Death Paintings' Strictest Father

Kana Shizumi pushed through the revolving door and stepped into the hospital's outpatient lobby.

He looked around expressionlessly, then turned into the men's restroom in the corner.

Looking at his face in the mirror, his lips white with fright, he hurriedly splashed some water on his face...

Fuck!!!

"Why was Kamo Noritoshi in a place like this?!"

Considering which side he had chosen and all the problems that might arise in the future, Kana Shizumi had theoretically accepted his current situation.

But this kind of situation still inevitably made him nervous...

After all, while Kamo Noritoshi had seemed pretty weak in the original storyline—getting played by Kenjaku, scared senseless by Choso, and nearly smashed to pieces by Mushiya, among other things...

He was still a Semi-Grade 1 sorcerer.

Fighting him would still be like hitting a speed bump.

Honestly, he should have run the instant he saw the other man. But by the time Kana Shizumi noticed him, there had only been a dozen or so meters between them.

Showing even the slightest weakness would have made him suspicious, so he might as well force himself to keep up the act.

Judging from the outcome, he had gambled correctly.

"Anyway, calm down first. We passed each other just now, but he didn't react at all. That means Kamo Noritoshi probably hasn't noticed anything special about me."

To be honest, there was far too little information about half-human, half-cursed spirits.

Without experiencing it firsthand, Kana Shizumi had no way of determining exactly what his condition was.

At least for now, he had something to use as a reference... Before he actively used cursed energy, Kana Shizumi should have been no different from an ordinary person.

"Hanami has already infiltrated underground to retrieve it. It shouldn't take too long."

Since Hanami was a plant cursed spirit, she could easily avoid attention and escape swiftly without fighting—she had even managed to catch Gojo off guard in the original story and rescue Jogo, head and all, right in front of him.

All he could say was that Hanami was an absolute authority when it came to running away.

After calming down, Kana Shizumi quickly made his judgment and sorted out the sequence of events.

"I get it... Even if we run into them, as long as Hanami doesn't want trouble, both sides can act out of sync and avoid conflict without ever clashing."

After all, getting the finger was the objective, and Hanami's execution ability was beyond question.

Essentially, this part of the plot should have unfolded in that order as well... Neither side had a chance to meet, which was why the exchange event counted as their true "first meeting."

And Kana Shizumi had obtained direct evidence that he was closer to an ordinary person, which was equally crucial.

That was enough. He had gained quite a lot.

All that remained was to safely deliver the finger back, then think about everything else...

Uh, but wait.

Kana Shizumi suddenly cut off his train of thought.

He abruptly raised his head and stared straight at his reflection in the mirror.

Let him sort through it again... because he suddenly felt as though he had overlooked something?

His thoughts churned, gathering together everything that had happened yesterday and connecting it with the present... Finally, as if remembering something, Kana Shizumi slightly parted his lips.

There it was—the problem!

"Kenjaku was the one who arranged this job for me..."

That was right. Jail Mom had deliberately assigned Kana Shizumi to accompany Hanami.

On one hand, it was to familiarize him with the mission process. On the other, it could naturally be seen as targeted training.

Then...

How was he supposed to explain what had been said over the phone?

"As exaggerated as it may sound, could this have been something Kenjaku deliberately arranged?"

He had specifically assigned him the cursed spirit who looked the most wooden but was also the easiest to talk to. And then they had encountered a student from Kyoto Jujutsu High...

A coincidence.

That might have been plausible.

But considering Kenjaku's calculating nature, as well as his utterly deranged values...

Kana Shizumi had reason to believe that if he performed too blandly and ordinarily, the other man might have even more twisted methods and arrangements waiting for him...

Of course, this might have just been him overthinking things.

But a choice now stood before Kana Shizumi.

Should he take the initiative to change something and seize this chance to grow stronger?

Or should he honestly follow the plot and see whether there were other opportunities to keep "fleecing the sheep"?

Honestly...

The latter was safer.

But Kenjaku was too much of a variable... All he could say was that Jail Mom truly was the Death Paintings' strictest father.

When it came to whipping people into shape, he was an absolute authority.

After thinking it over again and again, Kana Shizumi finally made his decision.

Staring at his reflection in the mirror, he took a deep breath and gently pressed his hands against both cheeks.

Squeezing lightly, Kana Shizumi spoke as though talking to himself.

"Since I'm already here, I have to hurry up and get stronger..."

After all, if he was judged a failed product by Kenjaku because he was too much of a coward, and then got hit with some kind of energy reclamation scheme, he would truly have nowhere to cry.

Don't doubt it. Wearing this skin, that guy really could knead you into a Spiral...

As he thought this, a rough plan quickly surfaced in his mind.

At the hospital entrance, Kamo Noritoshi browsed messages on his phone as he quietly waited for the other two to arrive.

The Kamo Clan's dedicated driver was already prepared. From the outside, the black luxury seven-seater revealed nothing of its interior, appearing extremely understated and reserved.

Those two aren't going to be late, are they?

As he thought this, Kamo Noritoshi seemed to sense something. He suddenly raised a brow and turned his head.

It was in the direction of the inpatient building.

As though drawn by something, he wore a slightly puzzled expression.

He raised a hand and tapped on the driver's window, then softly said, "When they arrive, wait for me first. I'll be back soon..."

With that, he lifted his legs and jogged over.

As mentioned before, the hospital itself covered a considerable area. Kamo Noritoshi ran nearly five hundred meters before approaching his destination.

However...

The closer he got, the more tightly his brows furrowed.

As though he had discovered something strange, he stopped beside a flower bed.

Raising his hand, Kamo Noritoshi poked at a black shadow flying through the air.

Pop.

A mosquito no bigger than a fingernail instantly burst apart.

Blood mixed within it sprayed out, silently splattering across the ground.

Blood.

If that were all, it would not have been worth noticing. The key was the residual cursed energy contained within the blood, which caught Kamo Noritoshi's attention.

Blood containing cursed energy... That subtle yet familiar sensation piqued his curiosity to the fullest.

But before his thoughts could settle, beneath the steps some distance away, a tall, pale figure emerged from behind the wall.

Hanami passed by in complete silence, right beneath Kamo Noritoshi's nose.