Mahito didn't care.
"It was only a matter of time."
"If anything, the fact that the news only spread now means Mei Mei has sufficiently honored our business contract."
"After all, no Binding Vow was ever signed back then," Mahito said with a laugh.
Of course, if Mei Mei appeared again, Mahito would kill her with his own hands.
Because her betrayal was tangible, and without killing her, he couldn't maintain order.
This wasn't about whether Mahito actually cared about the betrayal itself, but rather that when betrayal occurs, regardless of the consequences, the traitor must be killed.
"Who is looking for me?"
Mahito gently stroked his long blade.
"Let me think... A family that wants to consolidate their position and rule eternally... It should be one of the Three Great Families of the jujutsu world, right?"
"It's probably not the Gojo clan, so that only leaves the Kamo and Zen'in clans."
"Which one?"
"As expected of you, Mahito," Kinji Hakari said in admiration.
"It's the Zen'in clan."
"They've cordially invited you to be a guest at their estate and promised that no harm will come to you."
"Did they set a Binding Vow?" Mahito asked.
"No," Kinji Hakari replied with a deep frown.
"They probably want to lay a dragnet to capture me," Mahito said leisurely.
"There's no need to worry about my life, though."
"After all, I possess immortality with zero side effects; they certainly wouldn't be willing to kill me."
"But aside from that, they'll do everything else," Kinji Hakari said immediately.
"You can't go, Mahito."
"No, I will go," Mahito said.
Kinji Hakari was stunned.
"You see, during this time, I've realized something—something obvious that I've always subconsciously ignored."
"What is it?"
"I ask you, Kinji, when does a Cursed Technique make significant progress?"
Mahito asked.
As a practical fighter, Kinji Hakari was more qualified than any Jujutsu Sorcerer to answer this question.
He looked deeply at Mahito and answered in a low voice,
"In a battle to the death."
"Correct."
"Including purely logistical techniques like the Construction Technique, the fastest way to increase proficiency in any Cursed Technique is through a battle to the death—to be precise, at the moment when death is imminent."
Unlike traditional technology—where it's often said that war is the most effective catalyst for a technological explosion, provided the prerequisite theoretical foundations are in place—otherwise, a tribal war is still just a war.
Do you see tribal wars causing technological explosions?
Well, they can; a technological explosion in a tribal war means making more perfect bows and strings, or sharper spears and stone axes.
But Cursed Techniques are different because they depend on the individual.
A Cursed Technique resides within the Jujutsu Sorcerer's brain.
The more intense the death match, the more one can improve the precision of their technique—
because if you don't improve, you die.
This applies to everyone, including Gojo Satoru.
Every Jujutsu Sorcerer understands the truth that a Jujutsu Sorcerer trained by the book can never reach the peak.
Mahito suddenly asked,
"Kinji, will Gojo Satoru be at the Zen'in estate?"
"If Mr. Gojo were there, the Zen'in clan wouldn't even be able to invite you," Kinji Hakari asserted.
"Mr. Gojo would string up and beat everyone in the Zen'in clan for daring to cooperate with a Cursed Spirit!"
Mahito curled his lips into a smile.
"In that case, I have nothing to worry about."
He stood up and held the long blade in one hand, bringing it before his eyes.
The reflection of the blade shone into Mahito's heterochromatic eyes like a silver mirror.
"Zen'in-cutter? Hmm, that doesn't sound good."
"My girl won't stop at just the Zen'in clan."
"'Zen'in' has a Buddhist connotation... Buddha-cutter?"
"Hmm, I'll eventually ascend to a divine throne myself, so that name isn't right."
"Let me think—"
He looked at her and said softly,
"Mirokuji."
"From today on, you are Mirokuji Kirigiri."
"Mirokuji is the surname, representing gods and Buddhas."
"Kirigiri is the name, representing the severance of all."
"Divine Sword: God-Slayer Sword."
"Let us celebrate your birth with the blood of the Zen'in clan, Divine Sword—Mirokuji Kirigiri."
In the wind and rain, someone was jogging down the corridor, his face covered in cold sweat and his body trembling, until he saw a sliding door.
He pulled it open forcefully and shouted without thinking,
"He's here!"
"Who?" someone asked.
"The King of Curses, Mahito!"
he spoke.
"I heard he never acts alone; wherever he goes, he's followed by at least one attendant."
"We didn't establish a Binding Vow with Kinji Hakari, so he must have guessed our intentions."
"How many people did he bring?"
asked the person next to the head seat.
"He didn't bring anyone," he said, sweating coldly.
"He came alone, wearing a kimono and a haori, with a long blade at his waist—a great blade over 2 meters long!"
"He's like a sword saint walking straight out of the Heian period, carrying the wind and rain with him."
Suddenly, a roar came from the sky outside, and a bolt of lightning streaked across the clouds like a flying dragon.
Someone remarked sarcastically,
"To specifically visit on a rainy day while wearing a master swordsman's outfit... what is he thinking?"
"He wants to kill," someone suddenly said.
"How could—"
"He wants to kill."
"He wants to kill everyone in the Zen'in clan."
"He wants to exterminate the Zen'in clan," the man whispered, putting down his sake bottle and straightening up from his casual sitting position.
He was the clan head sitting in the main seat, and he fully understood Mahito's intent.
Who hasn't been young?
The clan head had also once fantasized about being a master swordsman or a sword saint, walking in the night, encountering an enemy, and cutting them down with one strike.
But that was a fantasy, not reality.
But when the fantasy actually arrives, how peak must that person's state be?
The clan head exhaled slowly.
"All Jujutsu Sorcerers have good and bad states, especially in battle."
"But a state doesn't just come whenever you want; sometimes you need environmental assistance."
"Today is a thunderstorm, with torrential rain falling and lightning flashing."
"He comes walking slowly in a swordsman's outfit, like the lead actor in a swordplay drama, while we are the yakuza about to be dismantled by the lead."
"I bet his anger is surging right now, but the lake of his heart is calm."
"He has already immersed himself in a state of 'Clear Mirror, Still Water,' waiting for the coming slaughter."
The room fell silent.
Everyone was stunned.
"Hei!"
the clan head suddenly barked.
A young man snapped awake.
"Yes!"
"Gather all members!"
"Assemble in the center of the plaza and prepare for combat!"
"Yes!"
The young man bowed, stood up, and immediately went into action.
"Kukuru!"
the clan head barked again.
"Yes!"
another young man answered loudly.
"Arrange for all women and children to go into the underground training hall."
"Then, leave half the men to protect the non-combatants, and the other half will follow the Hei!"
"Even if everyone, including me, dies, you are not allowed to come out."
"Wait for subsequent rescue."
"Yes!"
He stood up and immediately ran out the door.
"Where is Gojo Satoru now?"
the clan head asked.
"We sent him abroad; he won't be back for a week," someone replied.
"Very good, we've set a trap for ourselves."
"Simply wonderful!"
the clan head mocked loudly.
"Now, pray."
"Pray that I'm just being paranoid, or that the King of Curses has a good temper and will leave after killing us, rather than making us extinct!"
"By what right!"
"We invited him properly, yet he comes to kill us!"
someone roared.
"By the right of the words you just spoke," the clan head said expressionlessly with two cold laughs.
"By the right of this bone-deep arrogance!"
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