Chapter 258: Structure

Holding the pure white Sode no Shirayuki, Satoshi gently waved it. The tip of the Zanpakutō traced a clean arc around the stone platform where Sukuna's six fingers were arranged, drawing a perfect circle.

As the arc was completed, everyone instinctively stepped back.

No one dared remain within the circle Satoshi had marked. The aura of frost gathering inside it was enough for any sorcerer to sense that Sode no Shirayuki's technique had been activated.

"First Dance: Tsukishiro."

A surge of freezing air burst forth from within the circle, forming a vertical column of glacial energy that completely enveloped the six fingers of Ryomen Sukuna.

Then, raising Sode no Shirayuki to eye level and holding it horizontally, Satoshi softly continued:

"Second Dance: Hakuren."

A torrent of snow and frost exploded from the blade in Satoshi's hand, cascading like a waterfall upon Sukuna's fingers. Within the illuminated boundary drawn by Tsukishiro, the power of frost continued to intensify, causing everyone nearby to instinctively pull their collars tighter.

If they hadn't stepped outside that circle earlier, they would already have been frozen into ice sculptures by the combined effect of Tsukishiro and Hakuren.

Next… will he use Shirafune?

Zenin Shinsuke watched the livestream with a grim expression. He had once been caught off guard and wounded by Shirafune's sudden extension. The intense cold, combined with its unpredictable length, made it near impossible to defend against.

Zenin Naobito, meanwhile, was lost in thought. What will Satoshi do next?

From the current display, it seemed that even with these techniques, Satoshi still didn't have the strength to completely destroy Sukuna's fingers.

He admitted Sode no Shirayuki was powerful. But before the Curse King, wasn't it still lacking?

However, glancing at the trembling Zenin Ogi beside him, Naobito realized something was off.

Clearly, Satoshi hadn't just used Tsukishiro and Hakuren.

Those two alone wouldn't cause someone like Zenin Ogi, a veteran Grade 1 sorcerer, or even Satoru, to visibly shiver from cold.

It was obvious that between the visible techniques, Satoshi had embedded other abilities. Abilities Naobito remembered Satoshi mentioning once:

Minus eighteen degrees.

Minus fifty degrees.

Absolute zero.

Naobito murmured under his breath, "Inside that moonlit circle, Satoshi has probably already released… Absolute Zero."

"Absolute Zero?"

Zenin Shinsuke frowned. His face showed complete confusion. He had no idea what those three words even meant.

What's minus eighteen? What's minus fifty? And what is Absolute Zero?

Faced with Shinsuke's question, Naobito sighed and replied solemnly:

"Shinsuke, in your opinion, how many techniques does Sode no Shirayuki have?"

"How many?" Shinsuke was puzzled by the question.

"Aren't there just three?"

"No—wait, four. There's also that mysterious Bankai."

Shinsuke stated his understanding with confidence. As someone who had fought Satoshi twice, he felt qualified to speak on the matter.

But he didn't expect Naobito to respond with a sigh.

"Shinsuke, a Zanpakutō isn't as simple as you think. Sode no Shirayuki has far more than just the techniques you've seen."

Naobito's words made Shinsuke feel a bit indignant. He believed he was the most familiar with this Zanpakutō.

But suddenly, his eyes widened, and he stared at Naobito in disbelief.

"You don't mean…?"

Naobito nodded. "The terms I just said aren't just temperatures. They're also names of other techniques in Sode no Shirayuki's arsenal."

"Right now, Gojo Satoshi should have already used Absolute Zero. Look closer at Sukuna's fingers."

Shinsuke was stunned. But before he could digest the meaning, his eyes were already drawn back to the livestream.

What's happening?!

Before everyone's eyes, a thick layer of frost formed on the surface of Sukuna's fingers. The dark red color faded, replaced by a cold bluish-purple hue.

What the hell?

This is Sukuna's dead wax, a residual cursed remnant. It's supposed to be dead, so how can it look like it's being frozen to death?

Besides Naobito, many other onlookers noticed the change and were visibly shocked.

Satoru's Six Eyes were operating at full capacity, his mind running calculations at high speed.

He wasn't one to accept defeat easily, especially not to his younger brother—not without understanding how he lost.

"The structure of Sukuna's cursed energy… is destabilizing."

Satoru's words were cryptic, but no one at the scene was ordinary. Even people like Zenin Ogi and Kamo Kaname were Grade 1 sorcerers at minimum. They instantly understood the implications.

The cursed energy structure is breaking down?

That shouldn't be possible—not with Sukuna's fingers!

It sounded unbelievable.

A cursed spirit's strength came from two things: the amount of cursed energy it possessed, and the structure of that energy.

A stable cursed energy structure could allow a spirit with less energy to overpower one with more. In other words, structural stability equated to cursed energy purity.

That was the reason Sukuna's fingers had never been destroyed.

Its cursed energy structure was too stable, completely unshakable by modern sorcerers.

But now… Satoshi had shaken it.

No one doubted Satoru's words. They all felt the same—Sukuna's fingers had indeed changed.

Satoshi had done something no one else had ever managed.

"But if this is all… it's still not enough."

Satoru removed his sunglasses, staring intently at Sukuna's six fingers.

The cursed energy in the air surged as his senses heightened to the extreme.

Any fluctuation in the cursed energy structure of those fingers wouldn't escape his notice.

But even now, he could feel it—Sukuna's cursed energy structure was still stable. Shaken, but not shattered.

If things continued like this, the fingers would adapt to even Absolute Zero…

(To be continued.)