"I'm almost ten years older than you, you know, little boy."
A teasing look crossed Shoko's face. She recalled their first meeting again. If he hadn't been so young, staring at someone all that time really would have left a bad impression.
Though perhaps not necessarily...
"In other words, when I was in middle school, you were probably still babbling. If I'd met you back then, I probably would have squished you mercilessly."
Smiling, Shoko raised a hand and pinched Yue Liusi's cheek.
"After all, this face must have been adorable when you were little."
Yue Liusi merely gave her a rather speechless glance.
Although what she said was true, it sounded weird, okay?
"And when I was already in high school, you probably hadn't even started elementary school."
Shoko wasn't troubled by her age. She was simply reflecting on it.
Still, now that she thought about it, she really was curious about what Yue Liusi had looked like as a child. There was certainly no chance to see that now, though.
As for the future...
"That's fine. It's not like you can't keep being a high school girl now."
Yue Liusi spread his hands. After all, Satoru Gojo was already thirty. If he put on a high school uniform, who could tell?
The same went for Shoko.
It was just that her languid air was a little too obvious.
Shoko merely rewarded his words with an eye roll.
If you want to see it, why ask in such a roundabout way?
Time passed.
Before long, it was late at night.
Yue Liusi lay quietly on the sofa.
At that moment, he was communicating with the Yin Nine-Tails.
Although he was already a Perfect Jinchuriki, truthfully, this was his first experience with the Nine Tails' power.
His battle with Yuta Okkotsu had only given him a little familiarity with it.
He hadn't learned to use the Nine Tails' power step by step, so he still needed to explore it carefully.
"Asleep already...?"
Shoko had wanted to try making a late-night snack or something, but it seemed there was no need now.
In that case, next time.
Studying Yue Liusi's peaceful face, she suddenly smiled.
She remembered her earlier impression of Yue Liusi, the thoughts that had arisen when he reminded her of Satoru Gojo.
His strength is the reason, but what about you?
Why are you lonely?
She had once tried to understand Yue Liusi with those questions in mind.
As for the answer, she had never found out.
But fortunately, things would be different from now on...
"The scent knocked you out last night, huh?"
Yue Liusi smiled and tickled the little fox under the chin as it perched on his shoulder, his voice carrying a teasing note.
Of course, some of that teasing was directed at himself.
When he had left the mental space where the Nine Tails resided last night, he had discovered that he was actually in Shoko's bed.
He hadn't intended to impose.
But since he already had, he had simply gone ahead and slept.
The little fox nuzzled Yue Liusi's hand, looking utterly endearing and innocent.
The Yin Nine-Tails Yue Liusi possessed was a brand-new one, its mind no different from a newborn child's, though it lacked none of its abilities.
The little fox was made purely of chakra and only looked like a real fox. As for why it had come out, naturally, it was because a child couldn't sit still and wanted some fresh air.
Yue Liusi's current location was none other than the Zenin Clan's estate.
He was merely waiting.
Waiting for the birth of the tyrant.
"It really does look luxurious. Just what you'd expect from a clan with such a long history. Too bad it won't be around much longer..."
No wonder they say the old Clan Head is as cunning as a fox. Who knows where he's run off to by now...
It wasn't as though Yue Liusi hadn't wondered whether his presence might change what happened to the Zenin sisters.
After all, he was no longer just a little butterfly.
Unfortunately, things had still reached this point.
He had already arrived here when Mai had been dragged back to the Zenin Clan.
Elsewhere, Ogi Zenin had already thrown the sisters into the punishment chamber.
"So what if Heavenly Restriction gives you a special body? We sorcerers train every day, then use cursed energy to strengthen our bodies further..."
"Maki, everyone has that strength of yours, and theirs is the real deal."
In a dark corner of the punishment chamber, Yue Liusi listened to Ogi Zenin's lengthy speech. This physique everyone supposedly had...
Don't make your tyrant laugh.
Was a strengthened body the same thing as an inherently powerful one?
Watching Ogi Zenin leave, Yue Liusi was in no hurry to reveal himself.
Time ticked by.
With the appearance of that long blade, the link between the twins gradually approached collapse.
"It really is being constructed from pure cursed energy..."
Yue Liusi couldn't help marveling. The speed of that conversion between energy and matter was quite astonishing.
He had to admit, many cursed techniques in Jujutsu Society possessed rule-level abilities. Unfortunately, their fundamental tier placed a hard limit on everything.
Sukuna was essentially a cook, merely the strongest of ancient times with enough brute force to make anything work.
Yet he was still a being who had dominated an entire era.
"Destroy everything."
"All of it, okay?"
"Sister..."
Yue Liusi raised an eyebrow, his gaze falling on the little fox on his shoulder. He hadn't imagined it. The voices had come through the Yin Nine-Tails.
Seriously? You can hear the mental world linked by the twins?
Isn't that even more outrageous than mind reading?
Since when did the Yin Nine-Tails have this ability?
Sensing the Yin Nine-Tails' thoughts, Yue Liusi grew even more surprised.
His ocular power had combined with the Nine-Tails Chakra?
He immediately turned his attention inward to investigate, and soon discovered that, just as the Yin Nine-Tails had sensed, the Sharingan's ocular power was gradually merging with the Nine-Tails Chakra.
And the core medium facilitating it was actually emotional energy!
In other words, cursed energy.
So a change like this had actually occurred...
Not only had this given the Yin Nine-Tails and him a preliminary ability to perceive other people's mental worlds, but in the future, they might even be able to substitute Nine-Tails Chakra for ocular power...
Originally, ocular power and chakra had been separate, but now...
At this thought, Yue Liusi also formed a plan.
He could research this more in the future. Perhaps after awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, even greater changes might occur.
Ultimately, this was no longer a purely ninjutsu-based system.
At that moment, Maki Zenin had already risen with a calm expression, ready to first clear out the cursed spirits in the punishment chamber.
Just then, Yue Liusi landed lightly beside Mai Zenin.
"Yue..."
Maki Zenin, who had been utterly desolate, froze when she saw who had come. The resentment and pain in her heart also came to a halt.
His arrival was undoubtedly unexpected.
"Go do what you should."
"Leave the rest to me."
Yue Liusi lifted the already lifeless Mai Zenin from the floor. He didn't look at Maki Zenin, merely speaking softly.
The surrounding cursed spirits rapidly dissolved without a sound.
At Yue Liusi's words, a tiny glimmer of hope appeared in Maki Zenin's eyes. As she turned away, they once again filled with intense killing intent.
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