The body of the Cursed Spirit on the iron rod had clearly swelled by a size. Blue-black Cursed Energy patterns meandered across its surface, exuding a heart-palpitating ferocity.
Rin's brows furrowed tightly as his fingertips subconsciously gripped the iron rod. He clearly remembered every setting in 'jujutsu kaisen,' yet he had never seen a precedent for Cursed Spirits evolving through mutual devouring.
It should just be a coincidence. He suppressed the doubts in his heart and raised his knee to kick the Cursed Spirit's round head hard.
Amidst a dull impact sound, the Cursed Spirit's fangs snapped shut, but they only bit air. Rin took the opportunity to pull back the iron rod. Viscous blood mixed with broken teeth fell to the ground with a splash, creating small blood flowers.
He shook off the shredded meat from the iron rod, but his gaze suddenly froze. The section of the iron rod that had been thrust into the Cursed Spirit's mouth was severely deformed. The originally smooth metal surface was covered in tooth marks of varying depths, as if it had been repeatedly gnawed by some ferocious beast.
A chill quietly crept up his spine, and Rin felt a belated sense of fear.
Although these four Cursed Spirits were only low-level trash, the power of that mouth—comparable to a meat grinder—far exceeded his estimates. With his current defense, even with Cursed Energy protection, if he were truly bitten by that mouth, he would likely be killed or crippled.
No longer hesitating, Rin's eyes suddenly turned crimson, the Sharingan spinning rapidly within them.
With a thought, the corpses of the four Cursed Spirits turned into wisps of black-purple Cursed Energy, which he fully absorbed into his body.
A warm current instantly swept through his entire body. Rin could clearly perceive his total Cursed Energy rapidly climbing. A tingling, swelling pain also came from his limbs and bones—a sign that his physical strength was breaking through its limits.
What surprised him even more was that a faint fluctuation appeared deep within the Sharingan. Though not obvious, it was steadily advancing toward the Two Tomoe stage.
"Devouring Cursed Spirits can also evolve the Sharingan?" Rin's heart shook as his thoughts raced.
Soon, a hypothesis surfaced in his mind. The advancement of the Sharingan required intense emotional stimulation, and Cursed Spirits themselves were aggregates of negative emotions. By devouring Cursed Spirits, he could not only seize their Cursed Energy and strengthen his body, but even the negative emotions carried within the Cursed Energy could become nourishment for the Sharingan's evolution.
Holy crap! There's actually such a good thing in this world?
Wild joy instantly dispersed all his concerns. Rin clenched his fists, an excited light flashing in his eyes. He almost immediately wanted to rush out and catch a few more Cursed Spirits to verify his theory.
Feeling the surging power within him, Rin estimated his strength; he was already infinitely close to the level of a Grade 3 Cursed Spirit.
He knew that the strength gap between low-level Cursed Spirits didn't lie in Cursed Energy, but in physical strength. After all, Cursed Spirits below Grade 1 rarely mastered Cursed Techniques; most relied on brute force to fight, making physical strength the most intuitive standard for measuring their combat power.
The four Cursed Spirits he had just killed were already among the best of the Grade 3s, but an ordinary Grade 3 Cursed Spirit could be repelled with a handgun by a normal person who could see them.
However, once a Cursed Spirit reached Grade 2, their strength would undergo a qualitative change. At that point, handguns would be useless, and only a shotgun could barely suppress them. For higher-level Cursed Spirits, the required weapons would only get stronger.
As for his current self, his physical strength alone far exceeded that of an ordinary person. Combined with the enhancement of Cursed Energy and the Insight of the Sharingan, dealing with multiple Grade 3 Cursed Spirits alone was more than enough; it would no longer be as difficult as before.
It had only taken ten minutes to go from having no power at all to his current combat strength.
Rin marveled inwardly. The special ability of the Sharingan was practically a god-tier aid for him.
At this moment, he was no longer the prey trapped in a cage, but had transformed into a hunter lurking in the shadows.
Those low-level Cursed Spirits scattered throughout the school were the most delicious prey in his eyes. He needed more Cursed Spirits, more corpses; they would become the most fertile nourishment to feed this 'Flower of Evil' blooming in a desperate situation.
Rin turned to leave, planning to continue hunting Cursed Spirits outside.
The people in the warehouse, seeing this 'murderous demon' about to leave, all let out a collective sigh of relief. Their eyes were full of urgency, hoping he would disappear quickly.
Only on the warehouse rafters did Miguel, rubbing his bald head, smack his lips in disappointment.
"What the hell? This kid is just leaving like that? He's not going to teach those foul-mouthed guys a lesson? How boring. I was waiting to see a river of blood."
Beside him, Suguru Geto didn't speak, but his brows furrowed slightly.
If it were him, he would certainly clean up all those 'monkeys' who dared to offend him, never leaving any future trouble.
Just as Rin reached the warehouse door and his hand touched the iron chain, preparing to use Cursed Energy to smash the lock, his footsteps suddenly stopped. He slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping over the people in the warehouse.
The thugs in the warehouse turned pale instantly. Most of them had bullied Rin before, and as his gaze swept over them now, they felt a chill all over their bodies. On the rafters, however, Geto and Miguel's eyes lit up with anticipation.
"Finally realized? A bit slow, though," Geto thought to himself, his eyes fixed on Rin, waiting to see his next move.
Rin, however, raised his hand and patted his head, a look of annoyance appearing on his face. This kind of disappointment was something he hadn't even felt when facing the Cursed Spirits.
"Damn, I was too excited and almost forgot the main business," he cursed inwardly. Gripping the iron rod with both hands, he walked toward the crowd step by step.
His eyes were as cold as knives, and his pace was as steady as a humanoid Cursed Spirit. With every step he took, the air in the warehouse grew more suffocating, as if he were about to swallow these scumbags alive in the next second.
Watching the approaching Rin, the thugs fell into despair again. They knew better than anyone how many terrible things they had done to Rin in the past. The more arrogant they were before, the more terrified they were now.
At that moment, the yellow-haired guy who had previously been scared into falling into the pool of blood suddenly struggled to his feet and roared at the top of his lungs.
"Brothers, don't be afraid! He's just a 'Utahime,' right? Does he really think holding an iron rod makes him King? He's still that trash we bullied who didn't dare to fight back!"
He was covered in blood, his eyes were bloodshot, and his hideous appearance actually had a bit of an intimidating air.
This shout happened to pull those thugs on the brink of collapse back from despair.
Seeing the reaction from the crowd, the yellow-haired guy immediately pressed his advantage and hissed.
"Get a grip! There are so many of us. As long as we unite, it's impossible for him to kill us all before he runs out of strength!"
A cornered dog will jump over a wall, and a cornered rabbit will bite. Although these thugs feared Rin, they still held a sliver of hope—no matter how powerful Rin was, he was only one person, while there were over a dozen of them.
The yellow-haired guy's words successfully ignited the ferocity in everyone's bones.
But Rin didn't say a single word from beginning to end.
He stopped his pace, planted the iron rod heavily on the ground, and with a hint of playfulness in his eyes, quietly watched the yellow-haired guy jumping around like a monkey, performing with all his might.
He knew perfectly well that this yellow-haired guy was a complete coward who only dared to bully those weaker than himself.
The reason he was acting so lively now was only because he was the mastermind behind bullying the original owner of this body, and he knew that once Rin sought revenge, he would never let him go. Moreover, after seeing two of his lackeys killed by Rin without mercy, the yellow-haired guy knew better than anyone that if he didn't resist, today would be a dead end.
However, seeing the thugs huddling together and preparing for a collective attack, Rin actually felt a sense of relief. Once they all rushed up together, he could end this quickly.
Although these thugs were all trash, their numbers were significant. Dealing with them one by one was too much trouble.
The warehouse was only so big, and he didn't have the time to play cat and mouse with these people. There was a large group of Cursed Spirits waiting for him to absorb outside; time was money.
Soon, the thugs gathered into a group, holding broken table legs, shattered wooden boards, and other debris as weapons. They followed closely behind the yellow-haired guy, putting on a posture of fighting to the death with Rin.
Looking at the underlings behind him, the yellow-haired guy's backbone stiffened a bit.
He took a step forward and shouted at Rin.
"Rin, what happened before was our fault, but that was just joking around with you! It's normal for classmates to play rough! As long as you leave now, we'll apologize to you and guarantee we won't tell anyone about what happened today! Otherwise, with so many of us, if we really fight, you definitely won't be a match for us!"
"That's right! Leave now!"
"Get lost! Don't forget how we used to beat you up!"
"Don't refuse our kindness!"
The surrounding thugs also chimed in, their voices getting louder and louder, trying to use momentum to scare Rin away.