"This time, the target of the purifiission is in Hokkaido. The two of us will work together to carry it out."

  "The association is paying close attention to the sudden surge of cursed spirits in Hokkaido. There have been frequehquakes tely, and the number of cursed spirits has increased drastically."

  "Our target is a Grade 1 cursed spirit. We o get there as soon as possible."

  Yagyū Hidetsugu g the kendo master beside him with a helpless expression.

  Although he was a Grade 1 sorcerer of the Yagyū , in a family deeply rooted in kendo tradition, swordsmanship still held the highest authority.

  As a sorcerer, he had little fiden evaluating a future kendo master. If not for the 's orders, he would have refused this task entirely.

  And nht after the Yagyū 's kendo master had just lost a challehey were assigning Shunichi this mission? It was obvious—they were deliberately targeting him.

  They even chose Hokkaido, far from Tokyo, as the mission site. Ah a dising eye could see that the true i was to remove Shunichi from the Gojo family.

  Yagyū Hidetsugu sighed. Even within a smaller family like the Yagyū, political schemes were everywhere.

  In a leading like the Gojo family, internal strife was undoubtedly even more intense.

  As someone born into the Yagyū family, who had beed from it, he had no choice but to follow orders.

  "Hidetsugu, I uand. You don't o say anything more. I'll have my men duct this evaluation properly. Let's get this over with as soon as possible."

  Shunichi's expression was cold. His only priority was finishing the assessment quickly so he could return to the Gojo family and support Satoshi.

  Even though Satoshi had already shared his thoughts with him, Shunichi couldn't just sit by and watch as Kumaen abused his power.

  If he could plete this mission aurn to the Gojo family sooner, he would be able to assist Satoshi wheime came.

  Hearing Shunichi's words, Yagyū Hidetsugu simply nodded ahe way toward the cursed spirit's location.

  Internally, however, he couldn't help but grumble.

  Master Shunichi, I'm n to stall. My mission is to make sure you don't return so quickly.

  With that thought, Yagyū Hidetsugu deliberately led Shunichi on a winding route toward the i site.

  Shunichi, naturally, was frustrated by Yagyū Hidetsugu's roundabout path, but he couldn't pin ht. After all, Hidetsugu was using the excuse of trag the cursed spirit's movements.

  And, admittedly, they had passed several areas where cursed spirits had left traces.

  In trast to Shunichi's impatience, Satoshi was quite fortable. He was currently enjoying the sery of Hokkaidh his Zanpakutō, Suzumushi.

  He didn't o be physically present. Everything Suzumushi saw, he saw as well.

  Satoshi wasn't in a rush for Shunichi to exorcise the cursed spirit. He figured he might as well enjoy the snowy ndscapes for a bit longer.

  Eventually, Yagyū Hidetsugu and Shunichi arrived at a secluded vil in a snowy valley.

  The cursed spirit was clearly hiding inside.

  Hidetsugu wasn't too ed. As a Grade 1 sorcerer, unless it ecial Grade cursed spirit, there was little that could pose a real threat to him.

  Though the main objective of this mission was to dey Gojo Shunichi, the evaluation itself wouldn't ge.

  Thus, he decided to wait and observe. He po let Shunichi hahe exorcism alone first. If things got dangerous, he would step in.

  The Gojo family had always cimed that Gojo Shunichi had the strength of a Grade 1 sorcerer. If that were true, a Grade 1 cursed spirit shouldn't be an issue for him.

  Shunichi had no objes.

  He wao test his own strength anyway, and with Suzumushi at his side, he was fident he could handle himself.

  However, when Satoshi saw the vil through Suzumushi's vision, his expression shifted.

  Through his Six Eyes, he could see an incredibly dense tration of cursed energy emanating from the building—even from thousands of miles away.

  He heard the versatioween Shunichi and Hidetsugu, but he didn't agree with Hidetsugu's judgment.

  Satoshi had never entered many cursed spirits before, but whatever was lurking ihat vil… it wasn't normal.

  Somethi off.

  For a moment, Satoshi didn't know whether to be amused or ed about Shunichi's luck.

  At this point, Shunichi's only hope of survival y in Suzumushi.

  If he could just unlock his Shikai…

  Uncle Shunichi, everything depends on how strong your bond with Suzumushi is.

  Satoshi silently tio observe the mission unfold through Suzumushi's vision.

  …

  Half an hour ter.

  Shunichi and Hidetsugu were running for their lives ihe vil.

  The two Grade 1 sorcerers looked absolutely miserable.

  "Hidetsugu, you call this a Grade 1 cursed spirit?!"

  As he dodged an ining attack, Shunichi couldn't help but curse in his heart.

  The monstrous, snow-covered behemoth chasing them was definitely not a Grade 1 cursed spirit.

  Its sheer power left them with no opportunity to terattack.

  If not for the sharpness and durability of Suzumushi, Hidetsugu would have already been crippled.

  In Hokkaido, people both love ahe snow.

  This cursed spirit had likely been born from humanity's fear of avanches.

  Spirits formed from natural disasters like avanches, voloes, or tsunamis were almost always Special Grade from the moment of their birth.

  And their growth potential was terrifyingly high.

  Either way, this was far beyond what two Grade 1 sorcerers could handle.

  Yagyū Hidetsugu, his face pale, shook his head.

  "The association's intel was pletely wrong this time. Master Shunichi, thank you for saving me earlier… but this time, we're both in serious trouble."

  He was just here to oversee an assessment, how did he end up entering a monster like this?

  Cursed spirits born from natural disasters were some of the most powerful among Special Grades.

  If it were just an ordinary Special Grade cursed spirit, he and Gojo Shunichi might have been able to pull off a desperate, hard-fought victory.

  But this?

  This was a force of nature.

  A cursed spirit formed from an avanche? If it survives long enough, it could bee as powerful as Ryoumen Sukuna or Kenjaku.

  Right now, this was a no-win sario.

  They had been ambushed, caught off guard. Hidetsugu was already iheir odds of survival were abysmal.

  In this situation, could Shunichi awaken his Shikai?

  Satoshi pondered for a moment.

  Should he step in?

  Letting a kendo master like Shunichi die here seemed like a waste.

  Especially since he had learned so much from him.

  More importantly, he hadracted any of Shunichi's skills yet.