The stench hit them the moment they crossed the threshold—sour, wet, and choking with cursed rot. The old juvenile detention center stood silent and warped, its rusted doors long decayed, its floor coated in grime, flickering lights above casting irregular shadows like something alive was breathing in the ceiling.
Riku walked ahead, arms tucked in his pockets, his expression unreadable. He wasn't worried. If anything, he was calm—too calm for the atmosphere, but after nine months of intense training and combat experience far beyond his peers, this place wasn't a threat. Not to him.
Behind him, Yuji looked around with an edge of nervous energy. "Weird place for a mission," he muttered.
"Don't let your guard down," Megumi said, his voice low and tense. "We don't know what we're walking into."
Nobara snorted. "Whatever it is, I hope it's uglier than the last one. I've been wanting to smack something for days."
The four of them fanned out, tension thick in the air. Gojo had called this a "routine" assignment—some low-grade curse lingering in an abandoned building. But the air felt wrong. Heavy. Tainted with something bigger. Riku didn't need Haki to sense it, but the moment he activated it—layers of invisible pressure extending from his body—he knew.
It wasn't just a curse. It was a Finger Bearer. And it had already consumed one of Sukuna's fingers.
He didn't say anything. There was no point in causing panic. The others were strong—especially Megumi and Nobara—but they weren't ready for what was ahead. Not like he was.
They split up, covering different wings of the building. Riku took the west hall alone, walking calmly beneath shattered fluorescent lights. The air here was colder. The pressure was stronger. He could feel the residue of cursed techniques in the air, warping the concrete, fraying the boundary between reality and curse.
Somewhere in the building, he heard a scream.
Yuji.
Riku vanished.
Flash Step triggered in a blur. He moved through the space like the world was still and he was the only thing allowed to move. In less than a breath, he arrived—just in time to see a grotesque, white-skinned monster slam Yuji into a concrete wall.
The Finger Bearer was monstrous. Humanoid, muscular, but stretched and twisted beyond anything human. Black tendrils extended from its back like insect limbs, two of them bearing yellow eyes. Its mouth was wide, split from ear to ear, and a gaping hole throbbed in the center of its chest. It had already eaten the finger—Riku could sense it. The raw, overwhelming cursed energy pouring off it made that fact inescapable.
Yuji lay on the ground, arm bloodied and limp. His hand was gone. Torn off.
Riku surged forward without hesitation. His arm shimmered with cursed energy, reinforced silently by invisible Haki. One strike—a hook straight into the curse's ribs—sent it crashing back through a wall.
Yuji groaned, clutching his side. "I couldn't… hit it hard enough…"
"Don't move," Riku said calmly. "You're done here."
But it wasn't over.
The Finger Bearer exploded out of the rubble with a roar, limbs swinging wildly. It aimed for Yuji again.
Then the howl came. Not from the curse—but from Yuji himself.
It wasn't his voice anymore.
A pulse of cursed energy cracked through the space as his body jolted upright, eyes flickering with slitted pupils and his mouth curling into a sneer.
Sukuna had taken control.
He stood up, flexing Yuji's restored fingers as they knit together with his innate healing. A smug look crossed his face. "Ah… that's better."
The Finger Bearer charged again.
Sukuna grinned, sidestepped lazily, and with one flick of his hand, slashed the curse's arm from shoulder to wrist.
Then the monster howled again.
Sukuna clicked his tongue. "Annoying little shit."
The next second, he raised both hands.
"Domain Expansion," he whispered with a smirk.
He formed the hand sign—the distinct cross-finger gesture.
The space shattered.
The Malevolent Shrine bloomed around them, crimson and infernal. A thousand cursed blades hovered in the air like death's choir. Time itself warped under the weight of his cursed domain.
The Finger Bearer tried to flee.
Too late.
The shrine's blades rained down like divine punishment. The curse was dissected—cleanly, methodically, cruelly. Three precise cuts bisected its head, torso, and limbs. It died without a final cry.
Sukuna picked up the twitching remains of the second finger, now freed from the curse's decimated body. He popped it into his mouth, chewed with theatrical slowness, and sighed.
"That's three."
Then a voice cut through the air behind him.
"You done?"
Sukuna turned.
Riku stood there, arms crossed, eyes cold.
"Well, well. You didn't disappoint," Sukuna said, stepping forward. "You're strong. I can feel it. That speed, that cursed energy… you're not like the others."
"You don't get to play hero with his body," Riku said sharply. "You've had your fun. Now give it back."
Sukuna smirked. "Make me."
He lunged forward.
Riku didn't move at first. The moment Sukuna got close, he vanished. Flash Step. A blur. He reappeared behind Sukuna and slammed a palm into his spine, the force launching him face-first into the ground. Sukuna spun, fury igniting.
They clashed.
A barrage of fists, blocks, knees, counters. Sukuna was fast, skilled, and vicious. But Riku was faster. Stronger. Every strike landed with pinpoint precision, guided by Haki and sharpened by Batman's 127 fighting styles. No wasted motion. No gaps. A living weapon.
Sukuna was grinning the entire time—even as blood spilled from his mouth.
"I haven't been pushed like this in centuries!"
Riku didn't answer.
He kicked Sukuna hard enough to crater the floor beneath him, then stepped forward, placing a hand on Yuji's chest.
"I'm not asking again."
For a moment, Sukuna stared at him. And then… he laughed.
"Tch. Spoilsport."
The shrine collapsed.
Cursed energy dissipated.
Yuji gasped, eyes snapping open, his body collapsing into Riku's arms. "I'm back… what happened…?"
"You're fine," Riku said gently, easing him down. "It's over."
Footsteps echoed. Megumi and Nobara arrived, both wide-eyed.
"What the hell…" Nobara murmured, looking at the destruction.
Megumi stepped past her. "Was it Sukuna?"
"Yeah," Riku said. "And the Finger Bearer's gone."
Nobara crouched beside Yuji. "Idiot. You scared the hell out of us."
Yuji winced. "Sorry…"
Riku stood quietly, glancing at the shattered remnants of the domain. His hands still tingled.
He knew that wasn't the last time he'd face Sukuna.
And next time, it might not be in his favor.
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What do you guys think of the chapter? Let me know if I made any mistakes and I'll try my best to fix it as soon as possible.