Openings

"You don't need to explain so much. Just ask that child directly, and she'll agree."

Tengen was walking around a corner when she heard that voice. Her foot paused in midair before it touched the ground.

A long-haired young man in a moon-white Kariginu stood with his hands at his sides, his slightly upturned eyes lowering to settle on Tengen's face.

He clicked his tongue.

The instant their gazes met, Kenjaku narrowed his eyes.

"Her demands seem rather different from what you told me."

Tengen stopped in front of Kenjaku and met his gaze calmly.

"I didn't expect the difficulty to increase in such a short time either." Kenjaku gave a wry smile.

Among the rules for Alluka's wish-granting that the Fujiwara Clan had discovered, there was one those people often overlooked.

That rule was that when the person Alluka made requests of disappeared or went into hiding, she could no longer use her wish-granting ability for anyone else.

Kenjaku had only obtained this information after infiltrating the Fujiwara Clan.

Barely two days had passed since Sukuna took Alluka away. He had never expected the price, which had only just reset at that ritual, to begin escalating already.

"Lost body parts can't be restored with Reverse Cursed Technique."

Tengen, who rarely let her emotions show, looked troubled. She lowered her head and raised her right hand. Its little finger was still intact.

"There's nothing we can do about that. If Ryomen Sukuna really makes some bizarre wish, gathering even more Jujutsu Sorcerers won't help, will it? Besides..."

Kenjaku paused and spread his hands.

"Do you really think the Fujiwara Clan would give that child to someone else or kill her? With her around, you can't put your Barrier Technique to proper use, can you?"

In this golden age of jujutsu, Tengen, who specialized in Barrier Technique, was not particularly well-known. What she relied on was her Immortality Technique, which let her live long enough.

She had already selected four sites suitable for serving as the centers of Pure Realms. Of those, the Yamakuni Imperial Mausoleum Pure Realm in Kyoto was controlled by the Emperor's family, while the Mount Hida Pure Realm was Sukuna's home territory.

Because of Alluka, the members of the Fujiwara Clan who held power were not quite normal. After hearing Kenjaku's words, Tengen fell silent for a moment and offered no further argument.

"Don't worry. The scenario you're afraid of probably won't happen."

Kenjaku rubbed his chin and smiled softly, as though everything were under control.

"Could you two idiots possibly be any stupider?"

Ryomen Sukuna's tone was hostile. His crimson gaze swept over the noisy crowd, making it clear that he was in a foul mood.

While walking along the road, Uraume had remembered that one of Lord Sukuna's favorite sets of drinking vessels had been buried in that uninhabitable house. He hesitated, wondering whether he ought to try salvaging it, when a group of Jujutsu Sorcerers showed up, demanding that he hand over Alluka and hurling filthy insults at Lord Sukuna.

Already in a bad mood, Uraume traded insults with the Jujutsu Sorcerers at the front and was just about to attack when Lord Sukuna, who should not have returned for another two days, came back early.

Looking at the mountains of assorted meat piled before him, Uraume felt deeply guilty.

Ryomen Sukuna hated idiots. He would not even eat food made from idiots. One hostile glance at the scene was enough for him to guess what had happened.

"Ryomen Sukuna! We have come to declare war. The punitive army will arrive the day after tomorrow, so don't accuse us of ganging up on you."

The leading Jujutsu Sorcerer stiffened at the sight of Ryomen Sukuna himself, then pulled a letter from his sleeve.

The words "Declaration of war" were written across the envelope in bold, sweeping strokes.

In fact, ever since Sukuna abducted Alluka, unrest had been stirring throughout Kyoto.

Many people had been skeptical of a Cursed Technique that could grant anything they wanted. Who could have expected all the meat in the noble households of Heian-kyō to vanish without a trace overnight?

The Fujiwara Clan was certain that the child had done it. Only she possessed such an ability.

These Jujutsu Sorcerers believed that Ryomen Sukuna had heard about their plans and done this as a show of force. Such utter disregard for everyone was simply intolerable.

Their forces had nearly finished assembling anyway. Two days would give the punitive army time to arrive and even rest a little.

The leading Jujutsu Sorcerer stiffened his neck and tried to hand Sukuna the letter.

Faced with this legendary demon god, he was still somewhat afraid.

Ordinarily, no one would kill an envoy sent before a battle, but Ryomen Sukuna had never fought honorably.

He merely glanced at the surface of the letter, without even the slightest interest in taking it.

With just that casual glance, the man's head fell to the ground.

The spurting blood stained their entire field of vision red. The Jujutsu Sorcerers behind him only had time to see his eyes, which had never closed even in death.

"Is it just you worthless fools?" Ryomen Sukuna sneered.

"This is no petty skirmish. The Abe Clan, the Kamo Clan, Lord Ashiya Masatsuna, Lord Minamoto no Yorimitsu, and Master Genshin have all arrived. That will be the day you die."

The Jujutsu Sorcerers glared at Ryomen Sukuna, their faces still spattered with their companion's warm blood.

Unfortunately, with Ryomen Sukuna here, they could not even retrieve their companion's body.

"They're all the same worthless trash. Tch." Ryomen Sukuna propped up his chin indifferently and gave the group a casual glance. "I'll go. I'll let you choose one person to carry the message. The rest of you can stay here."

Ever since Ryomen Sukuna made a name for himself, Jujutsu Sorcerers had never stopped coming to kill him.

The most famous among them were the elite forces of the Fujiwara, Sugawara, and Abe families.

Kenjaku had come earlier to tell him that these Jujutsu Sorcerers would form a joint army to subjugate him, but Ryomen Sukuna had paid it no mind. To him, there was no difference between one ant and a swarm of them.

This world was terribly boring to him. He even looked forward, somewhat, to someone appearing who could defeat him.

"Shameless! Don't think you can turn us against one another!"

Understanding what Ryomen Sukuna meant, the Jujutsu Sorcerers fell into disarray for a couple of seconds before erupting in anger.

At that moment, everyone moved. If they did not attack now, they would die just like their companion.

They knew that perfectly well.

"Tch. Is that all you've got?"

To Ryomen Sukuna, these scum moved as slowly as turtles. Their openings were so glaringly obvious that he did not even need to concentrate to see them.

"If none of you will choose, then you can all go together."

Ryomen Sukuna gave a cruel smile and began today's hunt.

With his body at its center, pure malice swept toward the crowd alongside invisible blades of cursed energy.

By the time it was over, blood already ran in rivers before him.

Roaring flames burned amid the ruined walls, as though intent on reducing everything to ashes. The thick reek of blood seemed to stain even the sky a dark red.

Ryomen Sukuna cast an indifferent glance at the two idiots behind him. While he fought, Uraume and Alluka had been chatting about something.

The Jujutsu Sorcerers had died in exceptionally gruesome ways. Some arms had been sliced open without being completely severed, while slit throats still spilled bloody froth.

One person still had a final breath left. Ryomen Sukuna was considering whether to finish him off with another slash when he saw Alluka press her palms together and lower her eyes with a smile, filled with heartfelt compassion.

"Bad people who want to kill Brother, may you be happy in your next life too."

She simply smiled and quietly watched that person take his last breath.