Outside the Kamo Family residence, a rift tore open in the air. Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru stepped out.
"What a strong smell of blood."
Geto Suguru rolled his neck. "I did not expect something like this to happen to the Kamo Family. I hope there are still survivors."
Gojo Satoru shrugged, hands in his pockets. "We could just wait until Kamo Asaoka finishes wiping them out, then step in and clean up."
Geto's expression darkened. "That is going too far, Satoru. After the Zenin Family's fall, the number of jujutsu sorcerers is already low."
"I know, I know." Satoru waved him off. "Stop nagging like an old man."
They moved toward the estate, then stopped at the same time.
"Hmm, our cute students are here too."
"Then let them have the stage."
...
"Mai, the situation is critical. Let go of me first."
"Okay, Sister."
Mai flushed and reluctantly released Maki's arm. Nearby, Momo Nishimiya watched, irritation clear on her face.
Maki sighed inwardly as she looked at Mai. After being rescued from the Zenin Family by Gojo-sensei and Geto-sensei, Mai had been sent to Shoko Ieiri's lab to recover. When Maki visited her, Mai woke up and clung to her, crying for hours.
Since then, Mai had changed.
She used to act distant, even hostile. Now she stayed close, almost too close.
Maki did not hate it. Still, something about it felt different.
Was she imagining things?
A deafening rumble shook the ground as the Kamo Family's ancestral hall collapsed.
At the center of the destruction, Kamo Asaoka roared like a beast. Blood surged around him in endless waves. He had already become something close to a cursed spirit, his sanity long gone, leaving only one obsession.
Destroy the Kamo Family.
The first to arrive were Yuji Itadori and Aoi Todo.
"What kind of monster is that?" Yuji stared at the massive construct of blood, unsure where to even begin.
Todo leaped forward without hesitation and drove a punch into its head.
Boom!
The head shattered into fragments, only to reform instantly.
The creature shifted its attention to them.
From the writhing mass, countless blood tentacles shot out, their sharpened tips slicing through the air.
Slash, slash, slash.
Maki stepped in, her blade flashing as she severed every incoming strike. The severed pieces hit the ground, turned into liquid, then flowed back into the main body.
"These attacks are useless."
"Let me try."
Megumi Fushiguro formed hand signs. "Nue."
The shikigami soared overhead, lightning bursting from its wings. The strike hit the blood mass, causing it to shrink slightly.
For a moment, it seemed effective.
Then the liquid mass hardened.
"Blood Manipulation, Blood Star Shackles?"
Before anyone could react, blood-red arrows shot out from gaps in the hardened surface.
"Piercing Blood?"
"So it has every Blood Manipulation ability."
The group scattered, dodging the barrage while searching for an opening.
"Its regeneration is too strong," someone said. "We need a large-scale cursed technique to burn it completely."
Kasumi Miwa spoke into her earpiece. "Kokichi, can Mechamaru's Great Exorcism Cannon handle this?"
Kokichi replied, "Sorry. Mechamaru Zero is not repaired yet."
A brief silence followed.
"However," he continued, "my sensors show the outer layer is entirely blood. Kamo Asaoka's real body is at the core. If you strike him directly, it may work."
"Understood."
Yuji and Todo charged forward, drawing the creature's focus. They pushed through, taking heavy damage, but created an opening.
Maki and Miwa moved in together, blades cutting through the thick mass.
Slash.
The blood split apart, exposing Kamo Asaoka at the center.
His eyes were crimson. His body twisted and deformed, no longer human.
"Now!"
Nobara Kugisaki rushed forward, throwing three nails and swinging her hammer.
"Straw Doll Technique, Resonance!"
A strike aimed at the soul itself.
But at the last instant, Kamo Asaoka's eyes snapped open. He caught the nails midair with his mutated hand.
Bang!
A gunshot echoed.
From a distance, Mai lowered a Barrett rifle, smoke curling from the barrel.
The impact snapped Asaoka's head back.
But when he looked forward again, the bullet had flattened against his forehead, embedded without penetrating.
"Retreat!"
Megumi summoned a Toad, pulling Nobara away.
Everyone's expressions turned grim.
That level of durability placed him among top-tier special grade cursed spirits.
"You want to stop me…" Asaoka's voice was low and distorted. "From destroying the Kamo Family…"
"Then you will die too."
The blood surged again. Countless tentacles crashed down like an unavoidable storm, tearing through the ground.
"Piercing Blood!"
Sharp streams sliced through the attack, cutting the tentacles apart.
Kamo Noritoshi stepped forward, his long hair now gone, his expression calm and resolute.
"So strong," Yuji said.
Todo frowned. "Something is off. Noritoshi should not be able to cut through those so easily."
High above, Momo hovered on her broom, signaling with a lantern.
Far away, Noritoshi adjusted his aim, following her guidance.
He drew an arrow, wrapping it in cursed energy and blood.
"Goodbye, Father."
The arrow shot forward like a meteor, tearing through every obstacle in its path.
It struck Kamo Asaoka between the eyes.
Boom.
The body exploded into a cloud of blood.
Rain fell from the sky, painting the land crimson for kilometers.
Yuji stared upward. "Is it… over?"
...
Inside Shoko Ieiri's laboratory.
Gojo Shion leaned back, a lollipop in his mouth as he flipped through Kamo Asaoka's research.
"So he used his son's blood as an inhibitor. That makes Kamo Noritoshi the natural counter to artificial Blood Manipulation."
He set the papers down.
"No matter how many users they create, Noritoshi can shut them down."
Shoko crossed her arms. "Once artificial cursed techniques succeeded, someone like Noritoshi would become unnecessary."
She exhaled softly. "Maybe this was his way of protecting his son."
Shion shook his head.
"I doubt it. He wanted leverage against the main family."
He looked at the documents again.
"Kamo Takanobu's words probably pushed him over the edge. Years of resentment, all at once."
Shoko gave him a sideways glance. "You always assume the worst in people."
Shion smirked faintly.
"That is because it is usually the correct answer."
"Especially when it comes to the Big Three Families."
===
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