At the Time Vessel Association.
In a spacious corridor, Suguru Geto yawned as he stretched lazily.
Beside him, Shion held a stack of documents.
She had hesitated several times, clearly wanting to say something, but eventually couldn’t hold herself back.
“Geto-sama, was it really necessary to go this far?”
She had already seen what kind of cursed spirits were inside.
Ignoring the countless Grade 3 and Grade 4 cursed spirits, there were even dozens of Semi-Grade 2 and Grade 2 cursed spirits among them.
With that many cursed spirits gathered together, they could easily form a formidable army capable of causing considerable trouble even for a Semi-Grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer.
And yet Geto had simply given all of them to Xia Chuan, allowing him to slaughter them at will and use their energy to strengthen himself.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Geto continued stretching.
“Don’t underestimate my stockpile of cursed spirits just because I gave him this many.”
“Besides, don’t you think it’s interesting?”
“I don’t.”
Shion shook her head and replied rationally,
“Based on what that boy said, I don’t think he’ll join the Time Vessel Association.”
“From our perspective, that’s a rather unprofitable investment.”
“That’s true.”
Geto sighed helplessly.
Then his eyes narrowed slightly.
“But let’s see what happens.”
“Those eyes that can evolve…”
“Perhaps they’ll produce an unexpected result.”
“Ah!
So you’re here after all!”
A clear young girl’s voice came from nearby.
Two girls soon appeared around the corner of the corridor and ran toward Geto.
One was a blonde girl who looked like an ordinary delinquent.
The other was a quiet, well-behaved girl with black hair.
They were the two adopted daughters Geto had taken in after becoming a curse user:
Nanako and Mimiko.
“Why are you two here?”
Geto’s attitude toward those he considered family was noticeably gentle.
“We heard that Geto-sama was meeting a jujutsu sorcerer, and that he’s a high-school student, so we came to take a look.”
“Is that guy strong?”
“Don’t worry about whether he’s strong or not.”
“He definitely isn’t stronger than Geto-sama!”
“That’s for sure!”
“…”
Feeling the girls’ absolute trust in him, Geto smiled without saying anything.
Then he turned toward Shion.
“How long has it been?”
“Thirty minutes.”
Geto crossed his arms and looked toward the hall where Xia Chuan was.
Thirty minutes already…
Does evolving those eyes really require that much cursed energy?
Through his own cursed energy, Geto could sense his connection with the cursed spirits being severed at an astonishing rate.
Clearly, Xia Chuan was still consuming them.
But that only made the result more interesting.
Those eyes of Xia Chuan’s were clearly anything but ordinary.
Then—
A terrifying surge of cursed energy suddenly erupted from the hall where Xia Chuan was.
A horrifying cursed presence swept through the entire area.
“Huh?!”
Shion, Mimiko, and Nanako all felt their hearts tremble.
Cold sweat appeared at their temples.
Their expressions were filled with disbelief.
“W-What kind of monster possesses that kind of cursed presence?!”
That sinister aura was even more frightening than any individual cursed spirit Geto possessed.
“Just as I thought.”
Geto’s eyes widened.
He almost laughed aloud.
He could sense it.
In that single instant, the dozens of remaining high-level cursed spirits had all been destroyed.
As the three girls watched in fear and Geto watched in anticipation, Xia Chuan slowly walked out of the courtyard.
“You really are something, Xia Chuan-kun.”
Geto applauded as he walked toward him.
At that moment, Xia Chuan was experiencing the tremendous transformation taking place within his body.
His cursed energy and ocular power were completely different from before.
Excitement was difficult to suppress.
“I owe you one, Suguru Geto.”
This time, Geto didn’t wave his hand and repeat his usual speech about jujutsu sorcerers being one family.
Instead, he smiled.
“Would you like to test your current strength, Xia Chuan-kun?”
Xia Chuan was initially going to refuse.
But then he noticed Geto’s narrowed eyes slowly opening.
The playful expression had disappeared.
Geto was serious.
Xia Chuan swallowed his refusal.
This was also a perfect opportunity to properly test the new abilities granted by his Mangekyo Sharingan.
“Then let’s do it.”
…
With Geto leading the way, the two soon arrived at the vast mountain range behind the Time Vessel Association.
After Geto set up a Curtain, Xia Chuan looked at the Special Grade jujutsu sorcerer standing before him.
Cursed energy began surging through his body.
His deep black eyes were quickly replaced by a pair of blood-red eyes filled with a sinister presence.
Three tomoe appeared within the crimson irises.
They began rotating in an orderly fashion.
Then the three tomoe connected and transformed into a pattern resembling a three-bladed pinwheel.
The moment the transformation was complete, an aura of terrifying cursed energy erupted from Xia Chuan.
Geto’s expression changed slightly.
Cursed energy immediately surrounded his body.
Dark mist surged beside him as though a gateway had been opened.
Countless Grade 2 cursed spirits crawled out from within.
There weren’t nearly as many as the cursed spirits Geto had previously fed to Xia Chuan.
But their quality was significantly higher.
Still, no matter how strong they were…
They were only Grade 2 cursed spirits.
“These aren’t enough to threaten me anymore.”
Amaterasu!
Xia Chuan’s eyes widened.
A mass of black flames suddenly ignited on one of the cursed spirits.
In an instant, it was completely consumed, turning into black smoke.
Geto stood at a distance and calmly observed the battle.
The Grade 2 cursed spirit on the bus had previously forced Xia Chuan to fight it personally.
Now, however, he could kill Grade 2 cursed spirits almost instantly.
Clearly, the evolution of those eyes had granted him entirely new abilities.
“Interesting.”
Geto smiled.
“Then let’s have them attack together.”
He waved his hand.
All the Grade 2 cursed spirits surged toward Xia Chuan like a swarm of locusts.
Seeing them approach, the Amaterasu flames that had yet to disappear suddenly gathered in front of Xia Chuan.
The black flames rapidly expanded, forming a gigantic vortex that wrapped around his body.
The terrifying heat, comparable to the surface of the sun, caused countless Grade 2 cursed spirits to vanish within the flames like moths flying into a fire.
“Grade 2 cursed spirits aren’t enough to satisfy my appetite anymore.”
“Is that so?”
The moment Geto finished speaking—
BOOM!
Rocks exploded into the air.
A gigantic worm-like cursed spirit suddenly burst from underground.
Its enormous mouthparts, stretching more than ten meters, snapped toward Xia Chuan.
Seeing such a massive target rushing toward him, Xia Chuan dispersed the Amaterasu.
He wanted to test some of his other abilities.
“Susanoo!”
Terrifying ocular power erupted from his eyes.
His cursed energy surged violently at the same time.
A gigantic skeletal figure with a blue hue suddenly rose from the ground.
Its enormous skeletal hand struck the giant worm and sent it flying.
The cursed spirit crashed into a nearby hill, producing an enormous cloud of dust.
Wave after wave of air pressure swept across the surrounding mountains.
But Xia Chuan could feel that this was far from the limit of Susanoo.
His cursed energy continued rising.
“Crack…
crack…”
The enormous skeletal frame began developing veins and muscles.
The skeletal figure gradually transformed into a gigantic humanoid warrior.
Geto stopped summoning cursed spirits.
Instead, he simply watched with fascination.
As Xia Chuan poured even more cursed energy and ocular power into Susanoo, majestic armor began covering the giant’s body.
A ghostly blue energy enveloped its entire form.
In its hand appeared a massive sword, its blade radiating terrifying cursed energy.
Geto stared at the armored giant with undisguised delight.
“This is truly magnificent, Xia Chuan-kun!”
He looked at Xia Chuan standing within the giant’s chest cavity and shouted excitedly.