Several months had passed since the day Rutosa taught Satoru about Infinite Blue and the Light Attack.
As expected of someone blessed with the Six Eyes, Satoru mastered both techniques within that short period. She learned them with ridiculous ease, almost like a child who picks up running after taking just a few steps.
It was not surprising when one considered the power of the Six Eyes. Even someone without Six Eyes like Rutosa had managed to develop and perfect Infinite Blue on his own. So it only made sense that a true Six Eyes user would learn it even faster and more naturally than him.
However, it should be noted beforehand that while Infinite Blue itself was relatively easy to learn and not overly draining, the Light Attack was an entirely different matter.
Rutosa could fire the Light Attack freely only because his deep connection with the Warp granted him practically infinite cursed energy.
For Satoru, even with her extremely efficient cursed energy thanks to the Six Eyes, she could barely launch a single Light Attack before collapsing from exhaustion, much like a certain crimson girl.
Just one attack and she was already down?
How would she fare if the enemy somehow alive and kicking after that attack?
To most people, this would be considered a serious disadvantage. Yet Rutosa did not see it that way at all.
One had to understand the sheer destructive potential of the technique.
One tiny particle accelerated to 99.99 percent the speed of light had so much energy that it could blow a planet as small as Earth into pieces almost instantly.
Therefore, it was safe to say that no enemy currently living on Earth could withstand a direct hit from this Light Attack. And even if someone miraculously survived, the planet itself would no longer exist anymore.
What good would survival be if there was no longer any ground to stand on, no air to breathe, and nothing but the cold suffocating space left behind?
Could the enemy survive floating alone in the vacuum of space?
Were they Mahoraga?
Could they endure millions of years while drifting through the loneliness of space like a certain ultimate creature?
Because of this overwhelming destructive power, Rutosa believed there was almost no reason for Satoru to ever use this trump card in normal battles.
The only true exceptions would be against the Mass Extinction Cursed Spirits from the Warp. But those would be problems for Rutosa to deal with, so he was confident she would never actually need to fire the Light Attack in her lifetime.
Still, having a trump card and having none were two completely different things.
Power was the ultimate truth in this world.
When both sides held guns, they could afford to talk about reason, morality, and laws.
But when only one side had the gun and the other stood empty-handed, that gun was no longer merely a weapon. What they're holding is another's life.
That was precisely why Rutosa had chosen to teach Satoru the Light Attack. In this dangerous world, he wanted her to hold the gun, not stand defenseless.
"Young Master, it is almost time for the scheduled appointment," Honda Nisson reminded him respectfully.
"Oh, it is already that late?" Rutosa said as he glanced at the clock. "It is finally time for my main business after so many months."
Rutosa stood up from his office chair, stretched lightly, and walked out of the room with calm, purposeful steps.
---
It was raining heavily in Japan that day.
"What perfect weather," Zenin Toji muttered to himself as he stared at the dark, stormy clouds covering the sky. "Perfect weather for the Zenin clan's funeral."
Today would be remembered in history as the day the Zenin clan ceased to exist.
This decision had not come to Toji suddenly.
The idea of completely annihilating the Zenin clan had been brewing in his mind for several months, ever since the shocking day the Gojo clan was wiped out by unknown attackers.
Especially after he learned about that irregular Gojo brat, a child less than five years old who could already use Limitless without possessing the Six Eyes.
Toji hated the Zenin clan. This was no secret. Toji knew it. The Zenin elders knew it. The entire Zenin clan knew it.
But so what?
What could a man born without cursed energy actually do, even if he hated the Zenin clan with every fiber of his being?
In the eyes of the Zenin clan, Toji was worth nothing. He was a defect, a failure, a stain on their proud bloodline. And for a long time, Toji himself had believed he truly amounted to nothing against such a powerful and ancient clan.
Although he had stripped away almost all of his weaknesses, ethics, and morality since childhood, the scars from his early years still remained deep in his heart.
The constant attacks from invisible cursed spirits and the cruel training had secretly left permanent marks on his soul.
Because of that fear and trauma, he had maintained the status quo for years.
He maintained the status quo while gathering enough strength to one day destroy the Zenin clan...
He maintained the status quo while learning how to survive the invisible attacks that once terrified him...
He maintained the status quo while planning his escape from the clan's grasp...
He maintained the status quo until…
A clear image of the young Gojo brat suddenly flashed in his mind.
It was the memory of the Zenin elders seriously discussing how to deal with a mere child who was not even five years old.
The discussion so ridiculous that even Toji could laugh in his sleep.
He did not know exactly how long he had lived under the Zenin clan's shadow. He also did not know exactly when his original goal of completely destroying the Zenin clan had quietly changed into simply running away and maintaining the status quo.
He, a tyrant, had been held back and maintaining status quo by fear of these worthless maggots who could not even handle a single small child?
It was as laughable as a full-grown lion becoming terrified of antelopes simply because it had been stabbed by their horns once when it was young.
And because of that single painful memory, the lion had spent its entire life avoiding antelopes and living cautiously among weak prey.
But now, the fragile facade of peace had been completely torn apart.
"I will give the Zenin clan the grandest funeral they could ever imagine," Toji whispered to himself with a cold smile.
He began walking toward the Zenin clan compound with murderous intent.
To make this annihilation plan successful, Toji had spent several months preparing carefully.
First, he had secretly bought detailed information about every innate cursed technique currently present in the clan, preparing himself for any troublesome abilities he might encounter.
Fortunately for him, this generation of the Zenin clan was surprisingly weak in terms of innate techniques. Most of their techniques were easily countered by the raw physical power granted to him by Heavenly Restriction.
Second, he had stolen a number of useful cursed tools from the clan's arsenal. He had considered taking everything, but that would have immediately raised alarms. So he restrained himself and only took what he needed to deal with the remaining Zenin members.
Finally, he had carefully tracked the locations of every important Zenin clan member. He had chosen today specifically because almost all of them had gathered at the main compound for a clan meeting.
If he wiped out this group, the remaining Zenin members scattered across Japan would only be distant blood relatives with almost no real connection or power left. The Zenin clan would effectively cease to exist.
All that remained now was for Toji to unleash his full strength, rampage through the compound, and kill everyone in his path.
When Toji thought about the coming massacre, he let out a long sigh of relief. For the first time in years, he felt as if heavy chains that had been suppressing him for so long had finally broken.
However, in the very next moment, his footsteps suddenly stopped.
"Huh?"
Something did not make sense.
He was absolutely certain that he had been extremely secretive. No one should have been able to locate him unless he deliberately showed himself.
Yet right in the middle of the path he was walking, someone was already waiting for him.
It was a child who looked so young that it seemed strange to see him standing alone in such a dangerous situation.
Even more surprising was the fact that the heavy rain falling from the sky due to gravity seemed unable to touch the boy at all. It was as if an invisible wall of infinity existed between him and the raindrops.
Toji immediately recognized the child.
"Is this for real?"
Gojo Rutosa smiled and replied, "For real, real."