I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 256 Can I have a pair of cat ears?

The "fish" that Uchiha Hikaru wanted to catch was not Loukou, Hanamichi, or others.

Those top-tier spirits, though possessing some strength and having goals and ideals—namely, creating a world belonging to spirits—are, in essence, still just pawns. The intelligence they gather and the actions they take are almost always guided by a behind-the-scenes manipulator.

That's right.

That refers to the Lu Suo.

This guy is the one stirring up trouble in the dark side of the sorcery world, and he also knows the most secrets. To revive Sukuna, we'll probably have to rely on his power.

After all, the number of Sukuna's fingers stored by the High Sorcery Specialist, plus the one in Louhu's hand, only amounted to ten in total. The remaining fingers would mostly have to be obtained from Tusuo. Furthermore, Sukuna's incarnation Buddha was also kept in his possession.

present.

Uchiha Hikaru put the few Sukuna fingers he had just found back into Masato's arms, then activated "Eight Thousand Spears" and gave Masato the command to return to his previous base.

This was her first attempt to completely control a person—or rather, the will of a cursed spirit.

Previously, even with Danzo, she had only altered part of his memories and then implanted her own fabricated memories into them. Compared to that method, the techniques she now uses on real people are actually slightly less technically difficult.

It only causes significant damage to brain cells; in ordinary humans, it could lead to permanent memory trauma or even dementia.

But it doesn't matter.

The real person is a cursed spirit, and their regenerative abilities surpass even those of Muzan Kibutsuji next door. Even if they cannot recover, it can only be said that they deserved their fate.

"Alright, the bait has been released."

"Next, it's time to wait for the big fish to take the bait."

Uchiha Hikaru stretched and then crossed his arms behind his head.

According to the memories she gleaned from the real person, the relationship between the real person and Lu Suo was a one-way connection.

Normally, Lu Suo, posing as "Xia Youjie," would send a message to them to arrange a meeting, and then the two sides would meet at a certain place. If they were to actively try to find them, they might alert them. Therefore, it was better to be patient and wait and see.

……

Later that day.

At Gojo Satoru's house, Uchiha Hikaru and his group met Gojo Satoru and Itadori Yuujin.

The two sides briefly exchanged information about the results of the battle.

"...So, that cursed spirit named Hanamichi escaped after all?"

Uchiha Hikaru raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

Gojo Satoru nodded: "That cursed spirit is very resistant to attacks. Even after withstanding Itadori Yuujin's five Black Flashes, the attack of the Special Grade Cursed Tool Yuun, and my 'Virtual Style: Zi', it still has considerable mobility... However, I deliberately let it escape."

Based on my observations, I suspect there are other accomplices behind it, yet to be revealed, and the actions of these cursed spirits must be involved in a larger scheme. Why not take this opportunity to lure them out and then wipe them all out in one fell swoop?

"Um……"

It seems that Gojo Satoru is also trying his hand at fishing.

He is currently unaware that the "accomplice who has yet to appear" is none other than his long-lost close friend, Xia Youjie. The moment the two meet is also the moment he is sealed away by Xia Youjie using the [Prison Gate].

Of course……

In the current timeline, with the intervention of Uchiha Hikaru, the sensational "Shibuya Incident" is unlikely to happen again.

However, Hikaru Uchiha did not intend to reveal any information about Tosaku to Satoru Gojo.

because……

She was also quite curious to see the expressions on Gojo Satoru's face when he met "Natsuyuki".

Also, the scene when Hisahito Itadori and his son Tosaku meet should be quite interesting and worth looking forward to.

……

The next few days.

Hikaru Uchiha rented several suites at a hotel near Gojo Satoru's house, where he, Esdeath, and Yamato, who had been transformed into an ordinary girl by a transformation jutsu, stayed.

Then, while continuing to use the "Eight Thousand Spears" to remotely control the actions of real people, she devoted herself to studying the usage of the "Non-Action Transformation" technique.

After repeated exploration and attempts.

Uchiha Hikaru has gradually become able to change the external shape of some parts of his body at will within half a minute, and then restore them to their original state.

However, one should be as cautious as possible if using this ability on others.

After all, Uchiha Hikaru himself possessed a dual soul, and having undergone the baptism of the Mangekyou Sharingan, as well as repeated absorption and tempering from the worlds of Dragon Ball, Inuyasha, and Miko, his soul's resilience far surpassed that of ordinary people. Even if the distortion range was a bit large, it wouldn't cause any immediate problems.

But if it were someone else, and she did this to them...

The likely outcome would be the same as those cyborgs in real life, turning into inhuman monsters, or even exploding on the spot and dying.

In fact...

When Uchiha Hikaru tried to turn his hands into cat paws, something went wrong, and he almost couldn't turn them back.

However, Esdeath, who witnessed all of this, revealed an expression of great interest:

"Is this the ability you got from that guy named Masato?"

"Although the effect is a bit strange, it's... kind of cute."

As Esdeath spoke, she took out her phone from her pocket, snapped two pictures of Uchiha Hikaru, and then, under her subtle gaze, turned her attention to her ears: "Could you make those into cat ears too? It would look more harmonious that way?"

"?"

A question mark slowly appeared on Uchiha Hikaru's face.

"Are you... searching for Leone, who has entered a state of half-beasthood?"

Leone's "Beast King Transformation: Lion King" is a Teigu that allows the user to enter a feline form. In the original timeline, Leone eventually fused with the Teigu and became a lion-man, which would likely fit the image Esdeath wanted to see.

Speaking of which...

Esdeath only learned how to use a mobile phone in the last few days.

Originally, Hikaru Uchiha bought her a cell phone simply to provide her with another means of communication—after all, Esdeath wasn't a member of a chat group, so he couldn't communicate with her anytime, anywhere like Yamato and Hisahito Itadori. Although theoretically Hikaru could also pull Esdeath into a genjutsu space for a conversation through "remote Tsukuyomi," it was still not as convenient as a cell phone.

then……

Esdeath, who had previously lived in the world of Akame ga Kill! and had almost never come into contact with these modern technological products, seemed to have discovered a new world.

In just a few days, her phone's album has been filled with nearly a hundred photos and videos.

A significant portion of them are about Uchiha Hikaru.

Her face, back, the way she eats with her head down outside, the way she looks at home after taking a shower and wearing her pajamas... even the way she looks when she just woke up in the morning with her hair loose and her eyes still sleepy, were all captured on film.

This left Uchiha Hikaru somewhat speechless.

"...Can't you take pictures of other people, Xiao Ai? Or take selfies?"

"A selfie?"

Esdeath raised an eyebrow: "What does that mean?"

"..."

So taking my picture is interesting...?

the other side.

Esdeath continued matter-of-factly, "Also, didn't you ask me to take photos for you before, like the one with that East Blue Dragon, and the one when you were piloting the robot with Dr. Gero... Why are you unwilling now?"

"Can those kinds of photos be compared to these everyday snapshots...?"

Hikaru Uchiha sighed and began to ponder whether he should teach Esdeath to develop some new functions on the phone to distract her from the camera.

For example... maybe... let her download a few pay-to-win mobile games to play?

Imagining Esdeath engrossed in games and oblivious to the world around her, Uchiha Hikaru couldn't help but chuckle.

"Phew, it's finally back to normal."

A series of operations.

Looking at his slender hands, which had returned to their original shape, Uchiha Hikaru breathed a slight sigh of relief: "Let's go, it's dinnertime, let's go out and get something to eat... I heard from Itajō that a new restaurant recently opened in Shinjuku, and the food is pretty good, let's go try it."

"it is good."

Esdeath nodded in agreement.

As he changed his shoes and went out, Uchiha Hikaru opened the chat group and tagged Yamato and Itadori Yuujin, asking if they wanted to come over.

After the "exchange meeting" on sorcery advanced techniques.

As planned, Yamato arranged a fight with Hisahito Itadori.

Then, Yuujin Itadori also brought over Megumi Fushiguro, Nobara Kugizaki, Panda, Maki Zenin, and others.

The group quickly became friends.

Um... it means literally "fighting" together.

Yamato knew that his strength was somewhat beyond that of the Jujutsu World, so he did not use Haki or Devil Fruits. He simply used his physical strength to spar with Itadori Yuujin and the others, and still achieved a perfect record of victory.

to this end.

Zenin Maki and Panda, who are also skilled in physical combat, have come to regard Yamato as the new generation's "Heaven and Tyrant".

—In the world of sorcery, there are indeed some special individuals who are born with certain constraints, but in return, they gain powerful abilities in another area. For example, Fushiguro Megumi's father, Fushiguro Jinji, and Zenin Maki, were born without sorcery power or spells, but gained extraordinary physical abilities.

Yamato's characteristics do indeed fit the image of a "tyrant of heaven," so it's understandable that he's misunderstood.

That evening.

Uchiha Hikaru, accompanied by Esdeath, met Yamato, who had come with Gojo Satoru's team, at the restaurant. The group booked a private room and had a small meal together.

period.

Uchiha Hikaru struck up a conversation with Fushiguro Megumi, asking about the "Ten Shadow Techniques".

"...Ms. Uchiha Hikaru, would you like to see my shikigami?"

I guess so.

Uchiha Hikaru nodded, his tone nonchalant: "I heard from Gojo Satoru that the Ten Shadow Techniques are an ancestral technique of the Zenin family, using shadows as a medium to summon up to ten shikigami... The last one is so powerful that it can destroy the Six-Eyed One... Is that right?"

"Gojo Satoru... He even told you this?"

Fu Heihui frowned.

During this period, Fushiguro Megumi was quite responsible and did not fall into a state of complete inaction like she did during the later Sukuna final battle.

He had long known that the last shikigami of the "Ten Shadow Spells" was "Demon Void Luo," and he was fully capable of summoning it. However, since he had not yet subdued Xu Motuo and could not control its actions, he used this move as a means to perish together with his invincible opponent.

Uchiha Hikaru's reason for trying to meet Makura simply because he "wanted to broaden his horizons" was something he found hard to accept.

"Well, I know this request might be a bit abrupt, but I can guarantee that 'Magical Demon' won't cause trouble in the city. As for whether I can do that, you can ask Gojo Satoru for confirmation."

Uchiha Hikaru paused for a moment: "Furthermore, as far as I know, your older sister, Fushiguro Miki, has been in a coma for several years, right? So, if I can help you bring her back to life, would you be willing to let me meet 'Makoro'?"

Hearing what Uchiha Hikaru said.

Fushiguro Megumi's eyelids twitched: "How do you know Tsumiki... what you're saying is true?!"

"certainly."

Uchiha Hikaru nodded, pointing to his eyes that radiated a magnificent fiery red: "These eyes of mine can foresee the future."

The reason why Fushiguro Miki remains unconscious is that she was chosen by an ancient sorcerer as a vessel for possession and rebirth. Her situation is very similar to that of Itadori Hisahito.

This situation is easy for Uchiha Hikaru to resolve.

All that's needed is to enter Fushiguro Miki's mental world, find the soul of the ancient technique, and kill it. If Miki's soul has already been corrupted and twisted, she can use her newly acquired "Inaction Transformation" to restore it.

but……

Uchiha Hikari is still a little lacking in skill when it comes to restoring souls, so she thinks she should practice on a few cursed spirits or humans first before trying it out.

—Directly capturing ordinary people for soul-modification experiments is obviously impractical, but capturing a few notorious social scum to gloriously sacrifice themselves for the advancement of human medicine is something Uchiha Hikaru wouldn't mind. Presumably, those social scum themselves wouldn't object either.

the other side.

Fushiguro Megumi agreed to give it a serious consideration.

In fact, with Uchiha Hikaru's abilities, he could easily use a genjutsu to force him to "voluntarily" agree.

However, considering that this guy is Hisahito Itadori's close friend and has a decent character, it's not appropriate to deal with him using the same methods used against villains like Masato or Danzo.

of course.

The main reason is that Uchiha Hikaru did not want to abuse his ability to manipulate wills.

If you do this kind of thing too often, you might blur the lines between good and evil and turn into the very thing you initially hated.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye.

at last.

That evening, news came from the real person's side.

The Lu Suo appeared.

(End of this chapter)