Domain Expansion.
Universally recognized as the pinnacle of “jujutsu” in the jujutsu world, it is the ultimate “trump card” born when a sorcerer’s mastery of barrier techniques, immense cursed energy, and the understanding, realization, and control of their innate technique reach their absolute zenith.
By forming hand signs and using cursed energy to deploy a barrier, the massive amount of cursed energy naturally forms an innate domain.
Then, the sure-hit cursed technique is imbued into that domain.
Subsequently, within the barrier, your cursed energy will naturally focus and attack any foreign cursed energy inside the domain.
By deploying “Hollow Wicker Basket”, one can expand their cursed energy to resist the sure-hit’s “lock-on”.
Consequently, if one fails to continuously pour cursed energy into Hollow Wicker Basket through specific hand signs, they can easily lose its protection.
Even before taming Mahoraga, Kinoshita had already expanded his own domain.
Modern wisdom and his pre-transmigration knowledge of Jujutsu Kaisen allowed him to easily deploy a basic domain.
It wasn’t an incomplete domain like Megumi Fushiguro’s, but rather Kinoshita’s true innate domain.
『Dark Tide of the Eight Tranquil Waters』
A closed-barrier domain relies on sealing the opponent inside.
However, whether from the inside or the outside, there will always be a point of vulnerability.
Once broken from either side, the domain will instantly collapse.
As the “strongest”, how could Kinoshita not have thought of a solution?
So, what if the Eight Tranquil Waters was an open-barrier domain, just like Malevolent Shrine?
Using an extremely high level of barrier techniques as a foundation, painting his domain on a canvas without borders, then securing an anchor point, and adding a little bit of a Binding Vow…
After taming Mahoraga, Kinoshita began to ponder how to perfect his open-barrier domain.
However, a purely open-barrier domain wouldn’t inherently exert a crushing suppression over a closed-barrier domain.
Sukuna’s solution was to rapidly dismantle others’ domains using Cleave and Dismantle—but this was fundamentally incompatible with the Ten Shadows Technique.
The mimicked Cleave, Dismantle, lightning, and the techniques of other shikigami could not be imbued into Kinoshita’s domain.
This was due to a Binding Vow Kinoshita had formed after Divine Dog: White was accidentally killed by a cursed spirit.
The solution Kinoshita devised was to output several times the cursed energy required to summon a shikigami, thereby cloaking himself with the “shikigami”.
Then—much like using Mahoraga’s wheel—he could wield the abilities of his other shikigami.
But that wasn’t his actual innate technique.
Therefore, he couldn’t act like Sukuna, using a massive area-of-effect technique to guarantee his domain’s lethality while simultaneously targeting closed-barrier domains.
But, Kinoshita thought of a workaround.
The shrine at the center of the domain was not irreplaceable.
Kinoshita’s open-barrier domain worked by turning himself into the “shrine”.
By allowing “shadows” made of cursed energy to surge from his body like an ocean, he could effectively destroy a closed-barrier domain from the inside out.
At the same time, this kind of domain acted as an extension of his own body.
He could summon the Ten Shadows’ shikigami or use their techniques from anywhere within it.
As for countermeasures against other open-barrier domains—Kinoshita naturally had a backup plan for that as well.
But, naturally, he would have to wait until he encountered another open-barrier domain to test it out.
As the modern streets reappeared, it signaled that Ryu Ishigori’s Festival of Destruction had completely shattered.
Kinoshita’s domain, on the other hand, was perfectly controlled, limiting its range strictly to the road without destroying the surrounding streets.
His technique was imbued into the surging flow of shadows.
Within that darkness, it was as if countless tentacles were lifting and entwining—followed by the rushing shadows slicing into the restrained Ryu like razor-sharp blades.
The torrential shadows engulfed Ryu’s body like flowing water.
The coiling darkness gripped his flesh tight like threads, followed immediately by Kinoshita emerging from within the shadows.
Ryu rapidly used Reverse Cursed Technique to heal his wounds while struggling to pull his fist out of the sea of shadows.
He threw a punch, but before it could even hit Kinoshita, it was once again entangled and dragged back into the dark tide.
No, his cursed energy was draining.
Cursed technique burnout made it impossible for Ryu to freely control his cursed energy output.
Worse still, the shadows were slowly siphoning away what cursed energy he had left.
Compared to Ryu, who was essentially out of ammo, Kinoshita was currently riding the stacked buffs of a Domain Expansion and a Black Flash.
Gritting his teeth, Ryu condensed his cursed energy and fired a thick, elongated laser.
The sheer force of the output nearly unraveled his pompadour.
The azure beam pierced right through Kinoshita’s body in front of him, but that “body” vanished upon impact.
Immediately after, a hand pressed against his back.
He was out of cursed energy.
The viscous black shadows clinging to him weren’t just restricting his movements; they were actively extracting his remaining cursed energy, and at a terrifying speed.
He had only been submerged in these Eight Tranquil Waters for less than ten seconds, yet the cursed energy that had surged from his Black Flash was already drained completely dry.
Ryu gave up.
He was already deeply satisfied to have fought against the strongest.
Even if he hadn’t managed to harm the man before him in the slightest from start to finish, the other party had at least shown him the utmost respect.
He let out a breath, feeling the hand resting on his back, waiting for the flurry of fine slashes to appear.
The anticipated slashes that would dice him to pieces never came.
Instead, the black shadows slowly receded.
The dark tide was drawn back into Kinoshita’s body, and the two of them landed simultaneously on the asphalt road.
“Ha…”
Kinoshita let out a long sigh, then gave Ryu a firm pat on the back.
Ryu stumbled forward.
Realizing he wasn’t dead, he finally turned his head.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
The confusion on Ryu’s face didn’t fade.
Against an opponent who was completely out of options, unleashing one’s cursed technique without reservation was exactly what a normal sorcerer would do.
But Kinoshita hadn’t done that; instead, he had willingly dispelled his domain.
“Why didn’t you kill me?”
“Ah, because I don’t like killing people.”
Ryu stared at the burger handed to him, suddenly falling silent.
“Eat up, it’s a Spicy Chicken Sandwich.”
“…”
Ryu took the burger and sat on the steps.
He took a tentative bite.
Compared to the taste stored in his vessel’s memories, actually eating it allowed Ryu to truly appreciate the food’s deliciousness.
After wolfing down the burger in two or three bites, Ryu wiped his mouth and looked up at Kinoshita again.
Kinoshita was currently stuffing fries into his own mouth, tossing them up one by one and catching them in his mouth.
This bizarre behavior made Ryu fall silent once more.
If it weren’t for the shadow-constructed tray next to him and his completely unmasked cursed energy, Ryu would seriously doubt whether the guy beside him was actually the strongest of the Muromachi period from just moments ago.
“Good, right? The exquisite deep-fried foods of the modern era can’t even be compared to the roasted chicken and sake of ancient times.”
“Yeah.”
Perhaps because he was too preoccupied with the fact that Kinoshita hadn’t killed him, Ryu, having inhaled the burger in seconds, hadn’t actually tasted much of the “deliciousness”.
But no matter how much of a battle maniac he was, facing an opponent who had utterly defeated him—and even shown him mercy—he simply couldn’t muster any interest in fighting again.
In this nearly one-sided battle, Ryu felt like a child who had been forcibly sat down at an imperial banquet.
Before the appetizers were even finished, he was already completely full—and the truly delicious dishes had just come out of the oven.
What he sought was a dessert; a main course he couldn’t handle was better left for someone else to eat.
“Got any more?”
“Burgers?”
“Yeah.”
Ryu nodded, accepting another burger from Kinoshita’s hand.
He took another bite.
The soft, fragrant bun was accompanied by the savory scent of chicken.
As he chewed, the tender, smooth texture combined with the crispness of the lettuce.
With one bite, an explosion of sauce, meat juices, and a hint of spiciness burst in his mouth.
“How is it?”
“I have to say, it’s pretty damn good.”
Having figured things out, Ryu nodded.