Jianxia brought Tengen and Kamo Michisada to the Zenin Clan's reception room, where Shinji Zenin had already been waiting for some time.
The three old hands from the Heian Era exchanged a few pleasantries before getting down to business.
But their discussion revolved around the technical details of establishing a great barrier, leaving Jianxia unable to get a word in. Five minutes later, he excused himself to use the bathroom and left the reception room.
Once outside, Jianxia stretched and decided to look for Uraume and Megumi Zenin.
After spending all this time together, those two had become firm friends.
They coordinated perfectly when exorcising cursed spirits every night, and Uraume could now even exorcise a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit alone.
As for Zenin Wu Yan?
Whatever. Forget about him.
At first, he had only obeyed Shinji Zenin because of a binding vow. By now, he had fallen completely to the dark side.
Since both Shinji Zenin and Shinichi Zenin were heads of the Zenin Clan, surely it didn't matter whose orders he followed?
Whether he preferred the atmosphere in Hiraizumi or had genuinely been won over by Shinji's massage skills was anyone's guess.
In any case, even after learning in the second week that Jianxia wasn't Sukuna, Zenin Wu Yan hadn't fled. Instead, he continued dutifully carrying out his orders.
Jianxia followed the corridor to the stables outside the residence. Uraume had just led a horse out and should still have been nearby.
But when he arrived, he found not only Uraume but Megumi Zenin as well-and a white-haired man Jianxia didn't recognize.
Megumi Zenin didn't look to be in a good mood. Her whole body was trembling, clearly from the effort of suppressing her anger.
Uraume stood beside her, staring at the white-haired man with a deep frown.
"Please take back what you just said, head of the Gojo Clan!"
Despite her fury, Megumi Zenin still kept her wording restrained.
But the man she had addressed as the Gojo Clan head remained unmoved. He wore a black blindfold, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly upward.
"Oh, are you angry? But I don't think I said anything wrong."
The Gojo Clan head spread his hands helplessly, as though merely stating a fact.
"After all, of the three clans allied with Lord Tengen, your Zenin Clan really is the weakest, isn't it?"
With that, the Gojo Clan head bent down and brought his face close to Megumi Zenin's. "If you don't believe me, try attacking. Don't worry-you're so weak that you couldn't possibly hurt me."
After the Gojo Clan head's repeated provocations, Megumi Zenin finally reached her limit.
She leaped backward to put some distance between them, then formed a hand sign that looked like an elephant from the side.
"Max Elephant!"
As the Ten Shadows Technique activated, a giant pink elephant climbed out of the shadows. At Megumi Zenin's command, it sprayed a torrent of water at the Gojo Clan head.
However angry she was, Megumi Zenin remembered that he was her father's ally. She couldn't launch a genuinely life-threatening attack.
But embarrassing him a little was still well within bounds.
Faced with the surging water, the Gojo Clan head made no attempt to dodge. Instead, he stood with his arms folded, waiting for the attack to reach him.
The water Max Elephant sprayed swept over the spot where the Gojo Clan head stood. But when the torrent ended, he wasn't the drenched mess she had expected.
The Gojo Clan head remained in exactly the same pose, without so much as a stain on the hem of his clothes.
"How is that possible..." Megumi Zenin didn't understand what had happened and took a step back. "The water clearly swallowed him up. How is he completely fine?"
Seeing Megumi Zenin's reaction, the Gojo Clan head lifted his head as though his scheme had succeeded and picked up a stone from the ground.
"My cursed technique is Limitless. It's a little complicated to explain."
The Gojo Clan head tossed the stone into the air. As it fell, it stopped in midair as though it had struck something.
"Basically, anything I don't allow can't get close to me. There's an infinite distance between your attack and me."
The Gojo Clan head flicked the stone away, then turned toward Jianxia, who had been standing to one side for some time.
"Are you the Chief of Auspicious? The Zenin Clan head mentioned you in his letter." The Gojo Clan head walked slowly toward Jianxia, sizing him up. "You have even less total cursed energy than that little girl. Don't tell me you're all show?"
For some reason, this white-haired Limitless user's personality closely resembled that of the one a thousand years later, constantly giving Jianxia a sense of déjà vu.
Jianxia narrowed his eyes slightly and said without emotion, "Before asking who someone is, wouldn't it be more appropriate to introduce yourself?"
The Gojo Clan head paused, seemingly surprised that Jianxia didn't recognize him. But he quickly recovered and laughed.
"You really won't let anything slide, will you? I'm Gojo Gen, head of the Gojo Clan." Gojo Gen gave a slight nod, his interest piqued as well. "Then could you tell me your name, Chief?"
"My name is Jianxia. Before we discuss anything, please let me go over your earlier conversation."
Jianxia gave Uraume a meaningful look. Understanding immediately, Uraume had Megumi Zenin dismiss her technique and brought her over to Jianxia.
"Megumi, what did the Gojo Clan head say to you just now?"
Megumi Zenin seemed not to have recovered from the shock. Only after Uraume gently nudged her with an elbow did she come back to her senses.
Then Megumi Zenin took a deep breath and calmed herself. "Chief, the Gojo Clan head questioned the Zenin Clan's strength. He said we were only able to participate in Lord Tengen's plan because of Father's mastery of barrier techniques, and that we had nothing else worth mentioning."
Gojo Gen nodded, apparently quite satisfied with Megumi Zenin's account. The gesture instantly stoked her still-simmering anger.
But Jianxia put out a hand to stop Megumi Zenin from erupting and turned toward the instigator.
"Head of the Gojo Clan, my request is the same as Megumi's. Could you please take that back?" Jianxia looked at the pitch-black blindfold. "Megumi may not be the brightest child, but your words dismissed all the effort she's put in."
"Huh? Not the brightest? Me?"
The moment Megumi Zenin spoke, Uraume caught her hand, leaving her no choice but to obediently shut her mouth.
"Ah, take it back? Of course. But I have one condition!" Gojo Gen raised a finger, his tone full of flippancy.
Then he removed the black blindfold he had been wearing, revealing his brilliant blue eyes.
Those eyes were, beyond any doubt-
"The Six Eyes."
Even though Jianxia had already guessed, seeing them in person felt different.
"You actually know about them? Looks like I underestimated you." Gojo Gen wasn't particularly surprised. Instead, his interest deepened. "If any of you can beat me, I'll comply unconditionally with whatever you ask. How does that sound?"
His tone was casual, as though he were talking about what he'd eaten for lunch.
Jianxia considered it, then asked again to confirm, "Anything at all?"
"Anything at all-as long as it's something I can do." Gojo Gen added that qualification without giving it much thought. "But there's really no need for you to think so hard about it. You'd only be wasting your time."
Suddenly, Gojo Gen's entire demeanor turned serious, and cursed energy began pouring out of his body.
Jianxia narrowed his eyes slightly. That vast amount of cursed energy exceeded House-Maker and Banquet of Fated Remnants combined, already far surpassing an ordinary special grade cursed spirit.
Then Gojo Gen met Jianxia's gaze and smiled faintly.
"After all, I'm the strongest."
Before you continue