The time returned to more than ten minutes earlier.
On a commercial street somewhere in Kyoto, a curtain with a radius of over four hundred meters stood in silence.
"What's the situation now?"
Mukuro had still been at Tokyo Jujutsu High. After giving Nanami and Ijichi a few instructions and making a phone call, he rushed back without stopping.
The reason was simple. Utahime had said on the phone that what was happening here was almost identical to the sudden incident in Tokyo. The people trapped inside were calling his name and demanding that Mukuro Fushiguro come and let them out.
Before leaving Tokyo, Mukuro had entered the curtain there once. Perhaps because Hanami had been present, even he had been unable to locate the enemy for the time being.
They had only deliberately exposed their cursed energy in front of the Windows earlier. It was a show of strength, a reminder to everyone to call Satoru Gojo over.
Putting everything together, the answer was not difficult guess.
Kenjaku was afraid.
If he had not confirmed that Mukuro had left, he probably would not have acted according to plan. He wanted to lure Mukuro away and then work together with the other curses to seal that white-haired guy.
But why had he not waited until he was certain Mukuro was gone before setting up the curtain in Tokyo? What made it necessary to deploy both sides at almost the same time?
And Suguru was fine. In that situation, did they really have the ability to hold Satoru for even a single minute?
Mukuro did not think Satoru cared much about things like family.
He had been treated as a divine child since birth, yet because of that he had become a monster in the eyes of others. His treatment in the Gojo clan had been the exact opposite of Mukuro's and Toji's childhood, but the result had been the same.
He hated the Gojo clan.
"It's strange. Including the one in front of us, there are two curtains on this street, but neither of them blocks sorcerers."
Utahime had been waiting for a long time. Through the Windows and the students' investigation, she already knew what was inside.
There were two layers of curtain separated by only a few dozen meters.
The outer one prevented ordinary people from leaving but did not stop sorcerers. The inner one seemed to have no restriction at all. Sorcerers and civilians could pass through freely, making it look like nothing more than a curtain in name.
According to the Windows, they had initially sensed extremely powerful cursed energy inside, clearly special grade and more than one. But the reaction had disappeared quickly. The enemy had likely hidden in some dark corner, waiting for Mukuro to arrive.
"Kusakabe is personally leading the team. The students have sealed several key points inside the first curtain. The Zenin clan head and Mei Mei are here too. We're all waiting for your orders."
That was what she said.
But for safety, everyone had already agreed that he should handle it alone. The rest would guard the outside and assist.
When facing an unknown enemy, even a grade 1 sorcerer as strong as Todo would only become a burden.
Satoru and Mukuro were both known for overwhelming strength in solo combat. Their efficiency was highest when fighting alone.
As they were talking, the two of them stepped into the outermost curtain together. It was a pedestrian-only street.
With a single glance, Mukuro spotted Miwa and the others standing guard in the distance, as well as civilians wandering around and even shouting, "Tell Mukuro Fushiguro to get here now!"
"You stay at the edge of the second curtain. If anything happens, contact me immediately."
After a quick look around, Mukuro ordered.
The security outside had already been arranged as well as possible. With the available manpower, this was the best they could do.
Still, to prevent an anomaly like Hanami, someone extremely skilled at concealing cursed energy, from hiding here, perhaps even Hanami itself, he had Utahime remain vigilant.
After all, cutting off signals between the inside and outside was a basic function of a curtain.
"Got it."
They might bicker in daily life, but when it came to matters like this, Utahime followed his instructions without question.
"Tokyo and Kyoto having incidents at the same time… this whole situation feels wrong. You should be careful."
Just as he was about to step into the second curtain, she gave him a rare word of concern.
"You should worry about Tokyo instead," Mukuro replied as he reached out first to touch the curtain.
Then the unexpected happened.
Crackle!
The curtain, which had not stopped anyone from entering or leaving, suddenly released arcs of electricity the moment his hand touched it.
It rejected him.
"Eh?! This curtain isn't supposed to block anyone! And you're not affected by curtains in the first place, right?"
Utahime was stunned.
This was completely different from what the Windows had reported.
"If it were a curtain with no function at all, there would be no point in setting it up. They're probably trying to stall Fushiguro… their main battlefield is in Tokyo?"
Mei Mei, who had been helping with the outer security somewhere, had already arrived beside them.
She had witnessed the moment Mukuro was repelled. After confirming that she could touch the barrier without issue, she spoke.
Separating the two special grade sorcerers in the country and putting this much distance between them made their objective obvious.
"Then… should we let the Zenin clan head and Todo go in first and try to force the curse out?"
Utahime imitated Mei Mei and confirmed that she could pass through as expected. Then she looked at Mukuro.
Even if it was dangerous, as long as the enemy did not have a domain, a grade 1 sorcerer could still deal with an ordinary special grade.
"Their target is me. Until they're sure I'm inside, they'll keep hiding. And if a curse dares to challenge a special grade directly, there's no need to let them take the risk."
Resting his chin on his hand, Mukuro rejected her suggestion while thinking.
A curtain should only identify cursed energy. To block a specific person, it would require collecting their cursed energy residue and crafting a targeted barrier.
But he had no cursed energy that could be collected.
So why was he being stopped?
And if it allowed all sorcerers and civilians to pass through, then the wide range of permission must have been added as a binding condition to strengthen its ability to block him.
But in that kind of classification, he should be treated like a building or a stone.
A spark of realization flashed through his mind.
Could it be… the curtain wasn't identifying him at all?
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!