Why such haste to torment your own?

"Zenin Wu Yan, what are you doing here?!"

At the Zenin Estate, Shinichi Zenin was trussed up tightly against a pillar in the backyard.

Not far from him stood Zenin Wu Yan, holding two wooden buckets.

Zenin Wu Yan turned his head away, unable to meet Shinichi Zenin's eyes.

"I thought Sukuna had killed you, so I came all the way to Hiraizumi to look for you. And here you are, working for an enemy of the court! Have you no shame?!"

When the other man had no answer, Shinichi Zenin grew even more aggressive, kicking him while he was down with a vicious tongue-lashing that made his already bowed head sink lower.

Though, given that he was tied up, Shinichi Zenin was the one who looked down and out to any onlooker.

"Oh, old friends catching up?"

Shinichi Zenin and Zenin Wu Yan looked toward the voice. It was Kamo Michisada.

Shinji Zenin arrived a little later, with several cursed spirit maids carrying things behind them.

Some of the maids carried the Giant Iron Pot on their shoulders, while others hauled the Large Stove.

Under Shinji's direction, the cursed spirits set up the cooking equipment securely between the two men.

For some reason, both Shinichi Zenin and Zenin Wu Yan felt a bad premonition stirring within them.

Seemingly troubled by what they were about to do, Shinji glanced at the pot before turning back to Kamo Michisada.

"Head of the Kamo Clan, do we really have to do this?"

"If you think you can get his purpose out of him, Head of the Zenin Clan, be my guest." Kamo Michisada shrugged and stepped aside.

Shinji hurried forward, stopping in front of Shinichi Zenin and looking him in the eyes. "Brother, why exactly did you come to Hiraizumi?"

Shinichi Zenin scoffed, instantly casting his earlier unease to the winds.

This foolish little brother of mine hasn't changed at all. Even facing someone who wants to hurt him, he still offers pointless kindness.

Had Shinichi Zenin been in charge, he would have attacked the moment Shinji set foot in Hiraizumi.

"What else would I be doing? Like I said-I came to see how my dear clansmen were faring!"

As he spoke, Shinichi Zenin raised his head and looked down his nose at them, as though righteousness were on his side.

But Shinji Zenin merely shook his head. Clearly, he did not believe his brother's claim.

"Brother, if you still refuse to see reason, I'll have no choice but to adopt the plan the head of the Kamo Clan proposed."

Shinji glanced back at Kamo Michisada before continuing, "Come clean now, and you can spare yourself a great deal of suffering."

Whether Shinichi Zenin was simply stubborn to the bitter end or Shinji's attitude was too forgiving, he only grew more arrogant.

"Suffering? Would you dare?! I even helped you exorcise your first cursed spirit! What could you possibly dare do to your older brother?!"

As he spoke, he tried to kick Shinji, who dodged backward just in time to keep a footprint off his clothes.

At that, the last shred of hope Shinji held for his own brother vanished. He walked dejectedly back to Kamo Michisada and let out a long sigh.

"Head of the Kamo Clan, I'll leave the rest to you."

With that, Shinji swept away, leaving Kamo Michisada in charge.

As Kamo Michisada turned his gaze toward him, that bad feeling crawled up Shinichi Zenin's spine again.

Only then did he realize that this black-haired man with the narrowed eyes was the most dangerous person in the entire estate.

"You lot, bring over some firewood-get the stove burning hot first."

At Kamo Michisada's command, the cursed spirits rushed toward the woodshed in the backyard.

Then he looked at Zenin Wu Yan beside him. "Wu Yan, take those two buckets and bring back something potent-the oldest stuff you can find."

Zenin Wu Yan's expression changed, but his binding vow prevented him from disobeying Shinji's ally. He could only pick up the buckets and jog away, head hanging.

Seeing this setup, Zenin Wu Yan thought Kamo Michisada was a cannibal with some bizarre fetish. Fear shot through him from the crown of his head to the tips of his toes.

"My lord! Lord Kamo! We can talk this through!" Shinichi Zenin struggled to loosen his ropes, but the specially made cursed tool only tightened the more he fought.

"Women and children taste much better than I do! Let me go, and I can bring you plenty of delicious people!"

All of Shinichi Zenin's earlier swagger was gone. He begged frantically for mercy.

But the more spineless he acted, the more Kamo Michisada loathed him.

"Your squawking is driving me mad. How could the head of the Zenin Clan have scum like you for a brother..."

He casually used Blood Manipulation. Blood seeped from his fingertips and turned into a cord, shooting out to wrap tightly around Shinichi Zenin's mouth until all he could produce were muffled whimpers.

"I don't have that sort of sick fetish. Besides, if I used water, wouldn't this be no different from ordinary cooking?"

Ever since the Zenin Clan had been flooded with foul water a while ago and he had been caught in it too, Kamo Michisada had started learning to swim. By now, he had fully mastered the skill.

But the mere memory of having his stomach filled with foul water made Kamo Michisada nauseous.

Why should I be the only one to experience something I'll remember for the rest of my life?

A little later, almost at the same time the cursed spirits returned with the firewood, Zenin Wu Yan came back carrying two full buckets.

As soon as he drew a little closer, Shinichi Zenin caught a stench that shot straight to the top of his skull.

He wanted to cover his nose and mouth immediately, but both his hands were bound. All he could do was keep silently savoring it.

Kamo Michisada took a deep breath, drawing an epic lungful of it. Only after savoring it for a long while did he speak leisurely.

"Yes, that's the smell. Cursed spirits, light the fire. Wu Yan, pour those two buckets into the pot, then fetch a few more."

Under Shinichi Zenin's vacant stare, Kamo Michisada directed the cursed spirits to stoke the fire while sending Zenin Wu Yan back again and again to scoop up well-aged shit. He himself stood beside the pot, stirring with a long stick.

As the temperature rose, the full stench of the excrement was unleashed, taking an already utterly revolting smell to new heights.

The intense odor came laced with waves of heat. Once it entered the nose, it lingered in the lungs, even layering over the stench inhaled afterward.

Zenin Wu Yan, tasked with scooping and pouring, had lifeless eyes. He carried out Kamo Michisada's orders numbly, like a cursed corpse.

Meanwhile, Kamo Michisada stirred the bubbling pot with abandon.

To Shinichi Zenin, he looked more terrifying at that moment than a hundred thousand cursed spirits combined.

"Lord Kamo! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! Just spare me!"

In the end, under that boundless pressure, Shinichi Zenin could not hold out and chose to surrender.

"I made a binding vow that I wouldn't do anything harmful to the Fujiwara Clan-I came to Hiraizumi to find Ryomen Sukuna and teach him a lesson!"

Holding his shit-stirring stick, Kamo Michisada looked up at Shinichi and motioned for him to continue.

Seeing him stop, Shinichi Zenin was overjoyed.

Who knows where U is now? For my own safety, my best option is to pretend to surrender and decide what to do later.

"Although I can't personally do anything that threatens the Fujiwara Clan, I can provide you with information-just let me go, and I'll tell you everything."

Unexpectedly, Kamo Michisada nodded and answered with complete seriousness, "Let you go? Sure-but first, you have to eat the initiation meal. Everyone's had it."

Then he picked up an iron ladle, scooped out a helping of the unidentified substance cooked into a thin, mushy slurry, and poured it into a bowl held by a cursed spirit beside him.

"Eat this bowlful, and I'll let you go-refusing won't help, because you just said you wanted to join us."

Obviously. If he didn't eat it, wouldn't all the effort I put into cooking this huge pot go to waste?

Under Shinichi Zenin's panicked gaze, an ugly cursed spirit in a crudely made maid outfit approached him.

Then the cursed spirit dipped a finger into the foul-smelling contents of the bowl and slowly brought it toward his mouth.

"Master~ Here comes the airplane~"