Chapter 96: Is Shengzai from the Zenin Clan?

After sending Senior Sasaki and Senior Iguchi to a safe place, Fushiguro Megumi and Itadori Yuji quickly rushed to the school rooftop, where the cursed energy was most concentrated and intense movements were occurring.

Upon arriving at the rooftop, the two were stunned to see that the entire school, and even the area for several kilometers around it, seemed to have all its curses concentrated right here.

It wasn't just Itadori, who had never seen such a scene, but even Fushiguro, a Grade 2 jujutsu sorcerer, was dumbfounded looking at the countless curses of varying grades covering the rooftop.

Judging by the cursed energy, while no Special Grade curse had appeared yet, the sheer number of curses here was far beyond what a Grade 2 sorcerer like him could handle.

Aside from the massive number of curses, Itadori and Fushiguro also saw the only human present, Shengzai, who was surrounded by a dense ring of cursed spirits.

"We'll work together to tear open a gap and save him. Usually, jujutsu sorcerers who specialize in using shikigami have relatively weak other abilities.

His shikigami went to protect your seniors, so his other shikigami must have been destroyed by the siege of curses.

There's no time left. If we don't act now, he might really be finished off by these curses!"

Fushiguro issued instructions to Itadori while summoning his two Divine Dogs and Nue, preparing to force a breach through the swarm of curses to rescue Shengzai.

Itadori wanted to argue that Shengzai's physical abilities were not weak, but before he could speak, he was cut off by Fushiguro again.

"My Divine Dogs and Nue will coordinate with you to save him, and then you must buy me some time. I need to reseal Sukuna's finger.

Otherwise, with this many curses here, none of us are getting out of here alive."

Before sending the seniors out of the school, they had learned that Sukuna's finger was currently in Shengzai's possession.

Therefore, before rushing here, Fushiguro had specifically gone to the classroom where they had been, retrieving the discarded sealing talismans.

The number of curses drawn by Sukuna's finger was simply too high; exorcising them all was unrealistic.

The best solution was to reseal the finger, which would cause the gathered curses to disperse naturally.

But just as Fushiguro prepared to act, an action by Shengzai, who was trapped in the encirclement, left him completely stunned.

In Fushiguro's view, Shengzai could summon a shikigami as powerful as "Wei Hu Hu," so his strength should be at least Grade 2, and he should have corresponding combat experience.

Now, trapped in an encirclement, the optimal strategy was to focus entirely on defense and wait for their rescue.

Yet, to Fushiguro's shock, upon seeing them, Shengzai didn't choose to play it safe—he chose to launch an active offensive!

Even if he wanted to coordinate a breakout, he should have charged toward their position, not in the opposite direction. What was he thinking?

"Aunt Wenren Style Martial Arts—Air Echo!"

As Shengzai threw a straight punch, a crisp sonic boom erupted from his position.

The immense pressure of the punch seemed to instantly compress the air, forming an invisible sonic pillar directly in front of him, shattering several curses in its path into fragments.

Because Shengzai had been surrounded, as he blasted the curses directly in front of him, the curses behind and to his sides seized the opening to pounce on him.

"Shikigami Summoning: Azure Dragon—Kang Jinlong!"

"Whoosh——————!"

Following Shengzai's clear, resonant voice echoing through the air, a heavy wind barrier suddenly rose from the ground beneath his feet.

The curses that had lunged at him were either sliced into pieces by the sharp currents upon impact, if they were weak, or repelled by the wind field surrounding Shengzai if they were stronger.

"Roar——————!"

Just as the wind field surrounding Shengzai grew stronger, eventually enveloping his figure completely, a resonant dragon's roar suddenly erupted from within the gale.

Dragon claws tore through the wind, and a graceful, streamlined form soared into the sky. When Itadori and Fushiguro saw Shengzai standing atop the ferocious dragon head, looking down at the numerous curses below, both of them were dumbfounded.

"Uh... Fushiguro, do we still need to proceed with your original plan?

I have a feeling that even if we don't intervene, Shengzai is going to be just fine."

Hearing Itadori's unhelpful comment, Fushiguro felt awkward. As a genius rated as a Grade 2 sorcerer upon entering Tokyo Jujutsu High, he couldn't remember how many times he'd been slapped in the face today.

First, he said only professionals could handle curses, yet Shengzai turned out to be a skilled sorcerer.

Then, he said shikigami users were physically weak, yet Shengzai had just blasted curses apart with a vacuum punch.

"Is your friend... surnamed Zenin?"

Watching Shengzai soar higher and higher while riding the dragon-type shikigami, Fushiguro asked his companion.

The "Big Three" families of the jujutsu world—the Gojo, Zenin, and Kamo clans—held illustrious status.

The Gojo clan was known for the "Limitless" technique, though it had largely declined. The Kamo clan specialized in manufacturing and using various cursed tools.

As for the Zenin clan, they were known for summoning shikigami for combat, and they also produced many experts in hand-to-hand combat.

At least to Fushiguro's knowledge, Senior Maki from Tokyo Jujutsu High and the current head, Zenin Naobito, were examples.

He hadn't seen Shengzai's shikigami or fighting style before, but given the similarity in combat style, it wasn't strange for him to suspect Shengzai was from the Zenin clan.

"Zenin? No, no, Shengzai's surname is Aunt Wenren. And just like me, he doesn't even know who his parents are; he grew up in an orphanage."

Hearing about Shengzai's background, Fushiguro fell silent. Although he used the Zenin clan's "Ten Shadows Technique," he didn't carry the Zenin name, but rather Fushiguro...

Shengzai grew up in an orphanage; perhaps he had a similar experience to his own?

Of course, investigating Shengzai's background was meaningless now, because under the gaze of Itadori and Fushiguro, Shengzai had already ridden Kang Jinlong a hundred meters into the sky!

(End of chapter)

Of course, there is no meaning to examine Shengzai's background now, because under the gaze of Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro, Shengzai has already ridden Kang Jinlong and flew to the sky a hundred meters high!

(End of chapter)