Chapter 126 — A Chain of Relentless Assaults
"That tone really pisses me off."
Sukuna looked at Zen'in Shinsuke and couldn't help but sneer.
"Honestly, you're even more annoying than Gojo Satoru."
There were two humans Sukuna despised above all:
Gojo Satoru
and
Zen'in Shinsuke.
And because Gojo had been sealed for some time now, Sukuna's hatred toward him had cooled ever so slightly—
which only made his hatred for Shinsuke burn hotter.
---
"Look around. With all these trash humans here, do you know what your greatest weakness is?"
Sukuna's lips curled upward.
"You're just like Gojo.
Being surrounded by weaklings only makes you weaker."
Why had Gojo been sealed?
Because the battlefield was full of civilians.
Because he got distracted when "a certain friend" suddenly appeared.
In the end, the truth was simple:
True monsters are only strongest when alone.
Too many bonds only drag you down.
That was why Sukuna could never coexist with humans—
nor with curses.
"What the hell do you mean by that?!
You saying I'm weak?!"
Kashimo bristled instantly, purple lightning exploding off his body as he prepared to rush Sukuna.
But Shinsuke grabbed him by the collar with one hand, shaking his head calmly.
"Too slow.
I don't have the patience to let you two warm up."
Before Kashimo could even process those words—
Shinsuke's silhouette vanished.
BOOOOOM!!!
By the time Kashimo reacted, Shinsuke and Sukuna were already clashing at full speed, their figures flickering through buildings, too fast for the eye to track.
"Quit stalling and summon your shikigami already!"
Shinsuke opened Seven Gates in an instant, delivering a brutal kick that sent Sukuna crashing through an entire building.
He barked angrily as he attacked.
Sukuna staggered to his feet, a sharp pain stabbing through his abdomen. Blood sprayed from his lips.
"You sneak-attacking bastard—!"
Of all things, to blitz him with such ferocity when he wasn't looking…
That was just dirty.
Furious, Sukuna flicked his wrist—
and countless razor-thin slashes shot outward like a barrage.
Shinsuke didn't even bother dodging properly.
He tore through concrete and rubble like a humanoid crimson tyrannosaurus, charging straight at Sukuna again.
The slashes struck his hardened red skin, leaving nothing more than faint marks.
After being tempered by Sukuna's endless slicing barrage last time,
these trivial cuts couldn't even break his defense anymore.
"Freak!!"
Sukuna cursed as he reinforced his body with a surge of cursed energy, pulling back to create distance.
The last thing he wanted right now was to trade blows with this monster.
Forming a rapid sequence of seals, he summoned dozens of Rabbit Escape shikigami, filling entire floors and hallways to hinder Shinsuke's advance.
The rabbits might lack destructive power—
but their ability to obstruct was unmatched.
Their mass slowed Shinsuke down just enough.
Using that moment, Sukuna widened the gap and formed another seal, cursed energy erupting around him.
A colossal black-and-white devil hound erupted forth, jaws gaping wide.
Its bite force shattered buildings like twigs as it lunged straight for Shinsuke—
its massive, fanged maw descending like a beast from myth.
"ROOOOOAR!!"
Facing the oncoming black-and-white Divine Dog, Shinsuke tightened his fist and fired a point-blank Daytime Tiger.
The white tiger-shaped shockwave tore the Divine Dog apart in a single instant.
"MAX ELEPHANT!"
The moment the hound shattered, a fully manifested elephant plummeted from the sky, smashing through the skyscraper and crushing Shinsuke deep into the ground.
WHOOSH—!!
A tsunami surged from its trunk, towering over ten meters high, swallowing everything.
The onlookers—unable to help—dragged the injured and scrambled to higher ground.
"What the hell IS that?!"
Even Kashimo snapped in frustration.
"Isn't Sukuna's technique supposed to be slash-based? Why does he have monsters like THESE!?"
How was this supposed to be winnable?
If Sukuna could use such overwhelming shikigami, defeating them alone was already a problem—never mind defeating Sukuna himself.
Good thing he didn't charge in first.
Observing Sukuna's arsenal was looking like the smarter choice.
"That's not Sukuna's technique.
It's Fushiguro's."
Yuji's eyes never left the battlefield.
"This guy's technique was that strong?!
I couldn't tell at all before!"
Nobara clicked her tongue, annoyed.
She was still sore from being one-shot by Sukuna earlier—barely survived that.
She silently marked the debt down under Fushiguro's name.
She couldn't beat Sukuna, but Fushiguro?
He owed her emotional damages for this.
"That's not the point! Aren't any of you worried about that old man?!
He looks like he's in danger!
Shouldn't we help?
I can go tell a joke and distract Sukuna—create an opening!"
Takaba scratched his head, genuinely distressed that a random uncle was fighting alone.
Everyone slowly turned to look at him as if he'd grown another head.
"My master doesn't need help."
"And if we jump in, we'll just get in Zen'in-sensei's way.
Better not disturb him."
Even Yuji agreed—a rare sight.
He still remembered Shinsuke's elbow from before.
The hardness was inhuman.
---
BOOOOM!
A terrifying roar erupted from the sea of waves.
A single punch blasted the entire tsunami straight upward, turning it into torrential rain.
Soaked head to toe, Shinsuke stepped across the air itself and located Sukuna's position instantly.
BZZZZT!
Sensing a perfect opening, Sukuna rapidly formed hand seals.
A colossal Nue, wings blotting out the sky, soared overhead.
Golden lightning poured down like divine punishment, weaving through the falling rain—
each bolt a roaring thunder dragon aimed straight at Shinsuke.
RIIIP!!
Lightning tore through Shinsuke's body, leaving a tingling numbness behind.
He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck.
"Not bad.
You picked it up fast."
To master the combo this quickly after stealing Megumi's body—
that was indeed the combat instinct fitting for the King of Curses.
His muscles twisted into a bow-shaped coil, veins bulging like living dragons beneath his skin—
all that explosive power condensed into one fist.
"RRRAAAHH!!"
He punched.
Space in front of him compressed violently into a snarling tiger of pure force.
The Daytime Tiger roared forward, igniting into blazing flame from sheer speed—
appearing right in front of Sukuna almost instantaneously.
BOOM!!!
Even though he saw the punch, Sukuna couldn't dodge.
The compressed space completely locked his movements.
The crimson tiger swallowed him whole.
Sukuna rocketed downward like a falling meteor, crashing through street after street.
Under the crushing force, he felt his bones shattering—
a painfully familiar sensation.
And disturbingly exhilarating.
In the smoking crater, Sukuna twitched, catching the scent of his own cooked flesh.
His body was charred pitch-black—barely recognizable.
A moment later, regeneration began.
Burnt layers peeled away, fresh eyes and lips re-forming rapidly.
Looking up at Shinsuke floating above, Sukuna clicked his tongue.
"You'd hit your own nephew's body this hard?
Looks like you're not like Gojo after all…"
Anyone else—curse or sorcerer—would've been vaporized completely.
Only Sukuna could stand back up after that.