"This time, the target of the purification mission 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 frequent earthquakes tely, and the number of cursed spirits has increased drastically."

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

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

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

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

  And now, right after the Yagyū cn's kendo master had just lost a challenge, they were assigning Shunichi this mission? It was obvious—they were deliberately targeting him.

  They even chose Hokkaido, far from Tokyo, as the mission site. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the true intent 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 cn like the Gojo family, internal strife was undoubtedly even more intense.

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

  "Hidetsugu, I understand. You don't need to say anything more. I'll have my men conduct 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 complete this mission and return to the Gojo family sooner, he would be able to assist Satoshi when the time came.

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

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

  Master Shunichi, I'm not trying 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 incident site.

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

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

  In contrast to Shunichi's impatience, Satoshi was quite comfortable. He was currently enjoying the scenery of Hokkaido through his Zanpakutō, Suzumushi.

  He didn't need to 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 concerned. As a Grade 1 sorcerer, unless it was a Special 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 change.

  Thus, he decided to wait and observe. He pnned to let Shunichi handle the 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 objections.

  He wanted to test his own strength anyway, and with Suzumushi at his side, he was confident 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 concentration of cursed energy emanating from the building—even from thousands of miles away.

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

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

  Something felt off.

  For a moment, Satoshi didn't know whether to be amused or concerned 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 continued to observe the mission unfold through Suzumushi's vision.

  …

  Half an hour ter.

  Shunichi and Hidetsugu were running for their lives inside the vil.

  The two Grade 1 sorcerers looked absolutely miserable.

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

  As he dodged an incoming 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 counterattack.

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

  In Hokkaido, people both love and fear the snow.

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

  Spirits formed from natural disasters like avanches, volcanoes, 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 completely 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 encountering 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 become as powerful as Ryoumen Sukuna or Kenjaku.

  Right now, this was a no-win scenario.

  They had been ambushed, caught off guard. Hidetsugu was already injured. Their 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 hadn't extracted any of Shunichi's skills yet.