Tame all the Shikigami, tame them, tame them, tame them!

Kiroko Mine, Saitama Prefecture.

"Will this place do?" Megumi Fushiguro asked, standing at the bottom of the abandoned mine pit.

Shiratori Gotsu was naturally very satisfied.

"This will do. First, let me take control of your body."

"Huh?" Fushiguro looked surprised. "Why?"

"To teach you how to use my Cursed Technique."

Shiratori Gotsu explained as though it were obvious:

"After my Incarnation in your body, my Cursed Technique was engraved in you. Now I'm going to teach you how to use it."

Fushiguro hesitated for a few seconds, then said, "I still can't completely trust you..."

"Tch..."

Shiratori Gotsu complained, "Why is everyone so wary of me? I haven't done anything bad!"

"Who knows if you will?"

"You're a stubborn brat!" Seeing that words weren't getting him anywhere, Shiratori Gotsu decided to let his actions do the talking and forcibly seized control of the body.

Fushiguro felt a powerful, irresistible force yank him downward. In the blink of an eye, he found himself in his own "Innate Domain."

"Mwehehehe... Ahahaha!" Shiratori Gotsu ripped off his shirt, then jumped onto a rock and threw his head back in laughter.

"Sure enough, nothing beats feeling the sunshine for yourself!"

Megumi Fushiguro's frightened voice rang out in his head. "What are you doing?!"

"...How annoying!" Shiratori Gotsu's head rang from the shouting, leaving him utterly speechless.

"Can't I even say something about seeing the light of day again after so long?"

With that, he cleared his throat, stretched, and yawned.

"Anyway, as you can see, if I really wanted to do something, I could just forcibly take your body and suppress your soul."

"So there's no need for you to worry, kid!"

"...All right."

Megumi Fushiguro struggled in vain, completely suppressed within his own "Innate Domain," and ultimately had no choice but to accept reality.

It was true. If the other party wanted to do something, he could simply take his body, just as he had now.

Looking at it that way, perhaps this foreign soul named Shiratori Gotsu really was his "guardian spirit"...?

Even so, Fushiguro couldn't help remarking:

"...Your tone and movements are exactly like Sukuna's when he possessed Itadori, and even what you said was almost the same..."

"Don't you think that's creepy?"

Shiratori Gotsu spread his hands, looking innocent. "You're just scared!"

Fushiguro shot back, "Anyone would be scared!"

"Forget all that. You should be able to see from inside your 'Innate Domain,' right? Watch closely."

Shiratori Gotsu raised his hand and snapped off his little finger.

"What are you doing?" Megumi Fushiguro stared in shock.

"Quiet, quiet. What's the rush?"

Reverse Cursed Technique² activated, and his little finger rapidly regenerated.

Then he casually tossed it at a rock about a meter in diameter. "Corpse Attraction Shock Blast: First Bomb!"

Boom!

The explosion left a shallow crater the size of a bowl's mouth in the rock. Then a crack slowly appeared, and the whole thing split in two down the middle.

Nodding in satisfaction, Shiratori Gotsu explained to Fushiguro, "My First Bomb lets me turn parts of my own body into bombs."

Immediately afterward, he added, "Oh, right. Let me use the Ten Shadows Technique for a bit."

"Because we're in a symbiotic relationship, I can't use your Cursed Technique without your permission."

By now, Fushiguro had come to trust Shiratori Gotsu almost completely, so he didn't hesitate at the request. "Okay."

Almost at the same instant, Shiratori Gotsu sensed some kind of restriction being lifted.

He immediately raised his hands and formed a sign. "Rabbit Escape!"

A fluffy rabbit emerged from the shadows and lay quietly on the ground.

"Oh, a little bunny. So cute."

Shiratori Gotsu bent down and smiled as he stroked Rabbit Escape's head. "Corpse Attraction Shock Blast: Second Bomb!"

The transformation was complete in the blink of an eye. He stood up, fixed his gaze on a massive boulder over five meters tall nearby, and used his connection through the Ten Shadows Technique to command Rabbit Escape:

"Go, Bouncy Bomb!"

As soon as he spoke, Rabbit Escape shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. The moment it struck the rock, Shiratori Gotsu made the detonation gesture.

"Now!"

Boom!

The violent explosion blasted the boulder into fragments of varying sizes—not one was more than twenty centimeters across.

"Ah, I'm a genius!"

Shiratori Gotsu was especially pleased with the power. He swept back his hair, feeling refreshed.

Megumi Fushiguro stared in amazement from inside his "Innate Domain." "What was that?"

"The Second Bomb, which I obtained by expanding the targets of my Cursed Technique. It lets me turn other living creatures into bombs through touch."

Shiratori Gotsu took on the role of an instructor.

"Your Shikigami are included, of course."

"As long as Rabbit Escape keeps its original body, it can multiply without limit. You should know that better than anyone."

"Have the copied rabbits make a Binding Vow with their lives to remove their Cursed Energy limits, then use them as bombs. It couldn't be better!"

Shiratori Gotsu stretched again. "All right, demonstration's over. Take your time practicing. Once you've got it down, we can get to the main event."

"I just did all that with your body. You only need to carefully feel the memories and traces of Cursed Energy left in it."

With that, he returned control of the body to Megumi Fushiguro, leaving him with a single remark: "Do your best. I'm going to get some sleep first."

"..."

Looking at the marks left by the explosion, then at his uniform jacket, now in pieces on the ground, Megumi Fushiguro was suddenly overwhelmed by mixed feelings.

"...Thank you," he said softly.

Shiratori Gotsu didn't respond, but he hadn't fallen asleep. That was just a pretext. He had already returned to the System Space to play "Manor Management Simulator."

"Well then... Let's begin!" Fushiguro clenched his fists.

He then began training on his own.

Two and a half hours later, Shiratori Gotsu finished watering all the flowers in his manor and leisurely returned to the "Innate Domain."

He greeted the system as usual, then grew a mouth on Megumi Fushiguro's face.

"That was a truly passionate sleep. Now, let me see how your practice is going."

Megumi Fushiguro jumped at the sudden voice. Once he recovered, he said with a helpless look:

"Shiratori-senpai, please don't suddenly appear like that next time. It's scary."

"Next time, next time. Let me see your progress." Shiratori Gotsu could hardly wait.

"Okay." Megumi Fushiguro immediately formed a sign. "Rabbit Escape!"

Aside from being a little slower during the transformation, he then reproduced Shiratori Gotsu's actions almost exactly.

He pointed at a rock wall. "Go, Bouncy Bomb!"

Shiratori Gotsu suddenly choked.

He really hadn't expected Fushiguro to pick up the ridiculous name he'd casually come up with, too.

The instant Rabbit Escape struck the rock wall, Fushiguro raised his hand and made the detonation gesture. "Now!"

Boom!

The explosion was almost as powerful as when Shiratori Gotsu had done it himself, and several huge rocks were blasted loose and slid down the rock wall.

"Mm, not bad, not bad."

Shiratori Gotsu couldn't help marveling at Megumi Fushiguro's ability to learn. But right now, he felt there was something more important to clarify.

"But actually, you don't need to copy every single step I took... Like that Bouncy Bomb, for example..."

Fushiguro had just been a little pleased at the praise, but now he was puzzled. "Why? Isn't it a fitting name?"

"I was just doing it for laughs!" Shiratori Gotsu finally lost it.

"Don't you think it's funny? Shouting something like 'Bouncy Bomb' in the middle of a fight with an enemy?"

"Uh... It's all right, I guess?" Fushiguro said, rubbing his chin with a particularly serious expression.

"Forget it... As long as you like it."

Shiratori Gotsu gave up on pursuing the matter any further.

He changed the subject. "Now that the preparations are done, let's get straight to the point."

"Huh? What point?"

"Taming Shikigami, of course!"

Inside the "Innate Domain," Shiratori Gotsu crossed his legs and reclined on the sofa.

"We'll use the move you just learned."

"First, prepare a whole lot of Bouncy Bombs, then start the taming ritual and detonate the bombs at the same time."

"That way, taming them will be easy."

"..." Fushiguro was silent for a while, then said solemnly, "Thank you, Shiratori Gotsu-senpai. Thank you for appearing."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You were so put off by me at first. Now you've come around, huh?"

Shiratori Gotsu was particularly pleased by his thanks.

"Yeah... I'm really starting to believe you're my 'guardian spirit' now." The corners of Fushiguro's mouth rose a few pixels.

Deafening explosions echoed through the mine pit without end.

In just thirty minutes, Max Elephant, Round Deer, Piercing Ox, and Tiger Funeral-

-all four Shikigami that Fushiguro had tried and failed to tame many times before, submitted to the might of the Bouncy Bombs.

"Nicely done." Shiratori Gotsu was generous with his praise.

"Now then, next up is... Mahoraga!"