A decade and more had bled into the annals of history since that day.
On the surface, the jujutsu world of Heian-kyo maintained a veneer of absolute tranquility, yet beneath the crystalline waters, a bloody undertow of power and survival churned in a never-ending cycle of treachery.
Sugawara no Utsugi, now sixteen years of age, had been forged into the clan’s most exquisite and lethally honed blade.
No longer was his name preceded by the derogatory brand of 'branch-family scrap.' He was the youth who beheld the world’s Cursed Energy at an atomic level through the Six Eyes—a sorcerer who possessed an inexhaustible vessel thanks to the mastery of the Reverse Cursed Technique.
Even the glaring deficiency of having no innate Cursed Technique held no weight. In the face of his peerless Taijutsu and the 'Falling Blossom Emotion,' his Cursed Energy consumption spiraled toward a true zero, rendering his efficiency absolute.
Assassinations, the subjugation of Cursed Spirits, the dismantling of barriers—Utsugi executed every mandate issued by the clan with mechanical perfection.
Yet, behind this overwhelming martial prowess lay a profound, indescribable fatigue and a soul-crushing solitude.
"……."
In the gloom of the Sugawara main estate’s corridors, Utsugi walked.
A thick cloth was bound tightly around his eyes, yet his stride remained unwavering, devoid of even a sliver of hesitation.
To him, the world was a cacophonous crucible of blinding colors and deafening noise.
Emotions such as jealousy, dread, and avarice surged from the masses like a putrid miasma, manifesting as fluctuations in Cursed Energy. The Six Eyes allowed him no respite, forcing him to witness every shard of that hideous essence without exception.
"You summoned me?"
Utsugi halted his advance, speaking with a dry, hollow tone toward the sliding shoji doors.
Permission was granted from within, accompanied by the sound of a heavy, raspy cough. As he slid the door open and stepped inside, he found the three supreme elders of the Sugawara clan seated upon the dais, peering down at him with wizened gazes.
Observing the turbid, viscous ripples of Cursed Energy radiating from their withered frames, Utsugi’s brow twitched imperceptibly beneath his blindfold. It was the revolting stench unique to the elderly—men whose very souls had been rotted by centuries of conspiracy and political machination.
"Utsugi. A mission of gravest importance is to be bestowed upon you."
The elder at the center spoke, stroking his beard with a somber gravity.
"Surely you are aware that this year marks the celestial alignment—the day Master Tengen must merge with the Star Plasma Vessel."
"I am aware," Utsugi replied curtly.
Tengen: the immortal sorcerer who served as the cornerstone of the Japanese jujutsu world, the one whose power maintained the very barriers of the land. However, though Tengen possessed immortality, they were not eternal. Every few centuries, their body required a 'reset' by merging with a compatible human known as the Star Plasma Vessel.
Should this synchronization fail, the barriers across Japan would shatter, and Cursed Spirits would swarm the land like a locust plague. It was a ritual upon which the very destiny of their world balanced.
"The primary Star Plasma Vessel, a mere girl, currently resides within the Inner Palace, guarded by Tengen's personal retinue and the ironclad defense of the Bureau of Onmyo."
The elder’s eyes narrowed into slits.
"However, we have uncovered that the cunning Fujiwara rats have hidden another compatible host—a 'spare'—within their secret mountain villa, under the guise of preparing for an emergency."
'A spare.'
Utsugi mentally recoiled at the term. It was the sickening lexicon of the jujutsu world—treating human beings as mere components for a larger machine.
"They claim it is a contingency for Master Tengen’s sake, but their true intent is transparent. Should the primary vessel be assassinated or compromised, the Fujiwara will present their own 'spare' to facilitate the merger, thereby securing an absolute monopoly over the Imperial Court’s power."
The elder gestured with his folding fan toward Utsugi.
"We have coerced the Bureau into assigning the 'spare' to our custody. Utsugi, you are to depart for that secret Fujiwara villa and guard the vessel. Ostensibly, you are there to protect her from external assassins; in truth, you are to monitor the Fujiwara and ensure they do not attempt any trickery with the girl. If necessary, seize her as the Sugawara’s pawn."
"Guard duty against assassins; surveillance and containment against the Fujiwara."
Utsugi recited the mission parameters in a voice stripped of all emotion.
"I shall execute your command."
"Bear this in mind: that girl is no human. She is merely a 'casket' meant to sustain Master Tengen. Do not allow personal sentiment to cloud your judgment and jeopardize the mission."
Before the elder could finish his condescending lecture, Utsugi had already turned to depart.
'Personal sentiment.' A thin, mocking sneer ghosted across Utsugi's lips.
Ever since the age of five, any feelings toward others had long since been incinerated in the refuse bin of information he called a brain. To him, the subject of protection was merely an 'object' to be secured. Whether she was a Star Plasma Vessel or a Fujiwara political tool, it held no meaning to him.
•
On the outskirts of Heian-kyo, halfway up a desolate mountain peak far from human footfalls.
Utsugi cut through a dense bamboo thicket as he approached the hidden Fujiwara villa.
'A triple-layered barrier...'
Through his blindfold, the Six Eyes captured the distortions in the surrounding space with startling clarity.
Cognitive inhibition, Cursed Energy concealment, and an aggressive ward designed to incinerate intruders. A standard sorcerer might have spent days merely locating the entrance, but to the Six Eyes, it was nothing more than a crudely woven game of cat's cradle. With a flick of his fingers, Utsugi severed the threads of Cursed Energy and slipped into the innermost sanctum without meeting the slightest resistance.
As he breached the final layer, a sprawling, opulent mansion and a tranquil garden revealed themselves as if conjured by an illusion.
It was a scene of such peace and beauty that it felt surreal compared to the grim austerity of the outer defenses. At the heart of the garden stood a colossal, ancient cherry tree, its branches laden with buds preparing to defy the late winter chill and herald the coming spring.
And beneath that tree stood a girl.
"……."
For the first time in his existence, Utsugi's foot halted mid-air as he moved to step onto the garden grass.
His breath skipped a fractional beat.
The girl wore a simple white kosode and a scarlet hakama.
Her face was young and unadorned, lacking the extravagant jewelry or makeup of a noblewoman. Her long, ink-black hair billowed softly in the mountain breeze. She appeared to be of an age with Utsugi, perhaps a year or two younger.
However, it was not the girl’s ethereal beauty that caused Utsugi to freeze.
It was her Cursed Energy as seen through his Six Eyes.
Every shred of Cursed Energy Utsugi had witnessed until now had been hideously turbulent. Greed clung like viscous sludge, fear pricked like needles, and wrath boiled with a scorching heat. Even the vitality radiating from weeds or insects was processed by his eyes as agonizing noise that battered his brain.
Yet, the energy rising from this girl was different.
It was profoundly silent. Like a pristine lake hidden in the deepest mountains where not a single breath of wind stirred, it possessed a color that was perfectly clear and transparent, devoid of any impurities or emotional filth.
The moment he gazed upon her through his blindfold, the horrific migraine and information overload that had torn at his mind every second for over a decade simply... ceased. For a fleeting instant, the world went silent.
It was an uncanny sensation of liberation, as if one had been standing in the center of a roaring construction site only to suddenly step into a soundproof chamber of perfect silence. That Cursed Energy, blindingly clear and transparent—it was 'purity' itself.
"Oh?"
Sensing Utsugi's presence, the girl turned her head toward him.
Despite discovering an intruder, there was no trace of terror or suspicion in her clear, crystalline eyes. Instead, she looked at him with pupils wide in wonder, much like a child discovering a curious bird that had flown into their garden.
"To pass through the Fujiwara barriers without a sound... are you the gentleman sent by the Sugawara Clan?"
The girl asked as she drifted toward him from beneath the cherry tree. Her voice was as pure as the chime of silver bells.
Utsugi instinctively took a half-step back.
The arrogant youth who looked down upon all the laws of the universe was, for once, overwhelmed and unnerved by the clear aura of a single girl. He quickly hardened his expression and forced his voice back into its usual frigid, detached tone.
"Sugawara no Utsugi. As of this day, I have been tasked with your protection—and your surveillance."
Utsugi emphasized the word surveillance.
"Utsugi... 'Empty Tree.' What a rather melancholy name."
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