Aftermath and Training

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Black Flash.

It was an attack a jujutsu sorcerer produced in a special state. As most sorcerers knew, cursed energy flowed from roughly the abdomen to the chest, arms, fists, and other parts of the body as it was controlled. Because that control depended on intent, a delay appeared, a lag of one beat.

In ordinary situations, that delay might not seem important. Some people never even noticed it. First-rate sorcerers were different. Their cursed-energy flow was difficult to read, and their physical impact and cursed-energy impact came almost at the same time. That was a more advanced use of cursed energy.

Even so, if that "same time" was magnified, it was not truly simultaneous.

Black Flash was the special phenomenon that occurred when cursed energy struck within an extremely narrow gap of the physical hit. The margin was 0.000001 seconds.

Whether through skill or luck, a sorcerer who landed Black Flash would enter a state similar to the zone. Cursed energy that normally required conscious manipulation would flow as naturally as breathing, as if everything around the sorcerer revolved around them.

In that state, a sorcerer who had already landed Black Flash and deepened their understanding of cursed energy would find it easier to land consecutive Black Flashes.

Of course, "easier" was only relative.

The external sign of Black Flash was the blackened light of cursed energy created by spatial distortion. More importantly, the attack's power was raised to the power of 2.5.

In theory, no sorcerer could trigger Black Flash at will. It was closer to a state one could encounter but not command. But the gap between sorcerers who had experienced Black Flash and those who had not was enormous. Their distance from the core of cursed energy was simply different.

Ren, however, was an exception.

The trigger condition was much easier for him than for other people. When his cursed technique, Timewheel, acted on both himself and his cursed energy, that 0.000001-second timing no longer felt impossibly far away.

What he needed to control was the instant before his blow landed on a cursed spirit. While his perception observed the world around him as if it had nearly stopped, he activated his technique and accelerated his cursed energy into that precise point.

Then Black Flash occurred.

It sounded simple, but in reality it required extremely delicate control. That success came from Ren's unique technique, and perhaps also from the technique's influence on his unusually sharp sense of time. When he took the initiative, he could even raise his perception of time far beyond ordinary people, to the point where a moment felt almost endless.

Even so, landing Black Flash on the first punch this time made Ren very happy.

After unconsciously landing it once before, he had learned what it was and practiced it intentionally.

He still could not guarantee it every time.

But he could produce one within ten punches.

That probability would continue rising as his control over Timewheel improved.

After two punches destroyed the cursed spirit, Ren had just gotten into the feeling when he found himself with strength and nowhere to use it. He felt excellent right now. His intuition told him the next punch could land Black Flash too.

But the cursed spirit could not endure another hit.

He should have held back a little earlier.

Standing nearby, Maki looked at Ren, who seemed unsatisfied, and nearly grimaced. That had been Black Flash, had it not?

This cursed spirit had been highly resistant to ordinary attacks, but fragile against high-powered hits that could damage its whole body. And Ren had killed it in two punches.

Even a Grade 1 cursed spirit would not enjoy taking those blows. If his third punch had also been Black Flash, he might have been able to exorcise a Grade 1.

Maki lifted her naginata and glanced at the corridor, which had nearly been "expanded" by the fight.

"Let us clean up the remaining low-grade curses."

The two split up to exorcise the wandering lesser curses.

Some of them were surprisingly good at hiding, and because they were so weak, they were harder to sense. In the end, clearing out the low-grade curses took longer than destroying the Grade 2.

When they finally finished, Ren and Maki left the hospital.

A car was parked beside the road. Next to it stood a man in a suit who looked like a tired middle-aged office worker.

As Ren got closer, he realized the man was not actually middle-aged. His work outfit, outdated center-parted hair, and plain black-rimmed glasses simply made him look older than he was.

"Mr. Ijichi!"

Ren greeted him from a distance.

Kiyotaka Ijichi had been two years below Gojo at school. He lacked enough talent as a sorcerer and, by his own choice, became an assistant manager for Tokyo Jujutsu High.

If Ren had to sum him up in one sentence, it would be: reliable.

Ren did not know him especially well, but they were acquainted. Seeing the two of them walk out of the Curtain, Ijichi knew the cursed spirit had been exorcised. He gave a slight bow.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Ren rubbed the back of his head and smiled. "You are too polite, Mr. Ijichi. Are we heading back now? Is there anything else?"

Ijichi adjusted his black-rimmed glasses. "No. This mission involved only one cursed spirit. Mr. Gojo did not arrange anything afterward."

Ren rubbed his chin, then smiled. "In that case, let us eat before we go back. I want sukiyaki."

Maki had no objection. Ren was the one offering to pay.

The two placed their weapons in the car, and Ijichi took them to a nearby restaurant with a good reputation.

The three of them ate their fill.

When Ren and Maki returned to the school, Panda and Toge were already back. Seeing them arrive so late, Panda flexed his arms as if showing off his muscles.

"Ren! Too slow, too slow. Panda and Toge already exorcised our curse."

"Salmon."

Maki said calmly from the side, "Not exactly. This kid killed the cursed spirit in two hits. We went to eat sukiyaki afterward."

Panda's mouth dropped open. "Ren is that strong?"

Then he finally processed the second half of what Maki had said.

"What? You two went to eat sukiyaki without inviting Panda? And Toge?"

Panda practically pounced on Ren and pinned him down. Ren immediately begged for mercy.

"I did not know whether you were finished yet. Also, Panda, how would you even go out to eat with us? People would crowd around, right?"

Under Panda's overwhelming pressure, Ren quickly changed his answer.

"Next time! Next time, I will absolutely invite you!"

Maki watched the lively scene, adjusted her glasses, and left with a small smile.

The days that followed were peaceful.

They trained in martial arts, studied jujutsu knowledge, and occasionally went out on missions.

Incidentally, their initial grades were soon confirmed. At the moment, Ren and Toge were Grade 2, Panda was Semi-Grade 2, and Maki was Grade 4.

When the group learned that, none of them were happy. Maki herself did not react much, as if she had expected it. Still, she was clearly unhappy too.

Later, after they learned from Gojo that the Zen'in clan had interfered, everyone's opinion of the family Maki never liked discussing plummeted.

After they cursed those petty cowards together, Maki was the one who ended up embarrassed. She stopped Panda, who had grown a little too heated, and Ren, who was being so sarcastic he did not need a single swear word.

Maki only said calmly, "It is fine. Everything I lost, I will take back with my own hands."

"Maki, you are the best!"

"Tuna mayo!"

Panda and Ren stood on either side of her with serious faces and raised thumbs. Toge chimed in too.

"You guys..."

Maki nearly covered her face.

Then she seemed to think of something. A very kind smile appeared on her face.

"This afternoon, we are doing cursed tool practice and hand-to-hand training."

The three of them froze in place.

If they were practicing those two things, cursed techniques and cursed energy were naturally off-limits. And in those two areas, Maki could beat all three of them one-sidedly. With cursed tools in her hands, it was nothing short of merciless slaughter.

"Mustard leaf," Toge said.

He patted Panda to comfort him, signaling that Panda was not the only one about to suffer.

Panda, moved, hugged him. "Toge is so nice."

Ren, standing beside them, smiled wickedly and threw cold water over the moment.

"Panda, what are you thinking? Maki hits Toge the least every time. In the end, you and I are the ones getting beaten."

Toge's rice-ball language usually carried only simple meanings. Although he joined Ren and Panda's nonsense, he was almost never the instigator. That meant Maki "specially cared" for him less during training.

In other words, Panda and Ren always ended up first in line for punishment.

Panda looked at him. "Why are you laughing? You are in the same boat, Ren."

The group shoved and joked with one another as they headed to the training field.

"The path to getting stronger begins one step at a time, starting now!"

Panda had barely finished his grand declaration when a wooden staff flashed over and struck him squarely in the face. He fell backward to the ground.

Ren silently cursed Panda in his heart. That bastard was crafty.

Then Ren tightened his grip on his wooden sword and fixed his eyes on Maki opposite him.

The fight began at once.

Maki used the advantage of her longer weapon to the fullest. Every attack Ren launched was blocked and countered with ease. Maki's offense, on the other hand, was much harder to withstand.

"A weapon is an extension of your hands and feet!"

As Maki battered Ren's guard with a blur of staff strikes, she corrected him at the same time.

This kid had powerful cursed energy and a powerful technique, but his skill with weapons was average. He relied too much on overpowering others with strength. Against an enemy on equal footing, that would make him suffer.

"Whether it is a spear, blade, sword, or any other weapon, in a certain sense it is a transformation of your fists, palms, footwork, and body movement. The weapon in your hand is not only a tool. It is the embodiment of your martial will."

Ren was listening when Maki caught an opening. His wooden sword was knocked high, and one end of the staff struck his shoulder.

Pain numbed half his arm.

Maki spun the staff once and planted it on the ground. A thin smile crossed her face.

"You are dead. If I had shifted a little just now, I would have hit your heart."

"Maki, can you hit a little softer?"

Ren rolled his shoulder while thinking through what he had just learned from the fight.

"No," Maki said ruthlessly. "A penalty for losing makes people improve faster."

Even so, Ren learned quickly. Once he finished laying the basics, the rest would probably have to be gained through life-and-death combat.

"I have to get stronger too. I cannot fall behind."

Watching Ren recover and charge at her again, Maki spun the long staff into a blur and began the next round.

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