And so, Satoshi struck Kagerō again and again, and the once-sturdy bde gradually began to curve—visible to the naked eye.

  Seeing this, Kamo Shin's expression changed drastically, while Takuya let out a breath of relief.

  Kamo Shin never expected that the boy in front of him could actually alter Kagerō's form.

  This was a Special Grade Cursed Tool, and one of the most difficult fire-type Tools to reforge.

  Resonating with the spirit of the Sword God, Satoshi hammered Kagerō into shape bit by bit. The forging was progressing, and this counted as the first step on a long and arduous path.

  Everyone saw hope but only Satoshi knew how many more obstacles y ahead.

  After another hour of forging, he successfully tempered Kagerō's fme attributes into the bde's surface.

  Then, he began forging the shallow Asauchi.

  With his current strength, Satoshi was already highly proficient at forging shallow-cut sword embryos. In just twenty minutes, the forging was complete.

  Next came the most crucial step.

  How would Satoshi fuse this Asauchi with Kagerō?

  How could he draw out Kagerō's essence to summon forth the soul of Ryūjin Jakka?

  Holding the Asauchi in his left hand and the Cursed Tool Kagerō in his right, Satoshi took a step forward, only to feel an extreme sense of rejection.

  The shallow bde was repelling Kagerō.

  This was something he had never encountered before.

  In all his past creations—Sode no Shirayuki, Suzumushi, Senbonzakura, Katen Kyōkotsu—as long as he used Cursed Tools with matching attributes, the Zanpakutō soul would be easily guided, allowing the bde embryo and Tool to merge, and the Zanpakutō to manifest in the world.

  So why was this happening now?

  Everyone stared bnkly at Satoshi. Although they were filled with anxiety, no one dared to utter a sound.

  Kamo Shin, on the other hand, burst into ughter upon seeing the scene.

  He realized that Satoshi had hit a wall.

  He still didn't know how Satoshi was able to forge Zanpakutō using Cursed Tool materials and he hadn't yet succeeded in stealing the technique.

  But based on what he was seeing now, he had likely won this bet.

  …

  After countless attempts, Satoshi found that Kagerō and the Asauchi still couldn't come into contact. The two were like opposite poles of magnets, always kept apart by an invisible force.

  Even his body, strengthened by Heavenly Restriction and far beyond the limits of ordinary strength, couldn't brute-force the two together.

  Is he going to fail?

  Kumaen felt a wave of regret.

  He could see how much effort and determination Satoshi had poured into this, but now everything was at a deadlock.

  And things were starting to go in a bad direction.

  He was the only one present who knew about the terms of the bet, which made him fully aware of how gleeful Kamo must be feeling right now.

  In the past, Kumaen had always been cold and calcuting. The death of a cn member was little more than an offering to him.

  But ever since he noticed the changes in Satoshi, his mindset had shifted drastically.

  In his eyes, every member of the Gojo cn now had meaning. At this moment, speaking as the cn's representative, he sincerely hoped that Kamo Shin would die.

  All for the sake of Gojo Kotetsu, an ordinary member of the cn.

  This was the burden of the Gojo cn's proxy head—his responsibility.

  Kumaen had already begun to calcute in his mind: if Kamo Shin really won the bet today, how could he arrange for Shin's "natural" death in the future?

  Meanwhile, Kamo Shin was already beaming with delight. When Gojo Kumaen discovered Shoso, he had assumed he would not escape unscathed.

  Who would've thought that Satoshi would randomly suggest a bet?

  He knew that Satoshi wanted the Cursed Tool Kagerō, but what made him any different? Wasn't he luring Satoshi in?

  If Kagerō were truly easy to reforge, would he, as a Cursed Tool Grandmaster, have left it untouched in the family's treasury?

  A Special Grade Cursed Tool had the potential to cultivate a Grade 1 Cursed Tool Master. For the Kamo cn, currently falling behind such a sorcerer would be a precious asset.

  A Grade 1 Jujutsu sorcerer could bring temporary revitalization to the family.

  He had already tried. He knew just how terrifying Kagerō was. Satoshi was still too naive.

  Though far more mentally mature, he was still cking.

  Right now, Kamo Shin was just waiting for Satoshi to extinguish the fmes and admit defeat.

  As Satoshi stood frozen in pce, the entire forge was swallowed in silence.

  Only the steady roar of the furnace echoed through the room.

  …

  Is it really impossible to forge Ryūjin Jakka?

  Satoshi questioned himself silently.

  No, something must be off somewhere.

  His mind spun like a revolving ntern, flipping through every memory of forging Zanpakutō.

  For Sode no Shirayuki, he used the ice-type Cursed Tool, Yoru.

  For Suzumushi, a Cursed Tool with sonic characteristics, Cicada's Cry.

  For Senbonzakura, one with sakura and fragmentation attributes.

  For Katen Kyōkotsu, a Tool imbued with shadow and ringed-bde properties.

  Thinking this far, it felt like he was close to an answer but there was still a veil he couldn't pierce.

  What exactly is it?

  Satoshi frowned, and the painful memory of his forging failure from st month resurfaced.

  Learn. Reflect. Rebuild.

  This was essential when mastering a new craft.

  Had he made a mistake somewhere? A fw that went unnoticed while forging Suzumushi, Senbonzakura, and Katen Kyōkotsu, one that hadn't affected those results.

  But now, that fw was being exposed in the attempt to forge Ryūjin Jakka?

  Images of Ryūjin Jakka's Bankai filled his mind, its charred bde, and the four techniques it embodied.

  Zanka no Tachi, Higashi: Kyokujitsujin (Longsword of the Remnant Fme, East: Rising Sun Edge)

  Zanka no Tachi, Higashi: Kyokujitsujin (Longsword of the Remnant Fme, West: Remnant Sun Prison Garb)

  Zanka no Tachi, Minami: Kaka Jūman'okushi Daisōjin (Longsword of the Remnant Fme, South: Great Burial Ranks of the Ten Trillion Fire Dead)

  Zanka no Tachi, Kita: Tenchi Kaijin (Longsword of the Remnant Fme, North: Heaven and Earth End in Ashes)

  Then, in a fsh of realization, crity struck.

  The Cursed Tool material wasn't sufficient to attract Ryūjin Jakka.

  Kagerō was just a fire attribute. It wasn't enough for Ryūjin Jakka's soul to descend into this Asauchi.

  Ryūjin Jakka didn't just wield fire, it commanded death.

  Kaka Jūman'okushi Daisōjin was the foundation that allowed Ryūjin Jakka to fight as a one-man army.

  (To be continued.)

  ***

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