Inverted Spear of Heaven and Cursed Spirit Manipulation

The road ahead was long; for now, he would take it slowly.

Sōji withdrew from his thoughts and looked at the system panel before him.

[Unclaimed Rewards: 2 Draw Chances]

[Gold Balance: 10,000 ryō → 120 coins]

Ever since killing the five members of the Xuan Yuan Corps a year ago, he had saved up two draw chances over the past year, never willing to use them.

Now that he had parted ways with Tsunade and was about to set out alone on an unknown journey, it was time to strengthen himself.

"Draw."

He murmured inwardly.

The system panel flashed, and a virtual roulette wheel appeared before him.

The wheel spun rapidly, its patterns blurring into a haze before slowly coming to a stop.

[Congratulations, you have obtained: Cursed Tool · Inverted Spear of Heaven]

A flash of light passed, and a short blade dropped into Sōji's hand.

He lowered his head and examined it.

It was an ancient-looking short blade, its body pitch-black and its edge gleaming with a chilling cold light.

The hilt was wrapped in dark brown cord, exceptionally comfortable in his grip. The blade was about a foot and a half long, shorter than an ordinary wakizashi, but heavier.

Sōji's Six Eyes turned slightly as he looked through the black cloth at the blade.

Within it lay a strange kind of Cursed Energy. It was not chakra, but a power filled with murderous intent.

He recognized this blade.

One of Toji Fushiguro's weapons, the blade that had shone brilliantly during that bitter summer and had nearly driven Satoru Gojo to the brink of death.

Of course, that had been in another world.

In this world, it was merely a blade, though no ordinary one. [Forced Interruption] was the core ability of the Inverted Spear of Heaven.

Sōji tightened his grip on the hilt, the corner of his lips rising slightly. It was a fine item. Even in another world, it could forcibly interrupt any ninjutsu or sealing technique.

After putting away the Inverted Spear of Heaven, he continued drawing. The roulette wheel before him spun once more...

[Congratulations, you have obtained: Innate Technique · Cursed Spirit Manipulation]

At the sight, Sōji's pupils narrowed slightly.

Cursed Spirit Manipulation?

The Innate Technique of the special-grade jujutsu sorcerer Suguru Geto, a powerful technique capable of absorbing and controlling cursed spirits.

His breath caught for a moment.

In the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, this technique had been the core ability of special-grade jujutsu sorcerer Suguru Geto.

By absorbing cursed spirits and taming them into submission, one could summon hundreds or even thousands of cursed spirits to fight for them.

But the problem was, this world had no cursed spirits.

Sōji frowned slightly and carefully read the explanation provided by the system.

[Note: This world has no native cursed spirits. They must be exchanged through the Gold Shop.]

So that was it.

Sōji fell into thought.

When he had first opened the Gold Shop, he had indeed noticed the cursed spirits available for exchange.

Fly Heads, cursed remnants, cursed spirits of every grade... He had wondered what those things were for. Now, it seemed they had been meant to work with this technique.

With a thought, he opened the shop again.

A dazzling array of goods appeared before him.

His gaze swept across the list before finally settling on one option.

[Ugly Treasure: 10 coins]

Ugly Treasure.

He had searched for it specifically.

In Jujutsu Kaisen, Ugly Treasure had initially been Toji Fushiguro's cursed tool storage, then later followed Suguru Geto.

It looked like a giant purple caterpillar, or rather, more like a moving caterpillar plushie.

Its ability was quite special. It possessed a massive storage space inside its body, capable of holding large quantities of items, including cursed tools, weapons, supplies, and more.

It could also freely shrink its size. It could normally be kept at one's side like a pet, was extremely loyal to its master, and had a gentle, timid disposition, though it possessed virtually no combat power.

Yet Sōji did not hesitate and exchanged for it directly.

[10 coins consumed. Obtained: Ugly Treasure]

A flash of light passed, and something appeared out of thin air before Sōji.

It was a long, soft, dark-purple caterpillar.

It had a pair of large, round eyes that blinked blankly as it looked at the silver-haired boy before it.

Its mouth resembled a slit, faintly pursed at the moment, revealing the dark space within.

"Uu..."

Ugly Treasure made a tiny sound, as if confirming something.

Sōji looked at it, and it looked at Sōji.

One person and one caterpillar stared at each other for three seconds.

Then Ugly Treasure's body began to squirm. It slowly crawled toward Sōji, its soft body leaving a faint trail on the ground.

It crawled to Sōji's feet and rubbed its head against his calf.

"Uu~ Uu~"

The sound carried ingratiation and affection, like a puppy that had just recognized its owner.

Sōji fell silent for a moment, then bent down and reached out to stroke its head.

Soft. Extremely soft. It felt like touching a ball of warm cotton.

Ugly Treasure narrowed its eyes in comfort, its entire body going limp as it let out satisfied little hums.

The corner of Sōji's lips curved slightly. He raised a hand, and with a thought, Cursed Energy began to circulate as the technique of [Cursed Spirit Manipulation] activated.

A spiraling gravitational black hole appeared. Drawn by its suction, Ugly Treasure's body quickly curled inward and shrank until it became a round sphere the size of a fist.

So this was a cursed spirit ball?

Apparently, it tasted like a kitchen rag covered in filth.

Sōji pressed his lips together, then opened his mouth and stuffed the cursed spirit ball inside. In that instant, his face seemed to turn a shade greener.

Gulp...

Suppressing the urge to vomit, Sōji swallowed it forcefully. The strange taste lingered in his mouth for a long while.

This taste... No wonder Suguru Geto went off the deep end!

"Whew—"

After letting out a long breath, Sōji swallowed again before finally managing to suppress the strange flavor.

Then he activated [Cursed Spirit Manipulation] once more and snapped his fingers.

Snap—

The crisp sound echoed out as a spiraling black cavity emerged behind him, and Ugly Treasure crawled out of it.

Then Ugly Treasure crawled up his arm onto his shoulder, stretched out its body, coiled around him, and rested its head on his left shoulder.

From afar, it looked like a purple plush accessory. However, those without Cursed Energy could not see it, and even shinobi required special sensory abilities to detect its presence.

Sōji turned his head to look at it. It lifted its head as well, gazing at him with those large round eyes.

"You'll still be called Ugly Treasure from now on."

"Uu~"

It seemed to understand, letting out a cheerful sound.

Sōji withdrew his gaze and continued studying [Cursed Spirit Manipulation].

The operating principles of this technique in this world were basically the same as those described in Jujutsu Kaisen.

After absorbing cursed spirits, he could summon them to fight at any time.

Capturing and releasing them consumed a negligible amount of Cursed Energy, but controlling them precisely required sufficient Cursed Energy.

With his current reserves, controlling over a hundred Grade Two cursed spirits at once would not be a problem. But if he wanted to control higher-grade cursed spirits, he would need more Cursed Energy.

And the growth of Cursed Energy required killing.

Sōji fell silent for a moment at that.

Killing...

He did not reject killing. In this world, mercy was suicide. But neither did he want to slaughter innocents indiscriminately.

Those who deserved to die, those who stood in his path, those who threatened him and the people he cared about...

He would kill them. There was no need to hesitate.

With that thought, he closed the system panel, stuffed the Inverted Spear of Heaven into Ugly Treasure's mouth, then took out dried rations and water from his pack and ate a little.

At that moment, the night wind blew through the woods, and the campfire flickered softly.

Ugly Treasure lay on his shoulder, letting out faint purring sounds like a lazy cat.

Sōji looked at the distant night sky, considering the road ahead.

The Land of Rivers, the Land of Wind, then a ship from the southern port of the Land of Wind into the Land of Water.

His destination on this journey was the former territory of the Kaguya Clan, located within the Land of Water. There lay the origin of his bloodline, and perhaps the secrets of Shikotsumyaku as well.

And there was also the Land of Water, Kirigakure.

Sōji's fingers curled slightly. He would return, but not now. He was not strong enough yet, and his reputation was not sufficient either.

He still needed to grow, to accumulate strength, to become more powerful. Once he was strong enough, he would tread across that sea of blood and walk toward that position.

Mizukage!

He silently savored those two words as the campfire gradually burned out, turning into dark red ashes.

Sōji lay down and closed his eyes.

The night wind rustled through the woods, while the cries of night birds echoed in the distance, long and far away.

Sōji's breathing gradually steadied.

The next morning.

Sōji woke to birdsong.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the leaves and fell warmly across his face.

He sat up and discovered that Ugly Treasure had somehow crawled onto the top of his head, sprawled across his silver-white hair and sleeping soundly.

Sōji helplessly reached up and lifted it down.

Ugly Treasure opened its eyes and looked at him groggily. "Uu?"

"It's time to go."

Sōji stood, quickly packed his belongings, and Ugly Treasure returned to its place on his shoulder.

Standing atop the hill and gazing into the distance, he saw that the Land of Rivers lay ahead.

He stepped forward.

The morning wind stirred his robes and the silver hair over his forehead, revealing the red lotus mark.

Ugly Treasure on his shoulder widened its eyes, curiously examining everything around them. Sunlight spilled over them, illuminating the road ahead.

In the distance, mountains stretched endlessly beneath swirling clouds and mist.