In the Academy as Sukuna

"One's strength shown by how he acts when he is at his weakest."

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(Many Years Ago...)

It was a seemingly normal day in the Yamazaki clan. The birds were chirping like usual, far off in the sky, the sunlight filtering in through the open peak of the mountain, falling onto the hundreds of houses built inside it.

However, today would be a day celebrated in the clan for years to come. Today, Yamazaki Yasoshi was born to a woman who had to sacrifice her own life for his.

He grew up motherless, only the attendants and his tens of cousins to keep him company.

The father, Yamazaki Shingen, would never meet him... he didn't even know about Yasoshi's existence. He hadn't even seen him once in his life.

It was like he was an unreachable being, at a place so close, yet so far away.

The structure where the head lived, a place which could hardly be called a house, but was more like a giant cube, was only a few steps away. But to him, it felt as if it would take him all his life to get even close.

He was never a bright fighter, nor was he a quick learner.

His lack of aptitude made him a subject of mocking by all the children of the clan... except for one.

Yamazaki Koru, the elder brother of Yasoshi from the same mother.

Koru, at first, had a grave dislike for Yasoshi. Despite being only around 3 years old at the time, he understood very well that his mother had died while giving birth to his younger brother.

He subconsciously made him the cause of his mother's death, the hate being buried deep in his heart.

But, there was one truth he couldn't avoid. His affection for his brother overshadowed his hate, always.

Every time he saw Yasoshi being mocked or bullied, his blood would boil. But he couldn't do anything while everyone was watching.

The 'hope of the clan' being seen together with the useless son was an unspoken prohibition, so was the truth in the Yamazaki Clan.

But, it all changed one day, when Yasoshi truly awakened.

Koru was hurt while training. It was not a big injury, just a torn muscle. However, Yasoshi couldn't bear to see his brother in pain.

Involuntarily, he activated his healing ability, fixing the torn muscles within seconds.

And that day, "Yasu, how'd you do that? That was cool!" He received praise for the first time, and that too from the brother he admired with all his heart.

It was only an upward curve from there. The hate buried deep in him from the years of bullying resurfaced after he cemented his position in the clan.

He murdered anyone and everyone that even touched him in his childhood, his actions heavily contrasting with the nature of his ability—to heal.

And then, one day, he met the person who he had been a shadow to all his life—Shingen.

The first time he saw him, it was as if he was a mere ant in front of an elephant. He felt extremely weak, as if all the strength had been drained from his body.

The monstrous appearance of his father only strengthened the sinister impression of him he had in his mind.

He knew that he had no chance to reach their level, much less to surpass them, and he was more than happy to stay in their shadows.

However, he never saw the man known as Yamazaki Shingen fight. There was no enemy that survived so long as to see him.

But now, his wish would finally be granted. He would see Shingen's true capabilities in action.

(Present)

"Which one of you will kill me?" Shingen's voice echoed in the silent room... the deathly silent room. It was as if everything had frozen as he spoke, his voice enough to incite fear in inanimate objects too.

These words were enough to make a few gulp, their resolves faltering. However, they stood unmoving. If they backed out now, they would be killed by their clan for betrayal.

"I will!" A shout echoed after a long pause.

The Head of the Kaboom clan.

He had a burly body, his long hair falling to his shoulders, giving him the appearance of a beast comparable to the vicious look of Shingen.

He had his arm raised high in the air, his eyes gleaming with a bloodlust enough to kill by a single look.

His declaration served to increase the confidence of the younger lads in the group, who threw their arms in the air too, their eyes glinting with both fear and excitement.

""I will!"" ""I shall!"" ""We will!""

Shouts rang out, the confidence of the group reawakening. The Head of the Gremlin clan smirked, throwing his hand into the air, clutching the hilt of his sword tightly. "I will!"

On the other side, Shingen smirked, his lips curling up slightly as he, once again, pointed to the whole group. "I will kill you all one by one."

Before the group had the time to even comprehend what he said, a loud whoosh passed them, blowing their hair and clothes up.

The group, in panic, snapped their heads backward. The sight that met their eyes was enough to fill them with a fear so deep that they shook in their boots.

Shingen stood in front of the Head of the Kaboom clan, or rather, in front of his dead body.

Shingen had his arm extended straight outwards towards the face of the Head, going through his skull seamlessly, bursting it open without difficulty.

Parts of the Head's brain and pieces of his skull fell to the floor, his arm, raised high up in the air, slowly falling down limp, swinging lifelessly.

An unbearable silence followed, on which reminded the group of their fate to come.

The Head of the Gremlin clan was the most shocked out of anyone. He had already seen Shingen's might. He thought that Shingen would get weak in so many years of inactivity, but he seems to have gotten stronger!

"Shocked, huh?" Shingen mocked, pulling his hand back through the Head's skull, making his body fall to the floor which a loud thud, a piece of rock left over by Eva and Koru's battle piercing him in the back.

But, he showed no reaction, how can a dead man do so?

"I may have gotten weaker than before," Shingen continued, slowly turning to face a young individual who was at the edge of the group... who had raised his hand just after the Head did. "But I'm not even close to getting as weak as you."

His voice held no excitement, as if it was just another day, squashing worthless bugs under his feet.

Shingen appeared behind the young man, as if he had always been there.

The man's eyes widened. He tried to raise his sword, to attack back with all his might, but his body refused to listen to him.

The Head of the Gremlin clan, Nalkin Gremlin, was frozen, his hands trembling as he witnessed the head of a young talent from his clan cut clean off and falling to the floor.

Shingen had gotten... weaker?

His thoughts ran rampant. Was Shingen holding back on that day? If he's this strong now, how strong was he in his prime?

On the other side, Yasoshi sat on the floor, his hand on Eva's head as he worked diligently on healing her cracked skull.

However, something surprised him... Eva was healing too quickly.

And not just that... she was somehow alive. He started to heal her only after he finished completely healing Koru, but she somehow lived all that time even with such grave and deadly injuries.

It was something truly fascinating to him. It was something he believed to be impossible.

Suddenly, feeling something, he raised his free hand in the air, pushing aside an object which was flying at him at frightening speeds.

He didn't give any attention to it, he understood perfectly what it was. Blood dripped from his hand as he retracted it back down, but it was not his.

He turned his head just slightly to see Shingen, who had 'thrown' the object—a limb—at him.

Limbs and blood flew all around the room as Shingen brutally and unforgivingly murdered all the people like cattle in a slaughterhouse.

No matter if it was an old man or a young girl, Shingen killed them without regret, not giving them time to even scream.

Blood coated his clothes and flowed down his stoic face, which was the same as when he looked at them for the first time—with disgust.

Within seconds, the whole group was gone, except for Nalkin, who was standing behind Shingen, his teeth grit and his sword over his head.

He lunged at the towering, monstrous figure of the Head of the Yamazaki clan, swinging down his sword with all the might he could muster.

Shingen didn't move, and the sword pierced him right in the neck.

Nalkin's thoughts ran wild, but an emotion creeped into them—hope.

However, this hope was quickly broken as Shingen turned around with a scowl on his face.

The sword was embedded into his neck, which wasn't even bleeding, as if it was a stick being pierced into the ground in an attempt to reach the earth's core.

"You," Shingen said, moving closer to Nalkin.

The thought of death was enough to make Nalkin despair. He fell to his knees, his eyes locked on the floor, where the shadow of the man in front of him engulfed his vision.

However, he wasn't scared. He knew that death would come someday, and if that day is today, then let it be.

He raised his head, staring into the eyes of the man who was going to end his life, staring into the eyes of death without flinching.

Shingen's lips rose in acknowledgement. "Nalkin Gremlin... You are truly a valiant man."

These words would usually serve to make him happy, but right now, Nalkin felt nothing. He had accepted death.

"I shall give you the honour..." Shingen's hand got closer to his head, finally placing it on it gently. "...of becoming me."

Nalkin's body went lifeless in an instant, falling down to the right and landing on the floor with a thud.

Shingen retracted his hand, closing his eyes gently.

He had absorbed his soul.

Shingen could feel Nalkin's soul moving inside him, slowly assimilating with his. Nalkin was becoming a part of him.

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes, looking around the room at all the lifeless and unrecognizable bodies of everyone who had come to face him.

"The Wonji clan didn't participate," he muttered, turning back towards his throne. "Give them everything these clans had, Yasoshi," he said loudly, enough for Yasosho to hear him and nod quickly.

Turning towards Yasoshi, who was busy healing Eva, and was staring at her in interest, he smiled.

"I need to have a talk with Eiji."

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(Ryomen Family's Mansion...)

It was a dark time in the mansion. Amara was sleeping in her room, while Eiji and his granddaughter sat in the living room silently.

Eiji had his eyes closed, as if he wanted to not think of anything.

He did feel guilty for deciding his son's marriage on a whim, but he was sure that he'd understand.

Eva, on the other hand, would serve as entertainment to Shingen, it had been a while since he gifted the bear-looking dude anything.

Elara, on the other hand, was fidgeting in her seat, her eyes darting around, landing on Eiji to see if he moved, then to the floor, to the ceiling, to the door, and back to Eiji.

She was happy enough to have Sukuna as a father, he was the best person she had ever met, even though she might miss having a mother.

She liked Eva a lot too, who had trained her for a little while, even though she might have been a little strict.

And now, as Eiji had told her, Eva had walked into a place where her death depended on someone's mood. She couldn't help but feel nervous.

Her heart was beating hard in her chest, her thoughts filled with prayers for Eva to be safe, for her to enter through the door with the small smile she had sometimes.

"Elara." Suddenly, she heard Eiji say something, the deep voice making her jump slightly. She held back a yelp.

She turned to Eiji who still had his eyes closed with his elbows resting on his knees.

"You better hope for the best," he continued, taking a deep breath, as if he was tired. "They're out there choosing your mother."

Even though he might seem uncaring on the outside, he couldn't help but be worried about Sukuna—How he's doing, if he even is alive, and if he is, then where is he?

.

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(Demon Realm, The Southern Towns)

The Southern Towns, also known as the Southern Cities, or in more popular terms, the Capital of Slavery.

This region had always been the go-to place for any demon who wanted to buy one, demon and human alike.

This region was also the highest producer of luxurious food—human flesh.

Right in the middle of this region lay the biggest centre of slavery in the whole demon realm, Barbatos.

Every day, tens of humans are captured from the human realm through the gates that were opened by Aiden. These humans are then thrown into cells and used for the work they are best at until their eventual demise.

There was a huge building in the center, with around 50 floors underground which housed hundreds, or even thousands, of humans captured from the human realm.

The supervisor of this floor was walking around the main hallway, his footsteps reverberating in the tense silence.

The hallway was a grim place. On both sides were cells with rotting humans. Both metaphorically, and literally.

Many were dead and their bodies were being decomposed, filling the place with a foul smell that only a few could endure.

In one of these cells, a man was sitting on the floor, hugging his knees close to his chest.

Just hours ago, he was in his village, in the ceremony of marriage with the love of his life. Then, it was as if he lost consciousness in a moment, waking up in this rotten cell.

His eyes darted around. Where was he? Where was Dina?

The voice of his to-be wife, Dina, echoed in his mind like a chorus, his senses numbed with confusion.

On the other side of his cell, there lay a human who was more demonic than he might look.

The boy opened his eyes groggily, taking in his surroundings before pushing himself up with a groan.

The tattoos on his face seemed to glow ominously in the dim light of the hallway, his movements sluggish.

Almost stumbling, he walked to the bars of his cell, grabbing them and trying to push them away and breaking them.

However, his eyes widened to a degree he didn't think possible. The bars didn't move.

"Dismantle," he muttered, a loud clang echoing in the hallway, catching the attention of most prisoners, who turned their heads slowly to look at the struggling boy.

His eyes widened even more as he involuntarily took a step back.

There was a single scratch on the bar of the cell even by Dismantle.

He was sure that he bar was just common metal... did that mean that Dismantle had gotten so weak?

His thoughts raced at an incredible speed.

Was it even possible for Dismantle to get weaker? Why did it get weaker? Was it because he almost died? But that didn't make any sense.

But suddenly, he froze, his eyes slowly closing as he tried to look inside him.

And what he found was something that he would've never expected in a million years.

His soul was gone.

Not exactly gone, but it was so small that it felt like it wasn't even there.

Before he had time to even think about it, a loud thud echoed in the hallway, breaking him out of his stupor and making him snap his head to the right.

"Everyone come out!" A voice hit his ears again, a few boys running around unlocking every cell. "Get to work!"

This was the supervisor of the floor, looking around with an intimidating look enough to kill with a glance.

The prisoners slowly came out, their eyes fixed on the floor.

Sukuna followed suit, walking out slowly.

The person in his cell walked out too, his hands still trembling, though he had some hope still in him. He walked beside Sukuna, following everyone.

As they were about to pass the supervisor on their way, the man next to Sukuna, felt a hit on his side, a yelp escaping his lips.

The supervisor had hit him on the side, a smirk on his face. "Angelo, was it?" He said, his voice unnaturally deep. "You were very lively when they found you, I'll show you something special."

His ever-present smirk, however, seemed to vanish as he turned to Sukuna, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Angelo, in both fear and frustration, continued forward, leaving Sukuna and the supervisor facing each other.

The supervisor, without warning, punched Sukuna in the gut, making him groan in pain.

He could very easily dodge the punch, but his body felt extremely slow and sluggish after being unconscious for days.

"Don't get left behind, human." He spat with disgust. It was clear by his expression that he hated the fact that a mere human dared to look at him in the eyes.

The supervisor turned and walked away, leaving Sukuna holding his gut at the place he was punched.

Unbeknownst to the supervisor, Sukuna's blood boiled in a disgust many times more potent than his.

Sukuna's gaze was aimed at the ground, but it was s intense that it could make a hole through the earth.

This man would be the first to die by his hands.

===

3000 words again!

Aaaand we're back to Sukuna!!

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gimme POWER STONNEEES :3