Jogo's expression twisted.
Molten veins bulged along his neck and temple, steam hissing from his pores as the very ground beneath him began to boil.
"WEAK?" he thundered.
His voice shook the skeletons of buildings still clinging to existence.
Lava erupted from his ears.
His volcanic head flared with raw magma, blazing so violently it seemed like it would explode without end.
Jogo clapped his hands together into a seal, molten palms searing the air.
"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME, YOU BRAT… I'M GOING TO ENJOY SWALLOWING THAT SMUG FACE OF YOURS WHOLE!"
Up on Naoya's back, Makima blinked slowly.
"Weak?" she thought, calmly watching Jogo ignite like a living supernova.
"This creature … this curse… Father considers him weak?"
A small pause.
The corners of her lips didn't move. But her thoughts burned.
"Interesting."
Below, the sky cracked with heat.
And then—
"DOMAIN EXPANSION."
A tidal wave of volcanic energy exploded outward, swallowing light itself.
The world twisted.
Reality blurred.
In an instant, the landscape transformed—replaced by an endless field of scorched obsidian and molten craters.
Rivers of lava carved through the ground in spirals.
Ash filled the air like snow.
"COFFIN OF THE IRON MOUNTAIN!"
The heat was suffocating.
Even Makima, for the first time, squinted slightly.
Naoya clicked his tongue and instantly activated Domain Amplification, a thin veil of cursed energy wrapping around them both. The air around Makima stopped sizzling—just barely.
Without that protection, she would've turned to ash before finishing her next breath.
"...What is this?" Makima asked, eyes scanning the hellish landscape. Her voice was calm, but her fingers curled tighter around Naoya's collar.
"Domain Expansion," Naoya replied, slowly unzipping his jacket.
He slid Makima inside like luggage, only her head poking out now.
"The pinnacle of Jujutsu."
"You use cursed energy to construct an innate domain imbued with your technique," he explained. "It surrounds the battlefield and shifts everything in your favor."
"Hm"
"Spreading out a domain consumes a ton of energy," he continued, "but the benefits are worth the cost. One of them is a boost to your stats thanks to the environmental control."
"Oh, like that main character in one of your hentai magazines," Makima said, playing dumb. "The one who said he 'buffed himself to last longer,' or something."
Naoya stared dead ahead.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
Ignoring her, Naoya continued. "Another is that the techniques imbued in the domain are guaranteed to hit."
"Guaranteed?!" Makima's eyes widened slightly.
"But there are counters."
As he spoke, a volcanic chunk the size of a car came crashing toward them.
Naoya stepped forward, bracing.
He raised his forearm and shattered it on impact—magma and debris scattering in a blaze of light.
His skin blistered instantly, hissing and charring. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air.
"You can tank the hits,"
"if you've got enough cursed energy reinforcement, Domain Amplification, or just raw durability."
"Papa… your hand!" Makima said softly, her voice tinged with rare alarm.
Her eyes widened further as she watched the mangled flesh already regenerating, muscle knitting back over bone.
To see a human recover like that—it unsettled even her.
"Escaping the domain is another option," Naoya added, shaking out his healing arm, "but honestly? That's usually impossible."
Makima blinked, processing it.
"So… it's a guaranteed win technique?" she asked, trying to wrap her mind around the logic.
Naoya nodded.
"In theory, yes. But the best counter to a Domain—"
He raised a single hand, fingers curling into a deliberate sign. His stance shifted.
"—is to cast your own Domain."
"When two Domains are activated at the same time, the more refined one dominates the space," he explained. "Though things like cursed technique compatibility and raw cursed energy still matter."
He took a breath. Then, almost lazily—
lifted one hand, forming a deliberate hand sign.
He had modified the sign. What used to require both hands now only needed one.It was something he'd been testing. He doubted it would make much of a difference—but the experiment had succeeded.
"Domain Expansion."
The atmosphere warped.
A golden ripple pulsed outward from Naoya like a heartbeat.
Time Cell Moon Palace surged into existence.
The molten sky fractured—cracks webbing through the flaming heavens like broken glass.
Jogo's domain didn't collapse—it shattered, piece by piece, In its place stood a vast golden corridor, infinite and surreal.
Above, a colossal projector-eye opened, blinking once.
image:
Jogo staggered back, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Impossible…" he snarled.
Steam hissed from his shoulders as his cursed energy flared—unstable.
"My domain—my domain! You overwrote it!?"
His veins bulged as he tried to move.
Blood burst from the corners of his mouth.
Then, all at once—
Thin, invisible slashes opened across his chest and arms.
Dozens of cuts bloomed like blooming flowers.
Jogo dropped to one knee, purple blood dripping from his fingers, sizzling against the golden floor.
"Damn you…" he growled, cursed energy focusing as his wounds began to regenerate.
Naoya said nothing.
He simply vanished—
Then reappeared behind Jogo in the next frame, his leg drawn back to end the fight.
But then—he paused.
His eyes shifted upward.
Something was off.
He felt it—
A pressure.
Outside the golden corridor of Time Cell Moon Palace, a figure stood atop the domain's surface.
Kaori.
She lifted a hand.
"Anti-Gravity System."
The air twisted.
And then—gravity inverted.
A colossal force slammed downward, crushing the domain from above like a divine weight.
Then—
CRACK!
Naoya's domain shattered.
Jogo collapsed, gasping for air as natural light and atmosphere returned.
Kaori descended gently, like a feather caught in wind, landing silently in front of Naoya.
A moment later, Hanami burst upward from beneath the ground, dirt crumbling from their shoulders
Dagon slumped across Hanami's back, looking cute.
Naoya clicked his tongue, eyebrows slightly raised.
Kaori brushed her hair aside, calm despite the battlefield still smoldering.
"Can we stop here, Naoya-san?" she asked.
"I have a proposal for you."
Naoya tilted his head, slowly, eyes half-lidded with disdain.
Then he spoke, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Tch… Is my aura that overwhelming?"
"You really felt the pressure and went: 'Damn, I should probably offer this god of a man a deal so I don't die horribly today'?"
He sighed, shaking his head.
"Ahh… sometimes I don't even understand myself."
Naoya lazily waved a hand toward the sky. "This much strength… it's exhausting being this superior."
Makima peeked her head from his jacket, blinking slowly.
"…Papa, you're being dramatic."
"Shut up," Naoya muttered without heat. He didn't deny it either.
He turned his eyes back to Kaori—Kenjaku—mild curiosity flickering behind them.
"Alright. You've got sixty seconds. Impress me."
Kaori gave a soft chuckle.
"I saw your game trailer. The one you released two years ago."
Naoya's face didn't move. He just tilted his head slightly.
"So?"
"From that trailer alone… I understood something." Kaori stepped closer. "You know more than you should. Far more than anyone in this world could possibly know. I don't know how, or why, or even when—but I won't ask. What matters is the design. The intent."
She smiled thinly.
"You released it not as a warning, but as a signal. You want chaos. You want evolution. I like that."
"And?" Naoya asked, already bored.
"Let me introduce myself, then—"
"I know who you are. Skip the foreplay," he interrupted, well aware of how much Kenjaku loves to yap.
Kaori laughed again. It was light, melodic.
"Very well. Then I'll make this simple."
"I like your vision. It aligns with mine. This world? It needs to crack. It needs instability. Destruction. Rebirth."
She raised her hand, motioning around them.
"But… our plans might collide. So instead of fighting, I propose an alliance. Let's merge our foresight, Naoya Zenin."
Naoya studied her. His expression was unreadable.
"If you know what I know," Kaori added softly, "you'll understand why this is the smartest path forward."
Naoya blinked slowly. Then smiled.
"Actually, I was wondering when you'd crawl out. Took you long enough to show up."
He walked past her, dragging a chair out from the rubble and dusting it off. He sat down with royal casualness, crossing one leg over the other.
"I'll help you. I'll even play along—for now. But I want three things."
Kaori's interest sharpened.
"I'm listening."
"One," Naoya said, raising a finger. "I want to learn how to create Open Barrier Domains.."
Hanami, Jogo, and Dagon all stirred. Even Makima blinked again, confused.
"Open barrier?" Jogo muttered. "What the hell is that?"
"Two," Naoya said, raising a second finger, ignoring them.
"Teach me how to turn myself—and anything else I choose—into a cursed object."
Kaori's smile widened, impressed now.
"And the third?"
Naoya tapped his cheek.
"That one's… personal. When the time comes, I'll tell you. Don't worry—it's not anything crazy."
He leaned back.
"Accept those terms, and I'll burn the whole world with you."
Kaori's eyes flickered with interest, then delight.
"…Interesting," she said. "Very well. I accept."