The white-haired beauty before him looked very different from the giant thumb she would resemble a thousand years later, but Tengen's demeanor was exactly as Jianxia had imagined.
Jianxia sat beside Megumi Zenin at the round table, his expression far calmer than her astonished one.
Although she was known as Tengen the Giant Thumb, Teammate Saboteur, and War Criminal, one thing was beyond doubt.
As the absolute cornerstone of Jujutsu Society, Tengen played a crucial role both a thousand years ago and a thousand years later.
That was why Jianxia was curious about her visit to the Zenin Clan, which had now split into two factions-and why she had chosen Shinji's faction.
If she wanted the support of a faction of jujutsu sorcerers, the Zenin Clan in Heian-kyo was superior in every respect.
"Lady Tengen and I are old acquaintances. Even when I was a child, the Zenin Clan and Lady Tengen were already close family friends."
Shinji introduced her to Megumi Zenin and Jianxia, and for the first time, Jianxia saw genuine joy on his face.
Tengen nodded. "The First Head and I became close friends, so I occasionally visit the Zenin Clan."
Megumi Zenin blinked. This white-haired woman looked considerably younger than her father, yet she knew her ancestor.
Could it be...
"Are you a shikigami contracted to our Zenin Clan?"
Tengen paused, then burst out laughing. Shinji covered his face helplessly.
"No, I'm not a shikigami. I'm a genuine human being."
Just as Tengen was about to explain why she did not age, Jianxia suddenly spoke.
"Your innate cursed technique, Immortality, prevents you from aging naturally, Lady Tengen. But the price is that you must merge with a suitable vessel once every five hundred years."
"Otherwise, you'll uncontrollably evolve into a higher form of existence. Am I right?"
Understanding dawned on Megumi Zenin, while Jianxia finished speaking and smiled at Tengen.
He knew that suddenly interrupting her like that was a real show-off move, but he needed something to establish his image in Tengen's eyes.
An image worthy of her trust.
As for why he needed to do that...
Naturally, it was because that trust would come in handy later.
Shinji Zenin looked surprised at Jianxia's words.
Although Tengen's cursed technique was not top-secret information, even he, her friend, knew little about it.
Yet Jianxia had only just met Tengen and could already explain everything in one breath.
I was here first. Why do I feel so defeated...?
"The Chief of Auspicious. It seems you're hiding more secrets than I imagined."
Tengen was still in her original form and had yet to merge with a star plasma vessel. In theory, no one should have known the drawbacks of her cursed technique.
But Tengen chose not to ask how Jianxia had learned about them.
She simply nodded, confirming what he had said.
"Heh, don't underestimate my information network!"
Jianxia smugly brushed back his hair before continuing.
"But Lady Tengen, surely you didn't come to the Zenin Clan just to catch up with the clan head?"
A shut-in of a thousand years, Tengen always stayed in an independent space constructed through barrier techniques whenever she had nothing to do.
Unless it was necessary, she absolutely refused to leave.
Jianxia suspected there had to be a reason for her visit to Shinji.
Sure enough, Tengen nodded, confirming his suspicion.
"I came to visit the Zenin Clan head because there is indeed something I would like his help with."
With that, Tengen took a scroll from inside her robes and unfurled it.
The scroll revealed a map of the Japanese Archipelago, its winding coastline almost indistinguishable from the images captured by modern high-resolution satellites.
"Cursed spirits are curses born from the negative emotions that leak from ordinary people. They are a threat that cannot be ignored anywhere in the world."
Jujutsu sorcerers could avoid leaking any cursed energy at all if they chose, and thus would not give rise to cursed spirits.
Ordinary people, however, could not control cursed energy. Cursed spirits were born from that unconscious leakage.
This was all common knowledge in Jujutsu Society. All three knew that Tengen's words were merely a prelude.
"For several decades now, I have been considering a question: if we allow this phenomenon to continue unchecked, what will the world look like a thousand years from now?"
No one could give an exact answer.
So none of the three replied, waiting for Tengen to continue.
"If cursed spirits continue to run rampant throughout the world, they will inevitably target ordinary people who have no means of fighting back."
"Jujutsu sorcerers, who can control cursed energy, are capable of defending themselves. As ordinary people die and jujutsu sorcerers survive, the latter will make up an ever-increasing proportion of society."
"Until, a thousand years from now, ordinary people disappear entirely, and only jujutsu sorcerers remain."
Tengen laid out her vision of the future in one breath. Shinji and Jianxia both sank into thought, while Megumi Zenin alone looked somewhat puzzled.
"Lady Tengen, wouldn't that be a good thing? If everyone were a jujutsu sorcerer, no more cursed spirits would be born!"
As a hands-on jujutsu sorcerer who spent her time exorcising cursed spirits, Megumi Zenin simply felt that a world free of their threat would be better.
Yet Jianxia seemed a little forlorn at her words, as though he had discovered that his favorite takeout restaurant would not accept his amazing discount coupon.
"No, Megumi. It isn't that simple."
Shinji shook his head. His initial thoughts had been the same as Megumi Zenin's, but he had quickly noticed the problem.
"Cursed spirits are certainly dangerous, but most lack intelligence and innate cursed techniques. A jujutsu sorcerer of the same level can deal with them without too much trouble."
A world with no ordinary people, populated entirely by jujutsu sorcerers, sounded wonderful. But a little careful thought revealed the problem.
"Even ordinary people have villains with malicious intentions among them. Curse users who can control cursed energy are far harder to deal with than cursed spirits."
Jianxia opened his eyes and picked up where Shinji had left off.
He liked cursed spirits because they were pure. Even if that purity was evil, with his training, that pure evil could be transformed into good.
Curse users were different. As humans, they were complex, unpredictable, and more intelligent than most cursed spirits.
In other words, in a world populated entirely by jujutsu sorcerers, a curse user capable of using a cursed technique could cause far more damage than an ordinary criminal.
"You are both correct. But what truly made me resolve to change that future was that man."
Tengen did not name him, but everyone present knew whom she meant.
The strongest jujutsu sorcerer in history, the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna.
"Ryomen Sukuna, a walking natural disaster... If Japan produced only one such man, that would be manageable. But if ordinary people ceased to exist, there would certainly be more than one powerful being like Sukuna."
"When that happens, human civilization will disappear completely, reverting to a jungle where the strong prey upon the weak... That would be the true age of the end of the Dharma."
At that point, Tengen looked at Shinji Zenin, then pointed to the map of Japan spread across the table.
"That is why I have decided to construct a great barrier covering all of Japan, drawing all the world's cursed energy into Japan and preventing all of humanity from becoming jujutsu sorcerers."
"But it would be difficult to accomplish alone. That is why I intend to bring together the heads of the Gojo, Kamo, and Zenin clans, all experts in barrier techniques, to construct this great barrier."
"And on that foundation, I intend to completely overturn the Fujiwara Clan's control over jujutsu sorcerer resources and establish a Sorcerer Training Center dedicated to training them. Head of the Zenin Clan, will you assist me?"
Tengen's tone was earnest, nothing like the war criminal she would be a thousand years later. She was sincerely considering the future of all humanity and jujutsu sorcerers.
Shinji Zenin did not agree immediately. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Jianxia.
His intention was clear: he wanted to know what Jianxia, the Chief of Auspicious, would decide.
Jianxia rubbed his chin, then gave his answer.
"You make a good case, Tengen, but I have another idea about this plan. It needs a little adjustment."
Before you continue