Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Snow Falls! The Most Beautiful Zanpakutō
"Young Master Satoshi! Even if you can forge a Cursed Tool, do you really think your Sode no Shirayuki is stronger than my Cicada's Cry?"
"The world of Cursed Tools is far deeper than you think, Young Master Satoshi!"
Feeling the energy emanating from Sode no Shirayuki, Shunichi couldn't identify what it was, but he instinctively categorized it as Cursed Energy.
Even so, he remained confident.
He believed that Satoshi wouldn't be able to withstand the interference of Cicada's Cry for long.
After all, Satoshi was just a six-year-old child. His mental fortitude couldn't possibly endure against Cicada's Cry.
"Is that so?" Satoshi raised an eyebrow. "As a Cursed Tool master, don't you think I understand this business better than you do?"
With a casual motion, Satoshi raised Sode no Shirayuki and pressed the flat of the blade against his own skin.
The biting chill instantly dispelled the haze clouding his mind.
The relentless, invasive sound of cicadas—silenced.
"Cicada's Cry is indeed powerful," Satoshi said calmly. "But I'm sorry… Sode no Shirayuki is stronger."
Then, he chanted:
"First Dance: White Moon!"
With a graceful sweep of his sword, Satoshi traced a circle on the ground with the tip of Sode no Shirayuki.
In the next moment, an icy chill spread outward from the mark.
"This is—!"
Satoru, hyper-aware of even the slightest fluctuations in Cursed Energy, felt his expression shift.
He could tell immediately, this wasn't Cursed Energy.
But its flow… was exactly the same.
Moreover, this technique, First Dance: White Moon, felt eerily similar to a Cursed Technique.
Satoshi… if you can't use Jujutsu, then… are you forging Cursed Tools capable of producing their own Cursed Energy and techniques?
That was the only explanation Satoru could think of.
Meanwhile, inside the forge, both Shunichi and Takuya were utterly stunned.
Within the circle of frost, the temperature plummeted at an alarming rate.
The biting cold spread through their bodies, chilling them to the core.
It felt as if, at any moment, their very blood might freeze solid.
Is this truly a Cursed Tool… wielded by someone without any Cursed Energy?
For the first time, Shunichi felt something he hadn't before—fear.
If someone without Cursed Energy could use Cursed Tools to unleash techniques like this, then wouldn't that mean…?
The gap between sorcerers and ordinary people would shrink.
Dramatically.
Is Satoshi really this terrifying?
A single person… forging such a weapon… could he be on the verge of reshaping the entire Jujutsu world?
In Shunichi's grip, Cicada's Cry began to tremble.
Cicadas only sing in the warmth of summer.
Before the overwhelming force of winter, the song of cicadas could only fall into silence.
"Watch out!"
At that moment, both Satoru and the elder outside the forge reacted instantly, using Limitless to shield Shunichi and Takuya.
A split second later, an enormous avalanche of snow erupted from the icy formation on the ground, surging upward and blowing the entire roof off the forge.
The once-blazing furnace was instantly frozen solid.
At that moment—
The entire Gojo estate was shaken.
All across the clan grounds, sorcerers turned their heads toward the source of the disturbance, their expressions shifting in shock.
The sight of a towering snowfall rising within the Gojo compound sent waves of unease through them.
"What's happening?! Why would such a massive technique be released inside the estate?"
"Is someone attacking the Gojo family?"
Without hesitation, a group of sorcerers dropped what they were doing and rushed toward the forge.
Within the Gojo Clan, there was only one person worthy of being targeted by an assassination—Gojo Satoru, wielder of the Six Eyes.
And they would never allow the future of the clan to be harmed.
Every sorcerer moved swiftly, guided by that unshakable conviction.
---
Meanwhile, inside the now-exposed forge, Satoshi gripped Sode no Shirayuki and gazed at the icy devastation he had created.
In that moment, he understood.
He had finally gained a trump card.
For six years, he had been powerless.
But now?
So what if I don't have Cursed Energy?
So what if I can't use a Cursed Technique?
I have a Zanpakutō.
Right now, it was Sode no Shirayuki.
But in the future, he would forge Katen Kyōkotsu, Sōgyo no Kotowari, Kyōka Suigetsu, Ryūjin Jakka…
One by one, he would create them all.
And then—
He would wield the power of multiple Zanpakutō at the same time.
In this world, each Zanpakutō is equivalent to a sorcerer.
You think I'm worthless just because I lack Jujutsu?
Fine. I don't need the Gojo Clan's protection. Because soon, I'll build an army of my own.
Satoshi chuckled softly, raising Sode no Shirayuki before him.
"As expected… you are the most beautiful Zanpakutō."
"In this world, there is no Kuchiki Rukia to be your master. From now on, you will follow me into battle."
His reflection in the pristine, icy blade revealed a young boy with snow-white hair and burning determination in his eyes.
I won't be a bystander anymore.
Ryomen Sukuna.
One day, I will see for myself the power that split the Gojo clan in half.
---
Within the protective veil of Limitless, Shunichi and Takuya remained silent, their gazes fixed on Satoshi.
At that moment, Shunichi fully accepted the truth.
He had lost.
Completely.
The Sode no Shirayuki in Satoshi's hands was leagues beyond Cicada's Cry.
This wasn't just a powerful Cursed Tool.
It was something entirely outside his imagination.
"Young Master! Young Master Satoru! Are you alright?"
More sorcerers had arrived, their eyes filled with urgency.
Seeing Satoru still maintaining Limitless, they immediately went on high alert, scanning the area for an enemy presence.
But they found nothing.
No assassins.
No traces of an intruder.
Only—
Satoshi, standing calmly in the middle of the forge, holding a pure white katana.
The newly arrived sorcerers looked at each other in confusion.
"Wasn't there supposed to be an attack?"
As even more sorcerers gathered, the elder's eyes flickered with contemplation before he finally spoke:
"Takuya encountered an issue while forging a Cursed Tool. That's all. There's nothing to worry about, go back to your duties."
"Do not let anyone else approach. The forge has been… unstable. It could be dangerous for those unfamiliar with the situation."
His voice was steady and authoritative. But to those who knew better.
It was an excuse.
Everyone could tell.
If this was truly about forging a Cursed Tool, then why is Young Master Satoshi the one standing unharmed, while Master Takuya had to be protected by Satoru?
Did something happen… to Young Master Satoshi?
Could it be… that the 'useless twin' isn't actually useless at all?
The thought crossed their minds, but they quickly forced it aside.
Within the Gojo Clan, the words of the Head and Deputy Head were absolute.
If the elder had decided that this matter was not to be spoken of.
Then they would take this secret to their graves.
Under his command, the gathered sorcerers swiftly dispersed.
And soon, within a few hundred meters of the forge.
Only Satoshi and the others remained.