Dog Eat Dog

"Baka! Where are my guards? Save me! Hurry and save me!"

The Japan Emperor sat on the Takamikura, his dangling legs swinging back and forth while his hands clutched repeatedly at the armrests. Sukuna's terrifying face seemed to have frightened him into paralysis, leaving him unable even to jump down.

"Hahaha! You little Emperor, I have a plan. Do you want to hear it or not?" Sukuna leaped in front of the Emperor and flexed all four arms, sending out a continuous series of cracking sounds.

"Ah!" The Emperor glanced at those thick arms, which looked capable of strangling him at any moment, and forgot how to speak. After all, everyone knew the Emperor of this era was nothing more than a figurehead.

Just as the Emperor seemed to have forgotten how to speak altogether, Sukuna widened all four eyes, frightening him so badly that he wet himself.

"P-please, tell me... I-I will do whatever you say."

"No need to be so nervous. I just wanted to ask how many people live in Japan these days."

Sukuna rubbed his palms together, a malicious smile flickering across his face.

"Well..." The Emperor's eyes darted from side to side as he clearly searched for a way to escape, but Sukuna's overwhelming presence left him afraid to move a muscle.

"Hmm? Surely the mighty Emperor knows how many people live in his own country?"

"Well... I really couldn't give you an exact number. There should be roughly three or four million, but you must know how chaotic things are these days. Even I cannot rule over all the people."

Bitterness showed on the Emperor's face. Though he had not caused the current situation, he had no way of setting it right either. His role as a figurehead was to serve as a spiritual pillar for the other, still-uncivilized people of Japan.

"I have a way for you to rule all of Japan. Want to hear it?"

Although Sukuna had not slipped through the cracks of nine years of compulsory education, he knew very little about other countries' history, especially Japan's. He knew almost nothing about ancient Japanese history and had only gleaned a rough understanding of its current situation from his memory fragments. Most of Japan's territory was ruled by clans, while a large number of uncivilized barbarians lived deep in the mountains and forests, leading savage lives cut off from the world.

All these clans were nominally the Emperor's subjects, but because he held little real power, they spent year after year fighting among themselves.

"What method do you have to return that power to my hands?"

Upon hearing that power might return to his hands, the Emperor seemed to find a little backbone. He immediately straightened up from his slumped position.

"I have an exquisite plan. I need you to summon all those clan heads to Heian-kyo in your name, then order them to muster their armies and attack those uncivilized barbarians."

This was the best solution Sukuna had come up with after thinking for several quarters of an hour. Making these people tear into one another would provide some entertainment during his final two years.

"But... those uncivilized barbarians are also the people of Japan. They are my subjects too!" The Emperor was clearly tempted. After all, it would kill two birds with one stone: wear down the clans' own troops while crushing the barbarians who refused to submit. With his personal guard, he might very well be able to rule all of Japan again.

Yet he still refused to admit it. After all, he could not let others see what he was thinking. That, too, was the art of ruling!

"Don't reap the benefits and then pretend you're above it. You think I don't know what's going through your head?"

Sukuna stared at him, speechless. The man's grin was practically stretching past his ears, yet he still had the gall to insist they were all his subjects.

"But why would you help me?"

The Emperor watched Sukuna warily, afraid the monster before him might lunge forward, tear him apart, and take the throne for himself.

"Since you've offered sacrifices to me, I'm your god. Isn't it only natural for a god to help his followers?"

Sukuna had long since prepared an answer for questions like this. His current status spoke for itself. Though they were both figureheads, a god was far more exalted than an Emperor.

"Then here's to a successful partnership!"

"Haha." He turned to leave, then suddenly remembered something. Looking back, he pointed at the Emperor's head and added, "Make sure the Abe clan comes too. Don't forget that, whatever you do. Remember, send out the notice tomorrow. They must all arrive within three days to attend this banquet. Surely they'll at least show you that much respect."

With that, he turned and walked out.

Ever since he had slaughtered the Fujiwara Northern House's own troops, the only serious threats remaining were the Abe clan and Angel.

"I really wonder what identity Angel has in this era. Why exactly did she leave my body?"

Since Sukuna's birth, his most powerful nemesis had been Angel. There was a close connection between them, and they were even strikingly similar. Yet for various reasons, Angel sought to kill Sukuna. Clearly, however, she had already failed a thousand years ago, and the consequence of her failure was to spend a thousand years asleep, just like him.

The only difference was that Sukuna had turned himself into a cursed object, while Angel had become one by entering into a pact with Kenjaku.

"That disgusting Kenjaku. Always finding ways like this to piss me off."

Just thinking about Kenjaku filled him with anger. Now that was a true villain.

After merging all the memory fragments, Sukuna had learned a great deal about Kenjaku. Many years ago, Kenjaku had made a pact with him, and Sukuna had successfully returned to life. What Kenjaku had not anticipated was Sukuna's extraordinary ability to learn: he had learned the method of turning himself into a cursed object outright.

As a result, Sukuna had never entered into another pact with Kenjaku after that, becoming the greatest wild card in Kenjaku's plans.

Unfortunately for Kenjaku, he could not beat Sukuna at all, so he could only resort to little tricks behind the scenes to irritate him.

And a thousand years later, both Yorozu and the newly incarnated Angel were brought into play by Kenjaku just to get under his skin.

"I think... I know how I'll die two years from now."

"My lord, why have the Emperor summon all those clan heads? Couldn't we simply go and slaughter them all?"

Uraume held back again and again, but finally could not resist asking Sukuna why he was doing this.

He glanced at her indifferently and said, "Who said I was going to kill them?"

"But my lord, if Angel learns your whereabouts, another great battle will be inevitable. It would be troublesome if those jujutsu sorcerers took advantage of the chaos to strike."

Uraume was indeed a little worried about this so-called Angel. According to legend, Angel could destroy souls outright. Sukuna's physical body was incomparably powerful, but his soul was naturally not as strong as his flesh, and the two regarded each other as mortal enemies.

"None of that matters. If I dare to summon them, of course I have a way to deal with them. Besides, don't you trust my strength?" As he finished speaking, he gave Uraume a brief glance.

"No, my lord, I have complete faith in your strength. But we are at a critical juncture. Making such a spectacle could put obstacles in the way of our plan."

"It doesn't matter. The plan will proceed on schedule two years from now. These jujutsu sorcerers are nothing but a rabble. I could smash them with one hand. It's the perfect chance to savor the thrill of slaughter before the plan begins!"

"My lord..."

Just as he had expected, Uraume did not care about the deaths of ordinary people either.

"Say no more. Everything is going according to plan."