Jujutsu Kaisen: I have everything I need now!

With a screech of brakes, the car came to a stop at the entrance to an abandoned forest road.

There was a yellow warning tape in front of them, with a sign that read "No Entry".

Inside is the famous Aokigahara Forest.

The dense primeval forest blocked out the sun, its towering canopies intertwining like a giant black umbrella, stubbornly blocking out the sunlight. This resulted in the forest being dark and damp year-round, with an indescribable, putrid odor permeating the air.

Everyone got out of the car.

As soon as we landed, a cold wind blew out from the depths of the forest, carrying the smell of rotting leaves and something even more chilling: the smell of rust.

"It smells awful, it's like a morgue." Itajō rubbed the goosebumps that had risen on his arms.

"There is a barrier here that belongs to shadows."

Fushiguro Megumi walked to the cordon and reached out to grab at the air.

"I can tell." Kugizaki picked up a stone from the ground and kicked it hard into the woods.

The stone traced an arc in the air before landing in the shade of a tree about two meters ahead. There was no sound of it hitting the ground or making any impact; it was as if it had fallen into a bottomless abyss, without even a ripple.

On the first day of the twelfth month, he walked to the front of the procession, his eyes shimmering with a golden-pink light.

"Be careful. From this moment on, every shadow under your feet, every area without direct sunlight, could be a trap leading to the abyss."

"Let's go."

Without the slightest hesitation, Fushiguro Megumi bent down and stepped over the yellow warning line first.

The group filed in.

As they ventured deeper, the surrounding light grew dimmer, and the temperature plummeted. The trees began to take on bizarre shapes, their thick aerial roots dangling from mid-air, resembling people hanging from the branches in the dim light.

The soil underfoot was soft and slippery, like a swamp.

After walking for about twenty minutes, the surroundings became completely silent. Even the most basic bird calls and insect chirps had been swallowed up.

"How much longer do we have to walk? There's not a soul in sight in this godforsaken place." Kugizaki gripped the hammer in his hand impatiently.

"Almost there." Fukuguro Megumi stopped and stared intently at a clearing in front of her.

There stood an enormous, withered tree. Its bark had completely peeled away, revealing a greyish-white trunk. And in the very center of the trunk, a broken samurai sword was deeply embedded.

And under that withered tree, a figure was kneeling.

He wore tattered armor from Japan's Sengoku period, covered in sword marks and dark red bloodstains. His helmet was adorned with a large crescent moon decoration. But his face was not human; it was a pitch-black demon mask, except for the eyes, which emitted an eerie blue glow.

A perfectly intact katana lay across his knees, and his entire being resembled a desolate mountain, exuding a suffocating and chilling aura.

Samurai Order.

Seemingly sensing the arrival of everyone, Ika slowly raised her head.

He did not launch an attack immediately.

He stood up, his movements elegant and slow, the broken armor plates rubbing against each other, producing a dull metallic sound.

"Finally...my compatriots have arrived."

Ika's voice was deep and hoarse, with a stale rhythm that seemed to have crawled out of an ancient tomb.

"Compatriots? Who's your compatriot?" Fukuro Megumi stepped forward and looked at him coldly.

"You bear the mark of the Shadow King, even if it's just a trace." Ika raised his gauntlet-clad hand and pointed to the dark red cracks on Fukuro Megumi's face. "Though still immature, you already possess the aura of a king. As a child of darkness, why do you associate with these ants of light?"

"Because I am human."

Fushiguro Megumi crossed his hands in front of his chest, his fingers twitching slightly. The shadow beneath his feet began to boil violently, like a pot of boiling ink.

"Humans?" Ika let out a cold, extremely contemptuous laugh. "Weak, hypocritical, and treacherous lowly creatures. Since you are unwilling to return to the glory of the Shadow Kingdom, then I will sever your illusions."

"bass--!"

The crisp sound of the sword being drawn shattered the tranquility of the forest.

It was a pure black katana, with no reflection on the blade, and surrounded by visible black sword energy, as if it could cut through space itself.

"My name is Ika, the leader of the samurai order."

Ika gripped the knife with both hands, the tips pointing directly at Fushiguro Megumi.

"In the name of a samurai, I challenge you to a 'duel before the Emperor.' If you win, my mask is yours. If you lose…"

He paused, a cruel, bloodthirsty glint flashing in his blue eyes through the holes in his mask.

"Your head will become my goblet filled with blood."

"A one-on-one duel?" Itadori clenched his fist, stepped forward, and blocked Fushiguro's path. "Then let me be your opponent! I don't care about any samurai rules!"

"No."

Fushiguro Megumi reached out, pressed down on Itadori's shoulder, and pushed him aside.

He looked at Ika, his eyes showing no fear, only a chilling calm.

"You all step back."

"This is my battle."

Fushiguro took a deep breath, interlaced his fingers, and formed an extremely complex mudra.

"Although I haven't fully mastered this power yet, it's enough to deal with you..."

The boiling shadow beneath his feet suddenly spread outwards, like a pool of black water, instantly covering half the open space. The originally soft soil, after being covered by the shadow, transformed into a strange substance somewhere between a solid and a liquid.

"Shadow Spell: Expansion..."

Fushiguro Megumi's voice echoed through the cold forest, carrying an undeniable air of authority.

"Kagemusha."

As he finished speaking, the shadow behind him did not summon the familiar shadow magic shikigami. Instead, it suddenly rose up and quickly condensed into a shadow clone that was exactly the same height and build as him, wielding a black longsword!

The clone had no facial features, only a pair of dark red eyes that shared the same origin as the cracks on Fushiguro Megumi's face. This was clearly a new technique that had mutated after combining the residual power of the mask!

"Interesting. To materialize one's own shadow into a samurai?"

Ika looked at the shadow clone and nodded slightly, seemingly satisfied with this response.

"Then let's go."

"kill!"

In an instant, Fushiguro Megumi's shadow clone and Ika both vanished from their original positions.

Two black afterimages collided violently in mid-air.

"clang--!"

A deafening metallic clang rang out, and a black shockwave emanated from the two men, snapping several large trees, each as thick as several people could hug, in half!

A flurry of swords flashed and sparks flew. The two moved with astonishing speed, leaving only crisscrossing black blade trails in the air.

"What do we do? Just watch?" Kugizaki watched the fierce battle in the arena, his hammer creaking in his hand, clearly itching to fight.

"Watch." Zhen leaned against a large tree, her hand still gripping the gun, the muzzle intentionally or unintentionally aimed at the seemingly calm darkness around her. "This is not just a duel, but also a trial for Fukuro himself."

As December 1st floated above the trees, his gaze was not focused on the duel.

The pink light in his eyes grew stronger as he surveyed the surrounding sea of ​​trees.

This forest is still too quiet.

Since the samurai order is an army, it's impossible for it to have only General Ika as its commander. Where did the other soldiers go?

"Zhenyi, tell them to be careful," December 1st warned sharply. "There's definitely an ambush here."

Before he could finish speaking...

Suddenly, pairs of deep blue eyes lit up in the once silent depths of the forest.

One pair, ten pairs, a hundred pairs... densely packed, like fireflies on a summer night, yet exuding a chilling killing intent.

Those were countless shadow warriors dressed in tattered armor and wielding rusty samurai swords! They were silently emerging from the cracks in the tree trunks, the depths of the soil, and the shadows of fallen leaves, forming a semi-encircling formation that completely surrounded the students of the high school.

"It seems they have no intention of adhering to any one-on-one chivalry at all."

Tiger Rod clenched his fist, his face showing no fear but rather an excited smile, the instinct of a wild beast smelling blood.

"Leave this menial work of clearing out the scavengers to us!"

"Just what I wanted. My nails have been itching for a long time." Kugizaki pulled a handful of long, gleaming nails from his pouch, a smirk playing on his lips.

Zhenyi raised the gun, and the dark red patterns on the gun barrel, resembling blood vessels, lit up instantly in the darkness, emitting a low hum like a heartbeat.

"Let's begin then." Mayi coldly slammed down the hammer.

"It's time to hunt."