Chapter 231: Emiya: What Makes You Think I'll Just Stand By and Watch?
On the surface, the only truly threatening enemies on Kenjaku's side were himself—a curse user who had remained hidden for countless years in human history and committed innumerable crimes through various identities—and the Special Grade Cursed Spirits like Jogo and Hanami, who represented different natural disasters.
While categorized as "Special Grade," that classification was originally intended to describe powerful cursed spirits that required multiple Grade 1 sorcerers, or a top-tier Supreme Grade 1 sorcerers, to handle. Because cursed spirits of this level completely surpassed the original definition of Grade 1, they were defined as Special Grade.
In reality, spirits at the level of Jogo and Mahito had already completely transcended the original definition of Special Grade; they were the type that a normal Grade 1 sorcerer could never successfully exorcise, no matter what.
To judge them numerically: if a Grade 1 cursed spirit is defined as being around 50, then anything over 100 is labeled Special Grade. Usually, a typical Special Grade spirit would fall within the 100 to 200 range.
However, in Jogo's case, if calculated solely by destructive power and cursed energy reserves, his number would reach at least 600 or more, completely crushing an ordinary Special Grade spirit by more than four times.
And it wasn't just him. The combat capabilities of the remaining three cursed spirits roughly fell within this range. Only Hanami was slightly weaker in terms of raw destructive power, but its actual innate abilities were by no means weak.
The innate ability to completely erase its own presence was enough to make Hanami a nightmare that would make even falling asleep an ordeal for its enemies. After all, that level of concealment didn't just allow it to blend into the environment and remove any sense of crisis; it could even ignore the barriers of a barrier technique and arrive directly inside a heavily guarded base.
Hanami, who could merge directly with the earth or plants, was several times stronger at hiding itself than even Zen'in Maki—who possessed zero cursed energy. It was practically the perfect candidate for an Assassin.
By choosing to engage Emiya in a one-on-one duel within its Domain, it had essentially discarded its most potent talent and begun its path toward its end. Even without the suppression of the Anti-Mystery Noble Phantasm, Maria the Ripper, its end wouldn't have been any better than Dagon's.
As for Kenjaku's own strength...?
Even without discussing the trump cards and methods he had accumulated over a thousand years, his combat power had already reached the level of Jogo's Special Grade status just
through Suguru Geto's [Cursed Spirit Manipulation] and the series of Special Grade spirits he commanded.
Add to that his gravity-manipulating Innate Technique and hidden methods whose true nature remained unknown, and he could likely defeat "Disaster-class" spirits like Jogo one-on-one in a frontal confrontation.
Furthermore, his barrier techniques had just reached a new breakthrough inspired by [Reality Marbles]. He was no longer like [Tengen], possessing only "turtle-shell" defensive capabilities. Emiya didn't yet know the specific effects, but it was clear this was an epoch-making upgrade for Kenjaku; otherwise, he wouldn't appear so confident. The fact that he could nonchalantly turn his original partners into his own nourishment showed that he no longer looked up to these guys at all.
Yet, the powerful combatants he possessed were clearly only these few.
Mahito and Hanami had already been exorcised by Emiya, Dagon had lost almost all combat capability, and Jogo had been pushed to a state of total opposition by Kenjaku himself... These cursed spirits were no longer assets to him.
But even after setting aside these Special Grade spirits, the strongest remaining combatant—Kenjaku himself—was still standing here.
So, what made him think he already had the victory in hand?
The remaining curse users he had gathered couldn't pose any decent threat. The strongest among them were only at the level of an ordinary Grade 1 sorcerer. Emiya even believed these curse users likely couldn't surpass that old medium from before. That woman could at least summon the [Heavenly Restriction Tyrant] from over a decade ago; could any of these curse users be more destructive than Fushiguro Toji?
Even if the opponent was that disgusting guy plotting in the shadows, Emiya remained confident—confident that his students would never be threatened by curse users of that level.
But thinking it through, there was likely only one reason why the opponent could maintain such an optimistic mindset while losing most of his original combat power: he had found a way to bring Ryomen Sukuna back to the world.
Back at the detention center, Sukuna with only three fingers was already that threatening. If he were allowed to recover more than half of his fingers and power, his destructive capacity would likely instantly exceed all enemies they had seen so far.
Wasn't the reason Kenjaku took the risk to attack the Jujutsu High [Cursed Warehouse] specifically for the six fingers sealed within?
Most importantly, Kenjaku didn't even need to think about how to release Sukuna from Itadori's body. Because after absorbing such an excessive amount of cursed energy
simultaneously, Itadori himself would lose control of his body because he couldn't withstand it.
Those curse users indeed couldn't defeat Itadori and then force-feed him the fingers. But then again, didn't the enemy side still have Choso, one of the brothers from the [Cursed Womb: Death Paintings]?
Since Kechizu left with Itadori, they likely wouldn't have an overly violent conflict. But Kenjaku didn't care at all whether a conflict occurred.
Regardless of whether a battle took place, as long as Itadori and Choso came into close contact, and Kenjaku hid a large number of fingers on Choso's person, the Sukuna within Itadori would never sit idly by. He would find a way to seize the fingers from Choso.
It must be remembered that the initial reason Itadori accidentally swallowed Sukuna's finger was that the seal on it had gradually failed. The process of cursed energy leaking out had attracted a large number of cursed spirits, leading to the desperate situation where he had to do it.
After that, Sukuna's fully awakened consciousness also triggered a [Resonance] with the other fingers, causing them to emerge from their dormant state and begin emitting the aura and cursed energy of a "curse."
This process not only gave birth to numerous finger-bearing cursed spirits but also caused many "curses" that should have been dormant to revive.
When many fingers acting as emitters of cursed energy gathered together, the threat level would naturally rise sharply and linearly. If Sukuna's own consciousness were involved, he could likely easily influence Itadori's body.
In a state where everyone had let down their guard, even if Sukuna only influenced Itadori's body for a moment, it would be enough for him to snatch enough fingers from Choso to fully awaken himself.
Regardless of whether a freed Sukuna would support Kenjaku's plan, he would certainly never let go of the Jujutsu High sorcerers who had toyed with him for so long.
By the time Emiya returned to reality from the Domain, Kenjaku had already completed the important step of his plan to keep Itadori away from the crowd.
Itadori himself might not think to such an exaggerated level, but the ever-intelligent Fushiguro Megumi definitely could. If the opponent's plan really followed this process, it meant Kenjaku had also used some means to deceive Fushiguro Megumi...
"Truly worthy of an enemy who makes me so cautious, Emiya Shirou... I assume you've realized what has happened?
But unfortunately, it's too late."
Seeing Emiya's expression change several times in a short period, Kenjaku knew Emiya had definitely realized something, and his heart immediately filled with pleasure.
After the career or plan one has plotted for so long finally succeeds, what's the point of just knowing your success secretly? Of course, one must share this joy with others!
In various film and television works, scenes often appear where the villain insists on explaining their success to others just as they are nearing completion. Some people question the realism of this scene, but they fail to imagine that when they achieve even minor accomplishments in daily life, they can't help but share them with others in various ways. So what right do they have to criticize someone for reflecting on their success after a lifetime of hard work?
Ultimately, this was a form of vanity—an inherent weakness that humans cannot escape once they possess intelligence and emotion. Even someone like Kenjaku, who had almost no human characteristics left, could not avoid it.
Or more accurately—any creature with emotions cannot escape these negative-oriented feelings, because a complete emotional spectrum must include all negative and positive emotions alike.
After completing his boastful speech, Kenjaku reached into his pocket and pulled out the Sukuna finger he had initially intended to feed to Itadori.
"A performance must be thorough to be convincing... This Sukuna finger is indeed the real deal, but I actually only have this one finger left on me.
As for the other dozen or so? They should already be on Ryomen Sukuna's person by now.
There is one thing I am quite curious about... Is the current you stronger, or is the King of Curses, who has reclaimed most of his power, stronger?
Having reclaimed the majority of his power, he will absolutely never submit to being held in a living cage again."
Currently, Gojo Satoru was still trapped in the [Magano] by various matters. If the remaining Emiya was also stalled in one place by Ryomen Sukuna, the rest of the sorcerers, even if added together, could be considered targets Kenjaku could bully at will.
This plan, which sounded complex, was actually extremely simple at its core—as long as Kenjaku could separate Itadori Yuji from Emiya and bring Itadori into close proximity with those dozen-plus Sukuna fingers, he had already succeeded.
Does this mean it's already too late to stop it?
No matter what, it was impossible for Emiya to have truly predicted everything that would happen. He wasn't the hidden observer himself. Unless one was truly omniscient and omnipotent, you could never truly predict exactly what your enemy intended to do next.
Especially in a situation like this, where the opponent could no longer be called "human."
When the police use ubiquitous surveillance systems to track a criminal, they still have to consider the necessary condition that the opponent must eat to maintain life signs to gradually narrow the scope of the investigation. But for a guy whose entire body except for the head wasn't his own, who knows how much of his original human habits remained?
However, one thing remained beyond doubt—Emiya still had a way to make this guy not feel happy at all.
"Since you have successfully escaped from Dagon's Domain, then it is time for me to leave. But before that..."
While speaking, Kenjaku's gaze subtly swept over Jogo and Dagon. Clearly, he couldn't bear to leave behind these two Special Grade spirits who were supposed to be his companions—and more importantly, he couldn't leave behind the powerful Innate Techniques they possessed.
In order to pocket these two techniques before escaping, Kenjaku naturally began his move before his words were even finished.
Even after his strength had broken through once again, he had no confidence in confronting the current Emiya head-on. Therefore, Kenjaku's choice was not to blatantly use [Maximum: Uzumaki] to absorb these two cursed spirits, but to immediately expand a barrier around the two of them.
Just as [Tengen] could freely shift space within the range of his own barriers, the barrier currently enveloping the entire Shibuya district was something he had achieved by drawing on the cursed energy of [Magano].
Although this barrier, focused on restricting cursed energy and non-sorcerers, wasn't enough to let him freely shift the position of any object within it, he only needed to add a barrier layer to supplement the effect.
Unfortunately, Emiya—who had already experienced this trick on Tengen's side—was also well-prepared...
"Trace on!"
Bang!
A dagger that wasn't particularly sharp reached Kenjaku in an instant, simultaneously shattering the barrier enveloping him and Jogo. Against sorcerers who always possessed a mysterious confidence in their own techniques, Emiya's modified version of Rule Breaker never failed.
"What?!"
Seeing his new type of barrier erased the moment it touched the short dagger, Kenjaku stopped trying to maintain his composed image. Adopting the mindset of "grabbing one is better than none," he charged directly toward Jogo.
Emiya didn't know if the activation of [Uzumaki] required a long wind-up, so the safest course of action was to ensure this guy couldn't touch these two cursed spirits at all.
Emiya's movements were several times faster than Kenjaku's. Before the insects swarming from Kenjaku's sleeves could touch Jogo, Emiya had already blocked the space between the two, slicing those disgusting insect-type cursed spirits into struggling halves on the ground.
"What makes you think I'll just stand by and watch all this happen?"
Announcement
Hello everyone!
As always Thank you for your support!
I'm happy to announce a new Fanfiction! There are already 40 chapters!
You can find it in my secondary account: VarieTL02
COTE: I've become a substitute
Mikage Touji transmigrated in the world of Classroom of the Elite with no explanation and entered the class 1-A, well at least he as a cool power even if a bit weak for now.
Until Ayanokouji Atsuomi asked him: "Is this you?" referring to a photo of Kyotaka.
"How could I possibly be that gloomy guy in there?!"
"Drop these useless excuses, Kiyotaka. Did you think that by changing your name and getting plastic surgery, you could escape my control?
Your enrollment materials are completely fabricated; not a single person can prove you ever existed. Furthermore, the timing of your appearance completely coincides with the time and place of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's disappearance. And you're still saying you aren't Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"
"Pfft..." It turns out that when people are truly speechless, they really do laugh.
"If you're looking to cause trouble, take a left out the door and find a police station. And another thing..." Mikage Toji helplessly spread his hands. "The one you are looking for is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. What does that have to do with me, Mikage Toji?"
[Harem - No Ayanokouji - Sakayanagi Arisu in class D.
I really recommend it even if it doesn't have Hikigaya XD it's very funny and the first girls are not the usual ones (Spoiler: Morishita Ai, Yamamura Miki and Shiraishi Asuka)
Read ahead and finish this fanfiction by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting