A touching reunion

Thick, dark clouds hung over the Zenin Clan's compound.

They hung so low they almost brushed the Zenin Clan's ruined roof tiles, shrouding the entire estate in gloom. But a closer look revealed that they were not clouds-countless cursed tools of every shape were packed together in overlapping layers, blotting out the sky.

Sabers, swords, axes, spears, chains, iron fans, daggers. A faint halo of cursed energy shimmered around each cursed tool, casting a cold glow through the darkness like a canopy woven from steel.

Walking out through the Zenin Clan's ruined gates, Gu Yanzhi glanced back at the estate of this once-renowned jujutsu family, his face full of disgust.

Time had worn the crests on the courtyard walls almost beyond recognition. He had twisted apart the locks on several storehouses with Psychokinesis, leaving their doors hanging crookedly from their hinges.

He dusted off his hands, though there was no dust on them, and grumbled, "Such a big clan, and this is all they have? What a waste of a trip."

He raised a hand and activated Psychokinesis, his body slowly floating into the air.

The "dark cloud" of cursed tools overhead began to shift-thousands of weapons turned at once, their tips pointing outward, as though guided by a single invisible thread.

Gu Yanzhi shot off into the distance. The cursed tools followed close behind, trailing hundreds of meters of steel through the air. From the ground, it looked like a meteor streaking across the sky with a long tail, a spectacle so grand it was almost absurd.

After saying goodbye to everyone at Jujutsu High, he had not gone straight to Takaba and Kenjaku.

To be honest, he was still a little nervous about facing the wave of cursed spirits that would erupt after Kenjaku's death. Who knew how many cursed spirits Kenjaku had taken into his body? Once their host died, they would scatter like wild horses slipping their reins. His Psychokinesis had considerable range, and his Barrier Technique was powerful, but facing a rampage on that scale without a foolproof plan would be courting death.

So he had made a few little preparations.

During his earlier battle with Hajime Kashimo, he had discovered that weapons were an excellent fit for his cursed technique.

The Object Manipulation Cursed Technique allowed him to control objects and launch surprise attacks from different angles in battle. But the sword he had used that time was just an ordinary weapon he had grabbed, not a cursed tool. That was why Hajime Kashimo had destroyed it so easily, leaving him unable to demonstrate the true effectiveness of combining Psychokinesis with cursed tools.

While preparing for battle, he had requested a cursed tool from Jujutsu High to experiment with. He discovered that when he controlled it with his mind, he could coat it in his own cursed energy and activate its effects.

If a single cursed tool made such a noticeable difference, what if he controlled dozens or hundreds at once? What would that be like?

That was how the idea of controlling large numbers of cursed tools at once had taken shape in Gu Yanzhi's mind.

However, the Jujutsu Higher-Ups probably would not hand over all kinds of cursed tools to an outsider who had only recently joined Jujutsu High.

So he had seized the opportunity presented by the Shinjuku Showdown-when all of Jujutsu High's attention and fighting strength were focused on the battlefield in Shinjuku-to raid its Cursed Tool Vault and steal every cursed tool inside.

Then, while he was at it, he had looted the Cursed Tool Vaults of the Gojo Clan, the Kamo Clan, and the Zenin Clan. Every vault had barrier protection, but between Gu Yanzhi's mastery of barriers and his ability to force his way through, none could stop him anymore.

As he flew at high speed, the army of cursed tools behind him filled the wind with a fine metallic clatter. Gu Yanzhi was beginning to feel the strain.

Although his cursed technique did not consume much cursed energy when used on inanimate objects, controlling this many cursed tools at once still burned through a startling amount. Kurourushi's reserves were considerable even for a special grade cursed spirit, but they were not infinite. He could feel his cursed energy pool draining at a visibly alarming rate.

Gu Yanzhi began to descend. At last, he had reached the battlefield where Takaba and Kenjaku were fighting.

It was an abandoned Shinto shrine. Stone lanterns lay toppled on either side of the approach, and the vermilion torii gate had faded and peeled. He landed at the edge of the woods outside the shrine and released his control over the cursed tools. Weapons that would normally fetch exorbitant prices fell scattered across the ground.

Gu Yanzhi knelt on one knee and pressed a hand against the damp soil. As he began chanting, the barrier's foundation extended underground from his palm. Cursed energy circuits spread through the earth like roots, winding around tree roots and stones until an invisible ring enclosed the entire grove.

He took great care setting it up-on top of the barrier restricting cursed spirits from entering or leaving, he added another layer that strengthened him as the caster.

Once he was done, he straightened and formed another hand sign.

Another black barrier spread outward from him, enveloping the entire shrine-Domain Expansion: Court of Ten Thousand Treasured Arms.

In the end, Gu Yanzhi had decided to kill Kenjaku.

Letting Kenjaku go might yield a tremendous number of causality points, but Gu Yanzhi's Limitless had not advanced enough for him to serve as Kenjaku's accomplice. That thousand-year-old monster had far too much blood on his hands. Letting him leave meant more people would die as a result of his plans.

He could earn causality points slowly in the future, but once certain lines were crossed, there was no going back.

So he expanded his domain as an extra precaution and quietly waited for Takaba's cursed technique to end.

In front of the shrine's main hall, Kenjaku and Takaba were performing a comedy sketch. Somehow, Takaba had dragged Kenjaku into his "performance," and the two were trading lines. Kenjaku wore a smile, completely unaware of the approaching danger.

At last, their comedy act came to an end.

Takaba's cursed technique began to fade, leaving the stage in the silence that followed a performance.

Kenjaku stood where he was, regaining his clarity. The face that belonged to Suguru Geto still looked a little dazed from the comedy routine.

Now.

Without taking any attacking stance, Gu Yanzhi stepped out of the shadows beside the stage. His pace was unhurried, a warm smile on his face as he waved a hand in greeting.

"Hey."

"Master."

"Long time no see."

Kenjaku whipped around.

Confusion flashed across Suguru Geto's face-then his pupils shrank to pinpoints.

An impostor? A transformation technique?

As the mastermind behind the Culling Game, he remembered the basic information of every Swimmer. This man's face, in particular, had left a deep impression on him-his former disciple.

Both the body and the cursed energy, everything his senses told him, confirmed that the person before him was his disciple: the soul he had personally brought back to life through incarnation.

Yet his perception of souls denied it. Deep within his soul, some keener instinct was screaming: The person standing before you is not him.

How could this happen? Was there a problem with my incarnation technique? Or does someone understand souls better than I do? Impossible. I've studied souls for over a thousand years. No one understands how to manipulate the relationship between soul and body better than I do.

Kenjaku was stunned by what he saw.

Countless blades shot toward him from behind.

The blades spun as though guided, plunging straight into Kenjaku's brain.

Kenjaku's head fell onto the shrine's wooden floor, rolling half a turn before coming to rest. His eyes were still wide open, his mouth slightly parted.

Gu Yanzhi walked over to the head and looked down at that familiar face.

He crouched and met its eyes for a moment.

"That won't do, Master."

"You can't let your mind wander in a fight."

He bent down and removed Kenjaku's brain from his skull. Faint fluctuations of cursed energy still lingered within it.

Gu Yanzhi activated Psychokinesis and gently closed his fingers around empty air. A moment later, the mass of brain tissue was pulverized, with only a small piece left intact and placed in a jar to be handed over to Jujutsu High later.

He straightened and pulled the sword out of the floor.

What he had just done was actually an experiment. His repeated experiences traveling between souls through the system had steadily deepened his understanding of them. Whenever he took over a body, the system automatically adjusted his soul to match its original owner's form. Just now, for the first time, he had disabled that setting and released his own soul's presence, briefly stunning Kenjaku.

Still, it had been a close call. The old fox had shaken off his confusion in no time. If Gu Yanzhi had not expanded his domain beforehand and restrained Kenjaku's limbs and torso at the crucial moment, that strike might not have landed.

He sealed the jar and handed it to Takaba.

"Take this back to Jujutsu High," Gu Yanzhi instructed curtly. Takaba nodded without asking any questions, then turned and left in the direction of Jujutsu High's base.

Gu Yanzhi then turned to look at Kenjaku's corpse. Countless cursed spirits were pouring out of it, stirring restlessly inside his unfinished domain.

"Now, what's next..."