Kenjaku had made the Binding Vow a long time ago. Even though he never came looking for him, Sōjun Minamoto didn't mind. In matters like this, whoever makes the first move ends up on the back foot.
It all came down to patience.
He let the Mark activate on its own, not reacting, and simply watched Riko Amanai leave, with Panda following along this time.
Back in the living room, he started organizing the follow-up affairs for Jujutsu High. From now on, most of his focus would shift outward. He would actively lower his presence at the school.
He currently had three jujutsu sorcerer clones. The total Cursed Energy output that could safely be exposed under the Balance Mechanism's surveillance barely reached the upper limits of Special Grade.
Individually, there was one Special Grade and two Grade 1s.
Of course, this was based on his own evaluation system—after all, the top combat power in the Jujutsu world only went up to Special Grade.
To maintain that level of strength, he couldn't afford too many clones, so he needed to plan carefully.
In the dorm, Sōjun Minamoto began setting up a barrier while thinking things over.
The clone stationed in the Medical Department was Grade 1, tasked with collecting sources of Cursed Energy and studying the common traits among sorcerers.
It was time-consuming work, but worth doing.
There was no need to elaborate on the importance of Cursed Energy sources, and sorcerer constitutions varied—some superior to others. He wanted to gather all the best traits.
So that clone had to stay.
The second Grade 1 clone was occasionally responsible for impersonating Noriyuki Zenin, and sometimes liaised with Masaki Zenin.
Naobito Zenin had probably caught on.
Judging by his usual approach, he seemed inclined to roll with it—thinking something like, "Might as well push Masaki Zenin up the ranks."
In truth, it was just an attempt to drag him onto the sinking ship that was the Zenin clan.
It was safe to say his identity had been exposed. There weren't many at Jujutsu High capable of such advanced disguise, and he was the best.
It wasn't hard to guess.
Sōjun Minamoto didn't care much, but the real problem was Masaki Zenin.
She contacted him almost daily to report on family matters. Even the most trivial stuff wasn't left out. She always found something to talk about.
Which made that clone extremely busy.
And that wasn't even the end of it—he also had to manage things on Yoshinobu Gakuganji's side. Outwardly he was running a band, but in reality, he was studying positive Cursed Energy, trying to build a belief network.
So that clone was crucial, too—he couldn't afford to pull it back.
Out of the three, the only one with a relatively easy time was this Special Grade clone—the strongest of them all—but it was only used to handle daily errands.
This one had been prepared specifically for Kenjaku and for this very moment.
Dealing with him required overwhelming strength, and some of his plans were directly tied to Kenjaku. It was time to start acting on them.
Kenjaku was a thousand-year-old relic. Unlike Tengen, he was constantly active in the outside world. He'd been through countless battles and killings. His knowledge, perception, strength, and tactics…
Far surpassed Tengen's.
He'd already suffered setbacks with Tengen, so he wasn't about to underestimate these people. If anything, he'd be even more cautious.
Kenjaku was unpredictable—he did things on a whim.
He was either going to be used as a pawn or become the target of Kenjaku's curiosity.
Of course, power was also a reason Kenjaku had to take him seriously.
Which meant Sōjun Minamoto had to keep that advantage.
But he didn't need to lock horns with Kenjaku. In the end, they were just using each other.
The key was making sure the other side played their role properly—there was no need to fall into a cycle of constant wariness.
He returned to the living room and created another clone—an ordinary one.
This is the lower limit for a clone.
If the Cursed Energy drops any further, it would approach the level of Heavenly Restriction. If it disappears completely, then it would truly meet the criteria for Heavenly Restriction.
That's currently impossible.
Maybe in the future—but there's no real value in developing it. His current physical strength already rivals those with Heavenly Restriction or Toji-level capabilities. With the boost from Cursed Energy, he's far surpassed them.
Still, being content with just this isn't enough...
In a few months, it'll be four years since he entered Jujutsu High. He remembered what he said at the beginning...
Sōjun Minamoto walked up to the mirror.
His sharp eagle-like eyes held faint, scattered star-like specks deep within the pupils—hard to spot with the naked eye. The overall effect was unusual but not unsettling. Tiny dark holes marked the corner of his left eye and the right side of his lips.
Eagle vision, compound vision, dimples.
A different form of the Star Eyes, combined with a snake's thermal perception.
Even though this body was just a regular human with no access to Cursed Energy, it could still see curses and had considerable combat strength against non-jujutsu threats.
He flexed his biceps—well-shaped, natural, and aesthetically pleasing.
Just a perfectly ordinary person.
Three years had passed. He smirked.
He had said from the start—by the age of eighteen, he'd enter college. He'd been afraid of campus violence.
This clone would head into the city, take the entrance exam as a regular person, enroll, and conduct biomimetic research.
Progress on biomimetics had been slow over the past few years at Jujutsu High. Most of his time had gone into cursed technique development, as if he hadn't cared about the other project—but it had all been part of a plan.
Now that his technique enhancement had plateaued, and the path of the Unlimited slowed, the importance of biomimetics stood out even more.
Cursed Energy was, after all, just a temporary power amplifier. It couldn't make the body permanently stronger, faster, or more agile.
So, to raise his lower limit, he had to strengthen his physical body itself.
By absorbing exceptional traits from various organisms and stacking them with Cursed Energy boosts, he could push his power to new heights—with promising prospects.
Creating a regular clone wouldn't affect his Special Grade level at all. The clone could integrate into normal society. Now that he was at the right age, one body could focus on studying, the other on development—no delays on either end.
He set up all the protective barriers.
The Special Grade Sōjun Minamoto conjured a black vortex and sent off the Normal Grade clone.
With that, all his matters at Jujutsu High were arranged, so he left too.
He hadn't gone far before running into Kenjaku, who had been waiting for him.
The gates of Jujutsu High were still visible behind them. Kenjaku had changed bodies again—this time, a young man's, with a conspicuous stitch running across his forehead.
Sōjun Minamoto recognized it immediately.
This was the real body—specifically, the brain.
"Yo, long time no see," he greeted casually, walking up. "Why don't you come in and have a seat?"
"I wouldn't dare," Kenjaku replied.
He straightened up from where he leaned against the wall and glanced up at the sky above Jujutsu High.
As a skilled Barrier Master himself, he knew how much of an advantage the home field gave a sorcerer.
Ignoring his comment, Sōjun grinned.
"Took you long enough."
He understood what Kenjaku meant—this was the real body, not a throwaway, so they had to avoid danger as much as possible.
And that danger? Was him—Sōjun Minamoto.
Sōjun smiled.
"For someone like you, time is the cheapest thing. It's worthless... Afraid? We have a Binding Vow. What's there to fear?"
Kenjaku simply chuckled.
As a master of Binding Vows, he could always shift or offset restrictions—he just had to pay a different price.
Last time, he'd tried to sneak in some extra conditions, but failed. That's when he realized Sōjun was just as adept.
At this point, the Binding Vow was little more than a formality, the only thing left being "no mutual harm during cooperation"—barely holding the façade together.
The vow existed to keep Kenjaku in check.
And he had no intention of releasing it.
"Enough about that. Why did you come looking for me?" Sōjun Minamoto asked with a smile.
"Let's walk and talk. I wanted to show you the results of a real experiment," Kenjaku said, his expression lighting up like he'd remembered something amusing.
Oh?
Sōjun's interest was piqued. He didn't hesitate to walk away from Jujutsu High.
They made their way to the station, got on the tram like ordinary people, and finally arrived in Sendai.
Outside the station, Sōjun stood and took a moment to observe.
Sendai, huh?
It's... kind of special.
Not only was it his hometown, but it was also home to one of the Ten Great Barriers.
It held meaning for Kenjaku too—his son was here, even if only as the host of a high-level vessel.
Back then, he'd gone by the name Kaori Itadori—a woman.
She'd lived here for three years, gotten married, had a child, built a life, and become a mother.
Whether there had been real feelings involved was another matter entirely.
Kenjaku brought Sōjun Minamoto to a small villa in a secluded area, with just a few houses scattered nearby.
"This is my home," he said with a smile. "You're the first guest I've had here."
"I'm honored."
Sōjun looked around. Just an ordinary home.
Judging by the decor, it was probably from the Kaori Itadori days. Feminine touches were evident, but it didn't rule out the possibility of another female identity.
The question of whether Kenjaku was male or female was still unanswered.
Sōjun had no interest in figuring that out.
"This way," Kenjaku said, leading him into the basement.
It was spacious, with shelves lining the walls. Each shelf was made up of sealed drawer-like compartments—it wasn't clear what they were for.
The ceiling lights were soft, but dim.
Sōjun Minamoto felt a chill crawl over his skin, hair standing on end.
It wasn't just the cold—it was the silence. The whole environment was... unnervingly still.
He scanned the room.
His gaze locked onto the center of the basement.
There was an experimental table.
Lying on it was a black-haired woman who looked dead.
Looked.
She just wasn't.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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