"He can directly seize the power of devils? Can he even... like the Chainsaw Devil, erase a devil's existence and name?"
The golden light in Makima's ringed eyes flashed frantically as she tried to analyze it, but she couldn't reach any reliable conclusion.
The unknown brought even greater fear.
If Sukuna truly possessed an erasure ability against devil concepts similar to or even surpassing that of the Chainsaw Devil, what would that mean for all devils, including her, the Control Devil?
It meant that a natural predator walking the human world, one who could truly threaten their foundation of existence, had appeared.
Makima slowly raised her hand, her fingertips pressing gently against her smooth temple. There seemed to be a lingering phantom pain there from being "watched" by countless slashes.
"The Cabinet's mission... to exorcise Sukuna..."
She whispered the Prime Minister's order, but for the first time, her lips lacked any hint of a smile, replaced only by a cold solemnity.
Originally, she had only viewed this operation as a slightly troublesome cleanup job, even carrying a hint of inspection and evaluation, perhaps with the thought of controlling this interesting new toy.
Now, she understood.
This wasn't cleanup, it wasn't evaluation, and it certainly wasn't control.
This was a survival crisis.
Facing Sukuna, all her previous calculations, all her means of control, and all the contracts and substitution abilities she relied on appeared pale and laughable.
Continuing a direct confrontation would yield almost no chance of victory, other than consuming more citizens' lives, which, although just numbers to her, could shake the foundation of her contract if over-consumed, and exposing more of her trump cards.
"I need a re-evaluation. A comprehensive evaluation." Makima's voice regained its calm, but beneath that calm was a frozen current.
"His purpose? His weaknesses? The source and limit of his power? His relationship with the suddenly changing Jujutsu World, other devils, and this era..."
She needed information. Massive, detailed intel from every possible angle. She could no longer act rashly based on just a video and a rough report as she had before.
She needed time. Time to digest the impact of this crushing defeat, to adjust her strategy, and to find... perhaps existing alternative methods, or a way to utilize him?
Sukuna seemed to have an extraordinary interest in battle, in the strong, and in "interesting things." Perhaps she could start from there?
But the prerequisite was that she could no longer appear before him as an enemy or a ruler.
In Makima's ringed eyes, the golden light gradually stabilized, returning to its unfathomable flow. Fear was suppressed, and rationality regained the upper hand. But that extreme wariness toward Sukuna and the recognition of him as the highest priority threat were now deeply ingrained.
She turned, walked to the communication equipment, and pressed a few buttons.
"Kurose, Tendou." Her voice transmitted through the communicator, as steady as ever, without a hint of abnormality.
"Makima-san! Are you alright? We just monitored a beyond-specification energy burst from the direction of Shibuya, and after that, your signal was briefly interrupted." Kurose's anxious voice came through.
"I'm fine." Makima interrupted him.
"Mission change. Abandon all direct hostile actions against Ryomen Sukuna. Withdraw all peripheral surveillance personnel. Lower the mission priority to observation and intelligence gathering. Without my permission, there are to be no provocative or contact-seeking behaviors."
"Eh? But the Cabinet's side..." Tendou hesitated.
"I will explain to the Prime Minister." Makima's tone left no room for doubt.
"In addition, mobilize all channels. I want all known and searchable detailed information on Ryomen Sukuna from his appearance until this moment. This includes his relationship with those schoolgirls, his contact with Jujutsu High, the Window forums, his connection with the Sawamura family... I want every detail."
"At the same time, strengthen monitoring of the abnormal movements of other Special Grade Cursed Spirits, Curse User groups, and private Devil Hunter organizations. I suspect Sukuna's appearance will be like a giant stone thrown into stagnant water, creating a chain reaction of ripples we haven't yet anticipated."
"...Yes! Understood!"
Though the two were full of confusion, they were absolutely obedient to Makima's orders.
Hanging up the communication, Makima once again looked out the window toward Shibuya.
The night was deep, and the fire in that area seemed to have lessened, but that heart-palpitating lingering aura still seemed to faintly drift over.
"Sukuna..."
"It seems this new world is much more interesting than I imagined."
"And you, where will you lead this world?"
She slowly closed the blinds, completely isolating the light and shadows of the outside world.
The safehouse fell into absolute darkness and silence.
— — —
Sukuna stood upon the high platform, savoring the sense of fulfillment after the battle. His four crimson eyes lazily scanned the battlefield he had personally cleansed, as if admiring his own masterpiece.
However, this tranquility did not last long. A faint but rhythmic sound of footsteps, carrying deliberately suppressed fluctuations of Cursed Energy, approached from the edge of the ruins, breaking the deathly silence.
Sukuna tilted his head slightly, casting his gaze toward the source of the sound. He saw about twenty figures moving in a well-trained tactical formation, passing through the crumbling walls and debris, approaching the high platform where he stood quickly and silently.
They wore uniform dark combat gear bearing the Zenin clan crest, their faces covered by black masks that revealed only their eyes. Their gazes were numb and cold, devoid of any superfluous emotional fluctuations.
Their movements were swift and their coordination seamless, displaying a very high level of collaborative combat proficiency.
But their Cursed Energy... it was pathetically weak.
In Sukuna's perception, among these twenty-odd people, the strongest had barely touched the threshold of a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer, while the rest mostly hovered between Grade 2 and Semi-Grade 1.
More strangely, he could feel almost no decent Cursed Technique fluctuations from them. They seemed like a group of soldiers with physical fitness and fighting skills far exceeding ordinary people through special training.
"Zenin clan?" Sukuna raised an eyebrow, a hint of boredom and extremely faint curiosity flashing in his four eyes.
"The Kukuru Unit? An army of trash without Cursed Techniques?"
He knew something of this thousand-year-old sorcerer clan. The Zenin clan worshipped Cursed Techniques and bloodlines, viewing clan members who did not have an innate technique as "Non-Sorcerers" with low status.
The Kukuru Unit was composed of the elite among these "Non-Sorcerers." They relied on near-masochistic physical tempering, fighting techniques, the use of Cursed Tools, and teamwork to compensate for their lack of Cursed Techniques. Tasked with dangerous or unsavory missions, they were a purely consumable tool in the hands of the Zenin clan.
To send such a group of ants to attack him, who had just fully resurrected and had just dealt with the Control Devil?
Sukuna's first reaction was that it was absurd.
"Has the Zenin clan collectively lost their minds, or do they think I am in a good mood and won't crush the bugs in my way?" The giant mouth on his abdomen opened and closed, emitting a low, mocking question.
Just then, a figure with a completely different style from the Kukuru Unit slowly walked out from the other side of the ruins, stopping at a relatively safe distance from the high platform.
It was a young man wearing an expensive silk kimono, his hair meticulously groomed, with a face that bore an obvious expression of arrogance and gloom—Zenin Naoya.
The legitimate son of the Zenin clan, he possessed Projection Sorcery. He was a distinguished talent among the younger generation and was notorious for his arrogance and obsession with orthodoxy.
"Sukuna." Naoya's voice rang out, deliberately maintaining a calm tone, but the hidden tension and calculation in the depths of his eyes were fully exposed to Sukuna.
"By order of the Clan Head, I have come to... greet you."
"Greet me?" Sukuna acted as if he had heard a joke, crossing his four arms over his chest and looking at him with leisure.
"Bringing a group of useless trash to greet me? Your Zenin clan's etiquette is certainly unique."
Naoya's expression stiffened slightly but quickly recovered. He took a deep breath, seemingly having made a decision.
Without further nonsense, he abruptly raised his hand and barked an order to the Kukuru Unit behind him, "Move! Target—Sukuna! Execute Plan Three! At any cost, attack three times!"
Upon hearing the order, the twenty-plus Kukuru Unit members did not hesitate for a moment. It was as if the order to "attack Sukuna," which seemed no different from suicide to others, was no different from hacking at a wooden post in their daily training.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three figures were the first to rush out. They did not use any Cursed Tools but instead poured their entire Cursed Energy into their legs, exploding with startling speed.
They lunged at Sukuna on the platform from three different directions. Punches, palm strikes, and kicks, accompanied by the sound of rushing wind, aimed at different parts of Sukuna's body.
The attacks themselves were laughably weak. In Sukuna's eyes, they were as slow as a crawling turtle and soft as cotton. But his four crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
Something was wrong.
Something was very wrong.
Naoya was no fool. He had witnessed, or at least knew through intelligence, everything that had just happened here. He should be well aware that the attacks of these Kukuru Unit members weren't even worthy of scratching his itch.
So why would he give such a suicidal order? And why specifically emphasize "attacking three times"?