Advanced Barrier Technique

Kana Shizumi arrived in Kyoto right on schedule, deep in the night.

There would not have been any problem acting during the day... but the dead of night was clearly more favorable for the villainous sort.

Since he had already joined Kenjaku's camp, Kana Shizumi had that much "self-restraint."

Of course, before getting started, he did not forget to grab a meal first.

It was the same familiar twenty-four-hour fast-food restaurant.

While eating, Kana Shizumi also kept in touch with Kenjaku through text messages.

[I've arrived in Kyoto.]

[You're even a little faster than expected. Not bad. Remember what I told you to do... Lastly, I look forward to your performance.]

[Received.]

I clearly transmigrated, so why does talking to my boss still feel this familiar?

A corporate drone could not escape the fate of working like an ox and horse for someone else, no matter where he went.

After briefly sorting through the information at hand, Kana Shizumi wore a thoughtful expression and casually rubbed his chin.

He had come this time with a task from Kenjaku... though in essence, it was also an "opportunity" he had fought for himself. Since he knew how the plot would unfold, there was no reason not to make arrangements and stir things up in advance.

"Sorry for the wait... extra-large rice, double grilled beef set. Enjoy."

Though he was half-human and half-cursed spirit, he still needed food to replenish his nutrients.

He quickly refueled, paid the bill... then took a car to a point five kilometers from his destination.

Getting out early was also for the sake of preparation. Since his destination was the Cursed Vault, he needed to have everything ready beforehand.

Standing beside the road, Kana Shizumi went through some warm-up exercises, let out a soft breath, and brought his palms together in a light clap. Clap.

"Born from darkness, hidden within chaos..."

As he murmured, a series of outlines like surging undercurrents gradually emerged, rising from below and completely "covering" Kana Shizumi's body.

Curtain. Judging from its function, it was an isolation barrier designed to block ordinary people's perception.

Even those without an innate technique could learn it through practice and a certain degree of talent—the supervisors in the original work generally knew this trick.

However, that was not all a Curtain could do.

A specially modified Curtain could precisely exclude Satoru Gojo. Based on that principle, this barrier technique had plenty of room for adaptation.

And right now, Kana Shizumi was making a few adjustments on that foundation.

He compressed and adjusted the Curtain's size and strength, ultimately turning it into something literally "tangible."

"Wrap it around the outside of the body, creating an isolated state that can almost completely block perception..."

It produced a camouflage effect for both cursed energy and physical reality.

Of course, that was only in theory.

In practice, maintaining the barrier technique required a constant output of cursed energy, so it could only compress the range of "observation."

Kana Shizumi could now conceal not only his appearance but even his presence to an extreme degree... According to Kenjaku's observations and conclusions, even Special Grade powerhouses would have trouble detecting him unless they came within ten meters.

You're practically born to be a rat.

Though that assessment was not particularly flattering, it did describe Kana Shizumi's talent from another angle.

Only after reaching this point did Kana Shizumi slowly begin moving.

As for his first destination...

He chose the Kamo Lineage's Cursed Vault.

On one hand, Kenjaku had already taken control of the Kamo Lineage and had a clear understanding of its internal defense layouts and the like, all of which he could share with Kana Shizumi.

So long as exposure was not a concern, it was basically the same as going home...

"I'll use the Kamo Clan for some practice first, then make a trip to Jujutsu High."

While moving, Kana Shizumi took a moment to glance at his current status panel.

[Kana Shizumi]

[Total Cursed Energy: 45 (+5 provided by cursed tools)]

[Cursed Energy Efficiency: 29]

[Cursed Energy Output: 28]

[Innate Technique: Modified Blood Manipulation]

[Hand-to-Hand Combat and Cursed Energy Control: 37]

[Derived Abilities: Advanced Barrier Technique, Flight (cursed tool equipped)]

Over the past half month, Kana Shizumi had not only followed Kenjaku to learn barrier techniques, but also found time to complete a number of miscellaneous side quests.

None of them were anything impressive, but the accumulated gains were not insignificant overall.

As a result, his current level of strength had changed noticeably.

"Compared to when I first transmigrated here, I'm probably above the average Grade 2 level now..."

As mentioned before, a jujutsu sorcerer's strength was not reflected by a single stat.

This was a PvP game, not a contest to see who was bigger... In the end, whether someone was truly capable could only be determined through a fight.

As he pondered this, Kana Shizumi slipped into the Kamo Clan's territory.

Though it had never been described in the original work, as one of the Three Great Families, the Kamo Clan's grounds were no small matter.

He quietly moved through the estate, avoiding the night guards and shikigami. With the patrol information Kenjaku had provided, Kana Shizumi easily made his way into the Cursed Vault.

From the outside, the Cursed Vault resembled an old Chinese medicine shop enlarged several times over.

Each wooden compartment was roughly the length and width of a forearm. Under the dim candlelight, Kana Shizumi gave the room a quick sweep.

"Only the compartments with sealing talismans on them can be confirmed to contain cursed tools..."

They made up only about one-third of the whole.

Kana Shizumi wore a troubled expression... Was this inventory a little lacking?

After a brief search, he quickly reached a conclusion:

One piece of good news and one piece of bad news.

The bad news was that, through his senses, he discovered that his remaining Six Roots were not in the Kamo Clan's Cursed Vault...

The good news was that there was an unexpected gain.

At the deepest end of the Cursed Vault, Kana Shizumi found a special, separately sealed display case.

He definitely would not dare mess around in any other place. He had no idea what sort of restrictions were in place, and one wrong move might cause a major incident.

But what kind of place was the Kamo Clan?

Jail Mom's backyard! He could do whatever he wanted... Besides, with Advanced Barrier Technique backing him up, Kana Shizumi easily avoided the restrictions' detection and surveillance.

Considering that Kenjaku had said his last visit to the Kamo Clan to handle matters had been over fifty years ago, he was not entirely clear on the current situation.

So even Jail Mom had no idea what was stored inside the display case.

Time to open a mystery box~

Kana Shizumi happily pried it open.

The first thing that came into view made him pause slightly.

"...Huh?"

He grabbed it, weighed it lightly in his hand, and raised his eyebrows.

Sukuna's Fingers were actually stored in the Kamo Lineage too?