Hands in his pockets

The Zenin Clan's main gate stood several meters tall, crafted from century-old agarwood and covered in defensive runes.

Yet someone outside had, with sheer, overwhelming violence,

kicked it to pieces in a single blow!

Amid flying wood splinters and the flashes of shattered runes,

a boy in a black hoodie strolled brazenly inside, both hands in his pockets.

"Yo."

Yagami Jue looked at the hundreds of jujutsu sorcerers packed before him, all poised for battle.

His lips curled into a savage grin of utter cruelty.

"Quite the turnout."

"Ready to hand over my money, then?"

Silence.

Deathly silence.

In the magnificent courtyard that bore centuries of Zenin Clan history, hundreds of jujutsu sorcerers stood frozen.

They stared at the slender boy in black by the gate, their eyes filled with utter disbelief!

"How is that possible?!"

"The gate had a defensive formation engraved on it that could withstand attacks from special grade cursed spirits!"

"He actually... kicked it apart in one blow?!"

Seated at the head of the gathering, Naobito Zenin's pupils abruptly contracted!

He had heard that Yagami Jue possessed immense physical strength, but seeing this impossible sight firsthand still sent a chill through him.

"Arrogant monkey!"

A deeply wrinkled elder of high standing in the Zenin Clan roared.

"How dare you destroy our clan's centuries-old legacy!"

"Activate the formation! Kill him!"

Boom!

At the elder's command,

the stone pillars at the four corners of the courtyard erupted with blinding cursed energy!

Four thick, purple chains of cursed energy burst out of the ground like monstrous pythons, shooting straight toward Yagami Jue's arms and legs!

"That's the Zenin Clan's Clan-Protecting Formation-the Four Violet Flames Formation!"

"Once it binds you, even a special grade will have their cursed energy drained dry in an instant!"

Several young clan members on the outskirts shouted excitedly.

Facing this thunderous formation attack,

Yagami Jue kept both hands in his pockets, showing no intention of dodging.

"Playing with chains?"

He sneered.

"I fucking hate being tied down."

Snap!

The four thick purple chains wrapped firmly around Yagami Jue's limbs!

"We caught him!"

Wild delight flashed in the elder's eyes.

"Drain him dry! Grind him into mincemeat!"

But then,

a second later,

the wild delight on the elder's face froze completely.

Creak... creak...

The cursed energy chains, powerful enough to immobilize a special grade cursed spirit, groaned under unbearable strain around Yagami Jue's limbs!

"Drain me dry?"

Yagami Jue raised his head slightly, a vicious red gleam flashing in his deep, black eyes.

"This body of mine could crush the heavens themselves!"

"And you think these lousy chains can hold me?"

"Fucking shatter!"

Boom!!!!!

Yagami Jue jerked both arms!

Over twenty-five thousand points of absolute strength erupted!

Crack! Crack!

Those four supposedly indestructible cursed energy chains proved as brittle as dry instant noodles under the sheer force of his muscles.

He snapped them apart into a shower of purple light!

Splurt!

The four Zenin Clan elites controlling the formation suffered a devastating backlash, each coughing up a mouthful of blood before passing out!

The entire courtyard fell deathly silent!

Everyone in the Zenin Clan widened their eyes and sucked in a sharp breath!

"Is... is that something a fucking human can do?!"

"He broke the Four Violet Flames Formation with nothing but his body?!"

"A monster! That kid's a fucking monster!"

Overwhelming fear began spreading through the crowd.

Yagami Jue brushed the dust from his sleeves, sweeping his gaze over the sorcerers whose legs were trembling with fear, and curled his lips into a cruel sneer.

"Done playing with your formation?"

"Then it's my turn."

Whoosh!

Before his words had even faded,

Yagami Jue vanished from where he stood!

Over twenty-six thousand points of sheer speed!

He did not even leave an afterimage!

Bang!

With a terrifying sonic boom as he broke the sound barrier,

Yagami Jue appeared before the elder who had given the orders!

"Old bastard, you've got quite a loud mouth."

Yagami Jue's icy voice rang like a death sentence.

"Y-you... what are you going to do?!"

The elder shuddered in terror and was just about to summon cursed energy to defend himself.

"Die!"

Yagami Jue drove a straight punch forward like a heavy cannon!

Bang!!!!!

An incredibly deep, thunderous impact rang out!

The elder, who possessed Semi-Grade 1 strength, did not even have time to scream.

That terrifying punch blasted his entire upper body into a cloud of crimson blood!

Only his two legs remained, collapsing limply to the ground.

An instant kill!

"Grand Elder!"

"Bastard! Kill him!"

Several Zenin Clan elites close to the elder charged forward, their eyes red with rage and their cursed tools raised!

"Perfect!"

Yagami Jue threw his head back and laughed wildly, his eyes blazing with the lust for battle!

"System!"

"Eight Gates Formation, First Gate! Opening Gate! Open!"

Boom!

His physical strength and speed instantly doubled!

Yagami Jue became a black reaper, wildly harvesting lives through the crowd!

Bang! Crack! Splurt!

There were no flashy moves.

Only the purest, most absolute domination through violence!

One punch shattered a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer's chest!

One kick snapped a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer's spine!

With a chop of his hand, he cleaved those so-called special grade cursed tools in half, along with their wielders!

In less than a minute,

rivers of blood ran across the Zenin Clan's broad square!

Dozens of clan elites had become severed limbs strewn across the ground!

"A demon... he's a demon!"

The remaining jujutsu sorcerers broke down completely, throwing aside their weapons and fleeing madly toward the Inner Court.

Just then,

"Enough!"

A furious shout exploded over the courtyard like thunder!

A lightning-fast figure shot from the head seat and blocked Yagami Jue's path!

Naobito Zenin!

The Zenin Clan head, known as the "fastest jujutsu sorcerer," had finally lost his patience and intervened!

"Projection Sorcery!"

Naobito Zenin moved at incredible speed, leaving countless overlapping afterimages in the air.

He thrust both palms toward Yagami Jue!

"Freeze, you arrogant monkey!"

Smack!

Naobito Zenin's palm successfully touched Yagami Jue's shoulder.

"Got you!"

Wild delight flashed in Naobito Zenin's eyes.

Anything touched by Projection Sorcery, even a special grade cursed spirit, would be forcibly frozen for one second!

But then,

a second later,

the wild delight on his face froze completely, just as it had on his dead son Naoya Zenin's face.

"Impossible..."

Naobito Zenin realized in horror

that his cursed technique could not freeze Yagami Jue's body into a frame!

Instead, the terrifying recoil sent a wave of numbness through his own arm!

"Old bastard, your son used that same move before I beat him to death."

Yagami Jue turned his head, his black eyes filled with mockery.

"Do you really think you're that much better than him?"

Bang!

Yagami Jue lashed out with a whipping kick, slamming it viciously into Naobito Zenin's waist!

Crack!

With the crisp sound of breaking bones,

Naobito Zenin let out a muffled groan and flew backward as though struck by a speeding train, crashing through more than a dozen courtyard walls before landing heavily in the rubble!

"Clan Head!"

The Zenin Clan fell into utter despair.

Even their strongest fighter, their clan head, could not withstand a single blow from this monster!

"Too weak."

Yagami Jue lowered his leg and curled his lip in disdain.

"Is this all one of the mighty Three Great Families has to offer?"

"If that's it, I'll slaughter every last one of you today and empty your vault!"

Just as Yagami Jue was about to begin the massacre,

Boom!

A terrifying surge of special grade cursed energy, almost tangible in its intensity, suddenly erupted from the deepest part of the Zenin Clan's Inner Court!

The aura was so powerful that even the surrounding air grew thick!

"Oh?"

Yagami Jue stopped, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Finally, someone a little interesting."

A tall man in old-fashioned samurai attire slowly emerged from the Inner Court, holding a strange long sword.

A long sword scar marked his face, and his eyes held a cold indifference toward all living things.