Ultimate Man [JJK X SOL]: Loading Golden Entries at The Start

Unlike the others, Ryuji remained calm and collected. He wasn't the least bit angered by Sukuna's taunts. Instead, he gazed at Yuji, or rather, Sukuna, with a faint smile of interest.

"Were you trying to provoke me on purpose?"

"..."

Sukuna's mocking laughter cut off abruptly. He fell silent, his expression darkening.

"It seems Gojo's impression of you was a little off," Ryuji remarked lightly. "You're not just a brute with no sense of restraint. You're resourceful and cunning."

Ryuji's words carried no malice, but the underlying point was clear: Sukuna's façade of recklessness had likely deceived even Gojo Satoru.

In truth, Sukuna hadn't become the King of Curses a thousand years ago simply because of his overwhelming strength. No one was born invincible, not even Sukuna. Being a monster with four arms and unparalleled physical power wasn't enough to guarantee survival.

The fact that Sukuna had risen to power and thrived during such a brutal era spoke to his intelligence and guile.

If anything, Sukuna pretending to be a simple-minded brute was his greatest act of deception.

"I assume your goal was to provoke me into bringing out the fingers," Ryuji said calmly.

"..."

Sukuna's expression grew even darker, and his silence all but confirmed Ryuji's analysis.

"You bastard," Sukuna growled, dropping all pretense.

Now that his plan had been exposed, Sukuna no longer bothered to act indifferent. There was no point in hiding his intent anymore—such an approach didn't suit him anyway.

"What?!"

Yuji practically jumped to his feet. Hearing Ryuji's analysis and Sukuna's response left him dumbfounded.

"You're telling me you're actually cunning?!"

Yuji stared at Sukuna as though he were a completely different person. Until now, he had believed Sukuna was nothing more than a loud, reckless brute who spent all his time yelling about killing people. The revelation that Sukuna had this level of scheming shocked him to his core.

"..."

Sukuna didn't even bother answering Yuji's outburst. Only someone as simple as Yuji would fail to realize what kind of person Sukuna truly was.

"Idiot," Sukuna muttered coldly.

"What did you just say?!" Yuji snapped back, glaring at Sukuna. "Say it again if you've got the guts!"

Maki and Nobara exchanged glances, both sighing helplessly.

This was just like Yuji. His reaction was typical and not particularly surprising.

However, Maki's attention quickly shifted back to Ryuji. Her expression grew serious as she recalled Gojo's words.

"Gojo-sensei said Sukuna is extremely dangerous. We can't let him regain his peak strength," Maki said, her voice tinged with concern.

Her words carried weight, and Nobara nodded in agreement. Sukuna's reputation wasn't built on empty boasts, it was backed by a bloody history of terror.

"Tsk," Sukuna scoffed dismissively.

"The sorcerers of this era are pathetic. One's more cowardly than the next. Are you all so afraid of me returning to my full power?"

Despite his mocking tone, there was a hint of frustration in Sukuna's words. The two missing fingers were a glaring issue for him. Losing one finger could be compensated for with other methods, but losing two meant his resurrection would be incomplete.

"..."

Ryuji remained unfazed by Sukuna's taunts. His calm gaze remained locked on Sukuna as he raised his hand.

"Third Dimension."

In the blink of an eye, space warped around Ryuji's hand, and two cursed fingers emerged from his personal dimension.

"...What?"

Everyone froze.

Sukuna's eyes widened, his mocking grin disappearing. Even Maki and Nobara were stunned into silence, unsure of how to react.

Yuji, still mid-argument with Sukuna, was left completely speechless.

"Ryuji!" Maki's voice trembled slightly as she spoke.

Though she had never seen Sukuna at full power, his title as the King of Curses alone was terrifying enough. The thought of Ryuji willingly returning two fingers to him made her uneasy.

"..."

Ryuji held up a hand, signaling for Maki to remain quiet.

Though reluctant, Maki chose to trust him and stayed silent.

"What are you doing?" Sukuna asked, frowning deeply.

He was genuinely confused. He had expected Ryuji to mock him for his earlier ploy and keep the fingers locked away. Instead, Ryuji was now handing them over without hesitation.

Ryuji tossed the fingers toward Sukuna casually, as if they were insignificant.@@novelbin@@

"..."

Sukuna caught the fingers but didn't consume them immediately. Instead, he stared at Ryuji, trying to gauge his intentions.

"What's your angle?" Sukuna asked warily.

His arrogance was momentarily replaced with unease. Sukuna hated this feeling, it was as if Ryuji were looking down on him, as if this entire exchange were beneath him.

"Ryuji-san!" Yuji's voice was panicked as he finally found the words to speak. "You can't let him have those! Do you know what'll happen if he gets his full strength back?!"

Yuji knew better than anyone how dangerous Sukuna truly was. The thought of him being fully resurrected sent a chill down his spine.

"It doesn't matter," Ryuji said calmly, his expression unchanging.

His confidence wasn't arrogance, it was certainty.

Sukuna narrowed his eyes, still holding the fingers without consuming them. He couldn't understand Ryuji's mindset. This wasn't fear, nor was it foolishness. It was something else entirely. And that irritated him.

***

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