On the road leading to the gates of the Ze'nin clan, a figure with a sword strapped to his waist could be seen slowly approaching.
Around his scarred, toned but exceedingly muscular body, were the tattered remains of the traditional Ze'nin clan wear.
So of course, when the guards at the gate saw this and his signature earring, they let him in without hesitation.
"Welcome back, Elder Han!"
"Glory to the Hei!"
Giving them a slight nod as he passed by, Han immediately headed to the main Clan Hall. It only made sense to report his return to the clan head upon his return.
Hearing a few voices within the hall, Han paused for a bit, glanced at the maid kneeling on the ground beside the hall and slid the door open.
WHOOSH!
The moment Han stepped foot inside the hall, the voices went quiet. Inside, were what Han presumed to be every member of the Hei.
Beginning on his left, Han saw the faces of Jinichi, Chojuro, Ranta, Elder Ogi, who now had permanent scars on his body, and of course, Naobito Ze'nin.
But, there was another young man in the room that Han had never laid eyes upon before. He was sitting on the right side of Naobito, drinking a cup of tea as he stared at Han, a dark expression creeping over his face.
"Well, look who's back. I almost thought you died, nephew."
A sly smile formed across Naobito's face as he said this and glanced at the young man on his right.
Putting his hand on the young man's shoulder, he continued, "This is my son, Naoya. He's probably the most talented sorcerer in the clan. He's also the leader of the Hei. This runt has been kicking up a storm since he found out I let you into the Hei without his approval. Now that you're here, I imagine our great leader would like to have a word with you, heh."
Han chuckled as he heard this.
"Is that so? Then I'm all ears. He is the young clan master after all. How may I he-"
BANG!
Immediately, Naoya slammed the cup of tea against the floor and interjected, saying, "Father, you must have gone soft recently. Since when do you allow insignificant slaves like this to raise their heads before you? Jinichi, tell your bastard son to kneel."
The atmosphere in the room went cold as Naobito continued sipping his sake without a care in the world. Matters like these usually solve themselves out fast in the Ze'nin Clan, so there was no reason to worry.
Jinichi merely glanced at Naoya and closed his eyes, ignoring the young man as if he said nothing. He had seen Han's strength before, now he wanted to see how he would act before an adversary with similar power and influence.
"If you want me to bow, make me."
WHOOSH!
Naoya moved with blinding speed and struck Han several times, sending him flying through multiple buildings from the force.
"Big mouth for someone that slow. Get up, I know that didn't kill you."
Han calmly walked out of the smoke, completely uninjured, his steps easily crushing the rubble as he locked his gaze upon Naoya.
"That's not just pure speed…no, that's a technique. A powerful one at that."
In an instant, Han closed the gap of about 800 meters in less than a second with nothing more than a step. Standing before the smiling Naoya, Han laid his hand across the hilt of his sword, his eyes tranquil as he said, "You have an interesting technique. Just from that attack I can tell that you have trained well. Years…no, decades maybe. I can feel the time you've put into that technique."
Naoya, tilting his head in disbelief at the sudden praise he was getting, started to laugh when Han's voice suddenly pierced his mind, causing him to stand on high alert.
"But don't use it against me again. I have already defeated it."
WHOOSH!
Naoya didn't waste words, he attacked again, this time speeding up as he traced his projection sorcery in different directions, stacking speed as he did so.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Han deflected his blows without even taking a step back, without even drawing his sword. Just the sheathe was enough.
By now, the clan hall was completely destroyed from the force of Naoya's attacks. The rest of the Hei stood at a safe distance on a rooftop not too far away, taking great interest in the battle.
"That boy, Han. What an incredible swordsman. Jinichi, I have to say, I envy you. I wish he was one of my children instead."
Ogi rubbed one of the scars that Han gave him in the earlier battle as he said this. Being a swordsman himself, he was the only one who could truly understand the level of swordsmanship that Han had reached.
"I value your praise, Elder Ogi, but I had no hand in raising the boy. This ability of his was inborn and the environment he was raised in just allowed it to bloom. Sometimes even I struggle to fathom where his upper limit lies. It's too bad that I didn't conceive him with a Ze'nin woman."
Chojuro, a short strange looking elderly man, now chimed in as he said, "The Ze'nin Clan have always placed power above all else. This boy has grasped the essence of power and has become one of the strongest warriors among us. His birth does not matter. As far as I am concerned, the blood of the Ze'nin runs thick within him. Stronger than most members of our clan."
Ranta nodded as he agreed fiercely with Elder Chojuro. Being young and a member of the acclaimed Hei himself, he had great respect for Han because he understood the mountain he had to climb.
But these thoughts were fleeting to him. His eyes were focused on the absurdity that was taking place before his very eyes.
"Naoya…is losing?"
Deflecting all of his fists, Han kicked Naoya in the chest, sending him flying miles away, completely out of the clan area from the immense force. Han's natural physique had increased tremendously over the past several months to the point where his physical strength couldn't even be compared to the Han of the past.
"Urgh! Tch! Don't get cocky!"
Naoya coughed up blood and drew a small knife from his waist, rushing at Han with extreme speed with the intent to maim this man who dared to stand against him.
"Drawing a blade against me huh?"
Han laughed as he side stepped all of Naoya's stabs and slashes with such ease that a dire feeling of hopelessness started to appear within the latter's heart.
Jumping away from Han, Naoya wiped the blood from his mouth and shouted, "How?! I've attained Mach speed with my technique! How could you dodge it so easily?!"
Scratching his chin, Han responded, "Well, your technique is strong, but it's predictable if your opponent's eyes are sharp enough. 24. That's the amount of predetermined movements you trace before you move. The first time you attacked, you tapped me and I froze. So I assume if you touch me, I'm drawn into those movements. And if I fail to follow them…I'll go ahead and assume that I get frozen. That's how it works right?"
Clicking his tongue, Naoya tightened the grip on his knife and started thinking about how he could defeat the opponent in front of him. No matter how much he looked at Han, he couldn't find an opening.
This overwhelming feeling of helplessness caused Han's image to overlap with a terrifying figure in Naoya's mind…
'Where the hell did a guy like this come from? You're telling me Jinichi was raising a little monster like this under our noses the whole time?'
Han understood what Naoya was up to, and he would've probably done the same had he been in the same situation, but he was starting to get impatient. It was time to end this farce.
"Let's finish this. As a reward, I'll show you how a true swordsman fights."
Getting into a stance with his left hand back into a fist, Han sliced the air in front of him with his right hand in the form of an open palm, causing a large gash to appear across Naoya's chest.
"Urgh!"
WHOOSH!
Naoya held the would across his chest and started running across the mountains around the clan, stacking his speed as he did so.
'I need to get faster and crush him in one blow! This kid is dangerous!'
Just as Naoya reached Mach 2, Han suddenly appeared in front of him with his sword drawn and pointed straight at the former's neck.
'No! Not now!'
Instinctively ducking to dodge getting stabbed in the neck, Naoya suddenly froze in an animated frame as all of his momentum was cancelled in a flash.
"Caught you."
By slashing the frame with the back of his katana, Han sent Naoya flying across the mountain range like a missle. Even though he got sent through multiple mountains from Han's immense strength, Naoya managed to recover on his feet, but only just barely.
After all, he was a special grade one sorcerer.
"Argh! Where are you?!"
Naoya was looking around like a mad man, paranoid about where Han would appear from.
Just as he was about to start using his technique again, Han appeared behind him, swept him off his feet and grabbed him by the ankle, holding the man over his head as if he was a child.
Naoya tried to kick Han in the head using his technique , but it had no effect. Han didn't even bother to dodge. Naoya's hits were too weak when they weren't buffed by any significant momentum.
"As promised, I'll show you how a true swordsman fights."
Stretching his hand backwards, Han held Naoya behind his back upside down as if he was a katana.
It wa only then that Naoya understood what Han was planning to do to him.
"No!!!"
BOOM!!
Han swung downwards with incredible force, slamming Naoya into the ground with extreme precision and speed as if he had swung a sword instead.
Naoya hit the ground so hard that the mountain shook, causing a massive fissure to appear across it.
Lifting his 'sword' off the ground, Han took a look at him and chuckled at Naoya's unconscious state.
"Well then, this fight is over."
Han disappeared off the mountain and got back to the clan within a few moments, appearing on the roof before the rest of the Hei.
Dropping Naoya on the tiles, Han looked at everyone else and said, "Back to what I was saying, I have returned from my training, great-uncle."
Naobito glanced at Naoya, noticed that he was still breathing and responded, "You've become stronger again, boy. Good! Since you've become strong enough to survive in the jujutsu world, I have a mission for you. That's if you can handle it."
Excitement started to build in Han's heart. A mission? Straight from the clan head? What could it be?
"Consider it done. What are your orders, great-uncle?"
Taking another swig of his sake, Naobito burped and said with a smile, "Good! If my useless sons could learn even a little bit of respect for their elders from you, they would be better off! Listen well. This was a target that I was originally going to have the Kukuru Unit investigate, but I think you'll do well enough."
As he said this, Naobito's demeanor changed. Seeing this, Han could tell that this mission was of utmost importance.
"There is a traitor among us. Kokichi Muta, also known as Mechamaru, has been suspected of colluding with curse users. Information suggests that he even met with Suguru Geto on several occasions. While this is not confirmed, the higher-ups are watching this situation closely and we need eyes on the ground for more…precise information."
Han listened closely to his brief. If he remembered right, Suguru Geto was the one responsible for the Night Parade of 100 Demons. That man was still alive?
"So, this is what I want you to do. The 30th Goodwill event between Tokyo High and Kyoto High will occur in a month and a half. During this time, Kokichi Muta and his classmates will be here fighting against the sorcerers in Tokyo High. We will devise a way to get you in as a first or possibly second year at Tokyo High. Get into the competition, learn what you can and report back to the higher ups."
Han nodded, taking in as much as he could. But, there was one question looming on his mind.
"Great-uncle, what if I find conclusive evidence that the target is colluding with the enemy?"
Naobito burst out into a fit of laughter in one moment and retained his serious nature in the next.
"Eliminate him and any sorcerer that decides to stand with him when his status as a traitor has been exposed. The higher-ups orders will not be questioned."