Elder Hinamaki was a man who perfectly embodied his status as a higher up. He was traditional, rigid and uncompromising. His once jet-black hair had long since turned snow-white, a shift that started at the roots to the tips. Normally, it would have been slicked back in an effort to appear composed and in control, but today it was a disheveled mess, a mop of unruly strands framing a face deeply creased with the passage of time. His expression, a mix of worry and confusion, made the laugh lines around his mouth appear almost ironic in the current moment.
One of the suited men standing beside him turned to inspect the wreckage of the first car, his movements worried and lacking the smoothness of a professional. From his vantage point, Toge couldn't hear their conversation, nor could he make out more than fragmented gestures. The suited man said something to Hikanami, and whatever it was, it struck a nerve. The elder's brown eyes began to dart nervously, scanning the alleyways that stretched like arteries from their position. He was searching for something or someone.
Toge glanced to his side, stealing a quick look at Toji. The older man crouched beside him, silent and radiating a quiet, almost predatory intensity. Flinty eyes and a Cheshire smile highlighted by his scar. Toji's total attention was locked on him, sharp and unwavering, like a cat sizing up its prey. There was no mistaking the message. Toji wanted to see what Toge could do.
The distance between them and the crash site wasn't far, but it wasn't trivial either. Toge stepped back, carefully calculating his next move. He inhaled sharply, then sprinted forward and leapt across the gap to the next building. The three-meter jump was unforgiving, and his hands barely caught the edge. His grip faltered for a moment, his fingers scraping against the rough concrete. His legs scrambled for purchase, shoes slipping against the smooth wall until he found a jagged, irregular rock jutting out just enough to give him leverage. Gritting his teeth, he hauled himself up onto the rooftop.
Toji was already there, leaning lazily against an air conditioning unit with an expression that could only be described as boredom. The ease with which the man moved was infuriating, as though the effort Toge had just expended was beneath him.
Toge clenched his jaw, forcing himself not to react as he broke into another sprint. The next jump carried him closer to the trio below, the gap narrowing with every building he crossed. He moved without the aid of cursed energy, relying purely on physical effort. It wasn't just to conserve his energy. It was to keep his presence masked. Any use of cursed energy could tip them off, and so far, it was too early to show his hand, not while outnumbered.
Two rooftops away, Toji appeared beside him again. Toge didn't bother wondering how the man moved so effortlessly. Toji's presence alone was a reminder of how far he still had to go. The older man's voice broke through the tension, calm and direct. "They called for reinforcements. You've got about ten minutes before this window closes."
Toge frowned at the revelation. It wasn't surprising that Toji had picked up on the communication. The man's hearing was unnervingly sharp. What was surprising was the speed at which reinforcements were arriving. This location had been chosen specifically for its isolation. A nagging suspicion crept into Toge's mind. Was this another part of Toji's test? Was the sorcerer killer deliberately cranking up the pressure to see how he would react under a time constraint?
He shook the thought away. It didn't matter. Whether this was a test or not, the mission was clear, and the clock was ticking.
Pushing harder now, Toge closed the distance with a series of rapid jumps. Each leap strained his muscles, but he didn't falter. Finally, he reached the rooftop just above the trio. Below him, Elder Hikanami and his suited guards stood back to back, their eyes scanning the surroundings.
Toge crouched low, his breathing steady despite the effort it had taken to get here. He was placed right above them while their eyes futilely searched left and right, and another facet of information from Toji came to mind. Words delivered with the tone of someone who had exploited this weakness countless times.
"Sorcerers are still human in the end," Toji had said with a smirk that dripped with disdain. "And humans? They hardly ever look up."
Elder Hinamaki's voice broke through the tense silence, trembling with a mixture of fear and frustration. "Don't you think we should move? Another attack could come from anywhere." His attempt at a combative stance was laughable, an awkward, untrained posture that betrayed his utter lack of experience. It was clear that his position as an elder had nothing to do with skill and everything to do with politics. Hikanami's survival had been secured not by strength or cunning but by deft manipulation of Zen'in clan sponsorship and a knack for playing the game of power.
One of the guards responded, this one's voice was steady but his eyes constantly shifting from alleyway to alleyway. "If we move, we'll be herded like sheep by wolves. There could be traps waiting for us along the way. It's obvious this position was chosen with precision, isolated, with limited avenues of approach. It's better to stay put where reinforcements can easily find us."
The second guard nodded, his tone not as calm but reassuring anyway as he addressed Hikanami. "He's correct, Elder. We're both Grade 1 sorcerers. Nothing short of a Special Grade will touch you as long as we're here." The words seemed to work. Hikanami's shoulders relaxed slightly, the tension in his body easing.
From his perch above, Toge watched the exchange, his frown deepening.
"They're scared," Toji whispered into his ear, his voice low and insidious, like a shadow come to life. "Their hearts are trying to claw their way out of their chests. Their pulses are leaking like broken faucets. Behind those polished sunglasses are bloodshot eyes, darting around like rabbits waiting for a fox to pounce. Grade 1 sorcerers, huh?" Toji chuckled, a cruel, knowing sound. "Combat-wise, they're lower. Semi-Grade 1 at best. I've seen this before. Promotions handed out for connections, not skill. Just like the man they're guarding."
Toge's focus remained on the trio below, Toji's words sinking in. Grade 1 sorcerers, but weak ones. That made them manageable individually, at least. The challenge lay in taking on both at once. He needed to tip the scales. His hand reached for the item Toji had given him days ago, his fingers curling around the cold, metallic object attached to his belt.
It was a simple frag grenade. The dark casing was scratched and dented, its age evident, but it was functional. For his purposes, it was perfect.
Pulling the pin, Toge let the grenade drop. It tumbled silently through the air, its descent unnoticed until the faint clink of the pin falling first reached the ears of the two guards. Their heads snapped up, eyes widening in realization as they saw the grenade falling directly above Hikanami's head.
Toge acted.
A single grenade was rarely lethal to trained sorcerers, even ones as subpar as these two. Hikanami, despite his incompetence, would likely survive the blast as well if he braced for it. Toji had once explained to him that when fighting sorcerers, grenades weren't meant to kill but to shock, awe, and disrupt. However, the difference between Toji and Toge was vast. Toji was a monster, and his experience learnt him tactics that left no room for error. Toge was about to show these sorcerers how much of that monster he had absorbed.
"Amplify!"
The word tore from Toge's throat, resonating with cursed energy. Cursed Speech, at its core, was the art of forcing reality to conform to your will through spoken command. But the technique was anything but simple. The world resisted change, and forcing it to obey required immense skill and power.
When Cursed Speech was used against a sorcerer, it accounted for the strength of the opponent's cursed energy and the complexity of the word. Even if the opponent didn't bother to close his ears, when the gap in cursed energy between the Cursed Speech user and the recipient was wide, a couple of things happened. It just flat-out didn't even work, a scenario that was next to impossible.
It worked, barely, and at great cost to its wielder, ranging from straining the throat heavily to obliterating the vocal cords and entire throat, an act that required an expert in RCT to save the user's life.
The last was the most dangerous—a complete rebound. It was why curses like Die weren't used often. If it was against a drastically weaker opponent, then there was no fear, but against a stronger opponent, it risked a recoil, both from the complexity of shutting down the multiple systems in the body to enforce death as well as the difference in cursed energy.
It was a different scenario when it came to inanimate objects. Inanimate objects did not have the same innate defense against Cursed Speech the way sorcerers and curses had by virtue of their cursed energy, so there was no risk of a rebound. When it came down to cursing inanimate objects, all that mattered was the user's ability to bear the brunt of the technique on the body alongside the expenditure of cursed energy required to force the world to obey. An act that scaled alongside the difficulty of the task as the world resisted the change.
To obliterate something like a skyscraper would have been an easy feat if Toge had Yuta's cursed energy reserves. Yet his reserves were a more moderate amount, which was why he and Tsumiki had spent weeks brainstorming over finesse instead of brute force. For him, amplifying the effects of an object required precision. It wasn't about overwhelming the target; it was about enhancing an already-present force to achieve the desired result.
The explosive's composition didn't resist the word's command. The primer within the grenade absorbed the Cursed Speech, its reaction escalating into a ferocious chain of cursed combustion. The explosive material destabilized, its molecules overcharged to the brink, and the pressure inside surged past its limits in an instant. The casing didn't just shatter—it fragmented into fine dust like particles, releasing a shockwave that roared outward, laced with cursed energy. What would have been a small, controlled explosion transformed into a devastating blast, cracking the foundation of the building he stood on. It tipped over, groaning from the loss of part of its structure, as the air itself trembled under the force of the explosion.
It took seconds for the dust to settle, seconds where Toge stood on the edge of a collapsing building. His attention, however, stayed below, focused on the trio who had taken the full force of the blast. As the dust cleared enough for him to see, the results of his attack came into view.
As expected, the trio had survived—but not unscathed. Just before his cursed energy had amplified the explosion, Toge had noticed a flicker of light from one of the outstretched guard's hands while the other had pulled their charge away from the center of the blast. An innate technique, no doubt—a defensive one, considering their role as the elder's protectors. Against a standard grenade, that technique likely would have been more than enough. Unfortunately for them, this wasn't a standard grenade.
The man who had reached out to intercept the grenade was on the ground, battered and missing an arm. Despite his condition, he was already struggling to his feet, unsteady but determined. The second guard had been thrown into the wreckage of what was left of their car. He was also pulling himself free, grimacing as he moved slowly.
Elder Hinamaki lay farther away, the old man had been flung clear of the epicenter. His chest rose and fell. He was unconsious, but alive. Not for long. Toge's gaze lingered on the old man briefly. To finish the job, he would have to get through the two guards, who were already forcing themselves to stand despite their injuries.
Fine.
Without sparing a glance to search for Toji, Toge stepped over the edge of the crumbling structure and dropped down. He landed just as the building gave way, sending another cloud of dust and debris billowing upward. But the obscured view didn't matter—Toge already knew where his opponents were. Now it was time to take the first one down.
He turned his focus to the one-armed man, who was struggling to steady himself. His first victim.
The man staggered, his remaining hand glowing faintly with cursed energy as he tried to ready himself for another fight. Blood dripped steadily from the stump of his missing arm, pooling around his feet. His face was a mask of pain and fear. Toge noted the way his knees wobbled, how his breaths came in uneven gasps. Even if the guard managed to stand, it wouldn't be for long.
"Stop," Toge whispered in a calm tone, barely needing to put much cursed energy into the words, not with how destabilized his opponent was.
The man froze for a split second. Toge's Cursed Speech didn't just demand compliance, it forced it. The man's body betrayed his will, locking in place as if his muscles had been chained. His eyes widened in panic and fear as he realized who his opponent was. An Inumaki with the intention to kill. The glow in his hand dimmed. Toge could see the struggle in the man's expression, his cursed energy rising to the challenge in a futile attempt to resist the command. But the man was no Gojo Satoru.
Toge closed the distance in three steps. Everything slowed. He spun and slipped behind the man, his hands shooting out, gripping the sides of his head with a vice grip, one hand gripping the top of his head while the other held the lower chin. The dust was beginning to clear. The second guard looked at him with wide, bloodshot eyes. Toji smiled at him from the top of the wrecked car, just above the oblivious guard. Elder Hinamaki stirred.
Toge knew in his heart this was the true first step. Not simply letting his Cursed Speech do the work at range and distance like the first attack. He would be killing a man who struggled and begged in cold blood.
A short and furry panda laughed pulled at a little quiet boy with wide purple eyes brimming with innocence and happiness, "Come on Toge, let's go play"
His heart hardened, his hesitation melted like ice in the face of his resolve. With a flick of his wrists, he snapped the man's neck. The sound of bones breaking and cartilage cracking was like a gunshot in the dark, overpowering even the dull thud of the man's body dropping to the floor. There was silence until it was broken by a chuckle.
The other guard spun to look behind him, but the person who had made the sound had disappeared, so he spun back to face Toge.
"An Inumaki. How dare you! Do you know what you've done?" the man shouted, his voice breaking.
Toge's reply was a single step forward. The man took a staggered step back in response, pulling a sword from the wreckage of the car with jerky, fearful motions. Toge took another step, and the fire left behind by the explosion revealed his face. He had never planned on hiding it. Let them know who killed them and why.
"You're just a child!" the man exclaimed, some measure of confidence leaking into his voice. "A child and an Inumaki," he continued as he laughed, unsheathing his sword and throwing the scabbard to the side. He took a stance. A swordsman, Toge noted as he watched blue cursed energy creep up the blade, enveloping it in its aura. "Did your elders not tell you how stupid it is for an Inumaki to fight another sorcerer? The moment you use your technique once, your body will be racked with pain, and a sorcerer can easily block your words! We are not stupid curses, you brat!" the man shouted, hysteria fueling his tone as he charged.
Toge shifted into a stance as he focused. A swordsman, and charging at him. Just as he expected, the man didn't have an innate technique. The moment he got within the man's range, he jerked to the side, dodging the first swing, but even if the man was not powerful, he was skilled. The guard swiftly changed his grip on the sword alongside his stance, his center of gravity lowering as he swung again. A horizontal slash aimed to bisect Toge at the waist. Toge leaned backward just enough for the blade to pass harmlessly in front of him, the edge barely grazing his shirt. He didn't move more than necessary, his calm demeanor unshaken as the man pressed the attack.
The swordsman started advancing with precision,a thrust to his chest, a slash aimed at his legs to cripple, an over head cut to bisect, yet Toge dodged every blow. A duck here, a twist to the side there, a roll away to another side. Always dodging by the tiniest margin he could find. A technique he had learned under Jiki and refined under Toji. It didn't take long for fear to creep into the man's attacks. Each swing started to come with the force of desperation, his precision deteriorating as his morale cracked at the realization that he just couldn't hit him.
"Stand still, you little—!" the swordsman barked, slashing downward in frustration.
Toge sidestepped and whispered, "Break."
The spot the man was about to step on cratered, and he stumbled in shock and surprise, but Toge was not done. That stumble was enough to make the man's cursed energy fluctuate, the blue fluid curse energy that rolled along the blade broke for a second, and Toge's eyes didn't miss it. So he stepped closer, invading the man's space. Before the swordsman could react or put up his guard once more, Toge muttered a single word into his ear.
"Twist."
The effect was immediate. The cursed speech rippled through the air, latching onto the swordsman's curse energy and sword arm. With a sickening crack, the arm contorted unnaturally, forcing the man to drop his weapon as he cried out in pain. The sword clattered to the ground, the blue aura flickering and fading as the cursed energy dissipated.
The man stumbled back, clutching his twisted arm with his other hand, his face a mask of agony and disbelief. "You… you bastard!" he spat, his voice trembling. "How—?"
"Twist."
The left leg reacted to the command, warping in a disgusting motion that pulled and distorted bone, muscle, and cloth into one shape. The man screamed again in reply.
Toge didn't let him finish. He picked up the dropped sword as he closed the distance in a single, measured step, his hand shooting out to grab the man by the collar as he fell. With cursed-energy-enhanced strength, he pulled the man to him, forcing their faces close.
Imprinting the image of the second man he would kill with his own two hands. Watching the way tears poured from his eyes, his nose running as he hiccuped and sputtered in an attempt to beg for his life but too blinded by pain. Toge thought about the family the man must have left behind. Maybe a little brother he was training in another school. A child that waited for him to come home. A wife preparing dinner for her husband.
He would understand the pain they all felt. Then he looked into the man's eyes and hoped he communicated just how much greater his pain was. Then he buried the sword into his chest to the hilt.
Toge stepped back, turning cold as he watched the man scramble for a hold on his clothes before dropping to the ground dead. He looked to the side at the now recovered elder who stared at the scene in front of him with wide eyes, and he found himself smiling for the first time. Sword in hand, he began to walk towards him, but the man scrambled as he shot up to his feet, tapping into reservoirs of strength that Toge had been unaware of. The man spun and moved to run before slamming into a man-shaped boulder called Toji Fushiguro.
He immediately scrambled back with a yell, fear and realization written on his features. There were few people at his rank who could not recognize the Sorcerer Killer. The man who had nearly killed the Gojo Satoru.
"What is this about? What do you want? Money, power?" the man barked out, his head on a swivel as it went from Toji to Toge. "Talk to me. What do you want?" he ended with a yell, stopping to face Toge.
So he got a reply.
"Panda."
Elder Hinakami's eyes widened in surprise, his fear changing to realization as he finally recognized Toge, then to dread.
"How did you find—You can't get away with this. You have to know. We will draw you up. Summary execution. Not even Gojo—"
A wide palm slammed itself onto Elder Hinakami's white locks, and his eyes slowly rolled up to find Toji staring down at him with a wide smile. Then Toji flexed his arm, and his palm squeezed.
"I'll talk, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything!" Elder Hinakami screamed out in agony, but the only reply he got was a long laugh before Toji finally deigned to speak.
"Oh, you will. That's not in doubt." Toji looked up at Toge. "Five minutes. I can hear the tires squealing and racing over asphalt already."
Toge noted the way Elder Hinakami's eyes brightened at those words. At the knowledge that reinforcements were so close, and all he had to do was buy time. He was not the only person that did. Toji gave a bark of laughter in response.
"Your thought are written all over your face."
Then he slammed his foot into the side of the older man's ankle, obliterating his knee and sending what was left of the leg from beneath the knee to the foot flying away. The act destabilized the man enough to let out a howl of pain and release his control over the cursed energy blocking his ears.
A second later, Toge grabbed him by the jaw and whispered, cursed-energy-empowered speech fueled by hate and anger, "Tell me everything."
So far their source had led them to this particular higher up, for every higher up identity was a classified secret, hidden from even Gojo Satoru. The only place to catch them would be during a meeting, barring that, it was next to impossible. But no system was completely safe. Their informant had dedicated long weeks into investigating the group and the Zen'in sponsored elder was the result. Information on the rest would have to be gotten from the old man, and who better to interrogate another person than a wielder of the Snake and Fangs?