Locke was filled with anxiety over the untimely news. He ran back desperately, his figure wrapped in stitches within the shadows watching his galloping speed couldn't help but show surprise.
"Relying solely on a reinforced body to move like this? Is this guy a humanoid Shinkansen? At this rate, he might actually catch up."
Kenjaku, who had taken over Geto Suguru's body, frowned slightly and was secretly shocked. The opponent's strength was probably far more exaggerated than he had imagined.
Previously, cursed spirits in Japan had suddenly surged in collective power, and numerous unheard-of legendary cursed spirits had appeared one after another. He once wondered if a second Gojo Satoru had been born in the world. But although he had traced it through the Kamo family's connections, he still had no clue. However, when he turned back and was about to make Yuji Itadori "accidentally" become Sukuna's vessel, he encountered the character Nosaka Locke.
An ordinary person in his early thirties with a sensitive and special identity had suddenly transformed into a powerful sorcerer—inexplicably strange. And the secret surveillance of the past few days increasingly convinced Kenjaku that this guy was clearly hiding some kind of trick, an unexpected variable completely beyond his control.
Ever since he overheard what Locke had said to Itadori Wasuke yesterday, Kenjaku had become wary of him.
In a thousand years, he had never seen a guy who could retain the memories of his past life, or even its power. Even he could only make contracts with ancient sorcerers to avoid destroying their souls and borrow the vessel's invincible reincarnation in the future.
You know, after the reincarnated soul is purified, except for the similarity in form, it's a completely different person. And the other party could fully retain his memories through continuous reincarnation, keeping his soul unchanged. That was simply... terrifying.
Every time he recalled the back of that samurai, he felt a strong unease in his heart, along with a strange sense of familiarity.
He knew that such an existence could never appear suddenly. And since it had appeared suddenly, Kenjaku could only think of one reason: twelve years ago, Fushiguro Toji had severed the fateful connection between the Six Eyes, the Star Plasma Vessel, and Tengen.
It seemed that this was a system of checks and balances specially sent by heaven to deal with this fateful change. Just like balance: if sorcerers become too strong, cursed spirits automatically become stronger.
Such variables made the uncertainty that obsessed Kenjaku both itchy and excited. He couldn't help but sweat over his thousand-year plan, afraid of losing everything.
He had waited a full thousand years. This unique opportunity might not appear for another thousand years. Tengen's assimilation had failed. The Six Eyes and the exercise of cursed spirits, combined with the soul-altering technique of the Vessel—this was the best chance, no doubt.
Although modern human weapons couldn't harm cursed spirits, what if he had to wait another thousand years? He knew perfectly well that he couldn't afford to wait. So he had to eliminate all unplanned uncertainties.
Thinking of this, the merchant of the Millennium Plan once again watched Locke, suspected of being a reincarnated Buddha, watching the cursed spirit, and made a decision in his heart.
Kenjaku stood up and said to the cursed spirit standing behind him:
"Mahito, I've found an interesting guy. Want to watch the show together?"
—————————————————————————————————————————
The phone rang again. Locke, who had been running through the primeval forest of Okuzao, stopped, wiped his sweat, and answered.
"Hello?"
"Dr. Locke, I called Mr. Itadori and relayed your message, but he didn't want to say more. He just said it was very urgent and couldn't wait for your arrival."
"I know. Thank you."
Hanging up, Locke turned on his GPS to confirm he wasn't far away, and grumbled about being infected by Nishida's chain as he sprinted at full, inhuman speed.
Then a faint sense of crisis filled his heart. He suddenly stopped tracking, raised his eyes, and looked deep into the forest shrouded in night, his gaze fixed on a quiet thicket.
The evil aura, full of resentment, was undoubtedly an extremely powerful cursed spirit.
Since the time he awakened his cursed power was relatively late, he had never actually seen a cursed spirit. He could only compare it to Mahoraga. The aura of this cursed spirit was about one-tenth of Mahoraga's—at least a special-grade cursed spirit at a glance.
Thinking this, Locke couldn't help but glance at his current panel.
[Name: Nosaka Locke]
[Bound Character Card: Nishida Kojūrō Kagetatsu (5%)]
[Character Trait Slots]
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Skill Cards]
[Armament Haki LV2 (12/100)]
[Chakra LV3 (56/300)]
[Cursed Energy LV4 (200/500)]
[Murderous Intent Fluctuation LV1 (5/10)]
[Flowing Water Rock Smashing Fist LV6 (567/1500)]
[Whirlwind Slash Fist LV3 (45/300)]
[Explosive Release Fist LV2 (2/100)]
[The Flame Gives Me Strength LV2 (3/100)]
[Golden Vow LV1 (9/10)]
[Current Popularity Points: 652]
Thanks to the overall training of skills—whether memorized through the character card's body or mastered independently—they could be formed into skill cards for shared practice and progress exchange.
So, with the blessing of the efforts of the four of us now (Hogwarts, One Piece: Are we people?! Are we people?!), it hadn't taken long for the main body to gather full combat power. But unfortunately, it was still a bit less interesting than the character card.
Especially in this case, he didn't want to waste a lot of effort on entanglement, and he wasn't sure if the 5% youth form of Nishida Kagetatsu could kill the opponent in one second. So he simply went all out.
He could just go back at night or find a few brothers to ask for emergency popularity points. Anyway, there were two freeloaders enjoying life, and their popularity points could be borrowed if he needed them.
[Character Card Upgrading...]
[Nishida Kojūrō Kagetatsu (5%) → Nishida Kojūrō Kagetatsu (10%)]
[You may spend Popularity Points to continue upgrading]
[Next Stage]
[Nishida Kojūrō Kagetatsu Youth (50%)]
Spending all his savings on the upgrade, Locke didn't hesitate to transform into Nishida Kagetatsu. His sharp gaze fixed on the dark corner filled with evil aura as he shouted:
"I've been sensing this evil aura from the beginning. It seems you're no ordinary cursed spirit here. I don't know why you're here, but since I see you, I have no reason not to eliminate you."
Since he had no weapon on hand, Locke immediately raised his hand above his head, clenched his palm into a blade, and without hesitation concentrated half of the spiritual power of his body onto the edge of his palm, then slashed down fiercely.
The cursed spirit, wrapped in the shadow of death, no longer hid. It suddenly burst out, breaking through the thicket, its grotesque face contorted, wrapped in powerful curses and ferocity, charging straight at Locke's face.
In the next second, a blinding white light suddenly burst forth. A twenty-meter-long white cursed sword beam tore through the night sky, flying over three hundred meters, cutting the entire forest in half, leaving only an endless broken ravine. Broken branches, leaves, and gravel, wrapped in spiritual power, were scattered on both sides of the ravine.
As for the cursed spirit, the moment it came into contact with the sword beam's spiritual power—almost the same as positive energy—it vanished in an instant.
Mahito and Kenjaku, watching from several kilometers away, were so shocked they couldn't speak. Especially Mahito. The moment Locke transformed, he felt it.
The other person's soul had changed.
As the initiator, Locke glanced at the devastated forest before him and couldn't help but scratch his head, a hint of embarrassment on his face.
"It seems that was a bit too much. I knew it... Forget it. I'll hurry up first."