Drip.
Drip.
Nanami and Ryuichi walked through the abandoned tunnel; even with the beam of the flashlight illuminating the way, the path ahead remained enveloped in darkness.
The atmosphere…
had changed again.
Ryuichi’s thoughts were racing.
When he had just entered Inunaki Village, he had experienced the same feeling as when he entered the hospital a few days ago.
Cold, unsettling.
It felt like being touched on the back of the neck by cold hands.
And after entering the tunnel, this sensation became even more intense.
The situation in Inunaki Town was also clearly abnormal; the disappearance of nearly a thousand people would surely have caused a huge sensation in the outside world.
This situation felt like a Domain, or perhaps a Barrier Technique…
Kenjaku?!
As if struck by a flash of inspiration, Ryuichi caught a glimpse of the truth.
A Domain capable of overlaying reality, and with such a vast range.
At this point in time, only two people had the mastery of Barrier Technique to achieve this.
The immortal Tengen, and Kenjaku, who constantly swapped bodies.
Although Tengen was not a good teammate and had his own secret agenda, he surely wouldn’t do something like this behind the back of Tokyo Jujutsu High.
But Kenjaku was different; with his nature of wanting to throw the world into chaos, if it weren’t for Gojo Satoru holding things down at Tokyo Jujutsu High, he probably would have turned the whole world into a mess long ago.
What kind of conspiracy was Kenjaku brewing?
That didn’t seem right; by this time, the focus of his plans should have been on “sealing Gojo Satoru” and “releasing Ryomen Sukuna.”
What was the point of gathering Cursed Spirits in this remote place?
“Watch out, Tokiwa-kun.”
At this moment, Nanami extended his right hand, which held his blade, blocking Ryuichi behind him.
“A Cursed Spirit is approaching.”
The roar of engines, mixed with the cheers of young men, came from afar and drew closer.
“Woo—”
“Sprint! Sprint! Sprint!”
At the other end of the tunnel, a row of avant-garde biker gang members came speeding along on motorcycles.
If not for the fluctuations of Cursed Energy radiating from them, and the fact that they were all headless like Louis XVI, Ryuichi might have truly thought they were just ordinary bikers.
‘Well, at least I don’t have to worry about getting fined for not wearing a helmet,’ Ryuichi thought to himself.
“Move to the side first.”
Nanami pulled Ryuichi against the side of the tunnel.
“From now on, we will try to only counterattack and not actively attack these Cursed Spirits.”
Boom—
The motorcycles roared past; although the headless Cursed Spirits had no intention of charging at the two, they didn’t deliberately avoid them either.
The biker Cursed Spirit on the edge casually raised a baseball bat, intending to take a swing at the two on the side of the road.
‘They don’t look like Cursed Spirits, they look more like real bikers…’
Swish—
The fragments of the motorcycle and the “human body” collided with the ground, but only made a dull thud before weakly turning into black sludge and gradually evaporating and disappearing.
The other biker Cursed Spirits behind him sped past, laughing, with no intention of avenging their companion.
“A strange sensation.” Ryuichi weighed the shigurekiri in his hand.
“It was clearly a motorcycle, but cutting it felt like cutting meat.”
Nanami stepped forward to observe the patch of black sludge that hadn’t completely dissipated yet:
“In other words, the essence of this thing really is a Cursed Spirit.”
“Is it a variant? Or an experiment by a Curse User?”
“Wait.”
Ryuichi stood up straight and looked toward one side of the tunnel, which was also the direction the bikers had come from.
“It seems… there’s light?”
The two looked over; the light at the end of the tunnel gradually grew larger, and they could vaguely see the scenery outside.
“Prepare for battle, Tokiwa-kun.”
Nanami was not foolish enough to believe that the light before them was the exit to the outside world.
Boom—
The wind whistled; it seemed as if the tunnel was retreating, or perhaps that patch of light was gradually beginning to swallow the space in front of them.
In less than ten seconds, the two were already standing at the end of the tunnel.
Looking out through the exit, the scene before them was unmistakably Inunaki Village.
It was just that the color tone was dull, like an old, yellowed photograph.
But outside, there were no villagers, and in their place were…
Cursed Spirits.
Flying in the sky, running on the ground, swimming in the water, furry ones, winged ones, eight-legged ones…
Cursed Spirits of all shapes and sizes were either moving about or resting in that Inunaki Village.
This was a paradise for Cursed Spirits.
“Tokiwa-kun…”
Cold sweat dripped from Nanami’s temple.
And at this moment, Ryuichi already knew what he was going to say.
“Run!”
The two turned around and sprinted into the darkness behind them.
But they hadn’t run more than a few steps before they saw a woman in white, holding a woodcutter’s knife, with long hair covering her face, blocking their path.
“Urban legend, Mikako…”
“The ghost said to chain up crying children and drag them into the swamp.”
Nanami held his blunt blade, blocking in front of Ryuichi.
“This aura… I estimate it’s a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit.”
Clatter—
Mikako stepped forward slowly; the iron chain she was dragging with her left hand scraped against the ground, making an unsettling sound.
“Where… do you want to go?!”
Before the words had even faded, the woman turned into a blur, her woodcutter’s knife clashing with Nanami’s blunt blade.
Nanami received the blow and slashed upward with his blunt blade.
Through his custom-made glasses, constantly shifting markers appeared all over Mikako’s body.
The situation was critical, but Nanami’s voice remained calm:
“Tokiwa-kun, my Cursed Technique can create weak points all over an enemy’s body.”
“Arms, chest, head—as long as it’s a 7:3 ratio point, it can count as a vital spot.”
Cursed Technique: Ratio Technique.
Swish—
The dull sound of a kitchen knife cutting through bone rang out, and dark purple blood flew through the air along with most of Mikako’s left arm.
“Aaaah!!”
Mikako cried out in pain, letting out a sharp screech.
“Revealing the effects of one’s Cursed Technique to the enemy is a type of [Binding Vow].”
Nanami flicked the black blood off his blunt blade and said calmly.
“It can enhance the power of the Cursed Technique, while simultaneously making high-intelligence Cursed Spirits like this subconsciously guard against my weak point strikes.”
“What if they actually defend against it?” Ryuichi asked from a distance, lifting his blade.
Nanami patiently explained: “Whether it’s limbs, buildings, or weapons, I can create weak points on them.”
“Just like… this!”
He slashed horizontally with his blunt blade, hitting the 7:3 ratio point of the woodcutter’s knife in Mikako’s hand.
Clang!
The woodcutter’s knife snapped in response, but the fragments did not slowly evaporate and disappear.
Clearly, this was a Cursed Tool.
Behind this incident, there must be a Curse User at work.
Although they didn’t say it out loud, both of them had a vague suspicion in their hearts.
Nanami continued indifferently:
“If I hit a weak point, even against an enemy stronger than me, I can inflict significant damage.”
Mikako raised her head, revealing a pale face full of malice.
“Die!”
Her left arm was still slowly regenerating; she used her remaining right arm to grip the iron chain behind her and whipped it wildly toward Nanami.
‘First the Inverted Spear of Heaven, now the Chain of a Thousand Miles—big sister, are you Fushiguro Toji?’
This internal snark flashed through his mind, but Ryuichi knew the danger of this move; he drew his shigurekiri and slashed at the chain.
Cling-clang!
Facing the blunt blade and shigurekiri coated in Cursed Energy, the iron chain was not actually severed.
Working together, the two only managed to block most of the incoming chain.
Swish—
A strand of the chain, like a venomous snake, grazed Nanami’s shoulder.
Although it only caused a negligible wound, a chill spread, and the flesh at the wound turned dark purple in a very short time.
Ultra-low temperature!
“This is… a Cursed Technique!” Nanami’s expression was grave.
“I was still too careless…”