"Mukuro Fushiguro? What are you doing here?!"
The elder who had previously driven Noritoshi away frowned deeply after recognizing the figure emerging from the smoke.
At a critical moment like this, the sudden appearance of the "notoriously infamous" strongest special grade sorcerer was definitely not good news, especially when he openly stated that he had questions to ask.
"Where is Noritoshi Kamo?"
Mukuro's eyes swept across the surroundings. After confirming the target was nowhere to be found, he immediately got straight to the point.
Although both he and Satoru had only been sealed for a few hours, the situation had been far too serious. Because of that, Mukuro had intentionally kept an eye on Masamichi's side of things.
As a result, he had witnessed today's meeting from beginning to end.
The sudden pressure placed on Masamichi by the jujutsu higher-ups, along with their demand for the method of creating intelligent cursed corpses, had definitely been led by the conservative faction.
But the strange thing was that Gakuganji, one of the conservative faction's leaders, had not been present.
That meant there was a high chance he had been excluded from the plan.
And why would they deliberately exclude someone so prestigious within the jujutsu world, someone who was also technically an ally?
First, he and Masamichi were old friends.
Second, they were afraid he might inform Mukuro.
After all, Mukuro had already spent quite a long period of time at Kyoto Jujutsu High, and Gakuganji himself had changed quite a bit recently.
Aside from him, there were not many people among the higher-ups capable of rallying others together like this.
After considering everything carefully, the only possible answer was the Kamo clan.
Furthermore, one hundred and fifty years ago, Kenjaku had once belonged to the Kamo clan. Compared to the modern Kamo clan, his strength was overwhelming.
Mukuro had every reason to come here and demand answers.
"Noritoshi? Unfortunately, he was expelled from our clan just earlier. If you're looking for him, you'll have to search outside instead."
Whether the elder had genuinely mistaken Mukuro's "Noritoshi Kamo" for "Noritoshi," or was deliberately forcing himself to hear it that way, nobody knew.
In any case, he answered casually and lightly.
"Hm? Now that you mention it, I think I did catch a glimpse of that kid on my way here..."
Mukuro rubbed his chin thoughtfully as the original topic was successfully diverted by the man.
"That's right. If you're looking for Noritoshi, then if you leave now, you might still find him somewhere nearby. The phone signal around here hasn't been very good lately, so not answering calls is normal. But now that he's been expelled from the family, who knows if he'll do something foolish..."
The man smoothly continued along Mukuro's words, steering the entire conversation toward Noritoshi while putting on an expression of concern.
'Letting Noritoshi go earlier really was the right choice!'
At this moment, the man secretly felt proud of himself.
When Noritoshi-sama left, he never specifically instructed them on how to handle Noritoshi. He had only said to expel him from the clan.
Allowing Noritoshi to leave had been entirely his own decision.
One reason was that with Noritoshi's strength, even if he resisted, he could not shake the foundations of the Kamo clan.
Second, if Noritoshi-sama failed, and if the clan somehow avoided complete destruction, they might still be able to use Noritoshi to rise again someday.
Third, and most importantly, special grade sorcerer Mukuro Fushiguro was famous throughout the jujutsu world for fiercely protecting his own people.
Minor schemes carried out behind the scenes like before might not cause serious consequences. But if actual deaths were involved, then the nature of the situation would become completely different.
"Don't underestimate my student. He's not trash like you people who cling to your ancestors' legacy without ever moving forward."
The laziness on Mukuro's face disappeared.
"Now answer my question. Where is Noritoshi Kamo? And how are you contacting him? My patience is limited. Stop changing the subject."
"I already told you, Noritoshi he—"
"Where did this brat come from? How dare he question Noritoshi-sama's whereabouts! Capture him at once!"
The man was still trying to play dumb when Shino's voice suddenly rang out from behind him.
As an old relic who had lived since one hundred and fifty years ago, Shino had already reached his limit after hearing two young brats disrespect the clan head in a single day.
He walked over beside the man. His aged, clouded eyes, barely able to stay open, were filled with fury as he urgently ordered the younger generation to act.
Meanwhile, every member of the guard unit turned to look at the man, waiting for his command.
"This is all just—"
Pfft!
He still wore a smile, intending to smooth over the matter regarding Shino, when suddenly the sound of something slicing through the air rang beside his ear.
The next moment came the sound of flesh exploding.
From the side, warm liquid splattered across his face.
"A misunder—"
Before he could finish speaking, he slowly lowered his trembling head.
The endlessly chattering Shino from moments ago no longer had a head.
Only a headless corpse remained standing beside him while blood and brain matter sprayed over ten meters away.
And worse, nobody had even seen how Mukuro attacked.
This was... a special grade sorcerer?
"You can keep pretending to be stupid if you want."
Mukuro spoke calmly, snapping the man out of his daze.
"He actually killed Shino-sama!"
By now, the guard unit members finally reacted.
The pride of belonging to one of the Big Three Families instantly surged within them. How could they tolerate some brat who climbed up from the bottom standing above them!
Blades, spears, swords, cursed techniques.
Everyone's faces flushed red as various attack methods were prepared, waiting only for the man's order.
"Aren't you afraid—"
Pfft!
Not giving him a chance to finish his questioning, another spray of blood burst into the air.
"We don't know! He's the new clan head. How could we possibly know where he went?!"
The man no longer dared to continue acting foolish. Otherwise, he feared the entire guard unit would be slaughtered next.
"See? Wasn't that much better? Next question..."
Mukuro revealed a gentle smile.
'Power...'
Veins bulged on the man's forehead.
If they possessed absolute strength, how could they possibly suffer humiliation from such an immature brat?
Now, he finally steeled himself to walk this dark path to the very end.
What he did not know, however, was that from the moment he declared Noritoshi expelled from the Kamo clan, there was already no turning back.
* * *
On the other side.
"It's been a long time, Mother."
After easily exorcising the cursed spirits, Noritoshi walked toward her.
He forcibly curled the corners of his lips upward, revealing a smile that almost never appeared on his face.
Even if he was unnecessary...
Even if their family could live happily without him...
Even if he had already prepared himself to never disturb her life again...
The moment his mother trembled as she called his name, his heart still began beating uncontrollably faster.
In the end, he still could not forget his mother.
At least for now, in front of them, he had to pretend everything was fine. He could not let them notice his true feelings. He did not want his mother to feel troubled because of him.
"B-big brother?"
The child beside her spoke hesitantly.
"It's me."
After Noritoshi answered, the woman suddenly pulled him tightly into her embrace.
She held him with all her strength, as though trying to make up for every missing hug from the past ten years all at once.
Perhaps she was not a qualified mother.
But...
She loved Noritoshi.
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