Chapter 94: Feeding Sukuna to the Dog
"So it's said," Ren murmured as he stared at Sukuna's finger suspended between his fingers, deep in thought, "that when Special Grade Cursed Objects are created, they are bound by a vow: they will not harm others, and therefore cannot be harmed themselves."
"Judging by what we've seen, that seems to be true."
"Absolute invulnerability... now that's interesting."
A faint spark of inspiration flickered through Ren's mind.
He felt as though he had just brushed against some crucial insight, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't quite grasp it.
Invulnerability...
What exactly is it that needs to be invulnerable?
"So this is... Sukuna's finger?"
Maki took the finger from his hand and passed it to Tsumiki for inspection.
As professional jujutsu sorcerers, their initial shock quickly gave way to curiosity rather than fear.
After all, a cursed object was ultimately just an object. As long as it was handled properly, it posed no immediate danger.
And handling cursed objects was precisely a sorcerer's job.
After examining it carefully, the two returned it to Ren.
Excitement still lingered on their faces.
Special Grade Cursed Objects were incredibly rare.
And this one belonged to the most infamous curse in history—Ryomen Sukuna himself.
A trophy like that was no small prize.
"Take good care of it," Maki warned.
Ren nodded.
Taking the finger back, he turned toward the towering Divine Dog: Totality standing beside him.
Patting the massive shikigami on the head, he smiled.
"Good dog."
"Open wide."
Divine Dog: Totality obediently opened its jaws.
Without hesitation, Ren tossed Sukuna's finger straight into its enormous mouth.
"Ren?!"
Both Maki and Tsumiki's expressions changed instantly.
Maki's reaction was especially dramatic.
Tsumiki was still new to the jujutsu world and didn't fully understand the implications, but Maki certainly did.
Students of Tokyo Jujutsu High had absolutely no authority to dispose of a Special Grade Cursed Object on their own.
Any such item recovered during a mission had to be handed over to the school or to the higher-ups of the jujutsu world for proper handling.
That was true for ordinary Special Grade Cursed Objects.
This, however, was one of Sukuna's fingers—the very object that had recently thrown Tokyo Jujutsu High into chaos.
Ren turned back toward them.
Completely unconcerned, he dusted off his hands and flashed Maki a carefree grin.
"I know, Maki."
"I know Gojo-sensei has his own plan for dealing with Sukuna's vessel."
The vessel of Ryomen Sukuna, Yuji Itadori, had already caused an uproar at two different schools. Ren himself had once come dangerously close to being drawn into an assassination mission targeting him. Later, while investigating the blue-haired cursed spirit, he had also been forced to cooperate with Yuji. Because of that, he had gone out of his way to thoroughly study all available information regarding both Sukuna and his vessel.
"However," Ren said, "I don't agree with Gojo-sensei's approach."
"His is the method of the strong. The strong seek challenge, excitement, and a decisive victory. But they rarely spend much time considering the consequences of failure."
"His plan is to have Yuji consume all twenty of Sukuna's fingers, then defeat Sukuna in one stroke and eliminate the threat forever."
"But my method is the method of the weak."
He raised both hands.
"For me, safety comes first."
"There are twenty fingers in total. So I believe ten should be the limit."
"If we can defeat a ten-finger Sukuna, then the remaining ten fingers cease to be a serious concern."
"But if we can barely handle a ten-finger Sukuna, then feeding Yuji additional fingers would be unbelievably foolish."
"So for now, this finger stays with me."
He glanced at Maki and Tsumiki.
"Of course, considering your positions, once you return to Tokyo Jujutsu High, you should report everything to Gojo-sensei and the school authorities exactly as it happened."
"There's no need to hide anything."
"You..." Maki stared at him, concern evident in her eyes. "Do you realize how much trouble this could bring down on your head?"
Ren scratched his forehead.
"And if Yuji Itadori loses control, wouldn't that be troublesome too?"
"To be honest, I wasn't especially interested in getting involved."
"But when trouble walks right up to your doorstep and you choose to do nothing—that's a different matter."
"As long as it's within my ability, I'd rather intervene."
"Otherwise, if disaster eventually reaches me, all I'll be left with is regret over what I failed to do when I had the chance."
Maki let out a long sigh.
"Fine."
"I understand where you're coming from."
"But as you said, I'll report everything to the school and the teachers exactly as it happened."
Ren nodded.
"That's only natural."
"It's not like I'm sneaking around committing theft."
"I'm openly and honestly—"
"Stealing?" Maki cut in, shooting him an exasperated look.
"That's not stealing!" Ren protested immediately.
"This is my battle trophy!"
"I'm not arguing semantics with you."
Maki rolled her eyes.
"You'll understand how troublesome this is when the consequences come knocking."
Her tone softened moments later.
"Just... know when to compromise, okay?"
"If things start going badly, don't try to shoulder everything yourself."
Ren nodded again.
"W-What's happening?!"
Suddenly, Tsumiki let out a startled cry.
She pointed behind Ren.
The other two turned immediately.
Divine Dog: Totality—having just swallowed Sukuna's finger—was undergoing a dramatic transformation.
Its fur stood on end.
Its eyes glowed crimson.
The red markings upon its forehead and limbs burned with an intense molten brilliance, as though magma flowed beneath its skin.
Throwing back its head, it released a thunderous howl.
Its already imposing body began to swell further, muscles bulging and expanding inch by inch. Its fangs lengthened, protruding menacingly from its jaws.
Its aura exploded upward.
Stronger.
Stronger.
And stronger still.
Watching the astonishing metamorphosis, Ren remained perfectly calm.
The corners of his lips curled upward.
"As expected."
"What?" Maki asked, bewildered.
"Sukuna's fingers emit cursed energy powerful enough to draw cursed spirits toward them instinctively."
"And cursed spirits that consume one gain explosive increases in power."
"That's something I read about before."
"Now, thanks to that curse we fought earlier, the theory has been confirmed."
He folded his arms.
"That curse had divided itself into countless offspring. Under normal circumstances, its true body should have been severely weakened."
"Yet when it finally appeared, it still possessed Special Grade combat capabilities."
"The source of that power was most likely Sukuna's finger."
"Shikigami and cursed spirits are fundamentally very similar beings."
"If Sukuna's finger can empower a cursed spirit, there's no reason it shouldn't be capable of empowering a shikigami as well."
Maki narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"So that was your plan all along."
"No."
Ren spread his hands and smiled openly.
"I swear it wasn't."
"It was just a spur-of-the-moment idea."
For once, there wasn't a trace of deception in his words.
His alternative plan for dealing with Sukuna's finger had never been an excuse.
Keeping the finger wasn't some grand ambition born from a lust for power either.
The reason was simple.
Whether it was the cursed spirit empowered by Sukuna's finger...
Or Divine Dog: Totality, now on the verge of evolution...
The strength they possessed meant almost nothing to Ren himself.