Meeting Kinji Hakari

In the days that followed, Naomitsu paid no more attention to what happened outside. He devoted himself entirely to training Zhenwei.

The two spent so much time together that even Maki and Mai grew jealous.

Naomitsu noticed it too. His two older sisters seemed a little too attached to their younger brother. Whenever he spent time with other girls, they either gave him dirty looks or sulked.

It was only because they had known Zhenwei for so long that they kept their emotions somewhat in check.

Three months passed with this training, and Zhenwei underwent a complete transformation.

The awakening of her Heavenly Tyrant physique turned her into something like a monster in human form.

Solid muscles, a lean build, a cold gaze, and precise movements.

Zhenwei was gradually starting to look like a killing machine.

Of course, Naomitsu had no intention of turning her into one. As long as she could protect herself and his two older sisters, that was enough.

And after that piece of good news came another.

A new year had arrived. In another seven months, it would be Naomitsu's birthday again, and his cursed energy would double once more.

"Go back and get some rest! You still have to go to Kyoto Prefecture with Mai and the others to report in tomorrow!"

Indeed, unlike in the original story, both of his sisters had chosen the school in Kyoto Prefecture, perhaps because of Naomitsu's presence.

Tomorrow marked the start of the new year, and it was also the day Mai and the others would report in.

Naomitsu planned to have Zhenwei skip grades so she could attend school with Maki and the others.

He was younger than his two sisters and already a teacher, after all. Having a child a few years younger than him skip grades to attend Jujutsu High was hardly a problem.

After parting with Zhenwei, Naomitsu received a message on his phone.

The text contained a list of the people who had tried to assassinate him recently. He had asked Yuki Tsukumo to look into it through her contacts, and now the results were in.

"Curse users?"

The information on his phone pointed to a dark web hunting site set up by curse users.

The site offered bounties on various cursed spirits, along with a list of assassination targets. There was even a bounty board on the assassination site, and Naomitsu occupied second place.

Naturally, first place belonged to Satoru Gojo, the man currently known as the strongest.

The bounty on his head had reached a staggering five billion yen.

At that price, people in the business probably considered him impossible to kill. No fool would accept a job like that.

By contrast, when Naomitsu's bounty first appeared, plenty of small fry who had never heard of him came looking for death.

Now that the initial uproar had passed, some had recognized the gap in strength. No more people were throwing their lives away, but Naomitsu was still annoyed.

"Heh. You bastards who set up this curse user dark web-I wonder if you'll still be laughing once Sukuna comes out."

Naomitsu felt no hostility toward Sukuna. As long as he left Naomitsu and the people around him alone, he could kill everyone in Japan for all Naomitsu cared.

Still, the two would inevitably have to fight. Naomitsu needed enough strength to make Sukuna wary before they could have a peaceful conversation.

If that proved impossible, he would have to seek out Kenjaku and cooperate with him again. At least by then, he would be qualified to tame Mahoraga.

"Enough thinking. Before the new students arrive, I'll kill a few big fish tonight to blow off some steam. Otherwise, this anger won't settle."

Naomitsu was the sort of person who could never stand being wronged. If he could take revenge on the spot, he would. Even if he couldn't, he would remember it for over a decade and come back for vengeance.

Anyone who dared offend him could wait for his fury to burn them to ashes, along with everyone connected to them behind the scenes.

Following the information Yuki Tsukumo had provided, Naomitsu summoned Nue and flew toward Tokyo as fast as he could.

The Grade 1 Curse Users he wanted to find lived in Tokyo.

With their exact addresses in hand, Naomitsu found them quickly.

The first curse user was a bookstore owner. The shop specialized in adult books, yet all sorts of eerie, bizarre objects stood both at the entrance and inside.

Naomitsu entered, and the Divine Dogs lunged at the man reading a book.

As the man prepared to counterattack with his cursed technique, Naomitsu expanded his domain and crushed him.

Leaving the bookstore, Naomitsu used Reverse Cursed Technique to repair his technique burnout. Another statue had joined his domain.

"One hundred eighty thousand cursed energy. Barely usable. Next time, I won't use my domain on anyone below two hundred thousand."

Muttering to himself, Naomitsu headed to the next location.

The next place was an underground casino frequented by all kinds of gamblers, with plenty of tattooed delinquents and youths with dyed blond hair inside.

Naomitsu approached a pachinko machine. After confirming the man's identity, he grabbed the top of his head with one hand.

Cursed energy unleashed!

Just before dying, the man turned to look at Naomitsu. His eyes held confusion; he had never expected to die.

With the man dead, Naomitsu was about to leave when another man appeared before him, his arm around a "woman."

"Killing someone in my place? That's not very nice, is it?"

The newcomer was Kinji Hakari, and the person beside him was Kirara Hoshi. They owned this underground casino and had come out to stop Naomitsu after seeing the man die.

"What? Are you two in contact with curse users too, Hakari?"

Naomitsu offered them no friendly expression, questioning them coldly. Kinji Hakari approached with Kirara Hoshi, looking aggressive, only to unexpectedly sling an arm around Naomitsu's shoulders.

"Well, if it isn't Gojo's student! I didn't recognize you at first! You've really made a name for yourself lately!"

Kinji Hakari made no mention of the curse user from earlier, apparently having put him out of his mind. Naomitsu knew he was offering a way to ease the tension and nodded along.

"What do you say? A guy like you is wasted working for those people! How about coming to work for me?"

Naomitsu shook his head. "Hakari, once I've dealt with these curse users, I still have to head back. There are new students to welcome tomorrow."

Kinji Hakari laughed, released Naomitsu's shoulders, and slipped his arm around Kirara Hoshi's waist again. Turning away, he waved him off.

"Then I won't see you out!"

Naomitsu gave Kinji Hakari a long look, then turned and left the underground casino.

He hadn't expected such a chance encounter. He had walked into a random underground casino and met this third-year upperclassman from Tokyo Jujutsu High.

Someone capable of trading blows with Hajime Kashimo had considerable potential. If he fought Naomitsu, it would indeed be a little troublesome.

For Hakari, of course.

After leaving the underground casino, Naomitsu had one last person on his list. That person seemed to have left Tokyo, and his current location was unknown.

"These were only the people who accepted the contract. Even Yuki Tsukumo couldn't find out who was behind it."

Naomitsu suspected someone among Jujutsu Society's higher-ups. After all, only those who had held control over Jujutsu Society for years could afford that much money.

"Just you wait! I may not be able to abandon my humanity and slaughter you, but Sukuna will punish you for me!"