This is a somewhat important message. I will be skipping some of the following stuff: the groups trip to meet tengen, fights such as the Sendai showdown and Kashimo vs Hakari (and any other fights unchanged from cannon) outside of mentioning it and maybe a cut to check in every now and then, I'll also probably skip things like Gojo vs Sukuna.
Honestly, this fic turned into something a lot bigger and longer than I originally planned and while I'm fine with that, it does mean I want to "skip" some stuff. Nothing major or anything, just the unchanged stuff. I will list chapters of the OG manga covering stuff I skip at the start of chapters where necessary so you can go read those and get roughly the same experience.
Tbh, I kinda want to write other fics but I also want to finish this one. But I also don't want to slow down the upload schedule for this fic since I figure not everyone reading this will want to read any of my other fics. So I'm just speeding up some stuff and cutting out the parts where I'm just swapping between the jump app and the notes app just copying things down.
Of course, if you don't think this is the way to go, let me know and I'll try to include the boring stuff to make the story flow a bit better. To clarify, I'm not planning to end this fic any time soon. I don't see this story finishing in anything less than 30 more chapters. I'm just cutting out the boring stuff with no change to make the writing process less tedious. Thank you for coming to my ted talk.
Read Chapters 143, 144, 145, and 146
x-X-x
The messenger sent by the Zen'in's forward scouts quietly left the room with a stoic but slightly fearful expression. Behind the door he'd just closed sat three men, each old, annoyed, and undoubtedly angry.
"Okkotsu. Of course, why wouldn't he show up out of the blue and slaughter Katsugi's reinforcements? Our reinforcements!" One of them seethed in anger, drops of drivel flying from his mouth as he raged. His calmer counterpart sitting across from him cleared his throat. Putting his elbows on the table they all sat around, beams of sunlight streaking through the window to shine on him, he began to speak.
"It makes things more complicated but not impossible. We simply need to instill another with the position." He said, drawing the eye of the third man.
"Not likely. We already failed once, and our competition among the higher-ups will insist on even stricter requirements for any new members. Not only has the death of Katsugi weakened my position within the clan, but no other member is likely to pass the requirements. Besides perhaps Naobito but if we raise him, someone else will take over as head. I don't trust any of the would-be candidates." The higher up originally from the Zen'in clan spoke to his allies.
"Yes, taking someone from within the clan would be tough, but we don't necessarily need to pick from one of them. We could recruit someone from outside the clan." The second to speak said.
"Nonsense! Everyone powerful outside of the clan is untrustworthy or outright antagonistic and anyone trustworthy is too weak." The most angry of the group said.
"Yes, if we do nothing but ask, we will not get what we want. But if we were to blackmail them or leverage something else to gain their subordination, we could make a proper higher-up dog under our thumb." The other man said in response.
"You clearly have someone in mind. Care to share?" The Zen'in spoke from his left.
"Isamu inumaki. Powerful enough to pass any tests. Which wouldn't be many I suspect, given his inumaki status and his general character, I doubt the other higher-ups would be very disapproving." He shared. The man sitting across from him scoffed.
"He is too young, he's hardly qualified. Besides, he is TOO powerful. He would kill us all if we blackmailed him. He is also too much of a goody two shoes if my memory is correct, he would never agree."
"Any qualifications are irrelevant outside of his personal power. If we do this right, he will be our puppet voting for whatever we want. He doesn't need to be very good at the job to say yes or no to a vote. And I think you forget about my technique. With it and Inumaki's ties to the Zen'in clan in the form of that disgrace, taking a hostage would be challenging but far from impossible." The Zen'in listened to their conversation from the sidelines before nodding with agreement. It would be risky but the possible reward far outweighed the potential consequences.
"Yes, we will draw the disgrace in using her sister. From there, we will take her and claim jujutsu society for ourselves."
——
From outside the Zen'in clan estate sat a tall figure dressed in all white light samurai armor on a tree branch, his keen ears picking up the entire conversation between the higher ups. Small dots with the appearance of silver sand glimmering in the sun flouted around him as he smiled. He swept his white hair back as his black eyes scoured the clan grounds.
"Interesting. The plot thickens huh? Should I wait for the most amount of Zen'in's to appear?" After pausing his self-questioning for a brief moment, he chuckled. "Who am I kidding? No way I'm that patient. Plus, Sol and Mani would kill me if I took too long. Sorry Zen'in, guess you'll get a few less breaths in before you kick it!"
——
"No, I haven't come across any cursed energy-less individuals. Maki comes close but she still leaks a tiny bit." Isamu heard as he walked into Shoko's clinic. It was a somewhat familiar sight considering how many times he'd had to visit. It looked like a clinic, bigger than most but nothing you'd call a hospital.
Shoko stood with her back to the door, standing in front of the main "reception" desk. But in truth, it was more a place for Shoko to watch movies while still being close to lend a hand to any bursting through the door in need. Like when Gojo teleported in carrying Isamu littered with bite marks and piranha teeth.
Standing in front of her was her conversation partner. One Yuki Tsukumo. She wore a black, Chinese-styled sleeveless top with light blue jeans and basic shoes. Biker goggles clung to the top of her blond head of hair. A long white shikigami with a long, serpent-esque body and sections that were covered with bone-like columns swirled around her. This same material comprised the shikigami's head, which was complete with two eyes and a bird-like bill. It also possessed eight wings that levitated around its body.
Isamu squinted his eyes at the shinigami, interested in its cursed energy. The energy making up its form was unusually dense and tight. This cursed energy was also very similar to the energy surrounding Yuki. This wasn't unusual as Yuki no doubt created the creature. Except the similarities were even more extreme than normal. It was nearly an exact copy in terms of quality, even if the difference in quantity was vast. Yuki's eyes snapped to Isamu as soon as he stepped into the clinic.
"Hey! What's up?" Yuki called out, causing Shoko to turn without much surprise on her face. She was dressed in black jeans, a black shirt, and a white doctor's coat.
'I'm here for the sedative we discussed.' Isamu signed to Shoko, ignoring Yuki for the most part. Shoko gave a thumbs up, having taken an online class on hand signs after Isamu became a regular in her clinic.
Shoko reached over the desk and brought out a tablet-sized black case. She popped it open to reveal two syringes with a small bottle of a light purple liquid. Closing it up, she wordlessly passed it to Isamu who took it with a nod before turning and reaching towards the door knob.
"Wait!!" Yuki shouted, startling Isamu the slightest bit. He turned to find an annoyed-looking Yuki with her arms crossed. "I'm way too curious about you now. What's in the bottle? Why do you want it? Why are you not interested in such a beautiful woman as I?" Yuki rattled off.
Isamu shot a glance towards Shoko who just shrugged, pulled out a box of cigarettes, and walked off to have a smoke. Isamu wanted to sigh but kept it in as his headache intensified the slightest bit.
Isamu put the case down in the desk and reached for a loose paper and pen. He wound up with a torn open envelope and a basic blue pen. Getting to writing, he kept his answers brief.
'Sedative. I don't like killing strangers. I'm taken.'
Yuki laughed openly at his last few words before speaking. "The Zen'in huh? So that's your type. I can't hate on a loyal man, even if I'm the obvious choice. Anyway, one final question. How would you like to learn a thing or two from a special-grade sorcerer such as myself?"
Yuki said the last part with obvious pride and no small amount of arrogance. Surely no one would pass up on such an offer. To anyone who was anyone, even meeting a special grade was a privilege. But learning from one?! Surely no one would pass up on such an honor.
Isamu picked up the pen once more to write his rejection, only for the soft wriggling of Yuki's shikigami to catch his eye. He looked at it for a long moment to Yuki's satisfaction. He could use a shikigami. Another hand in battle would help a lot and having a special grade teach you how was a hard opportunity to pass up on.
But after a few seconds, Isamu shook his head. He couldn't stretch himself too thin. He wasn't Gojo. He couldn't just decide to learn something and master it within the same hour. Learning to create a useful shikigami would take a while. Time he could spend improving the abilities and techniques he's already learned. He'd rather have one powerful technique than many weak ones.
Writing a few words on the envelope, Isamu slapped the note on the desk and left.
'I'm good, thanks.'
Yuki scoffed. "Brat." She muttered under her breath before a lightbulb seemed to go off in her head. "I'll show you."
"Shoko!! What's that one girl's name?! The one with the orange bob!"
Isamu huffed in humor as he walked away from the clinic. With his goodbyes said and his preparations made, he was off to the Kagoshima colony.
——
Maki adjusted her new cursed glasses, these rounder and thinner than her old ones, as she reached into her locker located among a wall of similar silver lockers in the main hallway of Jujutsu High. It was empty at the moment. Nearly the entire school was empty. Any sorcerers were out battling the curses plaguing the country while any staff were home or in other safe houses.
She grabbed hold of Playful Cloud which Megumi had returned to her earlier in the week. She then grabbed a backpack full of supplies. Now probably equipped for her mission, he began to turn to leave but the sudden spinning motion made her dizzy. Her world spun and flipped around as she looked down at her hand.
Located between her thumb and index finger was a small needle, not even big enough to be used as a toothpick. She didn't get to look at it much before her vision was taken up entirely by the floor.
——
Two men rounded the corners of the hallway opposite of each other, both closing in on the downed woman.
"Seems the drug worked, even on her heavenly restriction enhanced body. Scum can even prove effective in the one thing she has." One of the men said, a cocky smile on his face as he leaned down to grab hold of Maki's arm and pull her up. His partner in crime stood further away, scanning the area for any enemies with his cursed technique.
Finding no one, he turned his eyes back to his partner. Only to find a standing woman and a prone and wriggling man. Sticking out of his throat was a small, not even 4-inch long blade that looked more designed for throwing than stabbing. He was clutching at his neck as the blood just kept rushing out, it seemed he'd been stabbed right in the jugular.
The woman tried to rush the only man left standing, only to trip over her own legs and fall flat on her face. It seemed the drug was still effective, even if her heavenly restriction-enhanced body slowed its activation.
Looking around in clear panic, the Zen'in clan kidnapper wondered what exactly he was gonna do with the body, and the girl.