Chapter 121: Resolve

It wasn't the first time Sukuna faced off against egotistical enemies. 

However, the man opposite him gave off something different.

A feeling of death.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The man, Aleph, took his time leisurely. He strolled to Sukuna's position as if he was walking in a park.

"Hoh..?"

Sukuna tested the waters. His current strength, having eaten sixteen fingers in total, almost brought him to his peak. There's only this much difference compared to the Sukuna whom Kashimo and the others fought.

Shiing-!

An 'invisible' arc flew straight to Aleph. Given its nature, it was able to dismantle anything it touches.

Although, it wasn't as invisible as Sukuna thought.

Shiing-!

Shiing-!

A simple tilt of Aleph's body narrowly avoided it. The arc landed at a building behind him, which then dismantled it diagonally in half.

Bam-!

Rumble-!

Several more arcs flew at Aleph, only for him to avoid them all. The distance between them steadily decreased. The scenery behind Aleph was that of a ruin's, yet he didn't seem affected by it.

At this moment, Sukuna realized something.

"You can see it. You can see my cursed technique!"

The dark blue world in Aleph's sight confirmed Sukuna's words. The invisible arc was particularly noticeable in this dark blue world.

It took Great Sage a while to analyze its composition. Its resources were poured into the Evolution Cube, hence the delay.

{Result: The invisible attack has a property of separating everything it comes in contact with. It is similar to cursed techniques that follow a rule in terms of operation…}

The flying slash attack, to which Kashimo dubbed 'Dismantle', was one of Sukuna's lethal attacks. It could be fired off without any notice while having a strong offensive power. It was silent and deadly.

Interestingly, it was supposed to be invisible to the naked eyes which amplified its danger to an extremely high degree. However, Aleph had the elemental sight. Its lethality was reduced by half as a result.

"Hm."

Contrary to his usual serious attitude, he taunted Sukuna with his fingers.

The latter did not take it lying down.

Bam-!

Sukuna's figure turned into a blur as it headed towards Aleph.

By this time, Sukuna already acknowledged him as a strong enemy. He was on a completely different level compared to Jogo whom he played for five minutes straight.

Shiing-!

Shiing-!

…

Numerous Dismantles flew at Aleph. Every time they did so, he avoided them.

The distance between them was now less than five meters at best.

Sukuna fired another Dismantle, to which Aleph avoided by stepping backwards.

Shiing-!

The former was about to touch Aleph when the latter finally unsheathed Yamato.

Shiing-!

Shatter-!

A power similar in nature to his Dismantle flew right at Sukuna's face.

'This power..!'

Sukuna blocked it once. Little did he know it was merely an 'aftershock' of its real power. Although he estimated it to be beyond the one he blocked, it was still overwhelmingly strong.

As a result…

Bam-!

He was forced to step back several meters.

Thud-!

Using both his hands, Sukuna was able to block the blow. It resulted in his right hand falling into the ground. His gaze never left Aleph's figure.

Click-!

Upon sheathing the blade, Aleph looked at him. He did not say anything, but Sukuna was all too familiar with this gaze that he himself gave to his weaker enemies.

"You're the second in this era." Sukuna spoke as he restored his severed arm with reversed curse technique. "Try to keep this up."

Akin to Satoru Gojo, Aleph pissed him off. At the same time, he was glad he finally had another chance at fighting someone at this level.

"...I got it."

Unbeknownst to Sukuna, Aleph was immersing himself in something else.

*****

Li Shuwen.

The man who kills everything in one strike. He once claimed that he did not need a second strike. 

All of his ideas were received by Aleph like a sponge. The things he had previously overlooked as well as the things he missed out appeared under his 'guidance'.

One of them was Aleph's 'intention'. It was the secret to Li Shuwen's strength. It was the key to learning his 'No Second Strike'.

At this moment, he felt like he was about to learn it.

'What am I missing?'

Aleph had the time to think about it in the midst of his brief clash against Sukuna. The case of someone who was hailed as the strongest for a thousand years was a helpful reference to him.

Unintentionally, Aleph's act of being in a daze during combat was seen as Sukuna as a form of provocation.

Nevertheless, it didn't take long before Aleph realized something.

'Acting upon what you deem right.'

For Sukuna, weaker opponents served as a toy. They were weak, yes, but they served him the purpose of finding a brief entertainment. That was the case when Sukuna fought against Jogo for five minutes when he had the chance to finish the cursed spirit in one go.

For Aleph…

'To become strong enough to not be dictated by fate..!'

His heart began pounding. It was at this moment did he realize something that belonged to his own.

Saving the world.

Protecting his friends and lovers.

It went beyond that. What the people in the Previous Era failed to achieve, he would do it.

'A good ending… and the strength to actualize that. A power that could protect their smiles.' He thought. 'To do that… I must become strong enough.'

Aleph thought of the one in Venus as well as the Aeons outside of their star system.

The beginning of that lay in the premise of utterly obliterating the foe in front of him.

Just then, Aleph felt something.

'Hm..?'

It was hard to explain, though he could tell it was something related to his cursed technique—Ratio.

He pushed this matter at the back of his mind.

"Use it. Your domain."

Aleph spoke once again.

"You won't regret it."

"Hoh..?"

Sukuna gave the look of meeting someone interesting. Strength wise, he hasn't properly estimated Aleph's full power. However, this mentality that belonged to the 'strong' made him feel as if he was meeting one of his people. It was completely different from the acknowledgement he gave to his weaker enemies.

"Then, show me where your confidence lies."

He made an Enma hand sign. Both of his hands touched each other. 

"Ryouiki Tenkai." (Domain Expansion.)

The world under Aleph's dark blue sight changed. A small dot rapidly expanded until his surroundings changed. 

Aleph's world became that of darkness. 

The black water in his feet rippled.

He looked up and saw Sukuna standing at the mouth of his shrine.

Just like that…

'His strongest… for my strongest.'

…Aleph faced the King of Curses.

*****

A/N: Welp, guess who gets cooked this time. The results will be out in the next chapter. The Shibuya Arc won't be that long compared to others (since it's a given how utterly strong Aleph was). Though, do look forward for the cursed techniques that would be unlocked later on. There are only two unknown CTs. I chose the interesting ones that has good potential.