I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 257: One by one, or all at once?

Based on memories transmitted from real people.

The meeting place arranged by Tosaku was in Okutama Town—a small city in the westernmost part of Tokyo, bordering Saitama Prefecture, and dozens of kilometers away from where Uchiha Hikaru was currently located.

With "Shangri-La" around, this distance is no different from going out for a stroll.

then.

Uchiha Hikaru and Esdeath had a simple dinner, tidied up their belongings a bit, and then stepped into the teleportation array. Accompanied by a flash of purple light, their figures disappeared from the living room and reappeared on a secluded, narrow street a second later.

At this time of day, there are not many pedestrians left on the street.

The sky was dark and gloomy, carrying a sense of impending storm.

"...That should be it."

Uchiha Hikari glanced around, her gaze settling on an izakaya (Japanese pub) not far away. From her position, she could vaguely make out several blurry figures sitting inside the izakaya, and hear some hushed conversations coming from within, mixed with an unsettling atmosphere.

"Let's go, Xiao Ai. Let's go take a look."

Uchiha Hikaru lifted his foot and quickly led Esdeath across the short street to the izakaya across the street.

Push the door open and enter.

Inside the room, which was about a hundred square meters, there was a counter and seven or eight tables, with several customers seated inside, making it easy to see at a glance. Uchiha Hikaru merely glanced up and spotted the group of people sitting against the wall—

Clepsydra, Huayu, Tuogen...

There is also Lu Suo, who appears as Xia Youjie in black clothes and black hair.

The villainous group from the original story is basically all gathered here—except for Rime, but the latter is Su Nuo's subordinate. Although she has a cooperative relationship with the cursed spirits such as Lu Suo, she does not act together, so it is normal that she does not appear here.

"cough……"

Uchiha Hikaru cleared his throat and then gave a warm smile to Louhu and the others who were sitting at the table whispering and plotting.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen of cursed spirits, you are surrounded. If you are willing to surrender immediately, I may consider giving you a dignified end."

"...?"

Louhu and the others, who were discussing their action plan, paused for a moment, then turned to look at them, their faces showing surprise and uncertainty.

"Are you... talking to us?"

Louhu pointed to his face and asked to confirm.

Uchiha Hikaru tilted his head: "What else?"

"..."

At that moment, a wisp of white smoke slowly rose from the crater-shaped head of the water clock, as if the CPU had been burned out and couldn't turn around for a while.

no……

How dare this human brat, who looks like he hasn't even graduated from junior high school, talk to me like that?

Doesn't she know that she, and the others sitting next to her, are all top-tier cursed spirits?

Or……

"What's the deal with these two humans? Did you call them over?"

The water clock looked at the rope beside it.

In his mind, Ryousaku's identity was that of Natsuyuki, who was wanted by the sorcery world for violating the rules—a top-tier sorcerer among humans. If Uchiha Hikaru and Esdeath were related to them, it could only be because of Natsuyuki.

However, Lu Suo shook his head: "I have indeed taken on a few human sorcerer disciples, but I have always kept such confidential matters as meeting with you a secret from them... Judging from this brat's appearance, he is probably a descendant of some sorcerer family who happened to pass by, discovered our presence, and wanted to show off his heroism, right?"

"Huh?"

Also.

Not every sorcerer has the ability to judge the strength of a spirit based on its appearance. The black-haired girl in front of them was clearly still very young and inexperienced, and probably only dared to stand here because she mistook them for insignificant spirits.

present.

The water clock casually raised its right hand, intending to burn them to ashes.

But just then...

The water clock suddenly paused, as if sensing something, and looked up at the other woman with long, ice-blue hair standing at the shop entrance. A sense of foreboding quietly arose in its heart.

next moment.

Esdeath raised her eyebrows, her long, waterfall-like hair rising without wind, accompanied by an indescribable and overwhelming aura that swept across the entire scene!

"Are these guys the so-called 'Special Grade Cursed Spirits'?"

"Looks like he's nothing special, far inferior to that guy named Gojo Satoru... Shall we make a move?"

The last operation against the real person was carried out by Uchiha Hikaru alone. By the time Esdeath arrived, the battle was already over.

And now...

"Wait a mininute."

As soon as he finished speaking, Uchiha Hikaru snapped his fingers, summoning the "Shangri-La" teleportation array beneath their feet. Then, with a flash of light, everyone vanished from the izakaya and, with a "whoosh," were transported to a deep mountain hundreds of miles away.

Upon reaching this point, Esdeath finally stopped holding back and unleashed her full power. At that moment, a chilling blizzard appeared out of nowhere and quickly swept across the entire area, making everyone feel a chill as if they had been instantly transported to a frozen wasteland, with a cold seeping into their very bones.

"impossible……"

"This sense of oppression is even more terrifying than Gojo Satoru's... When did such a sorcerer appear among humans?"

"Also, what's going on with this surrounding scenery? Is it a teleportation technique, or a newly created domain?"

Louhu and the others were completely dumbfounded. They hadn't recovered from the sudden change in the scene when they were shocked by Esdeath's aura. Then they watched helplessly as ice walls appeared out of thin air and shot into the sky, dozens or even hundreds of meters high, before sealing themselves off at the top.

—This is Esdeath's road-blocking skill.

In this way, the entire area of ​​several thousand square meters on the mountaintop became Esdeath's "domain".

Under the ice wall more than half a meter thick, even the strongest Louhu showed horror again, recalling the humiliation and fear of being dominated by Gojo Satoru.

A major war is now inevitable.

Under the fierce gazes of several top-tier cursed spirits opposite them.

Uchiha Hikaru remained calm and spoke indifferently, "Will you come one by one, or all at once?"

……

Louhu and the others ultimately decided to go together.

After all, with roads blocked by ice and snow in all directions, escape was no longer an option. The only chance of survival was probably to defeat the woman with the long, icy blue hair before him.

But it won't be easy.

The pressure Esdeath exerted on them was no less than that of Gojo Satoru back then. Against Gojo Satoru, only by all of them attacking together would they have a sliver of hope of victory, and the same applies when facing Esdeath.

but……

In this situation, there were still two people who chose to stand by and do nothing.

One is the Lu Suo.

This guy and the Louhu group had a mutually beneficial cooperative relationship, and he was always very cautious in his actions. Naturally, he would not fight against a strange enemy like Esdeath when the situation was unclear.

The other one is a real person.

When they saw the real person break away from the group and run to Uchiha Hikaru like a lapdog, wagging his tail and begging for mercy, Louhu and the others could hardly believe their eyes.

"Shinto, what are you doing?!"

"You are the leader of the cursed spirits!!"

"...No wonder those two human sorcerers were able to find this place; the real traitor was Zhenren! When did he betray us?! What exactly happened before?!"

Although I was shocked for a hundred years.

But with a formidable enemy at hand, Louhu and the others still proceeded with their original plan and bravely confronted Esdeath.

While their strength was indeed inferior to Gojo Satoru's, if we were to consider the Naruto or Akame ga Kill! worlds, they would still possess Kage-level or Imperial Shogun-level combat power. To Esdeath, they were at least not low-level trash who couldn't even withstand a casual punch from her.

present.

Esdeath transformed a thin layer of ice and snow into armor, covering her entire body. Then, with a cat-and-mouse-like gait, she dealt with the attacks of the three members of the Louju trio. Although Louju had considered having Hanami and Tagore block Esdeath while he tried to ambush Uchiha Hikaru, Esdeath noticed this thought as soon as it appeared. She then flashed to block his path and kicked him back.

In this way.

The several top-tier cursed spirits finally came to their senses and unleashed their full power, using physical techniques, spells, and other methods to attack Esdeath like a storm.

Ice and snow, fire, water arrows, flower fields...

Various elements intertwined in mid-air, occasionally emitting dazzling flashes of light.

It is worth mentioning the field of origin of the water clock.

As the strongest of the four great cursed spirits, Louhu was born from humanity's fear of the earth and possesses the ability to control fire. His domain, "Coffin-Covered Iron Mountain," can instantly transform a vast area into a molten lava inferno; any ordinary sorcerer who steps into this domain will be instantly burned to ashes.

but……

It meant nothing to Esdeath.

She doesn't even need to exert much effort to create a massive blizzard to neutralize the fiery domain, and then further destroy it.

As for Hana-Yu and Tuo-Gen…

These two cursed spirits are not even as powerful as the water clock.

Among them, Huayu was born from humanity's fear of forests, while Tuogen is the ocean. Therefore, their magical abilities are related to wood and water elements, respectively.

One thing worth mentioning is Tagore's domain, "Rippling Horizon," which creates a vast, azure sea with a sandy beach, from which countless giant fish monsters are summoned to attack enemies. Uchiha Hikaru was somewhat interested in this ability, so he instructed Esdeath to spare his life beforehand.

—If I could acquire this domain, then I could enjoy leisure and vacations anytime, anywhere.

Moreover, it's a private beach, so even if you strip naked and swim there, you don't have to worry about being seen by outsiders. It's arguably the best place for a relaxing vacation...

Esdeath faced off against three opponents simultaneously: Louju, Hanaga, and Tōgen.

Uchiha Hikaru was confronting Rōsō.

At this time.

Rōsō seemed to have understood something, and looked at Uchiha Hikaru with a scrutinizing gaze: "You guys are the helpers that Gojō Satoru sent?"

No.

Uchiha Hikaru shook his head, a mischievous smile on his face: "To be precise, it was actually your son who came looking for us."

"……son?"

"That's right, his name is Hisahito Itadori."

Uchiha Hikaru stared intently at Rōsō opposite him, and said, word by word, "You should be familiar with this name, after all... he is your own child, whom you carried for ten months and gave birth to with great difficulty."

"?!?!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Suo's pupils constricted sharply.

Even Esdeath, Lou-kyu, Hanamichi, and others who were fighting nearby widened their eyes in astonishment and subconsciously glanced over, their expressions showing utter shock.

Ten months pregnant?

Xia Youjie?

What... what's going on? Could this top rogue ninja of the sorcery world be a woman disguised as a man?

Or is it that human society has actually progressed to the point where even men can get pregnant and give birth?

Compared to the unsuspecting Louhu group, Lu Suo's shock was far more pronounced, to the point that he couldn't even maintain his usual composure: "You... what do you know?"

"Well, there are quite a lot."

Uchiha Hikaru counted on his fingers, as if reciting a familiar story: "For example, your real name is Rōsō, a mysterious sorcerer who has lived for a thousand years. He once parasitized Kamo Kenshū, Itadori Kaori, and now Natsuyuki, among others. He mated with humans and gave birth to Kūshōzu and Itadori Yuujin... and he was also planning to use the famous cursed artifact 'Gūmonjō' to seal Gojō Satoru."

"To be honest, I admire you. After all, there are quite a few people who sacrifice themselves for science by changing their gender, but to personally have a child with another man is really rare."

"Or perhaps... your true form is actually a woman?"

In the original work of Jujutsu, there is no mention of Rōsaku's original appearance or gender, only that he was once Tengen's friend.

and so……

It's also not good to use preconceived notions to assume his gender.

But if Lu Su was originally a woman, but once parasitized Kamo Noriyuki's body, and in her true identity conceived a cursed fetus, the Nine Phases Diagram, with a human woman... that would be quite absurd.

now.

After his identity was exposed, Lu Suo was shocked, but his aura changed. He began to tear off the disguise of "Xia Youjie" and summoned a dense array of shikigami—Herpes Granny, Great Catfish, Black Mushi... In the blink of an eye, hundreds and thousands of shikigami formed a line in mid-air, revealing their ferocious faces to Uchiha Hikaru.

"...There are quite a lot of them."

Uchiha Hikaru shook his head slightly: "All show and no substance."

As these words were spoken, a dark red aura emerged from behind Uchiha Hikaru, and then formed the shape of a skeletal giant.

The third power, Susanoo!

(End of this chapter)