After leaving the temple, Kamo Shizumi suddenly seemed to develop a sense of direction.
He could distinctly feel…
something invisible pulling him toward a particular destination.
It took him several seconds to realize what was happening.
It was a state similar to a “cursed energy resonance”…
It was as though some of his own blood had been separated from him, sealed away somewhere after being wrapped in cursed energy.
And now, what Kamo Shizumi was sensing gave him exactly the same “physical sensation.” He subconsciously looked in a particular direction, then thoughtfully examined his own palm.
Right, just as mentioned earlier.
It was almost like a resonance on the level of blood itself…
Without hesitating for long, Kamo Shizumi followed the subconscious calling, moving toward it as though answering the summons.
He passed the dried-up well known as the “Mouth of Hell.”
Eventually, he stopped in front of a low, shallow alcove.
From the outside, it looked…
roughly like a decorative structure meant to hold a lantern and illuminate the surrounding area.
It was completely unremarkable, and its appearance was quite old.
Kamo Shizumi grabbed the edge with one hand and slowly pulled open its wooden panel, which was designed somewhat like a sliding drawer.
…
“In the middle of the Heian period, I conducted a very interesting experiment.”
As Kenjaku spoke, he raised the physical book he had been reading moments earlier.
The Aspects of the Six Paths of Reincarnation
“At that time, Rokudo Chinnō-ji Temple served as the entrance to Toribeno, the largest burial ground in the capital. Countless corpses were sent there every day, filling the area with an oppressive atmosphere where vengeful spirits wandered. I conducted decades of observation and experimentation there… Through the Death Paintings, I learned about the theory of ‘decay after death.’ Correspondingly, I also became interested in the concept of the ‘Six Paths of Reincarnation.'”
He conducted countless experiments and attempts.
The results were naturally less than ideal.
After all, this was a theory approaching the level of a concept.
If it could be extracted so easily and turned into something “real,” then it would seem far too cheap.
So Kenjaku made a certain degree of compromise.
“If I could not create a perfect vessel, then I would create a compatible key… allowing the holder to temporarily come into contact with the Six Paths and receive the protection of a ‘Path’… or even completely integrate this portion of the concept into their own being.”
Right.
“My purpose changed somewhat as time passed. I no longer pursued a completed product, but instead regarded it as a different kind of ‘foundation.'”
There was a slight upward inflection in Kenjaku’s voice.
It was not difficult to tell that he was getting rather excited.
“I lived in Toribeno for thirty-two years, encountered countless experimental subjects, and eventually found… six suitable test subjects.”
The ages continued to change, but back in the Heian period, when jujutsu was at its peak…
“Jujutsu sorcerers emerged like maggots, one after another, providing me with countless possibilities to work with. I sealed the concept of the Six Paths of Reincarnation and implanted it into specific individuals. In the end, those forbidden objects were born.”
Of course, the results were not particularly smooth.
Kenjaku shrugged while speaking in a teasing tone.
“Because the method of production was too crude, even creating special individuals was somewhat difficult for me at the time. So in the end, I had no choice but to settle for making them into ‘cursed objects.'”
Kenjaku raised his right hand and gently waved his index finger as he added,
“They have no consciousness and no personality. They possess only pure karma, along with a longing to return.”
Hanami could not hold back this time.
“That is simply a cursed object.”
—After all that, was it not still just an ordinary object?
He had created people and then turned them into special objects that could be left behind…
From the perspective of the method itself, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about it.
After all, they were products of the Heian period.
It was hardly strange for them to have accumulated enough power over the centuries to eventually reach the “Special Grade” classification.
And the concept of cursed objects itself was also quite broad.
Cursed tools that could be directly used by jujutsu sorcerers fell into this category as well, such as Maki’s glasses and Hiromi Higuruma’s hammer…
Of course, Sukuna’s fingers and the Prison Realm were also included.
It was not difficult to see that the upper and lower limits of these objects varied enormously.
Even within the “Special Grade” classification, their practical value still had to be judged according to the circumstances.
The Prison Realm was insanely powerful.
It could seal Gojo.
But what if you, Kenjaku, did not have that face?
What would you do then?
It could only be said that triggering the memories of his days at Jujutsu High and then completely controlling him was the fundamental prerequisite…
Without that step, none of the rest would matter.
Kenjaku had been mocked, but he did not seem irritated.
He merely nodded slightly and continued smiling.
“That is the definition, yes. But for a special individual… this is literally the best possible assistance.”
He spoke unhurriedly.
“Because they are saturated with cursed energy, ordinary people who get their hands on them will quickly die. Moreover… only individuals who have undergone my special modifications can properly accommodate these cursed objects.”
Then.
“Rokudō Tsuji. That is the name I gave these six cursed objects.”
At the same time.
Kamo Shizumi grabbed the shadow located inside the wooden alcove and pulled it out, placing it in the palm of his hand.
In fact…
there was not much space inside, and this was the only thing Kamo Shizumi saw.
He took half a step back and stood upright.
Taking advantage of the brightening light on the horizon, he finally saw the object in his palm clearly.
It was…
A magatama radiating a faint, bluish-green cold light.
That description might make it sound rather plain, but from Kamo Shizumi’s perspective, he could actually see a kind of black aura visibly permeating the object.
This thing really looked like it was practically dripping with wickedness…
As he thought this, Kamo Shizumi seemed to sense something and casually turned his head halfway around.
On the branches of a nearby tree, he spotted several malformed, incomplete cursed spirits crawling among the branches.
They were all at the lowest level…
Even if they wanted to harm someone, they would probably have to possess the victim and slowly wear them down before eventually destroying their body.
‘Can this thing attract the attention of low-level cursed spirits too?’
In terms of its nature, it was somewhat similar to Sukuna’s fingers.
While thinking this, Kamo Shizumi weighed the object in his hand for a while, but his expression gradually became stranger.
Although he had already obtained the object, that faint, elusive sensation still remained…
It was as though what he had been holding all along was merely a “false” shell.
What was going on?
Suddenly, Kamo Shizumi remembered the intuition he had experienced earlier.
A resonance like blood…
He silently examined the object in his hand before making a decision.
Then let us try it!
Almost on instinct, he bit open the tip of his right index finger and let his blood soak into the magatama.
In an instant, pitch-black cursed energy erupted and wrapped around Kamo Shizumi’s body.
At the same time, an expression of pain appeared on his face, while complicated and fragmented pieces of memories surfaced in his mind.
He “saw” it.
A man dressed in splendid robes was born and grew up.
Under training and instruction, he became a samurai and continued to grow stronger.
He led troops into battle, indulged in revelry, and eventually suffered defeat.
As his army collapsed, he fled in all directions with his family in tow, wandering until he encountered a mysterious figure with stitches across his head…
Kamo Shizumi narrowed his eyes and groaned in pain.
At the same time, he learned the name of the object from the fragments.
Rokudō Tsuji · Tengai Gyoku.