After leaving Junpei's house, Hayashi reflected on something—Junpei didn't only have his Shikigami during his fight with Itadori Yuji; he had that power even now, likely because Mahito had already transformed him.
Since Hayashi had saved Junpei's mother, if Mahito no longer targeted her, Junpei wouldn't continue down his dark path. Hayashi wanted Itadori Yuji to guide Junpei out of the darkness, teaching him to use his power properly, not for revenge.
Hayashi believed that Geto Suguru and Mahito weren't foolish. They wouldn't keep targeting Junpei's mother, knowing that he could sense their actions as he had tonight. In the future, it would be the same. As long as Geto and Mahito had any brains, they would change tactics rather than continue down this path.
However, no matter what strategy they used, Hayashi would be ready. The battle between enemies and allies had begun, and the future had already shifted. Who would emerge victorious would depend on each side's strength.
"Stop!"
Bang, bang!
As Hayashi walked, he suddenly heard someone shout at him from behind, followed by the sound of two gunshots.
The bullets sped toward Hayashi in an instant, but he didn't move. An invisible barrier blocked the bullets, and they soon fell harmlessly to the ground, losing their momentum.
Only then did Hayashi turn around to see two men in black suits, both wearing sunglasses, standing not far away.
The men, shocked that their bullets couldn't hit Hayashi, were momentarily speechless.
Hayashi's curse energy release could create a small barrier, a technique he'd used before during the Juvenile Detention Center incident. It could block bullets, but not the attacks of special-grade curse spirits, whose power far exceeded that of ordinary projectiles.
"Who sent you?" Hayashi asked, eyeing the two men. They were clearly human, and there didn't seem to be much curse energy emanating from them. At best, they were fourth-grade jujutsu sorcerers.
"Who would've thought you'd be this strong... Looks like sending us wasn't just for testing; it was a death sentence," one of the men said, his face grim. They should've done some more research before attacking, but now it was too late.
If their sneak attack failed, how could they hope to stop him with more bullets?
Guns were effective at killing ordinary people, but against jujutsu sorcerers, the difficulty multiplied exponentially. As for high-level jujutsu sorcerers, they could completely disregard standard bullets.
"There's no need to ask where you're from. Judging by your broken Japanese, you're probably from China, right? The only person I've ever crossed in China is Le Zhengwen. So, did he send you?" Hayashi deduced easily from their accents.
"We were sent by Liao Qiao, though we didn't expect you to be this strong..." One of the men holstered his gun, realizing they stood no chance against Hayashi.
"Liao Qiao? Not Le Zhengwen?" Hayashi was momentarily surprised. While he did have issues with Liao Qiao, it didn't seem like enough to warrant an assassination attempt. What a fool—sending such weaklings, and with guns, no less.
The fact that they confessed so easily was quite laughable.
Liao Qiao clearly didn't understand Hayashi's true strength, and Le Zhengwen hadn't informed him. Otherwise, these two wouldn't have been sent on a suicide mission.
It made sense—Le Zhengwen had seen some of Hayashi's abilities, so if he were to send someone, it would at least be a second-grade sorcerer, not these disposable pawns.
"I don't kill people. Go back and tell Liao Qiao I'll deal with him myself," Hayashi said, not intending to take their lives. This world still operated under the rule of law, and the principle of paying for one's crimes was universal. Killing cursed spirits was one thing, but humans were different.
As for whether they needed to face consequences for trying to kill him, that wasn't his concern. He wasn't about to stoop to their level.
However, Hayashi was irritated. Liao Qiao's lack of foresight made it clear that he wouldn't last long in the future.
"You're not going to kill us?" The two men exchanged glances, shocked at his mercy.
"Get lost!" Hayashi growled, his patience wearing thin.
"Yes, yes, thank you!" they stammered, grateful as they scurried off. It was a ridiculous scene—sent to capture Hayashi, they ended up fleeing instead. Liao Qiao had instructed them to incapacitate him and bring him back, but now they realized how foolish that plan had been.
Just as they were about to leave, a shadow suddenly descended from the sky. In an instant, the two men were torn in half, their blood, intestines, and bones scattering across the ground.
Hayashi's expression darkened as he felt an overwhelming presence. A figure slowly emerged from the shadows nearby—a person dressed in a red hemp robe, with a white cord tied around their waist, resembling Orochimaru's attire. However, this figure had a human-like face, with two sharp fangs protruding from their mouth, a red diamond-shaped mark on their forehead, and red-and-white eyeshadow around their eyes.
Seeing this strange creature, Hayashi immediately knew it wasn't human. But who or what it was, he couldn't tell.
"Hand over the item," the red-robed man said calmly, still dripping with the blood of the two men he had just killed.
"What item?" Hayashi frowned. What could this person possibly want from him?
"Don't play dumb. The red gourd you took from Hokkaido—I need it. Hand it over," the red-robed figure spoke without making any aggressive moves, knowing full well that it couldn't defeat Hayashi.
"How do you know about that?" Hayashi was genuinely shocked. No one knew he had taken that red gourd—not even his allies Kong Yue and Zhang Yiyi. How could this person know?
"It's simple. The item you took belongs to my master, so I've come to retrieve it," the red-robed man explained, realizing that Hayashi wouldn't hand it over easily. "I'm willing to trade an equivalent-grade cursed object for it."
"Your master's?" Hayashi felt like he was getting pulled into a deeper mystery. Recently, there had been an unusual number of special-grade curses appearing—far too many to be normal.
Was the era of rampant curses about to begin?
Had his own actions caused a butterfly effect more significant than he realized?
"Yes, my master's. I have a cursed object of equal grade that I can offer in exchange," the red-robed man continued, his expression emotionless, as if unaffected by anything.
"How do I know you won't come after me once you have it? And who exactly are you? Where are you from?" Hayashi needed answers. He didn't want to make enemies of every curse spirit out there—fewer enemies now meant fewer problems later. Once he fully grew into his powers, none of this would matter, but for now, it was best to avoid unnecessary conflict.
"You ask too many questions. Fine, I'll give you a simple answer. We have no reason to target you. We're the same kind, after all. Though my master is a curse, they are not a mindless killer. You wouldn't understand even if I explained everything. Just know this—we won't come after you. But you should start worrying about your future. You're going to face a lot of trouble soon," the red-robed man said, still withholding information about where they came from or who they truly were.