Kamo Shizumi was gasping heavily.
Although he had exhausted every bit of strength he had, the distance between them was still simply too great.
Seeing that Zenin Mai was about to reach the grip of the submachine gun, he gritted his teeth and prepared to put his body through another round of suffering, squeezing out whatever remained of his strength.
He would force out another Blood Arrow and let this crazy woman have another taste!
‘As long as I do not die, there will always be a way…
I will take her down first!’
However, just as that thought settled, a shadow suddenly appeared behind Kamo Shizumi.
Hanami, who had come rushing over from who knew where, approached from the front, smoothly crouched down, and scooped Kamo Shizumi into its arms.
“We are leaving.”
Its tone was as calm as ever.
As for Kamo Shizumi?
Seeing his own big boss finally enter the fray, he completely relaxed.
Regardless of the outcome, at least his life was definitely safe.
As he watched the battered figure gradually disappear into the distance, Kamo Shizumi originally wanted to add, “Finish the job, boss,” but when he saw Aoi Todo already chasing after them while clapping his hands, he ultimately gave up on the idea.
With this troublesome and difficult-to-deal-with Grade 1 sorcerer here, Hanami definitely would not be able to focus on killing people while also looking after him.
If Todo clapped his hands and swapped him over, what would he do then?
Would telling Todo that he liked women who were tall with big butts convince him to spare his life?
With all sorts of nonsense swirling around in his mind, Kamo Shizumi grimaced and hissed in pain for a while before finally closing his eyes and letting out a helpless sigh.
The final dance of two maggots had come to an end.
…
“Zenin, Zenin? Hey… can you hear me?”
Aoi Todo took off his coat and draped it over her.
Kamo Noritoshi carefully lifted her chin and widened his eyes as he began examining her injuries.
“Although they look quite serious, there should be no danger to her life as long as they are treated properly… Todo, contact the school.”
“I am already calling them.”
While waiting for the call to connect, Todo walked forward, crouched down, and began examining the ‘battlefield’ from earlier.
The traces of residual cursed energy were very faint…
That meant the opponent had not used any large-scale or particularly powerful technique.
Submachine-gun bullets, footprints from someone charging forward, blood sprayed across the corridor…
Even without any additional explanations or hints, Todo Aoi could rely on his instincts to make a specific assessment almost instantly.
A high-intensity exchange that had taken place over a short period of time.
—The opponent’s strength should be rather limited, because ordinary firearms had been enough to break through the defenses.
They were probably below the level of a Grade 2 sorcerer.
Then there were the injuries.
Kamo Noritoshi was particularly sensitive to blood, so his analysis was also quite thorough.
“Penetration wound to the shoulder, blunt-force trauma to the face. Both the cheekbone and nasal bone were affected… There is a possibility that her face will be permanently disfigured.”
—The opponent had been extremely ruthless…
But following the same logic as his previous judgment, their overall strength was quite limited.
After all, despite landing two direct hits, the opponent had still failed to take Zenin Mai’s life.
That meant the strength of both sides had been extremely close.
“Working together with a cursed spirit, they should be a curse user.”
“Although their activities have not been particularly frequent recently, it is still understandable that one would occasionally appear…”
“Their strength is probably Grade 3… No, they should have reached Semi-Grade 2. Firearms pose a certain threat to that person, but it is not particularly significant.”
Kamo Noritoshi and Aoi Todo instinctively looked at each other.
The two of them reached the same conclusion at almost exactly the same time.
It is a maggot.
X2
There was no need to worry about that person for the time being.
Kamo Noritoshi quickly treated the injuries as an emergency measure.
“The most important thing is still that cursed spirit… We could not hold it back even if we wanted to. At this level, according to the standard classification…”
Aoi Todo nodded without hesitation and finished his sentence.
“It is Special Grade level.”
Beep.
The call connected.
“Utahime-sensei, I have an emergency that I need to report…”
Todo turned around and began explaining the current situation.
Zenin Mai seemed to have only just managed to catch her breath.
She reached out and grabbed Kamo Noritoshi by the collar, speaking in a slightly trembling voice.
“Wait, I have… something I need to explain…”
“Your injuries are serious. Talking too much will cause the wounds to reopen.”
“That person just now… was using Blood Manipulation…”
She swallowed, her tone solemn.
With half of her bloodstained face exposed, Zenin Mai emphasized her words once again.
“It was Blood Manipulation. I am absolutely certain!!!”
As for what changes would take place on the Jujutsu High side, that was another matter.
Elsewhere.
Hanami took Kamo Shizumi away from the hospital and urgently relocated him, eventually arriving at some unknown wilderness on the outskirts of the city.
“I will go find some medicine for you. It is safe here… The plants told me that no one has come here for about three years.”
In a secluded area of the Kyoto wilderness that even Gojo Satoru did not know about and that the entire jujutsu world had never investigated, beneath the shade of trees in a certain mountain valley…
This was where Kamo Shizumi would temporarily recuperate.
He was half-collapsed against a tree stump, his mouth slightly open as he gasped for breath.
His entire body was covered in blood, with more than forty wounds from head to toe…
But most of them had not caused complete penetrating injuries to the flesh.
So they only looked more severe than they actually were.
The blood loss made him somewhat dizzy, but his half-human, half-cursed-spirit constitution allowed him to adapt quickly.
At present, the main thing preventing him from recovering his ability to move was the lack of cursed energy.
Flowing Red Scale had drained all the cursed energy from his body in an instant, creating a literal “void.”
‘When I was reading the original story, I hardly ever saw anyone run out of cursed energy…’
It could only be said that starting from such a low point came with consequences.
Moreover, taking advantage of this opportunity, Kamo Shizumi now roughly understood what made up the combat strength of a non-Special Grade jujutsu sorcerer.
Basically, it was personal ability + cursed tools…
Why had he reached such a conclusion?
It was actually quite easy to understand if he put himself in the situation.
Considering the rule that firearms could break through the defenses of a Grade 3 sorcerer, Zenin Mai was probably equivalent to a sorcerer who was armed to the teeth.
Not only could she casually pull out all kinds of strange little gadgets, but with all sorts of equipment-based enhancements, she had even beaten Kamo Shizumi into a miserable state…
But if their personal strength alone were taken into consideration, he could knock that crazy woman down with a single punch.
So…
Equipment really was important!
Remembering how, in the original story, Higuruma used his Domain to confiscate Sukuna’s twin-headed dragon, although the effect was somewhat questionable, it had genuinely weakened Sukuna’s ability to perform.
So, did the villains get any benefits?
Kamo Shizumi remembered that lunatic from the original story who had shouted about turning Gojo into a coat rack.
That guy seemed to be particularly skilled at making cursed tools.
Give me a gun, old mother!
Just as he muttered that thought internally, a ringtone suddenly sounded, and his pocket began to vibrate slightly.
The stiffness in his body gradually eased as time passed.
Kamo Shizumi exhaled softly and took the phone out of his pocket.
The caller ID showed: Kenjaku.
Considering that he had just been thinking about him, receiving a call from him immediately afterward naturally made Kamo Shizumi somewhat suspicious.
I should listen first.
Beep.
“Muku, you did pretty well. You even learned Flowing Red Scale?”
Kamo Shizumi’s expression froze on his face.
…Huh?
One sentence was enough to leave the son staring at his father in utter shock.