Ssshh!
A bright flame flickered, casting a glow against the dimming sunset. A man lit the cigarette in his mouth.
The middleman took a puff and then looked at the black-haired man beside him with a surprised expression. "What's going on with you? Weren't you so confident before? Now you're just giving up without a fight? Even you can't beat Gojo Satoru?"
Fushiguro Toji spat out the toothpick he was chewing on, his face full of irritation. "Gojo Satoru is nothing. This time, I didn't lose to that spoiled brat."
"Then what happened?" The middleman frowned in frustration. "If the job fails, we're only left with that 30 million deposit… After deducting the commission, fees, and other costs, there won't even be 30 million left."
It was a rare big job, and they had put in so much effort from the start. They thought they could make a fortune using this Sorcerer Killer, but in the end, the guy just completely messed it up.
"This time, I ran into something far scarier than Gojo Satoru." Fushiguro Toji said casually. Then he suddenly turned his head and flashed a grin. "Relax. Even if the job wasn't completed, we'll still make a killing."
Ding-dong!
The screen of Fushiguro Toji's phone lit up.
"What do you mean by this?" The middleman leaned in curiously and saw that a person named Hayashizaki had sent a photo.
It was a picture of their target for this job—Tengen Riko.
The girl in the photo had her eyes shut tightly, looking as if she had lost consciousness.
Fushiguro Toji quickly forwarded the picture to the middleman. "Send this to the Star Religious Group. Tell them the job is done and to get ready for the handover."
"Huh?"
The scruffy man froze for a second, then his eyes slowly narrowed. He suddenly realized what Fushiguro Toji was trying to do. "You're not thinking of—"
"Exactly."
The scarred corner of the black-haired man's mouth curled into a chilling smile.
"Oh yeah, the ones who hired you to kill Tengen Riko were the Star Religious Group, right?"
Just as he was about to leave, Hayashizaki turned back and called out to Fushiguro Toji. With the youthful face of Yukinoshita Haruno, he spoke in an indifferent tone. "I think the Star Religious Group shouldn't exist anymore. They're an eyesore."
"Raising a kid sure costs a lot of money."
After dropping that random comment, he disappeared into thin air, leaving only an afterimage behind.
"Looting them should be pretty profitable," Fushiguro Toji said with a grin.
"Tch…" The middleman scratched his head, looking troubled. "If we really go through with this, my reputation as a middleman is going to be ruined because of you. No one's going to want to do business with me anymore."
"Was your reputation that good to begin with?" Fushiguro Toji asked.
"I'm not like you, you bastard."
Though he said that, hesitation flashed across the man's face.
The Star Religious Group had deep pockets for a reason. A religious organization that had existed since ancient times—centuries of accumulated wealth…
Clenching his teeth, the middleman sent the picture he got from Fushiguro Toji straight to the Star Religious Group. "Screw it. Let's do it!"
"As always, you handle the looting, and I'll take care of selling off the assets. We split it seventy-thirty—you get seventy, I get thirty. Sound good?"
"Yeah, that works."
On the other side, the Star Religious Group hadn't expected the mercenary they paid so much for to turn against them.
After receiving the photo from the middleman, Sonoda Shigeru, the representative in charge of this matter, eagerly invited the two of them to the Star Religious Group's headquarters to finalize the handover.
"She's still alive? If she's alive, we can pay you even more!"
Sonoda Shigeru's voice over the phone was so excited that someone who didn't know better might have thought he had just received some fantastic news.
Too bad for him—the one coming wasn't the Star Plasma Vessel.
It was a grim reaper.
Inside the study used for meetings, Sonoda Shigeru—sporting a receding hairline and a tumor-like bump on his forehead—laid out a white cloth over the wooden table in front of him.
"Go ahead," he said eagerly to Fushiguro Toji.
"With a living Star Plasma Vessel, our group can accomplish so much more. The followers are all gathered below, waiting for the ceremony." His old, pockmarked face stretched into an unsettling smile. "Waiting for a live sacrifice."
"Here you go, the remains of Amanai Riko…"
The black-haired man grinned.
The curse coiled around his shoulder opened its mouth and slowly regurgitated…
A sword hilt.
Fushiguro Toji gripped it tightly and drew the Soul Liberation Blade.
A flash of steel.
A thin red line appeared across Sonoda Shigeru's neck.
With a dull thud, his head rolled off his shoulders.
Blood gushed out like a fountain, staining the nearby furniture and carpet deep red.
His head came to a stop at the scruffy man's feet. He glanced down at the frozen grin on the severed head, shook his head, then started rummaging through the study for valuables he could sell.
"This guy said there are still followers downstairs. What's your plan?"
"Well…"
Fushiguro Toji casually rested the Soul Liberation Blade on his shoulder and strolled through the Star Religious Group's headquarters.
"Someone told me they didn't want to see this group exist anymore."
His nonchalant voice drifted back to the middleman as he left the study.
"So obviously, I'm wiping them all out. Can't disappoint my new employer, can I?"
Recruited? This guy is actually willing to work under someone?
The scruffy man froze for a moment, wondering if he had misheard.
Of course, if he knew that the one who "recruited" Fushiguro Toji was the strongest in history, he probably wouldn't have any doubts.
But the reason Toji followed Hayashizaki's orders wasn't just because of his overwhelming strength or because he had spared his life.
The real reason, even Toji himself found a little ridiculous.
The thing that made him willingly do this kind of dirty work—wiping out entire families—was simply one sentence: "I acknowledge you as the strongest."
Rejected by the Zen'in clan, denied by the Jujutsu world, he was instead recognized by someone standing at its very peak. Even if he were to die at the hands of such a person, it would feel natural—no, it would feel like it was meant to be.
The dignity he had been despised for and abandoned had been picked up and handed back to him by Hayashizaki himself.
Besides, without Hayashizaki, he would just be taking on jobs here and there anyway. Working under him wasn't much different—it was just switching from uncertain employers to a fixed one.
…
The smell of blood in the room was overwhelming, so the middleman stepped outside for a smoke.
"Yo, kept you waiting." The black-haired man, dripping with fresh blood, walked out carrying his blade. "It's all done. The rest is up to you."
"Yeah, no problem." The middleman nodded without complaint—it was just part of his job.
Fushiguro Toji was about to leave but suddenly remembered something. He turned back to the scruffy man and asked, "Oh yeah, do me a favor and look into something for me."
"Huh? What is it?"
"Find out where my home is," Toji said. "I mean, where my son lives."
He had only recently remembered that he even had a son.
The middleman froze for a moment before staring at him in shock.
"...You really are a hopeless bastard."
…
(End of Chapter)
---
You can read 10 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu