"This body really isn't that easy to control. I have no idea how a human could look so bizarre. What kind of normal person has a mouth on his belly?" Sukuna glanced at the huge mouth on his stomach, its tongue sticking out, and couldn't help picturing Xingtian from ancient Chinese mythology. The two did look somewhat alike, since both had mouths on their bellies. The only difference was that one had a head and the other didn't.
Two more years to go. I really don't know what to do. Maybe I should slaughter Satoru Gojo's entire family. Then I'd truly be invincible. Sukuna entertained the malicious thought for a moment. Of course, he wouldn't actually do it. He still wanted to have some fun a thousand years later. I wonder where Kenjaku is hiding.
Heh, somewhere plotting the Culling Game, no doubt. I wonder what he originally looked like. I'm not even sure whether he was a man or a woman. I'd really love to find him and give him a beating.
He certainly had no good impression of Kenjaku. The man was far too treacherous and cunning, willing to do anything to achieve his goals. He truly deserved his reputation as the most evil curse user in a thousand years.
Wait, something doesn't add up. If his goal is to make all those powerful fighters participate in the Culling Game and use their cursed energy to achieve his aims, why hasn't Kenjaku approached me, the strongest King of Curses? He thought it over carefully. Since I'm the strongest King of Curses in a thousand years, I must naturally have been the strongest as a human too. So why hasn't Kenjaku come looking for me? He had absorbed some memory fragments, but none contained any information about Kenjaku. Could there be another conspiracy at work?
Could my death two years from now have something to do with Kenjaku?
Although he knew the entire main storyline, he genuinely knew nothing about events that had yet to happen-or that Gege hadn't drawn yet. Besides, he wasn't someone who obsessed over details. Who knew how many important details he had missed while reading the manga? Unless Gege Akutami explained them later, he would never even notice them. That was ultimately why he had no idea how he had died.
"Am I really going to have to kill myself when the time comes? That would be humiliating." He scratched his full head of hair, suddenly feeling troubled. He really didn't want to kill himself. His transmigration had practically amounted to suicide already, even if his death had been an accident. He didn't even know whether he had been electrocuted or died some other way, though electrocution was the likeliest explanation. After all, white smoke had still been coming out of his mouth as he spoke his last words. Anyone who didn't know better might have thought he was a veteran smoker coughing up all the smoke that had been hiding in his lungs for years.
"Do I just have to take things as they come?" Troubled though he was, he still thought like a modern person, and he quickly came up with a solution. "Once the year 1018 comes, whoever challenges me, I'll just let them cut me down. If they kill me, then that's my fate. If I don't die, I'll just have to kill them instead. As long as I die that year, it'll be fine. It's really not that hard. Worst case, I'll kill myself on the very last day. I'm just sleeping for a thousand years, not being sealed away. Whether I'm conscious or not, what's there to be afraid of?"
After brainwashing himself, he finally managed to convince himself.
While he was mulling this over, he turned and saw Uraume walking in with a large wooden basin held in both hands. For some reason, a phrase suddenly flashed through his mind: Hehehe, here it comes!
"My lord, this is Heian-kyo's finest delicacy-sashimi. Only the local nobility can enjoy it, and only a single slice can be taken from each fish." Uraume respectfully set the large wooden basin before Sukuna, then bowed ninety degrees as she presented him with a pair of long wooden chopsticks.
"Ugh..." The sight of the sashimi did absolutely nothing for his appetite. Even before transmigrating, he had never felt the slightest desire to try the raw marinated seafood served in some southern cities. Such things simply weren't part of his diet.
He looked at the respectful Uraume standing before him. Although he didn't want to try it, his body's reaction told him that it was indeed time to eat. As he wrestled with the problem, something suddenly occurred to him.
"Kamutoke." Couldn't I just use this cursed tool to cook the food with electricity?
He put his idea into action at once, pulling his cursed tool out from behind him. The gesture gave Uraume a fright. Who pulled out a weapon in the middle of a perfectly normal meal? Especially someone as unpredictable as Sukuna. Who knew whether he might suddenly electrocute her and turn her into food?
"Uh..." Seeing Uraume suddenly shudder, he realized she must have misunderstood something. But he had to maintain this body's original image, so he offered no explanation. He simply picked out a slice of sashimi, wrapped it around Kamutoke, and poured in cursed energy. With a single sizzle, the sashimi turned to ash.
"Ordinary ingredients really can't withstand an attack of this caliber." Although he had failed, he insisted on making excuses for himself, as though he had merely been conducting an experiment.
The tense Uraume finally relaxed completely. Following Sukuna was extremely dangerous, but to her, he shone like her own personal god. And a god naturally stood far above everyone else.
"My lord, would you like me to bring you some fire?" Though she was nervous, Uraume had served him for many years, and at that moment she seemed to understand what Sukuna was thinking. She asked the question cautiously.
"There's no need to be so stiff. We've long since become more than an ordinary master and servant." Sukuna waved a hand, signaling that she needn't be so nervous. Besides, he didn't eat people. What was there to be afraid of?
"Yes, my lord." In truth, Uraume understood that Sukuna didn't care whether someone like her lived or died. To him, only fine food and slaughter brought pleasure. Slaughtering women and children, in particular, made him even happier. Over all these years, she had been the only person who could remain at his side. Anyone else who dared approach Sukuna would be killed without mercy. No one could serve him; only she, as his subordinate, had been granted that honor.
"Mm. Bring me a copper pot, then. Gather some firewood while you're at it."
"Yes, my lord."
She soon found a copper pot. Although copper pots weren't common in this era, this was Heian-kyo, after all. There was nothing she couldn't find with a little violence. She had merely broken into a wealthy household and killed a few dozen people before finding the pot. The terror in that family's eyes left no impression on her whatsoever.
"Mm, you've done well. You may leave." Sukuna waved a hand, signaling for Uraume to go.
"Yes, my lord."
He set up the copper pot and used cursed energy to kindle a fire. Soon, the entire pot glowed red. He laid the slices of sashimi on it, and before long, a sizzling sound rose, followed by the aroma of grilled fish. There were no seasonings, but it still looked far better than the raw fish had.
"Cooked food really does taste better. I still can't appreciate the delights of eating it raw."
Once he had finished enjoying his meal, exhaustion finally washed over him, and he fell asleep almost immediately. Even asleep, however, the immense cursed energy emanating from his body struck fear into everyone. Only Uraume quietly returned to stand behind him, her eyes closed, keeping silent watch just as she always had.
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