Chapter 24: I'm Back
[Author Note]
1. Is anyone else in the Heavenly Restriction PR team, or is it only me?
2. Should I make a Discord?
3. Thoughts about Mai?
Technically, she damaged 20-Finger Sukuna since she is the soul split katana.
Maki carries the team, in my opinion, and ya'll know how I feel about Maki 💀.
__________
Naohiro
Now that I am back, it's time to greet the old man.
As I walk through the door, I get surprised looks from the guards. They are stunned to where I can bypass them without them even moving their mouth.
I make my way into the main section of the compound and see a ton of eyes on me.
Ignoring them, I make my way into the main hall, where I see an old geezer sitting down.
I smile and greet him. "Hey, old man! Miss me!?"
He turns to me and narrows his eyes before disappearing.
*WOOSH*
Tilting my head back, I give a giant smile as he goes flying over me. "Good to see you too!"
He stops his movement as he lands and glares at me. "Do you know how much trouble I went through to make sure you weren't labeled as a rouge cursed user!? Nothing for the past three years!"
I give him a nervous smirk. "I was a bit busy working on some things, but I'm here now! Where's Naoya? I haven't seen him here."
*WOOSH*
This time, I tilt my head forward and glance to the left to see a 'blur' go over my head. "Hey Naoya!"
Did they really have to aim for my head?
I don't see an amused Naoya, but one with a tick mark on his head. "'Hey Naoya,' that's all you have to say!?"
What I ended up noticing was two small girls rushing into the room, following Naoya.
Wait a minute..."And who might you girls be?"
The girl with the slightly greener hair hid behind the other one.
The black hair one spoke first with confidence. "I'm Mai, and this is Maki."
Ogi, you've outlived your usefulness. It looks like Naoya is caring for them, considering that they bothered to follow him here. I doubt they would be anywhere near him if he were bullying them.
If he were, I'd have to give him a lesson on how to treat women.
Naoya speaks up. "What are you doing here."
I sigh and then reply. "There were circumstances that prevented me from coming back, but I'll be here for the foreseeable future. I would've liked to return sooner, but I couldn't."
Naoya narrows his eyes. "That so?"
I turn to Naobito. "Hey, old man, is that offer to be the head of the Hei still on the table?"
Snapping back to his usual professional attitude, he speaks. "Naohiro, it's complicated. Jinichi was supposed to take the mantle, but Ogi ended up being the best choice until Naoya, or you could take over."
Ogi huh?
I speak up. "Do you think I can take over the mantle if I defeat Ogi?"
When I decided to come back here, my main plan was to let Naoya be the clan head since I didn't want to have that position while I created a new version of the Hei.
A Hei that isn't tainted would give me power in the clan and not force me into the clan head duties. Maki, Mai, Ranta, and Naoya would temporarily be my go-to for the Hei.
That is still down the future since Maki and Mai are three, Ranta is five, and Naoya is still a child, but having them as the main core would be ideal. For now, I'll become the head of the Hei.
Naobito starts to sweat a little. "Naohiro, that is one way to do it, but..."
To an outsider, it would sound like Naobito is worried for my safety, but I know what he really thinks. He is worried that I'm going to rip Ogi to shreds.
He is a high-ranking member but a poison that needs to be gone. Well, it's a poison for me and the denizens of the Zenin clan.
I give Naobito a neutral look. "I'm going to go find Ogi. Have that position ready for me by the time I get back."
I'm at the point where nobody in the clan can stop me anymore.
(A/N - "Hehe sound familiar?")
Turning around, I walk out of the main room and start heading towards the Hei section of the compound.
Opening the sliding door, I am met with an Ogi sitting cross-legged, drinking tea.
I smirk at him.
He opens up his empty eyes. "You've returned..."
I'm not here to dance around the subject. "Get up, and let's get to it. I still have to catch up with my brother and talk to an acquaintance...friend...rival?"
I don't know what I am to Gojo. A rival? Nah, that's cliche and boring, but that might be what we are.
Ogi narrows his eyes before getting up and heading out of the door before speaking. "How unfortunate. I was looking forward to speaking with you before you die."
I'm baffled at how dumb this guy is. I pulled off a black flash at eight, and he still thinks he can beat me with all my years of training.
While I would one-shot him like the fodder that he is, this is a great opportunity to test out my new techniques on a real opponent.
Ogi and I stand across from each other in the open area of the compound, giving each of us enough space to utilize our cursed techniques.
I grab a rock. "Once this hits the ground, we go. Sound good?"
Ogi grabs onto his sword and narrows his eyes even more somehow. Tossing the rock in the air, I smile as it lands on the ground.
*thud*
Here we go.
...
Grabbing his sword, it lights on fire before his body lights up, showcasing his usage of Falling Blossom Emotion and Blazing Courage.
Still, with an aloof attitude, I aim at him with my hand in a gun shape. [Cursed Technique Reversal: Snatch].
Ogi is surprised to find out that his blazing courage fizzled out.
The reversal of adaptation is rejection. If you gain adaptation or change, the reversal is losing adaptation to the change.
In other words, I can make people lose phenomena. The technique's time and efficiency depend on the target and the amount of cursed energy imbued in it, but its efficiency is perfect for people with an entire grade or more below me.
In this particular case, I'm a special grade, and Ogi is a grade one.
I smile as his eyes widen to unimaginable heights.
He then runs at me with his sword drawn. "You damn PUNK!"
I look him in the eyes as I speak. "Remember when you said it would be fantasy to get a domain before reaching eighteen? Well, I figured it out at twelve."
My smile turns wicked as I put my hands together. "[Domain Expansion: Cycle of Saṃsāra]."
The next thing Ogi knew, he was in the middle of an endless desert. The sun's heat can be felt on the ground and one's body.
Ogi looks around and drops his sword, stopping his assault while the Falling Blossom Emotion around him dissipates.
He has no intention of speaking, so I'll do the honors. "Well, Ogi, this is my domain expansion. While my domain doesn't have a lethal or damaging sure hit, it does have a cool little thing about it."
He falls on his hands and knees.
I continue. "My cursed technique works with adaptation. In my domain, all phenomena of others are seen as things that need to be purged...including the cursed energy of all who enter it. If I catch anyone within my domain before they can use an anti-domain technique, they are left without their cursed energy."
Ogi looks like he's trying to speak, but the words don't come out.
My smile widens even further. "In other words, if you get caught in my domain, you'll be unable to open your own domain expansion or turn on an anti-domain, leaving you helpless. Of course, I get stronger and all of my adapted phenomena, including my body reinforcement ones, but that's beside the point."
At this point, I doubt Ogi was even listening, so I do the honors and...
...
...
*Splat*
...
...
With that, I release my domain to see a crowd surrounding my barrier.
Usually, I wouldn't explain my technique like that, but he would die, and it was on my bucket list of things that I wanted to do.
With that, I'm now the leader of the Hei.