Just as Yoru was about to step out of these ruins and head toward the central battlefield—a place that would make even a Special Grade Cursed Spirit tremble...
A voice, slightly aged yet still brimming with vigor, rang out from behind him.
Yoru paused and glanced back over his shoulder.
The speaker was Naobito Zenin.
The twenty-sixth head of the Zenin family was currently enduring the agonizing pain from his severed arm, struggling to stand straight with Megumi Fushiguro's support.
His eyes, usually clouded with drunkenness and arrogance, were now clearer and more solemn than ever before.
"Mr. Naobito, is there something else?"
Yoru turned around. His tone was calm, showing no hint of reverence or intimidation despite the other man's status as the head of one of the Big Three Families.
In the world of jujutsu where strength was paramount, the power he had just displayed was enough for him to stand on equal footing with anyone.
Naobito Zenin took a deep breath and pushed aside Megumi's hand.
Then, under the shocked gazes of everyone, this stubborn man—who had always looked down on others and lived by the creed 'if you aren't a Zenin, you aren't human'—actually took a step forward.
Then, he bowed deeply toward Yoru.
A full bow!
And it was a perfect ninety-degree bow.
"Old man..."
Maki's eyes widened as if she were witnessing the impossible. Even her breath hitched for a moment.
She knew better than anyone how arrogant the Zenin family was, especially its head.
In their eyes, those without cursed energy were worth less than trash.
Yet now, this proud head of the family had lowered his noble head to a young man who possessed no cursed energy—someone they usually dismissed as a monkey.
The sheer weight of this visual and the reversal of status made Maki's mind grind to a halt.
"Thank you for saving our lives."
Naobito's voice was low and sincere, devoid of any pretense.
"If you hadn't arrived in time, my old bones and the future of the Zenin family would likely have been buried here today."
"The Zenin family owes you a great debt of gratitude."
Seeing the old man's total change in attitude, a flicker of surprise crossed Yoru's eyes, though it vanished just as quickly.
He waved his hand dismissively, his tone remaining indifferent.
"Don't mention it. Protecting my comrades is simply part of the job."
"Besides, I didn't save you because you're Zenins. I saved you simply because you are my comrades from Jujutsu High."
Yoru's words were blunt, even somewhat tactless.
But after hearing them, Naobito wasn't angry. Instead, an undisguised look of admiration flashed in his eyes.
*This is how a true powerhouse should carry themselves.*
Neither humble nor arrogant, not constrained by worldly status, only following one's own heart.
Naobito slowly straightened his back, his gaze fixed on Yoru with a complicated expression.
"To have not a shred of cursed energy, yet slay a Special Grade cursed spirit within its own domain using nothing but raw physical strength..."
"Your battle just now truly opened this old man's eyes."
Naobito's voice carried a deep sense of wonder, along with a faint, almost imperceptible trace of bitterness.
"For the longest time, the Zenin family has regarded cursed energy as the sole measure of a person's worth."
"To be without it was to be worthless—a disgrace to the name."
Naobito glanced instinctively at Maki before turning his eyes back to Yoru.
"But today, you used your blade to deliver a resounding slap to the Zenin family's face."
"Cursed energy isn't the only path to the peak."
"The pinnacle of physical might can just as easily crush all rules and techniques."
Naobito's words made Maki's body tremble violently as her eyes welled with tears.
For so many years, wasn't this the recognition she had been longing for?
And today, that recognition had been forced from the mouth of this stubborn head by Yoru's peerless violence!
"Your presence reminds me of a legend."
Naobito retracted his gaze and looked at Yoru again. His eyes grew distant, as if lost in some ancient memory.
"A man who once made the entire Zenin family—and the entire jujutsu world—shudder in fear."
"The man who pushed Heavenly Restriction to its absolute limit, the one known as the Sorcerer Killer..."
"Toji Fushiguro."
Hearing that name, Megumi Fushiguro's pupils constricted, and his fists clenched instinctively.
Though he felt no affection for his irresponsible father, hearing the name in this context still sent a jolt through his heart.
"You are very similar to him, yet entirely different."
Naobito's gaze grew sharp as he looked at Yoru.
"That man possessed a terrifying power that could subvert the jujutsu world, yet he chose self-exile and became a mere assassin for hire."
"He was like a beast chained down; he had the fangs, but he had lost his soul."
"But you are different."
Naobito's voice rose, carrying an unmistakable excitement.
"Your eyes have a clear goal. Your blade has a definite purpose."
"You possess power even more pure and terrifying than that man's, and more importantly, you have a heart that he lacked."
"Perhaps..."
Naobito took a deep breath and spoke words that made everyone present feel a chill run down their spines.
"Perhaps you truly can change this rotten jujutsu world."
"And sweep those self-righteous rotten oranges into the trash heap of history!"
As the head of one of the Big Three Families, Naobito saying this was equivalent to betting the entire future of the Zenin family on Yoru!
What immense boldness and trust!
Listening to Naobito's near-vow of recognition, the corners of Yoru's mouth curled into a confident, bold smile.
He didn't act humble, nor did he decline.
He knew he had the strength and the right to carry such expectations.
"Change the jujutsu world, huh..."
Yoru gave a light chuckle. In his obsidian eyes, a flame seemed to burn, bright enough to incinerate everything.
"I will."
"But before that, I need to go deal with that awakened nuisance."
With that, Yoru didn't linger and turned away resolutely.
The only thing he left for the others was the sight of a back that seemed capable of shouldering the entire sky.
"Take care of yourselves. Don't die here."
With that last, nonchalant instruction, Yoru's figure turned into a black blur and vanished into the end of the passage.
Naobito, Kento Nanami, Megumi Fushiguro, Maki...
Everyone stood there silently, staring in the direction he had gone for a long time.
They knew what kind of terrifying existence Yoru was going to face.
The King of Curses from a thousand years ago—the ultimate nightmare of all jujutsu sorcerers.
But for some reason, looking at that fearless back, they couldn't feel a shred of despair.
Instead, a surge of unprecedented anticipation and passion welled up within them!
If it was that man...
Maybe he really could create a miracle!
"Let's move as well."
Nanami was the first to snap back to reality. Clutching his wound, he said in a low voice, "Don't let Yoru's efforts go to waste. Our priority now is to survive."
Everyone nodded silently. Supporting one another, they began their difficult retreat in the opposite direction.
Meanwhile.
Deep within Shibuya Station, that suffocating, evil cursed energy was becoming increasingly violent.
The temperature in the air felt as though it had dropped to the freezing point. Every breath brought a stabbing pain to the lungs.
Yoru moved through the ruins at high speed, his Transparent World pushed to its limit.
In his vision, the massive source of cursed energy ahead was like a sun burning with black flames!
"Ryomen Sukuna..."
Yoru's fingers lightly brushed the hilt of Shiranui. Feeling the scorching heat from the blade, the blood in his body began to boil uncontrollably.
"Let me see just how much you're worth, King of Curses!"
A peak confrontation destined to be etched into the annals of jujutsu history was about to ignite!
And on the other side, on the streets of Shibuya, a hunt targeting the rear support personnel had quietly begun.
In the dark sky above, a pair of crimson eyes stared fixedly at Mei Mei and Ui Ui as they moved the wounded below.
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