Killer Queen silently appeared behind Chingetsu. "Two!"
Killer Queen had already raised his hand.
Finally, just before the count reached three, three figures emerged from the darkness. Leading them was a thin, middle-aged man in a black suit.
Behind the middle-aged man stood two young men dressed the same way.
The thin, middle-aged man approached Chingetsu, looking him over with uncertainty and suspicion. "You're Gojo Chingetsu?"
The thin man asked tentatively.
According to the information he had received, Gojo Chingetsu was merely an ordinary person without any cursed energy.
But he had just witnessed this supposedly ordinary person easily kill a Grade 3 cursed spirit with a bizarre cursed technique.
If the information was accurate, then this fellow named Gojo Chingetsu must have possessed a high-grade cursed tool capable of easily exorcising cursed spirits.
There was no other explanation.
At that thought, a barely perceptible trace of greed surfaced in the thin man's eyes. A high-grade cursed tool!
That was a high-grade cursed tool.
If he could obtain a high-grade cursed tool, his position within the clan would certainly rise. It might even be possible for him to enter the clan's inner circle of power.
At that thought, the thin man's gaze grew even more eager.
Chingetsu saw every change in the thin man's expression.
The instant the man appeared, he had recognized his identity from the pattern on his buttons. It was the Gojo Clan's crest.
In other words.
These men in black were none other than members of the Cursed Spirit Hunting Squad, the jujutsu sorcerer unit directly under the Gojo Clan.
Chapter 3: The hypocrisy of jujutsu clans
Most members of the Cursed Spirit Hunting Squad came from branch families of the Gojo Clan. They obeyed the Gojo Clan head's orders, handling the clan's cursed spirit hunting assignments. Sometimes, they also worked as assassins, carrying out deeds for the Gojo Clan that could not see the light of day.
One could say that the Cursed Spirit Hunting Squad was a sharp blade in the Gojo Clan's hand. Only now, that blade had come for him.
What did they want?
A cold smile appeared on Chingetsu's lips. In the Gojo Clan, where interests came first, there was no such thing as sudden concern. Nothing good could come of these people seeking him out.
Chingetsu sensed the thin man's aura. He should have reached the standard of a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer. A jujutsu sorcerer of this level counted as quite a capable combatant even among the three great clans.
But Chingetsu, who had awakened his Stand, was not nervous.
A Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer might count as powerful to others, but against him, that was not enough. This was the absolute confidence Chingetsu had built over years of battling cursed spirits.
Compared with his previous combat strength and experience, Chingetsu truly thought little of a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer. Still, the man had come from the clan, after all.
Chingetsu was also very curious about why he had come.
He wanted to see just what the Gojo Clan, which had not contacted him in so long, was up to.
Seeing that Chingetsu did not answer, the thin man took a phone from inside his jacket, opened a portrait, and compared it with the youth before him.
That's right, it's him. He's Gojo Chingetsu!
After confirming his target, the thin man put away his phone and donned a false smile. "Young Master Chingetsu, the Gojo Clan head sent us to bring you home."
Although the thin man's tone was respectful, his hand reached straight for Chingetsu's arm. This was hardly a friendly gesture.
Home? What home?
Chingetsu did not believe that rotten-to-the-core clan would suddenly find kindness in its heart and summon a discarded member home. After all, there was only so much power within the clan, with too many people fighting over too little. Those old men did not even have enough to divide among themselves.
At that thought, Chingetsu's lips curved into a mocking smile.
Evading the thin man's outstretched hand without any obvious movement, Chingetsu tucked the cat into the chest of his loose trench coat and spoke without raising his head.
"The Gojo Clan? That name has nothing to do with me anymore. If you have no other business, you can leave." Fighting a pack of mad dogs over scraps of meat was something he could not do, nor did he deign to.
His goal was to become the strongest, not to grub for petty gains alongside a bunch of sewer maggots. "You! Gojo Chingetsu, is that how you speak to your elders!"
The thin man's expression darkened, and his voice suddenly rose.
Although he was only a branch member of the Gojo Clan, he was still a noble jujutsu sorcerer.
Calling the boy "young master" had already been beneath his dignity, yet the boy had failed to appreciate it. Chingetsu continued teasing the cat in his arms, offering no comment.
An elder? You think you're worthy?
Although Chingetsu said nothing, the thin man could glean that meaning from his perfunctory response. Outrageous. Absolutely outrageous!
Sensing a slight stir from the younger men behind him, the thin man felt himself losing face. This Gojo Chingetsu was rather too arrogant.
According to the information, Gojo Chingetsu was just an ordinary person.
Although his hand-to-hand combat skills were good, and he might have just used a high-grade cursed tool to kill a Grade 3 cursed spirit, it was only a Grade 3 cursed spirit. As a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer, he could handle one easily himself.
A main-family member without cursed energy, even a young master of the Gojo Clan, was actually lower in status than a branch-family Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer like him.
Damn it, a useless brat without cursed energy actually dares speak to me in that tone!
Gojo Chingetsu, you really are arrogant. Do you truly think you're a clan genius like Satoru Gojo? The more the thin man thought about it, the angrier he became, feeling that his dignity as a jujutsu sorcerer had been challenged.
But the clan's assignment had specified that Gojo Chingetsu must be brought back.
Forcing down his resentment, the thin man spoke again.
"Mind your position, Young Master Chingetsu."
"I'll give you one more chance. Cooperate and return to the clan with us. This is my final warning."
Heh, after all these years, these people are still so high and mighty, so full of themselves. Even when asking someone for something, they sound as though they're handing out charity.
That's exactly what makes me sick.
This time, Chingetsu could not even be bothered to listen. He simply turned to leave. "Hmph. Since you refuse to appreciate our kindness, don't blame me for getting rough." The thin man's expression turned so dark it seemed water might drip from it. Chingetsu's attitude had thoroughly infuriated him.
An eerie green light surged in the thin man's palm. Driven by cursed energy, the strange green glow struck toward Chingetsu's back like a venomous snake.
The thin man was very confident in his attack. This move was extremely fast, and he was attacking an unsuspecting target.
His opponent was merely a boy without cursed energy. There was no way he could counter this move. "That high-grade cursed tool is mine!"
Chapter 4: Having provoked me, surely you're prepared to die
"That high-grade cursed tool is mine!"
The green snake formed from cursed energy had already bared its fangs. A smile of assured victory appeared on the thin man's face.
Before he set out on the assignment, his superior had told him that all he needed to do was bring Gojo Chingetsu back to the clan. As for whether Gojo Chingetsu was dead or alive?
Recalling his superior's meaningful smile, the thin man increased the rate of his cursed energy output.
His humiliation and anger at feeling slighted, combined with his greed for Gojo Chingetsu's high-grade cursed tool, made the thin man's attack ruthless from the outset.
If the green snake bit his opponent, an ordinary person without cursed energy would have no chance of survival! The thin man brimmed with confidence, as though Gojo Chingetsu's high-grade cursed tool were already his.
But the next second, his smile froze on his face. This...
How is this possible!
The thin man stared in disbelief at the scene before him.
The green snake formed by jujutsu abruptly stopped a centimeter behind Chingetsu's back, writhing in pain as though something had seized it.
Vaguely, the thin man seemed to glimpse a pink humanoid silhouette flash past. Was that an illusion?
The thin man instinctively sensed that something was wrong.
He could sense no trace of cursed energy from Chingetsu, but that silhouette gave him an immense sense of pressure. He had only ever felt this from certain extremely powerful cursed spirits.
And those cursed spirits had all been Grade 1 at the very least.
The fleeting humanoid silhouette made the thin man even more certain that Gojo Chingetsu possessed some extremely mysterious cursed tool.
This mysterious cursed tool could summon some powerful being, similar to a shikigami, to serve its summoner. Otherwise, why would a discarded clan member without cursed energy attract the attention of the higher-ups?
The higher-ups must have discovered Gojo Chingetsu's secret and wanted it for themselves. That's why this assignment exists.
Countless guesses flashed through the thin man's mind in an instant. That must be it!
Only that could explain everything happening now. Confusion, shock, doubt, realization, greed.
Chingetsu saw every change in the thin man's expression.
"You still have the leisure to think about so many things at a time like this. Looks like spending too long with those higher-ups has left your brains moldy and rotten too."
"How pathetic."
A mocking smile lifted Chingetsu's lips as he looked at the thin man and spoke softly. "Since you've attacked me, I assume you're prepared for what comes next."
Chingetsu stopped stroking the cat with his right hand, seized the thin man's Cursed Energy Green Snake, and crushed it. This seemingly casual movement felt as though it had viciously squeezed the thin man's heart. This is bad. Really bad!
There's something strange about this guy.
Alarm bells rang in the thin man's mind, and a trace of wariness entered his gaze as he looked at Chingetsu. Just now, he had lost his connection to the Cursed Energy Green Snake.
Gojo Chingetsu had used some unknown means to sever his connection to the Cursed Energy Green Snake! Even without cursed energy, this guy was absolutely no ordinary person!
Before you continue