Chapter 257: Rebirth—The Most Beautiful Zanpakutō

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

The moment Satoshi spoke those words, Zenin Ogi's entire body trembled as memories from nine years ago flooded back like a tide.

At the same time, Zenin Shinsuke, watching the cursed corpse livestream feed, wore a dark expression.

He once lost to Gojo Satoshi—defeated by Sode no Shirayuki not once, but twice. That loss had shattered his confidence in ever becoming stronger. If it weren't for Satoshi falling into a nine-year slumber, giving him time to gradually recover from that psychological wound, he might have truly been broken beyond repair.

But even now, he still carried a deep-rooted fear of Sode no Shirayuki.

After all, anyone who had experienced being pierced by Sode no Shirayuki's First Dance: Tsukishiro and Third Dance could never forget the terrifying chill that accompanied it.

"Shinsuke, calm yourself. You are now a Grade 1 sorcerer. You will not fall to Gojo Satoshi as you once did. You carry the Zenin family's future now. You cannot be shaken."

Zenin Naobito's voice was firm and commanding, helping to somewhat dispel the panic rising in Zenin Shinsuke's heart.

However, Naobito himself felt a deep helplessness. The words he spoke to Shinsuke were little more than hollow reassurance.

In truth, he knew clearly that even now, Shinsuke could not stand against the power Satoshi had just displayed using those Hadō spells.

Even though Shinsuke had refined his inherited Shadow Technique into a powerful variant, it was no match for Satoshi's endless arsenal of mysterious and unfathomable abilities.

Naobito could only sigh inwardly.

If only Gojo Satoshi had remained asleep forever.

This thought was not unique to him. Zenin Ogi, present at the Treasury, shared the exact same sentiment.

Because as someone at the scene, Ogi could feel the pressure emanating from Sode no Shirayuki more directly than anyone else.

The moment Satoshi uttered Sode no Shirayuki's release phrase, the temperature in the entire Treasury dropped drastically.

Everyone present, whether it was someone as powerful as a Special Grade sorcerer like Tsukumo Yuki, or lower-ranking officials like Zenin Ogi and Kamo Kaname sent by the General Directorate, instinctively trembled.

All eyes were drawn to the pure white katana in Satoshi's hand, its elegant blade adorned with a flowing white ribbon.

This was Sode no Shirayuki. This was her true form.

Zenin Ogi's face was filled with dismay. He hadn't expected that after nine years, Satoshi would still be able to activate his Zanpakutō's Shikai so effortlessly.

Even more terrifying, Sode no Shirayuki's chill seemed even stronger than it had been back then—an icy aura that seemed to pierce bone.

How had Satoshi managed this?

Ogi didn't want to believe it. Even after witnessing that Satoshi could still draw out the power of his Zanpakutō, he continued to hypnotize himself.

Even if Gojo Satoshi can release his Zanpakutō, so what? Sukuna is the King of Curses. How could his fingers be severed by a Zanpakutō forged by Satoshi?

Ogi didn't realize it himself, but he had already repeated this line internally when Satoshi used Kidō earlier.

Now, he was numb, opposing Satoshi simply out of habit and stubbornness.

On the other side, the eyes of Satoru, Suguru, Yuki, and the faculty of Tokyo Jujutsu High gleamed brightly.

The four hadn't seen Sode no Shirayuki in nine years. Now, upon witnessing her again—reputed as the most beautiful Zanpakutō—they were filled with joy.

After all, beauty was irresistible to both men and women.

Mei Mei and Iori Utahime, who had never seen Sode no Shirayuki before, were momentarily stunned by her elegance.

Even Mei Mei, usually obsessed with profit and value, wasn't thinking about the sword's monetary worth at all. She was only wondering if such a beautiful blade could someday be hers.

Utahime, meanwhile, thought Sode no Shirayuki should be enshrined in a shrine, not used in battle.

A sword this beautiful belonged in the hands of a woman, not Satoshi—though, admittedly, Satoshi's refined looks and aura did complement her well…

Sekiguchi Seiji and Yaga Masamichi were more focused on something else.

They were concerned with Sode no Shirayuki's environmental impact. She wasn't even in Bankai, yet she had already lowered the temperature across the entire Treasury.

What would happen when she activated her techniques?

They didn't even want to imagine it.

From what they understood, Satoshi's Sode no Shirayuki had already achieved Bankai. Yet her Shikai form alone was causing such drastic changes. They couldn't fathom how overwhelming her true power might be.

...

Everyone was waiting with bated breath.

Would Satoshi use First Dance: Tsukishiro, or Second Dance: Hakuren, or the mysterious Third Dance: Shirafune, known only to the Zenin clan?

Unlike Zenin Shinsuke, who had been pierced by Shirafune and survived, Zenin Naobito knew that Sode no Shirayuki still had several other techniques even in her Shikai state.

Many of those in the current generation had never even heard of them.

The only one who had truly experienced Sode no Shirayuki's full arsenal was the one who had once possessed Itadori Kaori's body in an attempt to steal Ryūjin Jakka from Satoshi.

The Bankai: Hakka no Togame that Satoshi had unleashed back then—the absolute cold that froze everything—remained fresh in her memory even after nine years.

Sometimes, she would wonder—what if she had held out just a bit longer? Would she have succeeded in killing Satoshi and seizing Ryūjin Jakka?

But in the countless reviews that followed, she realized one thing.

Fleeing that day had been the wisest choice.

Under the onslaught of Hakka no Togame, if she had delayed for even a second, she would have been frozen solid by the sheer cold of that attack.

Even if she hadn't died, the people waiting outside the barrier could have easily shattered it and ended her.

Now, Satoshi would likely use Sode no Shirayuki's Bankai—Hakka no Togame—against Ryomen Sukuna's fingers.

A faint smile curved on Kaori's lips.

Sukuna's fingers was not the same as his true body. It wasn't limited by fragile human vessels.

Her current vessel—Itadori Kaori's body—might fear Hakka no Togame's extreme cold. But Sukuna's fingers wouldn't.

Satoshi's plan is destined to fail.

She admitted Hakka no Togame was powerful. But in the end, all of Satoshi's efforts would be in vain.

(To be continued.)