Ryomen Sukuna's four crimson eyes locked dead onto Ian.
A look of bewilderment surfaced once again on his arrogant face.
What was that?
That massive handful of pitch-black fingers—radiating an aura identical to his own, their twisted shapes matching down to the finest detail—what exactly were they?
This man.
What kind of existence was he?
How could he pull out so many of his fingers?
An indescribable sense of absurdity hijacked the King of Curses' mind.
'Have I actually reincarnated multiple times? Are these truly fingers I left behind in the past?'
Ian, however, wore a smile that could only be described as amiable.
He casually tossed his hand up.
That massive handful of at least several dozen Sukuna fingers was carelessly scattered right in front of Sukuna.
"Eat up."
"Don't be shy."
"There's plenty more where that came from," Ian offered generously.
This was charity.
This was a humiliation far harder to swallow than any previous crushing defeat.
However.
The power radiating from every single finger scattered on the ground—a power completely identical to his own—drew him in with maddening allure.
After a brief internal struggle, all the bewilderment and rage vanished from Sukuna's twisted face.
In their place was a near-insane absolute resolve.
Dignity.
That was something only the absolute strongest standing at the pinnacle of the world had the right to discuss.
Today's humiliation.
As long as he could obtain power that transcended everything, he would return it a hundredfold, a thousandfold in the future.
He abruptly bent down, his four arms moving like a madman as he frantically snatched the fingers off the ground and shoved them into his mouth without hesitation.
One.
Two.
Ten.
With every finger he swallowed, the cursed energy radiating from Sukuna skyrocketed exponentially.
Boom!!!
A terrifying pressure centered on the ruins of Shibuya swept across all of Japan like the most violent tsunami.
Kyoto.
Hokkaido.
Okinawa.
All across Japan, whether it was the ancient curse users who had just awakened from their long slumber or the newly born cursed spirits spawned by the initiation of the Culling Game.
The moment they felt this terrifying, world-dominating aura, they all halted their slaughter and destruction.
As if by prior agreement, they all looked toward Shibuya, then uncontrollably fell to their knees in prostration.
It was as if they were paying homage to their newly born, sole monarch.
It was a trembling and submission stemming from the very depths of their souls.
The sky was completely dyed an ominous dark red.
Thick, heavy dark clouds stacked upon each other, pressing down so hard it was suffocating.
Streaks of pitch-black lightning tore through the firmament, yet they produced no thunder, leaving only a deathly silence.
The earth let out an overwhelmed wail.
The very rules of Japan seemed to warp under the weight of this massive power that should not exist in this world.
Atop a distant high-rise.
Satoru Gojo's Six Eyes were operating frantically at an unprecedented output.
In his perception, Sukuna's total cursed energy was climbing madly in a completely unreasonable manner.
That value had already far exceeded his previous estimates for the combined strength of twenty fingers.
It had even climbed to a terrifying level that made even the current him find it troublesome.
"What the hell... is that guy trying to do?" Gojo muttered.
At the center of the battlefield.
Sukuna's swallowing speed grew faster and faster.
Fifty.
Seventy.
Seventy-nine.
The moment the seventy-ninth finger entered his stomach, his cursed energy aura climbed to an unprecedented peak.
The power of ninety-nine fingers!
That power had already far surpassed his prime state from a thousand years ago.
However.
When he grabbed the one hundredth finger and swallowed it without hesitation.
The power within his body did not increase by even a single fraction.
Yuji Itadori, this miraculous vessel seen only once in a millennium, seemed to have finally reached his absolute limit for containing his power.
Ian looked at him, a trace of pity showing on his face, and slowly spoke.
"Looks like this body's 'memory capacity' might already be full."
"Of course, it's also possible that this is simply your limit."
"What a shame."
"I originally wanted to let you eat a bit more."
These words completely detonated the rage that had long been building to its absolute limit in Sukuna's heart.
"Haha..."
"Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!"
Feeling the supreme, mighty power within his body—a power capable of easily cleaving the world itself—Sukuna let out an extremely exhilarated, maniacal laugh.
He was confident.
His current self had already surpassed the past, surpassed everything.
He was, without a doubt, invincible in this world.
"You piece of trash!"
Sukuna's laughter abruptly ceased, and those four crimson eyes locked dead onto Ian.
"The warm-up is over!"
"Now, I will use your flesh and blood to celebrate the birth of the new king!"
A terrifying killing intent, like a tangible cold current, instantly shrouded all of Shibuya.
The air temperature plummeted to the freezing point.
A battle surpassing everyone's imagination was about to unfold in the ruins of Tokyo.
...
At the same time Sukuna and Ian were facing off.
In another block of Shibuya.
Jogo, Hanami, and Dagon—resurrected by Kenjaku and deployed across the battlefield as pawns—were enjoying their long-lost slaughter and destruction.
The earth melted into magma beneath Jogo's feet.
Countless innocent civilians had their life force instantly drained dry within the sea of cursed flowers created by Hanami.
Dagon summoned an endless swarm of fish shikigami, turning the entire street into a bloody ocean.
Right in the midst of this living hell.
A figure, yawning and carrying a blade brimming with an ominous aura over his shoulder, leisurely appeared before the three great disaster cursed spirits as if taking an after-dinner stroll.
Toji Fushiguro looked with some disgust at the surrounding ruins and the humans fleeing in all directions while letting out ear-piercing screams.
"So noisy," Toji grumbled.
"You interrupted my bonding time with my kid."
Jogo's single, flame-burning eye immediately locked onto this suddenly appearing man.
He clearly sensed that there was not a single trace of cursed energy on this man's body.
Just an ordinary human with a slightly stronger physical body, that was all.
To dare speak to him in such a tone.
He was simply courting death.
Jogo flew into a rage. Too lazy to even waste words, he raised his hand and fired off a full-power [Ember Insects].
A torrent of flames capable of instantly melting steel swept toward Toji Fushiguro like an overwhelming tidal wave.
However.
Toji Fushiguro didn't even bother to dodge.
He simply swung the Inverted Spear of Heaven in his hand casually forward.
The moment the violent torrent of flames touched the Inverted Spear of Heaven, it was directly subjected to the weapon's forced technique nullification effect, completely dispersing and vanishing into nothingness.
Immediately after.
His figure, comparable to a fierce god, left an afterimage in place as he charged directly into the flames that had yet to fully dissipate.
Jogo's single eye shrank violently.
Too fast.
This man had crossed a distance of several hundred meters in an instant, appearing right in front of him.
In the next instant, Toji Fushiguro delivered a straight punch, slamming solidly into Jogo's chest.
Thud!!!
A muffled, heavy boom echoed out.
Jogo's sturdy body, composed of fire-attribute cursed energy, actually began to crack under this single punch.
His broken body flew backward, consecutively crashing through several reinforced concrete buildings before finally being deeply embedded into the ground, unable to get up for a long time.