Two Proposals

Kana Shizumi was still letting his thoughts wander. After a brief daze, he came back to himself slightly and opened his mouth.

"Although, although I'm doing alright compared to others... if I could choose, I'd still like to be a little stronger..."

How humble. He could only be extremely humble.

After all, while he theoretically stood ahead of 90% of sorcerers, the ones who appeared in the story were literally that remaining 10%. What could he do about that?

He couldn't exactly get kicked away like a dog the moment he entered the scene...

Listening to Kana Shizumi's account, Kenjaku glanced at him.

No one knew exactly what Kenjaku was thinking. At present, he merely pursed his lips, then let out a brief chuckle.

"You don't expect me to raise you to Sukuna's level, do you?"

Kenjaku spread his hands, his tone carrying a hint of amusement.

"I can't even reach that level myself."

That was true enough...

Although Kenjaku had always appeared utterly composed in the original work, giving people the impression that every difficulty was within his expectations.

On the eve of the Shinjuku Showdown, when Satoru Gojo teleported up from the bottom of the sea, Kenjaku had still seemed utterly helpless—after going to such lengths to deal with you, you could still get out?

Considering that if Sukuna had not been present, Kenjaku would probably have gotten a live demonstration of being "excused for a moment."

Back to the point.

Kana Shizumi naturally knew what Kenjaku was capable of, and he also understood that Gojo-Sukuna had originally been on an entirely different level.

But Kenjaku's strength was not really reflected in combat. After all, he was the foremost researcher in Jujutsu Kaisen, and his specialty lay in research.

After all, he was capable of building the Tiger Heavenly Emperor by hand.

So when he fought Yuki Tsukumo in the original work, it had, in a sense, been a brawl between the administrative staff of the heroes and villains...

That actually made sense, didn't it?

Of course, the fundamental reason was that Kana Shizumi was not satisfied with his current situation.

Semi-Grade 1 was roughly around Choso's level during the Shibuya Incident.

It was more than enough to handle some third-rate characters, but if he ran into Itadori, he would probably get knocked unconscious in three punches...

No. The more he thought about it, the more rotten it felt!

"It's fine if I only become a little stronger than I am now. Is there really no solution?"

Perhaps because his attitude was too sincere, or perhaps simply because Kenjaku had enjoyed the food he was given... Kenjaku pondered for a moment, swept his gaze over Kana Shizumi, and spoke thoughtfully.

"I understand... In that case, I'll give you two proposals."

There really was a solution?!

Kana Shizumi jolted, sitting up a little straighter as his expression turned much more serious.

"First, continue collecting the Six Paths Tsuji Cursed Objects. For you, they are the greatest aid to improving your strength... Once you gather all six, your power will increase by leaps and bounds."

Kana Shizumi noticed Kenjaku's wording.

A leap~ing increase?

He had to admit, he was looking forward to it a little. Given the personality of a researcher like Kenjaku, he must have weighed every word carefully.

But that raised another problem.

How am I supposed to collect them... I have absolutely no clue! Japan is so huge—where am I supposed to look?

While the person concerned was agonizing over this, Kenjaku leaned back slightly and reached into his clothes, feeling around for a moment.

Then, he took out an object and placed it on the table.

"Take this with you. I said before that I would give it to you."

Kana Shizumi focused his gaze and immediately recognized the bracelet retrieved from the Kamo Cursed Vault.

"I modified it. It is now suitable for your use... It can sense the exact location of Six Paths Tsuji Cursed Objects. The closer you get, the stronger its reaction will be. It should help you collect them."

Kana Shizumi froze slightly before realizing what it was.

So it was a detector...

But just as Kenjaku had said, this thing would be a huge help!

What troubled Kana Shizumi right now was precisely the issue of location. With this Cursed Tool helping him, he could achieve twice the result with half the effort.

"Thank you, Father."

"You're welcome. Besides, you've always had good luck. I think that even without this thing helping you... you should still be able to collect them all."

Kenjaku looked at Kana Shizumi with a faint, ambiguous smile and spoke softly.

"After all, you have already recovered the Abyss-Severing Blade, haven't you?"

"..."

Kana Shizumi's movements paused for a moment. Then he gave an awkward smile and cautiously clasped the bracelet in his hand.

—He had never told Kenjaku that he had recovered a Cursed Object.

Yet the other man spoke with an extremely certain tone, as if he had known in advance.

"Uh... well, I just happened to come across it..."

"There is no need to be nervous, Unblemished. I was merely stating a fact. I did not mean to find fault with you."

Kenjaku smiled and shrugged, seemingly unconcerned with what he had just said. Then he spoke softly again.

"As the aggregate of Six Paths Tsuji Cursed Objects, I believe you possess a unique natural attraction... Even if you do nothing, these things will gather around you by their own methods, like rivers flowing into the sea."

If he had to put it bluntly...

Right.

"Fate... perhaps? I don't really believe in such things, but seeing your situation, I can't think of any other possibility for the moment."

Kana Shizumi did not want to dig too deeply into anything so mystical. What he was focused on now was why Kenjaku had acquired that "information."

"How exactly did Kenjaku know?"

If he did not figure that out, he truly would not be able to eat or sleep in peace.

Kana Shizumi even recalled that scene in the Jujutsu Kaisen opening where Kenjaku looked down while holding a tube... It was terrifying. Could Jail Mom be "watching" everything he did like that every day?

Please, give the kid a little freedom...

"Speaking of which, where did you collect that Cursed Object before?"

Kenjaku turned his head halfway and spoke casually.

"Didn't I tell you to come straight back yesterday? Did you go somewhere else afterward?"

Kana Shizumi's expression did not visibly change upon hearing that.

But a subtle thought surfaced deep within his heart.

Wait, wait, wait.

He seemed to have caught some fleeting "inspiration," and he now tried to reason it out further.

Why would Kenjaku say that? Shouldn't he have been "omniscient" about everything concerning me?

Yet from the current situation, Kenjaku seemed able to grasp only part of the facts, while remaining unaware of another part?

After 0.2 seconds of frantic brainstorming.

Kana Shizumi found the key point!

"Could it be that Kenjaku doesn't know exactly where I went?"