Crime and punishment

Imagine!

He...

In an instant, a pair of scarlet eyes filled the entire world before her!

Her thoughts stopped instantly, and hundreds of ways she could die flashed through her mind.

By the time she came to her senses, Yue Liusi had already passed her and continued on.

Her body trembled, her legs gave way, and she fell straight to her knees, letting the downpour wash over her.

Her eyes were vacant. The icy rain could not begin to compare to the bone-deep chill in her heart.

Too... too terrifying...

After the fierce battle, the remaining Jujutsu Sorcerers scattered and fled as well, no longer daring to stay.

The Three Great Families had suffered devastating losses in this battle.

Yet even after paying such a price, never mind stopping him-they had not even managed to put a scratch on Yue Liusi.

They had overestimated themselves and underestimated Yue Liusi.

Without fighting, they would never have known just how vast the true gap was.

Yue Liusi had already arrived outside the secret chamber.

His Lava Release Chakra Mode had been deactivated. He had certainly consumed a considerable amount of chakra, but what remained would be enough.

He looked at the tightly shut door before him, his expression calm.

Presumably, these people had intended to band together and concentrate their strength, denying him the chance to pick them off individually. After all, he was only one person.

As it turned out, they had only made things easier for him.

Tracking them down one by one would have been far too much trouble.

Yue Liusi pushed open the main door. The soft sound fell into the silent corridor like the whisper of the god of death.

Pillars stood throughout the dim corridor, their centers hollowed out to hold burning candles that provided a faint light.

The already gloomy atmosphere felt even more oppressive now.

Yue Liusi advanced step by step, his footsteps clearly audible.

The sound of heavy chains echoed through the corridor and reached the ears of the Higher-Ups. Yue Liusi simply opened the door and walked in.

The room was extremely dark, illuminated only by a beam of light focused on its center. All the Higher-Ups hid behind doors arranged around the center; ordinarily, only their voices could be heard, while they remained unseen.

The purpose of this design was simple: those summoned would face a ring of unknown doors, unable to see anyone, leaving them psychologically vulnerable and isolated.

It was a simple tactic, but it symbolized the power of the Higher-Ups.

"So, it's Yue Liusi... Come to think of it, we've never met before."

An elderly voice rang out, carrying a measure of warmth and goodwill.

In fact, they had long since received word from Kenjaku about Yue Liusi's arrival, which was why they had made preparations.

They had initially held out hope that the information was wrong. Now, it seemed Yue Liusi was far more arrogant than they had imagined.

Naturally, however, they could never say any of this aloud.

Yue Liusi did not respond. Instead, he swept his gaze around the room and spoke with interest.

"So you huddle in this tiny room to decide whether everyone lives or dies?"

The unexpected words silenced them all.

How were they supposed to respond to that?

"We merely issue decisions and orders. Naturally, there is no need for a particularly spacious place."

"Ahem. What a young genius. I imagine even Satoru Gojo cannot compare to you."

One voice after another reached Yue Liusi's ears.

"Have you come to us because of Shoko Ieiri?"

"About that, those were all people acting on their own initiative. We can certainly hand them over to you. Shoko Ieiri is so important-how could we possibly lay a hand on her?"

"As for Yaga, we've already decided not to pursue the matter. After all, he's someone you wish to protect. Some special privileges are only to be expected."

"Exactly, exactly. This is all a misunderstanding..."

Yue Liusi listened quietly, unmoved.

"Say... now that things have come this far, is there really any need to keep up this charade?"

His words fell lightly, yet they silenced everyone.

After several seconds of silence, one of them spoke.

"What exactly do you mean?"

Yue Liusi merely smiled faintly, somewhat resigned.

"To be honest, I really dislike troublesome things, but... I'm not the indecisive type."

"Some things simply have to be done."

A cold gleam shone along the blade of the Ame-no-Murakumo Sword, as though it agreed with its master's words.

"Don't worry. Once you're dead, Okkotsu and old Gakuganji will lead some fresh blood to the top of Jujutsu Society. Things should be much better then."

With things spelled out so plainly, the Higher-Ups could no longer keep up their pretense.

"Your audacity knows no bounds!"

"Are you joking? Do you think you'll still have a place in Jujutsu Society after doing this?!"

"Exactly! If you act like this, you will become the common enemy of Jujutsu Society! Neither you nor the people around you will ever know another day of peace!"

"Leave now, while we still value your talent, and we can pretend nothing happened today."

"You bastard, you'd better think this through..."

Yue Liusi let out a soft breath.

"The dead don't need to worry about any of that."

"Any last words?"

"Damn you..."

A cold gleam flashed past, and a head fell to the floor along with a small section of a door. Yue Liusi stepped forward.

"I won't use cursed energy. Come at me together... If you fight back together, you might just have a slim chance of surviving."

Yet these old men clearly turned a deaf ear to Yue Liusi's words.

They finally deigned to emerge from behind their doors, scrambling to flee. Some even fell to the floor in terror and crawled backward on their hands and feet.

Not a single one was willing to fight back.

Watching their utterly wretched, ugly displays in the face of death, Yue Liusi shook his head gently.

"Suguru Geto was actually right..."

"You really are monkeys."

Yue Liusi finished off another person.

"D-don't come any closer!"

"We can give you anything you want! Everything is negotiable!"

"Stop! I said stop!"

So-called power was worthless in the face of death.

These old men feared change and swiftly snuffed out any budding threat to their power. Hidebound and stubborn, clinging to life and terrified of death, they should have died long ago.

A short while later, silence returned to the secret chamber.

For all their talk of being the Higher-Ups of Jujutsu Society, they were ultimately nothing more than old men accustomed to pampered lives.

Yue Liusi did not linger in the secret chamber.

The dim corridor remained unchanged, its candle flames flickering softly as always. At an unhurried pace, he retraced his path through the long corridor.

Once outside the main entrance, Yue Liusi stopped.

"The rain has eased..."

He raised his eyes to the sky. The clouds had already thinned somewhat, allowing a little sunlight to barely spill through the gaps.

That sliver of sunlight fell across his face, its warmth comfortable.

Sure enough... I should have killed them long ago.

He could feel his special chakra becoming more attuned to this world. That sense of smoothness was quite extraordinary.

Was it because I chose to intervene?

"To think I'd gain something like this, too..."

Yue Liusi murmured to himself. Just then, a voice he had not heard in a long time quietly sounded in his mind.

[Mission three completed]