Chapter 125 — Sorcerers Are Meant to Take Shortcuts
Within the Tokyo No.1 Colony, Maki, Mai, and Takaba—who had earlier separated from Yuji—
all sensed the overwhelming, malevolent aura of Sukuna.
Without hesitation, they turned and sprinted toward its source.
---
At that same moment, Sukuna looked utterly pleased with himself.
Megumi's Ten Shadows Technique was brimming with potential.
To be reborn and immediately obtain such a treasure—
now that was a delightful surprise.
With a thought, Sukuna formed a hand seal and activated Megumi's technique.
"Nue."
A massive surge of cursed energy erupted.
From atop a skyscraper, a colossal crimson bird materialized—
so large its talons clamped around an entire building,
its wings blotting out the sky.
Megumi's Nue was only half a person tall.
But fueled by Sukuna's immense power,
this Nue was an apex monstrosity—a sky-devouring roc.
This was the true might of the Ten Shadows.
Megumi could only summon the initial forms of the shikigami.
Sukuna, however, could call forth their ultimate forms effortlessly—
and even those might not be the final stage.
If Sukuna grew even stronger, the shikigami would evolve alongside him.
Everyone rushing toward the battlefield saw the monstrous bird.
A split second later, golden lightning exploded from Nue's body,
thunderbolts tearing across the heavens.
"KRRRRA-BOOOOOOOM!!"
The entire colony was engulfed in indiscriminate lightning strikes.
---
Then—
a pure, radiant figure rose into the sky.
Wings of holy light unfurled behind her,
emitting waves of purifying power.
Angel Kurusu had returned to the battlefield,
and she launched her assault on Sukuna.
Feeling the purifying radiance fall from above,
Sukuna's expression hardened.
"Angel, wait—he's using Megumi's body!"
Kurusu lowered her gaze, torn with anguish as she stared at Sukuna below.
"What's done is done.
He's 'Fallen'.
If we don't rip him out now, before he fully anchors himself…
there will be no saving Megumi.
We gamble. There's no other choice."
The mouth on Kurusu's face—Angel—spoke coldly.
Seeing the monster possessing the boy she cherished,
smiling with that twisted grin,
Kurusu steeled her heart.
She pressed her hands to her chest and began chanting.
"O light…
O purifying light…
Erase all sin…"
The holy radiance intensified.
The black markings on Sukuna's face began to fade.
"Jacob's Ladder."
A sanctified pressure swept across the colony.
Purifying brilliance condensed into a single pillar of light
that pierced through the heavens.
A world of stark black and white filled the battlefield.
The divine light
—like a judgment from above—
fell upon Sukuna.
He screamed, body convulsing and twisting,
as if the light would dissolve him entirely.
"Give Megumi back to me!!"
Kurusu shouted, pouring everything she had into the purification.
And it seemed—
to work.
The black markings on Sukuna's face faded further.
His features softened.
His eyes warmed.
He looked up at Kurusu with a gentle expression that felt achingly real.
"Kurusu…
I'm fine now.
Thank you."
He reached a hand toward her.
"I remember now.
You… you were that girl back then."
Hearing Megumi's voice, seeing his warm smile—
Kurusu's eyes brimmed with tears.
She descended slowly, arms spreading, moving toward him.
Angel's voice screamed from the mouth on her face:
"KURUSU!
WAKE UP!
HE IS FALLEN!"
But Kurusu had been waiting too long for this moment.
She no longer noticed the faint black pattern beginning to reform on "Megumi's" cheek…
Kurusu collapsed into his arms, sobbing.
"Megumi… the truth is, I always—"
But—
Sukuna's gentle expression shattered into savage madness.
Sukuna tore off Kurusu's wings and, without pausing, hurled her like a ragdoll toward the railings.
Her body smashed through them and plummeted from a height of over a hundred meters.
Blood sprayed across the sky.
The scene was brutally, sickeningly merciless.
"Humans… truly foolish creatures."
Even in the midst of murder, Sukuna found time to sneer.
Humans were full of openings—
so easily swayed by emotion, so easily deceived.
She could have posed a real threat to him…
but in the end, she was just another fragile human.
"Shff!"
In the blink of an eye, a figure appeared before Sukuna, catching the falling Kurusu in his arms.
Zen'in Shinsuke stared calmly at Sukuna—
occupying Megumi's body—
and spoke in a tone as flat as ever:
"What did you just do to my future nephew's wife?"
Sukuna's lips curled into a leisurely smile.
"So it's you.
Well? How does my new body look?
Truly, your nephew was wasting an incredible technique all this time."
He formed a hand seal—
and a colossal Nue once again manifested above Shinsuke's head, golden lightning roaring downward like divine judgment.
BOOOOOOOM!!
A crater exploded into the ground, thunder crackling wildly.
But Shinsuke's silhouette flickered away unharmed.
At the same moment, Tsumiki(Yorozu) and Kashimo Hajime arrived at the battlefield.
Kashimo stared at the titanic monstrous bird, awe blazing in his eyes along with unrestrained fighting spirit.
"So this is Sukuna?
Magnificent!
Fight me, Ryomen Sukuna!"
He was about to rush forward when Yorozu blocked his path.
"If anyone is fighting Sukuna first—
it's me.
Sukuna belongs to me."
"Master! What happened?!"
"Brother! We're here to help!"
Maki and Mai arrived next, both carrying injuries from the lightning storm earlier.
"Eh?! Why is Megumi like this?!
And even the Angel is injured!?"
Takaba and Yuji also came rushing in.
Yuji's abdominal wound had mysteriously healed,
but his expression twisted with pain when he saw Megumi.
"Zen'in sensei… Megumi… he…"
"Say no more.
I know."
Shinsuke handed Kurusu to the others.
"Treat her first.
Leave everything else to me."
He rolled his shoulders, loosening his muscles, then turned to Sukuna.
"With your current strength…
you're probably weaker than before, aren't you?"
Sukuna didn't deny it.
"You're not wrong.
This brat's soul is resisting me every second.
But it's only a minor inconvenience.
With his technique…
I might even be stronger than I was."
He couldn't fully control the body yet,
but the enhancement from Megumi's Ten Shadows was more than enough to compensate.
Shinsuke suddenly asked:
"So if you subjugate all of Megumi's shikigami right now…
wouldn't that mean he automatically inherits them?"
Sorcerers were supposed to take shortcuts.
If Sukuna helped Megumi tame all ten shikigami now,
Megumi's entire future as a jujutsu sorcerer would be set for life.
Sukuna blinked, then chuckled.
"In theory… yes."
Since their souls were intertwined,
any shikigami Sukuna subdued would indeed count as subdued by Megumi.
Its power under Megumi would be far weaker than under Sukuna—
but the contract itself would be valid.
Shinsuke nodded seriously.
"Great.
Then hurry up and tame every last shikigami.
Once you're done, hand my nephew's body back.
If you cooperate…
I might consider letting you walk away alive."