Having solved the funding problem, Kamo Shizumi also revealed a relieved smile.
No more digging through trash.
Nice.
That left only the serious matters to discuss.
He raised a hand and pressed it against his chest.
He was just about to speak when Kenjaku spoke first.
“How is the fusion with Tengai Gyoku going?”
This guy always managed to speak before him, and every single remark seemed to have the effect of reading his mind.
It would be a lie to say that this did not put some pressure on him.
Kamo Shizumi secretly composed himself, adjusted his state of mind, and cautiously said,
“It should… not have any problems.”
“Good.”
Kenjaku casually opened the gift box.
When he saw the characters painted on top with a few strokes of gold powder, his eyebrows immediately rose slightly.
“Oh… it is actually a famous specialty with a history of more than three hundred years? I remember you had to queue up to buy it.”
He picked up a piece and held it in the air, gently shaking it to remove some frost powder that had failed to stick.
“You did not have to take a number?”
“Going early was enough. I happened to start queuing at midnight.”
“Mm. You put some thought into this.”
He bit off most of the piece in one bite, then expressionlessly tossed the remaining portion onto the table and wrapped it in a tissue.
Tsk…
He licked his thumb and sighed.
“It tastes much worse than it did three hundred years ago. The craftsmanship has declined considerably… Just like this boring jujutsu world.”
Now, then.
Back to the matter at hand.
“What do you think of this mission?”
When dealing with someone of this caliber, answering whatever he asked was basically the safest option.
Kamo Shizumi thought for a moment.
“I feel a little like a maggot…”
“That is perfectly normal. Just as I told you before, your strength will only become complete once you retrieve all six Cursed Objects.”
Right.
The Six Paths.
During their casual conversation just now, Kenjaku had already revealed everything he knew about them, allowing Kamo Shizumi to get a rough understanding of the whole matter.
In essence, Kenjaku had forcibly experimented on six individuals who each possessed a portion of cursed energy but had yet to fully manifest their talents…
Without considering the wishes of the people involved, all one could say was that this was very much in keeping with the jujutsu world.
To be honest, Kamo Shizumi did not really understand the philosophy, research spirit, or other such things behind all this.
After all, he was not a researcher, nor did he understand how to have fun.
He also had nothing in common with this thousand-year-old monster…
As for finding some sort of common ground…
Just wait until the story reaches the Culling Game and go find Takaba yourself.
When it came to performing comedy routines with an aloof, elegant lady, professionals were still needed.
What Kamo Shizumi cared about most was where the other five Six Paths Cursed Objects had ended up.
“You said all six of them should still be in there, right?”
Kenjaku shrugged, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness.
“The last time I went to check was about seventy-six years ago. At that time, they were indeed all still in there…”
Damn it, you could have just given me the gun instead!
Thinking about how collecting all six items could conservatively increase his attributes by more than thirty points, Kamo Shizumi was so anxious that he practically wanted to bleed from his bladder.
“Then do I still have a chance to see the other five?”
“There should not be any problem.”
Kenjaku murmured thoughtfully.
His eyes drifted upward, and after seemingly racking his brains for a while, he said…
“Because your Blood Manipulation is somewhat special, it resonates with these Cursed Objects. So, in theory, as long as you get close enough to them, you should be able to sense them.”
Kamo Shizumi thought about it briefly, then suddenly looked enlightened.
So basically, you disassembled me like Sun Wukong and separated my six roots, right?
“Although there are some discrepancies, from the perspective of the experiment, obtaining even one of them is already quite good.”
So.
“What kind of improvement did Tengai Gyoku bring you?”
Kenjaku leaned his upper body over the table and propped his chin up with his left hand.
With an expression of great interest, he looked toward Kamo Shizumi.
“To be honest, I am quite looking forward to seeing how it actually performs… After all, this is a method of combining two different things. Let me see what possibilities you have.”
In fact, while the Six Paths Cursed Tools increased his attributes, they also possessed some special effects.
Kamo Shizumi scratched the back of his head and acknowledged him.
However, he did not forget to first lay down some groundwork.
“I am still not very familiar with how to apply it, so my performance might not satisfy you…”
Kenjaku was remarkably magnanimous at times like this.
He waved his hand and smiled.
“It does not matter. Before a caterpillar emerges from its cocoon and becomes a butterfly, demanding that it fly is simply unrealistic.”
Are all you old monsters who survived the Heian Era this cultured?
He remembered that when Sukuna was disgusted by Yorozu in the original story, although he had an expression of complete disdain, he still took the time to correct the problems in her haiku.
While silently complaining to himself, Kamo Shizumi exhaled softly and slowly walked toward the balcony.
Kenjaku’s hiding place was a detached apartment somewhere in the suburbs.
The building was eight stories tall, putting it dozens of meters above the ground.
If an ordinary person fell from that height, there was a very high chance that they would die on the spot.
Yet Kamo Shizumi simply jumped down without a care.
His figure shot downward and disappeared below the horizon, vanishing from Kenjaku’s sight.
The latter was not in any hurry.
He even had enough time to take a sip of matcha, using it to wash away the excessively rich sweetness lingering in his mouth.
Then.
Kenjaku simply held his cup and watched as Kamo Shizumi’s figure slowly rose back into view.
His arms were slightly spread apart, while an invisible force field seemed to surround his entire body.
Kamo Shizumi’s eyes were slightly closed.
The cursed energy within his body continuously circulated before being poured in its entirety toward the Tengai Gyoku lodged between his heart.
Flying…
This was one of the special abilities brought by the Cursed Tool.
“Oh.”
Seeing the scene before him, even Kenjaku could not help but exclaim in admiration.
“Although I had already anticipated it to some extent, I did not expect the actual result to look like this… As expected, theoretical foundations ultimately need to be verified through reality.”
After expressing his feelings, Kenjaku looked at Kamo Shizumi with great interest and urged him,
“So, what does it feel like to fly?”
“Uh… Not very good.”
Because it was completely different from the carefree state of Gojo Satoru.
Without the assistance of the Six Eyes, Kamo Shizumi needed to divert part of his concentration to maintain his current levitating state.
Furthermore, Tengai Gyoku essentially achieved flight by forming a force field that lifted his entire body…
The advantage was that he could maintain himself in the air within a certain range.
In theory, he could even carry other people.
The disadvantage was that this thing was similar to a Domain.
It could easily be interfered with and disrupted by external forces.
As for whether he could actually fly…
Honestly, this ability was rather awkward in the jujutsu world.
After all, once someone reached the level of a Grade 1 sorcerer, everyone could use cursed energy to reinforce their bodies.
Falling from dozens of meters in the air without getting injured was nothing particularly impressive, and moving along walls and across rooftops was as easy as walking on flat ground.
You can fly, but you are not as fast as Gojo.
You could not even catch up with the hot meal after it had already been served…