- Utahime Iori -
"Taking down all the curses… hmph, who does he think he is? Just don't step in my way." Mai scoffed but followed but in another direction.
She let out an internal sign.
Mai's attitude had turned for the worse ever since… that day.
Her Cursed Energy had increased quite rapidly and was increasing even now, being somewhere near a Special Grade 1 Sorcerer but her attitude was getting worse hand in hand.
Whereas the previous Mai put on a strong front and was still subdued against the likes of Todo, understanding her own limits. This one, she didn't hold back against anyone. Perhaps the reason for that was also due to the fact that she was now supported by the Zenin Clan, now that she had somehow increased her Cursed Energy while Maki was removed from the family rosters completely, not that the girl herself cared for that anyways.
That was also one of the reasons why she could get an assessment while previously it was suppressed by the Zenin at every corner.
While their actions had become a bit more restrained since the… unfortunate dismissal of the higher ups of the council, the Zenin clan was still one of the three major Jujutsu families.
She looked at the girl who was walking towards the other side of the shrine and while unethical, she hoped that she would lose today… just so that she doesn't get her head too high up in the clouds and die early. Jujutsu was a very dangerous profession and had no place for such arrogance… at least not without the strength to back it up.
The boy, Silas, looked around and then clicked a finger as a barrier sprung up around the place.
It wasn't exactly necessary since they were so far away from any population but still, rules were rules. Good to see he wasn't like that insufferable bastard who walked around like he owned the place.
As soon as the barriers were erected, the curses inside moved too.
Three curses, all Grade 3, stepped out of the shrine and looked around, spotting them and racing towards the three quickly.
Mai jumped to the side and drew her pistols and quickly took aim at one of them, shooting continuously.
The curse couldn't handle the barrage of attacks and was purified immediately. One of the remaining two changed its target to her and the last one still charged towards the two boys.
It was the kid who jumped forward this time and she gripped her talismans, ready to intervene at a moment's notice.
Seriously, who recommends a kid to be a Juutsu Sorcerer? He was barely eight.
Aoi, on the other hand, was calmly looking at the scene ahead as if already knowing what to expect.
Surprisingly a pair of golden chains erupted out of the kid's back and shot towards the curse. The curse reacted and smashed the ground as shadow-like tendrils erupted from the ground, making a shield around itself.
A Cursed Technique… she belatedly realised that it was a Grade 2 Curse and was about to intervene when Aoi grabbed her shoulder. "Wait and watch. My brother is not so weak."
She looked in awe as the chains directly pierced through the tendrils of shadows and then bound the Curse directly.
"Those chains of his, can bind Cursed Energy and bypass any Cursed technique. Not even Satoru Gojo's Limitless can stop them. Match that with my brother's immense Cursed Energy and he is bound to become one of the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerers in the world. His only weakness right now is his age and inexperience."
Just as he said, the chains crushed the Curse, exorcising it easily.
"My my… such talent… and such an amazing cursed technique. It seems that bringing you all here was well worth the effort." Suddenly the woman behind her spoke. She looked behind but as soon as she did a feeling of weightlessness enveloped her and she lost control of her body.
The woman moved at a speed completely different from what one would expect of someone her age, kicking Aoi.
He crashed into the huge pile of rocks on the side of the stairs they were standing on. She quickly threw her Talismans towards the woman but the talismans didn't go more than a few feet forward before falling to the ground.
The woman spread her hands as shadows… no, curses emerged from her hands.
"But that's… Cursed Spirit Manipulation… you are…"
"Hahahaha do you recognise me? I have to say, it was difficult getting around that troublesome man to find out this information. The secret in the subway of Shinjuku. The source of that huge Cursed Energy… but I now finally have a lead."
As she spoke, hundreds of Curses surrounded the place.
Even the ones in the Shrine had noticed the movements and quickly started coming towards them.
Utahime's eyes widened and she shouted towards them as quickly as she could. "Run! Run away. It's an ambush. You cannot fight them. Call Gojo!"
Even Aoi, who was crashed into the rocks, got up and tried to face the enemies but was cornered by other Curses, finding it hard to overcome them.
Mai saw them, her face paling at the sight of the hundreds of Cursed Spirits and turned around and was about to leave but her exit was cut off by the Cursed Spirits once more.
"Now now, we are just having a talk. Don't you think it's uncouth to run away during a conversation?" The woman… or Cursed User or whatever it was spoke with a smile as she looked at the two students who had arrived there by now. "Hello there. Naruto Uzumaki and Silas Evans…"
The woman… tore the skin on her head, to reveal her brain… no a Cursed Spirit… was that its true form?…
"To be honest, I was just expecting to find some news about the secret hidden in the Subway of Shinjuku but…" She stared at the younger of the two… "That Cursed Technique… it forced me to reveal myself. It is just too good for me to let go. So hand over the boy and we can leave our separate ways. We can do it the hard way… or the easy way… the choice is all yours."
"You want Naruto?" Silas asked.
"Why yes. And since we are at it… why don't you tell me about the monster in the Shinjuku subwa…"
Before she could finish his words, Silas waved his knife.
Utahime watched with wide eyes as dozens of cursed spirits were slashed from the middle in two clean halves.
Even the ones which had surrounded her were cut and she gained her footing back, quickly running back to the two kids.
"That's… Sunuka's vessel? Attack!" the leader of the curses jumped back sending waves of Curses towards them.
"Aoi, leave them and come here. Bring the girl too." Silas shouted.
Thankfully, Aoi seemed to have heard him too and appeared near them using his Cursed Technique and the next second Mai appeared near them.
"We need to make an opening and take this news back to the headquarters. No matter what happens, take Naruto with you. Don't let them succeed in their goal." She said, regaining her bearing. "There are special grade curses among them. We cannot win this."
However no one responded to her.
"Silas." Todo asked.
"Hmm?"
The boy responded, still looking at the curses around them.
"How many do you think you can take on?" Todo continued.
"Depends…"
"On what?" She asked, unsurely.
He however didn't answer her and looked at the leader of the Curses. "Say… what did you intend to do with Sak… the one in the Shinjuku Subway?"
"Obviously use her for my plan. I plan to remove the barriers between humans and curses, make them evolve into something higher. To do that, I need to cause unimaginable havoc, to understand the true extent of Cursed Energy… and the one in the subway… she is the key to all this. That power… it was as if a God had awakened. By just a single outburst, she had increased the number of curses in the entire country by three times. Such a power… if used fully… it could give rise to a period far more chaotic than the Heian Era… the Golden Age of Curses… It can give us a glimpse into the true nature of Cursed Energy and could be the key for me to ascend to a higher realm."
There was silence in the entire place as she tried to comprehend what was being said and the more she understood, the more she got scared. This… this person was completely insane.
Madness… such madness would cause an extinction of all humanity in the entire country… No… she had to send this information back at any cost.
"I see…" Silas spoke, almost resigned. "Then we have nothing to talk about." He then looked at her. "How many normal people are there in a one kilometre radius?" He asked.
"Normal? You mean non-sorcerers?" She looked around, trying to sense but didn't find anything.
"I cannot sense anyone. We are in a nearly abandoned village and we walked a long distance from the village too. This shrine was supposed to be built for a Land God which the people of the nearby village believe in but they have stopped coming here since the place was sealed." She said, looking confused. "Why? Can you teleport away from here?" She asked hopefully.
"Teleport? No… not yet. Anyways… I don't think that will be necessary anymore." he said absentmindedly as he looked at the leader of the group of curses. She took his silence for resignation after all, it would only be a miracle or some kind of divine intervention to get out of this kind of situation. But she couldn't give up.
"We cannot give up, Silas. We need to send this news to the Headquarters or many people will die." She quickly interjected but her words stopped as she sensed a hurricane of cursed energy flood the area.
She froze. Beside her, Mai, who was about to say something, froze too.
Todo was doing better but she could see some sweat on his forehead too.
On the other hand, the curses… they were getting crushed.
The lead of the Cursed Users, directly made a handsign. "Domain Expansion!" A giant pillar of Cursed Spirits erupted from behind him.
Silas however, kept his knife back in his sheath and all she heard was a whisper.
"Frost."
And the whole world turned white.