The Death Paintings' Strictest Father

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

With a blank expression, he scanned the area before turning into the men's restroom in the corner.

Seeing his lips had gone pale with fright in the mirror, he hurriedly splashed some water on his face...

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

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

Still, a situation like this inevitably made him nervous...

After all, while Kamo Noritoshi had seemed rather weak in the original storyline—getting toyed with by Kenjaku, frightened by Choso, and nearly smashed to pieces by Mushiya—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 spotted him, they had already been less than twenty meters apart.

Any sign of weakness would have made him suspicious, so Kana might as well put on an act and see it through.

Judging from the result, he had gambled correctly.

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

To be frank, there was far too little information on half-human, half-Cursed Spirit beings.

Without experiencing it firsthand, Kana Shizumi had no way of judging his exact condition.

For now, though, he at least had something to use as a reference... Before actively using cursed energy, Kana Shizumi should be 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, it could easily avoid notice and escape quickly as long as it did not fight—in the original story, it had even managed to ambush Gojo and rescue Jogo, head and all, right in front of him.

When it came to running away, Hanami was practically an authority.

After calming down, Kana Shizumi quickly made his judgment and sorted through the entire chain of events.

"I get it... We might run into them, but as long as Hanami doesn't want trouble, we can completely avoid each other and prevent a conflict without clashing with anyone."

After all, taking the finger was the objective. Hanami's execution was beyond reproach.

Fundamentally, this part of the story should have unfolded in exactly that order... The two sides had no chance to meet, which was why the exchange event counted as their true "first meeting."

And Kana Shizumi had gained direct information that he was closer to an ordinary person. That 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, wait.

Kana Shizumi suddenly cut off his train of thought.

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

He needed to organize his thoughts again... He suddenly felt as though he had overlooked something?

His thoughts churned, gathering together everything that had happened yesterday before combining it with the present... At last, Kana Shizumi seemed to remember something, his mouth slowly falling open.

There it was—the problem!

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

That was right. Jail Mom had specifically arranged for Kana Shizumi to travel with Hanami.

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

Then...

How was he supposed to explain the instructions from that phone call?

"This might sound exaggerated, but could this have been something Kenjaku deliberately arranged?"

He had specifically assigned him a Cursed Spirit that looked the dullest, yet was also the easiest to talk to. And then they had encountered students from Kyoto Jujutsu High...

A coincidence.

Perhaps that explanation could work.

But considering Kenjaku's calculating personality and utterly deranged values...

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

Granted, this could all just be wild speculation.

But a choice now lay before Kana Shizumi.

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

Or should he obediently 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... Jail Mom truly was the Death Paintings' strictest father.

When it came to pushing his children onward, he was far too authoritative.

After thinking it over several times, Kana Shizumi finally made his decision.

He looked at himself in the mirror, took a deep breath, and gently pressed his hands against both sides of his face.

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

"Since I'm already here, I have to make the most of my time and get stronger..."

After all, if he was judged a failed product by Kenjaku because he was too cowardly, and then got subjected to some kind of energy reclamation, he would have nowhere to cry.

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

With that in mind, a rough plan soon surfaced in his head.

At the hospital entrance, Kamo Noritoshi was checking messages on his phone while quietly waiting for the other two to arrive.

The Kamo Clan's private driver was already waiting. From the outside, the black luxury seven-seater revealed nothing of its interior, looking exceptionally low-key and restrained.

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

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

It was in the direction of the inpatient building.

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

Raising his hand, he tapped on the driver's window and said softly, "If they get here, have them wait for me first. I'll be right back..."

With that, he lifted his legs and jogged off.

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

However...

The closer he got, the deeper his frown became.

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

Raising his hand, Kamo Noritoshi casually jabbed at a black shape flying through the air.

Pop.

A mosquito no bigger than a fingernail instantly burst apart.

Blood mixed within it exploded outward, silently splattering onto the ground.

It was blood.

That alone would not have been worth his attention, but the residual cursed energy contained in the blood made Kamo Noritoshi deeply concerned.

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

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

Hanami passed by silently, right beneath Kamo Noritoshi's eyes.