Chapter 13:
The Subjugation Ritual
The Crimson Eyes of the Zenin
Night. The streets of Tokyo.
Maki and Mai held their mother's hand, walking down the bustling sidewalk. The gentle night breeze carried them away from the tension of the supercar.
Passing by a toy store, Mai’s eyes lingered on a display of plush animals. She stared for a second too long, her longing evident, but she sensibly remained silent.
"Buy them all."
The woman's sudden words startled Mai.
Mai waved her hands frantically. "No, no! Mai doesn't need toys! Really!"
Lies. Hypocrisy. Survival.
This was the first lesson Mai had learned at the Zenin estate. Never ask for anything. Never show desire.
"I didn't buy it because you like it," the woman explained calmly, looking down at her daughter. "I bought it because the Clan Head ordered it."
"He said: 'Buy whatever they like.'"
"We must obey his orders. Do you understand?"
Mai looked at her mother. She saw the strict adherence to rules, but beneath it, she saw a flicker of relief.
"...Um."
Mai nodded. "I understand, Mother."
...
Zenin Estate. The Conference Room.
"The surveillance on Shoko can be withdrawn."
"Have you found the Curse User I told you to find?"
Mirai sat at the head of the table, resting his chin on his hand. The playful demeanor he had shown Shoko was gone, replaced by a cold, imperious weight.
Just as Shoko had predicted, the "fishing trip" had been a success. But Mirai was looking for specific targets.
"Reporting to the Clan Head..."
A sorcerer stood before him, his head bowed low. His left arm was missing, the stump wrapped in bloody bandages.
"We... haven't found anything yet."
Silence.
The huge conference room was deathly silent.
Large beads of sweat slid down the sorcerer's forehead. His back was soaked.
"Reporting..." the man stammered, gritting his teeth against the pain of his severed arm. "For three months... we have found no trace."
Mirai stared at him. His eyes were devoid of emotion.
"Three months ago, I gave you the portrait. I told you his technique."
"And for three whole months, the Zenin intelligence network has found nothing?"
"Next time I ask," Mirai whispered, "if you still don't have news... just kill yourself."
"Yes!"
Zenin Hisashi, the one-armed sorcerer, bowed deeply. He didn't dare to wipe the sweat from his eyes. He was just grateful he still had his head.
Naobito watched from the side, sipping his sake. He was actually surprised Mirai had shown mercy. Losing an arm was a light punishment compared to the alternative.
Mirai waved Hisashi away. He flipped open his old notebook.
Target 1: Monitor underage children with potential (Megumi Fushiguro).
Target 2: Search for Sukuna's Fingers.
Target 3: Find a woman with sutures on her forehead (Kenjaku/Kaori Itadori).
These commands baffled the clan elders. Why search for fingers? Why look for a random woman? But no one dared to question him.
"Alright," Mirai said, standing up. "Clear the room."
He stretched his neck.
"Drive away all living things within a 500-meter radius. Now."
The sorcerers didn't need to be told twice. They scrambled for the exits.
...
Five Minutes Later.
The Zenin Estate was silent. The air was heavy, like the calm before a storm.
Mirai stood alone in the center of the ruined conference room.
"Furube... Yurayura."
Mirai whispered the chant.
The shadows beneath his feet boiled. The lamplight flickered and died.
"Mahoraga."
Five hundred meters away, Naobito froze. His face went pale.
"MAHORAGA?!"
Naobito roared, clutching the railing of the observation tower. "He's doing the ritual?! NOW?!"
The Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga.
The strongest shikigami of the Ten Shadows. The one no Ten Shadows user in history had ever tamed.
BOOM!
The floor of the conference room exploded.
From the shadows, a nightmare emerged.
It was a humanoid titan, muscles bulging like cords of steel. A golden wheel floated above its head, spinning slowly.
Attached to its right arm was a blade—the Sword of Extermination.
And protruding from its face were wing-like appendages.
The Divine General had arrived.
"Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga," Mirai recited, smiling up at the monster.
Whoosh!
Mahoraga didn't wait for introductions. It swung its right arm.
The Sword of Extermination, wrapped in positive energy, slashed through Mirai's body.
But it hit nothing.
Mirai stood unharmed. The blade passed through him as if he were a ghost. Kamui Intangibility.
The shockwave behind Mirai cleaved the entire building in half. The conference room collapsed into rubble.
"Good! Very good!"
Mirai stood on top of the debris, laughing. "Show me your power!"
Mahoraga paused. The wheel above its head turned.
Click.
It leaped.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A storm of punches and slashes rained down on Mirai. The ground shattered. The estate shook like a leaf in a hurricane.
But every attack passed through Mirai. He was untouchable.
"Everyone back off!!" Naobito screamed over the radio. "Evacuate to 1 kilometer! NOW!"
Naobito watched the dust cloud rising from the estate. He felt a mixture of terror and awe.
If he tames it... Naobito thought. If he actually tames Mahoraga... the Zenin Clan will be invincible.
...
The Battle.
The conference room was gone. It was just a crater now.
At the bottom of the pit, Mirai stood still, watching the wheel above Mahoraga's head.
He wasn't fighting back. He was counting.
Click.
The wheel turned again.
"Ding-dong," Mirai whispered, mocking the sound.
Whoosh!
Mahoraga swung its blade again.
This time, Mirai didn't smile.
He twisted his body violently to the left.
Slash!
Pain.
A deep gash opened on his chest. Blood sprayed into the air.
"Two and a half minutes..." Mirai gasped, clutching his wound.
He looked at the blood on his hand.
It adapted.
In just two and a half minutes, Mahoraga had adapted to Kamui. It had found a way to hit him despite his intangibility.
Mirai grinned, blood staining his teeth.
"You really are the strongest," Mirai whispered.
"Adaptation to all phenomena."
"But now..."
Mirai’s eyes spun. The Gedo Mazo’s aura flared behind him.
"It's my turn."
Maki and Mai held their mother's hand, walking down the bustling sidewalk. The gentle night breeze carried them away from the tension of the supercar.
Passing by a toy store, Mai’s eyes lingered on a display of plush animals. She stared for a second too long, her longing evident, but she sensibly remained silent.
"Buy them all."
The woman's sudden words startled Mai.
Mai waved her hands frantically. "No, no! Mai doesn't need toys! Really!"
Lies. Hypocrisy. Survival.
This was the first lesson Mai had learned at the Zenin estate. Never ask for anything. Never show desire.
"I didn't buy it because you like it," the woman explained calmly, looking down at her daughter. "I bought it because the Clan Head ordered it."
"He said: 'Buy whatever they like.'"
"We must obey his orders. Do you understand?"
Mai looked at her mother. She saw the strict adherence to rules, but beneath it, she saw a flicker of relief.
"...Um."
Mai nodded. "I understand, Mother."
...
Zenin Estate. The Conference Room.
"The surveillance on Shoko can be withdrawn."
"Have you found the Curse User I told you to find?"
Mirai sat at the head of the table, resting his chin on his hand. The playful demeanor he had shown Shoko was gone, replaced by a cold, imperious weight.
Just as Shoko had predicted, the "fishing trip" had been a success. But Mirai was looking for specific targets.
"Reporting to the Clan Head..."
A sorcerer stood before him, his head bowed low. His left arm was missing, the stump wrapped in bloody bandages.
"We... haven't found anything yet."
Silence.
The huge conference room was deathly silent.
Large beads of sweat slid down the sorcerer's forehead. His back was soaked.
"Reporting..." the man stammered, gritting his teeth against the pain of his severed arm. "For three months... we have found no trace."
Mirai stared at him. His eyes were devoid of emotion.
"Three months ago, I gave you the portrait. I told you his technique."
"And for three whole months, the Zenin intelligence network has found nothing?"
"Next time I ask," Mirai whispered, "if you still don't have news... just kill yourself."
"Yes!"
Zenin Hisashi, the one-armed sorcerer, bowed deeply. He didn't dare to wipe the sweat from his eyes. He was just grateful he still had his head.
Naobito watched from the side, sipping his sake. He was actually surprised Mirai had shown mercy. Losing an arm was a light punishment compared to the alternative.
Mirai waved Hisashi away. He flipped open his old notebook.
Target 1: Monitor underage children with potential (Megumi Fushiguro).
Target 2: Search for Sukuna's Fingers.
Target 3: Find a woman with sutures on her forehead (Kenjaku/Kaori Itadori).
These commands baffled the clan elders. Why search for fingers? Why look for a random woman? But no one dared to question him.
"Alright," Mirai said, standing up. "Clear the room."
He stretched his neck.
"Drive away all living things within a 500-meter radius. Now."
The sorcerers didn't need to be told twice. They scrambled for the exits.
...
Five Minutes Later.
The Zenin Estate was silent. The air was heavy, like the calm before a storm.
Mirai stood alone in the center of the ruined conference room.
"Furube... Yurayura."
Mirai whispered the chant.
The shadows beneath his feet boiled. The lamplight flickered and died.
"Mahoraga."
Five hundred meters away, Naobito froze. His face went pale.
"MAHORAGA?!"
Naobito roared, clutching the railing of the observation tower. "He's doing the ritual?! NOW?!"
The Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga.
The strongest shikigami of the Ten Shadows. The one no Ten Shadows user in history had ever tamed.
BOOM!
The floor of the conference room exploded.
From the shadows, a nightmare emerged.
It was a humanoid titan, muscles bulging like cords of steel. A golden wheel floated above its head, spinning slowly.
Attached to its right arm was a blade—the Sword of Extermination.
And protruding from its face were wing-like appendages.
The Divine General had arrived.
"Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga," Mirai recited, smiling up at the monster.
Whoosh!
Mahoraga didn't wait for introductions. It swung its right arm.
The Sword of Extermination, wrapped in positive energy, slashed through Mirai's body.
But it hit nothing.
Mirai stood unharmed. The blade passed through him as if he were a ghost. Kamui Intangibility.
The shockwave behind Mirai cleaved the entire building in half. The conference room collapsed into rubble.
"Good! Very good!"
Mirai stood on top of the debris, laughing. "Show me your power!"
Mahoraga paused. The wheel above its head turned.
Click.
It leaped.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A storm of punches and slashes rained down on Mirai. The ground shattered. The estate shook like a leaf in a hurricane.
But every attack passed through Mirai. He was untouchable.
"Everyone back off!!" Naobito screamed over the radio. "Evacuate to 1 kilometer! NOW!"
Naobito watched the dust cloud rising from the estate. He felt a mixture of terror and awe.
If he tames it... Naobito thought. If he actually tames Mahoraga... the Zenin Clan will be invincible.
...
The Battle.
The conference room was gone. It was just a crater now.
At the bottom of the pit, Mirai stood still, watching the wheel above Mahoraga's head.
He wasn't fighting back. He was counting.
Click.
The wheel turned again.
"Ding-dong," Mirai whispered, mocking the sound.
Whoosh!
Mahoraga swung its blade again.
This time, Mirai didn't smile.
He twisted his body violently to the left.
Slash!
Pain.
A deep gash opened on his chest. Blood sprayed into the air.
"Two and a half minutes..." Mirai gasped, clutching his wound.
He looked at the blood on his hand.
It adapted.
In just two and a half minutes, Mahoraga had adapted to Kamui. It had found a way to hit him despite his intangibility.
Mirai grinned, blood staining his teeth.
"You really are the strongest," Mirai whispered.
"Adaptation to all phenomena."
"But now..."
Mirai’s eyes spun. The Gedo Mazo’s aura flared behind him.
"It's my turn."
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