“So… that’s right… it should have been the Ten Shadows Technique…”
In the Jujutsu World, hundreds of Cursed Techniques involved Shikigami, and hundreds more possessed shadow-related properties.
But when those two traits were combined, only a few techniques fit.
Narrow it down further by excluding techniques with only a single Shikigami, and only two possibilities remained.
[Cursed Spirit Manipulation] and [The Ten Shadows Technique].
Gen, however, had never used Cursed Spirits in battle.
At the same time, he had never released any Shikigami from the Ten Shadows Technique either.
Because of that, the debate between the two sides had never ended.
In the end, though, Cursed Spirit Manipulation had always been the more convincing theory.
After all, everyone believed the Ten Shadows Technique could only appear inside the Zenin Clan estate.
Without the Zenin Clan involved, no one would even consider it a possibility.
But the Ten Shadows Technique had made it onto the list of guesses for one simple reason: the abilities Gen had displayed matched its Shikigami far too well.
Slashing was a simple type of technique by nature, and many Cursed Techniques manifested as slashes.
Lightning, on the other hand, was extremely rare.
As a representative of positive energy, Cursed Spirits capable of using lightning were rarely seen.
The Ten Shadows’ Nue happened to be one of them.
Piercing Blood was essentially a charged shot of liquid, and Max Elephant could meet that condition.
That snake-shedding-like evasive technique could be performed by the Great Serpent.
Physical enhancement, along with the acceleration technique that killed opponents like a black shadow appearing in an instant, was Piercing Ox.
All kinds of speculation had been pointing toward the Ten Shadows Technique.
“Ah… I have no regrets left.
As you said, I will recall my autonomous Shikigami and withdraw my Domain.”
“Well, though saying this does feel a little like showing off.”
Gen looked at Dhruv, who was recalling his Shikigami, then curled his finger and summoned Nue.
A Nue about the size of a parrot appeared in front of Dhruv, instantly capturing his interest.
“How can this be…?
A Shikigami’s size and strength should correspond to the amount of Cursed Energy.
With the Cursed Energy you possess, your Nue should be even larger than my Shikigami.
For it to be this small… how is that possible?”
“It’s based on the Reverse Cursed Technique.”
Dhruv stood up.
Cursed Energy filled his withered body, causing it to swell at once, and then he knelt before Gen.
“I will listen carefully… Master.”
“Old man, it’s just the basics.
You don’t need to kneel.”
Dhruv could hardly hide his emotions.
“Reverse Cursed Technique… converts the Cursed Energy inside the body into positive energy.
I understand that much… But how does using the Reverse Cursed Technique allow you to control a Shikigami’s size during summoning?”
“When you use the Reverse Cursed Technique, you convert part of your Cursed Energy into positive energy.
That positive energy no longer counts toward your total amount of Cursed Energy.”
“Y-yes.”
“So, within 0.3 seconds of using the Reverse Cursed Technique, you convert a large amount of the Cursed Energy in your body into positive energy and control your total Cursed Energy at the amount you need.
That lets you control the Shikigami’s size.”
Dhruv seemed to understand at once.
He quickly began trying it, and Gen sensed the old man in front of him rein in a huge amount of Cursed Energy in an instant.
Then Dhruv let out a long sigh.
“I can’t do it in such a short time.”
“It’s fine.
It took me a long time to manage it too.”
“How long?”
“About half an hour.”
“Haha…”
Dhruv knew Gen was a monster when it came to talent, but he had not expected his talent to be this outrageous.
If he withdrew his Domain and did not continuously send his Shikigami out to roam, he could probably maintain it for about six hours.
After six hours, the Domain would collapse.
As for controlling his Cursed Energy amount with the Reverse Cursed Technique, Dhruv estimated it would take about two days to master perfectly.
If he only needed to create one briefly, it would probably take around three hours to summon a Shikigami between one and three people tall.
Gen looked up at the sky, toward the black Barrier.
“I’ve had enough of this Barrier.”
“…Do you already have quite a lot of points?”
“I still need five more.”
“I see.”
Dhruv nodded.
The next moment, Gen vanished from before his eyes, leaving only a trail of lightning behind.
“I’m off.”
After the roar of thunder, a light voice drifted into Dhruv’s ears.
Dhruv sat in his chair and silently gazed at the black Barrier, then immersed himself in training his control over his total Cursed Energy.
…
Tokyo’s Second Barrier.
“Kogane, how many points do I have now?”
A man holding a long staff, dressed in a white robe, his hair standing up like deer antlers, stood atop the corpses of several Jujutsu Sorcerers.
Leaning on the staff in his hand, he bit the thumb of his right hand, his teeth moving anxiously up and down.
“Your current score is 90 points.”
“Ahh… I can’t find a single decent opponent.
This is supposed to be the modern era four hundred years later, but haven’t things gone backward compared to ancient times?
If this is the best they have, then maybe Sukuna really is my only opponent now…”
Hajime Kashimo swung the long staff in his hand and struck the ground hard several times.
“Sukuna, I hope Kenjaku didn’t lie to me.
If this era doesn’t have anyone who can make me get serious… I’ll keep looking… I’ll keep looking!”
Just as Hajime Kashimo raised his staff, the Kogane beside him suddenly began tracing marks through the air.
“Ding-dong, ding-dong!
A Player has added a new rule.
General Rule 9: Players may teleport between Barriers.”
“An additional rule?”
Hajime Kashimo’s eyes lit up.
“Kogane!
How many points does it take to add a rule?”
“General Rule 6: By spending 100 points, a Player may negotiate with the Administrator to add a new General Rule.”
“Ah, so that’s how it is!
I hope this guy is in my Barrier… Don’t get my hopes up too much…”
Faster at killing than me… His strength might be on par with mine.
More importantly, the rule he added is “Barrier interconnection,” which means he must also be the kind of guy who seeks battles against stronger opponents.
…Who are you?
Hajime Kashimo thought for a moment, then made his decision.
He would do the same as that guy.
But the rule.
He had to think it through…
First, the indispensable name.
Then the score that determined strength.
But if someone added a rule, their score would go down.
So the number of rules they had added needed to be included too, along with the Barrier they were currently in…
It was decided.
First, he would find this guy, defeat him, and then go defeat Sukuna.
Hajime Kashimo swung the Nyoi Staff in his hand, planted his feet against the ground, and leaped up, landing on the rooftop of a building.
His eyes quickly swept across every area where Cursed Energy was erupting.
Then he jumped again, his body shooting like lightning toward the nearest burst of Cursed Energy.