The Six-Eyed Box

In Kyoto, at Horyo Temple, Kaichi Tamada hurried back to the main hall.

The Buddha sat peacefully inside. No ordinary visitor would imagine a demon sealed beneath it.

Now there was finally a way to destroy that demon.

"Abbot, the very wealthy patron came today," a young monk reported.

Kaichi frowned at him. "Do not call him that. Copy the sutra three hundred times."

Then he went to the reception room.

The wealthy patron sat there drinking tea.

"Patron Shigeru, you look well today."

Kaichi greeted him warmly. This man was Horyo Temple's strongest worldly support. Without him, the temple might already have collapsed.

"Abbot Hogo, you also look well," Shigeru said.

Kaichi smiled and did not explain.

"Did you leave the temple yesterday?"

"I visited a friend."

"A friend of yours? I would like to meet him. Where is he from?"

Businessmen liked connections. Kaichi saw nothing strange in the question. He and Shigeru had met through an introduction too.

"He is also an abbot. I meant to stay for a few days, but his temple was under reconstruction, so I returned early."

"Which temple?"

"Kintan Temple in Tokyo. If you visit, mention my name."

Shigeru smiled.

Later, they walked to the main hall. The monks chanted before the Buddha.

"Every time I see this statue and hear the chanting, I feel cleansed," Shigeru said. "May I look behind the Buddha?"

Kaichi immediately shook his head.

"That area is not open to visitors."

Shigeru did not insist. He paid respects and left.

Kaichi wiped sweat from his head.

Why would he suddenly want to see behind the statue?

That night, while the temple slept, Kaichi stood before the main hall.

He entered quietly and walked behind the Buddha.

At the statue's back, near the heart, hung a boxlike object. He removed it and found a six-sided box covered with eyes.

"What is this?"

He belonged to the jujutsu world, but his life had been spent maintaining the seal. His knowledge of rare cursed objects was limited.

"I hope this is enough."

A shadow appeared behind him.

"Abbot Hogo, what are you doing?"

Kaichi nearly dropped the box.

He turned and saw Shigeru standing in the darkness.

"The temple does not accept offerings at night. Please return tomorrow."

"I did not come to offer incense," Shigeru said. "I came for the thing in your hands."

The next morning, Mikura woke in a nearby inn with his hand pressed to his chest and cold sweat on his face.

This feeling.

It was the same as when the Risshi seal broke.

He called Horyo Temple immediately.

"This is the abbot of Kintan Temple. Please let Abbot Hogo answer."

"Our abbot is not here today. He went to visit a friend and may not return for a while."

Mikura hung up, face dark.

Which friend?

Had Kaichi found the treasure and gone to Ren?

No.

He needed to check.

At the agency, Mikura asked Nanami in a low voice, "Has a monk dressed like me come today to request help?"

Nanami glanced up, then continued working.

"No. No one has come for the boss today."

"Thank you."

Mikura's unease deepened.

He decided to wait outside the agency in case Kaichi arrived.

The sight of an elderly monk waiting near the entrance attracted attention from passersby.

Toji eventually pointed at him.

"What's that guy doing here?"

"Waiting, apparently," Nanami said.

Toji walked outside.

"Hey. What are you doing here?"

Mikura jumped, then bowed quickly when he recognized Toji.

"A friend wished me to introduce him to Mr. Ren, but he has not arrived. I thought I would wait."

Toji pointed at a chair by the wall.

"Wait there. Do not block the entrance."

"Yes, yes."

Mikura sat down, wiping sweat from his face.

For a moment, he had felt death standing beside him.

The first drug transaction took place that same day.

Toji brought two cases to an abandoned reservoir. High concrete walls surrounded stagnant water that stank beneath circling insects. Rats drifted across the surface.

Toji looked around with disdain.

"You are the drug seller?"

A mocking voice came from behind him.

Several people appeared, surrounding him.

"You know what you are doing?" Toji asked. "You think trash like you can rob me?"

Gunfire answered.

Toji jumped into the air. The men below fired at one another in the chaos, and he laughed.

"With brains like that, you want to kill me?"

Then their guns turned upward together.

A net full of cursed energy appeared behind him, cutting off retreat.

Toji twisted his neck. A shadow flashed. The net tore apart.

He landed ten meters away with a knife between his teeth.

Two black cases vanished from his hands.

Interesting.

Ordinary humans in jujutsu-resistant gear, using Grade 3 sealing tools. Expensive setup.

He smelled someone irritating behind it.

"Come out," Toji called. "Otherwise your dogs are dead."

Applause sounded in the air.

Space distorted, and one man with two women appeared above the reservoir.

The man had a shaved head, swollen temples, small eyes, cauliflower ears, and a muscular body. The two women were dressed like dancers, faces powdered pale.

"Toji Fushiguro," the man said. "Your perception is every bit as sharp as the rumors say."

Toji's expression darkened.

"Why stand so high? Afraid your kidneys are weak enough to wet your feet?"

He kicked off the ground.

The concrete cracked beneath him. He shot into the air and struck.

His fist passed through nothing.

Gunfire rose again.

Toji vanished from the air and reappeared on the ground.

Several heads fell.

"I remember your scent," he said. "Hide as deep as you want. I will dig you out and step on you like a rat."

The grass behind him distorted, and the three figures appeared again.

"We came to discuss business."

A blade pierced them. The image distorted.

Toji clicked his tongue.

The man spoke calmly.

"One of my companions refracts light. The other transfers presence elsewhere. Useful for hiding and misdirection."

"And you? A useless ornament?"

The man's fists tightened, but the women touched his shoulders and cooled his anger.

"I am the guard. If hiding fails, I protect the goods."

Toji understood there was no point chasing illusions today.

He placed the two cases on the ground. Fifty recovery drugs lay inside.

The man signaled, and a small case appeared before Toji, holding ten narrow tubes.

Toji used a small testing machine. Each tube showed a value of ten.

After checking everything, he left.

No one touched the cases until they were certain he had reached the city.

"I do not know why our master provoked someone like him," the guard muttered. "Now he is truly offended."

"The master has his reasons."

"If you have a problem, report it yourself."

The guard fell silent.

The words Heavenly Restriction were enough to crush recklessness.

Later, Toji slammed the laboratory door open.

Yashima trembled when he saw him.

"D-do not come closer. I have experiments today."

Toji threw the case onto the table.

The moment Yashima saw the tubes, fear disappeared. He rushed over and examined them.

"At least ten Grade 4 curses compressed into each."

Toji explained the encounter.

Yashima thought for a while.

"It sounds like something Haruto Nakatsui's people would do. But he has no reason to act now."

"I did not ask for analysis. Can you break their techniques?"

"Two methods. First, I can give you a liquid. Pour it on the ground before combat. It will gather toward brainwave sources, but you need to judge the direction yourself. Second, find an ore called Kenseki. I can make glasses from it that see through disguises."

Toji preferred the second immediately.

He had always fought through perception. Now he had met someone who could misdirect it.

"Where is the ore?"

"I only saw it in a research organization's exhibition. Based on elemental analysis, it likely comes from a humid tropical region with long sunlight exposure."

Toji narrowed his eyes.

"So all of that means you do not know."

Yashima wiped sweat from his face.

"I can still..."

"Enough. I will post a bounty. If no one finds it, once Megumi starts school, I will go into the tropics myself."

Toji left.

Yashima looked at the case and slapped his own face.

"What kind of people have I met?"

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