Sōjun Minamoto fully assimilated the middle-aged man from the Zenin Clan, engraving the inherited technique into his eye.
At the same time, a star lit up in the night sky of his mental domain, shining with radiant light.
Just as Kenjaku had claimed—it was indeed the Ten Shadows Technique. Sōjun hadn't taken his word for it, but now he was certain.
He found the technique fascinating.
With the assimilation complete, knowledge of the Ten Shadows Technique naturally surfaced in his mind, and along with it, the Shikigami the Zenin man had previously subdued were silently transferred into his control.
Sōjun didn't summon them right away.
Instead, he released a clone, which tore open a black vortex and stepped through space, arriving beneath the pale bone tree. From there, it made its way into the shrine domain.
He intended to observe the shadow Shikigami here.
Inside the domain, he began organizing the related memories in his mind.
The Ten Shadows Technique used shadows as a medium to summon Shikigami with various abilities—provided they had been subdued in advance.
It didn't sound particularly special on the surface, but Sōjun was deeply intrigued by the ten Shikigami behind it.
Seated on a stone throne flanked by thorns and broken swords, he began to attune himself to the newly acquired technique.
The shrine was silent. Starlight from the dome shone gently down on him, casting a deep, unified shadow of both man and throne against the stone wall behind.
The conditions were set.
Sōjun extended one hand to the side—thumb raised, index and middle fingers spread, ring and pinky curled inward. The silhouette on the stone wall became that of a dog. He called out softly,
"Divine Dogs."
In the next moment, a black and a white wolf-like Shikigami leapt out of the shadow. A regular triangle and an inverted triangle marked their foreheads.
They were the Divine Dogs—basic Shikigami of the Ten Shadows Technique. Agile and adept at scouting and tracking.
The two wolves scanned their surroundings cautiously. Seeing no threat and receiving no commands, they wagged their tails and approached Sōjun on their own.
He reached out his hand, and they obediently sat at his feet, pressing their heads gently into his palm.
He made a mental note: low cursed energy consumption, semi-autonomous behavior, capable of acting independently or following verbal or mental commands.
Once finished, he gave them permission to move freely.
Yet they stayed put, crouched beside him, ears twitching occasionally, alert to the area.
It seemed their free behavior still followed certain protocols.
Sōjun let it be. He changed his hand sign. A bird's shadow appeared on the stone wall.
"Nue."
A large red bird, its face hidden behind bone armor, flew out from the shadow. It circled a stone pillar before gripping its topmost edge, nearest the dome.
Nue—an aerial support Shikigami with mastery over lightning, incredibly fast, and skilled in diving and claw attacks.
Sōjun directed it through a series of flight tests, darting between eight stone pillars. Sparks danced across its wings, crackling with thunder.
When left on its own, the Nue would spiral downward from above, trailing gusts of wind, talons gleaming and deadly.
It clearly favored striking from above, like a true bird of prey.
Sōjun nodded, satisfied.
The domain was both spacious and sturdy—ideal for letting the Shikigami use their abilities freely.
Another gesture shift: "Great Serpent."
Immediately, a snake-like Shikigami burst from underground. It specialized in burrowing and could erupt from beneath its enemies, dragging them into the sky with a biting grip.
"Toad."
With that word, several green-skinned frogs appeared, each with short white wings. They hopped around his feet, mouths half-open, tongues coiled and ready to snap.
Tests confirmed their tongues were extremely durable, lashed out with force, and had powerful adhesive effects—perfect for restraining enemies.
"Max Elephant."
A massive shadow of an elephant formed in ink, the dark color gradually fading as a soft pink hue emerged. It flicked its long trunk, shooting a powerful jet of water that struck a stone pillar, blasting a hole into it. The damage quickly regenerated.
Sōjun Minamoto immediately understood—the water pressure could be adjusted based on Cursed Energy output. A very promising ability.
"Rabbit Escape."
Droplet-like shadows appeared and quickly spread across the ground, eventually merging together. One by one, white-furred, red-eyed rabbits emerged from the darkness, gathering around the stone platform.
There were many of them. Individually weak, but perfect for confusing and distracting enemies.
"Round Deer."
A towering deer with rugged, oversized antlers appeared behind Sōjun Minamoto. It raised a front hoof and gave a silent cry to the sky.
Now this Shikigami was interesting.
It could use the Reverse Cursed Technique—and even project it externally. That was a level not even Shoko Ieiri had achieved.
"Piercing Ox."
A black, long-haired ox stood firmly on the ground, its shaggy mane nearly covering its eyes, two sharp horns jutting straight forward.
Its attack method was simple—charge in a straight line. The farther it ran, the more devastating the impact.
Sōjun Minamoto had it charge across the Domain. Just as it was nearing the end of the shrine's length, he suddenly appeared in front of it and extended a hand toward its horns.
When hand met horn, the floor beneath his feet shattered, and he sank slightly into the ground. The force of the impact was immense, and with the sharpness of the horns, it nearly pierced through his palm.
And that was with a relatively short charge. The power could increase significantly with more distance.
Satisfied, Sōjun Minamoto nodded to himself. Piercing Ox had serious potential—used properly, it could be devastating.
With that, all the Shikigami had been summoned.
The shrine now resembled a livestock pen. The numerous animal Shikigami—some standing, others lying down or flying—remained silent, keeping the space eerily calm.
There were only eight types.
If the middle-aged man still had any awareness left, seeing this would probably make his eyes pop out.
Theoretically, a Ten Shadows Technique user could summon multiple Shikigami at once. But that was only in theory. In practice, the Cursed Energy required was massive. Even according to clan records, only a handful had ever managed it.
Who would've thought an outsider could pull it off?
Still, two were missing, Sōjun Minamoto thought to himself.
He'd already expected the absence of the tenth Shikigami. After all, no Ten Shadows Technique user in history had ever managed to tame it—
The Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga.
He hadn't expected that the middle-aged man could summon it either.
As for Kenjaku, whether or not he had the capability was irrelevant. Judging from how easily he discarded this body, it was clear he didn't place much value on the Ten Shadows.
But besides Mahoraga, one more Shikigami was missing—and that, Sōjun Minamoto could only attribute to the man's lack of effort.
Thinking back through the memories, he realized the one missing should be Tiger Funeral.
Knowing that didn't help. It left an itch in his mind—his perfectionism flaring up. Tiger Funeral could only be found in the Zenin Clan's hidden grounds, so there was nothing he could do about it for now.
Still, he vaguely remembered the ritual to summon Mahoraga... Why not give it a shot?
He extended his arms forward, fists facing each other, and chanted in a low voice, "With this treasure, I summon…"
He waited, but Mahoraga didn't appear.
Just as he thought—it failed.
Sōjun Minamoto lowered his arms. The ritual was incomplete—some key steps were missing. He hadn't found those details in the middle-aged man's memories.
He had no choice but to shelve it for now.
Still, his interest in this technique wasn't limited to Mahoraga. There was also the free combination between Shikigami—and the inheritance of Techniques and Strength after a Shikigami's destruction.
Each Ten Shadows Technique user had exactly ten Shikigami. Once one was completely destroyed, it disappeared—but its Technique and Strength would be passed on to another.
The inheritance wasn't additive—it multiplied exponentially.
He remembered how Black Divine Dog inherited the power of the destroyed White Divine Dog and became the Divine Dog: Totality. A Shikigami once relegated to minor roles had gained the strength to injure a Special Grade Curse.
If all nine were fused together...
Sōjun Minamoto felt a flicker of excitement.
The Shikigami, in their current state, could only serve basic functional roles for him. But Sōjun Minamoto was already well-rounded—individually, the scattered Shadow Shikigami lacked the power to be of real use. Merging their strength into one entity made far more sense.
He was considering using Mahoraga as the core, fusing it with the other nine Shikigami to see what might be born from that combination.
Interestingly enough, the goal Kenjaku had proposed earlier just so happened to align with the preliminary steps of his own plan. Merging Shikigami now would serve as early practice.
As for Mahoraga, he'd need to find a way to uncover the full ritual and subdue it properly...
But that could wait.
Sōjun Minamoto calmed his mind. There was another pressing issue he had to face now.
Acquiring the Ten Shadows Technique also meant inheriting a problem.
The Ten Shadows was a hereditary technique of the Zenin Clan—one of the Big Three—and one of the few rare, top-tier inheritances tied directly to succession of the clan head. The middle-aged man's status in the Zenin Clan spoke for itself.
That was why he had deliberately entered the Domain to verify the Shikigami.
Whether Kenjaku had handed him this body with ulterior motives or just to stir things up didn't matter anymore—it had already brought him trouble.
The middle-aged man's last known appearance was during the handover at the Tombs of the Star with Sōjun Minamoto. That much was publicly known.
Once his disappearance was noticed, the first ones to come knocking would be the Inspection Department and the Zenin Clan.
And because of the Binding Vow of "no mutual harm," he couldn't directly expose Kenjaku.
Things were bound to get messy.
When he had killed a high-ranking official before, they weren't part of the same echelon, and the other party had picked the fight. He was able to chalk it up to inexperience with a new technique.
But now that he was in the upper ranks, reckless action was no longer an option. He wasn't the kind to go on rampages or act like a maniacal jujutsu fanatic.
Besides, the responsibilities he held were significant. They involved all of Tokyo Jujutsu High, and now, with the Forbidden Vault under his control... The higher-ups weren't just idly watching from above.
If he made a move outside of protocol, they had measures in place to deal with him. And when that time came, the people around him would also be dragged down.
Sōjun Minamoto didn't want to see that happen. He didn't want his efforts so far to go to waste.
So, reckless wasn't an option.
He'd maintained good relationships with both students and teachers at Jujutsu High and had been pushing to elevate Masamichi Yaga. He hadn't done all that on a whim.
Some at the school were close to him, but to put it bluntly, he had his own goals. He wasn't aiming to harm anyone, but he did have an agenda.
He didn't believe that truly selfless relationships were the ideal.
In fact, he believed having motives was the norm.
With that in mind, he would aim for win-win outcomes whenever possible.
To be honest, he didn't really agree with the methods of either Suguru Geto or Kenjaku.
Too much effort for too little gain.
There was no future in going solo in the jujutsu world—one was busy setting up a cult, the other running around reviving ancient sorcerers and trying to win them over.
Both paths were exhausting and unstable. The former's followers were unreliable, and the latter's recruits had questionable loyalty.
Anyone who could be possessed meant they were powerful. But powerful sorcerers tended to be unruly. Would they really obey Kenjaku?
At best, they might reluctantly cooperate out of obligation for being brought back.
Sōjun Minamoto preferred to go for the root of the issue. Quietly taking over Jujutsu High and the core of the jujutsu world—and using that as a launching point to realize his vision.
During that process, he'd boost the strength of Jujutsu High. After all, the stronger the foundation, the better his position.
If the school flourished, so would his path. That was what he called a win-win.
So, the middle-aged man had to be dealt with.
Sōjun Minamoto considered his options.
And with the missing Shadow Shikigami, he had to go to the Zenin Clan's ancestral grounds to complete the set.
So... why not just replace the man?
The idea flashed through his mind.
Kenjaku, bound by the same constraints, couldn't harm him—meaning only Kenjaku knew the man's core had already been switched.
Even Tengen wouldn't know.
The middle-aged man held a notable position with plenty of room to maneuver. If Sōjun Minamoto took his place, gaining more influence at Jujutsu High would be the bare minimum. He could even aim to become the Zenin Clan's next head.
If he wanted it.
The Zenin Clan had lasted over a thousand years, representing "Strength" among the Three Great Families. It had plenty of valuable assets—secret techniques, New Shadow Style moves, and more.
Not to mention the ancient secrets buried in the deeper layers of jujutsu society—highly valuable intel.
Too many benefits to ignore.
Sōjun Minamoto was tempted. But after some thought, he also recognized the drawbacks.
After assimilating the middle-aged man, the influence of Kenjaku had left only fragments of the man's memory. To perfectly impersonate him, Sōjun Minamoto would have to reconstruct the man's personality, habits, and behavioral patterns.
The reality? He didn't even know the guy's name.
He needed to act fast—learn as much as possible before others caught on. Who were his friends? What was his personality like? Where did he live? What did he eat? Did he have a family? How was he connected to the Zenin Clan? Even down to phone passwords and speech quirks...
Only by understanding all that could he carry out the next steps.
There was one more issue—if he replaced the man, some of his own cursed technique abilities would be exposed to Kenjaku.
So... should he do it or not?
Sōjun Minamoto had to weigh the risks carefully before deciding if it was worth it.
Cooperating with Kenjaku didn't mean he stood against the sorcerers. Kenjaku was still bound by his own restrictions, so Minamoto's plan to take control of Jujutsu High wouldn't be disrupted.
He was already leaning toward Jujutsu High's side—pushing Yaga and Satoru Gojo forward, gaining control of the most powerful and violent organization in the jujutsu world, which also happened to be its central educational institution.
To achieve that, the real obstacles were the upper brass.
Kenjaku's goals might affect Jujutsu High, but they wouldn't directly oppose it. If anything, he could even use Kenjaku to remove some of those obstacles.
Sōjun Minamoto could collaborate across multiple fronts. Until the moment came to put his true plan into motion, he had no reason to clash with anyone. These kinds of partnerships could be surprisingly smooth.
After a brief consideration, he decided—it was worth a try.
The plan had changed.
He would take the place of the Zenin Clan's middle-aged man.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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