Subjugating Shikigami

"That's enough."

Kaneki casually tossed aside the blade and thanked her. "Thanks for all your hard work."

Strangely, the knife did not hit the ground with a clear clink. Instead, it sank into the pitch-black shadows.

It was not that he could not eat any more, but that Shoko could not keep going.

By then, Shoko was drenched in sweat.

Pale-faced, she leaned back in her chair to rest.

Her long brown hair clung to her cheeks. The blue-black top she wore underneath had also been soaked with sweat, darkening to black and revealing her shapely figure.

Shoko did not respond.

She was too tired even to speak.

Megumi Fushiguro's injuries were not fatal. His condition had been stabilized, but further healing would have to wait until Shoko had rested.

Seeing that they were finished,

Principal Yaga and the bandaged Naobito Zenin finally came back.

As they approached, Kaneki said, "I'm leaving."

"Where are you going?"

Yaga asked curiously.

"To find somewhere to subjugate some shikigami," Kaneki said, then left.

Naobito Zenin had remained silent all along.

By rights, he should not have allowed the Zenin Clan's inherited cursed technique to fall into an outsider's hands.

But he had arrived too late.

By the time he got there, Ken Kaneki had already started eating.

Considering that Kaneki had also saved his life, he decided to let him do as he pleased.

Seeing that Kaneki was leaving,

Naobito Zenin spoke up.

He offered a few tips on subjugating shikigami.

Kaneki nodded and thanked him.

He did not tell them that Kenjaku had trapped him, that he could not leave Shibuya, or that staying would only drag them into his troubles.

Subjugating shikigami

worked the same way as subjugating Mahoraga. Defeating a shikigami meant successfully subjugating it.

23:20

There was not much time left.

Ken Kaneki picked a spot at random and prepared to subjugate Nue.

Nue.

It was an owl-like shikigami that primarily attacked by diving from above and could also release lightning.

Ken Kaneki formed the hand sign for summoning Divine Dogs.

He summoned his starter pack.

The shadows beneath his feet churned violently, and two enormous dogs emerged, one black and one white.

They were about the same size as the ones Megumi Fushiguro summoned.

Of all the shikigami in the Ten Shadows Technique, only Divine Dogs came with awakening the cursed technique.

Then,

he began changing his hand signs.

A mass of shadow surged out, transforming into a vicious-looking eagle that lunged straight at Ken Kaneki.

The black and white Divine Dogs immediately sprang forward, opening their huge jaws to bite Nue.

Nue faltered.

It flapped its wings, trying to take to the sky.

Just then,

Kaneki, blade in hand, stepped off the black Divine Dog and lunged at Nue.

Nue opened its beak to spit out a bolt of lightning.

Sparks gathered in its mouth, but before it could discharge them, Kaneki cut off its head with a single slash.

Then,

Nue dissolved into a pool of shadow.

Ken Kaneki landed lightly on the ground. He was not like Megumi Fushiguro.

For this,

he had prepared for more than a decade.

He was not only skilled in combat styles such as Muay Thai and Sanda, but could also wield several conventional weapons.

Beyond that,

he also possessed medical knowledge relating to the brain.

He had simulated the various applications of cursed energy tens of thousands of times in his mind.

However,

reality was markedly different from those simulations.

Still,

he had begun taking control of his cursed energy as soon as he left Kenjaku. He could not claim precise control, but simple applications were within his reach.

The blade in his hand was an ordinary weapon.

It was not a cursed tool.

It resembled a fruit knife and looked exceptionally sharp. It was one of two weapons he had specifically commissioned Kugisaki's Grandmother to forge for him.

The two weapons were identical.

One of them was a cursed tool.

It was not particularly powerful.

But it was enough!

Next...

He subjugated Great Serpent and Toad in the same manner.

Moving from the open area into a room, he shut the doors and windows, then formed the hand sign for summoning Rabbit Escape.

Rabbit Escape.

A rabbit shikigami.

It could release large numbers of duplicates to distract enemies and create chaos.

As long as the original survived,

it could keep releasing duplicates.

So,

to successfully subjugate Rabbit Escape, he had to kill the marked original!

The moment Rabbit Escape appeared,

it split into a multitude of duplicates.

In an instant!

The small room became crowded.

Great Serpent, concealed in the shadows, opened its bloody maw and lunged forward, swallowing a mass of rabbits in one gulp.

Outside,

the black and white Divine Dogs tore through the rabbits bursting out through the windows and door.

Nue circled overhead.

It searched for the marked original.

With a piercing cry, it dove down, wreathed in lightning.

Rabbit Escape released a flood of duplicates.

Under their cover, the original successfully escaped.

Toad shot its long tongue at Rabbit Escape's original just as it escaped danger, instantly wrapping around it!

At the same time,

Ken Kaneki burst out of the room and hurled the blade in his hand.

With a sharp whistle through the air, the blade pierced Rabbit Escape's body.

Soon...

The surrounding rabbits disappeared one after another.

Rabbit Escape's original also turned into a wisp of black smoke and slowly dissipated.

Subjugation complete!

Originally,

Ken Kaneki had wanted to subjugate Round Deer.

It was a healing shikigami that could use the positive energy of Reverse Cursed Technique to heal both itself and others.

But,

he lacked a powerful means of attack.

He was still not proficient enough with the Ten Shadows Technique, and killing Round Deer with nothing but a blade would be difficult.

Even if he could kill it,

it would take a long time.

There was no time left.

Ken Kaneki took out his phone and checked the time: 23:30.

Then,

the shikigami around him turned into black shadows one after another and sank into the shadows beneath his feet.

23:28

Shibuya.

The former site of the Udagawa Police Box.

Watching the bedraggled Mahito flee toward him, with Itadori and five others pursuing while maintaining a certain distance,

Kenjaku, dressed in the Five-Strap Kasaya, revealed a sinister smile and murmured, "Are they waiting for me to make a move?"

"Kaneki."

At that moment,

his desire to kill Ken Kaneki grew stronger still. He utterly loathed the feeling of being treated as someone else's pawn.

The six chasing Mahito were Itadori, Kugisaki, Nanami, Maki, Todo, and Yū Shinji.

With their combined strength, there was no way Mahito could have escaped here alive.

Clearly,

they had allowed it on purpose.

Among them,

Kugisaki and Yū Shinji ran at the rear.

Upon seeing Kenjaku, Yū Shinji shouted. Everyone except Itadori stopped.

They followed him a little farther back.

They widened the distance.

Seeing Itadori still doggedly pursuing Mahito, Todo clapped his hands in time to bring him back.

"Todo?"

Itadori looked utterly confused.

"Itadori." Todo's expression was serious, his voice low. "Don't go forward now. Back up a little more."

As he spoke,

he pulled Itadori farther back.

Itadori glanced behind him and found the other four doing the same. Confusion covered his face.

"Geto..." The disheveled Mahito reached out and cried, "Save me."

The words had barely left his mouth

before he fell with a thud in front of Kenjaku.

However,

Kenjaku simply looked at him, smiling without a word.

Seeing this, Mahito realized that Kenjaku had ill intentions. At this distance, Kenjaku could easily dodge his Idle Transfiguration.

If he used his domain,

Itadori was still within its range.

Opening his domain would bring him into contact with Sukuna, who would kill him in retaliation!

Now that he was utterly cornered,

the crushing pressure drove him to use the 0.2-second Domain Expansion he had learned from Satoru Gojo.

And the reason Todo and the others had avoided pushing Mahito into a corner

was precisely for this moment!

To force Kenjaku to deploy his domain against Mahito's.

Now,

Kenjaku fully understood Ken Kaneki's little scheme, yet the smile on his face did not fade.

Cursed Technique Reversal-Gravity!

An immense gravitational force slammed down on Mahito, forcibly interrupting his technique.

The gravity crushed more than half his body into pulp.

"You really underestimated me..." Kenjaku said with a sinister smile. "Mahito."

"Did you think I couldn't stop you from activating your domain at such close range?"

With that said.

Kenjaku opened his hand and activated Cursed Spirit Manipulation, forcibly subjugating Mahito.

Amid Mahito's agonized screams.

Mahito transformed into a glowing cursed spirit orb.