26 Fate?
Hiroshi sat relaxed at the Kyoto Jujutsu Tech, harboring an uneasy feeling that something ominous was about to unfold. Unable to pinpoint the source of his unease, he decided to conduct a nationwide scan. Closing his eyes, Hiroshi visualized Japan and the locations of all vegetation and plant life. A glaring void caught his attention—a small area in Murotomisakicho starkly devoid of vegetation.
"There's no way Kenjaku is this careless," Hiroshi mused to himself. His thoughts were interrupted by a phone call. "Yes?" he answered.
"Patriarch, there's an unregistered Curtain over the beach of Murotomisakicho," the caller reported. Realization dawned on Hiroshi, "Suguru should be in Murotomisakicho...there's a traitor among the higher-ups...or they are all traitors," he concluded silently.
Ending the call, Hiroshi quickly dialed Satoru's number.
Satoru Gojo, having just effortlessly vanquished a Special Grade Cursed Spirit in Sapporo, answered while enjoying an ice cream. "This is Satoru," he greeted casually.
"Satoru, we're facing a serious issue," Hiroshi said gravely.
"What could possibly make you sound so grim?" Satoru inquired with a hint of nonchalance.
"The timing of your missions and the presence of an unregistered Curtain at Suguru's location cannot be mere coincidence," Hiroshi explained.
"And what about Suguru?" Satoru's tone shifted to concern.
"Don't worry, I've prepared a contingency for just such an event," Hiroshi assured him confidently.
"I'll start looking into the traitors," Satoru responded earnestly. "I'll begin with the higher-ups. They're the ones with direct access to our mission details...and it might be time to start a purge," Hiroshi suggested.
Hiroshi was aware that he was squeezing the living space of the Jujutsu Higher-Ups, slowly but surely. It seemed like the fish had begun to notice the receding waters and had started to flail.
"The question remains: how did Kenjaku pull this off?" Hiroshi pondered.
The call ended.
---
Meanwhile, back at Murotomisakicho, Suguru and Yuta faced an ambush by Kenjaku and Uraume.
Observing from a distance, Suguru watched as Uraume attacked Yuta. "Ice Formation," Uraume stated calmly, touching the ground and instantly encasing Yuta and Rika in ice.
"YUUUTTAAAAAA!" Rika, in a frenzy, shattered the icy prison surrounding her and launched into a ferocious attack on Uraume.
"What an annoying cursed spirit," Uraume muttered, exhaling a chilly breath towards Rika. "Frost Calm."
Just then, a blue cursed spirit emitting flames appeared beside Yuta, thawing him out.
Breathing heavily, Yuta assessed himself. "I'm still alive," he noted, focusing on Uraume as she evaded Rika's relentless attacks.
"Rika-chan," Yuta called out. Rika floated back to his side. "Yuta, are you okay?" she inquired, concerned.
"I'm fine, Rika-chan," he reassured her, his gaze searching the area. Suguru Geto had vanished, along with the skeleton cursed spirit, but his summoned spirits continued their assault.
Yuta's attention returned to Uraume, who was freezing entire legions of cursed spirits. "Let's see how you like being frozen by your own technique," Yuta said, clearly annoyed. He blew a freezing mist towards Uraume, which immobilized her instantly.
"My cursed technique? How?" Uraume's expression was one of shock as she saw Yuta approaching swiftly. "Is he like Kenjaku? Or is his cursed technique ice-based as well?" she wondered, puzzled.
High above, Kenjaku floated, fending off assaults by flying cursed spirits. He was intrigued the moment he saw Yuta using Uraume's technique. This piqued his interest, drawing his focus entirely to Yuta, all the while keeping an eye out for Suguru Geto's reappearance.
Uraume broke free just in time to dodge Yuta's swift slashes, swiftly trapping Rika between two ice pillars. She redirected her focus to Yuta, preparing for his next move.
In response, Yuta held up a megaphone adorned with snake eyes and fangs. "Die!" he commanded, unleashing a deadly sound wave that obliterated everything in its path—Uraume's ice constructs, Suguru's cursed spirits, and even the megaphone itself began to disintegrate.
"It's hard to use... Inumaki's amazing," Yuta remarked, noting the difficulty in wielding Inumaki's cursed technique. Uraume, regaining her composure, retaliated by launching a barrage of sharp ice shards from her hands. "Ice Fall!"
Meanwhile, high above, Kenjaku observed the chaos unfolding below. "Another cursed technique?" he pondered, intrigued by Yuta's unexpected abilities. As he contemplated, the sound of bones clinking caught his attention. "Gachi Gachi."
Suddenly, a massive skeleton materialized behind him, prompting Kenjaku to swiftly deactivate his anti-gravity and evade the looming threat. The skeleton vanished, but Kenjaku remained vigilant, analyzing the situation.
"This cursed spirit of Suguru Geto's is troublesome... a Gashadokuro," Kenjaku thought, recognizing the invisible and indestructible nature of the entity. He realized that as long as the Gashadokuro remained intact, Suguru Geto would remain safe within its torso indefinitely.
Once more, the sound of bones clinking echoed in the air. "Gachi Gachi." The massive skeleton descended, aiming to crush Kenjaku beneath its weight. Kenjaku reacted swiftly, utilizing his "Flowing Red Scale" technique to evade the impending strike while maintaining a watchful eye on Suguru Geto.
Observing Suguru's smirk, Kenjaku deduced his strategy. "If I don't eliminate the Gashadokuro, Suguru Geto will remain untouchable," he realized.
With a calculated move, Kenjaku unleashed "Piercing Blood" aiming for Suguru Geto within the Gashadokuro's torso. However, even if the attack found its mark, it ricocheted away upon contact with the gaps in the skeleton's form. Undeterred, Kenjaku continued to analyze the situation, his mind racing with strategies to overcome Suguru's formidable defenses.
Amid the chaos, Yuta swiftly closed the distance between himself and Uraume. Despite her efforts to retreat, Yuta's relentless assault shattered her ice constructs one by one. In a critical moment, Uraume found her foot unexpectedly trapped by Yuta's own ice, slowing her escape.
"Tsk," she muttered, frustrated. As Yuta advanced, Uraume retaliated with a chilling gust. "Frost Calm!" she exclaimed, encasing Yuta in ice once more. However, he quickly broke free, aided by the same blue-flamed cursed spirit from Suguru Geto's collection.
"Thanks," Yuta said to the spirit, noting Uraume's reluctance to engage in hand-to-hand combat. His gaze then shifted to Kenjaku, who was skillfully managing the onslaught of numerous cursed spirits and dodging attacks from the Gashadokuro, his moves marked by flashes of red and streaks of blood.
Within the torso of the massive Gashadokuro, Suguru Geto also kept a watchful eye on Kenjaku. "The Kamo clan's blood manipulation and gravity... He's got quite an arsenal. I wonder why his brain isn't fried from all those cursed techniques," Suguru mused. He considered the strengths of the Gashadokuro, a special-grade cursed spirit given to him by Hiroshi. "Invincibility and invisibility are formidable advantages, though they come at the cost of constant cursed energy output," he reflected on the spirit's capabilities.
Kenjaku's ability to use Blood Manipulation in this timeline stems from the fact that he has not yet acquired Suguru Geto's body. In the original timeline, he obtained Suguru Geto's body, thereby bypassing the need for the Blood Manipulation inherited from the Kamo Clan. According to the theoretical limit, Kenjaku can possess up to three cursed techniques, or four when utilizing Suguru Geto's Maximum Uzumaki at full potential. In this instance, his cursed techniques include his innate body-swapping ability, the cursed technique of his current body (Kaori Itadori's Anti-gravity system), and that of his previous body (Noritoshi Kamo's Blood Manipulation). Since Kenjaku has not acquired Suguru Geto's body in this timeline, he is limited to possessing three cursed techniques, with only two being combat-capable: Kaori Itadori's Anti-gravity system and Noritoshi Kamo's Blood Manipulation.
Just as Suguru prepared to launch another attack, a familiar voice halted him. "Suguru," called Hiroshi, materializing beside him unexpectedly.
"What?" Suguru responded, momentarily disoriented.
"You're confused, I know," Hiroshi began, "but I left a seed on your shoes—a safety net of sorts. I never expected that Kenjaku would burn every plant and vegetation in the vicinity. It will affect my combat capabilities, but overall, it's fine. We can throw hands at her; these hands are rated E for everyone," Hiroshi added, lightening the mood with a joke.
"Good to know," Suguru replied, a smirk forming on his face. "But I can defeat Kenjaku before you arrive," he stated confidently, ready to prove his prowess in the unfolding battle.
"Even better, but do so with caution; we do not know much about Kenjaku," Hiroshi cautioned.
"Gachi Gachi," the ominous sound of bones clinking heralded the impending attack of the Gashadokuro as Kenjaku applied heavy gravity around it.
As the Gashadokuro materialized, the weight of gravity bore down upon it, sinking it into the ground and leaving only its upper body exposed.
It vanished, and Kenjaku unleashed his "Slicing Exorcism," firing beams of high-pressure blood at the previous location of the Gashadokuro. However, the beams ricocheted off, confirming that it was still stuck there.
"Gachi Gachi," the Gashadokuro appeared once more, attempting to reach toward Kenjaku.
Yet, Kenjaku was taken aback by the presence of another man within the Gashadokuro's torso.
"How is he here?" Kenjaku's calm exterior momentarily faltered.
Observing this, Hiroshi descended from the torso and approached Kenjaku with a smirk. "Seeing your face break, even for a moment, makes me think that you are afraid of me," Hiroshi teased.
"Maybe, maybe not. Not everyone is afraid of you, Senju Hiroshi," Kenjaku retorted, attempting to regain his composure.
"Really? Then why did your calm break when you saw me?" Hiroshi prodded.
"Just surprised, nothing more," Kenjaku replied, attempting to deflect Hiroshi's scrutiny.
As they conversed, Kenjaku realized that Suguru Geto and his Gashadokuro had broken free. "He took the time to escape when Senju Hiroshi confronted me," Kenjaku observed.
"Gachi Gachi," the sound of bones clinking echoed as Hiroshi distanced himself.
However, Kenjaku suddenly utilized a technique Hiroshi hadn't anticipated.
As the Gashadokuro grabbed Kenjaku, chains began to appear, coiling around the massive skeleton.
"The Sealing Chains? What the hell?" Hiroshi muttered to himself. The Adamantine Sealing Chains, though a non-innate technique of the Senju clan, required proper practice and guidance to manifest. Outsiders rarely mastered it without instruction from the clan itself. No outsiders could learn it if they did not have ties to the Senju.
"Unless... Kenjaku learned it in his long life or perhaps took a body from the Senju Clan and disguised himself as one of them... But there have been no such occurrences under my leadership," Hiroshi pondered, realizing that it wasn't impossible for Kenjaku to learn the sealing chains throughout his long life. This was Kenjaku, the sorcerer who surpassed Aizen through sheer determination to take backshots for his plan.
Meanwhile, as the Adamantine Sealing Chains bound the Gashadokuro, Suguru Geto felt his cursed spirit unable to use curse energy. Kenjaku wasted no time and launched his attack.
"Piercing Blood!" Kenjaku's attack broke through the cursed spirit's bones, forcing Suguru Geto to unsummon the Gashadokuro and dodge to safety.
"You finally lost your turtle shell," Kenjaku remarked, seizing the opportunity.
Kenjaku closed the distance on Suguru, warily watching Hiroshi, who was simply observing. "Go on, fight. I won't interfere," Hiroshi said with a smile.
"Or will I?" Hiroshi's face suddenly shifted to a dead serious expression, then back to smiling, chuckling to himself.
Suguru sighed. "Still a troll until now, Hiroshi," he muttered as he focused on Kenjaku closing in.
Kenjaku threw hands at Suguru—a forward punch, left kick, roundhouse. Suguru countered with a left parry, stepping back and delivering his own roundhouse kick. But as both kicks met, Suguru summoned centipedes right below Kenjaku, only for Kenjaku to shred them to pieces with Slicing Exorcism.
Blow for blow, Kenjaku and Suguru fought, Kenjaku maintaining a relaxed expression while Suguru remained serious.
As the two sorcerers traded blows, more and more orbs of blood gathered around Kenjaku. Suguru noticed this and ordered his legions to swarm Kenjaku, blocking his sight and more.
However, Kenjaku crushed them with gravity, but before he could react, he saw Suguru launching an energy beam right at him.
"Maximum: Uzumaki!" Suguru unleashed the force of four thousand cursed spirits at Kenjaku.
Hiroshi observed their exchanges and analyzed them. "Suguru has gathered over thirty thousand or so curses, giving him versatility like no other. Kenjaku, on the other hand, has blood manipulation and anti-gravity... But where is Choso, though?" He pondered.
Hiroshi looked at Yuta and remembered that he could copy techniques. As he approached Yuta and Uraume, Uraume suddenly attacked Hiroshi with "Frost Calm," but the only thing frozen was the ground he stood on.
Unfazed, Hiroshi always had that arrogant smirk plastered on his face, appearing unbothered and extremely confident.
"You gotta do better than that, Sukuna Meat Rider," Hiroshi smirked. Uraume noticed a barrier on top of Hiroshi's skin. "Domain Amplification, Senju Hiroshi? How?" she said calmly as she distanced herself.
Hiroshi approached Yuta, where Rika attacked him. "Don't hurt Yuta!" she said, lunging at Hiroshi rabidly.
"Oh, please," Hiroshi said. In that moment, Rika was bound in chains. Hiroshi normally used Shinboku no Jumon to restrain targets, but due to the absence of vegetation in the vicinity, he opted for the Adamantite Sealing Chains instead, which only sealed cursed energy.
"Senju Hiroshi? The God of Sorcerers?" Yuta asked warily, recalling the name Panda mentioned and witnessing the man defeat his Gojo-sensei.
"Hmm, that's almost half of my cursed energy reserves," Hiroshi said to Yuta, applauding the fact that Yuta had almost half of his cursed energy reserves. Hiroshi remembered in his past life that Yuta from JJK 0 briefly appeared after the Shibuya Incident, but one thing he knew was that Yuta could quite possibly copy cursed techniques.
Uraume, who distanced herself, found that her legs were bound in thick vines, sapping her cursed energy.
The vines were frozen and broken by her. "Tsk, Kenjaku, you said Senju Hiroshi would not notice," Uraume cursed Kenjaku's so-called plan.
Seeing Uraume easily break free, "Was Worth a shot" Hiroshi thought as he realized that as a clone his cursed technique is even more restrained than the main body.
"Okkotsu Yuta, you can copy techniques that I know. Can you copy mine?" Hiroshi asked confidently.
"Please let go of Rika first," Yuta said.
"She will try to kill me. If she listens to you, I might," Hiroshi said. Yuta nodded as he tried to placate Rika. As he did, Yuta looked at the wary Uraume. Just a few minutes earlier, this woman was rather fearless when attacking him. But the moment Hiroshi appeared, she positioned herself defensively, and the fact that he restrained Rika with a simple gesture spoke volumes.
"Is this how much of a threat the God of Sorcerers poses?" Yuta thought.
Back to the fight between Suguru and Kenjaku.
Despite being hit by Maximum Uzumaki, Kenjaku emerged unscathed as the smoke cleared, leaving Suguru to question the power of his attack.
Moments before Maximum Uzumaki struck, Kenjaku had converged all 19 Blood Orbs into one massive counterattack, infusing it with a significant amount of cursed energy. "Piercing Blood," she announced as a geyser of blood collided with Maximum Uzumaki, sending blood and smoke scattering through the air. "She's dead, hopefully," Suguru muttered, convinced of Kenjaku's demise.
However, as Suguru voiced his hope, Kenjaku, appearing dreadfully pale, materialized behind him and stabbed him with the technique "Blood Edge." "You fought well, Suguru Geto," Kenjaku said as he drove the dagger deeper.
"No, Kenjaku, it's game over for you," Suguru retorted. His appearance transformed into a figure with four eyes and long black hair that cascaded down to his legs. His face bore two lines around the edges of his mouth, similar to a puppet's, standing on the balls of his feet with four large toes and dark toenails. Unbeknownst to Kenjaku, Suguru had switched places with this cursed spirit, the Tamamo no Mae Incarnation, a deceptive entity whose cursed technique was to deceive.
"Gachi Gachi," Kenjaku heard behind her. Turning, she saw the real Suguru Geto reappearing with Gashadokuro, readying another Maximum Uzumaki.
"Maximum Uzumaki," Suguru declared, unleashing an even larger beam that struck Kenjaku point-blank.
Hiroshi observed this clever maneuver and applauded. "GG EZ, get good," he remarked.
As Kenjaku's mind raced, a single thought prevailed calmly, as if the beam of energy posed no threat. She positioned her hands in the Hanshagassho, the anti-forked palm.
Noticing this, Suguru also extended his hand in a simple gesture known as the Tarjani Mudra, reserved for the Lord of Pandemonium.
"Domain Expansion: Womb Profusion!" Kenjaku announced calmly.
"Domain Expansion: Hyakki Yagyō!" Suguru countered.
Both fighters had now expanded their domains, setting the stage for a clash of colossal proportions.
A/N: So I was really mulling on Suguru Geto's Domain Expansion, but as I looked up Cursed Spirit Manipulation, The Night Parade of 100 Demons seems to suit his Domain so much.
A/N: You can give me some suggestions on things because one of the joys of an author is read the comment section. 🧐😆
A/N: Gege going on a break again...😭
A/N: FURNACE: OPEN 🏹🔥🔥
A/N: Things are heating up🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
