"We have no intention of becoming your enemy…"
Granny Ogami quickly spoke up in a trembling voice, trying to defend her grandson. As she faced the man before her, a certain rumor surfaced in her mind, something rarely spoken about in the jujutsu world.
It began roughly forty years ago.
At that time, the Zenin clan had become the family with the greatest number of grade 1 sorcerers among the Big Three Families.
Naoki Zenin, Ogi Zenin, and other members of the combat unit Hei and the Kukuru Unit were all famous figures in the jujutsu world.
Then about twenty years ago the clan's weakest member, Toji Zenin, who possessed absolutely no cursed energy, suddenly became famous throughout the jujutsu world after killing a special grade cursed spirit that carried Sukuna's finger.
For a time, the Zenin clan stood at the peak of glory. Even the Kamo clan, with its many high-ranking officials, and the Gojo clan, with its once-in-centuries Six Eyes prodigy, could not overshadow them.
But everything began to change about fifteen years ago.
Many powerful members of the Zenin clan suddenly vanished. At the same time, Toji Zenin became Toji Fushiguro. Back then the Zenin clan was at its peak after the tragedy that had occurred centuries earlier, so naturally many eyes were watching them in secret.
After some investigation, people discovered something strange. The disappearance of those powerful Zenin members happened almost at the same time that the two Zenin brothers withdrew from the clan.
Later, Granny Ogami had spent great effort trying to obtain remains of powerful sorcerers. Unexpectedly, she managed to buy a fragment of Ogi Zenin's bone from the black market.
The answer became obvious.
Those people had not merely disappeared. They had disappeared physically.
Considering the Zenin clan's long-standing ideology, it was easy for her to reach a conclusion.
The one responsible was Toji Zenin.
(Mukuro was only thirteen at the time, so not many suspected him. The Zenin clan belief: Those who are not Zenin are not sorcerers. Those who are not sorcerers are not human.)
And now they had ended up standing against someone who could slaughter most of the Zenin clan alone. How could Granny Ogami not be terrified?
Their plan had never accounted for the appearance of someone like this. After all, Toji Zenin had retired to Kyoto twelve years ago and almost never interfered with jujutsu affairs anymore. Every curse user knew that.
But Toji did not even glance at her.
His eyes were filled with interest as he stared at Ogi in the center. After all these years, he never expected someone would come looking for death while wearing that bastard's face.
What was that trash's name again?
Standing in front of the three of them, Toji even placed a hand on his chin and tried to recall it. He had long forgotten the name of such garbage.
"Toji Zen—"
Smack!
Seeing this, Ogami did not dare activate or cancel her technique rashly. She tried to beg again.
But this time Toji had already grown impatient.
He casually swung his hand.
The sound of prayer beads snapping echoed in the air. Simultaneously, Granny Ogami's head exploded. Blood and brain matter splattered across the ground.
"Ah?!"
Witnessing the old woman die instantly, Awasaka felt overwhelming pressure. Any thought of fighting vanished.
'Run!'
The last time he felt this helpless was when the young Satoru Gojo noticed his gaze years ago.
No…
This terror was far worse than back then.
"Technique Release: Blazing Courage!"
Beside him, without warning, Ogami's Grandson's body suddenly moved on its own. Powerful cursed energy erupted from the sword's tip and turned into scorching flames that shot toward the sky.
The fear carved into that body had awakened. It wanted to eliminate the source of the nightmare standing before it.
Clang!
The next moment Toji's blade moved. A clear sound rang out.
The reinforced sword wrapped in cursed energy snapped in half and fell to the ground. Along with it fell half of its owner's head.
With a single strike, the grade 1 level "Ogi" had his forehead completely sliced off, even though the sword had been blocking.
When that half head hit the ground, it reverted to Ogami's Grandson's original face.
"A spirit summoning technique, huh…"
Toji finally understood why that disgusting face had appeared again.
At this moment, Awasaka and Haruta were already running in different directions, fleeing for their lives.
Boom!
Toji stomped the ground. The tremendous force shattered the pavement and broken stones flew into the air.
Tap, tap, tap…
He lightly flicked some of them with his finger.
Several stones shot forward like bullets toward Haruta's back. Those fragments were stronger than actual bullets, and when they struck his body, they knocked him violently to the ground.
Meanwhile, Toji took a single step.
In the next second, he appeared directly in front of Awasaka, cutting off his escape route.
"My technique is—"
Psh!
Awasaka shouted as he tried to activate his technique and gain an advantage by revealing it. But his words suddenly stopped.
His body kept running forward as if nothing had happened, passing right beside Toji.
Toji did not stop him.
He simply flicked the blood off the Split Soul Katana, rested the blade on his shoulder, and walked toward Haruta.
Behind him Awasaka kept running. But his steps grew slower and his strides became shorter.
Finally, he stopped in the middle of the road.
A thin line of blood appeared from his shoulder down to his waist.
'Growing old while doing this job… being a curse user is really the best. I'm free. I can do whatever I want…'
Even without revealing his technique, Awasaka's endurance had already reached the level of a strong grade 1 sorcerer. But he had misjudged his opponent.
Toji's slash was too fast. Too powerful.
As his memories flashed before his eyes, Awasaka's upper body slid along the cut and crashed to the ground in a pool of blood.
Only his lower half remained standing.
"That's ridiculously strong…"
Watching from the side, Ino stood there with his mouth open in shock. He could not guarantee victory against either of those two old curse users.
People with that level of power would definitely be well known in the jujutsu world. Yet right before his eyes they had been cut down one by one, and they could not even fight back.
Was this man really not a special grade?
"I heard even Gojo-san once 'trained' under Toji-san…" Ijichi added quietly.
By now, Toji had already walked back to Haruta.
"I really don't know anything! I had nothing to do with what's happening inside. My job was just cleaning up the outside area!"
Haruta trembled, unable to even stand. He was truly terrified now. Never before had he been so close to death.
Normally he loved making smug and annoying remarks, but now his mind could only think of ways to beg for mercy.
The five markings that should have remained on his face were now completely gone.
All because of the stones Toji had flicked.
Haruta's body was weak. He had survived this long only thanks to his technique, his cunning, and cursed tools. But before overwhelming strength, all that remained was a fragile body.
"You look like you're about to die."
Toji noticed the change in the markings and spoke mockingly.
"No!"
Those were the last words Haruta managed to shout.
When Toji turned around, Haruta's body had already been folded in half and crushed into the ground beneath his foot. Blood poured from his eyes and nose. Even the cursed tool that had accompanied him all this time had shattered into pieces.
"I'll go take a look inside. Just keep doing your work."
"Yes!"
After that brief exchange, Toji began walking toward the curtain. But when he passed the headless body of Granny Ogami, he suddenly stopped.
"I forgot to tell you. I'm not Zenin anymore. My name is Fushiguro now."
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