HRU: Chapter 112/113

Chapter 112: Know Thyself

After the incident, Kamo Shin finally realized that there would inevitably be animosity between the Kamo and Gojo clans.

He had to start preparing in advance to counter the Gojo clan. And the best option for now was, naturally, to study the forging methods behind Zanpakutō.

Kamo Shin was, in fact, the only true Cursed Tool Grandmaster and he had absolute confidence in this field.

He believed that as long as he observed carefully, he would be able to pinpoint the core principles behind Gojo Satoshi's forging techniques.

"This..."

Kumaen looked hesitant. To be honest, Kamo Shin's suggestion wasn't unreasonable, it involved matters of life and death.

However, this also touched on Satoshi's secrets, and he couldn't help but worry that Kamo Shin might really succeed in learning Satoshi's forging techniques.

Even though he now trusted Satoshi deeply, the fact remained that there was still a small chance of failure.

Even if it was only a small probability, as the representative of the Gojo clan, he had to guard against it.

Thinking this through, Kumaen was worried that Satoshi would feel cornered, so he prepared to directly refuse Kamo Shin's seemingly reasonable request.

Right now, the Gojo clan was the sword, and the Kamo clan was the fish on the chopping board.

A person at the mercy of others, why bother talking about fairness?

But just as he opened his mouth, Satoshi smiled and said,

"Sure. That request can be granted."

Kumaen nodded stiffly. Satoshi really did act beyond common sense, didn't he?

And to think he was worrying about him just now...

…

Inside the forge.

For the first time, Satoshi felt that the large room was a little cramped. It was the first time so many people had gathered in the forge!

The participants in the bet: Gojo Satoshi and Kamo Shin.

Spectators: Gojo Satoru, Gojo Kumaen, Gojo Shunichi, Gojo Takuya, and Zenin Toji.

Satoshi began forging the Zanpakutō alone while six people looked on.

He touched the still-warm Cursed Tool, Kagerō, then felt the item in his pocket that he had improvised from the estate owner. His heart slowly calmed.

A blade like fire, this was Satoshi's last shot.

If he missed this forging, it would be extremely difficult to find another Fire-type Cursed Tool material.

If he failed, he could essentially say goodbye to Ryūjin Jakka in this world.

The furnace roared to life, and the rumbling echoed throughout the Gojo estate.

Everyone knew, Satoshi was forging again.

…

"I heard that the President of the Jujutsu Blacksmiths' Association visited the Gojo estate today to verify whether Young Master Satoshi is qualified to join the Association."

"This forging must be Kamo Shin's test for him, right?"

"I believe Young Master Satoshi will definitely meet the Grandmaster's standards. After all, both Sode no Shirayuki and Young Master Satoru's Senbonzakura, those are epoch-making Cursed Tools!"

"Right. Even though they were made for outsiders, one turned Zenin Toji, just a regular guy into the strongest member of the Zenin clan, and the other helped Yagyū Saemon rise to a Grade 1 Jujutsu sorcerer."

"From now on, with Young Master Satoshi and Satoru, the Gojo clan can basically dominate the entire Jujutsu world!"

"Cut the nonsense. Don't embarrass Young Master Satoshi and Satoru."

"The weather's awful today, it's getting dark, and looks like a storm's coming. Creepy. You think it'll affect our ability to watch the forging?"

"Watch? You mean listen from outside."

"Like you aren't doing the same!"

Members of the Gojo clan waited silently, full of anticipation for Satoshi's results. Many were already imagining the shock on outsiders' faces when the news spread, Satoshi joining the Blacksmiths' Association.

The other clans received similar information. They also assumed Satoshi was firing up the furnace for Kamo Shin's evaluation.

Only a few more perceptive clans had lingering doubts.

From their understanding, Kamo Shin didn't like Satoshi. How could he start an evaluation just one day after visiting?

Something didn't add up, but they lacked key intel.

They could only keep their suspicions buried in their hearts.

…

What they didn't know was that this seemingly ordinary forging was connected to the life and death of the President of the Blacksmiths' Association.

…

One hammer. Two hammers. Three hammers...

This time, Satoshi didn't follow the usual forging technique. He chose to strike the Cursed Tool Kagerō first.

A Special Grade Cursed Tool was indeed a Special Grade. Even after being subjected to prolonged high-temperature forging, the blade merely felt warm, it never actually got hot.

Seeing this, Satoshi finally understood why Kamo Shin had been so confident.

Fire-type Cursed Tools were rare, and due to their inherent traits, their fire resistance was extraordinarily high.

This made reforging them significantly more difficult than Tools of other attributes.

Still, that was no problem for Satoshi.

If one hour wasn't enough, he'd take another.

His body, strengthened by Heavenly Restriction, had undergone extensive, seemingly pointless training but it was enough to support this forging session.

He was no longer the little weakling who got dizzy after forging Sode no Shirayuki.

And so, the monotonous, laborious forging process began...

…

After a full hour, Toji had already given up watching. Shunichi was rubbing his eyes. Even Satoru had begun to doze off. Only Takuya, Kumaen, and Kamo Shin were still intently watching Satoshi's movements.

Kamo Shin: This brat Satoshi is really something. Swinging that hammer for an hour without even flinching? Fine, I'll play along. I want to see just what you can make out of Kagerō.

Gojo Takuya: Satoshi's forging this time feels different from usual. Did he hit a wall? I keep getting the feeling that Kamo Shin is looking at Satoshi strangely. There's something off about his mood.

Gojo Kumaen: That resolve, that posture, that physique! I really underestimated Satoshi's growth these past years. Honestly, he might already be more in control of the Gojo clan than even Satoru...

Each person stood from a different perspective and carried their own thoughts.

But none of that affected Satoshi.

At this moment, he was fully absorbed in the reforging of the Special Grade Cursed Tool Kagerō.

It was a tough one to break through but that only ignited the fighting spirit of Gojo Satoshi, a swordsmith transformed into a god of the forge.

In front of Ōetsu Nimaiya, there's no blade he can't remake!

(To be continued.)


Chapter 113: Learn. Reflect. Rebuild.

And so, Satoshi struck Kagerō again and again, and the once-sturdy blade gradually began to curve—visible to the naked eye.

Seeing this, Kamo Shin's expression changed drastically, while Takuya let out a breath of relief.

Kamo Shin never expected that the boy in front of him could actually alter Kagerō's form.

This was a Special Grade Cursed Tool, and one of the most difficult fire-type Tools to reforge.

Resonating with the spirit of the Sword God, Satoshi hammered Kagerō into shape bit by bit. The forging was progressing, and this counted as the first step on a long and arduous path.

Everyone saw hope but only Satoshi knew how many more obstacles lay ahead.

After another hour of forging, he successfully tempered Kagerō's flame attributes into the blade's surface.

Then, he began forging the shallow Asauchi.

With his current strength, Satoshi was already highly proficient at forging shallow-cut sword embryos. In just twenty minutes, the forging was complete.

Next came the most crucial step.

How would Satoshi fuse this Asauchi with Kagerō?

How could he draw out Kagerō's essence to summon forth the soul of Ryūjin Jakka?

Holding the Asauchi in his left hand and the Cursed Tool Kagerō in his right, Satoshi took a step forward, only to feel an extreme sense of rejection.

The shallow blade was repelling Kagerō.

This was something he had never encountered before.

In all his past creations—Sode no Shirayuki, Suzumushi, Senbonzakura, Katen Kyōkotsu—as long as he used Cursed Tools with matching attributes, the Zanpakutō soul would be easily guided, allowing the blade embryo and Tool to merge, and the Zanpakutō to manifest in the world.

So why was this happening now?

Everyone stared blankly at Satoshi. Although they were filled with anxiety, no one dared to utter a sound.

Kamo Shin, on the other hand, burst into laughter upon seeing the scene.

He realized that Satoshi had hit a wall.

He still didn't know how Satoshi was able to forge Zanpakutō using Cursed Tool materials and he hadn't yet succeeded in stealing the technique.

But based on what he was seeing now, he had likely won this bet.

…

After countless attempts, Satoshi found that Kagerō and the Asauchi still couldn't come into contact. The two were like opposite poles of magnets, always kept apart by an invisible force.

Even his body, strengthened by Heavenly Restriction and far beyond the limits of ordinary strength, couldn't brute-force the two together.

Is he going to fail?

Kumaen felt a wave of regret.

He could see how much effort and determination Satoshi had poured into this, but now everything was at a deadlock.

And things were starting to go in a bad direction.

He was the only one present who knew about the terms of the bet, which made him fully aware of how gleeful Kamo must be feeling right now.

In the past, Kumaen had always been cold and calculating. The death of a clan member was little more than an offering to him.

But ever since he noticed the changes in Satoshi, his mindset had shifted drastically.

In his eyes, every member of the Gojo clan now had meaning. At this moment, speaking as the clan's representative, he sincerely hoped that Kamo Shin would die.

All for the sake of Gojo Kotetsu, an ordinary member of the clan.

This was the burden of the Gojo clan's proxy head—his responsibility.

Kumaen had already begun to calculate in his mind: if Kamo Shin really won the bet today, how could he arrange for Shin's "natural" death in the future?

Meanwhile, Kamo Shin was already beaming with delight. When Gojo Kumaen discovered Shoso, he had assumed he would not escape unscathed.

Who would've thought that Satoshi would randomly suggest a bet?

He knew that Satoshi wanted the Cursed Tool Kagerō, but what made him any different? Wasn't he luring Satoshi in?

If Kagerō were truly easy to reforge, would he, as a Cursed Tool Grandmaster, have left it untouched in the family's treasury?

A Special Grade Cursed Tool had the potential to cultivate a Grade 1 Cursed Tool Master. For the Kamo clan, currently falling behind such a sorcerer would be a precious asset.

A Grade 1 Jujutsu sorcerer could bring temporary revitalization to the family.

He had already tried. He knew just how terrifying Kagerō was. Satoshi was still too naive.

Though far more mentally mature, he was still lacking.

Right now, Kamo Shin was just waiting for Satoshi to extinguish the flames and admit defeat.

As Satoshi stood frozen in place, the entire forge was swallowed in silence.

Only the steady roar of the furnace echoed through the room.

…

Is it really impossible to forge Ryūjin Jakka?

Satoshi questioned himself silently.

No, something must be off somewhere.

His mind spun like a revolving lantern, flipping through every memory of forging Zanpakutō.

For Sode no Shirayuki, he used the ice-type Cursed Tool, Yoru.

For Suzumushi, a Cursed Tool with sonic characteristics, Cicada's Cry.

For Senbonzakura, one with sakura and fragmentation attributes.

For Katen Kyōkotsu, a Tool imbued with shadow and ringed-blade properties.

Thinking this far, it felt like he was close to an answer but there was still a veil he couldn't pierce.

What exactly is it?

Satoshi frowned, and the painful memory of his forging failure from last month resurfaced.

Learn. Reflect. Rebuild.

This was essential when mastering a new craft.

Had he made a mistake somewhere? A flaw that went unnoticed while forging Suzumushi, Senbonzakura, and Katen Kyōkotsu, one that hadn't affected those results.

But now, that flaw was being exposed in the attempt to forge Ryūjin Jakka?

Images of Ryūjin Jakka's Bankai filled his mind, its charred blade, and the four techniques it embodied.

Zanka no Tachi, Higashi: Kyokujitsujin (Longsword of the Remnant Flame, East: Rising Sun Edge)

Zanka no Tachi, Higashi: Kyokujitsujin (Longsword of the Remnant Flame, West: Remnant Sun Prison Garb)

Zanka no Tachi, Minami: Kaka Jūman'okushi Daisōjin (Longsword of the Remnant Flame, South: Great Burial Ranks of the Ten Trillion Fire Dead)

Zanka no Tachi, Kita: Tenchi Kaijin (Longsword of the Remnant Flame, North: Heaven and Earth End in Ashes)

Then, in a flash of realization, clarity struck.

The Cursed Tool material wasn't sufficient to attract Ryūjin Jakka.

Kagerō was just a fire attribute. It wasn't enough for Ryūjin Jakka's soul to descend into this Asauchi.

Ryūjin Jakka didn't just wield fire, it commanded death.

Kaka Jūman'okushi Daisōjin was the foundation that allowed Ryūjin Jakka to fight as a one-man army.

(To be continued.)