Time rewound to five minutes ago.
Unlike the four people over there who were preparing to fight to the death, Kenmyo was eating grilled fish, lamenting that Cursed Spirits who could cook were even rarer than Type A Special Grade Cursed Spirits outside.
His conscience wouldn't ache; Kenmyo kicking Dagon to them was providing valuable intelligence to the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association, concerning the entire truth of this attack.
If they couldn't seize the opportunity, it just meant they weren't all that great.
"Hey, kid."
But a sudden voice from beside him startled Kenmyo.
"What are you eating that smells so good? Let me have a bite."
Kenmyo turned his head to find Fushiguro Toji, whom he had bound, staring at him intently—or rather, at the grilled fish, perfectly crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, savory and delicious.
It turned out that Fushiguro Toji, who had previously been offline, had finally returned to his senses.
The child was starving, one might say he'd go to hell for a bite.
"Also, release these things on me; I'm quite uncomfortable being tied up."
Fushiguro Toji, now fully conscious, felt as if his body was about to fall apart, with all his bone joints loosened.
Kenmyo didn't know what to say; he was speechless.
Good heavens, he had beaten him for so long without a peep; his soul was like a dead man's, completely unresponsive.
Yet, Fushiguro Toji from another timeline had once mentioned to Kenmyo that even if he died, due to the influence of Heavenly Restriction, his physical body was different from ordinary humans.
Anyone who dared to scheme against him would inevitably face trouble.
Kenmyo guessed that the real Fushiguro Toji had taken over and eliminated the one who summoned him.
But despite all that talk, Kenmyo had beaten him until his hands were almost cramping, and it didn't matter. Now, upon smelling the grilled fish, he suddenly reacted.
This guy was truly outrageous.
Moreover, Fushiguro Toji didn't seem particularly surprised by his current predicament.
He just wanted a bite of grilled fish, to eat meat heartily.
Kenmyo didn't refuse; he took another skewer of grilled fish and handed it directly to him.
"Toji, aren't you curious about your current state?"
He didn't know whether to call him carefree or what; such a major event as resurrection didn't faze him at all.
"I'm just a dead spirit; why would I want to bother with so much?"
Fushiguro Toji didn't lack memories from before his death; he had undoubtedly been killed by that Gojo brat.
Now, opening his eyes again simply meant being summoned by some Curse User with a strange Cursed Technique. Damn them for ordering him around like this.
Although displeased, Fushiguro Toji instinctively judged that the kid in front of him wasn't the one who summoned him. Because between them, apart from those damned chains, there was no connection.
Fushiguro Toji savagely tore into the fish meat in his hand like a hungry wolf, chewing loudly as he spoke.
The fish Dagon prepared for Kenmyo wasn't small; they were all Groupers.
So Fushiguro Toji ate with great relish, his words muffled.
"At most, I'm just tied up by you, or acting as your thug."
Kenmyo wasn't surprised by this answer; he just shook his head.
"You're quite clear-headed, actually."
He's just a lazy bum!
"Then I'll be direct: it's been over a decade since your death."
"Though you're not much, you did train an excellent successor for your Zenin Family."
Kenmyo gestured for Fushiguro Toji to look over there, towards Fushiguro Megumi.
"Your son is among them."
Fushiguro Toji initially didn't believe it, but then he saw an old acquaintance, Zen'in Naobito, and immediately believed it.
Kenmyo teased,
"Megumi Zen'in, young master of the Zenin Family."
"Cough, cough, cough."
Fushiguro Toji, who had just been nonchalant about everything, suddenly choked. He touched his mouth.
He subconsciously blurted out,
"Why not Fushiguro?"
But Fushiguro Toji immediately reacted, his face darkening, biting his left fingernail.
"Is that so? Damn it."
"I knew that Gojo brat couldn't be relied on after all."
Zen'in and Fushiguro, though only a surname apart, had vastly different meanings—it signified a complete return to the ancestral clan.
His own child had become a member of the Zenin Family, whom Fushiguro Toji detested the most. His fists clenched.
He was already gritting his teeth.
"Never mind that for now."
Kenmyo found the complex emotions on Fushiguro Toji's face very interesting.
"Your son and his companions are about to face misfortune."
"They're fighting a Special Grade Cursed Spirit. Can a battle against a Special Grade be won by sheer numbers?"
"Without a Domain, no matter how many people there are, they're just fodder."
"What does that have to do with me?"
Fushiguro Toji sneered.
"Who cares about the lives of the Zenin Family?"
But if Kenmyo hadn't sensed the pressure on half of the spiritual energy chains binding Fushiguro Toji suddenly double, he would have believed his nonsense.
Toji's mouth, a lying devil; outwardly calm, but inwardly already competing.
However, Kenmyo looked at the struggle and regret clearly written on his face and inexplicably felt a sense of coercion.
Kenmyo even felt a hint of pity.
It was a shame he was an uncle, not a wife.
Kenmyo placed Playful Cloud on the table, making it visible to Fushiguro Toji.
"Choose."
"Will you watch your good son be slaughtered by a Special Grade Cursed Spirit?"
"Or will you follow my commands?"
"Who do you think you're ordering, kid?!"
Fushiguro Toji frowned, displeased.
His pride would not allow him to suffer such humiliation, not even after death.
"It's fine if you don't save him; I'm a member of the Kamo Family."
Kenmyo's heart grew calmer when he saw the overwhelming horde of Sea Creatures appearing on the horizon.
"But can you really bear it?"
He used Blood Manipulation to construct a scene: the image Fushiguro Toji most yearned for when Kenmyo had beaten him to near death, transmitted through thought at the time.
It had left a deep impression on Kenmyo: a gentle woman with short hair, holding a baby.
It was vividly depicted, displayed right next to Playful Cloud.
"You!"
Fushiguro Toji's eyes widened instantly. He never would have imagined that the memory buried deepest in his mind would be completely exposed by this young man.
For a moment, all the memories with his beloved wife resurfaced before his eyes.
"This child was born on the winter solstice, let's call him Megumi."
Kenmyo took a sip of coconut water and said in an indifferent tone,
"Mainly, I'm soft-hearted and can't bear to see a parent bury their child, so I'm giving you the choice."
"Watching the current head of the Zenin Family and the young master die might even be more beneficial."
"Hiss."
Fushiguro Toji gritted his teeth.
"Give me Playful Cloud."
Kenmyo smiled.
"Alright, Uncle."
He handed Playful Cloud to him and simultaneously removed the restraints on Fushiguro Toji.
"Kid, you've got guts."
Fushiguro Toji, now free from his shackles, twisted his body, deliberately looking at Kenmyo with murderous intent.
Even a clay figure has some temper, let alone him, who was known as the "heavenly restraints."
"Because I'm stronger than you."
Kenmyo slowly put down the coconut in his hand, speaking unhurriedly.
He was stating a fact, so he had plenty of confidence.
Fushiguro Toji was the one in a hurry, not him.
"Believe it or not, I've actually killed you more than once."
A flash of white light, and Kenmyo's blade was already at Fushiguro Toji's neck.
"Is this the Soul Eater Blade?"
After many years, Fushiguro Toji, unable to move, was once again held at the chin by his former Cursed Tool. His mood was undoubtedly complex.
"Yes, the Gojo Family brat gave all these to me."
"Besides, you've eaten my fish and taken my weapon; with such deep involvement, can you still raise a blade against me now?"
Kenmyo's strength was growing, and his minor techniques were also being updated.
He was no longer confined to paper; anything could become the carrier of a contract.
The grilled fish stick, and even the fish meat he ate with relish, could potentially become part of his contract.
So this guy actually had no choice from the beginning; it was just his twisted pleasure, preferring to watch Fushiguro Toji make the most difficult decisions.
Kenmyo began to understand why villains liked to order others to do things they disliked, violating their inner principles—perhaps that was it.
To recognize, to understand, to become—this was the pleasure derived from wantonly playing with people's hearts.
"You really are a guy with a terrible personality."
"Really, you make it sound like I'm the bad guy."
Kenmyo put away the Soul Eater Blade and pushed Fushiguro Toji.
"Alright, go quickly."
Under the external force from Kenmyo, Fushiguro Toji sped across the sea at an extreme speed, looking like he was surfing.
"If you're late, you'll be collecting your son's corpse."
But the voice of that brat still echoed in Fushiguro Toji's ears.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot to tell you."
"Everything I just said was false."
"Yes, specifically the part about your son having the Zen'in surname."
Kenmyo knew well that as a Boss, he needed to motivate his employees.
To give Fushiguro Toji more hope while working, he said,
"Actually, your kid still has the Fushiguro surname."
"Is that so."
The reluctant expression on Fushiguro Toji's face immediately twisted into a ferocious smile.
"That truly is wonderful."
So, what happened next was predictable: Fushiguro Toji, feeling played, yet immensely relieved that he had been played, had no choice but to vent all the resentment from being misled and manipulated onto those enemies.
Therefore, his attacks were incredibly violent, full of pumping blood and emotional frenzy, and he swiftly killed hundreds of Sea Creatures of varying sizes.
He displayed a spectacular solo massacre, instantly reducing the difficulty for the four people from 'Hell' mode to 'Makka Pakka' mode.
Watching the middle-aged man dance among the gore, they suddenly felt their own strength was like a pile of dog shit.
But that was indeed the case. Fushiguro Toji was the pinnacle of Physical Combat. While killing A-rank Special Grade Cursed Spirits might be difficult, when dealing with Jujutsu Sorcerer, he absolutely possessed the strength to suppress the entire Jujutsu World.
Even now, after ten or twenty years, and with the emergence of so many new generations, who besides Gojo Satoru could defeat Fushiguro Toji?
"He can be this strong without Cursed Energy?"
Maki Zen'in, who had always been looked down upon by the Zenin Family, undoubtedly had her eyes opened to a new world upon seeing such a powerful existence.
It just looked a little silly, that's all.
The four of them emerged from Dagon's Domain with a lingering sense of unreality.
It was especially awkward that the four of them were still arranged in a Pin-shaped Formation, surrounding Fushiguro Megumi inside.
Especially the Megumi in the middle; he had a nosebleed from activating his Domain, as Domain Expansion placed too great a burden on his brain.
Moments ago, adrenaline was surging and the tension was high, but now he felt empty.
His mind couldn't react instantly.
"Blonde hair? Quite fashionable."
Fushiguro Toji stroked his chin, revealing an appreciative look.
"Just so serious."
Fushiguro Megumi heard the conversation but hadn't realized the two people were talking about him.
Kenmyo irritably reminded him.
"Idiot, it's the one with black hair."
Then, Fushiguro Megumi felt Fushiguro Toji's scrutinizing gaze, which was rather baffling.
But before he could open his mouth to speak.
"Rumble!"
A sudden explosion sounded in Fushiguro Megumi's ear, followed by an unimaginable massive force that irresistibly overpowered and suppressed him, carrying him away.
By the time Fushiguro Megumi reacted, he was already far away from the commercial building, currently standing on a quiet main road outside.
"Megumi!"
Maki Zen'in's expression suddenly turned anxious. She said,
"Where did that guy take Megumi?"
Kenmyo irritably "Tch'd."
He'd been living off women, sleeping at their houses, yet he'd never looked this shy.
He kicked the outer wall of the shopping mall, creating a large hole. He stood with one foot on the pile of rubble, looking out at the dark street.
"Don't worry, even a tiger won't eat its cub."
Maki Zen'in wanted to say something more, but Zen'in Naobito held her back.
"Little girl, he is right."
Zen'in Naobito would not mistake that face—Fushiguro Toji.
"Megumi will be fine."
"Oh, and I think you guys should retreat quickly."
Kenmyo kicked a piece of rubble, sending it rolling four meters down to the ground with a crisp sound.
"You saw it yourself, didn't you?"
"You couldn't even handle one Special Grade Cursed Spirit this simple."
"The opportunity was given to you, but you were useless."
Kenmyo held up the Cursed Spirit Orb that Dagon had been transformed into, showing it to them.
"I can already sense the Main Battlefield up ahead. There is more than one Special Grade Cursed Spirit there."
"And there are several of them, many times stronger than the one you just dealt with; they aren't even Cursed Spirits of the same dimension."
"If you insist on continuing, you are only headed for death."
"To participate in the upcoming battle, you need at least the same fighting power as me."
Hearing this, the three immediately fell silent, especially Nanami Kento.
He hadn't expected his own words to be proven true so quickly
Nanami Kento had spoken these exact words to Nobara Kugisaki not long ago, and now, he was hearing them from another young man who was decades his junior.
"Damn it.."
But what he said was the truth.
They were weak, and forcing themselves to participate further would only increase casualties.
"The path ahead is a one-way road to hell for you."
Kenmyo shifted his gaze from the father and son on the distant street to the location of the true Enemy Headquarters.
"But for me, it's an amusement park."
Gojo Niuma was also there, and Kenmyo expected to find considerable amusement.
So, he dragged Fushiguro Toji along to participate in this farce.
"When did this happen?"
The rapid change of scenery made Fushiguro Megumi think he had teleported.
But the truth was that Fushiguro Toji didn't want some mischievous bastard brat watching the show, so he simply took his son away, giving the two of them private time alone.
Just a simple display of skill immediately left Fushiguro Megumi sweating profusely.
"How did I not feel anything at all?"
His eyes were wide with surprise.
They had clearly shifted four or five hundred meters in an instant, yet miraculously, Fushiguro Megumi felt no discomfort whatsoever.
Perhaps he hadn't figured out what to say to the son he hadn't seen in so long? Fushiguro Toji stayed fifty meters away from Fushiguro Megumi and wouldn't approach.
Furthermore, when Fushiguro Megumi turned his head, the "shy" Fushiguro Toji would appear on the other side of the street, playing at instant movement.
"That must be Maki-nee's final form."
Fushiguro Megumi had no idea why this man had brought him here; he was completely baffled.
"No Cursed Energy, yet incredibly fast movement."
"!!!"
Fushiguro Megumi subconsciously took two steps back, because Fushiguro Toji suddenly appeared less than a step away from him.
He scrutinized him up and down, left and right.
"Emm, a bit skinny."
Fushiguro Toji held his chin with one hand, looking at Fushiguro Megumi's tall, lean figure, and muttered to himself,
"Didn't they feed you enough at the Zenin Family?"
"Let me ask you one thing first."
Fushiguro Toji's tone was very serious
"What is your name?"
Fushiguro Megumi did not sense any malice from the other party; he simply maintained a defensive posture.
Moreover, upon hearing the man ask his name, Fushiguro Megumi answered instinctively.
"Fushiguro... Megumi."
"Not Zen'in?"
"Hahahahaha!"
Upon hearing the answer he cared about most, Fushiguro Toji laughed. He laughed heartily, even clutching his stomach with one hand.
"That brat really didn't lie to me."
If one looked closely, they might even notice a clear liquid at the corners of Fushiguro Toji's eyes.
"What's so funny!"
Fushiguro Megumi saw the man in front of him laughing extremely exaggeratedly after hearing his name.
"No, I'm not laughing."
Fushiguro Toji gently wiped away the liquid near his eyes and said,
"I'm happy."
After speaking, Fushiguro Toji raised the sharp blade carved from the Playful Cloud in his hand, intending to fiercely stab his own head.
However, when the blade was just three centimeters from his head, Fushiguro Toji's hand immediately stopped, uncontrollable.
No matter how much force Fushiguro Toji applied, he couldn't move it forward even an inch.
He couldn't even kill himself.
Fushiguro Toji quickly assessed his situation. He looked up toward the only spot of light, where someone was also watching him.
And when that person noticed Fushiguro Toji's gaze, the fellow, whose eyes were full of mockery, raised his index finger and shook it dismissively at him, making a "Tsk, tsk, tsk" sound.
It was as if he was saying,
"You can't play these little tricks."
Fushiguro Toji tossed away the worthless scrap metal in his hand and said irritably,
"Damn it, that brat really did something to me."
"That's right."
Kenmyo already had experience; he naturally wouldn't fail at training this unruly beast.
"I am your Boss."
"You will keep working for me until this body of yours is completely broken down."