Chapter 272: Roar, Zabimaru!

Satoshi took a slow, deep breath as the effects of Ryūjin Jakka and Sode no Shirayuki gradually faded.

This time, to destroy Sukuna's fingers amidst fire and ice, Satoshi hadn't waited for the icy energy of Sode no Shirayuki to completely dissipate.

As a result, the cold still lingered within his body.

Even though he invoked the flames of Ryūjin Jakka, the scorching fire around him wasn't enough to completely drive out the biting cold. He couldn't recover quickly.

"Haa—"

He exhaled slowly, his breath forming visible frost in the air.

Just now, when Sukuna's finger was crushed by the power of his Zanpakutō, Satoshi himself had endured the same destructive energy.

If he had not been born with a Heavenly Restriction, he likely would not still be standing.

After several deep breaths, Satoshi finally managed to expel most of the lingering cold.

It seems to have gone well. I didn't expect Sukuna's finger to push me this far. As expected of the King of Curses' cursed remnants.

He looked toward the scorched ground where the cursed finger once lay and gave a slight shake of his head.

Destroying six of Sukuna's fingers had significantly reduced his potential power.

For now, maybe I should focus more on collecting and destroying the remaining fingers.

If all twenty fingers were annihilated, there would be no possibility for Sukuna to be reincarnated ever again, right?

Satoshi lifted his gaze toward Satoru.

Noticing his gaze, Satoru instantly flashed over and appeared at his side.

"Mmm, are you alright?"

Destroying a finger of Sukuna required enormous energy. The simultaneous use of Sode no Shirayuki and Ryūjin Jakka was not something even Special Grade sorcerers could withstand easily.

"I'm fine."

Satoshi coughed lightly, and flecks of blood mixed with frozen crystals scattered from his lips.

Satoru frowned. "Don't give me that. Satoshi, you pushed too hard. You should've waited to recover a bit before trying again."

"You succeeded this time, sure. But what if there had been lasting damage to your body?"

Hearing those words made Satoshi feel a tightness in his chest.

But before the thought settled, Satoru had already turned his attention to the Zenin delegation.

If you had to divide the entire Treasury into heroes and villains, then the General Office, led by Zenin Ogi and Kamo Kaname, were undeniably the antagonists.

To the spectators of the global broadcast, Zenin Ogi's earlier words about Sukuna being invincible had already cost him all credibility.

Unfortunately, Ogi himself still hadn't realized the entire incident had been broadcast live to the entire Jujutsu world. If he had, he would've dug a hole and buried himself rather than continue embarrassing the Zenin clan.

"A high-ranking official of the General Directorate, and a core member of the Zenin family at that. My brother personally destroyed six of Sukuna's fingers."

"You saw it with your own eyes."

"So tell me, does the General Directorate still insist that the Gojo family gathered Sukuna's fingers just to restore my brother's Zanpakutō?"

"Whether Ryūjin Jakka or Sode no Shirayuki can be used or not, I believe you all witnessed it just now. So, shouldn't someone from the General Directorate take responsibility for spreading those slanderous rumors about Satoshi?"

Satoru never liked to beat around the bush. He hadn't directly named the person who started the rumors, but anyone with a brain could see that the culprit came from within the General Directorate.

And judging from Satoru's words, he was pretty certain it was Ogi himself. Which was why he didn't bother with courtesy.

"Gojo Satoru, please stop with your baseless accusations! Those were just speculations made by the Jujutsu community. The General Directorate was only acting on their concerns and came to verify things in person!"

Zenin Ogi's face turned bright red.

Satoru wasn't wrong. The "speculations" had indeed been stirred up by Ogi himself. Now that he was being publicly humiliated, the shame was hard to swallow.

"Besides, there's no conclusive proof that Sukuna's finger has truly disappeared. It merely turned into dust. How can we be sure it was completely destroyed?"

Ogi's rebuttal drew nothing but scorn from the audience. Even Kamo Kaname next to him instinctively covered his face.

When someone slaps you, stand still and take it. If you keep talking back, you're just handing them more ammunition. You're practically admitting that you've been targeting Satoshi all along.

Kaname understood that much. So he kept his head down, remaining silent and acting like an obedient side character.

Ogi was just being stubborn. What he didn't expect was that his comments had been heard across the entire Jujutsu world through the live feed.

Countless independent sorcerers also voiced their anger online. If they hadn't witnessed this firsthand, they never would've believed that the leaders at the top of the sorcery world were this vile.

Satoshi had destroyed a cursed object left behind by the King of Curses. He was a hero. And yet this was how he was treated?

For a moment, public sentiment across the entire Jujutsu world rallied behind Gojo Satoshi.

Inside the Treasury, Satoru's Six Eyes grew cold as he listened to Ogi.

He disappeared from Satoshi's side in a flash and reappeared directly in front of Ogi.

"If you don't need your mouth, I'll take it for you."

For the first time, the ever-smiling Gojo Satoru revealed genuine killing intent in front of everyone.

His Zanpakutō entered Shikai instantly. Thousands of glowing sakura petals surged forth, aimed straight at Zenin Ogi, as though ready to tear him apart.

Satoshi wanted to intervene, but he was far too weak.

However, Yuki—who had been closely monitoring his movements—understood his intent immediately.

She appeared beside Zenin Ogi in a burst of speed. Her clear voice echoed through the Treasury.

"Roar, Zabimaru!"

(To be continued.)