Seeking a Kindred Spirit Amid Mountains and Flowing Waters, Meeting Thunder in a Dung Pit at Rock Bottom

Next came the eighth match: Gojo versus Kamo.

When the opponent saw that Hajime Kashimo was once again taking the stage, he surrendered on the spot. Then he fled without looking back as Kashimo shouted, "Trash!" and "Coward!" after him.

What a joke. He didn't have any special fetishes!

With his level of strength, fighting the Thunder God would just be asking for a beating, wouldn't it?

He'd have to be drunk on fake booze not to run!

Once again denied a satisfying fight, Hajime Kashimo left the stage in disappointment and returned to the spectator seats.

"Damn it... If I'd known that strong guy called Chiba Kichi was going to fight, I wouldn't have let you go."

"Instead, I ran into another piece of trash!"

He poked Shiratori Gotsu in the kidney with his lightning staff.

"But you fought beautifully, didn't you? Well done!"

"Let's have another fight when we get back!"

"Sure, I'd be happy to!" Shiratori Gotsu smiled faintly, then snatched the lightning staff and poked Hajime Kashimo back in the kidney.

"How childish can you get?" Hajime Kashimo took back the staff and poked Shiratori Gotsu again.

"Why don't you take a look at yourself first?" Shiratori Gotsu snatched the staff back again...

Just as the two were about to fall into an endless cycle, the arrival of "Chiba Kichi"-or rather, Kenjaku-interrupted their childish exchange.

"Lord Shiratori, Lord Kashimo, might I have a word with the two of you in private?"

By now, his leg had almost completely healed.

He still wore the expression of a modest gentleman and spoke in the same refined manner.

Even Shiratori Gotsu had to admire Kenjaku in Kichi's Skin for how approachable he was.

"Good timing. I was planning to come find you too!"

Hajime Kashimo's eyes brimmed with fighting spirit, and he made no attempt to conceal it in his words.

"You're strong, so let's arrange a fight after the martial exhibition!"

"Don't be so impatient, Koshika!"

Shiratori Gotsu patted Hajime Kashimo on the shoulder, then turned to "Chiba Kichi."

"Let's talk outside, then. But don't take too long. We still have to come back and take part in the martial exhibition."

He wanted to see what that old troublemaker Kenjaku was up to.

In an open space on the outskirts of the Tombs of the Star Corridor, Kenjaku got straight to the point.

"Would the two of you like to see what the world will be like several hundred years from now?"

That direct, huh... Haji Ken, since you've dropped the act, I'll drop some bombshells too!

When Shiratori Gotsu thought about what he was about to do, he felt like laughing.

"Kenjaku, you're really enjoying yourself, pretending to be someone else!"

Those words struck Kenjaku like a sledgehammer to the head. It was almost as bad as being hit by Unlimited Void.

What did he just call me?

How could he know...?

Has my cover been blown...?

Or has someone been tracking me for a long time without my noticing?

Motherfucker...

Kenjaku's gaze sharpened.

"Shiratori Gotsu... how could you know..."

"I just do. As for how, don't worry about it."

Armed with his knowledge of the original story from before his transmigration, Shiratori Gotsu started dropping bombshells for fun.

"I don't just know that you're Kenjaku. I also know you've lived for at least six hundred years, and that you and Tengen used to be old friends."

"Also, you made some kind of deal with Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses, whose name struck fear into people's hearts in the Heian era six hundred years ago..."

"Stop!"

Kenjaku was genuinely starting to break out in a cold sweat.

Shiratori Gotsu, this man who suddenly appeared at Hajime Kashimo's side-how does he know everything?!

Could he be another old monster who's extended his life with a special Cursed Technique?

Or is he one of Tengen's people?

"Shiratori... no, Lord Shiratori, who... who exactly are you?"

Kenjaku was now prepared to go all out and eliminate the man before him, who knew almost everything about his past.

"Why are you so nervous?"

Looking at the shifting expressions on Kenjaku's face, which had originally belonged to Chiba Kichi, Shiratori Gotsu burst out laughing.

"Did I scare you?"

He raised a hand and patted Kenjaku on the shoulder. "Don't be so hasty. I'm very interested in you too~"

"How exactly did you learn all this?"

Kenjaku was now fully intent on killing Shiratori Gotsu, but before completely falling out with him and making his move, he still wanted to know where the man had gotten his information.

Otherwise, he would struggle to sleep peacefully for the next hundred years!

"You don't need to ask about that. My intelligence network is very capable!"

Shiratori Gotsu smiled faintly.

"And as for what you said at the start, about 'seeing the world several hundred years from now'..."

A novel idea suddenly occurred to him.

Strictly speaking, there weren't any particularly interesting major events taking place in this period.

If he just took a quick look around and called it a day, wouldn't that be far too boring?

He had come here to have fun in the first place!

Kenjaku had made it clear: "The world several hundred years from now."

Without a doubt, he had approached them to prepare for the Culling Game that would take place later.

He was collecting ancient Jujutsu Sorcerers he could use!

As it happened, Shiratori Gotsu wasn't content to stop here either, and, just as conveniently, Kenjaku had come to him of his own accord...

Meeting thunder in a dung pit at rock bottom—what a coincidence!

"...I'm very interested in that!"

"Don't worry, I won't interfere with you... but I have a few conditions to discuss."

"If you're still interested, come find me at Hajime Kashimo's house after this martial exhibition before the lord is over!"

With that, Shiratori Gotsu pulled Hajime Kashimo along and turned back toward the Tombs of the Star Corridor.

He wasn't worried that Kenjaku wouldn't come.

To put it bluntly, he and Kenjaku were both thrill seekers at heart, and no one knew better how to handle their own kind!

And sure enough, Kenjaku's reaction was just as Shiratori Gotsu had expected.

He stood there for a long while, his expression changing constantly, but the killing intent in his eyes gradually subsided.

Heh... Shiratori Gotsu...

He looked up at the sky, a trace of deranged excitement appearing on his face.

"You... how many more surprises do you have in store?!"

"...This is getting more and more interesting!"

Hajime Kashimo was completely baffled.

He had thought the three of them would have a friendly chat, challenge one another, and then enjoy a good fight.

But instead...

It seemed he was the only one left out!

Shiratori Gotsu and Chiba Kichi seemed to have said a great many extraordinary things, even mentioning the King of Curses from six hundred years ago...

Hajime Kashimo understood every word, but put together, they made no sense to him at all!

"What do you mean, a hundred years from now..."

"And who's Kenjaku?"

"What exactly were you and Chiba Kichi talking about? How come I couldn't understand any of it? Did I miss part of the story?"

Hajime Kashimo couldn't help firing questions at Shiratori Gotsu in rapid succession.

"Hey, hey, hey, stop, stop, stop!"

Shiratori Gotsu rubbed his brow.

Sure enough, for Koshika, who had no idea what was going on and thought only about the thrill of fighting, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that his conversation with Kenjaku might as well have been in a foreign language.

But it clearly wasn't something he could explain in a short time.

He could only wave a hand.

"I'll explain all of this to you in detail later."

"For now, you just need to know that man isn't Chiba Kichi. His real name is Kenjaku, and he's an old monster who's lived for at least six hundred years."

"And he wants something from us."

"As for the details... I think he'll come explain them to us himself when the time comes."