Sōjun Minamoto stepped out of the Shrine Domain and into the corridor outside, where spatial interference was minimal. Only there could he safely cross space and return to the Zenin estate. Otherwise, the Domain and spatial interference would overlap, potentially creating unnecessary complications.
A black vortex formed out of thin air, and Sōjun emerged from it—already within the Barrier. He paused for a moment, sensing his surroundings to confirm that the Barrier hadn't been disturbed. Given that subduing Mahoraga hadn't taken long, it was unlikely anyone else had noticed.
He released the Barrier. A tongue and teeth sprouted from his palm, and he swallowed each severed finger one by one, erasing all traces.
Since he was already here, he might as well tame the final missing Shadow Shikigami...
Leaving the room, he found the two girls still quietly waiting at home. The younger one ran up to him, reaching for his hand. He patted her on the head.
"I have something to take care of. Be good and listen to your sister..."
At his signal, the Divine Dog moved in to distract the little girl, playing with her while Sōjun quietly slipped away and headed out.
The older girl kept her eyes fixed on his back as he left.
Sōjun didn't pay it any mind and made his way straight toward the main house.
Unlike Mahoraga, the Tiger Funeral couldn't be summoned through a taming ritual. To tame it, he had to go to the Zenin Clan's hidden grounds. But to find and access it, he'd need the key—held only by the heads of the clan.
So he had to pay a visit to the main house first.
When he met Naobito Zenin again, the man looked as drunk as ever—lounging around with a gourd in hand like he had nothing better to do.
"Clan Head," Sōjun bowed, holding back his impatience. In big clans like this, formalities were everything. "I plan to visit the family's hidden grounds to tame my next Shikigami."
"Oh? Confident, are you?" Naobito put down his gourd, sat upright, and finally placed his feet on the floor instead of resting them on the armrests.
"If I'm not mistaken, this would be your ninth Shikigami?"
He flexed his leg muscles and stood, slowly approaching Sōjun, giving him a once-over before falling silent for a moment.
"You're just one away from completing the Ten Shadows Technique..."
Since Noriyuki had brought it up, he must be fully confident—and the ninth was likely not too difficult to tame. The real challenge was the tenth...
Naobito's expression quickly shifted to one of disinterest. He reached inside his robes, rummaged around, and pulled out a cursed object shaped like a Rubik's cube. He tossed it to Sōjun without a care.
"Catch."
He grabbed his gourd again and turned back toward his seat—but stopped halfway.
Sōjun caught the key mid-air. His brow arched as he noticed Naobito's sudden movement.
The old man abruptly turned and struck at his face, palm shaped like a blade.
It was fast—fast enough to feel like it transcended time.
Naobito Zenin, the strongest below Special Grade in the jujutsu world, was known for his Projection Sorcery and blinding speed. Someone like Noriyuki Zenin, just a regular Grade 1, couldn't hope to match him.
Sōjun slightly tilted his head. His reflexes kicked in instinctively, halting his movement just in time.
The palm grazed his cheek, drawing a splash of blood.
Drip… drip… drip…
Blood pooled at the edge of the wound, then dropped to the floor, blooming into crimson stains.
Naobito's aggressive aura vanished. He waved a hand lazily.
"If you manage to subdue it, don't bother returning the key. Just keep it."
Taking another swig of alcohol, he slumped back into his chair, speaking offhandedly.
"Right now, you're the only one with the Ten Shadows Technique."
"Oh, and... there's another little guy out there. Seems they've awakened too..."
He frowned for a moment, as if trying to remember something, then relaxed.
"...Whatever. You'll both be heading to Jujutsu High anyway. I'll just grab the key from you then."
Sōjun's heart sank slightly. The old man had noticed something—he knew Sōjun was from Jujutsu High. Whether he'd figured out his true identity, though, was uncertain.
The strike across his face had been a test. A warning not to use this face to act against the Zenin Clan.
Sōjun lowered his gaze, unconcerned. Looking at the old man drinking with his eyes closed, he said, "Well then, Noriyuki Zenin, I'll take my leave."
He didn't feel any guilt. He hadn't killed anyone, nor had he done anything to harm the Zenin Clan.
In fact, compared to the rest of them during his stay here, he probably came off as a saint. He'd long lost interest in the clan.
He had only one reason for being here: to tame the Shadow Shikigami.
Mahoraga was beyond the Zenin Clan's reach. It belonged to the capable, to the jujutsu world at large.
As for the rest of the Shikigami, as long as the hidden grounds remained intact, there was still a chance to tame them.
Still, it was surprising that the old man had handed over the key. His motive remained unclear.
But if he dared to give it, then Sōjun dared to take it. He was even more open-minded about the hidden grounds—moving forward, the Shadow Shikigami would no longer belong solely to the Zenin Clan, but to all users of the Ten Shadows Technique.
Without wasting any time, he departed and made his way straight to the secret location, eventually arriving at a vast forest.
There were no guards—only a Barrier acting as the boundary between the inside and outside.
Sōjun didn't rush in. Instead, he paused to observe the Barrier from the outside. Its structure was unique—powerful, but with a dated and conflicting design.
After analyzing it, he shook his head, took out the Rubik's cube-shaped cursed item, and placed it near the gap shaped to fit the key.
The key automatically attached itself.
"Click." A soft sound echoed as the door appeared. Sōjun Minamoto paused to sense the surroundings, then stepped inside, arriving in a forest denser than it had seemed from the outside.
With Star Eyes scanning the area, he could see the shadows of all the Shikigami here—except for the Divine Dogs and Mahoraga, which were already under his command.
He quickly located Tiger Funeral, and the taming process was smooth and effortless. Before long, it was his.
Now that he had all ten Shadow Shikigami, a sense of satisfaction welled up in his heart.
Truthfully, the other nine weren't of much practical use to him. Integrating them into Mahoraga would be a waste—Mahoraga could adapt and generate countermeasures on its own. The unique abilities of the other Shikigami could be trained over time anyway.
But still—since he was already here.
Satisfied, Sōjun returned home, dismissed the Divine Dogs, and began cleansing the residual cursed energy left behind.
It wasn't really necessary—this cursed residue belonged to Noriyuki Zenin and would naturally dissipate in a few days—but Sōjun had developed the habit. The jujutsu world had all kinds of unconventional methods; you never knew what kind of technique might rely on leftover cursed energy.
He had no plans to stay at the Zenin estate much longer. He was getting ready to head back to Jujutsu High, but before he left, there were still a few things to settle...
The little girl followed him closely, step by step, while the older girl sat nearby, quietly watching his every move.
The air felt heavy.
He knew life hadn't been kind to these two in the Zenin Clan.
The little girl was already six and still hadn't awakened a cursed technique. That pretty much ruled out the possibility of her being a prodigy. If a few more years passed and she still hadn't awakened, she'd likely be sent to serve the main family.
It was a very real possibility.
Sōjun had seen the Zenin Clan's genealogical records—confidential documents only accessible to key family members. The family tree they mapped out was a tangled, intricate web.
He suspected it was even more complex than the patterns cursed techniques etched into the cerebral cortex.
As for the older girl, she was outwardly considered Noriyuki Zenin's current partner, which made her a target. And like the younger one, she lacked talent as well.
Now that he had taken control of the Shikigami's secret grounds under Noriyuki's identity, the backlash was bound to get even worse.
During his time impersonating Noriyuki Zenin, the two girls hadn't just kept his identity hidden—they'd also helped him iron out various details, making the entire substitution process far smoother.
So he intended to repay them, to balance the scales. After that, their ties would be cut.
But how should he help?
He wasn't sure. There were plenty of options—he just didn't know which one would suit them best...
He could take them out of the Zenin Clan, arrange everything for them, and let them live normal lives among regular people.
He could also talk to Naobito Zenin and ask him to keep an eye on them. It'd be a bit of a hassle, but still easier by comparison.
Or... he could teach them how to fish.
"Are you leaving?" the girl suddenly asked.
Her head was buried between her knees, a single ponytail resting against the side of her neck. Through the curtain of bangs half-covering her eyes, she gazed at Sōjun Minamoto... or rather, the empty space beside him.
Sōjun couldn't understand her. Their personalities, their powers, even their backgrounds were worlds apart—there was no way he could relate to what she was feeling in that moment.
Once it was confirmed she had no cursed technique, her fate had been sealed.
Her parents had personally handed her over to the main family, and from there, she was passed on to Noriyuki Zenin. Her fate had twisted several times. Thankfully, he hadn't laid a hand on her—he simply cast her aside. That alone had brought her some relief. But life afterward remained bitterly difficult.
She'd been brought here to bear a child. Treated like that, the criticism from the clan was inevitable. And with her status as a candidate wife for the next clan head, the torment only worsened.
Her gentle, obedient demeanor was a lie. The more softly she spoke, the more fiercely she cursed—cursing Noriyuki Zenin, cursing the clan itself.
The more gentle she appeared, the deeper the hatred ran.
Her sixteen years had been lived on a knife's edge. The only thing keeping her going was the thought, "I'll curse them all. I want to watch them die."
But in truth, she was afraid to die. Realizing that made her loathe herself too.
Yet, two people had left a mark on her heart.
One was the little girl who had gently patted her head when she first arrived—when she was at her lowest, full of despair—and asked if she was okay.
The other was the man in front of her, who had told her just a few days ago, "It's okay."
Just a few simple words, yet they gave her a warmth she had never felt before.
He smiled at me... does that mean he likes me?
Her parents had abandoned her. Noriyuki Zenin, who despised her, abandoned her. And now, even this man who seemed to care for her—was he going to leave her too?
No. She couldn't let that happen.
She had to keep him here. The three of them—him, the little girl, and her—they should stay together forever.
Hee hee hee...
Sōjun Minamoto felt the surge of cursed energy within her spike in an instant.
A thought, twisted and hard to define, rose in her mind. If he had to name it, it was the "kindness that wanted to kill him."
He paused for a second.
Alright, alright. Another one, huh? He clapped softly and smiled. This was the jujutsu world. The world of curses.
She lacked talent—but had a gift for curses.
It had to be said: environments this dark often produced the extreme. And extreme, sometimes, meant powerful.
If fate denied her a technique, then he would give her one.
Sōjun had made up his mind—he'd transfer a technique to her.
But which one?
The Ten Shadows Technique would do just fine. He grinned. For someone as inwardly warped as her, someone now holding the clan's inherited technique—he was curious to see what she could become.
He no longer cared about the Residuals.
Shadows blanketed the space between the three of them, darkening the room. Divine Dogs, Max Elephant, Great Serpent, Nue, Toad, Rabbit Escape, Round Deer, Piercing Ox, and Tiger Funeral—nine shadow Shikigami encircled the girl, their silent howls echoing in the gloom.
Sōjun stood and slowly approached her.
He took her right hand, turned it palm-up, and gently pressed his fingertips against the back. Crimson energy flowed in reverse up her arm, into her head, and into her eyes.
It devoured the old eyeball and replaced it with a crystalline one—pure white and radiant, making her pupils appear even darker.
The nine Shikigami now lay quietly by her side.
The Residuals now belonged to her.
Sōjun leaned down to meet her obscured gaze.
"If you want to kill me, then live."
He said it with wicked amusement, and noticed a subtle shift in the Shikigami. Deep down, he was delighted.
"...Who are you?" the girl raised her head, pupils trembling. The sheer force she sensed made something euphoric stir inside her.
But there was no time to dwell on it—there were more important things to do.
She shed a sliver of her passivity.
With newfound courage, she looked someone other than the little girl in the eyes for the first time and asked,
"Who are you?"
Sōjun lightly tapped his chin with a finger, a thought sparking in his mind.
"When you become the head of the Zenin Clan... you'll find out."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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