Location: Kyoto, Gakuganji Clan Estate
Time: Late August 1905
An older Gakuganji sorcerer slammed his ceramic teacup onto the floorboards.
SMASH.
"...Noritoshi Kamo lectured us on tradition for years," the old man spat. "...And he was breeding monsters in his basement the entire time."
He kicked the broken porcelain out of the doorway.
"...The Kamo clan is full of hypocrites," he growled to his retainers.
The Zenin and Gojo clans wasted absolutely no time leaking the horrific details of the underground laboratory.
The news spread to every corner of the Jujutsu world over the past three weeks.
--<>--
Location: Tokyo, Inumaki Clan Compound
Time: Late August 1905
Two Inumaki sorcerers sat quietly on a wooden porch.
One of them tapped his finger against a local newspaper clipping.
"...Mustard leaf," he whispered in a highly disturbed tone.
The other sorcerer pulled his high collar up over his mouth.
Mixing human blood with cursed spirits was the ultimate taboo.
"...Kelp," he agreed quietly. (T/L; The abominations broke out)
Ordinary sorcerers and elite families alike firmly believed the Kamo clan's nine hybrids shattered their own jars and escaped into the wild.
--<>--
Time: A Few Weeks ago (Flashback)
Elder Zenin Kenzo and other people knelt on the hard stone floor.
Kenzo stared respectfully at the woven bamboo screen in front of him.
Master Tengen sat completely hidden behind the thin wood.
"...The Kamo clan is disgraced," Kenzo reported calmly.
He rested his hands on his thighs.
"...The Zenin and Gojo families are officially taking over the barrier contracts today," Kenzo added.
Tengen did not respond to the political struggle.
The ancient being shifted slightly on the tatami mat.
RUSTLE.
"...I don't care about your clan politics, Kenzo," Tengen spoke.
The voice carried a heavy, undeniable weight through the underground chamber.
"...Noritoshi Kamo forced human women to bear cursed children," Tengen stated.
Kenzo lowered his head closer to the stone.
"...Yes, Master Tengen," Kenzo replied. "...Nine of those hybrids were gone in that room."
The air in the tomb grew incredibly thick.
"...They blur the line between human and curse," Tengen warned. "...and threaten the boundaries of this world."
Tengen pointed a finger through the gaps in the bamboo screen.
"...Contain them immediately," Tengen commanded.
Kenzo swallowed hard.
"...Locate the nine cursed objects," Tengen finalized.
All the people who attended bowed perfectly.
They all agreed in one thing, that this abomination must be nip on the bud, exorcised or sealed.
"... It'll be done,"
--<>--
Time: Present
Location: Fujiwara Clan Estate, Archives
Time: 02:00 PM
Kenjaku unrolled a dusty, crumbling scroll across a long wooden table.
He chose this specific vessel for its vast cursed energy pool.
The lack of a restrictive innate technique made the body incredibly easy to control.
This ancient family name also gave him absolute access to these restricted historical records.
Even though in this era, this family consists only single digit members. Their family history records were vast.
Sukuna really fucked them up.
Kenjaku quietly read the ancient texts documenting the soul cycle of Ryomen Sukuna's twin.
Three other Fujiwara members sat at the table next to him.
"...The Kamo abominations are still missing," an older noble whispered.
Kenjaku slowly rolled his scroll up.
"...Nine monsters running wild in the mountains," another Fujiwara sorcerer sighed. "...I still can't believe that previous clan head can do those horrific things."
Kenjaku turned his head and put on a perfectly concerned expression.
"...We must increase the guard patrols around the clan," Kenjaku suggested warmly. "...Please stay safe during your travels. Fujiwara clan must continue to exists."
The other clan members nodded in agreement and went back to their reading.
After all, they were already the remnants of history.
Kenjaku turned back to his own desk.
He smiled slightly.
'Those fools actually think the Death Paintings broke themselves out,' Kenjaku thought.
He picked up a fresh scroll.
He knew his creations intimately.
They were completely dormant fetal wombs.
They lacked the physical capacity to shatter glass or walk away on their own.
'Someone infiltrated the Kamo estate,' Kenjaku deduced instantly.
He rested his chin on his hand.
'Someone bypassed all the barrier and stole my creations right out from under the elders and even me.'
The theft did not anger him in the slightest.
He felt genuine, thrilling excitement.
An incredibly competent someone just hijacked his experiment.
Kenjaku wondered about the unknown player's endgame.
'Or maybe it was eaten by a random cursed spirit?
...No that wasn't possible when I erected a barrier.'
Kenjaku theorized internally. 'Or that someone will try to consume them...
...Is it an accident or a coincidence?
..Is it Tengen?
...Is there someone knows me enough?
...From the family?'
Kenjaku knows that his cursed technique shouldn't be known by anyone. And he hid himself perfectly all over the years.
He dipped a brush into a small jar of ink.
TAP.
He wrote down a quick translation from the old scroll.
In his thousand-year plan, there were no true accidents.
There were only fascinating new variables.
Kenjaku chuckled quietly under his breath and kept reading.
--<>--
Location: Kamo Estate, Outer Barracks Pathway
Time: 08:15 PM
Hanzo turned around to head toward the woods.
Two men wearing cheap, rough cotton uniforms walked up.
They carried basic wooden spears instead of the steel-tipped weapons of the inner guard.
"...Ryu-san?" Hanzo called out. "...Genji-san?"
The two men stopped and looked at him.
Ryu had dark circles under his eyes.
Genji looked completely exhausted.
"...Oh, it's you, kid," Ryu grunted.
Hanzo walked over to them.
"...They really put you on outer perimeter duty?" Hanzo asked casually.
Genji leaned heavily against his spear.
Ryu rubbed his tired face.
"...We failed to report it directly. Like, how would we know that the clan leader was doing horrific things in his room. That's why he wasn't able to go out." Ryu complained. "... We're basically disgraced."
Genji looked around the dark pathway nervously.
He leaned in closer to Hanzo.
"...It could be worse," Genji whispered. "...You heard about the servant, right?"
Hanzo blinked in confusion.
"...No," Hanzo replied. "...What happened to him?"
Ryu looked down at the ground.
"...The elders executed him," Ryu said quietly.
Hanzo let his jaw drop slightly to fake a shocked reaction.
"...What?" Hanzo gasped. "...Why?"
Genji gripped his wooden spear tightly.
"...They blamed him for the one-day delay," Genji explained. "...He didn't report it fast enough."
"...They said his incompetence was the result why the entire clan was disgraced." Ryu added.
Hanzo lowered his head.
"...That is terrible," Hanzo muttered softly. "...He was just doing his job."
Genji sighed and patted Hanzo on the shoulder.
"...Just keep your head down, kid," Genji warned. "...The elders are looking for anyone to blame right now."
--<>--
Time: 11:00 PM
Daiki kicked a small pebble across the dirt path.
CLACK.
"...I still cannot believe Lord Kenji actually burned his father's name," Daiki muttered.
Yumi adjusted the strap of her wooden spear.
"...He had no choice," Yumi replied quietly. "...The elders had to blame someone. He was already branded as the most evil sorcerer in a century."
Hanzo walked silently beside them.
He listened to his teammates discuss the official clan statement from last week.
The Kamo clan formally declared Noritoshi Kamo as a curse user.
They used that excuse to completely sever the clan from the underground experiments.
"...It is just crazy," Daiki sighed. "...Eradicating a Clan Head from the family genealogy."
Hanzo stopped walking near the edge of the training grounds.
"...I am going to split off here," Hanzo told them. "...I need to do my evening routine."
Daiki stretched his arms over his head.
POP.
"...You never take a break," Daiki yawned. "...We will see you a few hours then."
Yumi nodded tiredly and kept walking down the path.
Hanzo watched them leave.
The frantic patrols from the past month had finally ended.
The estate was settling back into a quiet, depressed routine.
--<>--
He watched them disappear into the dark.
He stepped off the pathway and walked into the thick trees.
SWISH.
The leaves brushed against his dark uniform.
He searched his own chest for a single drop of guilt.
He thought about the dead servant.
His forged note directly caused the elders to execute an innocent man.
His staged breakout completely ruined Ryu and Genji's lives.
He felt absolutely nothing.
The feelings inside his chest was completely empty.
'My empathy is already gone,' Hanzo realized calmly.
He accepted the psychological shift without a second thought.
He prioritized his own power over human morality.
Aftet all, his another binding vow last month was to sacrifice his empathy. Discard the ability to feel remorse or pity.
In exchange, he'll have an unyielding, absolute willpower to fight the souls that enter his body.
Step. Step. Step.
Hanzo walked deeper into the woods.
He looked toward the solid ground bunker in the distance.
The political chaos was finally manageable.
And his waiting game was over.
He touched the wooden Key Tag inside his pocket.
'It's time,' Hanzo decided.
He walked toward the Inversion Barrier to consume the Death Paintings.
--<>--
Hanzo stood alone in the dark forest.
He faced a solid wall of soil and tree roots.
And reached into his uniform pocket and gripped the plain wooden Key Tag.
His brain instantly unlocked the erased coordinates.
The illusion of the ground wall faded away, revealing the heavy wooden door of his bunker.
He pushed it open and stepped inside.
CREAK.
He pulled the heavy door shut and locked the iron latch.
CLICK.
Hanzo pulled a matchbook from his pocket and struck a single match.
SCRATCH.
He lit the small oil lamp sitting on the wooden table.
The dim orange flame illuminated the cramped dirt room.
Nine heavy glass jars sat in a perfect row across the table.
Hanzo walked over and stared at the floating fetal masses.
Thick, yellowish fluid clouded the glass.
"...This is going to taste absolutely terrible," Hanzo whispered to himself.
He couldn't boil them or add spices to mask the flavor.
These cursed objects were essentially concentrated, lethal poison to a human body.
Hanzo placed both of his hands flat on the wooden table.
He closed his eyes and forced his breathing to slow down.
HUFF. PUFF.
"...I offer a permanent, physical sacrifice,"
He channeled his cursed energy to seal the spiritual contract.
"...I permanently sever my reproductive system and my future bloodline," Hanzo stated plainly.
The universe listened to the heavy, tangible cost.
"...In exchange, be able to withstand the poison of the cursed objects," Hanzo finalized. "Whether I die or I survive from consuming them."
A sharp, searing phantom feeling flared deep inside his body.
The transaction was complete.
This is binding vow was another reassurance, after all his ten years binding vows felt enough. But he needed something to seal the deal.
Aftet all the body is the soul and the soul is the body.
Hanzo opened his eyes and grabbed the rim of the ninth jar.
He smashed the top of the glass against the edge of the table.
CRACK.
A foul, overwhelming smell of rotting meat flooded the small dirt room.
Hanzo reached his bare hand into the chemical fluid.
He pulled the fetal mass out.
It felt incredibly slippery and freezing cold against his skin.
He opened his mouth and shoved the curse object directly down his throat.
GULP.
A toxic heat erupted in his stomach, and his vision instantly went pitch black.
--<>--
Hanzo opened his eyes.
He stood in the dead center of an endless, pitch-black void.
The ground beneath his boots was covered in shallow, freezing water.
This was his Innate Domain.
It's the literal, physical manifestation of his own mind and soul.
Ten feet away, the water rippled.
SPLASH.
The soul of the ninth Death Painting materialized in the dark.
It didn't look human at all.
It was a grotesque, asymmetrical blob of melted curse flesh.
Random, twitching eyeballs covered its slimy surface.
"...Cco..." the creature wept.
The voice sounded like a distorted, gurgling child.
"...Aah..."
The blob of flesh dragged itself forward aggressively.
SPLASH. SPLASH.
Hanzo stared at the crying anomaly.
"...You're just an appetizer," Hanzo said softly.
He stepped forward and grabbed the deformed mass with his bare hands.
He didn't use a barrier or a technique.
He just crushed its core effortlessly in a single motion.
SQUELCH.
The blob of cursed flesh shrieked briefly before dissolving into black ash.
--<>--
Hanzo opened his eyes.
He gripped the edge of the wooden table to keep from falling over.
His entire body burned with an intense, unfamiliar heat.
"It seems that my gamble paid off. My soul and spirit is stronger than I initially thought..."
He felt the biological shift happening deep inside his bones.
The cursed object had fully fused with him.
He was no longer entirely human.
His cursed energy reserves spiked drastically, feeling far heavier than before.
Hanzo looked down at the remaining eight jars on the table.
Fighting these weak, fragmented souls one by one was going to take all night.
He needed to elevate his capacity to Grade 1 immediately.
"...Doing this one at a time is just wasting my time," Hanzo muttered.
He grabbed jars eight, seven, six, five, and four.
He smashed them all against the wood in rapid succession.
CRASH. CRUNCH.
Shards of glass and yellowish fluid spilled everywhere.
Hanzo lined the five deformed, slippery masses up on the table.
He ignored the putrid smell making his eyes water.
He shoved the eighth fetus into his mouth and swallowed.
He shoved the seventh in right after.
He swallowed the sixth, the fifth, and the fourth without stopping to breathe.
GULP. GULP. GULP.
A massive, violent wave of cursed energy detonated inside his body.
Hanzo closed his eyes and willingly threw himself back into his mental space.
--<>--
Hanzo stood calmly in the shallow water again.
Five malformed embryos surrounded him in the dark.
They were covered in vestigial limbs, exposed bone, and twitching eyes.
They possessed half-human sentience, and they could feel the void left by their youngest brother.
"...Brother..." one of the blobs wept.
"...He killed him..." another one gurgled angrily.
"...Our little brother..."
The five deformed curses screeched in unison.
SCREE.
RAAAH.
GOIOO.
Fueled by sheer hatred and grief, they lunged at Hanzo from all sides.
They dragged their heavy bodies across the water in a coordinated attack.
SPLASH. SPLASH. SPLASH.
Hanzo looked at the weeping brothers with pure disdain.
He felt absolutely zero pity for their sorrow.
"...You guys are really loud," Hanzo said coldly.
He raised his right hand and extended his index and middle fingers.
"...Danku," Hanzo commanded.
FWOOSH.
A massive, invisible rectangular wall slammed down into the water right in front of him.
The five charging brothers crashed violently into the shield.
SMASH. CLANG. SMASH. BAAM.
They clawed and screamed at the invisible barrier, trying to reach his throat.
SCRATCH. SCRATCH.
Hanzo raised his left hand.
He formed a small, flat, circular barrier just two inches above his open palm.
"...Let's test the math," Hanzo whispered.
He mentally inputted the strict mathematical condition into the tiny space.
He accepted the absolute fragility of the barrier's exterior.
The lens had zero physical durability, leaving him completely open if someone threw a rock at his hand.
Hanzo pulled his right arm back.
He focused a massive amount of his newly compressed energy into his fist.
"...Vector separation and tracking," Hanzo thought out loud.
He threw a raw, straight-line blast of cursed energy directly at the back of the circular lens.
BOOM.
The raw energy slammed into the barrier formula.
The code instantly divided the single blast into ten separate vector attacks.
The barrier scanned the surrounding water and encoded the specific cursed energy signatures of the five cursed spirits into the divided energy.
The tiny lens shattered like glass.
CRACK.
Ten homing cursed energy missiles erupted forward from his palm.
SWOOSH. SWOOSH. SWOOSH.
The tracking blasts completely bypassed the Danku wall.
They locked onto the weeping souls perfectly, bending their trajectories through the dark air.
They slammed into the five deformed brothers from every possible angle.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
--<>--
A/n: I don't feel good. I had a lump on backside, it hurts too much. I even caught a fever because of it. I think I needed to rest and heal for a day or two.
Hopefully it will be gone with just sitz bath, pain reliever and antibiotics. If not, I will have a minor surgery to remove it.
Sorry~
-Dr_Chad