Killing the Strongest

At that moment, Tan Man found Satoru Gojo utterly unbearable. If only this guy did not exist, his plans could proceed smoothly, and he could take control of even the Zenin Clan one step at a time.

Everything was already within Gojo's reach, so why couldn't he be a little more humble and avoid all this? Why did he have to stand arrogantly in Tan Man's way?

Tan Man could clearly feel his own emotions. He envied everything Satoru Gojo possessed. He envied Satoru Gojo's happiness.

Even knowing Satoru Gojo's ending in the original story, Tan Man merely thought that he had failed to seize his opportunities. He had possessed such immense power, yet still allowed one tragedy after another to happen.

If that immense power were mine, if I could have power like that, I would definitely do better than him!

As long as I'm the strongest, even I can be happy, right?

The apparition of his charred mother appeared again, her pitch-black hands wrapping around Tan Man from behind.

"Kill him. Kill him!"

Toji's earlier words echoed in Tan Man's ears again.

"If you can kill that Six Eyes brat today, I reckon the Zenin Clan will make you the Twenty-Seventh Clan Head tomorrow."

That's right. As long as I kill the strongest, I'll be the strongest then!

By now, Tan Man was no longer thinking clearly. Had he stopped to think calmly, he would have realized that Satoru Gojo, who was only eight years old, could hardly be called the strongest. Killing this so-called "strongest" would not prove that he was the strongest either.

Satoru Gojo found it baffling. A brat who looked even younger than him was actually directing killing intent at him.

Satoru Gojo could easily recognize killing intent, mainly because he had experienced it plenty of times. Incidents such as assassination attempts by foolish curse users had gradually taught him to recognize the emotion called killing intent.

For once, Satoru Gojo felt a flicker of curiosity about Tan Man. He did not understand why Tan Man was acting this way, and he wondered why the boy was directing killing intent at him.

Satoru Gojo raised a hand to point at Tan Man and asked the Head of the Gojo Clan.

"That's the kid, right? The one I still need to beat."

"That's right." The Head of the Gojo Clan nodded.

Satoru Gojo called out to Tan Man, "Hey, you there! What's your name?"

Tan Man did not answer Satoru Gojo's question. Instead, he immediately began chanting.

"Deathless." "Plow struggle." "Seek rebirth as before." "Great Hell of Equal Lives."

As Tan Man chanted, four Corpses holding Spear-like Weapons appeared on all four sides of Satoru Gojo.

Summoning four Corpses at once was the most significant improvement Tan Man had made to equal lives over the past week.

"Oh?"

With his Six Eyes, Satoru Gojo could perceive far more information than other people. A single glance told him that these four Corpses were not shikigami.

The Gojo Clan head turned to Naobito Zenin.

"Is this the upbringing the Zenin Clan provides? Or has the child spent so long outside that he doesn't know the etiquette of the Three Great Families? If necessary, I'd be more than willing to teach him on the Zenin Clan's behalf."

Naobito Zenin merely glanced at him and said flatly.

"Hmph. There's no need to trouble you with that."

The Head of the Gojo Clan did not get angry. Maintaining his "composure," he continued.

"Still, I can't see what makes this child worth such a steep price."

The Head of the Kamo Clan was curious about the same thing, and he too waited for Naobito Zenin's answer.

Naobito Zenin spoke without expression.

"Keep watching, and you'll see."

In truth, Naobito Zenin was not sure how much Tan Man had grown in a week. At least the last time he had seen Tan Man use equal lives during practice, there had still been only three Corpses, just as there had been in their first fight.

Naobito Zenin had not expected Tan Man to have already improved enough to summon four at once.

Compared to the original three, that was an increase of nearly thirty percent. It also meant that Tan Man's other abilities must have improved to varying degrees.

Naobito Zenin unconsciously clenched his fists. He still harbored an unrealistic hope for Tan Man, wishing that this boy with the witch bloodline flowing through his veins could shatter the invincibility of the Six Eyes.

Satoru Gojo curled his lip in disdain and spoke as he watched the Corpses charge at him together.

"There's a limit to how much you can underestimate someone, you know. You don't seriously expect these things to kill me, do you? Blue."

Satoru Gojo disdainfully raised his hand and unleashed Blue again, pinning one Corpse with its powerful suction. Then he turned his body, controlling Blue to draw in all four Corpses in one sweep.

Once he had done that, he crushed them all.

As the azure orb of light representing the cursed technique Blue vanished, the four Corpses, mixed with the dust it had drawn in, were compressed into a ball. Even the weapons in their hands had been shattered into countless pieces.

Just as Satoru Gojo looked toward Tan Man, ready to mock him and show off,

Tan Man's chanting reached his ears.

"Rope struggle." "Burn again." "Slash and saw from behind." "Great Hell of Black Rope."

As the chanting stopped, a mass of black flame suddenly erupted from the compressed ball.

"What?"

The crushed fragments of the Corpses rapidly gathered together. They had begun to reform into four separate bodies, but the black ropes formed from their four weapons bound them, forcing them to merge into a single gigantic Corpse instead. Ropes of black flame like dark brambles coiled around its body.

Satoru Gojo was absolutely certain that he had thoroughly pulverized all four Corpses. So why could they still regenerate?

Whether cursed spirits, shikigami, or puppets controlled by jujutsu sorcerers, he had never encountered anything like this.

Satoru Gojo was not the only one who looked shocked. The heads of all Three Great Families wore astonished expressions.

Unlike the Gojo and Kamo Clan heads, who were shocked by the Corpses' ability to revive, Naobito Zenin was shocked that Tan Man had already mastered the incantation for Black Rope-and could even combine it with equal lives!

The gigantic Corpse moved with astonishing speed wholly at odds with its massive body, clasping its hands together and bringing them straight down on Satoru Gojo.

Just as Tan Man had expected, Satoru Gojo did not choose to counter with Blue. Instead, he used Limitless to defend himself directly, showing off his overwhelming strength and invincibility. This was precisely the outcome Tan Man had been hoping for.

Tan Man's chanting rang out again.

"Crushing Kill." "Crush." "Mutual Slaughter." "Great Hell of Crushing."