Watching the midwife enter the room, Kagami was drenched in sweat, pacing back and forth anxiously, his heart a frantic drum against his ribs. His mind was a tumultuous storm of nervousness and anticipation, the pure joy of becoming a father clashing with a deep, gnawing worry about the unknown future.
Based on his observations over the past few days, the Night of the Massacre was imminent—it could happen within the next two days, or even tonight. He was running out of time. The survival of his wife and child depended entirely on the system granting his newborn a powerful enough template.
As Kagami anxiously awaited his child's birth, on the other side of the Uchiha compound, the night descended like a heavy ink curtain, concealing a silent slaughter. Uchiha Itachi, once celebrated as the prodigy of the Uchiha Clan, now had a storm of complex emotions flickering in his eyes—a chilling mixture of resolve and anguish. The katana in his hand gleamed coldly under the moonlight, each swing felling another clansman. Blood splattered, staining his clothes and reflecting on his resolute, yet profoundly lonely, face.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Obito, concealed behind his swirling orange mask, moved with even greater speed and silence. He moved through the shadows of the Uchiha territory like a phantom, leaving only silent screams and cooling bodies in his wake. The two of them worked in perfect, deadly harmony, like twin scythes of the Death God, mercilessly reaping the souls of their former kin. The blood-tinged moonlight pierced the thin clouds, casting an eerie glow upon the cursed land, shrouding all sin and sorrow in an ominous shadow.
Yet, the silent slaughter did not go entirely unnoticed. In the distance, the faint cries of cats and the startled flutter of night birds hinted at the approaching doom. But these subtle warnings were quickly swallowed by the encroaching darkness, rendered insignificant by the grim efficiency of the two assassins.
Kagami's small house, though remote, was not completely isolated from the unfolding tragedy. An occasional gust of wind seemed to carry the faint, horrifying whispers of chaos and bloodshed from the distance. But Kagami's attention was entirely consumed by the life-and-death drama unfolding within the room. He didn't notice the unnatural stillness of the night, nor did he realize that the massacre was already upon them, with Itachi and Obito drawing closer with every passing second.
"Waaah... Waaah..."
Suddenly, a baby's cry pierced the suffocating silence of the room. It was like the first ray of dawn, instantly banishing the gloom that had settled in Kagami's heart.
Kagami, who had been pacing endlessly, froze. His face, illuminated by the moonlight, was ecstatic, his eyes gleaming with an indescribable light. He knew his child had been born. His tightly clenched fists trembled, a complex mix of joy and nervousness—the overwhelming emotions of a new father—surging through him. Kagami's own heartbeat seemed to sync with the baby's cries, and an unprecedented warmth flooded his chest. It was the powerful stir of blood ties, a profound connection to a future filled with infinite possibilities.
Just then, the familiar voice of the system sounded in his mind.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host on the birth of your first offspring. Would you like to begin drawing a template immediately?!]
The system's voice yanked Kagami back to the grim reality of his situation. The massacre could descend upon them at any moment. There wasn't a second to lose. Without hesitation, he commanded,
"Draw a template now!"
Then, not even waiting for the system's selection process to finish, he burst into the delivery room. The midwife carefully handed him the baby, wrapped in a soft swaddle, her face beaming with a kind smile. "Congratulations, mother and child are safe. It's a big, healthy boy!"
Kagami excitedly took his son. Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the baby's tender, pink face. His wrinkled features radiated an extraordinary vitality. A flicker of tenderness and fierce determination flashed in Kagami's eyes. He slowly reached out, gently touching the soft, small life in his arms, silently vowing to dedicate his entire being to protecting his family, no matter how difficult the future became.
He turned his gaze to his wife, Uchiha Rinne, her face pale with exhaustion, and asked with gentle concern, "You did so well, Rinne. You've worked so hard. I love you for giving me this beautiful child."
Uchiha Rinne, though drained from childbirth, was filled with overwhelming happiness. She shook her head slightly and smiled. "I love you too. Now, Let me see our son."
Hearing this, Kagami quickly placed the child beside his wife. Seeing the tender family moment, the midwife, not wanting to intrude, quietly slipped out of the room. Uchiha Rinne gazed at her son, her face alight with a happy smile, her eyes overflowing with maternal love. The baby, as if sensing her affection, seemed to smile playfully back at her.
At that moment, the system's selection interface finally landed on the image of a strange being with four arms, four eyes, and a second mouth on its abdomen.
[Ding! Congratulations on drawing the character template—The King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna! Would you like to begin fusion?]
"It's King of curses itself-Ryomen Sukuna!"
Kagami was overjoyed. He knew, with absolute certainty, that they were going to make it. Even if the massacre started this very second, his family would be saved. This was Ryomen Sukuna, the ultimate antagonist of the Jujutsu world.
He was the legendary King of Curses from a thousand years ago, an entity who had single-handedly defeated all the Jujutsu Sorcerers of his era. Even a millennium later, with the power of only nineteen of his fingers, he had managed to slice the strongest modern sorcerer, Satoru Gojo, in half. According to the system's description, this was a template of Sukuna in his absolute prime, possessing the full, terrifying power of all twenty fingers.
Once his son fused with it, Kagami himself would receive a tenfold amplification of that power. This meant he would wield ten times the strength of Ryomen Sukuna at his absolute peak.
Sukuna's original power was already enough to destroy kages with a single strike but if Used correctly, his Spatial Cleave could potentially kill even Madara instantly. After a tenfold amplification, Kagami's power would be unimaginably terrifying. Moreover, this was an all-around boost; the resulting increase in strength was far more than a simple tenfold multiplication.
With this kind of power, dealing with a single Uchiha Itachi would be trivial. He could likely face the combined might of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama without issue! Well, not defeat them but he could protect himself and run from them if necessary. After all, even with the overwhelming power of a tenfold Ryomen Sukuna, his own lack of combat experience could be a fatal weakness against legendary shinobi like Madara and Hashirama. But, once he gained that experience, there would be no contest. He could likely suppress them both with a single hand.
Thud—!
Suddenly, a heavy, dull thud echoed from just outside the room, striking Kagami's heart like a hammer blow.