Chapter 09

To Sukuna, Itadori was an interesting person.

Of course, he disliked the boy simply because he was trapped in his body, but the fact that Itadori was able to be so contained was enough to pique his interest.

Itadori seemed to be the perfect prison for someone like Sukuna, given that there were a few things that made him the ideal vessel.

Sukuna was unable to access any of Itadori's memories or thoughts, limited to merely observing what was happening outside through his eyes.

To Sukuna, it felt like being trapped in a cell, limited to observing the outside through a small window.

Itadori also seemed naturally capable of preventing him from manifesting in any way, whether through thoughts or by manifesting through his mouth.

It was irritating, but at the same time, quite interesting. The fact that someone could keep another's soul trapped in this way was definitely not something that should naturally be possible.

Moreover, Itadori seemed quite talented, as he had been able to manipulate cursed energy in a short period of time.

Sukuna could see all of this. Itadori was definitely someone who could become powerful in the future.

But the idea of letting that happen left a bad taste in Sukuna's mouth.

He was someone who liked to cut problems off at the root. He had no intention of letting someone like Itadori grow to that extent.

The existence of Itadori irritated him simply because he was a perfect prison for him.

Compared to someone like Gojo, Itadori was insignificant in terms of Sukuna's return, but the simple fact that he was able to imprison his soul made him a target Sukuna needed to eliminate, or at least dominate his soul to gain full control of his body.

"What an irritating kid."

But those were plans for the future. Sukuna had more important matters to attend to.

.

Opening his eyes, Itadori suddenly found himself in an environment shrouded in darkness, his eyes narrowing as he looked around cautiously.

"So this is what it's like inside my soul?" Frowning, he sighed when he found nothing but pure darkness stretching infinitely. "How tedious."

Sitting on the ground, Itadori clasped his hands together and took a deep breath.

In the end, he had been unable to face the special grade curse without Sukuna's help. Fortunately, he wasn't like Itadori, who was too affected by the fear of death, making it difficult for him to regain control of his body.

Itadori still felt his connection with Sukuna, and didn't think he would have difficulty making the switch. In fact, he was even surprised by how easily he could do it.

This led to a question that Itadori periodically took time to think about.

What had really happened to the soul of the original Itadori?

Mark, now Itadori, had some theories about this, but they were all based on his own assumptions.

The first was that he and Itadori had had their souls fused, which somehow would end up strengthening it when combined into one. This would be a great answer to why he could contain Sukuna so much more effectively, since unlike the original Itadori, he could not only contain Sukuna's manifestations but also switch at will.

This had some counterpoints, as aside from the memories of the original Itadori, he had nothing else to prove this, as he felt more like Mark than Itadori, despite having his disposition affected by the kind-hearted Itadori's memories.

The second was that his own soul had swallowed Itadori's soul, which would ultimately result in the same outcome as the first theory.

The third was that the original Itadori's soul had been completely replaced, leaving only his body and memories behind.

Mark did not believe this theory to be true, simply because he didn't believe his soul alone could contain Sukuna better than Itadori, who had been created with this purpose in mind.

Moreover, it would go against the logic of that world, where soul was body and body was soul.

Itadori scratched his chin, his mind brushing away those thoughts as Sukuna began his fight against the special grade curse.

"I guess I can think about this later; for now, I should focus on absorbing as much as possible from this fight."

.

With the special grade curse finally defeated, Sukuna turned calmly as he walked away, his gaze hardening as he stopped for a moment.

"Hey, kid! If you're going to switch, hurry up!"

"..."

"Little shit?"

Receiving no response, Sukuna broke into a huge, devilish grin, his body turning to leave.

!

But before he could move, a strange sensation coursed through his body, his smile disappearing completely.

"I tricked you."

With the marks disappearing from his face, and his second pair of eyes closing completely, Itadori resumed control of his body, to Sukuna's irritation.

"You really thought I wouldn't come back? How naïve." With a mocking smile, Itadori began walking towards the exit of the dormitory.

"You piece of shit." With a second mouth opening on Itadori's cheek, Sukuna spoke in an irritated tone, which drew a smile from Yuji. "I'll relish killing your friends when—"

*Slap

"Shh! I want to enjoy my freedom." Silencing him with a slap, Itadori continued on his way with a satisfied smile on his lips.

'The only reason I paid so much attention to this fight was to observe the use of reverse cursed energy.'

Rubbing his chin, Itadori frowned.

'And seeing Sukuna use it, I was able to understand...'

"..."

'I was able to understand that I didn't understand anything.'