his Cursed Energy running low and Domain Expansion unavailable, Gojo could only protect himself.
Even so, he refused to leave.
Then he saw Kenjaku and the others.
More importantly, he saw the Megumi Fushiguro they had brought with them.
At that moment, Gojo finally understood.
His calm, confident expression vanished.
"You bastards..."
"Satoru, you're too impatient."
Kenjaku smiled and threw out the mocking words.
Immediately afterward, Jogo stepped forward and tossed the unconscious Megumi beside Yuji Itadori.
All that remained was for Sukuna to complete the Incarnation.
Sukuna approached and looked down at Megumi's body.
The corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously.
"If not for Asuramaru inside that brat, I might have valued you a little more."
As he spoke, Sukuna prepared to repeat the previous method and transfer his soul once again.
Everything seemed too late.
At that critical moment, Yuji Itadori, who had been lying unconscious on the ground, opened his eyes.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]