"Sukuna, I offer you my sincere thanks."
Ren's voice was low, a trace of joy visible between his brows.
He slowly reached out, spreading his five fingers and pointing them toward Sukuna's bizarre face from a distance.
"Give your ability to me."
An imperceptible thin line appeared out of thin air, glowing with white light, connecting to Sukuna's chest.
Sukuna naturally wouldn't let himself be manipulated so easily, but right now, he simply couldn't resist.
His soul was firmly imprisoned, incapable of rebellion.
His body was immobile, unable to mobilize the cursed energy within him or activate his techniques to attack.
Furthermore, the scene of his previous failed attack was still burned into his mind.
Even if he did manage to strike, he wouldn't be able to cause the slightest damage to his opponent.
"Ugh..."
Sukuna gritted his teeth, blue veins bulging on his exposed skin. He put everything into his resistance, yet he still couldn't make even the smallest movement.
Not even a single finger!
He could only watch helplessly as the other man did whatever he pleased with him.
Noticing Sukuna's petty struggle, Ren chuckled inwardly.
Once forced into this connection, Sukuna was nothing more than a puppet at his mercy. How could he possibly resist?
Grabbing the white thread of light, Ren made a mental command.
Sukuna's face instantly turned pale. That vast will from before descended again, and this time, it was inside him, recklessly grabbing at something.
With a sudden void in his heart, Sukuna immediately felt that he had lost something vital.
'My technique?!'
'He stole my technique!'
His eyes widened, his pupils trembling violently as he looked at the man before him in disbelief.
He had actually usurped his innate technique!
How was this possible!
An innate technique was a power he had possessed since birth; it was fundamentally a part of his body. Now, it was being plundered at will?
To be able to do such a thing...
'Was he truly... a god?'
Ren closed his eyes, sensing carefully as he digested the ability he had forcibly seized.
Once hooked by his connection ability, the contractor retained their personality and soul, but in essence, they became an external avatar—one of many lives connected to him.
The contractors were him, and he was the contractors!
Whether it was Devil Fruits, the Sharingan, or any other ability, they were all his power, merely left with the contractors for convenience.
If needed, Ren could use them with the contractor's consent.
However, in an emergency, Ren could simply take them by force, even if it meant violating a vow or two.
He could just return it to its original place afterward.
But for Sukuna's ability, Ren had taken it by force with no intention of returning it. He planned to occupy it permanently!
After thoroughly digesting this power, he slowly opened his eyes, unable to contain the delight in his gaze.
"Excellent. Truly excellent."
A smile broke across Ren's face as he praised the result repeatedly.
It was indeed the ability best suited for him!
"It seems your plan was a success, Lord Ren. To think a man as serious as you could actually show a smile."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi's voice rang out nearby.
His bizarre black-and-white makeup gradually emerged from the gloom as he walked to Ren's side with small, quick steps.
"Mayuri, I wouldn't call my personality serious, would I?"
Ren turned his head, his voice still tinged with excitement.
Following Mayuri, the figures of Senju Tobirama and Toji flashed into view, with Uchiha Ming arriving a step late.
Uchiha Ming had brought Mei Mei along, so he was naturally slower than the three who arrived empty-handed.
Ren looked at Senju Tobirama, gave a slight nod, and joked with Mayuri, "If you want to talk about serious personalities, that would be Tobirama. He's far more earnest than I am."
"I do not deserve such high praise from my Lord."
As usual, Senju Tobirama kept a stiff face, his expression cold and humorless.
Ren didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I wasn't praising you; I was just using you as a comparison."
Tobirama's expression remained grave. "As members of the Onmitsukidō walking in the shadows, 'serious' and 'earnest' are the best evaluations we can receive."
"I suppose you're right."
Ren chuckled to himself.
Seeing the others arrive but noticing Mahito and his group were missing, he asked, "Where are those others?"
"They were in the way, so I tucked them away."
Mayuri pulled a bead the size of a fingernail from his robe. It was made of glass, its surface etched with tiny black patterns. It looked misty, yet one could still see inside.
Ren looked and saw three figures suspended in the center of the bead—it was Mahito and the other two.
Mayuri introduced it, "This is a convenient tool I recently developed by combining Tessai Tsukabishi's Kido. It doesn't just store souls; it can also be used to collect matter."
"I brought it along for a test run, and it seems to work quite well. It's worth mass-producing."
Ren waved a hand. "You and Tobirama work out a plan and see to the mass production."
Tobirama nodded in agreement.
Mayuri then turned his gaze toward the immobile Sukuna. He stroked his chin, an expression of interest immediately surfacing on his face, which even his heavy makeup couldn't hide.
"So this is your target, My Lord. What a truly unique life form."
He stepped forward, extending a middle fingernail longer than his actual finger, and poked the bone plate on Sukuna's face.
The light in his eyes grew brighter.
"How about coming with me? In honor of your special body, I'll arrange the highest-level treatment for you."
"Only eight dissections a day, and only twenty injections of experimental drugs. This is the highest level of care, you know. You must be moved by my hospitality, right?"
"Hmm? Why aren't you saying anything? Are you ignoring me?"
Sukuna certainly wanted to speak. If he could, he wouldn't just talk; he would devour these people whole, crushing their bones to eat!
But right now, he couldn't move even an inch.
Seeing this, Toji sneered, "Idiot. This guy is under the Boss's control. Of course he can't speak."
"How could a monkey who only knows brute force understand my intellect!"
Mayuri snapped back, then looked at Ren with a face full of fawning smiles.
That smile, paired with his bizarre costume, looked even more eerie in the dark of night.
"My beloved Lord Ren, could you please hand this fellow over to me?"
"I'll definitely treat him like my most precious darling and give him all the love he deserves."
Seeing Mayuri's large face getting closer and closer, Ren's brows furrowed involuntarily. He reached out and signaled for him to stop.
He had been in a good mood, but seeing Mayuri's face and hearing his voice instantly dampened it.
"Mayuri, I can't give him to you."
Seeing the confusion on Mayuri's face, Ren's tone became firm.
"Rather than saying I won't give him to you, it's more that I won't allow him to remain in this world."
Ren didn't care about the abilities of others; he had no problem returning them to the original owners after use.
But Sukuna's cutting technique was practically tailor-made for him. He would never give it back.
As long as Sukuna remained in the world, there was a chance he might take this power back.
Even if that potential possibility was absurdly small—one in a trillion—Ren would personally snuff out that glimmer of a chance.
"Since you put it that way, then never mind."
Seeing the seriousness on Ren's face, Mayuri sighed inwardly and didn't press further.
After all these years, he understood Ren very well. While he could be willful at times, it was always within the limits of Ren's tolerance.
And now, since Ren was set on eliminating him to silence the matter, it wasn't something he could get by throwing a tantrum.
He naturally wouldn't make a fool of himself.
Looking at Sukuna, Mayuri felt only regret.
"What a waste of such fine material."
Toji walked over to Sukuna, stroking his chin as he scrutinized him.
"Ho, so this is the legendary King of Curses, the four-armed, four-eyed Ryomen Sukuna."
"Looking at him now, he really is as sinister as the rumors say."
He turned around to look at Ren.
"By the way, Boss, didn't you get this guy's ability? We have a live target right here."
"Use it to open our eyes and let us see the power of Ryomen Sukuna."
Tobirama rolled his eyes and retorted, "Using this guy's own power to kill him... you really have a twisted sense of humor."
"Isn't it interesting? You see it in those movies and TV shows all the time—the big villains often die by their own power in the finale."
Toji waved his hand dismissively.
Hearing Toji's suggestion, Ren was taken aback. It was indeed quite a twisted idea.
But it was certainly tempting.
"You guys step back. Take this kid Itadori with you while you're at it."
Ren's voice rang out.
Hearing this, the group immediately retreated behind Ren to avoid being caught in the crossfire of his newly acquired ability.
Mei Mei ran over quickly, picking up the limp and weak Itadori Yuji from the ground before scurrying back behind Ren.
Seeing everyone had retreated to a safe area, Ren's Zanpakutō glowed with a clear light. With a casual swing, he severed the thread and returned the blade to its scabbard.
He extended his index finger, pointing it at Sukuna.
"It should be something like this."
The moment the connecting thread was severed, Sukuna regained control of his body.
Four eyes glared. The man's finger was pointed at him, and the others stood behind him with expressions ranging from mockery and curiosity to utter indifference...
"Damn it!"
Such arrogance! They were watching him so blatantly.
They were so sure of his defeat; looking down on people should have a limit!
Even if his opponent were truly as powerful as a god, he was not one to be caught without a fight.
Cursed energy surged from Sukuna as his four arms moved in front of him, each forming a hand sign.
Even without his technique, he was still the King of Curses!
He was The Fallen!
But just as he was forming the signs, a sudden chill washed over him. Alarms blared in his mind as an unprecedented sense of danger struck.
Whoosh!
An incredibly fast slash arrived. Before Sukuna could react, he felt his body turn cold, and the world in his eyes was suddenly split into left and right halves.
Before his consciousness vanished, his final thought was one of self-mockery.
He never imagined that after reigning invincible over the world, his ultimate end would be dying by his own technique.
How ironic...
A single slash split Sukuna in two. Ren nodded in satisfaction, secretly pleased.
"It really is a convenient ability."
With a thought, he waved his hand.
Countless slashes instantly erupted, dense and covering every angle, falling upon Sukuna's split, yet-to-fall corpse.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
A continuous, sharp sound of breaking air rang out.
Under the infinite slashes, Sukuna's corpse was instantly turned into a cloud of blood mist, and a thick scent of iron filled the air.
Blood and bits of flesh, accompanied by white bone fragments, pattered down, drenching the ground.
In just an instant, Sukuna had been finely minced by Ren.
Itadori Yuji's eyes were wide. He couldn't see the spiritual bodies, but he could see the once-insufferable Sukuna split in two in the blink of an eye, followed by him turning into a puddle of shredded meat.
"W-What on earth just happened?"
Even now, he still couldn't understand.
He looked up at Mei Mei beside him, his eyes filled with a plea.
"Miss Mei Mei, at least let me die knowing the truth."
Mei Mei looked at the puddle of shredded meat in shock. To think the legendary King of Curses would end up like this was truly unimaginable.
Hearing Itadori's low inquiry, she snapped out of it and crouched down to comfort him.
"Relax, Itadori-kun. We aren't interested in you right now; we won't hurt you."
"In fact, you should consider this a good thing. From now on, you're free, no longer plagued by Sukuna."
To be honest, she didn't quite understand what had happened either.
What the Shinigami did, and what he did to Sukuna—though she saw it, she couldn't fully comprehend it.
But thinking it was the work of the Shinigami made it easier to accept.
Watching Ren's precise movements, Mayuri was still mourning.
"What a pity..."
"There's nothing to be pity about," Toji said. "If anything, the Boss was a bit excessive. He didn't even leave a corpse, and even the soul was blasted into oblivion."
"You have the nerve to say that? Weren't you the one who asked our Lord to attack him?" Tobirama retorted.
At that moment, Ren suddenly turned to the group and asked, "What's the distance between the Earth and the Moon again?"
Toji thought for a moment and replied, "Perigee is about 360,000 kilometers, and the farthest is over 400,000."
He suddenly realized something, and his eye twitched.
"Boss, are you asking because...?"
"I'm testing the maximum range of the technique."
Ren spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"I can't exactly fire it at the ground. If I accidentally split the Earth, it would be my sin to have killed so many people."
"If you split the Moon, Boss, the people on Earth won't have a way to live either."
Toji quickly tried to stop him, terrified.
Though he was a piece of trash, he couldn't bear the thought of harming everyone on Earth because of him.
He didn't have that big of a heart.
Besides, his son was still alive and kicking on Earth!
"True."
Hearing this, Ren thought about it; Toji had a point.
Such a great distance, and with a newly acquired power, he surely wouldn't be very proficient with it.
If he used too much force and split the moon, the Earth wouldn't be far from an ecosystem reset.
If he held back his strength, leaving just a single mark on the moon's surface should be fine.
"Then never mind. Just take it as a joke."
"That joke is way too scary!"
Toji wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Seeing Ren's serious expression just now, he didn't look like he was joking at all.
This kind of joke was not to be made.
In just a brief moment, his clothes were almost soaked with sweat.
Ren was about to speak when he felt a thread in his consciousness being tugged.
It was Shisui.
At this time, Shisui should be guarding the house. Sending a communication for no reason was definitely no small matter!
After listening to Shisui's report, Ren suddenly looked up at everyone, his brows furrowing.
Ren's serious expression immediately caused the group to tense up.
Tobirama asked, "My Lord, has something happened?"
Ren nodded, his face grave, yet showing an irrepressible tinge of urgency.
"Something happened at home. I need to head back first. You guys clean up here."
With that, he tore through space. Just as he stepped into the pitch-black space-time corridor, he stopped and turned to the others.
"Mei Mei, your pay will be deposited into your account. Use the remaining time to continue searching for Sukuna's fingers."
"Toji, remember to give my regards to Megumi."
Without waiting for a response, Ren gave a casual wave and stepped into the darkness.
"The Lord Shinigami is certainly a man of action."
"The Boss said something happened at home. Could it be that a child is about to be born?"
"Who knows."
As they spoke, the shattered space gradually repaired itself.
Just as they were about to continue their work, they saw Uchiha Ming looking up, his Sharingan active, staring blankly at the sky.
"My Lords, look... the moon..."
"The moon? What about it?"
Everyone looked up toward the moon hanging high in the sky.
The moon today was not full, and on its patterned surface of light and shadow, a faint line was carved across it, incredibly conspicuous.
"T-this..."
"He actually did it!"
"When did that happen?!"
"Phew... fortunately, it's just a shallow mark on the surface, not too deep."
"That's terrifying!"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]