Chapter 14: Territorial hunt

The pink-haired boy ran through the streets of Fuyuki after his target. Fuyuki Lake was unrecognizable even from afar.

Itadori was focusing as much as possible on his objective, but the boy remembered something. - 'What?... That's it again... Now it's stronger!' - thought the boy, stopping running and leaning against the wall.

Itadori's brain hurt a lot, but something was distracting him. He felt the presence of two masters next to him. - "Is there someone here!" - said Itadori.

The presence of the two masters was above a building. The pink-haired boy jumped between the walls to climb up to the building. Itadori diminished his presence.

Still hidden, it looked like the two were talking. - "I see that you have changed, but for the worse, Matou Kariya. You have abandoned the path of magic, but you are still fighting for the Cup... And now, you return like this? This behavior reflects very poorly on the Matou family name" - said a man wearing a red suit.

'I've never seen this guy before, but I'm sure he's part of this war. He has a considerable amount of energy, I'm going to assume he's the master of that idiot King of Heroes.' - thought Itadori.

"Tohsaka Tokiomi, I have a question for you. Why did you hand Sakura over to Zouken?" - said the hooded man.

'I've never seen this guy either, he must be the Berserker master. What is this talk they are talking about?' - thought Itadori.

"Is this something you should worry about right now?" - said Tohsaka.

"Answer me, Tokiomi!" - said Matou, furious.

"There's nothing to say. I simply wanted a bright future for my daughter." - said Tohsaka in a serious and formal way.

'He sold his own daughter? It looks like Megumi's family...' - Itadori thought.

"W-WHAT?!" - Matou said, scared by Tohsaka's response.

"Any wizard with two sons faces a painful dilemma. Only one can inherit the family secrets, the other must fall to the commons." - said Tohsaka.

'It's not just Maki's family that is full of crazy people, well, I can't say much about my family either... Kiritsugu was right, there are only bad people participating in this war.' - thought Itadori.

"Both Rin and Sakura were born with a rare level of magical potential. Both daughters needed the protection that a single clan of wizards could provide, to destroy the possibilities in one's possession for the good of the other... Would any Father would want something like that?" - said Tohsaka.

'It's not just Jujutsu sorcerers who suffer from the twin brothers' curse... Gojo Sensei already told me about it. In society and family lineage, only one twin is considered worthy of inheriting the abilities and position in the family, while the other is often seen as expendable or worthless. In this case, Maki was the "less favored" twin and apparently, this Sakura is too... My condolences little girl. Unfortunately, I can't settle my score with them now, I have something more important to do.' - thought Itadori after silently leaving the place.

Meanwhile, Saber and the other Servants did everything they could to destroy that giant tentacle barrier. Ryuunosuke laughed nonstop on top of a red bridge.

"Amazing! Amazing amazing! Super amazing, sir! God is finally on our side... GOD IS ON OUR SIDE!" - The boy said, chatting nonstop.

"Catch 'em, crush 'em! Kill 'em! Finally God's amusement park is open! I can finally say goodbye to boredom!" - said Ryuunosuke with several people around him, they seemed to be hypnotized.

Itadori finally arrived on time, the pink-haired boy arrived silently, but Ryuunosuke noticed his presence.

"It's good that we met again..." - Said the boy with orange hair. - "Now we can finish what we started."

Itadori was silent, he just observed the situation. The boy realized that there were several people around the psychopath. - 'They're acting strange, it's like they're hypnotized.' - thought Itadori.

"Hm... You're not much of a talker, are you? Alright, let's get down to business." - said Ryuunosuke.

Amid an atmosphere full of tension, Itadori found himself facing his enemy until then. What could the boy do in this situation?

Upon approaching the battlefield, Itadori came across victims of hypnosis, their empty eyes reflecting Ryuunosuke's manipulation. With a firm resolve that swore to protect people, Itadori approached.

'I could try using Sukuna's domain expansion, but there are a lot of people here... I'll try something different.' - thought Itadori.

"I'll end this now!" - Itadori said, preparing to use his new ability.

"Domain Expansion: Territorial Hunt"

Itadori creates a domain surrounded by snow, a natural environment for wolves.

"H-how did you do that?... It doesn't matter, behind him!" - Ryuunosuke said, sending the hypnotized people after Itadori.

But the people who were hypnotized were all lying on the floor already unconscious. - What? Wake up!" - said Ryuunosuke.

In this expansion of domain, Itadori manages to consume the enemy's energy, leaving only someone without powers. In the middle of an open field, Itadori confronts Ryuunosuke.

The air grows thick as he concentrates his energy, and suddenly, a whirlwind of snow begins to swirl around him. The snow falls in large flakes, covering the ground and forming a white, icy landscape.

Itadori, now enveloped in a bluish aura, boldly advances towards his opponent. Every step he takes seems to suck energy from the environment, strengthening him even more. His eyes shine with determination, reflecting his determination to defeat Ryuunosuke.

The enemy, surprised by the sudden transformation of the battlefield, tries to launch spells and attacks, but the snow seems to absorb energy from him, making his blows increasingly weaker. Itadori, taking advantage, uses his ability to steal energy to further weaken his opponent.

The battle unfolds amid gusts of icy wind and explosions of energy. The snow around the battlefield begins to accumulate, forming drifts and creating natural obstacles for both combatants.

"PROTECT THESE PEOPLE!" - Itadori said to a pack of wolves that appeared at his side - "Today you will be the one hunting!" - Itadori said after whistling to other wolves.

"I can't use the weapons Bluebeard gave me." - said Ryuunosuke.

Ryuunosuke felt a horrible feeling, which he hadn't felt in years... Was it fear?!

"You better run." - Itadori said. His features change, similar to a wolf. Ryuunosuke, without thinking twice, started running from Itadori.

His eyes glowed an intense red, reflecting his determination as he chased Ryuunosuke through the shadows of the dense forest.

His steps are light and quick, almost silent, as Itadori moves between the trees. Fog rose around him, adding an air of urgency. His focus is completely on the target, his fangs are lurking, ready to attack.

Ryuunosuke, aware of the predator's presence behind him, quickens his pace, dodging through the trees in a desperate attempt to escape. But Itadori is relentless in his pursuit, his keen senses tracking the enemy's every move.

The forest echoes with the sound of quick footsteps and heavy breathing. The wind whispers between the leaves, as if rooting for the success of the hunter or the escape of the hunted. Tension is in the air, fueled by the relentless pursuit and the inevitability of the imminent confrontation.

Ryuunosuke ran without looking back, until he saw a large figure running beside him. - "W-what is this?!" - said the boy, a little scared.

'I need to find a way to break this domain, Bluebeard told me that the stronger the domain is on the inside, the weaker it is on the outside. This domain seems to be stronger than mine... I know, maybe if I call Bluebeard here!' - Ryuunosuke thought, preparing to use his Command Seal.

But he is stopped by a quick cut, Ryuunosuke looked confused as he no longer felt his hand. When he looked, he saw what happened in the same way as the dark-haired boy that time before. His hand had been ripped off.

"So that's it... It was inside me this whole time..."- said Ryuunosuke, looking in amazement at what was once his hand. The boy seemed to contemplate the beauty of the moment, but something distracted him.

It was a wolf, a white wolf with a scar on its face. The wolf approached the boy who was staring at him.

Ryuunosuke stopped enjoying the moment, and it was there that his fears and desires came back to the surface. The wolf seemed to judge him, as if he knew every detail of his miserable life. He was miserable, Ryuunosuke knew that better than anyone.

The wolf revealed how despicable this boy was, showing his childhood traumas. It was at that moment that Ryuunosuke discovered that he was just a scared child, as well as someone who thought he knew everything about humanity.

"W-wait!" - Ryuunosuke said before the wolf advanced on the boy, that wolf was Itadori.

Itadori used dismantling to cut off his legs and arms. The pink-haired boy wanted to see him suffer, but not kill him, Itadori was never one to kill someone, even if that someone was as despicable as him. Itadori had an idea.

Ryuunosuke looked like he wanted to cry. - "P-please, I-I t-thought I did." - the boy was interrupted with a Kokusen right in his chest.

Itadori took his soul very easily. - "I could simply destroy your soul, simply by killing you... But that would be a very easy path. I want to make you suffer the same way you did to all those people you killed. You will pay for this, Ryuunosuke." - Itadori said, stirring his soul.

"I have corrupted your soul, you will feel your worst fears again and again, until the last days of your life." -Itadori said, putting Ryuunosuke's soul back into his body.

"P-PLEASE NO!" - Ryuunosuke shouted.

"I could at least regenerate your body, since you won't be able to do anything but feel despair for the rest of your life, but I'll just stop the bleeding. Before long, you'll be just an empty shell, just like your eyes." - Itadori said, undoing his domain.

Due to the shock of the moment, Ryuunosuke just faints. - "You're not going to do much.... Now, I need to help Saber and the others." - Itadori said looking at the people who were still unconscious. But at least the hypnotization spell had been broken.

Itadori placed his hand on some people's chests. - 'They're not cursed... That's good, they'll wake up soon.' - thought Itadori.

The pink-haired boy was observing the current situation. The fog was very thick. But Itadori could feel the monster's presence. - 'Arturia had told me that when we kill a master, depending on the Servant's class, he disappears a while later. But I highly doubt that if I killed Ryuunosuke, that giant thing would disappear... As I used my Domain Expansion, the technique I will use will not be as strong and destructive as Sukuna's, but it is worth testing..' - thought Itadori.

Meanwhile, Saber cut several tentacles that appeared in front of her. It was a sequence of consecutive cuts, until several tentacles grabbed her body. - "SABER!" - It was Rider with his mount.

Rider tore apart the tentacled monster that was grabbing Saber. Thus, Saber fell gracefully under the water.

Rider was so focused on observing the entire situation that he didn't even notice the multitude of tentacles coming towards him. - "D-damn! I won't be able to dodge!" - said Rider.

"FŪGA!"

Someone said in the distance, a kind of fireball traveled across the entire lake until it reached the tentacles that would reach the Rider.

"Who did this?...Was it Scar Boy?" - Rider asked himself.

After using Sukuna's fire technique, Itadori felt that he hit the enemy. - "That's what I thought, I can really use Sukuna's skills, as much as I hate that idea. His skills will help me a lot in this battle... I need to go help them!" - Itadori said after leaving the bridge.

Itadori uses the blood technique to propel himself through the air.

Someone from afar was watching this whole situation. This someone was very tall, had long black hair with two ponytails. This man had a black mark on his face and was wearing a white and purple kimono. - "That person... I feel something strange when I look at that boy. And he can still use blood manipulation...

He could be a danger to my brothers."

End of chapter 14