"So this is your ability… transformation?"
Toji had never seen anything like it before. Until now, he thought his younger brother's idea of disguise was just wearing black clothes and a mask.
"No. This is illusion. I've created a space centered on me, spanning several hundred meters. Everyone inside only sees us in these forms."
Mukuro had taken on the shape of the woman who had pointed him out at the mall entrance earlier. He was more than happy to swagger around with her face and make her life more difficult.
"Illusion? Then what's with this…" Toji caught sight of his reflection. He now looked refined, even scholarly, with a pair of glasses perched on his nose. He instinctively reached up and pushed at the frame, only to feel it under his fingers.
It was real.
"Don't lump my ability with cheap street tricks. This is magic." Mukuro almost laughed at his brother's dumbfounded expression.
The illusions he created through the Naraka Path were far more than mere hallucinations. Not only could he launch devastating mental attacks to overwhelm a target's five senses, he could also turn falsehood into reality. What should have existed only as illusion could be made solid.
Changing appearances like this was so trivial that he hardly needed to focus.
"You know… you could actually make a living as a street performer," Toji muttered, rubbing his chin with a serious look.
Mukuro stared at him speechlessly.
* * *
At the Kiyomaru clan's mansion, dinner was underway.
"Recently, the higher-ups have been voicing complaints about our family. You all need to act with more restraint."
Around the long dining table sat more than a dozen people. At the head was an old man with white hair, cutting his steak with elegance while his sharp eyes swept across the others.
"In a few years, once Grandpa and I both become grade 1 sorcerers, those old fools won't dare speak so arrogantly again."
The person beside him, a broad-shouldered young man, leaned back with his arms spread across his chair. His words brimmed with arrogance.
"Kunihide is right. When our family has two grade 1 sorcerers, it will be our time to rise. The Gojo clan has a new Six Eyes, and the Zenin heir may be a prodigy, but there's no reason we can't replace the Kamo and become one of the Big Three."
The old man did not scold him. Instead, he praised the ambition, as if already seeing the clan's glorious future.
The status of being one of the Big Three Families was the most coveted dream for jujutsu houses like theirs.
Clap, clap, clap…
The sound of hands clapping rang from outside. Everyone turned to see a man and a woman step into the room. The man carried a long blade, its tip still dripping blood.
(For the sake of tone and consistency, their missions as killers won't be described in excessive detail. There also won't be tedious mistaken-identity moments caused by their altered appearances. The focus now is simply to show how the Naraka Path expands its power in the jujutsu world.)
"Who are you? Where are the guards?" The old man's brow furrowed. As a semi-grade 1 sorcerer, he could not fathom how these intruders had entered without his notice.
"Huh? Oh, you mean those trash? I guess they dozed off… permanently."
Toji tapped his forehead, as if it had only just occurred to him that the ones he'd killed had been bodyguards.
"Interesting. You've got the guts to pick a fight with a sorcerer family. Looks like you're tired of living." Kunihide stood up, his joints cracking as he rolled his shoulders.
"Before we start, let me say a few things. At least then you'll know why you're dying."
Mukuro pointed at the people around the table. From the records in his mind, he listed out the worst sins of each person, calling them out one by one.
"What? Do the two of you think you're heroes here to deliver justice?"
None of them denied his words. Kunihide even bared his teeth in a smug grin.
"Not quite. We're just here to do a job. We've confirmed the targets, so you can all die now."
Toji said no more. He bent his knees slightly, then launched forward like a bullet.
"So fast!" The old man, calm until now, finally panicked. He rushed to coat himself in cursed energy.
"Cover yourselves with cursed—"
Before he could finish, hot blood sprayed across his face. One of his sons' heads flew into the air, eyes still wide with fear and disbelief.
He hadn't even realized Toji's blade had moved before his body was cut clean in half.
"God Feeding Art: Divine Descent, Grade 1 Imaginary Vengeful Cursed Spirit, Umibōzu!"
The old man's fury erupted. Forgetting whether a curtain had been erected, he slammed his palms together and activated the clan's secret technique.
An immense cursed energy descended upon him. His body swelled, twisting until he resembled a scarlet, bloated fish with legs.
"Die, boy!"
With a roar, he hurled a surging torrent of water at Toji, who was cutting down the weaker kin without pause.
"Don't die too soon, old man." Toji grinned, the scar at his lip twisting violently. He shifted direction, turning from the sole remaining Kunihide to the elder and swung his blade, slicing the rushing water in two.
"Go to hell, woman!"
Stunned by his father's death for just a moment, Kunihide snapped out of it. He locked his bloodshot eyes onto Mukuro and lunged forward.
"Watch yourself. You're not part of the plan, so don't go dying on me." While speaking, Mukuro spread his palm. A trident appeared out of thin air, settling firmly in his grasp.
"Arrogant!"
Kunihide's fist, packed with cursed energy, crashed straight for Mukuro's head.
Bang!
The blow that could shatter reinforced steel met the trident head-on, but it didn't move an inch.
Mukuro pushed forward with both hands. As Kunihide staggered back, the trident's blade slashed across his chest, carving a bloody wound.
"Our family's hereditary technique is the God Feeding Art. We can summon legendary shikigami or cursed spirits from folklore as imaginary curses and embody them ourselves. If we can master them, they become our greatest weapon!"
Kunihide pressed the wound and shouted his technique aloud. Mukuro said nothing, only watched in silence.
"God Feeding Art: Divine Descent, Grade 1 Imaginary Vengeful Cursed Spirit, Karasu Tengu!"
The young man's body expanded, a blood-red mask forming over his face. A naginata, nearly two meters long, appeared in his grip.
"Now this is starting to get interesting." Mukuro rested the trident on his shoulder, a smile playing on his lips.
* * *
Meanwhile, not far from the Kiyomaru estate.
"This aura… two grade 1 curses?!"
Masamichi, who had been on his way to investigate the Kiyomaru clan, froze as he felt the overwhelming malice rise into the night sky.
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