With that giant Curse hand as the center, the space for hundreds of meters around it suddenly solidified.
It wasn't a time stop, but rather that within this space, the concepts of all "motion," "change," and "rule flow" were forcibly seized, suppressed, and halted by an invisible, intangible, yet unimaginably massive "palm".
The ashen-grey giant hand, which had been aggressively reaching for Sukuna with countless punishment chains, suddenly froze in mid-air. The shadows of the chains extending from the palm were like frozen vipers, solidified in the air, unable to advance another inch.
The eye in the palm spun frantically, trying to analyze and break through this invisible restraint, but it only received feedback of an absolute, unfathomable "power" that seemed capable of controlling even the "rules" themselves.
For the first time, the voice of the Curse Devil showed stagnation and suspicion. "This... what power is this?! Why can it interfere with the fulfillment of the 'contract'?!"
"A frog in a well." Sukuna's sneer intensified as he kept his left hand in a virtual clinch, slowly tightening it inward.
As his fist tightened, the invisible pressure around the solidified giant hand in mid-air suddenly doubled.
Creak.. Creak...
The scalp-numbing, faint sound of the spatial structure being forcibly squeezed and distorted could be heard.
The charred contract burns on the ashen-grey giant hand began to flicker, and the rough stitches trembled violently as if they would burst in the next second.
The chain shadows wrapped around it let out groans of being overburdened, shattering and dissipating inch by inch.
The Eye of Contract in the palm flashed even more frantically, revealing emotions of pain and disbelief.
"Your rules, before my power, are merely toys that can be crushed at will."
Sukuna's crimson eyes reflected the scene of the struggling giant hand as he spoke slowly.
"Now..."
His virtual left fist suddenly clenched completely shut.
"Get over here!"
Boom!!!
An indescribable, terrifying dull roar, like the collision of rules from two different worlds, erupted in the solidified space.
The giant Curse hand that had been held firmly by the invisible force, along with the dark purple vortex behind it, was forcibly peeled and dragged out of the rule layer it resided in the moment Sukuna clenched his fist, as if by a "palm" even more massive, more invisible, and more irresistible than itself.
No! It wasn't just dragging!
It was squeezing! It was shrinking! It was plundering!
In the eyes of Naoya and any other observers that might exist, they could only see that terrifying giant hand and the dark purple vortex being compressed, deformed, and forcibly shrunk at an alarming speed, like an object placed in a vacuum seal bag.
From the size of a house, to the size of a room, to the size of a car...
Finally, it was compressed into a "conceptual mass" the size of a human head, constantly twisting and writhing, emitting strong fluctuations of Curse and contract rules, and a mix of dark purple and ashen grey.
During this process of compression and dragging, the giant hand and the vortex let out a silent shriek of extreme agony, a mixture of rules shattering and existence being torn apart.
That was the power of the Curse Devil's partial manifestation being arrogantly stripped and drawn away.
Sukuna maintained his clenched left fist, and the "conceptual mass" that had been compressed to the limit flew in front of his fist like it was being pulled, hovering in mid-air and vibrating slightly, yet unable to break free.
"I'll be taking your power."
Sukuna looked at the concentrated essence before him, which contained precious concepts such as "Mandatory Contract," "Punitive Price," and "Rule Fulfillment."
Soul Devouring talent, fully activated!
This was not devouring a remnant soul after death, but the most direct and violent plunder of the origin of a living, stripped, and compressed "conceptual manifestation of rules".
Sizzle—
Like a red-hot iron dipped into ice water, wisps of black smoke began to rise from the surface of the dark purple and ashen-grey "conceptual mass," symbolizing the stripping, decomposition, and absorption of "existence" and "concepts".
The mass shrank and dimmed at a visible rate. The pure power of Curse rules and contract concepts within it flowed continuously into Sukuna's left fist, following his arm and merging into his vast ocean of Cursed Energy and the depths of his soul.
It was transformed and absorbed by the Soul Devouring talent, and recorded and analyzed by the Great Collector system.
"No!!! My power! My rules! You... contract-profaning... monster!!!"
The remaining consciousness of the Curse Devil let out a desperate shriek within the mass, but this shriek also quickly became weak and intermittent as its power drained away.
Sukuna turned a deaf ear to the shriek, simply feeling the fulfillment and satisfaction brought by the integration of the new power. He could feel his understanding of rules such as "contract," "price," and "mandatory fulfillment" deepening. His Existence Erasure ability also seemed to receive a subtle supplement and evolution because of this, becoming even more elusive.
In just a few seconds, the head-sized "conceptual mass" completely disappeared, devoured by Sukuna until nothing remained.
In its place, only a wisp of rapidly dissipating embers remained, carrying the scent of a charred contract.
The dark purple vortex had long since completely vanished along with the disappearance of its main body. Above the ruins, peace returned.
Only the faint sense of a spiritual void left by the total disappearance of the twenty-three Kukuru Unit members, and the lingering resonance of the contract rules being violently torn apart in the air, proved that everything that had just happened was not a hallucination.
Sukuna slowly unclenched his left fist and moved his fingers, as if he had just crushed a grape.
He glanced at the dissipating embers, then looked toward Naoya, who had long since collapsed to the ground, his face deathly pale, a large patch of his pants wet, having lost even the strength to run.
—
Sukuna's figure, like a ghost blending into the night, appeared silently on the stone steps before the shrine's worship hall.
He made no effort to restrain his presence. His pressure, which had grown deeper and more terrifying after his full revival and the consumption of some of the Curse Devil's rules, spread quietly through every inch of the shrine like an invisible tide, silencing the insects and stilling the wind.
"Come out, Kenjaku."
Sukuna's four crimson eyes swept across the empty worship hall. His voice was calm, yet it pierced directly through the surface silence.
"I have no interest in playing hide-and-seek. Bring those schemes from your rat hole out into the moonlight."
A brief silence followed.
Behind the worship hall, the latticed door painted with faded patterns was silently pulled open a crack. A middle-aged man in dark monk robes, with a striking suture line across his forehead and an elegant temperament, stepped out slowly.
It was Kenjaku, occupying the body of Geto Suguru.
An inscrutable gentle smile hung on his face, but deep within his eyes, there was a profoundness greater than ever before, flickering with the complex light of a chess player reaching the endgame and forced to reveal his final trump card.
"It has been a long time, Sukuna."
Kenjaku stopped at the bottom of the stone steps and bowed slightly. His posture was impeccable, yet not particularly humble. It was more like a ritualistic greeting to a "collaborator" or "potential ally."
"Congratulations on fully reclaiming your power and reigning over this world once more. Your performance in the Shibuya battle was even more magnificent than in the past."
"Save the pleasantries." Sukuna waved a hand, his four arms crossed casually over his chest.
His crimson eyes looked down at Kenjaku, as if inspecting a tool that was somewhat useful, but nothing more.
"You didn't call me here just to spout nonsense, did you? I tore down most of your Shibuya stage, and I conveniently cleaned up those useless Cursed Spirit toys of yours. So, are you here to hold me accountable, or are you finally willing to tell this 'collaborator' your entire plan?"
He deliberately emphasized the word "collaborator" with blatant mockery.
The smile on Kenjaku's face remained unchanged, as if he had long anticipated Sukuna's attitude.
He sighed softly, and for once, a trace of genuine emotion—a mix of regret and a hint of resentment—leaked through the sigh.
"Hold you accountable? I wouldn't dare. Your power has already far exceeded my initial estimates. Those Cursed Spirits were merely expendable pawns in the plan. If they're dead, they're dead. However..."
He paused, his gaze seemingly piercing the night toward the center of Shibuya, his voice lowering. "Mahito's death has indeed disrupted a crucial move of mine."
"Oh?" Sukuna raised an eyebrow, showing a bit of interest.
"That blue clown who played with souls? Was his Cursed Technique that important to you?"
"Vital." Kenjaku spoke frankly, a sharp glint in his eyes.
"One of the foundations of my plan lies in awakening the many ancient Jujutsu Sorcerers who signed contracts with me over the past millennium and are currently slumbering within special Cursed Objects."
"They include powerful individuals from your era, and even earlier. Some may not match you at your peak in terms of strength, but each has their unique qualities and is an indispensable cornerstone for constructing the new world order."
Sukuna's crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
This reminded him of the incarnation mechanism of his own fingers, but clearly, Kenjaku was playing a much larger and more systematic game.
***
[New Book]
JJK: Favorability System
Transmigrating to the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, Yahiko awakened the Favorability System.
By interacting with female characters in the story and increasing their Favorability level, he can obtain rewards.
On top of that, the system also issues missions every now and then through which he can acquire rewards.
Killing cursed spirits? That's just a side job.
Dating is the real business.
[Ding! Successfully captured Zenin Maki, Reward: Heavenly Restriction!]