"Are you really not going to consider it?"
Inside the Jujutsu High infirmary.
Shoko Ieiri toyed with a gleaming scalpel, her eyes fixed feverishly on Yoru, who sat on the examination bed.
"Just a small piece! I promise I'll only take a tiny bit of skin tissue!"
"Your physical data is incredible. Even without cursed energy, you managed to unleash heat intense enough to instantly vaporize a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit during that mansion mission!"
"This is an absolute miracle of both biology and jujutsu!"
"Let me study you! I can use Reverse Cursed Technique to sew you back up without any pain!"
Shoko approached step by step, looking like a mad scientist who had just discovered a peerless treasure.
Yoru's face darkened with frustration as he leaned back, preparing to find an opening with Transparent World to make his escape.
"Shoko! What do you think you're doing?!"
With a sharp shout, the infirmary door was flung open.
Utahime Iori burst in like a whirlwind and shielded Yoru behind her, spreading her arms like a mother hen protecting her chick.
"Don't you dare lay a knife on Mr. Yoru!"
"He's my savior! Stay away from him, you dissection-obsessed freak!"
Utahime glared warily at the scalpel in Shoko's hand, looking ready to risk her life if the other woman dared to move.
Shoko sighed helplessly and tossed the scalpel into a tray with a sharp metallic clink.
"Tsk, how boring."
"Utahime, since when did you become so protective?"
"I just wanted to make a contribution to the progress of human science."
Shoko fished a cigarette out of her pocket and popped it into her mouth but didn't light it.
She just gave a meaningful look at Utahime's slightly flushed cheeks.
"But speaking of which, weren't you going to deliver a thank-you gift? Why did you come back empty-handed and out of breath?"
At the mention of the gift, Utahime's blood pressure spiked instantly, and she roared through gritted teeth.
"Don't even get me started!"
"The red bean daifuku I stayed up all night making... that white-haired bastard Satoru Gojo stole them all! He didn't leave a single piece!"
"I chased him halfway across the training field and still couldn't catch him! I'm so furious!"
Seeing Utahime lose it, Yoru couldn't help but chuckle.
"It's alright, Senior Utahime. I appreciate the sentiment."
"If there's a chance next time, I'll treat you to some Chinese cuisine."
Hearing Yoru's gentle voice, Utahime's anger instantly dissipated by half. Her cheeks flushed again as she stuttered her agreement.
"T-Then it's a promise!"
Outside the infirmary, on the training grounds.
Suguru Geto, dressed in loose training gear, sat cross-legged on the grass. His brow was furrowed as if he were lost in deep thought.
The consecutive setbacks during the mansion mission and the gaming session had left this Special Grade Sorcerer feeling unprecedented pressure.
"What's wrong? Questioning your life choices?"
Yoru had appeared behind him at some point, holding an unsharpened spare iron sword that Jujutsu High had just reissued.
Suguru looked up, a trace of confusion in his eyes.
"Instructor Yoru."
"I always thought that as long as I collected enough cursed spirits, I could handle any situation."
"But whether it's facing your absurd physical speed or that wall in the game that requires perfect coordination..."
"I keep feeling that my fighting style... is missing something decisive."
Yoru looked at the boy currently in a state of adolescent confusion, recalling his tragic end from the original story.
Suguru's Cursed Spirit Manipulation was indeed powerful, with arguably infinite potential.
However, he relied too heavily on the quantity and quality of his cursed spirits, neglecting his own personal development.
He was like a summoner with countless cards who always kept his strongest ace hidden until the end while he hid in the back.
Once he encountered a top-tier assassin like Toji Fushiguro, who could ignore cursed spirit defenses and go straight for the kill...
The weakness of this fighting style would be infinitely magnified.
"Suguru, you rely on your subordinates far too much."
Yoru walked up to Suguru and casually stuck the unsharpened iron sword into the grass.
"Your physical combat skills are decent, but in a true life-and-death struggle, they're far from enough."
"You lack a one-hit-kill method, and you lack the resonance to perfectly merge your own power with your cursed spirits."
Suguru frowned slightly. His pride as a Special Grade Sorcerer made him instinctively want to argue.
"Instructor Yoru, although you beat us in physical combat and games..."
"...a jujutsu battle isn't just a simple contest of strength."
Suguru stood up and formed a one-handed seal.
*Vroom!*
Accompanied by a surge of intense cursed energy.
A massive, dragon-like cursed spirit covered in incredibly hard scales roared as it appeared above the training ground.
Grade 1 Cursed Spirit: Rainbow Dragon!
This was currently the cursed spirit with the strongest physical defense in Suguru's arsenal. Its hardness was such that it could even withstand Satoru Gojo's basic attacks.
"Instructor Yoru, if you don't use those special high-temperature slashes..."
"...can you break through Rainbow Dragon's defense using only physical combat and a piece of unsharpened scrap metal?"
Suguru's eyes burned with battle intent. He wanted to prove that his Cursed Spirit Manipulation was not that weak.
Yoru watched the Rainbow Dragon circling in the air without speaking. He silently pulled the spare iron sword from the grass.
He didn't activate Total Concentration Breathing, nor did he use any Sun Breathing forms.
He didn't even turn the blade; instead, he aimed the back of the sword at the Rainbow Dragon.
"Suguru, watch closely."
"The essence of power is not just destruction; it is resonance."
Before his voice had even faded, Yoru vanished from where he stood!
So fast!
Suguru's pupils constricted. In a blur, Yoru had already appeared directly above the Rainbow Dragon's head!
"Roar!"
The Rainbow Dragon let out a roar, its massive tail whipping toward Yoru like a steel lash, kicking up a gale.
But Yoru didn't dodge or evade.
With a seemingly effortless movement that actually carried a strange rhythm, he tapped the Rainbow Dragon's hard scales three times with the back of his iron sword.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
The crisp sound of metal impacts echoed across the training ground.
These three taps didn't carry any great force; they didn't even produce sparks.
Suguru froze, thinking Yoru's attack had failed.
However, in the very next second, an incredibly bizarre scene unfolded.
The Rainbow Dragon, which boasted the strongest physical defense and could withstand even Special Grade Curses...
...suddenly stiffened in mid-air.
Then, starting from the three scales tapped by the back of the sword...
...an incredibly subtle yet high-frequency vibration spread through the Rainbow Dragon's entire body like ripples on water!
*Crack... Crack, crack!*
Accompanied by the jarring sound of shattering.
The Rainbow Dragon's indestructible scales began to crumble and peel away on a massive scale, like fragile glass!
In less than three seconds...
...this Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, under Suguru's disbelieving gaze, turned into a mess of sludge, lost all combat capability, and was retracted into a Cursed Spirit Ball.
An instant kill!
And it was done in an incredibly bizarre manner!
"What... what just happened?!"
Suguru's eyes were wide as he stared at the iron sword in Yoru's hand, which was perfectly intact without even a nick on the edge.
"What did you do? Without cursed energy or those high-temperature slashes, why did Rainbow Dragon's defense collapse instantly?"
Yoru landed lightly and tossed the iron sword back onto the weapon rack.
"Transparent World."
Yoru pointed to his eyes and explained calmly.
"Everything has a rhythm—a 'breathing'—and cursed spirits are no exception."
"In my eyes, the Rainbow Dragon's seemingly perfect defense was actually full of gaps between its muscle fibers and cursed energy flow."
"I didn't use brute force to destroy its scales just now."
"Instead, I used the back of the blade to strike its most vulnerable points at a frequency completely opposite to its cursed energy flow."
"The resonance of that frequency disintegrated its defensive structure from the inside out."
Yoru looked at the stunned Suguru and spoke with earnest intent.
"Suguru, don't just treat cursed spirits as consumables and meat shields."
"Try to feel their 'breathing,' to sense the flow of their cursed energy."
"If one day you can achieve perfect resonance between your physical techniques and the characteristics of your cursed spirits..."
"...that will be your true ultimate move."
Suguru stood frozen as Yoru's three casual taps replayed in his mind.
*Power isn't destruction; it's resonance. Feel the breathing of the cursed spirits...*
It was as if a brand-new door was slowly opening before him.
Just then, the infirmary window was pushed open.
Shoko Ieiri leaned against the windowsill, blowing a smoke ring. She watched the pensive Suguru with a slight smile.
"It seems that watching you all grow is more interesting than boring dissections."
"Hey! Suguru!"
Satoru Gojo popped out from some unknown corner, holding a half-eaten red bean daifuku, laughing shamelessly.
"'You actually got one-shotted by a dull piece of scrap metal!'"
"That's so lame! You've been totally outclassed!"
"Don't tell people you know me, 'The Strongest,' after this!"
Suguru snapped out of his epiphany. Looking at the arrogant Satoru, several veins popped on his forehead.
"Satoru, do you have a death wish?"
"Come on then! Let's go! I can crush you with one hand!"
Yoru watched the two problem children start scuffling again.
He folded his arms and looked up at the blue sky.
At that moment, the sense of space-time lag that had been bothering him quietly vanished, and substantial power flooded his limbs once more.
[DING! SPACE-TIME WEAKNESS PERIOD HAS ENDED. STRENGTH HAS BEEN FULLY RESTORED!]
[YORIICHI TSUGIKUNI SYNCHRONIZATION RATE INCREASED: 37%!]
His perception expanded in an instant, allowing him to clearly capture the pulse of a falling leaf a hundred meters away.
Yoru clenched his fist. This feeling of returning to his peak wasn't bad at all.
The special training has only just begun.
[ Author's Note : If you're loving the story, a power_stone, review or comment means the world!
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