"How about it, Zen'in? You taking this request?"
Not far from where Satoru and the others were, Kong Shiu was trying to persuade Toji to join the operation.
No other reason—Time Vessel Association was offering too much.
Even Kong, who only got a small cut, stood to earn a huge profit.
So today, Kong gave extra effort to convince the Sorcerer Killer he normally avoided dealing with.
After all, the Association seriously lacked the ability to fight powerful Jujutsu Sorcerers.
The people in their cult were good at pretending to be gods and ghosts to swindle the rich, but if they had to face the Six Eyes, it would just be suicide.
"Time Vessel Association is offering real money this time."
Kong continued to tempt him.
"It's not Zen'in."
"Huh?"
Toji's words made Kong pause, quickly trying to interpret the meaning.
"I married into the family. Now I'm Fushiguro."
Toji lifted his slippered foot to scratch an itch.
In that moment, he looked incredibly relaxed.
Thrown into a crowd, no one would guess this was the Heavenly Restriction who once turned the Big Three Families upside down.
So that's it. I remember him saying he hated the Zen'in. He quit because he got married?
Kong thought he had figured out why the Sorcerer Killer had retired.
He wasn't entirely wrong. Family was part of it, but the bigger reason was that wealthy women were more appealing.
Getting paid for doing nothing, wasn't that way better than wandering the streets risking your life?
"Interesting. I'll take the job."
Just as Kong was about to launch into another round of persuasion, Toji gave his answer.
Kong breathed a sigh of relief.
The client had said only Toji mattered. If he didn't accept, there was no payout.
"When can I give you the deposit?"
"Anytime. The Association's serious about this one."
Kong pulled out a bank card.
"No need to hand it over yet."
"Huh?"
Kong's hand froze mid-air.
"Use that deposit to post a bounty. Target is the star plasma vessel. Life or death doesn't matter. Just get as many Curse Users involved as possible."
"You're outsourcing it?"
Kong was dumbfounded.
He'd spent all this time finding Curse Users and trying to persuade Toji, and barely scraped together a few million.
Now this guy takes the main job and outsources the rest, instantly making ten times more than him?
"No. That person Gojo Satoru is protecting isn't someone small fry can touch."
"Then why bother..."
"Make the mission last 40 hours. Don't mention the star plasma vessel. Just say it's an ordinary person."
Before Kong could finish, Toji cut him off.
Forty hours? Concealing her identity?
Kong began to understand.
"I see. I'll go—"
He looked up, ready to respond, only to find that Toji had already vanished.
"This guy, really... only shows up for work and Hell."
Kong scratched his head and began typing up the bounty on the dark web.
Meanwhile, in the stairwell shadows, Toji descended the steps with a twisted grin on his face.
Don't disappoint me.
Ever since childhood, the rejection and disgust he felt from the Jujutsu world had been a thorn buried deep in his heart.
Now was the perfect time to trample on the pride of those smug Sorcerers.
When the so-called divine child, the one who changed the entire Jujutsu world, died at the hands of a "monkey" like him, what faces would the old bastards make?
He couldn't wait to see it.
Now, the Heavenly Restriction who had stayed hidden for years, bared his fangs like a lion awakened from slumber.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
On a congested road, drivers honked impatiently.
Click.
The car door opened, and the Assistant Supervisor who had gone to check the situation returned.
"What's going on up there?"
Emiya spoke first.
"A large truck overturned. The road's blocked. They're clearing it now."
So it was a delay tactic after all.
This was already the second "accident" since the start of this mission.
The first had been a landslide.
Back then, Emiya had gotten out and helped other drivers push enough rocks aside to create a path.
This time, it was a whole truck.
Unlike rocks, a truck wasn't something he could help with without raising questions.
If he moved boulders, people might praise his strength.
Call him a modern-day Raiden Tameemon.
Or Heisei's Great Muscle King.
But lifting a full-sized truck? No one would believe that was just physical strength.
"I'll go on ahead. Meet me in Nagasaki."
Without another word, Emiya spiritualized and disappeared from the back seat.
"Wait, Emiya-san..."
The driver turned around, but Emiya was already gone.
There was only one reason he could move like this.
Japan was small enough.
For a Heroic Spirit, traversing mountains and rivers was trivial.
And with repeated "accidents" stalling him, going alone was obviously faster.
A few hours later, Emiya arrived at the rendezvous point.
"What's the situation?"
He reappeared beside a man guarding the cordoned-off temple grounds.
"Huh?!"
The man jumped in surprise at the sudden presence.
Once he confirmed Emiya's identity as a Special Grade reinforcement assigned by Jujutsu Headquarters, his face lit up with relief.
"Hello, Emiya-sama. I'm Assistant Supervisor Tanaka, in charge of securing the area. I'll brief you on the situation now."
Emiya nodded.
From Tanaka's reaction, it was clear he wasn't part of the group causing the earlier delays.
"Currently, there are three Curse Users and one Special Grade Cursed Spirit in the temple. The hostages are not in immediate danger."
Tanaka opened a blue folder.
"Among the three, one is a recently active Curse User with strength comparable to a Grade 2 Sorcerer. We have no intel on the other two. They likely operate in secret."
He handed several photos to Emiya.
Candid surveillance shots taken from various angles by the local team.
These images had also been sent to Headquarters for Curse User identification.
"We've also confirmed the identity of the Special Grade Cursed Spirit inside the temple."
Tanaka looked up, his expression turning grave.
"Special Grade Cursed Spirit: Kishimojin."
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)