Chương 54: A Hero

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Glory to my chief Proofreader; Solare for he is the one who points out mistakes and acts as my favourite wall to bounce ideas off of.

It's Time To Unleash 120% of My Wuji Himadori Glazing Potential!

1000 Power Stones = Extra Chapter

Not my fault you guys fuckin reached 1350 Stones last time...

No seriously, how the fuck did you guys do that?

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"-And where was he last seen?" Yuji asked, he was currently sprinting down the street while enhancing himself with Cursed Energy. Although he was moving oddly faster than he was used to which he attributed to feedback from Sukuna's enhanced powers.

"The last time he was spotted was by the Grade One Sorcerer Kento Nanami, I lost contact with him due to the earpiece being destroyed during an impromptu battle against some of the Disaster Curse's Transfigured Humans."

Yuji gritted his teeth in worry at that news before pushing himself to run even harder, inefficient Cursed Energy Usage be damned. The ground beneath the Vessel began to be cracked and crumbled from his spiking strength as he blurred through the ruined streets of Shibuya.

"Calm yourself, Itadori Yuji. Even if he is fighting a Special Grade Curse, Nanami Kento is a Grade One Sorcerer for a reason. He can handle himself so there is no need to waste your energy, just follow my instructions and you'll get to him before he is killed."

That had somewhat calmed the pink haired sorcerer down who slowed down his fevered sprint into a more efficient and manageable level. Eventually, he could feel the familiar signature of his classmates up ahead in the same direction he was headed.

A few moments later, he crossed through an alleyway which led directly into a street in the middle of the Red Light District.

It was there where he saw his classmate Nobara Kugisaki in the middle of a fight with what looked like a Curse User with a hand gripped sword and long blond hair tied into a ponytail, he also curiously had one blue stripe on his left cheek.

He was about to jump into the fight to help her but that proved unnecessary as she drew the Curse user in by giving him a false opening before blocking his blade with the pole of her Naginata and pulling upwards with great force.

The result was immediate as the Blond Haired Curse User's cursed blade was sent flying into the air where it was then slapped away with the blunt end of her Naginata.

Not giving her opponent even a second to breath, she immediately thrust forward with Naginata and stabbed the Curse User straight through the chest causing him to cough out blood. The last blue stripe on his cheek fading away into nothing.

The blonde haired man fell onto the ground at her feet, causing Yuji to grimace slightly. He then noticed something odd that grabbed his attention and caused him to call out to his friend in worry.

"Nobara the Sword is flying to you-!" He shouted but it was proven to be unneeded.

Nobara Kugisaki didn't even turn around to face the cursed blade as she just pulled out her nail gun from her holster and shot behind herself, a nail pierced the hand-hilt of the blade and nailed it onto the ground.

"Oh? Yuji?" She called out with pleasant surprise at her friend being alright, she spun her blade around in the air to remove any blood from it before bringing it down onto the body of the curse user Blade First.

SHIK!

The head of the Blonde Haired Curse user began to roll away, having been separated from the body by Nobara Kugisaki's casual movement. Itadori Yuji flinched slightly at the casual murder of the curse user but he didn't mention it since he knew it was necessary.

"Everyone heard and saw Sukuna get out for a while, shit we all felt his battle with Megumi! What happened, you alright? And where's the black haired dunce, don't tell me he kicked the bucket or something?" Nobara asked, pulling her Naginata upwards and spinning it clear of blood before holstering it at her back again.

"Umm.. I sorta lost a fight against this Blood Manipulation user, he left me unconscious and I got fed a bunch of Sukuna Fingers while unconscious. From there Sukuna took over and Megumi grabbed his attention to make sure he didn't kill anyone, I'm sure you can put together what happened from there…"

Yuji explained as he had a very embarrassed expression that only grew when he felt a death glare come his way from his classmate.

"For fuck sake.. How many fingers is he at now?" She asked with a slight groan of annoyance.

"Ummmm… 19 Fingers…?"

"19 WHAT?! Is Megumi okay? That must've been the fuckin' fight of his Life!"

"I mean.. Last I remember from the fight, he was dragging Sukuna through a few dozen buildings and telling him to, and I quote: 'STAY IN THE KITCHEN AND MAKE ME A SANDWICH!'. After all that, he just healed me then sat down to take a nap…" Yuji explained, still feeling a sense of unbelievable surrealness at remembering that battle.

'Megumi looked really scary during that fight.. He reminded me of Sukuna from how he acted, shit he was even looking like he was having more fun with the fight than Sukuna was at the end.' The pink haired man realised, it wasn't the most comforting thought.

Before Nobara could comment on the sheer insanity of what he said, both of them heard a booming voice call out to them with pride.

"I for one never doubted our Good Friend! I knew he could handle Sukuna alone!"

The two of them turned to face the source of the voice, they saw Aoi Todo come crashing down next to them all the while riding a Grade 3 curse down from a building. The curse exploded into a shower of blood on impact with the ground, not that any of the sorcerers around cared.

"Oh.. It's you." Nobara commented, she could already feel a headache coming in.

"Yo Todo, nice to see you're uninjured!" Yuji greeted cheerfully, happy to see a familiar smiling face for once.

"I am glad to see you are safe and sound as well my Brother!" The scared man declared enthusiastically.

Before they could continue their chat, a loud click sounded out in all their ears.

"Now is not the time to catch up or chat, lives are on the line! Itadori, continue on ahead, the Subway entrance is close by. Mahito is nearby!" Mechamaru ordered, drawing multiple different reactions.

"But why let my Brother fight alone?"

"He is the Only one capable of Viewing the Soul and Damaging it, he is also Immune to Mahito's Cursed Technique to an Extent thanks to Sukuna."

"What about Maki? She can see the Soul, she could help him!"

"Negative. Maki Zen'in has been given a directive from Megumi Fushiguro. She, along with Yuki Tsukumo, are required to keep Suguru Geto Occupied until he is ready to come help take him out so he doesn't escape with the Prison Realm. You two need to be ready to fight."

"Huh? Ready to fight what?!" Nobara questioned, although her question was answered moments later when they all felt the aura of a Special Grade Curse descend on them.

"It's one of the 20 Registered Special Grade Curses, known as 'The Cockroach'. It possesses a dangerous and unorthodox Cursed Technique along with Absurdly fast Regeneration. Kugisaki couldn't handle him alone and Todo would waste too much time alone and wouldn't be able to finish it off, so they must take care of it together."

"You Humans are Truly a Disgusting waste of my Eternal Time, I would rather be awaiting you all to die out but the Master wishes you all dead, so it seems my hands are tied." Said a low Human-like voice.

They then saw the curse itself, despite its obviously immense cursed energy signature its appearance is that of a human mostly, but it also has snail like features with a shell on its back and extra snail eyes.

"You heard the man Yuji, go! We'll handle this oversized snail!" Nobara announced, withdrawing her Hammer and Nail Gun, ready to support Todo from afar.

"Go my Brother! I'll follow you as soon as we're done with this Curse!" Todo shouted with a thumbs up before running ahead at the curse with a giant grin.

"Right! Good Luck you two!" Yuji shouted right back before running off into a nearby Subway entrance, although he couldn't help but chuckle as he heard an all too familiar sentence be screamed a moment later.

"HEY COCKROACH! WHAT KIND OF WOMEN DO YOU LIKE?! IF YOU LIKE MEN OR OTHER CURSES THAT'S FINE TOO!"

"Heh.. Never change, my Best Friend…" The Vessel of the Strongest muttered under his breath, breaking straight through the ground multiple times at Mechamaru's orders so he could skip the stairs and get to Nanami as soon as possible.

However, when Itadori Yuji reached the bottom of the subway system, he saw something that made his heart clench in horror.

There was Mahito alright, and he was fighting Nanami as expected. But it was going terribly for the Grade One sorcerer who was covered from head to toe in bruises and cuts and on one knee. All around him were the broken and mutilated bodies of Transfigured Humans that he was forced to kill in the fight.

And worst of all?

The Disaster Curse known as Mahito had his right arm pulled backwards, familiar Black Sparks running down its frame before throwing a devastating haymaker at the sorcerer's chest.

"Black Flash!"

Nanami was sent flying backwards and slammed into a wall, sending cracks throughout its whole foundations. Thankfully, it seems like Mahito failed to Transfigure the sorcerer during his Black Flash.

"Oh~? I guess you protected your Soul instinctively again, how troublesome~! But don't worry, I'll be sure to end your suffering with this next charge!" Mahito screamed before charging in, it seems that in his revelry due to the Black Flash, he had neglected to pay attention to the crashing sound behind them.

And Ignoring Itadori Yuji was a Great mistake that no Sorcerer, Curse or otherwise, can dare to do.

"MAHITO!"

The Disaster Curse turned to look at the source of the shout while mid sprint only for his face to be met with two feet, the force of the impact crushed his patchworked face in and sent him flying backwards and through a wall.

"Nanami-san! Are you alright?!" Yuji shouted with worry as he ran to the blonde haired man, helping himself up to his feet.

"Y-Yes Itadori-kun.. I'm f-fine, you n-need to get away!" Nanami ordered, despite his debilitating injuries he still kept trying to keep the student safe no matter the cost.

"No. You will be the one to retreat, I am sending a Puppet to grab you this instant." Mechamaru immediately interjected through Yuji's earpiece.

"B-But I'm the Adult sorcerer here, I-I can't in good conscience l-let Itadori-kun fight that Thing alone!" The blonde haired man argued, although his tone was resolute it seemed like his body didn't agree with him as he coughed up blood a moment later.

"You say that but all you are to him at this moment is Dead Weight. Retreat now or he will die having to protect you."

Nanami gritted his teeth at that, despite hating himself for it, he knew that Mechamaru was correct. What really changed his mind was Yuji placing a hand on his shoulder and looking him in the eyes.

"I can handle this Nanamin! Even Sorcerers need to be saved sometimes, please get to safety!!" He declared with an assured grin.

The blonde haired sorcerer gaped his mouth for a moment, he could almost see the visage of his old friend by Yuji's face. He then chuckled lightly and nodded, idly walking away while keeping a hand against the wall for support.

'So this is what Gojo-san saw, huh? Children are the Future, I suppose it's time for us old heads to trust them and just let them take centre stage.' Nanami thought as he made his way out of the inner halls of the station.

But before he could leave fully he turned around and spoke one last time before he escaped to safety, a heartfelt request from a teacher to a student.

"Kill 'em Runt."

The oddly crass words took Itadori Yuji off guard whose face paused for a moment before he chuckled in amusement and spoke one word in response.

"OSU!"

With that Nanami Kento made his escape from the battlefield with his life intact just as the Curse known as Mahito made his appearance once again.

"You and your Saviour Complex.. You are Truly Disgusting, Itadori Yuji!" Mahito declared as he ran a finger along his cheek.

It was obvious that the surprise attack he just suffered caused good damage on his face since he somewhat struggled to heal it, an observant viewer would notice an odd cut along his cheek that took longer to heal than normal.

The Special Grade Disaster Curse and the Vessel of the Strongest stood opposed to each other, each bringing their arms up in preparation for the fight, each lighting up with their respective Cursed Energy.

The two of them sprinted at each other, with Mahito morphing his hands into serrated scythe-like forms as he ran. The curse was first to attack with a swing of his bladed arm which was ducked under and responded to with an uppercut.

Mahito barely dodged the fist by expanding a Transfigured Human from the ground to act as an emergency wall, the Cursed Being was exploded by the force of Yuji's fist and turned into a blood splatter.

Itadori Yuji grimaced slightly and walked around the mutilated body to try and corner Mahito if possible, the Human Curse smirked gleefully at this and began his mind games again.

"I don't think you realise what's Really happening this night!" He shouted before running ahead, he vomited up 7 Transfigured Humans before slamming his hands together and releasing them.

The Transfigured Humans became a gigantic serpentine creature that rushed ahead under the will of its Master, it crushed anything in its path in order to get to its Target.

"This isn't a fight to determine what's 'Right' and 'Wrong'!"

When Itadori Yuji was met with the abomination, he chose to face it head on by rushing at it and jumping on top of its back at the last possible second. Not caring as it crashed into the wall behind him, he simply jumped off of it and towards the special grade curse.

"This is a War to decide who Lives and Rules the World in a Hundred Years from now!"

He and Mahito met face to face once again and started trading blows, every few seconds the disaster curse would change and morph his body to ridiculous proportions in order to throw off his opponent but each change was met with Pure unbridled force.

Mahito morphed his arm to be long and spiked before shooting it off the side in the middle of their exchange, it wrapped around a pole and came from behind to grapple Yuji. But the pink haired sorcerer had already noticed his plan and knew exactly what to do and backed off slightly to draw Mahito in which the Curse accepted with a grin.

"Don't you get it Itadori Yuji?! You Are Me! Just like I kill without thought, you save without thinking too!"

Yuji ignored him and waited for the last possible second as he wrapped his hands lightly with cloth before grabbing onto the limb with his left hand and swerving to the right as he screamed right back.

"I DON'T CARE!"

This Declaration and Manoeuvre took the Disaster Curse off guard enough for him to wrap Mahito's own limb around him like a christmas present before winding back his Right Fist and slamming it straight into his opponent's Head.

"S-SHIT-!"

"BLACK FLASH!"

CRASH!

Mahito's skull was caved in from the crushing blow as Black Lightning Sparked throughout the Subway station. Blood spurted out of the Curse's head like a geyser before he was sent flying through a wall, causing it to crumble behind him.

"Just Shut the Fuck Up and Fight! Your 'Arch Nemesis Villain' Dialogue is Lame and over played as hell! They always pull this 'We'Re nOt So difFeReNt yOu anD I' shit in every Comic and Manga! It's over used, get some new Material or Shut the Fuck Up!" Yuji shouted at the crumbled wall with his fist clenched in frustration.

The pink haired man heard a loud clanging sound beside him and saw a pipe that just fell onto the ground, it looked as if it was calling to him. He picked up the pipe and swung it around for a moment before a grin overcame his face.

'Yeah.. This'll Work! All the Sword Training Megumi and Maki tried to give me never stuck, but this I can work with!' Yuji thought with a small chuckle as he charged it with Cursed Energy.

Mahito emerged from the rubble a few moments later sluggishly, that attack had done significant damage to him. So much so that he knew he had to resort to something bigger than he could afford.

'Dammit all! I don't have that many Transfigured Humans because of those stupid Puppets rushing in and grabbing all the Humans before I could! But I have no choice!'

Mahito gagged for a moment before proceeding to Vomit out 4 Dozen Transfigured Humans of all shapes and sizes.

"G-Go hold him off! I need a breather!"

With that, the Disaster Curse slunk off and hid with worry evident in his voice to regenerate and look for an opening to attack.

The Transfigured Humans stumbled over themselves as they sprinted over to Yuji like wild animals, the Grade One sorcerer grinned slightly at the on coming hoard and readied his Pipe.

"Come on then! This'll be just like when I played 'Dying Light'! Go for the head and then the knees!" He shouted before swinging his pipe at the first oncoming curse, reducing its Head to a splatter of Blood with a single swing.

The Hoard then came upon Itadori Yuji who faced them with a childish grin, one by one each Cursed Being was shattered.

"Batter Up!"

With a single swing he had turned one of the Transfigured Humans into a wrecking ball that crashed into his fellows and dropped them to the ground, he followed up on this by jumping into the air and coming down with Pipe in hand and reducing the group into a blood smear.

This continued for the next minute as each sloppy move by the Transfigured Humans was met with a swift and painless death, eventually he had brought the number down to only one of them left.

Unfortunately for Itadori Yuji, he had left one of the Curses still breathing as he was busy fending off another, this allowed the Transfigured Human to slice into his right thigh just as he was about to dodge.

And although he killed it a moment later, this mess up was the perfect opportunity for Mahito to make his entrance into the battle.

Yuji heard a subtle creaking behind him and turned to face it, but it was too late as Mahito was already upon him with his Sparking arm pulled back. All he could do was cross his arms together as an Explosion of Black Sparks sent him flying back, landing on his stomach.

"Black Flash!"

"I don't care if it's a 'Cowardly Move', I am a Curse!" Mahito screamed as he sprinted forwards to finish off his opponent as he was vulnerable on the ground.

However, Itadori Yuji did not know what 'Giving Up' was as he gritted his teeth through the pain and dug his hands into the ground, lifting up a chunk of concrete and throwing it at Mahito.

The Disaster Curse easily grabbed it before laughing with mirth and amusement at what his opponent just did.

"HAH! Getting Desperate Are We-?"

His Mocking voice was cut off by a Fist Crashing straight through the chunk of concrete and landing straight into his face which was crushed inwards from the sheer strength behind the punch.

That alone would have done significant damage, but then came a Double Impact from Yuji's 'Divergent Fist' which threw his Head backwards even further causing it to almost turn 180 Degrees.

"Not desperate if it works!" Yuji shouted back, remembering how Megumi had outplayed Sukuna by using a Fire Extinguisher of all things.

Itadori Yuji came running in without letting his opponent think or breathe, pulling his arm back while cupping it with the other as Black Sparks formed around it.

However, even as he was about to land a Black Flash, all he could think of was the words of his Comrades that came reverberating through his Mind at the last possible second.

'Nobara is right, Jujutsu Sorcerers don't decide what's 'Right' or 'Wrong'.'

Itadori Yuji Threw a Right Hook.

"Black Flash!"

'Megumi was also right, Saving People is what I do Best, What I was Born to Do.'

Itadori Yuji Threw a Left Hook.

"Black Flash!"

'I am not a Jujutsu Sorcerer.'

The Hero Threw an Uppercut.

"BLACK FLASH!!"

Black Sparks overtook everything in sight as Mahito's body was crushed inwards twice before being sent up into the ceiling with an Explosion of Lightning.

The pink haired man heaved in and out from that rush, noting that he felt somewhat off after all those Black Flashes but decided to worry about it later and jump into the ceiling to follow his opponent.

When he reached up to where Mahito landed, he looked around to find himself back in the middle of the battleground where Megumi and Sukuna fought. A Broken and Scarred Wasteland that will take decades to recover from.

He then turned to face Mahito who dragged himself up to his feet for one final Burst for their battle, the Curse held himself for a moment as he grunted in pain before exploding outwards into a mass of ulcering flesh which then Shrank into a Sleeker Humanoid Form.

"Instant Spirit Body of Distorted Killing!"

[Image (In Discord)]

"Why not Wish Me a Happy Birthday, Itadori Yuji?" Mahito mocked with mirth and rage, although that mocking hid under it a sense of Terror as he knew that he had not nearly recovered from those Black Flashes and would be done in with one more Black Flash at most.

"You're just being a Frieza Knock-Off!" Yuji mocked right back, proving himself utterly unphased by Mahito's Mind Games and that he also knew that the curse was on borrowed time.

Mahito growled at his failing schemes before rushing in with abandon as he simply didn't have any other choice since he was robbed of any Transfigured Humans.

Yet, Itadori Yuji stood unmoved by his opponent's charge. That odd feeling he sensed following the 4 Consecutive Black Flashes had returned with a vengeance, that sense turned into a lulling Hum that drew his body forwards.

He raised his right hand lazily at Mahito and pointed at him with 2 fingers before Chanting a word that felt oddly at home on his Tongue.

"Dismantle."

Mahito instantly crossed his arms over his body, a second later an invisible Slash dug into his hardened Skin and left a deep mark.

"T-That's Sukuna's Cursed Technique!" He screamed, watching as Yuji shot forwards towards him, leaving behind a scattering of rubble in his wake.

What terrified him the most was the change in his opponent's eyes, as even they had changed to that of the titular man.

[Image (In Discord)]

Indeed, under the Baptism of Black Sparks, combined with the Surging Essence of Ryomen Sukuna within his body; Itadori Yuji had Awakened a deeply ingrained Bloodline within his body.

Itadori Yuji's father was the King of Curse's Twin Brother Reincarnated thanks to the influence of the Curse known as Kenjaku.

For even the Light of Hope Shines Black, Itadori Yuji has Awakened!

The Vessel of the Strongest now has access to the King's Cursed Technique 'Shrine'!

Yuji immediately put his new ability to use as he crashed his fist onto the ground beneath Mahito and chanted.

"Cleave!"

Spiderweb slashes ran along the ground, robbing the Disaster Curse of solid ground. Mahito tried to counter attack by swinging at his opponent with his bladed arm, but a loud sound had cut through the whole atmosphere at the last possible second.

CLAP!

Mahito and Yuji swapped places in less than instant, leaving Mahito on the ground while the Vessel of the Strongest pulled back his arm which was covered with Black Sparks.

"I said I'd come as soon as I was Done! Now Finish it, MY BRUZZA!"

"BLACK FLASH!!"

Itadori Yuji's fist dug into Mahito's face, its force crushing his armoured face into the ground with an explosion of Black Lightning. Then came Cleaves that ran down from the curse's face to the rest of its body which shattered and cracked under the overwhelming power of the Invisible Slashes.

All was silent for a moment as the pink haired man stood up to his full height, staring down at the Disaster Curse which moaned in pain.

Mahito still had strength in him it seemed, he weakly and pathetically started to drag himself away from Yuji Itadori as tears started running down his broken face.

Yuji simply looked on as Mahito cried and moaned with fear and terror as he dragged himself away desperately from an Apex Predator. And while the Vessel of the Strongest felt no Joy in watching Mahito humiliate himself…

He could not Deny a Sense of Satisfaction at finally being able to put it out of its Misery.

"Your Curse Ends Here, Mahito." The Hero declared as he brought his hand up faced against each other in a familiar yet at the same time not position.

"Fuga."

Azure Blue Flames formed between his hands, they instinctively formed into a Pillar.

[Image (In Discord)]

Itadori Yuji crushed the flames into the palms of his hands before gripping them with his right arm and pulling it backwards, forming an arrow of Azure Flames. He then only whispered but one word under his breath before unleashing the flames.

"Goodbye."

An Inferno of Azure Flames fired up into the night sky, Mahito pathetically screamed in pain as his Body and Soul were both burned into ashes.

The Special Grade Disaster Curse 'Mahito' is Dead.

"Oh Yuji.. …What have you done?"

Itadori Yuji turned to face the unexpected and unfamiliar voice, he saw a tall Black Haired man in a monk Outfit. No doubt it was Suguru Geto, but what really surprised him was the look of Horror and Surprise on his face.

The Curse Known as Kenjaku felt the Utterly Unfamiliar Sense of Foreboding Terror as he Watched all of his Millenia Old Plans be Reduced to Ashes in the Wind.

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1000 Power Stones = Extra Chapter

Author's Note:

FUCK CANON! WE DIE LIKE KINGS!

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

…

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Next Chapter Title: The Eve of a New Dawn.

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