Frieren — Chapter 190 - The Strongest of the Modern Era VS The Strongest in History

[She knew she was different from the moment she was born.]

[One who has escaped death can hardly be called "human" anymore. A curse... or perhaps "god" would be closer.]

[An eternity of observing and watching over the Jujutsu Society.]

[Those memories...]

"All of them. Boring beyond belief."

The Tomb of the Star.

The pure white landscape had been completely shattered. That was the false image Tengen had imposed through Barrier Techniques, a disguise, now gone.

The actual physical location of the Tomb of the Star lies beneath the earth. Withered white branches coil and wind around each other, gripping the walls tight.

At this moment, though, this ruin is riddled with massive gashes and slash marks, carved into every surface.

And in the center of it all.

A thin crack split across the ground.

Then several razor-sharp air currents sliced through, carving open a pitch-black opening.

A slender figure stepped out.

That figure...

Long white hair. Brown eyes, pale and indifferent.

Anyone from a thousand years ago would probably recognize her.

That is...

Tengen's original form.

Slender as a willow, her features delicate as a painting. In a kimono, her posture was light and graceful, her face perpetually expressionless, giving her a cool, almost untouchable air.

Of course, right now, the one occupying this body was no longer Tengen.

That crushing evil.

That crushing weight of Cursed Energy.

Without a doubt.

That is —

(I only watched Kenjaku do it once, but I've already memorized the method for creating Cursed Objects. Heh. As gambles go, the odds of winning were surprisingly good.)

(It's just...)

Sukuna tugged at the kimono draped over his new body.

"Tch. You old hag. Even now you still have to disgust me."

That said, for reasons of his own, Sukuna had long since grown accustomed to women's kimono. No particular resistance there.

More pressing was something else.

Sukuna glanced at his palm. It was trembling, slightly.

"Still able to resist?"

"How utterly ugly. To only be willing to change when it's already come to this."

"Wouldn't you say —"

Sukuna raised his eyes.

At the edge of the hollowed-out semicircular trench, a figure stood on the high ground above.

Short, sleek white hair. Tall silhouette. Eyes like the endless sky itself, gaze cold and distant.

"Satoru Gojo..."

Sukuna's lips curled. Cruel amusement settled on his face.

"You always seem to arrive one step too late."

"Is that so? I'd say I always arrive at exactly the right time." Satoru Gojo's lips curved just slightly. "Besides, I don't think you're worth going all-out for. Don't you know? For a perfect, brilliant, wildly popular character like Mr. Gojo, desperate and disheveled struggles for victory just lose fans."

"Heh." Sukuna's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Strong. You?"

"Oh my. It seems a certain King of Curses has forgotten the time he got solo-killed by my dear Yuta."

"Does defeating me once through sheer effort really make you this elated?" Sukuna showed no sign of being baited. His tone stayed light and flippant.

Satoru Gojo covered his mouth with one hand, snickering. "No~ It's more that the King of Curses would rather wear women's clothing just for a chance to beat me. Now that's desperate."

Sukuna snorted.

"Right back at you."

Satoru Gojo immediately frowned.

"...How do you know I've worn it too?"

Sukuna: "?"

A beat of silence. Then Sukuna steered the conversation back.

"Rest assured. Whether it's you or Yuta Okkotsu, I will kill you both."

"Heh." Satoru Gojo flashed a bright grin and made a face. "Then give it your best shot~"

[The Strongest Sorcerer in History]

[Ryomen Sukuna]

[The Strongest Sorcerer of the Modern Era]

[Satoru Gojo]

The two had been trading trash talk from the moment they laid eyes on each other. But the thoughts churning beneath the surface were nothing like the casual dismissal they showed.

(Megumi Fushiguro's presence has vanished. As expected, he was taken away. Tch. That brat's technique was useful. I wanted to keep it...)

(Tengen's final resistance bought a little time after all. Though I didn't expect Satoru Gojo to arrive this fast. Satoru Gojo himself... no, it was Kenjaku who noticed first, wasn't it?)

(Damn bastard. Just like Tengen. Can't even rest in peace.)

Sukuna cracked his fingers, running the numbers fast.

(Tengen's Cursed Energy reserves helped restore part of the deficit from lacking my [fingers]. But I've only just completed the incarnation. The soul in this body isn't stable yet.)

(My Cursed Energy reserves and output are both still below peak.)

(This is... a bit troublesome.)

—

(What a pain.)

Satoru Gojo was equally cold-eyed on his end.

From his perspective, this is how things had unfolded.

Inside the Aichi barrier with Himmel, after letting Frieren and Kenjaku communicate, everyone had settled on several phased objectives.

But on the road back to Jujutsu High, the two received word: Uraume had attacked.

At the time, Himmel and Satoru Gojo had both intended to rush back immediately. But Kenjaku's expression changed.

[Wait. I understand now!]

[You two can't both go back! Sukuna is most likely no longer there!]

Through Sukuna's transfer of the incarnated body, even having lost nine years of memories, Kenjaku had pieced together the correct answer in that single moment.

Why would the "me" of the past arrange for Uraume to attack Jujutsu High at this exact point in time?

It could never succeed. Not as the primary objective.

But if it were "me," I wouldn't set up an impossible plan unless something was hidden beneath it.

If it were me, what would I think?

If I were Sukuna, what would I choose?

Only seven fingers.

Yuji Itadori was never the target from the beginning.

[Change of incarnated body.]

But the Kenjaku of the past couldn't have seen through Megumi Fushiguro's uniqueness at a glance. He was a researcher, yes, but his contact with Megumi Fushiguro had been minimal. And matters of physical compatibility, only Sukuna himself could truly perceive so-called "suitability."

So if it was "Kenjaku from nine years ago," he would have chosen a simpler answer.

Why would I forget?

A vessel capable of receiving Sukuna's incarnation... doesn't one already exist right there?

[The Tomb of the Star! Sukuna will go after Tengen!]

Only then did Kenjaku realize.

The past nine years abroad, arranging for the mold-cursed spirit to contain the Angel, letting it tamper with Tengen's barrier, that wasn't only to sow chaos. It was also for this exact moment.

The moment the Angel made the first move, that incident itself would become a "reminder" pointed directly at Sukuna.

Damn it all.

I'm so clever.

So in the urgency of the moment, Himmel and Satoru Gojo split into two paths.

Himmel returned to the school. Satoru Gojo broke through to the Tomb of the Star alongside Kenjaku.

And yet.

No matter how you looked at it. They were still one step too late.

Sukuna had already entered the barrier.

Without the Ten Shadows Technique, Satoru Gojo could only have Kenjaku handle dismantling the outer barrier shell of the Tomb of the Star, then charge in himself. He arrived just in time to find Megumi Fushiguro unconscious. He also noticed the missing finger.

He pulled Megumi out. And arrived just in time to watch Sukuna resurrect.

(Of all people. It had to be Tengen...)

(Tengen's Cursed Technique effect is [Immortality]. Exactly as the name implies: it rejects all factors that could lead to the sorcerer's death, while simultaneously completing a transformation of the self.)

(If Tengen wasn't lying nine years ago... that transformation is an unavoidable, uncontrollable evolution.)

(And because Lord Tengen could expand a barrier covering her own Cursed Energy to encompass all of Japan, the Cursed Energy reserves in her physical body are by no means small.)

(Sukuna's strength has recovered. Beyond what it was during the fight with Yuta.)

(But the real problem is... the barrier.)

At this moment, the barrier wrapped around Japan is Tengen's responsibility.

Preventing Cursed Energy from leaking outward.

Absorbing Cursed Energy from outside.

The final line of defense that keeps this cursed realm contained within the island nation. But now that Tengen is under Sukuna's control, he can bring that outer shell down whenever he chooses.

Combined with the "Angel Plan" Kenjaku had already set in motion.

(This really is... such a damn pain.)

,

Two powerful figures locked eyes. Each found the other a problem.

But,

Both of them had enjoyed the advantages of strength since the day they were born.

Neither believed they would lose.

"You know," Sukuna opened, "a Cursed Technique can achieve different effects by extending its target."

"More or less~"

Satoru Gojo was curious enough to hear him out. He let Sukuna talk.

Sukuna turned over the memory from moments ago: the process of shredding Tengen's soul with [Cleave].

"If a technique can be extended to the level of the soul, then — what would the next step be?"

"[Space], perhaps?"

Satoru Gojo: "!"

Sukuna swung a slash at him. Satoru Gojo felt the warning instinctively and moved to dodge.

But,

The blade touched his body. It did not pierce the Infinity.

"Hm."

Sukuna examined his own hand.

"Failed. As expected, it's not that simple."

"Stop trying to scare people!" Satoru Gojo laughed and swore at him.

The next moment, almost simultaneously, both figures vanished.

Not even afterimages.

When they reappeared, they were already in each other's faces.

Forearms locked together, the Strongest of the Modern Era and the Strongest in History collided in midair.

BOOM!

The shockwave from the Cursed Energy clash rolled outward, slamming into the barrier's edges, spreading the web of cracks already running across the walls of the Tomb of the Star.

"Hey~"

Satoru Gojo, dressed in his Jujutsu High instructor uniform, bared a sharp, aggressive grin.

"Coming straight out with Domain Amplification?"

Both forearms pressed hard together. With the Limitless active, Sukuna needed Domain Amplification just to attempt making contact. Satoru Gojo knew it.

But,

[While Domain Amplification is active, the sorcerer cannot use their own Innate Cursed Technique.]

He immediately closed his grip and pulled, one sharp motion from right to left.

At the end of his fingers, a small sphere of azure Cursed Energy condensed into shape.

[Blue.]

Enormous gravitational force seized Sukuna and hauled him backward.

"Ugh!"

BANG!

Satoru Gojo pressed in, a Cursed Energy-loaded fist driving straight into Sukuna's face.

His knuckles sank deep into the side of Sukuna's jaw.

The combined force of the strike and the technique was far beyond anything conventional. Even the King of Curses was blasted directly into the ground.

"Don't worry!"

First exchange.

The Strongest Sorcerer of the Modern Era, Satoru Gojo, had the upper hand.

"I don't know what you're planning. But climbing out of Megumi's body was the worst mistake you've made."

"If it were Megumi in there, I might have held back a little. But I don't know any 'Tengen' or whoever this is."

"Honestly, I've wanted to do this for a long time~"

This strongest brat of the modern era simply couldn't help himself.

A proclamation of victory.

Shattered stone fragments hung suspended in the air. The strongest man alive bared his teeth.

"I'm ending this here."

➤ Next: Open Domain . Unlimited Void