Chapter 116: Divine Dog Totality and Rabbit Escape
A few days later, on the second day after returning to Tokyo from an unnamed island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Ren immediately sought out Fushiguro Megumi.
When he had first started learning the Ten Shadows Technique, it was purely because of its incredible versatility. He had never expected the technique itself to provide any major boost to his combat strength.
Yet Divine Dog: Totality, after consuming Sukuna's finger, had unexpectedly awakened an innate Domain. Combined with Ren's barrier techniques, it allowed for a complete Domain Expansion. It had effectively solved his most pressing weakness—his inability to deploy a Domain of his own—and dramatically raised the ceiling of his power.
A Domain was the pinnacle of jujutsu.
The difference between a sorcerer who possessed one and one who did not was like the difference between heaven and earth.
Because of that, Ren's gratitude toward Megumi, who had patiently taught him the Ten Shadows Technique, had only grown stronger.
The reason he had rushed over to find him was to share the results of his research as soon as possible.
"Applying a shikigami's abilities directly to yourself?"
After listening to Ren's explanation, Megumi looked utterly baffled.
"Exactly."
Ren raised a hand, unable to hide the trace of pride on his face.
This was the method he had painstakingly developed to break through the limitations of shikigami users. His ability to utilize Divine Dog: Totality's innate Domain and perform a complete Domain Expansion had relied heavily on this technique.
A gleam flashed in his eyes.
The fingers of his raised hand immediately curled and tensed.
Muscles bulged.
His fingers elongated.
His nails transformed into curved, snow-white claws of terrifying sharpness.
"These are Divine Dog: Totality's claws."
He casually flexed the claws and swiped to the side.
Without reinforcing them with cursed energy.
Without even putting any real strength behind the motion.
Crack!
The nearby horizontal training bar instantly split cleanly into two pieces.
Divine Dog: Totality's claws possessed destructive power comparable to that of a Special Grade Cursed Tool.
Megumi's eyes widened.
But only for a moment.
Soon, confusion returned to his face.
"Senpai..." he asked cautiously, "it's definitely interesting, but... what's the point?"
"The point?"
Ren never expected such a question.
"Shikigami strength is largely fixed," he explained matter-of-factly.
"But a sorcerer's strength can continue growing through training."
"If you transfer a shikigami's abilities onto yourself, then you can unleash attacks that surpass the shikigami's original limits."
He paused, then added,
"Think about it. No matter how strong Divine Dog becomes, its growth will eventually hit a ceiling. But if you possess Divine Dog's claws, those claws will scale with your physical strength, cursed energy output, combat experience, and technique mastery."
"The stronger you become, the stronger the ability becomes."
"Instead of relying on the shikigami to fight for you, you're turning the shikigami's power into your own."
Megumi stared at the transformed claws in silence.
For the first time, he felt as though a completely different path had opened before him.
A path that none of the previous users of the Ten Shadows Technique had ever walked.
Megumi scratched the back of his head.
"I think I understand the idea, Senpai."
"It's definitely a very creative application."
He hesitated before continuing.
"But... I feel like Divine Dog: Totality is already strong enough as it is. It can even injure Special Grade cursed spirits."
After a brief pause, he added honestly,
"And to be frank... even if I were the one using its abilities directly, I don't think I'd be as effective as Divine Dog: Totality itself."
Ren blinked.
Looking at the embarrassed expression on the boy's face, he suddenly realized where the misunderstanding lay.
He had been judging others by his own standards.
Because of his Polymorphic Soul Isomeric Body, his personal ceiling was extraordinarily high. So when he began studying the Ten Shadows Technique, his focus naturally became how to break the limitations of shikigami and make them keep pace with the strength of their summoner.
But for most shikigami users—Megumi included—the situation was exactly the opposite.
The strength of their shikigami vastly exceeded their own.
How to push a shikigami beyond its limits was a concern they would only face much later in their careers.
For the current Megumi, this technique was actually inefficient.
There were several reasons.
First, using a shikigami's abilities directly required the sorcerer to expend cursed energy personally, and the results might not even surpass the shikigami's own performance.
Second, when a shikigami was summoned normally, both the sorcerer and the shikigami could fight together, creating synergy that often produced results greater than the sum of their parts.
In short, for Megumi's current level, this method was simply unsuitable.
Megumi seemed to have guessed what Ren was thinking and quickly tried to smooth things over.
"Even though it's not very practical for me right now, that's only because I'm still too weak."
"Once I get stronger, I'm sure this technique will become incredibly useful."
"So when you have time later, please teach it to me, Senpai."
"Alright."
Ren nodded.
Still...
Later?
Wasn't that just a polite way of brushing him off?
If someone were genuinely interested, wouldn't they be eager to learn immediately, even if the technique would only become useful in the future?
Noticing the faint disappointment on Ren's face, Megumi immediately understood what he was thinking.
"Actually..." he hurriedly added, "I was already planning to come find you today because there's something else important I need your help with."
It wasn't that he lacked interest in the idea of inheriting a shikigami's abilities.
It was simply that he had a more urgent goal at the moment.
That matter genuinely had to wait.
"Oh?"
Ren's interest was instantly piqued.
"After training for a while," Megumi explained, "I think I've improved enough to attempt subjugating my next shikigami."
"But just to be safe, I'd like you to supervise, Senpai."
Aside from the Divine Dogs received at the beginning, every shikigami of the Ten Shadows Technique had to be subdued before it could be used.
Subjugation meant defeating the shikigami.
The ritual had to be performed alone.
Others could intervene if necessary, but doing so would invalidate the ritual.
Of course, an invalid ritual was still better than dying. If an exceptionally dangerous shikigami appeared, outside assistance could at least ensure survival.
Ren nodded and agreed immediately.
There was a benefit for him as well.
Observing Megumi's subjugation ritual would allow him to learn the summoning method for later shikigami. Even if Megumi failed, Ren could potentially subdue them himself in the future.
Besides, Megumi had always been generous in teaching him the Ten Shadows Technique. Helping him now was only natural.
After receiving Ren's agreement, Megumi's face lit up with excitement.
He immediately spread his feet apart and formed a rabbit-shaped hand seal.
"Rabbit Escape!"
The next instant, a flood of rabbits burst out of the open space before them.
They poured forth like a surging white tide.
The tide rose to more than twice a person's height before collapsing with a crash, releasing dozens—no, hundreds—of snow-white rabbits with red eyes and twitching noses that scattered in every direction.
"Uh..."
Both of them stared blankly.
Then looked at each other.
Ren had already circulated cursed energy throughout his body, fully prepared to face some terrifying and unpredictable enemy.
And yet—
This trial...
Was a rabbit-catching competition?
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