After an unhindered journey through the skies to Kyoto, Satoru looked down at the chaotic ground below with a hint of surprise.
Around the Pillar of Heaven, millions of Cursed Spirits densely packed the mountains.
"What a grand spectacle. This number is several times greater than what we saw in Sendai back then."
Satoru removed his blindfold and quickly scanned the entire area, but he did not find Kenjaku or Abe no Seimei.
However, he did find many Special Grade Cursed Spirits and Abe no Seimei's Shikigami.
"Did they run away?"
Satoru pondered for a moment.
"It's only natural to be afraid when a carefully planned scheme gets dismantled in just a few hours."
Thinking this, Satoru nodded, then lowered his altitude.
"Nine ropes. Polarized light. Crow and declaration. Between front and back."
"Hollow Technique: Purple."
With the full chant, the power of Hollow Technique: Purple was unleashed to its greatest extent.
Carrying an aura of destruction, a massive Purple crossed hundreds of meters and struck the base of the Pillar of Heaven.
Rumble.
The hundreds-meter-tall Pillar of Heaven began to tilt and collapse.
Crack, crack, crack, crack, snap!
To Satoru's surprise, the hundreds-meter-tall Pillar of Heaven suddenly exploded before it could hit the ground, and the immense Cursed Energy within the giant tree erupted in every direction.
A massive barrier quickly appeared and closed.
The Cursed Spirits that had been densely packed on the ground were pushed outside by the enormous barrier. The object they were protecting changed from the Pillar of Heaven to the barrier trapping Satoru.
Only a few thousand Cursed Spirits remained inside the barrier.
"You're not using that many Cursed Spirits, and you plan to deal with me using these small fry?"
Satoru chuckled as he looked at Kenjaku and Abe no Seimei, who had suddenly appeared on the ground.
"Numbers are meaningless against you, aren't they?"
Kenjaku replied with a smile.
"Then let me see what interesting performances you've prepared for me."
Even surrounded alone by thousands of enemies, Satoru showed no sign of panic.
His expression was as arrogant as ever.
"You'll see very soon."
After Kenjaku finished speaking, many long-awaited beings revealed themselves.
There were Abe no Seimei's Shikigami that had appeared before, such as Ibaraki Doji, Kidomaru, Hakuzosu, Gashadokuro, and Kyokotsu.
There were also powerful enemies Kenjaku had specifically prepared for Satoru.
A figure wreathed in lightning and flames stood on the battlefield, radiating a terrifying aura.
"Allow me to introduce him. This is your ancestor, one of the most terrifying vengeful spirits in this country, Sugawara no Michizane."
Kenjaku's words made Abe no Seimei unable to resist taking another look at Sugawara no Michizane.
"Really?"
Satoru crossed his arms and tilted his head.
"Really."
Kenjaku also crossed his arms, imitating him, and nodded seriously.
"Where did you dig up this old relic?"
Satoru asked curiously.
"You'll find out after you die. Don't worry, I'll collect you and your ancestor together."
With that, Kenjaku controlled the Special Grade Cursed Vengeful Spirit, Sugawara no Michizane, to attack Satoru.
Flames and lightning transformed into two divine dragons, one green and one red, and soared into the sky.
'This Cursed Energy output is already close to Sukuna's sixteen fingers back then.'
Satoru made a judgment in his mind.
As an existence feared even by Japan's imperial family, the vengeful spirit Sugawara no Michizane became after death was extremely terrifying. Even the many jujutsu sorcerers and high-ranking monks gathered by the imperial family were helpless against him.
Moreover, in legend, Sugawara no Michizane had deep connections with Indra.
He even claimed that he had come to take revenge after receiving Indra's permission.
This was also the reason why the Cursed Techniques later developed by the Gojo family contained so many Buddhist elements.
The many Buddhist scriptures left behind by Sugawara no Michizane became important reference materials for the Gojo family's later development of Cursed Techniques.
It was worth mentioning that as an ancestor of the Gojo family, Sugawara no Michizane was not famous for the Six Eyes and Limitless.
Instead, he was renowned throughout the land by the names Raijin and Hiraijin, the Fire-Thunder God.
The reason for this was that the birth of the Six Eyes was inextricably linked to Tengen.
And Tengen's first assimilation was in 1006, by which time Sugawara no Michizane had already been dead for over a hundred years.
This meant that when Sugawara no Michizane was alive, the world's first pair of Six Eyes had not yet been born.
Although the Gojo family was indeed descended from Sugawara no Michizane, like many ancient noble families, Sugawara no Michizane had several branches of descendants, and the Gojo family, which later changed its name to Gojo, was one of them.
In other words, Sugawara no Michizane became an existence feared by countless people without the Six Eyes and Limitless.
After his death, the imperial court, out of fear of Sugawara no Michizane, posthumously restored his honor, granted him First Rank, and even enshrined him as Hirai Tenjin, the Fire-Thunder Heavenly God.
"This level alone isn't enough."
A crimson light flickered from Satoru's body.
The two lightning-fire dragons were instantly shattered by a powerful repulsive force.
As the two lightning-fire dragons were defeated, Sugawara no Michizane had already appeared above Satoru and used Domain Amplification.
A fierce collision erupted where Domain Amplification and Limitless met.
At the moment they collided, Kidomaru and Ibaraki Doji also used Domain Amplification and surrounded him.
Three katanas wrapped in Domain Amplification slowly pierced toward Satoru.
"I see, Domain Amplification."
Satoru's figure suddenly vanished from where he stood, and Kidomaru's single katana and Ibaraki Doji's twin katanas, having lost their target, struck toward Sugawara no Michizane at the same time.
Clang, clang!
Ibaraki Doji redirected his katana, colliding with Kidomaru's katana.
The powerful force pushed both of them apart, preventing their allies from harming each other.
"Something similar to Shinkage-ryu: Simple Domain, wrapping oneself in a Domain.
While it greatly reduces the Domain's guaranteed-hit effect, it can effectively neutralize Limitless. It seems you've indeed prepared your countermeasures well."
"Not just that, you know."
Kenjaku suddenly spoke from behind Satoru.
"We've prepared other grand gifts for you."
As he spoke, Kenjaku closed one eye and proudly raised a finger.
Bang!
Another collision erupted between Domain Amplification and Limitless. This time, Kenjaku had also joined in.
"Is that so? Then I'll have to look forward to it."
With that, a scene that shocked everyone present occurred.
Satoru actually deactivated Limitless directly.
Satoru pinched Kidomaru's long sword between two fingers and flicked it aside, then grabbed Kenjaku's fist and pulled him backward.
Clang!
Bang, bang!
Kidomaru's and Ibaraki Doji's katanas clashed.
Kenjaku, whose body had been pulled away, also blocked Sugawara no Michizane's attack angle.
To avoid hitting an ally, Sugawara no Michizane could only temporarily halt his attack.
Then Satoru kicked Kenjaku in the stomach.
The powerful kick sent Kenjaku flying, along with Sugawara no Michizane behind him.
"Hmm?"
Just then, the Six Eyes detected another powerful surge of Cursed Energy.
Satoru subconsciously tried to activate Limitless, but before it could fully deploy, a fist much larger than Mahoraga's struck him fiercely.
Boom!
A huge sound erupted from the point of impact, and Satoru instantly teleported to a nearby spot.
A thin trail of blood slowly flowed from his temple.
(To be continued.)