Konoe Mayoru was genuinely conflicted.
The moment he realized the Culling Game had begun, he had already considered Kenjaku an enemy.
It was not purely because of some strong sense of justice.
Mayoru had read the manga, so he knew Kenjaku held no goodwill toward the players.
The Culling Game was merely an intermediate step toward creating a colossal cursed spirit.
Kenjaku’s lifelong goal was to restore a chaotic world like the Heian era, where cursed spirits and sorcerers danced together.
When the time came to end the Culling Game, he would eliminate every remaining player without hesitation.
Still, expecting Kenjaku to become his enemy eventually was very different from encountering him right now.
In Mayoru’s original plan, he would first refine his technique and reach genuine special-grade strength before confronting someone like him.
‘I can’t believe this old bastard has no sense of honor.’ ‘He’s bullying a beginner who awakened his technique less than half a day ago.’ Mayoru naturally did not believe Kenjaku had come with good intentions.
The man had greeted him with Maximum: Uzumaki aimed directly at his face.
Kenjaku had not even treated Choso that ruthlessly in the manga.
Choso had been a powerful Grade 1, yet Kenjaku deliberately fought him using only low-grade cursed spirits.
The moment he encountered Mayoru, however, he opened with a Maximum Technique.
In a sense, that proved how highly Kenjaku regarded him.
Mayoru was confident he could protect himself, but whether he could win was another matter.
This was Kenjaku.
He was known to possess at least three cursed techniques, command an endless supply of cursed spirits, and carry a thousand years of experience.
He belonged to the tier directly beneath Gojo and Sukuna.
Mayoru’s cursed-energy efficiency and control had improved, but against someone like this, the delay before his active techniques would inevitably be exposed again.
‘There’s also the problem of my cursed-energy reserves.’ Basic reflection consumed almost nothing.
Actively manipulating vectors, however, required extensive calculations and undeniably drained cursed energy.
He had only fought one cursed spirit, yet his reserves had already fallen considerably.
While Mayoru remained wary of Kenjaku, Kenjaku was equally unwilling to lower his guard.
‘I suspected it might happen, but reflecting my Maximum Technique…’ ‘He truly is a monster.’ Kenjaku concealed his shock behind a calm expression.
He had always preferred scheming from the shadows and rarely appeared personally.
The only reason he had made an exception was to test Mayoru.
‘He awakened his technique only recently, and his cursed-energy control was atrocious, yet he defeated a Domain.’ ‘I cannot recall anyone else accomplishing such a thing.’ Even Sukuna had been mistreated when he was young.
Born with two faces and four arms, he looked like a monster, so the villagers of his time had apparently awakened their domineering spirits and mercilessly mocked and abused him.
Only after Sukuna reached the age where his innate technique awakened did he begin slaughtering everyone around him.
That proved even a genius on Sukuna’s level could not use a cursed technique fluently the instant they gained cursed energy.
When it came to technique usage, Mayoru was unquestionably still at the level of a small child.
Yet despite that, he had defeated a Domain.
No matter how much Kenjaku enjoyed events that defied common sense, he could not simply ignore something like this.
Before firing Uzumaki, he had already begun forming a theory about Mayoru’s technique.
Now, he was nearly certain.
‘I originally believed the boy could manipulate kinetic energy.’ ‘But no.
It isn’t that simple.’ ‘His technique must involve energy itself.’ ‘At the very least, he can manipulate cursed energy.’ Kenjaku was not referring to Mayoru’s own cursed energy.
He believed Mayoru could also control another person’s cursed energy through contact.
After what had just happened, Kenjaku had no doubt.
Maximum: Uzumaki condensed cursed spirits into an extremely dense mass of cursed energy before firing it as a direct attack.
Yet Mayoru had still reflected it.
That meant attacks carrying cursed energy were ineffective against him.
More importantly, his reflection was unconscious.
‘He did not deliberately defend himself against my Uzumaki.’ ‘It wasn’t merely because he failed to notice my ambush.’ ‘Deep down, he believes most attacks cannot threaten him.’ ‘Reflection is passive and constantly active.’ ‘That means killing him through a surprise attack is almost impossible.’ ‘If it operates unconsciously, he can probably maintain it even while asleep.’ Even Kenjaku fell into a brief daze after reaching that conclusion.
‘What a ridiculous ability…’ Even the Limitless could not be maintained continuously before Gojo grasped the essence of cursed energy.
Yet this boy had achieved a defense comparable to Limitless—or perhaps even superior—the moment he awakened his technique.
Worse still, his subconscious could maintain it.
Kenjaku did not consider that a good development.
He enjoyed things that escaped his control, but only when they did not threaten his plans.
At this point, he began to seriously suspect fate itself was working against him.
It would not have been the first time.
Whenever Kenjaku attempted to use Tengen to fulfill his ambitions, a sorcerer possessing the Six Eyes would inevitably be born to stop him.
He had believed that sealing Gojo Satoru would finally prevent fate from interfering.
However…
‘Instead, an even more disgusting sorcerer appeared.’ Killing intent began to surface within Kenjaku.
That created a new problem.
‘How do I kill him?’ Kenjaku found himself genuinely uncertain.
The combination of the Six Eyes and Limitless was already difficult enough to overcome.
Now, another sorcerer had appeared who could seemingly reflect energy itself, including cursed energy.
Cursed Spirit Manipulation was famous for its variety.
Kenjaku could simultaneously wield countless cursed spirits of semi-grade-one strength or higher, each possessing a different ability.
Among them were exceptionally unusual spirits.
One example was Ganesha, an Asian divine curse capable of interfering with concepts.
Its technique could remove gravity and even space within a designated area, which seemed suitable for dealing with Mayoru.
However— ‘How could any technique activate without cursed energy?’ ‘The instant the ability touches him, the cursed energy powering it will probably be reflected, causing the technique itself to fail.’ Kenjaku had already classified Konoe Mayoru as the ultimate bullshit opponent.
He wanted to kill the boy, yet he could not think of any reliable method to do so on such short notice.
Despite that, none of his hostility appeared on his face.
Kenjaku smiled warmly and addressed the boy in a cheerful voice.
“I mean you no harm.” “Why are you looking at me so fiercely?” …