"Don't worry!"

  When Kenjaku said this, he wasn't simply trying to provoke Jogo.

  "I just want to firm something."

  "firm what?" asked Hanami. Up until now, Hanami had remained silent, watg the situation unfold as if he were just an observer. But that didn't mean he would stand by a himself be used without uanding why.

  "There's something unusual about Ryuji's powers and teiques. Abilities that shouldn't belong to him," Kenjaku said, recalling the ret broadcast.

  That "Malevolent Shrine" ability, for example—that domain was something he knew should belong to the King of Curses, Sukuna. Kenjaku had seen it before and was familiar with its nuances.

  That wasn't a power Ryuji should have trol over.

  So why could Ryuji use it? Was it just some kind of mimicry teique?

  Over the years, Kenjaku had entered many sorcerers and teiques. Among them were copy teiques, but Ryuji's power didn't align with any of the mimicry teiques Noritoshi had seen before.

  What was it?

  He was deeply curious.

  In truth, Kenjaku's purpose was straightforward: he wao explore the limits of human potential. The reason he sought to revive Sukuna and bring about chaos was, at its core, for this purpose to see how far humanity could evolve.

  That was why he had experimented with the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings.

  In a way, Kenjaku was a madman willing to create chaos aru in pursuit of his dream. But his itment couldn't be denied. Spending over a thousand years pursuing a single goal required a rare kind of persistence.

  inally, Kenjaku had focused all his ambitions on Sukuna, hoping that the revived Curse King would push humanity to its limits. But now, he had a new didate—Ryuji.

  Perhaps Ryuji could bee something eveer, even more powerful, than Sukuna.

  But first, he o test Ryuji.

  "You're so long-winded. I 't even uand half of what you're saying!" Jogo muttered. pared to Kenjaku, his thoughts were much simpler. He didn't care about lofty goals; all he knew was that Noritoshi had just sent a fellow curse spirit to its death.

  "Fihink of it this way: I want to find out exactly how strong Ryuji is," Kenjaku said, deg to provide a simple expnation to appease his panions.

  "Ah, I get it now." Jogo seemed to uand, though he was still disgruntled. Even if it was just a test, he felt it was disrespectful to throw away a curse spirit's life so casually.

  "Rex," Kenjaku said smoothly. "Wheime es, Sukuna's power will be enough to defeat Ryuji." He said this as if to reassure the other curses, though he had already started formuting another pn.

  "Besides," Kenjaku added, "this firearm curse spirit is a product of the new era, pletely different from you all, right?"

  "..."

  Jogo didn't have a terargument. It was true—he and the other older curses didn't see these new curses as true panions. That was why he hadn't intervened earlier. His only real allies were Hanami, Mahito, and Dagon. They were the ones who uood him, the ones who had shared ughter and battles together.

  At the thought of Dagon, a shadow crossed Jogo's face.

  "Jogo." Hanami pced a reassuring hand on his shoulder, sensing his sadness.

  "ime, before we act, we o fully uand this human's abilities. We 't afford another impulsive mistake."

  Their st act of recklessness had cost them Dagon. They couldn't let that happen again.

  "I know," Jogo muttered, slowly regaining his posure, though his single eye still glinted with anger.

  Kenjaku, the exge, only smiled faintly. It was impossible to tell what he was really thinking.

  ---

  "Wow, that's amazing!" Chika excimed, wide-eyed after hearing Ryuji's stories of exorg curses. She looked at him with admiration.

  "Ryuji-san! Ryuji-saime you go curse-hunting, I e along?"

  Before he could respond, she had already tched onto his arm. Her obvious enthusiasm and her somewhat exaggerated chest didn't go unnoticed.

  "Chika!" Kaguya gave her friend a strained smile. "Ryuji-san must be exhausted from all his work. Don't pester him."

  This "Earth's Problem Child" ushing her limits. She o be stopped, preferably with a swift penalty. Or maybe eveion! Kaguya felt a pang of jealousy.

  "It's fine," Ryuji replied with a smile, shrugging casually.

  Kaguya interpreted this as favoritism toward Chika, and her mood dropped a bit. But then, Ryuji pced a gentle hand on her head.

  "Kaguya, you're wele to joioo, if you want."

  "Really?" she asked, her previous gloom immediately lifting.

  "Of course," he replied with a nod.

  Kaguya's heart soared. So, Ryuji still liked her best after all. The inner vilin in her mind ractically cag with triumph.

  ---

  "Shouldn't we be going over to greet him?" Erina asked, puzzled, as she looked at her grandfather. She uood why they were at the bao build a e with Ryuji. So why were they waiting?

  "Let's hold back a little longer," Senzaemon Nakiri replied in a low voice.

  Erina's fusion deepened, but her cousin, Alice, took the opportunity to speak up.

  "Oh, Erina, you really don't know anything, do you?" Alice said, a hint of smugness ione.

  Though Alice often teased Erina, deep down, she didn't truly dislike her cousin. She just had a petitive streak, always wanting to prove herself against Erina, especially in cooking. She had yet to win a sich between them, and that stung her pride.

  "Not long ago, a minor sortium tried to recruit Ryuji by threatening his loved ones," Alice expined openly.

  "How despicable!" Erina said, frowning. Such tactics were truly underhanded.

  "So, what happeo that sortium?" she asked.

  "Oh, they're gone," Alice replied, as if it were obvious. "What do you think would happen to anyone dumb enough to mess with a top sorcerer?"

  "Gone?" Erina echoed, a bit lost.

  "Yes, gone. As in, wiped out. Not a single one of them left alive."

  Alice remembered her own surprise when she first heard the news, though it made sehe more she thought about it. But she realized her cousin was still a bit sheltered.

  "That's… that's ruthless," Erina muttered. She couldn't believe Ryuji would go that far. When she first met him, he'd seemed so friendly and kind. Now, she was seeing a different side of him.

  "Times have ged, cousin," Alice said, suddenly finding Erina's y b. "Now we're in the sorcerers' era. If you're reckless enough to threaten them, what do you expect?"

  Erina opened her mouth to protest, about to say that she wouldn't have goo such extremes, even if threatened.

  "Erina," Senzaemon interrupted her, his tone serious. "Be careful what you say."

  Some things were better left unspoken. He could see that his granddaughter had been shielded from the harshness of the real world. She could think what she liked in private, but here, she had to be cautious.

  Erina fell silent, though the flicted expression on her face remained.

  ---

  Ryuji, oher side of the room, had overheard everything. With his heightened senses, it was easy to catch their versation. The white-haired girl with red eyes—Aliakiri—had caught his attention. Her appearance was distinct, and he found her perspective iing.

  When Alioticed Ryuji gng her way, she was startled. Had he heard everything?

  Ryuji simply raised his gss to her with a slight smirk, then looked away.

  Alice returhe toast, a faint blush on her cheeks. For some reason, she felt oddly validated, and her earlier awkwardness dissipated.

  Both Erina and Senzaemon noticed her as. Senzaemo a bit of relief—this was a good start. Erina, however, remained silent, feeling a strange sense of inadequacy. She had always been the ter of attentio Ryuji hadn't even looked her way.

  ---

  "Let's go over now," Senzaemon finally said, gesturing for both his granddaughters to join him.

  "Alright!" Alice agreed instantly. She was eager to make her introdu.

  Eriated, but Alice teased her with a smirk. "If you're too scared, Erina, you just wait here."

  "Who said I'm scared?" Erina shot back immediately.