Kyoto, outskirts, the Zenin Family main residence.
As one of The Big Three Families in the Jujutsu World, the Zenin Family's estate occupied an entire mountaintop.
The ancient Japanese-style buildings appeared solemn and oppressive in the night.
At this moment, the silence was shattered by a flurry of panicked footsteps.
Several black sedans screeched to a halt at the entrance, and a few ragged, bruised men rolled out, leaning on each other for support.
They were Zenin Shinrō and his group, who had just escaped from the Pure Land Hall in Tokyo.
These once-glorious First-Grade Sorcerers were now left with nothing but torn, tattered undergarments.
The blades they took pride in, their talismans, and even their outer robes had been stripped bare by that demonic man.
"Disgrace... this is a profound humiliation..."
Zenin Shinrō knelt before the massive wooden gate, his forehead pressed hard against the gravel on the ground. Blood flowed down his cheeks, but he felt no pain.
Compared to the physical injuries, the mental torture of being publicly humiliated by an outsider and sent back like a dog made him wish he could commit seppuku on the spot.
"How noisy."
A lazy and dismissive voice suddenly drifted from deep within the corridor.
Accompanied by the crisp clicking of geta on the floor, a young man with short hair featuring blonde highlights and wearing a casual kimono strolled out nonchalantly.
He was handsome, but his narrow eyes held a deep-seated arrogance and bitterness.
The legitimate son of the Zenin Family and leader of the Hei, Zen'in Naoya.
"Wailing at the gate like a stray dog in the middle of the night—how unsightly, Shinrō."
Naoya glanced at the group kneeling on the ground. There was no sympathy in his eyes, only intense disgust.
"What? You went to Tokyo and not only failed to bring back that special grade cursed object, but also managed to lose all your clothes? Did you go to an auction or a strip club?"
"Young Master Naoya!!"
Zenin Shinrō snapped his head up, his eyes bloodshot and his voice trembling.
"It's not that we were incompetent... it's that man... that guy named Lynn is just too bizarre!"
"Lynn?"
Naoya frowned, as if he had heard the name somewhere before.
"Ah, I remember. That parvenu merchant who's supporting that failure Maki? What, you couldn't even beat a merchant?"
Naoya sneered and turned to leave, clearly uninterested in a loser's excuses.
"It's not that!!"
Zenin Shinrō roared. To wash away the shame of his incompetence, he had to reveal the terrifying truth.
"That man... he can use the Ten Shadows Technique!!"
Naoya's footsteps stopped instantly.
The surrounding air seemed to freeze at that moment.
After a few seconds, Naoya slowly turned around. The smile on his face had vanished, replaced by a bone-chilling coldness.
"What... did you say?"
"Not only that!" Seeing this, Zenin Shinrō hurriedly continued, "He didn't just summon Nue and the Great Serpent; he even used an extension technique! He fused Nue with the Toad! That level of proficiency... it's a hundred times stronger than Megumi Fushiguro's!"
"He also stole my sword, stripped us of our Cursed Tools, and said..."
"Said what?"
"Said... if you want your face or the technique back, Young Master Naoya... you have to bring money and come to Tokyo Jujutsu High in person to ransom them!"
BOOM!!!
A violent surge of Cursed Energy erupted from Naoya, instantly shattering the nearby paper sliding doors.
"Ha... Hahahaha!"
Naoya laughed out of pure rage, his laughter filled with a twisted killing intent.
"Good, very good."
"A lowly outsider actually dares to steal the Zenin Family's most noble technique..."
To Naoya, bloodline and Cursed Techniques were everything.
He looked down on Maki because she had no Cursed Energy, and he looked down on Megumi Fushiguro because he considered him a stray bastard.
And now, an outsider with no blood relation actually possessed the Ten Shadows Technique and even dared to step all over him?
This was sacrilege.
It was the ultimate provocation against him, the 'next head of the family'.
"Prepare the car."
Naoya straightened his collar, a cruel light flashing in his eyes.
"Since that fellow who stole the technique by who-knows-what means wants to die so badly, I'll personally make a trip to Tokyo."
"While I'm at it... I'll clean up that failure Maki along with this merchant who doesn't know his place."
...Tokyo, Exchange No. 8.
At this moment, Lynn was happily 'disposing of the loot'.
"System, recycle everything."
Clatter.
A mountain of high-grade Cursed Tools was piled on the table—including Zenin Shinrō's first-grade tachi, as well as the amulets, cursed daggers, and defensive haori stripped from the other three followers.
[Recycling complete.]
[Points obtained: 68,000 points.]
"What a bunch of fat sheep."
Lynn nodded with satisfaction as he looked at his account balance, which had recovered to 82,000 points.
This money was enough for his next phase of targeted reinforcements.
Lynn sat on the sofa, his fingers lightly tapping the tabletop as his mind raced.
He had intentionally let Shinrō go at the Pure Land Hall and left those provocative words for one purpose—to enrage Zen'in Naoya.
That conceited man would never stand for such an insult and would surely come charging in alone or with a few elites.
"Naoya's technique is Projection Sorcery."
Lynn pulled up the information about this technique in his mind.
It divides one second into 24 frames and presets a movement path.
Once it touches an enemy, if the enemy fails to move according to the 24-frame rule, they are forcibly frozen for 1 second.
It was an extremely powerful 'first-encounter kill' ability.
Although Lynn had a Special Grade Physique and the Ten Shadows Technique and could win in a head-on clash...
He hoped to solve it in a more sophisticated way.
At the same time, it was an opportunity to expand his skill pool.
Lynn opened the system mall, scrolled through the skill list, and finally locked onto one skill.
Domain Amplification
[Price: 50,000 points]
Domain Amplification.
That was a high-end technique mastered only by Special Grade Cursed Spirits like Jogo and Hanami.
The principle was to coat the surface of the body with a 'domain without an infused technique,' like water.
This layer of domain acted like an empty container; when an opponent's technique touched it, it would involuntarily flow in, thus being neutralized and nullified.
A profound realization instantly flooded his mind.
Lynn felt his control over Cursed Energy reach a micron-level precision.
With a thought, the Cursed Energy on his body's surface instantly liquefied, forming a fluid film as thin as a cicada's wing yet capable of devouring any technique.
"This is really interesting—Cursed Energy can actually flow like this."
Lynn played with it like he'd just gotten a new toy... Night, Tokyo.
Itadori had just finished shopping and was eating some freshly bought takoyaki while walking back to Jujutsu High.
Suddenly, a figure flickered behind him.
"The time for escape is fast approaching."
Itadori spun around toward the voice, only to find no one behind him.
He scratched his head, feeling a bit confused, but didn't take it to heart.