While his supposed progeny worked out how to use Cursed Energy, Sukuna went to see the High Priests, who – for the first time in over a hundred or so years – wanted to see him. He was rather fond of them if only because they worshiped him fervently and managed his flock for him, and so he'd meet with them and hear them out, whatever it was they wanted to tell him. Great changes were coming to this world and he supposed it was only natural that they wanted to meet him before the big things actually started happening. Already, Sukuna mused, there were hundreds of ships descending from the sky to do... whatever. He wasn't sure what the ships were for, but then he also didn't care; as long as they didn't start any trouble, then they were free to visit for whatever reason.
The Emperor was still up there, however, so Sukuna was reasonably certain that his lackeys weren't going to try anything untoward. If he had to take a guess, then those guys were probably just scientists and engineers, here to examine his world or some other thing like that. He didn't know, but... oddly, Sukuna found himself curious, just for a moment, as to how their science worked. All theinteresting knowledge he could glean from this world was already in his head. Or, at the very least, floating somewhere in his memories. Learning new and interesting things helped to maintain the wonder and joy of life.
For instance, Sukuna enjoyed the mortal contraption that was known as a food blender. Anything put inside it, with just a little bit of liquid, became a slurry. It was the perfect way to eat babies, which is why he felt just a tad bit of melancholy when he finally finished off the barbarians who kept themselves underground – no more fresh babies or pregnant women to slurp up. It could also turn fruits and vegetables into something called a smoothie. Amazing. And so, he had to wonder what else these mundane humans were capable of making.
Eh, the Iron Soldiers were okay too.
He jumped to the top of his tower, walked in, and sat on his throne. He did not have to wait long. About five minutes later, the High Priests walked in. And... Sukuna didn't recognize any of them. Were these guys the children of the previous High Priests or something? A shame, a few of those guys groveled really well. The Preacher, too, was someone he'd grown quite fond of. Oh well, he lived and he died – such was the order and nature of existence. Everything that lived or existed eventually died.
"Lord Sukuna," One of the High Priests took a single step forward, before falling to his knees. The others followed quickly, falling to their knees, head low and bowed. Sukuna smiled. Ah, this would never get old. "We beseech your divine wisdom."
Sukuna raised a brow. "What is it?"
"What is to be done about the invaders?" The closest High Priest asked.
"Nothing," Sukuna shrugged. More than a few of them, it seemed, dreamed of rebellion or war. Normally, he would've just told them to do whatever they wanted, but this was different. If these guys tried anything, then they'd all get flattened into the dust. Despite himself, Sukuna didn't want that; it'd mean loosing everyone who already worshiped him, and starting over from scratch seemed like an unnecessary thing when all they had to do was... quite literally, nothing. "Here are my official orders; do nothing. Comply with whatever they say or want – within reason. If you think compliance is beyond reason, tell me; I'll deal with it personally. They're probably not gonna ask for too much anyway."
Now, he didn't think the Imperials, under the Emperor, were going to abuse the hospitality they were granted. He wasn't even sure they were here to stay. At most, the Imperium would accept tithes and other such trifles, but there was no real reason for them to stay, beyond a basic, if otherwise permanent, presence on the planet. Also, Sukuna was reasonably certain that, as one of the Emperor's blood, his world would be treated with, at least, some form of reverence.
The High Priests stiffened for a moment, before they all nodded. "Your divine word is law, Lord Sukuna."
"Anything else?" Sukuna asked, leaning back.
"What of the Jujutsu Sorcerers, Lord Sukuna?" One of the High Priests stepped forward. This one, unlike the others, had the highest concentration of Cursed Energy, which meant he was probably the representative of the Jujutsu Sorcerers, how little of them there were on the planet. He honestly hadn't bothered counting. But, there were probably quite a few of them running around, putting down Cursed Spirits here and there.
"What of them?" Sukuna shrugged. "Let them do whatever they want, but just make sure to be compliant with whatever the Emperor says. Beyond that, I don't really care. But, actually, how many Jujutsu Sorcerers do we have? I'm just a little curious."
"There are five hundred Jujutsu Sorcerers, in total, Lord Sukuna," The High Priest answered. "Of that number, three hundred and fifty are students; the rest are professionals. We have yet to classify the one hundred and fifty professionals; there have been talks about classifying them based on overall skill and Cursed Energy Output, but it has been a tedious task. Nevertheless, we have trained them to the best of our abilities."
"Cool. Bring the five best here," Sukuna said. It'd be curious to see how strong these Jujutsu Sorcerers were when compared to the warriors who had his genetics, the Space Marines as the Emperor called them. And, also, watching them fight might just be entertaining enough to be worth his time. Once again, the High Priests bowed. "You have one hour to pick and choose the best five."
"By your command, Lord Sukuna," And, with that the High Priests walked out of his throne room and disappeared.
Yawning, Sukuna leaned back and closed his eyes, and turned his full attention inwards.
One way or another, he was gonna figure out Full Manifestation. It didn't matter how long it was gonna take him or what he had to do; Full Manifestation was, quite simply, the next logical step in the evolution of Jujutsu. Was it the pinnacle of strength? Was there a level that was even higher? Sukuna grinned. The best part about all of this was that he didn't know. He had no idea what he'll find as he explored further. Up ahead was uncharted waters, places no one's ever been to, things no one else has ever seen. And Sukuna would be one of the very first to discover just what lay ahead.
Approximately about an hour later, a single High Priest entered his throne room, accompanied by what Sukuna assumed were the five strongest Jujutsu Sorcerers on the entire planet. He raised a brow and eyed each of them up and down. Their Cursed Energy Output and Cursed Energy Reserves were pretty good; actually, if he compared these five to the average power of Jujutsu Sorcerers in the Heian Era, they'd be worshiped as gods. The more interesting part was that, if Sukuna himself was reduced back into his original state, then at least two of them would possess a much higher Cursed Energy Output and Cursed Energy Reserve.
Now, wasn't that a fun thing to think about?
Five of them; two men, three women. Their physical features mattered little to him, though the bald guy did stand out because of his shiny head. How incredibly interesting. Sukuna hoped they possessed interesting Cursed Techniques.
The High Priest brought them up to within ten meters of his throne, before they all bowed and knelt on the floor. Sukuna stood and walked up to them. He turned to the High Priest. "They're all capable of Domain Expansion, then?"
The High Priest nodded. "Yes, Lord Sukuna. They are all capable of Domain Expansion and Reverse Cursed Technique. They are the best of the best of our Jujutsu Sorcerers."
Sukuna nodded. And the High Priest turned over his shoulder, barking, "Fools, introduce yourselves to your lord and master!"
They began introducing themselves, but Sukuna didn't listen. He didn't care about their names. He'd ask them again, perhaps, when he felt like it, when he felt like they were worth knowing. But, for now, they were little more than toys to be played with. "Settle down. As of this very moment, the Space Marines that are of... my blood are busy trying to figure out how Cursed Energy works. They still have around two hours left to complete their challenge. The five of you will be fighting them. Why? Well, because I want to see how strong you guys are, compared to them. It should be interesting."
The five of them kept their heads low. Sukuna grinned. Yep, these five were fervent believers as well. The passive Cursed Energy he received from them was even higher than most people gave him.
He turned to the High Priest again. "Good work."
About two hours later, Sukuna found himself looking down at the Space Marines who carried his blood, a deep frown on his face, because every single one of them had managed to unlock their Cursed Energy, managed to wring their latent talents out onto the surface in just three hours. Huh, that was quite the surprise, honestly, because even those who seemed to have zero latent ability for Jujutsu somehow managed to awaken as well; the most likely explanation for which was simple exposure. He'd expected only a few hundred of them might awaken – not all of them. Tsk, now he had to take them seriously. He wasn't looking forward to memorizing five thousand names, but Ryomen Sukuna was nothing if not a man of his word.
They all looked like absolute crap, though. And it was clear to see that they'd exhausted themselves to the bone, just trying to pull this off. If nothing else, such a feat was absolutely impressive. Five thousand Jujutsu Sorcerers. Of course, their Cursed Energies varied wildly – and some were clearly far superior to the others, but they were all Sorcerers. The Five Captains, unsurprisingly, retained their ranks as the strongest, seeing as they had the greatest Cursed Energy Output and Volume out of everyone else.
"Alright," Sukuna sighed. The Space Marines looked up to him, hope bursting from within their hearts and he could not blame them. "You're all going to line up – single file – and you're going to tell me your names, one at a time. You're only going to speak once; so, peak up loudly and clearly."
He pointed at the nearest guy just as the Space Marines, his apparent progeny, started assembling themselves into a single line. "Let's start with you, baldy."
About two hours later, Sukuna now had an extra five thousand names filed away in his brain. It was a good thing the Emperor designed this body to be capable of such things as he was pretty sure he wouldn't otherwise be able to memorize so many names at once. "The Five Captains step forward and make yourselves known. The rest of you, sit on the sidelines and do absolutely nothing."
They did as told. And within minutes, every single Space Marine, except for the Five Captains themselves, sat at the sides, forming a large square. Sukuna smiled. Yep, this would do quite nicely. "You guys are the strongest of my legion. So, I'm going to put you guys up against the strongest of the Jujutsu Sorcerers on my planet. You're allowed to use any weapon you carry to level the playing field. Anything goes."
The Five Captains understood immediately. They did not protest. They did not whine. They simply stood and nodded. That was good.
Sukuna snapped his fingers and the five strongest Jujutsu Sorcerers appeared behind him. "You'll be fighting these guys. Five on five. No honorable duels or anything of the sort. If teamwork is your strength, then make use of it. I don't care."
Finally, he turned to the Five Captains. "If you guys win, then I'll recognize you as my sons."