Those selected from various clans to investigate the Ryomen Sukuna incident—without exception—not a single one returned.
Most of their shikigami were also destroyed. Only one, due to the unique nature of its abilities, managed to escape back to Kyoto—only to disintegrate into glowing firefly-like lights immediately after delivering the message.
And that so-called message... hardly counted as one at all.
It was just incoherent muttering, as if in madness:
"Dead... they're all dead... everyone..."
"All of them were killed by that thing."
"That... monster."
The people of Kyoto fell into a heavy silence upon hearing the report.
The way things were unfolding felt eerily familiar.
Not long ago, the one known as Gojo Cyr had similarly shaken Kyoto to its core, and many at the time regarded him as a monster.
Even if nowadays they had begun changing their tone and referring to him as a god, the shadow of that fear still lingered.
And now, this new individual—called Ryomen Sukuna—was already gaining an infamous reputation outside Kyoto.
If he took one step further and entered the city... he could completely upend the current balance of power.
What's more, Ryomen Sukuna was rumored to be a demon god from legend.
Could he be another god?
If his strength matched that of the semi-divine boy currently living in the mountain shrine…
Was there truly anyone in Kyoto who could defeat him?
The last one had already devastated the city's elite houses. Now another was on the way...
No one wanted to be the first to confront Ryomen Sukuna.
And so, the matter of how to handle Sukuna came to a standstill.
Every house refused to act. When the Emperor asked about it, each one gave the same response: "There's no one left in our clan who is capable."
Excuse after excuse, until even the Emperor's patience wore thin.
A group of people who couldn't solve anything—what was the point of keeping them around?
Then, someone offered an alternative.
"Aren't we already worshipping a god?"
"Isn't that god living among us right now, in that shrine on the nearby mountain?"
After all, the purpose of humans building shrines and offering worship to gods was to seek divine protection, wasn't it?
So now—shouldn't the god who had enjoyed their worship step in and fight on their behalf?
That's what they thought.
And that's what they did.
They went to the shrine, brought offerings of gold, silver, and jewels, and sincerely prayed for the one who had inherited the divine title of the Moon God to take action.
"You want me to go fight Ryomen Sukuna?" the white-haired boy said, seated beneath the shrine's divine statue, legs dangling over the high altar. He was holding a box of pearls, inspecting them.
To his discerning eyes, the pearls weren't large enough, lacked luster, weren't full or round enough.
His mother's cheapest pearl accessories were worth six figures. Her most expensive set had been sold at auction for tens of millions.
Having grown up surrounded by that kind of wealth, his standards were... exceptionally high.
"With this kind of quality, the best use would be grinding them into powder for fun." Cyr curled his lip in disdain and casually put the box down.
He used to have a classmate whose family was in the jewelry business—tons of jade, gemstones, and pearls. As kids, the two of them would grind pearls into powder just to make so-called pearl paste.
"Yes, we humbly ask for your intervention, to punish that monstrous troublemaker." The representative chosen by Kyoto's political circles bowed, sweat constantly forming on his brow.
His status was neither too high nor too low.
After all, none of the top nobles would dare come here and embarrass themselves.
But someone too low-ranked wouldn't have the qualifications.
So, after much consideration, it had fallen to him.
"Hmm." Cyr swept his gaze across the offerings laid out in front of him, his nose letting out a faint exhale.
"You're agreeing to fight?" the man asked, excitement flashing across his face.
"No. You can go back now." Cyr flicked his sleeve, knocking over the table of offerings.
The jewels clattered to the ground, scattering everywhere.
"W–Why…?" The man murmured, his face stiff with frustration and disbelief.
"You built a shrine for me, offered gifts—only because you're too weak. You lost to me."
"You did it all just to beg me to spare Kyoto's people."
"From beginning to end, the ones asking for favors… were always you."
"So I have no obligation to protect any of you."
The white-haired boy sneered, speaking without the slightest trace of mercy.
"Trying to bribe me with petty offerings to make me your personal weapon…" He shook his head. "Are you insane? Or do you really think I'm some naive god or yokai who's easily deceived by humans?"
After all, the tales that circulated throughout Kyoto often spoke of humans tricking gods or yokai into giving away their affections or treasures.
In those stories, the divine beings were always portrayed as innocent, generous, and easy to fool.
The man fell silent, not daring to speak again.
"Get out." The smiling boy's face changed in an instant, turning cold as he barked the command.
A flip of his mood like flipping a page.
If the man didn't leave now, he might never leave again.
Whether it was an act or genuine fear, the man scrambled out of the shrine in a panicked, clumsy escape.
"Now I understand why you acted like you recognized him," Gojo Haru slowly stepped out from behind the divine statue.
"If my guess is right, a thousand years from now, everything he does will be recorded in history."
Under the name Ryomen Sukuna.
"That's why, when you first saw him, Cyr-kun, you didn't know his real name and just called him Ryomen Sukuna."
"In fact, everything he's doing now is the same as what I did," Cyr replied bluntly, with no more intention of hiding the truth.
"If I hadn't unexpectedly appeared in this world, he would have been the only one with such achievements."
"The King of Curses—that's what future generations, both humans and cursed spirits, will call him." He smiled faintly.
"…The King of Curses? With a title like that… he must have caused quite a storm." Gojo Haru sighed quietly.
That title alone told him how bloody and violent the road must have been.
You don't call someone a "king" unless even those who weren't killed end up genuinely afraid or wholeheartedly convinced of their strength.
Especially since both jujutsu sorcerers and cursed spirits acknowledged the title.
"I don't know the details. I only know that it happens… and that I have no intention of changing the future," Cyr said quietly.
"You, who stand outside of the story, don't want to change the future. But we, who are inside the story… have no way to change it," Gojo Haru sighed deeply.
"Do you know how I end up in the historical records?" he asked with a smile.
"…I don't." Cyr shook his head. "I haven't seen anything about you."
But he had a guess… and it wasn't optimistic.
Because if Ryomen Sukuna attacked Heian-kyo, then Gojo Haru would definitely take action.
And if Sukuna ended up being the ultimate victor…
Then Gojo Haru…
Would definitely die.
Gojo Haru had already considered this.
°°°
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