Aomori Prefecture, the northernmost tip of Honshu.
Descending upon Shin-Aomori Station, where a cursed terror attack had been unleashed by the Bitz clones, was a group of Grade 1 sorcerers sent by Satoru Gojo.
With Yuki protecting Tengen, Geto in Shinagawa, Gojo in Tokyo, Naoya suppressing Kyoto before moving toward Hiroshima, Megumi at Shin-Osaka, Itadori in Sendai, and Okkotsu staying behind to guard the Tokyo school—the current reality was a severe shortage of Special Grade sorcerers. It was only natural that the Grade 1s would be called upon.
Even so, the lineup was a bit of a curious sight.
"Hah! That brat Satoru. Even if family relations have improved thanks to Naoya's achievements, he's showing far too little restraint toward other houses."
"This is exactly why I was against forming an alliance with Gojo."
"No, Ogi, you were just against everything Naoya was doing..."
"Getting dragged into a mess at the workplace of an acquaintance of my sister's in-laws is beyond unreasonable. They are practically strangers—no, they are literally strangers!"
"Now, now, don't say that. Let's do our best with Father and the others!"
"Wahahaha! Lady Gabi is as good-natured as ever!"
"...Uncle, I've been wondering for a while now, but have you been drinking?"
"Is there ever a time when I'm not drinking, Jinichi?"
"...Well, that's true."
Indeed, before flying to the Jujutsu High, Gojo had stopped by the Zen'in estate to send Mai to Shin-Osaka. While there, he had rounded up this group of Special Grade 1 sorcerers from the Zen'in clan and diverted them to Aomori.
The group consisted of: the previous head, Naobito Zen'in; the leader of the Hei, Jinichi Zen'in; the 'kite' of the 'hawk born from a kite' idiom, Ogi Zen'in; Naoya's third wife, Gabriella Oduor; and her brother, the strongest man in the African jujutsu world, Miguel Oduor, who had unfortunately been caught up in the mess while visiting Japan just to see if his sister was doing well in a foreign land.
Despite being on a battlefield, the five members of the Zen'in group showed no signs of tension. They stood atop the ruins of Shin-Aomori Station, confronting the Bitz clones who looked down on them mockingly.
"Oh my! Not a single Special Grade in sight? We are certainly being underestimated!"
"Whether you're being underestimated or not doesn't matter when it comes to disciplining a brat's mischief. Have you been drinking too?"
"Vile and vulgar. One can see the quality of your parents. They say a child is a mirror of the parent; if this is the case, Noritoshi Kamo must not be much to look at either."
"...Hmph."
The Zen'in group remained completely unfazed by the intimidation. Whether the Zen'in clan's attitude struck a nerve or not, the Bitz clones opened fire without mercy, prompting the Zen'in members to scatter.
Though they were strangers to words like 'social skills' or 'cooperation,' their counterattacks were powerful, befitting those from a veteran sorcerer lineage.
Jinichi's innate technique, [], caused countless feet to rain down from the sky.
By using cursed energy to enlarge and replicate the stomps Jinichi slammed into the ground, the attack crushed the Bitz clones along with the station. The clones utilized their regenerative powers to revive, attempting to launch a counterattack at Jinichi, but...
"—Did you think I would let you do that? You're being a bit too optimistic."
The speaker was Naobito Zen'in. Moving at ultra-high speed, he wove through the Bitz clones in a fluid motion. When he touched a Bitz clone while passing by, the result wasn't a mandatory transformation into a film frame—instead, the Bitz clone froze solid.
"Well, this is far from my personal preference, but let's call it the wisdom of age. There is no upper limit to the number of frames in Projection Sorcery. As long as you set a corresponding Binding Vow, you can increase the frame count as much as you like. Furthermore, the conditions can be set freely depending on the Vow. And as you know, Projection Sorcery has a major internal Vow: 'anyone touched by the user can also use it.' However, the version of the technique I let the opponent use doesn't necessarily have to be the same as mine. In other words, I let the opponent use a 'Deluxe Edition Projection Sorcery' that splits one second into 240,000 frames, allows behavior that completely ignores the laws of physics, receives absolutely no physical backlash, and only provides the benefit of affecting others. This condition is more than sufficient to establish a Binding Vow for me. —Of course, Projection Sorcery is still Projection Sorcery. If you fail to hit the frames, it's only natural that a penalty awaits the 'user,' right?"
As Naobito explained during his technique disclosure, the version of Projection Sorcery he 'forced the opponent to use' was incredibly powerful. If they actually succeeded in hitting the frames, they could have potentially crushed Naobito into dust.
However, that was only if they could successfully hit 240,000 frames per second. Against that virtually impossible condition, Naobito had set a relief measure and a very light penalty. 'If the frame count is failed, an automatic chance to redo is given. During the redo, there is no time limit for thinking about the frames, and the technique will not activate until all frames are set. Thus, the second attempt will always succeed if given enough time. However, the body cannot move while thinking about the frames.' This seemingly extraordinary relief measure appeared to be a condition solely for the enemy's benefit.
Or so it seemed.
"If you think of one frame per second, it takes roughly two days and nineteen hours. If you can't move during that time, well, I can only say you're wide open."
Naobito's voice didn't reach the Bitz clones, who were frozen and had even forgotten to breathe. Ogi Zen'in followed up immediately.
"Technique Release: Blazing Courage!"
Ogi wielded a blade of cursed energy wreathed in hellfire. Though it was a technique Megumi had once used, it had a proven track record of killing Bitz clones. Struck while defenseless, the clones were sliced through the torso and scorched. They couldn't even escape the raging flames before their bodies began to collapse.
"Hmph. Just brats who happened to obtain power after all."
"...I suppose so."
"Well, it's the wisdom of age! Gahahaha!"
"Father, you said that just a moment ago! —"
Gabi shouted as she stepped forward with a unique rhythm to shield Naobito, swiping away a cursed energy cannon blast from a Bitz clone with her slender arms.
Like her older brother Miguel, she used the Oduor family's inherited technique, []. By combining this technique—which repels curses and enhances physical ability—with the Special Grade Cursed Tool 'Black Rope,' she performed a miraculous defense. She disrupted the concentration of cursed energy with the rope and erased the remaining fluctuations with her technique. Beads of sweat poured down her face like a waterfall.
That skill, shown just in the nick of time to prevent a sniper shot, was proof enough of why she had been recommended as Naoya's wife.
"An ambush! My apologies! You saved me, Lady Gabi!"
"Gabi, step back. I'll take over."
"Thank you, brother... To make it in time, I set a temporary Binding Vow... to consume ten times the cursed energy... I am exhausted..."
"[]!!! Match me, Miguel!"
"Aren't you being a bit hasty?! I'm matching you, though!"
While Jinichi drove the remaining Bitz clones into a corner with a rain of giant fists, Miguel closed in. He nimbly dodged the fists raining down due to the technique's effect and unleashed a full-power strike with a fist wrapped in the Black Rope.
At that moment, Miguel looked genuinely surprised by the black sparks that flew, but the Bitz clone that took the hit was far beyond 'surprised.'
The Black Flash, delivered with the curse-disrupting effect of the Black Rope, completely scrambled the Reverse Cursed Technique that was the foundation of the Bitz clone's super-regeneration. The body suffered a fatal bug and transformed into a bizarre lump of flesh that convulsed continuously. After thrashing about like a fish out of water, it was overtaken by cancerous cells, becoming a mass of meat that consumed its own life-support functions until it died.
"That is way too gross..."
"...I, uh, sorry about that."
Miguel shook his hand as if trying to get something filthy off, while Jinichi, who had designated him for the finishing blow, both stood there with goosebumps at the grotesque end of the Bitz clone.
Even as enemies, the sight was pitiful. It was an event so disturbing that the Bitz clones, who were supposed to be adjusted combat weapons, were shaken when they 'inherited the soul's information.'
Due to their lack of experience, the young weapons allowed their cursed energy signatures to waver. Naobito sensed this and, with blinding speed, froze their bodily functions.
"Pitiable brats. That Kamo Noritoshi person does some terrible things. Ogi! Consign them to the flames!"
"Since we are both retired, you and I should be of equal rank now."
"Shut it! I'm still your older brother. Just hurry up and do it!"
Despite the prickly atmosphere, Ogi's Blazing Courage thoroughly burned them all. He then swung the technique toward Naobito, but a single "Naive!" from Naobito froze Ogi as well, bringing the terror suppression at Shin-Aomori to a close.
Jinichi hoisted Ogi onto his shoulder with a grunt. "How are we getting home?" he muttered. That somewhat awkward atmosphere continued until young Ui Ui arrived to pick them up, prompted by a message from Maki, who had read the 'Wives Group Line' from Gabi. It would become a legend that showcased the strength of the Zen'in sorcerer collective in more ways than one.
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