A/N: Welcome to my latest story: Potential Man. Here we go with this one. Next three chapters are up on patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga) already if you want to see them early. Since I just started a new story, there's a cheeky discount on said patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga) page for anyone interested.
"The entire clan is gathered in the courtyard, Megumi," Maki said, swinging her head into the room I was sitting in. The Zenin clan library was a thing of beauty. Books on practically every cursed technique officially known to the jujutsu world—and some that only the Zenin clan knew about. I would have enjoyed growing up here with access to so much information. And on its own, it would have been a treasure trove, but that was not the crowning jewel I'd come across.
That honour went to the book I held in my hands now. The definitive guidebook on the Ten Shadows technique. What Megumi had learned with earlier was essentially opposition research done by the Gojo clan into the Zenin technique. And just as the Zenin's study of the Gojo's Limitless and Six Eyes hadn't told them about Hollow Purple, there were subsets of the Ten Shadows that hadn't been included in the Gojo book.
Now, I had access to all that information. The first thing the guidebook had confirmed was that no one had actually successfully tamed Mahoraga. Which was useful information because they also included the details of the various attempts that had been made. It got to a point where they stopped trying entirely and saved the Divine General for use as a suicide option. One of the previous users had even written that he felt that was actually the intent of the technique.
The Zenin Clan, for all their pedigree, could not imagine a single sorcerer being so strong as to be able to defeat the Divine General in single combat. In this world now, I could think of two: Gojo Satoru and Ryomen Sukuna. They'd both done it. Gojo had done it while fighting Sukuna and Agito at the same time.
Maki coughed again, drawing me from my thoughts.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming. Have the others gotten in position?" I asked.
"Yes, Itadori and Hakari are milling about. You should probably do something about that, by the way. I've had to intercept two different messages sent out to the Higher Ups about his whereabouts," she said.
"Oh, don't worry about that. Gakuganji said he won't snitch, but only a fool would take the geezer at his word. Chances are they know he's here right now."
"Is that safe?"
"He's under my protection. After what happened to Naoya yesterday, I doubt they'll want to test the limits of that without way more information. I predict we have at least a week or so before they feel comfortable making their move, and by then we'd have moved on," I said, and she nodded, even if she didn't look all that convinced.
"Megumi?" she asked.
"Yes, Maki?"
"Thank you… for everything."
"Thank me after we win," I said, pushing up from my chair. Tiger Funeral was going to be the next of the shadows I tamed. I'd save Mahoraga for when I was way more confident about my abilities, but that wasn't for the here and now. I had a meeting to hold first. I followed Maki as she led me through the winding hallways of the Zenin Clan's main building until we reached a set of double doors.
When she swung these open, I noted I was on a balcony overlooking the courtyard. The courtyard was filled with members of the Zenin clan. The intention had been to speak with them with Naoya's body at my feet to drive the message home, but that had been stymied by Gakuganji's request for a meeting and the fact that, for all the courtyard had looked full, the entire clan hadn't been present.
That latter problem had been solved now. There were so many bodies in the courtyard that it was a struggle to pick out any faces in particular. I noticed Jinichi, Ogi, and the other members of… what was that called again? The Heia? Hei? Hay? No idea. I'd ask Maki later. Well, them… they were at the middle, looking up at me with very thinly veiled disdain.
"Good morning. Some of you know me. Others have only heard of me," I began, sending cursed energy to my throat to allow my voice to carry without needing to shout.
"I am Megumi Fushiguro, the new Head of the Zenin Clan. Yesterday, I faced my cousin Naoya in a duel for the fate of the clan. He lost. I won. Now we are here," I said, already cursing myself for the clumsy start to things. He lost, I won, now we are here? No shit, Sherlock.
"The Zenin Clan is many things to many people. To some it is a home, to others, it is a shield, or a sword, and to some, it is a cage. To me, it's never been more than a pain in the arse for the longest time. But what the Zenin Clan must be above all is the foremost clan of Jujutsu sorcerers. That is the role we must play. The duty I bear as her head. The duty you all bear as members. Ideally, I would stand before you and lay out my plan for how the clan will govern itself moving forward, but there's no time for that. Because as we speak, there is a curse user who has broken the rules most sacred to our society," I said, feeling my confidence grow as I cantered along.
"His name is Kenjaku. He has taken over the body of Special Grade Curse User Suguru Geto and, as we speak, has hatched a plot to involve all of Japan in his Jujutsu terrorism. As the foremost clan in this nation, are we to step aside and let her fall into chaos? To let her be used in the plots of this madman who would see the very building blocks of our world shattered for all they are worth? The Higher Ups refuse to do anything about it. Let them sit in their dark rooms and twiddle their thumbs. The Zenin clan will be out there doing what we have always done and taking the battle to those who would see our society threatened. In the coming hours, as I review the clan's strength and your personal profiles, you each will receive a letter of engagement from my assistant. See to it that you obey the contents of that letter. I ask it of you not just for the duty you owe me as your Clan Head. But for the duty you—we all—owe Japan as her protector. We are the greatest of the clans, and this Kenjaku will rue the day he chose Japan as the site for this sick game of his. We will ensure of it," I said, voice rising as I progressed through. I could see some nods here and there, and when I finished, one of the masked ones, those ones who didn't have cursed energy or whatever, thumped his chest.
It was a gesture the rest followed, and then more and more of the clan did so, until I was standing above a cacophony of drum beats created only by the sound of hands clasping hearts in unison. Not everyone joined in; that was fine. I needed their obedience, not their love. And they all would obey. That was the one thing I would brook no disagreement on.
"Now you are dismissed," I said and stood as the clan began to file out. Predictably, those I wished to speak to remained. Jinichi, Ogi, the other two—I had to learn their names eventually.
When most of the clan had filed out of the room, I dropped down to the ground floor, stepping over the balcony in one seamless motion and bracing with cursed energy before I hit the ground.
"You don't like me," I started out with.
"Yes, we don't, boy. We think Naobito made a mistake giving the clan over to you and that you will lead us to nothing but destruction. Look at you now, prancing about with Sukuna's vessel, spitting on the Higher Ups and their decrees." Jinichi was the one to speak. I assumed he had been chosen as their mouthpiece.
"Okay, you are Jinichi, yes? My father's older brother," I said.
"Yes, I was related to that disgrace—"
My cursed energy flared out from within. Consuming Naoya had just about doubled my already impressive reserves. The difference between me and them was night and day. The fact that Jinichi shut up instantly drove that point home. I took a step forward, smirking as even without realising it, they all leaned back and away from me.
"That's one free one for you, Uncle. I never knew the man myself but I have a certain fondness for the man. And is the value of a Zenin Clansman not determined by the strength of his offspring? In that case, the so-called disgrace 'Toji' was greater than you all. Why? Because I myself am greater than you all. The first person to be born with the Ten Shadows in a generation. Naoya was stronger than the rest of you and I killed him in a matter of seconds. If any of you would like to join him in the next life then give me a reason," I said. I waited after I spoke, tilting my head at them and making it clear that I was daring them to make a move. None of them did.
That was because, in the end, they were cowards. The Zenin Clan was many things, but the best way to describe it was as a clan of cowards. Cowards so insecure in their own strength that the only way they could consider themselves adequate was to beat down on those below them. Rudeness is a weak man's approximation of strength, they said, and the Zenin clan was the perfect display of that.
"You will receive your orders just as the others. Chances are most of you will be assigned to the same colony as me. Don't fail me, because you will find the consequences immediate and fatal," I said, laying down the threat in the open. And just as expected, none of them called me out on it. It was almost disgusting just how weak they were. I turned to leave and as I did so, I kept my senses alert.
A surprise attack would not be beyond them to attempt. No one proved that foolish in the end, and I reached the door unharassed.
As I did so, Itadori met me there.
"Megumi?" he called.
"Yeah?"
"Can I talk to you?" he asked.
"Walk with me, let's go," I said, and then we began to move through the winding halls of the Zenin mansion. Maki had shown me the private training halls that the Hei used and I wanted to make use of one of them at the end of this, so that was where we headed. It took us a few minutes of walking before Itadori finally said the words on his mind.
"You're different. You feel different. Darker, more dangerous. And not just the feeling. The way you're speaking. You look just like you, and your cursed energy feels the same even if there is so much more of it now, but it—"
"You want to know why I changed—if your friend is still in here," I said.
"Uh, yes."
I brought us both to an abrupt stop and turned to face him. The scar on his face was so much more glaring from this close. Yuji Itadori was one of those people that this world had failed more than any other. He'd signed up for none of this, and now with less than a year of training, he was going to be expected to fight in a war. A war that people who grew up in this world would turn away from.
"You've been a part of this world for a year. I practically grew up in it. You only knew Gojo as a Sensei; I knew him as the pillar that Jujutsu society was built on top of. Something like your execution or Okkotsu's before yours. Only Gojo could have prevented that. They said his birth caused Curse Users all over Japan to go into hiding, and now he's gone. Sure, we have a plan for getting him back but there is every chance that we fail. Angel could be killed before we ever find her; so many other things could go wrong. So I have to step up. He told me once that I had the potential to become as strong as him. And while it was fine for me to take things slowly when he was around as that pillar, I don't have that luxury anymore. I have to do it, not just for me, but for Tsumiki, and even for you," I said.
"For me?" he asked, startled.
"Do you think if I wasn't so strong that the Higher Ups wouldn't have broken in here to kill you? Killing Naoya was as much about sending a message to them as it was about taking over the Zenin clan. I know you have your reservations about killing humans, but trust me when I say Naoya deserved it."
"Oh, okay." He still looked far from certain about things.
"Do you trust me, Itadori?" I asked.
"Yes. Yes, I do," he said without hesitation.
"Then trust me. And whatever Sukuna has planned, the two of us will deal with together," I said. He nodded. Good.
I knew what happened to Megumi in canon—what Sukuna was waiting to do. The time would come when he thought he had the perfect opportunity, and I would enjoy showing him that he was sorely mistaken.
We reached the training room and I watched Itadori go off to the side of the room while I went to the middle. The Ten Shadows was an interesting technique for many reasons, but it wasn't what I wanted to work on today. I formed the symbol of a deer's head with my finger and the Round Deer rose from my shadow. I reached up and it brought down its antlers. I pet them while trying to get a feel for what its positive energy was doing.
The small aches that plagued my body were removed in a matter of seconds. I took out a small knife and made a straight cut along my palm.
"Megumi? What are you doing?" Itadori called.
"Calm down. I'm working on something," I said. The cut sealed in a matter of seconds. The Round Deer emanated positive energy just from existing, and when directed at me, it healed my wounds. I kept my other hand on its antlers as I felt the energy it sent out. I closed my eyes and memorised the feeling. Then I returned the deer to my shadow and cut my hand again.
This time, I tried to get my own cursed energy to match the energy I felt coming from the deer.
I spent over an hour just standing there. I'd summon the Deer from my shadow every once and again but getting my cursed energy to match whatever it had going on was just turning to be a task much too hard for me to handle. I had Reverse Cursed Technique when I summoned the Deer, but it was still something that I wanted to be able to do on my own. It wasn't just about proving to myself that I was good enough to compare myself to the titans of this world, but it was an essential measure to take for what was coming.
If I had both my hands cut off or something, I'd never be able to summon the Deer, and that would be it. Or if I was surprise attacked with a move that, while not instantly fatal, still prevented me from being able to summon the Deer. Situations like that one were just one reason I wanted to learn to wield Reverse Cursed Technique.
The second was what the book of Shadows said the Ten Shadows would be capable of if the technique was reversed. Just thinking about it was enough to give me goosebumps, to be honest. It was not the kind of thing that would be useful in all situations, but when the opportunity presented itself, it could make a world of difference.
I jolted to attention as I heard a sudden noise from the left. I looked over to see Itadori's head slumped against the wall as he sat there. Was that a snore? I wondered with a chuckle. And then there was another one. Yup, he was definitely snoring. Guess he really needed the rest. Part of me wanted to move on from here, but with Itadori asleep, there was no chance I'd leave him here. And looking at his peaceful expression, the first time his lips were not set into that perpetual frown that had taken over his face, I was hesitant to interrupt it. I could wait though. There were other things I wanted to test out.
If Reverse Cursed Technique didn't want to cooperate now, then I would try the other special technique the Book had spoken about. Simultaneous release. My fingers came together in the hand sign the book had shown and then the words flowed from my mind with ease.
"Dark, Eminence, Light, Subservience, Binding, Freedom, Unleash, Ten Shadows Simultaneous Release," I said.
My shadow bubbled as I felt my cursed energy reserves drop harshly. Said shadow stretched out in all directions and from it came each of the shadows I had managed to tame: the Divine Dog: Totality, Orochi, Nue, Toad, Rabbit Escape, Max Elephant, Round Deer, and Piercing Ox. They all stood still waiting for orders. I moved my hand, gesturing for the Divine Dog to come closer. I rubbed at his fur before I prepared for my next task: getting that to work without the incantation.
A/N: And that's the chapter. I'll be making my own changes to the ten shadows as the story goes on. Not to change things Gege already decided (at least not major things), but to fill in holes where they exist. I'll try to create a technique worthy of being considered equal to the six eyes + limitless without venturing into Mary Sue category, so wish me the best of luck. Next three chapters up on patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga) (same username as here and link in bio), support me there and read them early. Since this is a new story, so there's a discount for the rest of the month on patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga): feel free to check that out as well.