Once the binding vow was established and the curtain had vanished completely, the battered Hidden Inventory duo left first. Then Toji Fushiguro walked up to Kano and Slit-Mouthed Woman.
"My cursed tool and pistol. Give them back." The Heavenly Restriction Tyrant wiped the still-bleeding wounds on his body and head, then held out his hand to Kano and Slit-Mouthed Woman.
"Oh... right!" Shoichi Kano instinctively took the USP Pistol hidden behind his back and handed it over. Toji Fushiguro checked it, found nothing seriously wrong beyond a few spent rounds, and let the Inventory Curse Worm swallow it.
"Where's my cursed tool?" He turned to Slit-Mouthed Woman.
Slit-Mouthed Woman had already shrunk the long-handled scythe cursed tool, the Wrongful Death Blade, back into its original black baton form. When she heard Toji address her, she promptly hid it inside her body. "Cursed tool? What cursed tool?"
Toji Fushiguro gave up trying to get it back. As he left, he merely muttered to Shoichi Kano, "Kano, kid, that cursed tool is worth three hundred million dollars on the black market. Remember to pay me back."
Kenjaku smiled and called after him, "Mr. Fushiguro, although you failed to kill the star plasma vessel, I'll still have the mission bounty transferred to your account through the Time Vessel Association!"
"Forget it." Toji Fushiguro had long since seen through this schemer; nine out of every ten things she said concealed a trap. "I don't want to live long enough to earn the money but not long enough to spend it."
Within just a few breaths, Toji Fushiguro had vanished from sight.
The maid Kuroi, who had witnessed the entire deal but still had little say in it, simply stayed quietly beside her young mistress. Only shock and confusion remained in her eyes. Faced with a situation beyond an ordinary person's understanding, she no longer knew what to say.
If she had to put it into words, Kuroi had experienced three shocks in this short week. The first had come when she initially met Gojo and Geto, learned of her young mistress's constitution as a "star plasma vessel," and picked up some basic knowledge about the Jujutsu Society.
The second had been this upheaval at the Tombs of the Star Corridor, while Kenjaku's appearance counted as the third.
She remembered how, when she had watched Harry Potter, she had always found the Muggles' panicked reactions upon encountering the wizarding world rather comical. Thinking back now, she was hardly any different from those Muggles.
"Well, um, Miss Itadori," Shoichi Kano said, holding on to Slit-Mouthed Woman's arm. Right now, only the icy-cold Miss Cursed Spirit beside him offered him any sense of security. "If there's nothing else, we'll be taking our leave!"
Compared with Slit-Mouthed Woman, who would only be able to kill him after another month or more, the devious old bastard Kenjaku standing before him was far more dangerous.
Slit-Mouthed Woman nodded repeatedly as well, instinctively pressing closer to Kano. The human and cursed spirit took to their heels, ready to flee.
"Please stay a moment," Kenjaku said softly in Kaori Itadori's voice, her tone gentle but brooking no refusal.
Kano and Slit-Mouthed Woman ran even faster.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Supergravity." Seeing that the human and cursed spirit had already run quite far, Kenjaku was left somewhat speechless. She could only snap her fingers, reverse this body's innate cursed technique, and apply it to the fleeing pair.
Shoichi Kano and Slit-Mouthed Woman immediately felt an immense weight descend upon their shoulders. Even taking a single step became a struggle. They could only crouch halfway down and brace their hands against the ground to ease the pressure.
Kenjaku felt she had yet to exert her full strength. Otherwise, these two small fry would have been flattened on the spot by gravity thousands of times stronger than normal.
"Running off without listening to someone is hardly a good habit." Kenjaku strolled over leisurely. Behind her, the maid Kuroi silently held the still-unconscious Riko Amanai and followed close on her heels.
"You... ma'am..." Shoichi Kano was on the verge of tears. "Is there anything else you need?"
Slit-Mouthed Woman simply glared fiercely at her, looking as though she wanted to bite a chunk of flesh off her body.
But Kenjaku would never fear a lowly special grade cursed spirit like this. After all, she was a ruthless veteran who had lived through the Heian era, the golden age of jujutsu. Cursed spirits from those days, such as Yamata no Orochi and True Tamamo-no-Mae, had been far more terrifying than the special grade cursed spirits born of modern society.
Compared with those ancient monsters, Slit-Mouthed Woman truly had no advantages to speak of.
So Kenjaku remained neither impatient nor angry. She merely smiled into Slit-Mouthed Woman's gray eyes until the latter guiltily averted her gaze.
After an indeterminate stretch of time, Kenjaku lightly waved her hand, and the gravitational field pinning the pair down abruptly dispersed.
With the oppressive gravity suddenly gone, Kano failed to adjust in time and nearly fell. Slit-Mouthed Woman was slightly more composed, rising to her feet slowly and steadily, bit by bit.
"You two are quite interesting. I have another deal I'd like to discuss with you."
Shoichi Kano gave a bitter smile. "May I ask whether refusing is an option?"
"What kind of dream are you having?" Kenjaku paused briefly, seemingly considering something. "My proposal is actually quite simple. I'll be holding a grand event in the future, and the two of you will need to take part and help me guard one of the barriers within it."
"Of course, as long as you don't interfere with the overall plan, you're welcome to enjoy yourselves as much as you like during the event." She smiled like an amusement park employee recommending attractions. "Simple enough, isn't it?"
Her words left Slit-Mouthed Woman bewildered, and she instinctively began considering what the catch might be. Shoichi Kano, however, had the advantage of having read the story in his previous life. He immediately guessed that she wanted to invite them to take part in that... Culling Game plan?!
"Then what can you give us?" Slit-Mouthed Woman asked.
Kenjaku tossed the question straight back to them. "What would you like?"
Shoichi Kano felt a headache coming on. Even setting aside whether he wanted to throw himself into the Culling Game, Kenjaku's approach to setting a price was difficult enough to deal with. Normally, both parties in a transaction should state their terms clearly, yet she deliberately held something back. This tactic of retreating to advance was indeed clever.
Now neither of them dared name a price lightly, afraid that asking too little would leave them taking a massive loss.
Wait... Shoichi Kano suddenly seemed to remember something.
In the original story, that devious old bastard Kenjaku's mastery of barrier techniques had apparently been incredible, putting her on par with Tengen.
Which meant...
"I want all your knowledge of barrier techniques!" Shoichi Kano blurted out in a moment of excitement, then quickly committed himself to the demand.
With Kenjaku's level of knowledge in barrier techniques, he might even figure out something like an Open Domain! Then, even if he ended up being thrown onto the battlefield against Sukuna, he would stand a fighting chance!
He casually glanced at Slit-Mouthed Woman beside him-with that level of mastery in barrier techniques, he could naturally mold this Miss Cursed Spirit to his every whim and turn her straight into his personal sex slave. Wouldn't that let him reclaim his place in the household?!
Kano nearly envisioned a beautiful future in which he called her Mommy while making Mommy scream.
Unfortunately, a single sentence from Kenjaku brought him crashing back to reality. "I can provide that knowledge, but..."
She glanced at Shoichi Kano. "You're so weak that I doubt you'd even understand what you were reading."
Then Kenjaku turned her attention to Slit-Mouthed Woman. "This cursed spirit, on the other hand, is somewhat interesting. Although she lacks a complete innate domain, she already knows how to use Simple Domain, so she should have some foundation in barrier techniques. Perhaps she could learn something."
Slit-Mouthed Woman's pupils trembled-she had never imagined that her opponent could gauge the general extent of her strength with a single glance.
"But my knowledge is quite precious," Kenjaku said with a smile. "Merely participating in my event wouldn't warrant that kind of price."
"How about this? On top of all my knowledge of barrier techniques, I'll add one of Sukuna's Fingers," Kenjaku said. "On the condition that you do one more thing for me."
Shoichi Kano felt his fantasies shatter-he could use neither the barrier technique knowledge nor Sukuna's Finger. Both would end up as buffs for Slit-Mouthed Woman. His future standing in the household looked set to sink straight into the sewer.
Slit-Mouthed Woman instinctively swallowed. Something like Sukuna's Finger was far too tempting for her.
Still, she retained a measure of caution. "What... do you need us to do for you? And... can you guarantee that I can safely absorb Sukuna's Finger?"
"Safely absorbing one of Sukuna's Fingers isn't difficult. And the task I need you to carry out is quite simple as well. You'll have to go to China and retrieve a particular cursed tool for me. I'll organize the relevant information when I have time and let you know."
"Wait, I-" Shoichi Kano was just about to speak when Slit-Mouthed Woman's icy-cold hand clamped over his mouth, preventing him from uttering another word.
"We accept the deal."
"Very good. Then the binding vow is established."
Before you continue