Tengen's expression turned serious.
The only reason he could appear in this form now was because of the powerful and stable barriers. But when the Culling Game neared its end, the process of "sending humanity to the other shore" would speed up as well.
At that time, the "other shore" and his barriers would inevitably begin to merge. Although the final result would certainly be his barriers erasing the other shore, the barriers themselves would still be affected during that process.
When that happened, he would likely be unable to maintain the consciousness of "Tengen" for a time.
However, because of the immortality technique, "Tengen" as a non-human existence could not be denied. The name "Tengen" would not disappear.
But because his soul had scattered, in a sense he was already "dead," since his true body had regressed to the point that it could no longer restrain his soul.
So if Kenjaku chose that moment to activate God Feeding Art, then Tengen's abilities, including control over the barriers across all of Japan, would likely temporarily fall into his hands.
And if the assimilation was completed, then the boundaries between all human souls would vanish.
The moment even one individual gave off malice, that malice would instantly spread across Japan and trigger a chain reaction.
The evil thoughts of over a hundred million people would create horrifying cursed energy. That malice would become a disaster rushing toward the entire world.
Events like the Shibuya Incident, and the cursed spirit outbreaks that followed across Tokyo, would happen worldwide.
"So God Feeding Art is this troublesome..."
Both Suguru and Satoru frowned.
"What's troublesome is this era."
Mukuro looked helpless.
He never expected that the tiny ant he and Toji had casually stepped on back then, without crushing it completely, would one day cause such trouble.
And in truth, the reason things had reached this point was because of him and Toji.
The two of them, unprecedented Heavenly Restriction users, had stepped outside the world's cause and effect. They had also broken the thousand-year cycle of Tengen continuously assimilating with the Star Plasma Vessel. Because of that, Kenjaku found an opportunity in this era.
"God Feeding Art never showed its true value in the hands of the Kiyomaru clan. That was one of the reasons they were wiped out so easily. But now, the one using it is Kenjaku."
As a cursed sorcerer who had lived for over a thousand years, Kenjaku had witnessed countless upheavals in the jujutsu world. His understanding of cursed techniques far surpassed ordinary people. Even Tengen admitted he could not compare in that regard.
"But I have a question. God Feeding Art should only borrow power from you. It shouldn't affect you directly, right?" Mukuro pointed out the most critical issue.
From everything they knew so far, God Feeding Art did not seem like a highly precise technique. If Tengen regained his technique while Kenjaku was using it, then God Feeding Art should fail, and assimilation should not happen to him.
"That is exactly the problem. Kenjaku will likely place a binding vow on it. Using his own assimilation as the price, he would bind himself to me and speed up the process."
Tengen answered his guess without hesitation.
Kenjaku had been planning for a thousand years. He had finally found such a chance, and had even personally given birth to the vessel. Long ago, he had entered the game himself. He was no longer just the player moving the pieces, but one of the pieces on the board.
Based on what he knew of him from the past, Tengen could never believe he would let this chance go.
The three special grade sorcerers were all stunned.
If Kenjaku truly intended to place a binding vow by sacrificing himself, then he might really be able to complete the "super assimilation" before Tengen regained consciousness.
If that happened, then whether Tengen could wake up or not would no longer matter.
"So what you're saying is, we need to deal with this Kenjaku before the Culling Game ends, right?" Satoru raised a finger and came to his conclusion.
Since they believed Kenjaku planned to begin the assimilation between Tengen and humanity when the Culling Game ended, then killing him before that should solve everything.
"I'm afraid that won't work either. Setting aside whether you can even find him, I recently experienced a brief loss of consciousness. In other words, aside from the Culling Game, he still has another way to shake the barriers and scatter my soul for a short time."
Unfortunately, Tengen directly rejected the idea.
Now that Kenjaku's possessed body had been revealed, he finally understood what had caused the loss of consciousness he had mentioned to Mukuro some time ago. It had properly been a test.
Kenjaku was pursuing perfection. Most likely, the best timing for assimilation was the moment after the Culling Game ended. But if they pushed him too hard, he could also begin early.
Once that happened, it would be even worse for their side. They would have to deal with the Culling Game while also facing an enemy who might have already completed assimilation.
"And to make such an unreasonable game continue forever, Kenjaku must have accepted an extremely heavy binding vow. One result of that is that even killing him would not stop the Culling Game."
Tengen returned the discussion to the question Suguru had raised earlier.
Everything they knew so far suggested that hunting Kenjaku now was not the best option.
"Then what about the Culling Game? How do we end it without killing all the players? We can't exactly go in there and slaughter everyone."
Suguru could only shift the focus back to the game's continuation.
After all, both he and Satoru, as sorcerers with cursed techniques, would be somewhat restricted once they entered the Culling Game.
"At present, the only known methods are either all players die, or all players refuse to enter and then die. If you want the exact answer, you'll likely have to enter and ask the Kogane yourselves."
Tengen had answered, yet somehow had not.
"In that case, I'll go in and take a look when I get the chance. I can enter and leave freely anyway."
Left with no better choice, Mukuro picked up from there.
Being a Heavenly Restriction user without an innate technique or cursed energy, he would not be recognized by the barriers of the Culling Game. So there was no such thing as being stripped of anything. The only drawback was that he also would not become a player or receive a Kogane.
"I just thought of something. Since Master Tengen is now close to a cursed spirit state, then doesn't that mean Suguru's technique could also—"
Before Satoru could finish, Suguru poked him in the side and cut off the rude comment.
"There's no need to avoid saying it. Because the truth is exactly what you think."
Tengen showed no discomfort and replied with a smile.
In truth, he had not wanted to mention it, because the one thing he understood least was the human heart. Still, if the three of them truly wanted to do something to him, he had no way to resist. So it was easier to admit it openly.
He trusted his instincts, and his judgment.
And besides… the world belonged to him, but it also belonged to them.
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