HRU: Chapter 115/116

Chapter 114: Everything Is Turned into Ashes!

Although the quality of Kagerō was high, it lacked unique characteristics.

Therefore, this forging was doomed to fail.

Satoshi felt a twinge of regret. If he missed this opportunity, it would be extremely difficult to find another Cursed Tool possessing both fire and death attributes.

There might be only one Special Grade fire-type Cursed Tool in existence. And because the properties of Kagerō had already been refined during forging, once the process failed, the weapon would be reduced to scrap metal—rendered unusable.

Thinking of this, Satoshi let out a deep breath and gently set down the Asauchi and Kagerō.

A look of calm washed over his face.

Though the forging had failed, he now understood why. This meant that as long as he fully prepared next time, he could avoid failure altogether.

Unfortunately, the cost had been too steep.

Using the failure of Ryūjin Jakka as a stepping stone to understand Zanpakutō forging... Satoshi couldn't say whether he had gained or lost.

No—he probably took a massive loss.

"Haha! Gojo Satoshi, you lose!"

Realizing that Satoshi had chosen to give up, Kamo Shin's face was filled with pride. Although he had lost the Special Grade Cursed Tool Kagerō, he had successfully resolved the Fire Affinity scandal.

His laughter echoed unpleasantly through the forge, making everyone except Kumaen visibly displeased.

The other four didn't know the terms of the bet between Kamo Shin and Satoshi, so they couldn't understand the joy Kamo was experiencing.

"Shut up."

Toji instantly appeared in front of Kamo, right fist raised and ready to strike.

"Toji, stop."

Kumaen's voice rang out. Toji's fist froze mid-air, then slowly dropped.

Satoru was also staring coldly at Kamo Shin, his Six Eyes filled with indifference. In his view, Kamo's laughter was not just mocking Satoshi but mocking the entire Gojo clan.

"Gojo brat, I win!"

Even though Toji's aura had briefly overwhelmed him, once Kamo Shin gathered his wits, he couldn't contain his smugness.

Watching Kamo Shi's triumphant expression, a flicker of disgust flashed through Satoshi's eyes. If this man were let go now, wouldn't he just use another cursed object, like in the Shoso case, to disturb him again in the future??

People like him were true scum in the Jujutsu world.

I really don't want to lose this bet…

Staring at Kamo Shin, staring at that smug smile Satoshi drifted into a daze. And in that instant, a bolt of lightning sparked in his mind.

Shoso?

Instinctively, he reached into his pocket.

Fire element… death?

The Cursed Object in his hand seemed to possess both attributes...

It might be worth a try!

A bright light surged within Satoshi's Six Eyes. Even Toji, with his back turned, could feel the excitement surging from behind him.

Dang Dang Dang—!

Satoshi picked up the hammer once more and began pounding with force.

Shunichi and Kumaen, who both knew the true context of the situation, immediately noticed the Cursed Object Satoshi had set aside earlier—Shoso.

They didn't know what he was planning.

But clearly, Satoshi had discovered another path forward.

A glimmer of hope bloomed in their hearts.

Next to the furnace, Satoshi tempered the sword embryo and Kagerō again. Then, he opened the container and took out the Shoso.

"What are you doing, Gojo brat?!"

Kamo Shin's voice rang out in shock.

Without hesitation, Satoshi tossed the Cursed Object into the furnace.

In that moment, the flames inside surged with newfound intensity, growing even fiercer.

The Shoso vaporized on contact, instantly filling the entire furnace with its presence.

Under the influence of this fuel, Satoshi felt the resistance between the blade and the Cursed Tool begin to fade.

Cursed Tool Kagerō and the Asauchi finally merged.

In that moment, the power of Ryūjin Jakka filled Satoshi's mind—every battle, every flame, every scorched battlefield he had seen from it.

As Kagerō and the Asauchi fused completely, Satoshi let out a low roar.

"All things in this world... turn to ash! Ryūjin Jakka!"

In an instant, the flames in the furnace were drawn into the katana in Satoshi's hand.

The entire room fell into darkness.

A second later, a dazzling column of fire erupted.

A raging inferno shot into the sky.

…

The blaze overturned the furnace, tore the roof from the forge, and soared into the clouds, vaporizing the dark storm overhead.

Not a single drop of the torrential rain reached the forge, it was all incinerated midair by the firestorm.

Centered on the Gojo estate, within a radius of a hundred miles, the cold of winter was instantly replaced by the heat of summer.

The moisture in the air was completely sucked dry. Everyone's lips cracked from the sudden dryness.

…

In the back courtyard of the Gojo estate.

"This fire pillar… is this the power of Young Master Satoshi's Zanpakutō? How could flames like this even exist?"

Gojo Taisho, a Grade 4 Jujutsu sorcerer of the Gojo clan, wasn't particularly strong, but his knowledge far surpassed ordinary people.

The ability to perceive techniques and curses separated Jujutsu sorcerers from the average citizen.

He stood frozen, staring at the blazing pillar of fire outside the window, his face bathed in its crimson glow.

"Honey, did Young Master Satoshi do something again?"

Beside him, Gojo Rin, an ordinary person looked curiously out the window. Though she couldn't see the flames, she could clearly sense the environmental change.

"It doesn't feel cold anymore. And it was raining heavily a moment ago… but now the sky is suddenly clear."

To ordinary people, sudden shifts in weather could evoke fear toward nature's unpredictability.

But in the eyes of Jujutsu sorcerers, all natural phenomena had their source.

Just like the winter cherry blossoms summoned by Young Master Satoru… just like the torrential rain caused by Gojo Shunichi's duel with Yagyū Saemon…

And now, the sky-scorching flames from Young Master Satoshi!

To Gojo Taisho, who had watched this miracle unfold, Satoshi—the one who could forge Zanpakutō—was now truly a miracle child of the Six Eyes.

…

"Satoshi… you didn't disappoint me."

In the main hall, the old patriarch lay weakly in his recliner, a trace of relief on his face.

Due to his health, he couldn't witness the birth of Ryūjin Jakka firsthand. But seeing the pillar of fire piercing the heavens, that no longer mattered.

All the effort the Gojo clan had poured into this Zanpakutō had been worth it.

He could feel it, the overwhelming power of the Zanpakutō, far surpassing any other blade.

If Senbonzakura and Katen Kyōkotsu were comparable to Grade 1 Jujutsu sorcerers… then this was undoubtedly Special Grade.

A true Special Grade weapon.

The smile on the old man's lips deepened.

Satoshi raised by his hand, once nearly discarded by the clan had brought true miracles back to the Gojo family…

(To be continued.)

Chapter 115: Numb

Zenin estate.

Zenin Naobito, Zenin Ogi, and Zenin Shinsuke all stared at the pillar of fire that shot skyward from the Gojo family estate.

Their expressions were filled with shock, but in the next second, that shock was completely eclipsed by overwhelming regret.

The Zenin clan was truly in turmoil.

Such a terrifying pillar of fire, such overwhelming power not even a top-tier Jujutsu sorcerer could unleash something like that, let alone a Zanpakutō.

Who would've thought that the six-year-old child they had nearly formed an alliance with could actually forge a Cursed Tool that defied all logic and comprehension?

Gojo Satoshi's Sode no Shirayuki.

Gojo Shunichi's Suzumushi.

Gojo Satoru's Senbonzakura.

Toji's Katen Kyōkotsu

They were already considered insane.

Then there was Nejibana, wielded by Yagyū Saemon.

And now, this newly forged, nameless, flame-wreathed Zanpakutō that was clearly on a whole different level.

At this moment, the Zenin elders wanted nothing more than to exile their own sons and nephews from the clan.

If they hadn't acted so arrogantly back then, if they had simply cooperated one of those Zanpakutō could've been in the hands of the Zenin clan by now.

In a separate room, a cold look formed on Zenin Ogi's face.

He knew that Gojo Satoshi despised him, and that deep-rooted aversion was something he could never understand.

But the result was clear, even if he was shocked by the appearance of this Zanpakutō, there was no longer any hope for the Zenin clan to collaborate with Gojo Satoshi.

And since cooperation was off the table, Satoshi had now become an obstacle to the clan's future.

For the sake of the Zenin family's position in the Jujutsu world, he had to start thinking of ways to suppress both Gojo Satoshi and the entire Gojo clan.

If things continued unchecked, the Zenin clan would eventually be forced to bow down completely to Satoshi.

Elsewhere, Zenin Shinsuke's expression was filled with despair.

Toji's raw physical prowess and the Zanpakutō crafted by Gojo Satoshi, two individuals without any innate Cursed Energy had completely shattered the worldview he once believed in.

He now understood that his past confrontation with Satoshi had likely been his only real chance to stand on even ground.

Zenin Shinsuke realized that he might no longer be qualified to even be Satoshi's opponent.

All this time, he had been chasing after Gojo Satoshi, but perhaps he had never even been in his line of sight.

His heart shattered completely.

The will to compete was gone.

…

Yagyū estate.

The strange phenomenon at the Gojo estate did not surprise the three main members of the Yagyū clan in the slightest. At this moment, they had gathered in the courtyard, calmly discussing the Gojo clan's future.

"Saemon, how do you think this new Zanpakutō forged by Gojo Satoshi compares to the Nejibana in your hands?"

Yagyū Yusuke couldn't clearly gauge the difference between Zanpakutō.

Though he could sense that the fire-type Zanpakutō was stronger, he still wanted to hear Saemon's opinion.

After all, Nejibana was a water-type Zanpakutō. Even if it was slightly weaker, surely the gap wasn't too large—right?

Yagyū Hidetsugu and Yagyū Saemon exchanged helpless glances.

Their patriarch was being too naive.

Yagyū Hidetsugu shook his head. Their families were closely tied, but no matter how generous Satoshi was, it was unrealistic to expect him to hand over a Zanpakutō on the level of Senbonzakura.

That Nejibana was already a miracle. The fact it could match Gojo Shunichi's Suzumushi was more than enough for their family.

Saemon was more straightforward. He placed Nejibana onto the stone table and looked Yagyū Yusuke squarely in the eyes.

"Sir, do you see? Nejibana is trembling."

Hearing that, both Hidetsugu and Yusuke instinctively looked at the blade, but saw no visible change.

They turned back at the same time, waiting for Saemon to explain.

He let out a long sigh.

"Nejibana doesn't dare compare itself to that newly born Zanpakutō. In its heart, that sword is the strongest of them all."

"The birth of that Zanpakutō will elevate the Gojo family's power to an entirely new level."

"What we of the Yagyū clan must do… is follow the Gojo family, earnestly and without hesitation. Their rise is inevitable. That was already the consensus when the Six Eyes were born."

"Everyone has been waiting for Gojo Satoru to mature. But no one expected Gojo Satoshi to push the Gojo clan's advancement forward by at least a decade."

Yagyū Saemon's heart was filled with emotion.

In his eyes, Gojo Satoshi, who possessed no Cursed Energy at all was the one who would truly reshape the future of the Jujutsu world.

Yagyū Hidetsugu and Yagyū Yusuke fell silent.

After a long pause, both nodded at once.

The Gojo family now had Gojo Satoshi.

And in the near future, they would have Gojo Satoru, heir of Limitless and the Six Eyes.

With that terrifying duo, there would be no one left who could rival the Gojo clan.

…

Ieiri household.

Ieiri Inamichi held Shoko in his arms, staring blankly at the flame pillar erupting from the Gojo estate.

His heart was filled with deep regret.

Why didn't I agree to the engagement between Shoko and Gojo Satoshi? That had been the best timing, when no one had yet discovered his potential, when the future was still unwritten. If I had decided then, the Ieiri clan would have been the greatest beneficiary.

He looked down at Shoko, full of remorse.

At the time, he believed that with Shoko's talent, Gojo Satoshi, just a powerless child was unworthy.

So he dismissed the Gojo family's proposal.

He brushed it off then… but now it was entirely out of reach.

The boy who forged a flame-type Zanpakutō of terrifying strength… was no longer the overlooked orphan of the Gojo clan.

"Shoko, have you visited the Gojo estate recently?"

He looked down at his daughter, dozing in his arms, his heart full of complex emotions.

Although Gojo Satoshi had promised to forge a Zanpakutō for Shoko, an unexpected gift it couldn't compare to the deep regret of losing a peerless son-in-law.

"Father… I heard Satoshi made some kind of breakthrough in physical training. Even Toji said he doesn't need further treatment right now, so I haven't gone over."

Shoko rubbed her eyes sleepily, murmuring what she remembered.

Hearing that, Ieiri Inamichi sighed again.

Satoshi's potential was simply too overwhelming. Whether in Zanjutsu or Hakuda, he had already far surpassed the average person.

Toji really is a mirror image of Gojo Satoshi. This Heavenly Restriction isn't a curse at all.

If this continues… Satoshi might surpass even Toji.

Among the two sons of Six Eyes—Gojo Satoshi and Gojo Satoru—who will truly become the strongest in the Jujutsu world?

(To be continued.)