The group quickly arrived at the seaside, far from the barrier.
"Let me see what the renowned Tamamo-no-Mae is capable of."
Ryu gently stroked his pompadour.
The cannon at the tip of his pompadour began to gather Cursed Energy.
"Ice Sand Shockwave."
The Cursed Energy rapidly condensed, and a powerful cannon blast shot toward Tamamo.
She waved her hand, and a fox of flame flew out to intercept the blast.
Boom.
As the cannon blast struck the fire fox, it immediately exploded, and the flames that scattered forward detonated the blast before it could reach her.
"Then how about this?"
The cannon on Ryu's head gathered energy again.
More than a dozen Cursed Energy blasts fired toward her.
"Not good."
Tamamo chuckled softly, and then over ten fireballs met the cannon blasts in the air.
Ryu's technique was Cursed Energy emission. He had styled his hair into the shape of a cannon barrel.
Using that cannon, he fired powerful shockwaves of Cursed Energy.
Because both his output and the explosive power of his energy were extremely high, the destructive force of his cannon blasts was terrifying.
Moreover, due to the nature of his technique, the attacks he unleashed were equally powerful, whether or not he actively activated his technique.
This specific advantage was especially important during the Technique Burnout period that followed a Domain Expansion.
"It's no fun always using such tricky methods."
No sooner had Ryu spoken than all the cannon blasts in the air began to curve at varying angles.
The blasts bypassed the fireballs and continued toward Tamamo.
She frowned slightly and raised a wall of fire before her.
Rumble.
The Cursed Energy blasts slammed into the wall of fire.
A huge explosion erupted at the seaside, sending waves of sand and seawater flying.
Ryu stood with his hands in his pockets, calmly waiting for the smoke to clear.
"Are you looking for me?"
Tamamo's voice suddenly came from behind him.
He was startled.
He turned around, and sure enough, a Tamamo stood behind him.
When he looked back toward the smoke, another Tamamo was still standing in it.
"No need to be surprised. It's just a small trick of mine."
As she finished speaking, flames began to appear around him, and more Tamamos emerged one after another.
"Honestly, it's always these annoying tricks."
"Ice Sand Shockwave."
Ryu spun his body, launching cannon blasts of Cursed Energy at all of them.
He quickly locked onto one target.
He punched toward her chest.
Tamamo, dressed in lavish robes, crossed her arms to block the punch.
'The feel is wrong. It's like hitting a water-filled bag. Her Cursed Energy shouldn't be this low.'
The moment this thought crossed his mind.
She exploded into a ball of flames.
Boom.
Caught in the close-range explosion, Ryu looked a bit disheveled.
"Hehe, still want to try? See if you can find my real body."
Her voice echoed from all directions.
"Try it, then."
Ryu switched his Cursed Energy blasts to rapid-fire mode.
Countless cannon blasts shot out in all directions.
More than ten minutes passed.
"No more, no more. It's boring just dodging around."
He waved his hand, then returned his hands to his pockets, looking annoyed as he stopped his attack.
Her strength was considerable, but she wasn't the type of opponent he enjoyed fighting.
He craved direct combat. The thrill of clashing blows and waves of Cursed Energy.
He hated opponents like her.
"Oh, may I assume you concede?"
One by one, the illusions vanished until only the real Tamamo remained.
"That doesn't matter. Where is the opponent you promised me? The one who can satisfy me?"
He was eager for someone who could give him the fulfilling, head-on battle he desired.
"No need to rush. Once all our companions have gathered, you'll have as many opponents as you want."
She looked at the three of them with a satisfied smile.
Perhaps only Uro Takako truly followed her, but she didn't mind.
Subordinates always had their own thoughts. As long as they obeyed and got things done, that was enough.
After a brief discussion, she assigned tasks to the group.
The next day, they each went their separate ways.
She returned to the barrier once again.
In front of countless Cursed Spirits.
Her Cursed Energy surged, and blue butterflies emerged from cocoons.
The dreamlike butterflies flew toward the heads of several half-dead Grade 1 Cursed Spirits and began to parasitize them.
Even she couldn't control nearly a million Cursed Spirits on her own.
So she chose to control the Grade 1s, who in turn would command the weaker ones.
This would significantly ease the burden on her.
The gap between Cursed Spirit grades was vast, and lower grades typically submitted instinctively to higher ones.
It was like bloodline suppression. They rarely resisted stronger spirits.
Far to the north, in Hokkaido.
Dhruv arrived at a shrine that appeared to be regularly maintained.
"Is this the place? The Seal location of the Ootengu?"
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit, Ootengu.
One of the Special Grade Cursed Spirits listed in the records of Jujutsu Headquarters.
In the past, the Jujutsu world had dispatched numerous subjugation squads to exorcise it.
But due to its immense regenerative abilities, all attempts failed.
In the end, the Jujutsu world chose to seal it, and built a shrine to watch over it.
"Sigh. Time to clock out."
At the shrine's entrance, two people who had confirmed the Seal was intact and finished cleaning were getting ready to leave.
Whoosh, whoosh.
Two streaks of light flashed past, and massive holes appeared in their chests.
In an instant, they were killed before they could even raise an alarm.
Dhruv, who looked no different from an ordinary old man, stepped into the shrine.
The corpses were quickly devoured by his shikigami.
He gently stroked the shrine's foundation stone and slowly spoke.
"Ootengu, I know you can hear me."
As his voice faded.
A pair of crimson eyes slowly opened beneath the foundation stone.
Sensing the Cursed Energy radiating from below, he smiled in satisfaction.
"Do you want to be free of this Seal? Make a binding vow with me."
He could feel its rage surging below.
"Hehe. Will you stay trapped here, or make a vow with me? Choose, Ootengu."
Dhruv sat cross-legged beside the foundation stone, waiting patiently like a hawk taming its prey.
Above Sendai at midnight.
Uro Takako hung upside down in the sky, gazing at the brightly lit city.
This was a sight that did not exist a thousand years ago.
Back then, when night fell, everything was plunged into darkness.
Even torches and other forms of light were few and far between.
After all, a long-burning torch wasn't something you could make with just any stick.
Soon, she selected a target.
A young man who emitted Cursed Energy fluctuations.
She dove from the sky, knocked him unconscious, and brought him back to the barrier to serve as a new incarnation vessel.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)