Barbarians

"We owe everything this time to the great deity!"

The Emperor stood to one side and spoke with utmost respect. Unlike their first meeting, this time he was at least not so frightened that he could not stand, and he carried himself with a little more imperial dignity.

Sukuna did not even spare him a proper glance. He despised this useless fool with no ambition from the bottom of his heart. The only reason the Emperor had been allowed to live was that he provided a more legitimate pretext for issuing orders to the family heads. Otherwise, Sukuna had no desire to deal with those jujutsu sorcerers right now.

The corners of his mouth curled slightly into a sinister smile. "Your Majesty, make sure you keep a close watch on these people! Otherwise, I'll use your head to consecrate the battle standard."

The Emperor jolted in alarm. Wiping the sweat that had involuntarily seeped from his forehead, he hurriedly replied with utmost deference, "I'll keep a close watch on them. I guarantee none of them will escape."

Sukuna glanced at the Emperor wiping away his sweat and cursed inwardly, Useless. A man like this would never be anything but a puppet. Even if these family heads were utterly loyal, he was certain this Emperor would never accomplish anything remarkable.

"Heh. Then don't disappoint me."

By the time the Emperor raised his head, Sukuna had already vanished. The Thirteen Family Heads seated before him all stared blankly ahead.

After a long while, one of them finally stirred.

Abe Jinyuan's bloodshot eyes fixed on the Emperor. "Does Your Majesty not owe his subject an explanation?"

Seeing even the head of the Abe family-the strongest family apart from the Fujiwara Northern House-reduced to such a wretched state filled the Emperor with delight. "Wouldn't everything have been fine if you'd handed over your authority and military power to me sooner? If you chose to be rebellious subjects, surely seeking outside help wasn't against the rules?"

The Emperor looked thoroughly pleased with himself, infuriating the Thirteen Family Heads below him. How could they have imagined that a mere Emperor could enlist such a terrifying being?

The previous Emperor had died precisely because he had conspired with a deity to kill them outright. In the end, the Fujiwara Northern House had eliminated him, along with the deity. But that deity had merely been a special grade cursed spirit that had developed a little intelligence. How could it compare to the infamous Sukuna?

Now that things had reached this point, resistance would accomplish nothing. Sukuna alone was powerful enough to wipe out all of them and their soldiers. This was the difference between ordinary humans and a deity!

Abe Jinyuan let out a long sigh, seeming to age ten years in an instant. The viciousness on his face vanished, replaced by boundless exhaustion.

"Your Majesty, I hope you won't regret the decision you made today. We will summon all our families' elite troops to Heian-kyo. Our children will lead each army, while you stay here and keep watch over us! Hahahaha!" Yamashima Tsuto suddenly burst into laughter, badly startling everyone whose nerves were already frayed.

"It doesn't matter. As long as you hurry up and kill all those barbarians, I'll let you leave." A flash of ruthlessness crossed the Emperor's face.

"My lord, are your injuries all right?"

Uraume appeared silently behind Sukuna. From the fluctuations in his cursed energy, she had sensed that he seemed to be severely wounded. Even his cursed energy had weakened.

Sukuna waved a hand to indicate that he was fine and accepted Kamutoke, which Uraume respectfully offered him.

"Uraume, I owe you a great deal this time. Without you, this battle couldn't have ended so easily. Just as I expected, Angel really did come."

The moment the Thirteen Family Heads entered Heian-kyo, he had sensed Angel's arrival through the special connection between them. That was what had set this little performance in motion.

Since he had a rough understanding of all Angel's abilities, Sukuna had handed Kamutoke, which he had always carried on his back, to Uraume for safekeeping.

He had also ordered Uraume to lie in wait near the restaurant a day in advance. Since the decision to hold the imperial banquet there had been made at the last minute, even Angel had not had time to investigate every faint disturbance nearby. That had given him the perfect opportunity.

At the very moment Angel focused entirely on stripping away his soul, Uraume had already slipped up to the highest point. While he drew Angel's attention from the front, Uraume successfully drove Kamutoke into her body, then unleashed a lightning strike that completely destroyed the body that could not have lasted much longer anyway.

"I just don't know how Angel's contract with Kenjaku was established. Even though I completely destroyed her physical body, I couldn't destroy her soul," Sukuna murmured to himself.

He had clearly watched the wings that represented Angel slowly dissipate from her back, and they had done so of their own accord. Just like Sukuna's Finger a thousand years later, Angel's wings were what truly mattered.

Unlike him, Angel would never suppress the soul of anyone whose body she used for incarnation, so only that pair of wings could be considered her true form. During their battle, he had also clearly noticed that the body's original soul had already dissipated. That body could not last long at all, preventing Angel from displaying her full strength. Naturally, he had not displayed his full strength either.

"See you in a thousand years, Angel. It'll certainly be an interesting sight."

"Uraume, we're about to witness a great war engulfing all of Japan. As the ones orchestrating everything, let us look forward to watching it unfold!" Sukuna spread all four arms, feeling the cool breeze brush over him. This moment was sheer bliss.

"Family Head, just as expected, the Emperor has detained those Thirteen Family Heads in Heian-kyo, and their families' direct-line troops are gathering there."

In a study belonging to the Fujiwara Northern House, a bald old man quietly listened to his servant's report. Then his eyes snapped open, flashing sharply. "The Emperor really is a fool. He actually dares to use Sukuna's power to control those family heads. But in Sukuna's eyes, the Emperor is nothing more than a toy himself."

"None of that matters now. Seal off the family estate. No direct-line member is permitted to enter or leave. All direct-line troops are to return to the family grounds. Without my orders, no one may go out on their own!"

"Yes, Family Head."

Had Sukuna been there, he would have recognized this man at a glance as the bald little old man who had invited him into Heian-kyo-the head of the Fujiwara Northern House whom he had defeated.

"Even Angel has been killed by the King of Curses. Who in all of Japan could possibly stand against him?" The head of the Fujiwara Northern House sighed deeply. For the first time, he felt uncertain about his family's future. If he had a choice, he would never provoke that terrifying being.

"Let's just hope he doesn't remember us. After all, in his eyes, we're nothing but a pack of useless fools." A bitter smile touched the Fujiwara Northern House head's lips. For the first time, he admitted that he was nothing but a useless fool in someone else's eyes. All the orders he had just issued were merely intended to preserve the family's core strength. He could not bear to lose another direct-line member...

"Achoo! Achoo!" For the first time since crossing over into this world, Sukuna sneezed. He rubbed his nose, feeling as though someone was thinking about him.

He sat high upon his divine throne, attended by countless servants. This kind of treatment was simply too comfortable! Especially with delicious food to soothe his soul.

"With a life this comfortable, no wonder everyone wants immortality. But gaining immortality without strength might be nothing more than a curse. I'm different, though. If I gain immortality, the entire world will be nothing but a toy for my amusement."

"Hahaha! Hahahahahahaha!"

Sukuna laughed with unbridled arrogance atop his divine throne. Only a few dozen days had passed since he arrived in this world, yet this body had already enjoyed who knew how many years of pleasure! "Amuse me to your heart's content, world!"

"Chief! Chief! Bad news! Bad news! I heard the Emperor is coming to attack us!"

In the mountain range where the barbarians had lived for generations, a young man in an animal-hide skirt ran tirelessly. He seemed oblivious even to the way his exposed parts swung beneath it as he carried the news to every chief in the mountains.

The chiefs of the various tribes also wore deep frowns. They, too, had received the news, brought to them by a short-haired woman.

"Build fortifications and prepare yourselves. A great war is about to begin!"

Some of the older tribal chiefs methodically directed the sturdy young tribesmen in animal-hide skirts as they built crude fortifications. They could also foresee that this war would be unlike the halfhearted campaigns of the past.

This time, the Emperor was leading the war, apparently intending to wipe them out in this mountain range in one fell swoop. But the barbarians did not live in this mountain range alone.

As a short-haired woman wearing a black kimono and carrying a Samurai Sword continued bringing the news to the various barbarian chiefs, all of Japan was thrown into turmoil. Many towns were occupied by the barbarian people and turned into the front line against the Emperor's great army.

All of Japan suffered bitterly. The war had not even begun, yet many ordinary people had already been caught in its wake.