"Quick! Over here! Keep up!"
In the chaotic streets of Shibuya, Yuji Itadori took the lead, carrying an injured old man on his back as he desperately evacuated the panicked crowd.
Megumi Fushiguro's [Divine Dogs] cleared the path ahead, tearing into the newly born cursed spirits that had gone berserk due to the activation of the Culling Game.
Nobara Kugisaki, with her Six Eyes operating at maximum output, had a flawless 360-degree field of vision. Armed with her hammer and nails, every strike accurately exorcised low-grade cursed spirits attempting to ambush the civilians.
However, just as they were about to break out of the chaotic zone, several figures exuding a stale, evil aura dropped from the shadows of the surrounding high-rises, instantly blocking all their escape routes.
Nanako and Mimiko hid behind them.
Their eyes no longer held their previous innocence; instead, they were filled with an almost maddening obsession.
"Found you, vessel of Ryomen Sukuna." Nanako raised a bizarre cursed tool in her hand—a straw doll wrapped in countless resentful human faces.
"To fulfill Lord Geto's long-cherished wish..." Mimiko added, her eyes flashing with fanaticism, "Please die!"
Before her voice could fade, the special grade cursed tool in Nanako's hand violently burst apart!
Then, an unblockable, unavoidable mental paralysis shot straight toward Yuji!
*Buzz!*
Yuji Itadori's mind suddenly went blank. His body instantly stiffened, and even his consciousness ground to a halt under this eerie power.
"Itadori!"
Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki's expressions changed drastically. Just as they were about to step forward, the surrounding ancient curse users attacked in unison. A barrage of unheard-of, bizarre cursed techniques overwhelmed them, forcing the two into a desperate defense.
Now was the time!
Nanako and Mimiko exchanged a glance and pulled a black cloth bundle from their clothes.
When the bundle was opened, it revealed exactly six [Ryomen Sukuna's Finger]s, radiating an ominous aura!
They rushed up to the immobilized Yuji Itadori and roughly pried his mouth open.
Then, one, another, and another...
They forcefully shoved all six fingers down his throat!
"No!" Megumi Fushiguro's eyes nearly split open in rage. He summoned Mahoraga, but was temporarily bogged down by the powerful curse users, completely unable to get close.
Fourteen fingers, plus six.
Twenty of Sukuna's fingers, after a thousand years, were finally gathered within the same vessel at this very moment!
*Boom!!!*
An evil cursed energy that simply could not be described with words, like the descent of a natural disaster, erupted from Yuji Itadori's body!
The pillar of cursed energy shot into the sky, even churning the clouds into a massive vortex!
All of Shibuya—no, every jujutsu sorcerer in Japan—felt this despair-inducing, terrifying pressure from the absolute pinnacle of curses at this exact moment!
"Ugh... Aaaaaahhhhh!"
Yuji Itadori let out an agonized roar.
His body was undergoing a violent mutation.
His bones popped under the overwhelming strain, his frame forcibly stretched taller and broader.
His skin tore inch by inch, only to heal in an instant, as dense black markings crawled all over his body like living creatures.
Beneath his eyes, the muscles on his cheeks suddenly split open into two bloody gashes, and a second pair of crimson eyes snapped open!
From his ribs, two brand-new, heavily muscled arms tore through his flesh and burst out!
The four-armed fierce god! The King of Curses! The strongest in history! Ryomen Sukuna!
After a thousand years, he had descended upon the world once more!
"Haha... Hahaha... Hahahahahahaha!"
The fully realized Ryomen Sukuna opened his four eyes, feeling the familiar power surging within him, and let out an utterly exhilarating, maniacal laugh.
The laughter manifested as a physical shockwave, shattering all the glass in the surrounding buildings!
He contemptuously rolled his four eyes, sweeping his gaze over Nanako, Mimiko, and the ancient curse users who had revived him.
That look was filled with the cold indifference and disdain one would reserve for ants on the side of the road.
"Scum."
He spoke, his voice carrying an ancient, wicked resonance.
"Thank you for helping me gather my fingers."
"But you're being too loud."
The moment his words fell.
An invisible slash, [Dismantle], swept outward with him at the center.
*Slash!*
The expressions on the faces of the ancient curse users, who had just been fighting Megumi and the others, instantly froze.
In the next second, their bodies, along with their cursed tools, were neatly sliced in half. Flesh, blood, and internal organs spilled all over the ground in a gruesome mess.
They didn't even have time to let out a single scream.
One strike, total annihilation.
Sukuna slowly walked toward Nanako and Mimiko, who had collapsed to the ground in sheer terror, a cruel smile forming on his face.
"Now then, as a reward for reviving me..."
He raised a single finger, ominous cursed energy gathering at the tip.
"I'll let you die quickly."
Just as he was about to strike.
A hand suddenly reached out from behind him and gently rested on his shoulder.
"Yo."
Ian had appeared behind him at some unknown point, speaking in an incredibly flat tone.
"If it isn't the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna?"
"Having such a big temper right after reviving is bad for your health."
!!!
The moment that hand touched his shoulder, every muscle in Ryomen Sukuna's body instantly tensed!
This aura...
This tone of voice...
The humiliating memory of his soul being swatted away like a fly by this very person instantly flooded his mind!
"It's—you—?!"
Sukuna whipped around, the cruel smile on his face vanishing without a trace, replaced by monstrous fury and killing intent!
"Die!"
He roared, throwing all four arms out simultaneously, unleashing a full-power strike with everything he had!
The air was torn apart, and space itself wailed!
This single strike was enough to completely erase a city from the map!
However, facing this apocalyptic attack...
Ian merely raised a hand casually, effortlessly blocking the combined assault of all four arms.
The moment that berserk power touched Ian's palm, it vanished without a trace, like a drop of water falling into the ocean.
"Hm?"
Ian tilted his head, looking at Sukuna with a somewhat puzzled expression.
"It's only been a few days, how are you still this pathetic?"
"Did you not eat?"
"Why is your strength so pitiful?"
"Oh, right! I forgot you just revived."
"Do you want to have a bite first?"
"I don't need your damn pi—"
Sukuna roared furiously, just about to refuse, but suddenly froze.
Because he saw it.
Ian flipped his palm, and from out of nowhere, pulled out a massive handful of...
...Ryomen Sukuna's Fingers, radiating his own exact aura.
The aura and the power contained within them were incredibly familiar. He could confirm with absolute certainty that these were definitely the fingers he had split off all those years ago.
Sukuna: "?"