Inside the estate of the Kamo clan, one of the Big Three Jujutsu Families.
"Anyone home? Is anybody here?!"
Since yesterday, Noritoshi had been running around various parts of Kyoto dealing with sudden cursed spirit incidents. Now, dragging along his exhausted body, he finally returned home.
As soon as he stepped through the entrance, he shouted toward the inside of the house.
Just moments ago, Principal Gakuganji had "accidentally" let slip some troubling information during a conversation. Noritoshi had tried calling the clan afterward, but nobody answered, so he rushed back immediately.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?!"
However, the elderly man who walked out after hearing the commotion frowned deeply and sternly scolded the "next clan head," who should have inherited the position after graduating.
"Hah? What are you even talking about, Shino..."
Seeing the unfriendly expression on the clan elder's face, Noritoshi could not help but frown as well.
"Ever since Kurokichi became captain of the guard unit, the clan barriers have become full of holes. Any random brat can sneak inside now."
Shino continued speaking nonsense that Noritoshi could not understand at all.
The current captain of the guard unit was Heishichi, not someone named Kurokichi. In fact, Noritoshi had never even heard that name before.
And even stranger, the Kamo clan was built around bloodline ties, yet the estate was abnormally quiet today.
This elder called Shino had also never once treated him disrespectfully in the past as the future clan head.
A bad feeling rose in Noritoshi's heart.
"I don't have time to joke around with you. Don't tell me you can't even remember what the future clan head looks like!"
Although he rarely acted this way, Noritoshi chose for now to pressure the elder with status, hoping to snap him back to his senses through his identity as the next clan head.
"Stop spouting nonsense, you insolent brat! I may already be senile with age, but I would never mistake the clan head's appearance. Your face looks nothing like Noritoshi-sama's!"
The elder, so old he could barely keep his eyes open, flew into a rage after hearing Noritoshi's words. Even the wrinkles on his face twitched.
It was precisely because of bloodline.
As a clan that valued bloodline above all else, how could he tolerate some unknown brat insulting their clan head?
"I'm telling you... I am Noritoshi!"
Noritoshi answered helplessly.
(Just a reminder, in Japanese, "憲紀" and "憲倫" both meaning Noritoshi sound the same, so the two of them are basically talking past each other here.)
"It's useless, Noritoshi. Uncle Shino already can't remember you anymore. His memories are stuck around one hundred and fifty years ago."
Right then, a nearby sliding door opened.
Another clan elder, slightly younger than Shino, looked at Noritoshi with an indifferent expression as he spoke.
"How could this happen... Forget it. Who exactly approved the little schemes from the conservative faction?!"
Noritoshi recalled that when he met the man just a few days ago, he had not shown any symptoms like this. Even at over a hundred years old, as a sorcerer who used Blood Manipulation, he should understand the condition of his own body better than anyone. How could something happen to him so suddenly and easily?
Still, Noritoshi had no time to investigate that right now.
Not long ago, he had learned through Principal Gakuganji that the core upper members of the conservative faction, led by the Kamo clan, had joined forces with another faction to pressure the principal of Tokyo Jujutsu High in an attempt to obtain the method for creating intelligent cursed corpses.
As Mukuro's student and someone who had spent considerable time around him, Noritoshi understood very clearly that this matter could become extremely serious.
Principal Yaga was absolutely someone whom Fushiguro-sensei genuinely cared about.
And with that man's style of doing things, along with his long-standing hostility toward the higher-ups, the Kamo clan's actions were no different from playing with fire.
Even though Noritoshi had long since lost all hope for this rotten family, he still remembered that promise.
Back then, deep in his heart, he had made a vow to his mother. He promised that one day he would become the head of the Kamo clan, then proudly bring her back and create a perfect place where she truly belonged.
But the problem now was... what exactly was going on here?
Even a leader of the conservative faction like Principal Gakuganji had only learned about this meeting afterward through his own informants. And Noritoshi, the future clan head, had not heard even the slightest rumor beforehand.
"Watch your words. Because of Noritoshi-sama's return, you have already been expelled from the Kamo clan."
The elder did not explain much, but the meaning was already obvious.
The Kamo clan now had a new head.
"Nori... toshi?!"
Only now did Noritoshi finally react.
According to the information from the Shibuya Incident, the mastermind behind everything was the disgrace of the Kamo clan from one hundred and fifty years ago, Noritoshi Kamo.
He had actually returned and seized power?!
"Where is he right now?!"
Noritoshi opened his usually narrowed eyes wide. Blood vessels filled his right eye while clotted blood patterns spread across his forehead. At the same time, he instinctively assumed a defensive stance.
"The clan head isn't here. And if you don't leave soon, don't blame us for getting rough."
The elder was already growing impatient. Flowing Red Scale activated on his body as well.
After Kenjaku killed the current Kamo clan head and replaced him, he used a special cursed technique to rewind the memories of the clan elders by one hundred and fifty years.
Their memories returned to the era when Noritoshi Kamo was still alive, and then he subdued them with overwhelming modern-day strength.
But in that era, there was no Mukuro Fushiguro. No Satoru Gojo either.
The only thing they knew was that the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna, was the supreme strongest existence across all ages.
And their descendants in modern times had become the core upper ranks of the conservative faction within the jujutsu world.
Under their orders, along with Kamo Noritoshi's promises to restore the Kamo clan's glory and his explanation of the current situation, the Kamo clan chose to take the risk and pressure Masamichi.
After all, because of those two men, the Gojo clan and Fushiguro clan had already become far too dominant. If they could obtain Masamichi's method for creating those powerful intelligent cursed corpses, would they still need to fear special grade sorcerers?
No matter how strong special grades were, there were only a handful of them. Before exhausting their strength, they might not even be able to destroy every cursed corpse the clan produced.
Besides, the Big Three Families had plenty of money. As long as they obtained the production method, they could simply throw massive amounts of money into mass-producing cursed corpses.
Even if the plan failed or leaked out accidentally, at the very least they had not caused Masamichi any actual harm. Regardless of how arrogant those two were, they could not possibly come directly to the Kamo clan and slaughter everyone, right?
As for the clan head, Noritoshi Kamo, after completely taking over the position, he had only maintained contact through phone calls and naturally would not remain here personally.
"The Kamo clan's legacy will be destroyed by all of you."
The exhaustion in his body, combined with the enemy's unknown whereabouts, made Noritoshi give up on the idea of fighting.
Facing them the entire time, he slowly stepped backward one step at a time. Even after retreating all the way outside the estate, nobody stopped him.
"Who was that brat? Why did you just let him go like that?"
Shino looked at the other elder with dissatisfaction.
"Alright, alright~ Uncle Shino, he's just a pitiful fool. There's no need to care about him."
The man slightly bent down and coaxed the old elder away.
Yet deep inside, he could not shake off a lingering sense of unease.
Could the Kamo clan really use this opportunity to rise to the very top of the jujutsu world?
Betting everything on Ryomen Sukuna... whether they succeeded or failed, was it simply too dangerous?
Perhaps they would only get one chance.
At this point, all they could do was leave everything to fate after doing everything within their power.
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