Cursed Technique

The three children fell into another awkward face-to-face silence. Tsumiki looked at the big white dog crouching at Shen Yuanyi's feet. She had to admit that when it was not acting silly, it looked pretty cool.

Having found a topic, Tsumiki spoke up. "Hello, I'm Fushiguro Tsumiki. This is my younger brother, Megumi Fushiguro. Is this your pet dog?"

Shen Yuanyi nodded. "I'm Shen Yuanyi. An uncle gave him to me. His name is White Wolf."

Tsumiki flashed a sweet smile. "Can I call you Genichi? Megumi has two dogs too. I can't see them, but Megumi said one is black and one is white. But I can see your dog."

Shen Yuanyi did not explain what a Cursed Corpse was. It was fine to treat White Wolf as an ordinary dog; outwardly, there did not seem to be much difference anyway.

White Wolf sat on the ground with its tongue out. Perhaps it understood Tsumiki's words, because its tail wagged even more happily. Megumi was also a cold-faced kid, but with his Sister beside him, he remained fairly quiet and polite.

With White Wolf as their opening topic, the three gradually became more familiar with one another. At Tsumiki's request, Megumi reluctantly summoned a large white dog.

Shen Yuanyi watched as Megumi brought his hands together, forming what looked like a dog's head with hand signs. Then Megumi's shadow rippled, and the large white dog emerged from it.

Perhaps because White Wolf was a Cursed Corpse with Cursed Energy, the large white dog called Divine Dogs got along fairly well with White Wolf. More importantly, although Tsumiki was still young, she was exceptionally gentle and kind toward others. Just look at how obedient that cold-faced kid was in front of his Sister.

After playing for nearly an entire afternoon, Shen Yuanyi had intended to say goodbye, but he was invited to stay for dinner. Thinking about it, according to his memories, he should be able to cook too. Though reaching the stove might be a little difficult. Still, seeing Megumi's unhappy expression, Shen Yuanyi smiled and agreed.

Tsumiki made the meal. It was simple, ordinary home cooking, but Shen Yuanyi ate with great enjoyment, nearly fighting Megumi for it. Megumi looked unhappily at the boy across from him. What was with this guy...? Why was he acting so familiar and refusing to leave? He was practically stealing Sister away...

Thinking of how Gojo Satoru had said they would be attending school together in the future, Megumi poked at the rice in his bowl even harder. Then his Sister noticed and said, "Megumi, eat properly. Stop playing with your food." That only made him feel more depressed.

After saying goodbye to the Fushiguro siblings, Shen Yuanyi returned to what would be his future home. Once inside, he found the place rather spacious. Especially with only him, a child, living there, it felt even more empty and quiet. Yet Shen Yuanyi was not afraid in the slightest. He merely silently lamented that Gojo Satoru truly was as unreliable as Yaga Masamichi had said...

White Wolf darted around, getting familiar with the place, while Shen Yuanyi explored the three-story house. He picked a room on the second floor with good sunlight to serve as his bedroom. The house was very clean, and the water and electricity worked normally. It seemed someone had tidied it up beforehand. Perhaps Gojo Satoru was not completely unreliable after all.

After spending his first unfamiliar night there, Shen Yuanyi got up the next morning and made himself a simple breakfast of fried eggs, bread, and milk using the ingredients already in the refrigerator. Not long after he finished eating, he heard a knock at the door.

When he opened it, he found a grinning Gojo Satoru outside. Before Shen Yuanyi could say anything, Gojo Satoru spoke first. "Get ready. I'll take you to test out your Cursed Technique, and I'll explain some common knowledge about the Jujutsu World while we're at it."

Shen Yuanyi turned back and picked up White Wolf. Then came another familiar shift in scenery. Gojo Satoru seemed to have brought him back to Jujutsu High, where Shen Yuanyi spotted Yaga Masamichi standing some distance away. This was not on campus, though, but in a patch of wasteland.

After being set down, Shen Yuanyi heard Yaga Masamichi's dissatisfied voice. "Gojo, he's still so young. Is there any need to be in such a hurry?"

Gojo Satoru waved a hand. "Don't worry. Genichi is very talented, and his Cursed Technique is a little unusual. We need to figure it out."

Gojo Satoru clapped his hands. "Teacher Yaga Masamichi is an excellent teacher. I invited him here this time to explain some common knowledge about the Jujutsu World to you."

Yaga Masamichi stepped forward, ignoring White Wolf as it happily circled around him. He put on a stern expression. "I'll start with some basic things."

"Negative emotions from humans produce Cursed Energy and give rise to curses. Every year, more than ten thousand people in this country die or disappear under unexplained circumstances on average, and most of those cases are caused by curses. Cursed Techniques are innate talents possessed by certain people. Once they master their own Cursed Energy, they use it to power their Cursed Techniques and exorcise Cursed Spirits. Such people are called jujutsu sorcerers."

"Cursed Techniques are quite marvelous. Ahem... you can also think of them as superpowers. Cursed Techniques, Cursed Energy, physical combat—these are all required subjects for jujutsu sorcerers."

"Take Gojo, for example. His Cursed Technique is called Limitless. It may be a little complicated to explain, but in practical terms, any object slows down the closer it gets to him, making it impossible to ever touch him. Most jujutsu sorcerers actually reveal their Cursed Techniques, because that is also a form of binding. By disclosing information about one's Cursed Technique, its power can be increased. Gojo also possesses the inherited Six Eyes, which can see the flow of Cursed Energy and even the operation of Cursed Techniques. Your Cursed Technique is unknown, so if we want to understand it, we can only use it more often or rely on Gojo's judgment."

Gojo Satoru picked up from the side. "That's right~ Genichi, show us your Cursed Technique."

Shen Yuanyi also wanted to know exactly what his Cursed Technique was, so he cooperated readily. "Sometimes, I enter a special state. When that happens, I become extremely fast, and everything around me seems to stop moving."

As he spoke, Shen Yuanyi activated his Cursed Technique. He felt as though the Cursed Energy within him had triggered something, and that state appeared again. Gojo Satoru still seemed able to keep up with him, but Yaga Masamichi lagged behind somewhat.

After the brief ten-odd seconds ended, Yaga Masamichi's expression turned serious, while Gojo Satoru lost some of his playful demeanor. The bandages over his eyes had long since vanished. He raised his right hand, and a cluster of blue flame-like light rose from his fingertips. Gojo Satoru said to Shen Yuanyi, "Try releasing your Cursed Energy like this."

Shen Yuanyi had done this before, and now he had Gojo Satoru's guidance. Although Gojo Satoru did not seem particularly suited to being a teacher, Shen Yuanyi still managed to understand him. Before long, he successfully condensed a stable cluster of Cursed Energy at his fingertips.

Then Gojo Satoru said, "Now try applying your Cursed Technique to that cluster of Cursed Energy and see if it works."

Hearing this, Shen Yuanyi tried to control his Cursed Technique. It was a very strange feeling. For example, one's Cursed Technique was usually like one's hands and feet. Unless one deliberately sensed it, one would overlook its existence, because it was one with the body.

But when one activated it, the presence of the Cursed Technique became apparent. Shen Yuanyi could now clearly sense and control it, applying some sort of influence to the cluster of Cursed Energy before his eyes. So he did exactly that.

Then Shen Yuanyi saw the cluster of Cursed Energy undergo some kind of change. In his field of vision, it suddenly vanished from his fingertips, and then a conspicuous trail appeared in the air. Strangely, the sound that followed was not loud, merely somewhat sharp.

Yaga Masamichi pondered the situation just now. If Shen Yuanyi moved at extremely high speed himself, Yaga Masamichi could still barely catch traces of him. But when that cluster of Cursed Energy shot out just now, he could not see it at all.

To his eyes, the disappearance of the Cursed Energy and its trail existed at the same time. In other words, if that attack had targeted him, then aside from relying on his own defenses, he would have had no reaction before it landed on him.

No evasion, no counterattack—only defense! Although that cluster of Cursed Energy had not been very powerful, that was partly because Shen Yuanyi had not used his full strength, and partly because he was still so young. He had not even learned many ways to use Cursed Energy yet...

Shen Yuanyi looked somewhat confused. In truth, he had not held back as Yaga Masamichi thought. He had not used the immense Cursed Energy he had wielded when killing that giant baby-like monster before. Instead, he had focused on speed—on activating his Cursed Technique.

Even Shen Yuanyi himself had failed to see that speed clearly. Over there, Gojo Satoru shaded his eyes as he watched the remnants of Cursed Energy vanish into the sky. Then he turned to look at Shen Yuanyi, and there was a peculiar meaning in those ice-blue eyes, as precious as rare treasures.

"That's kind of incredible..."

Curious, Yaga Masamichi could not help asking, "Gojo, what exactly is his Cursed Technique?"

Gojo Satoru's expression grew a little more solemn, though a smile still hung on his face. "Time. It's time!"

"Genichi's Cursed Technique has made the concept of time tangible. He isn't speeding himself up the way we do by strengthening the body with Cursed Energy. He's merely accelerating the time of himself or other things, so the outward effect is that his speed and attacks are terrifyingly fast, because his time is different from ours."

Yaga Masamichi looked deeply shocked. Throughout the history of the Jujutsu World, all kinds of jujutsu had emerged without end, along with all kinds of extraordinarily powerful Cursed Techniques. Take Lord Tengen's Cursed Technique, for instance. Put simply, it was Immortality. And when his body aged to a certain extent, Lord Tengen would evolve toward an even higher dimension under the effects of his Cursed Technique.

Then there was Gojo. His Cursed Technique was absurdly powerful as well. But this was the first time Yaga Masamichi had ever seen a jujutsu sorcerer with a time-related Cursed Technique, and one so direct at that.

Although a jujutsu sorcerer's strength was not determined solely by their Cursed Technique, it was undeniable that a Cursed Technique largely determined the height that a jujutsu sorcerer could reach in the future. But Shen Yuanyi was not only remarkable because of his Cursed Technique—his Cursed Energy was also ridiculously immense.

As if reading his mind, Gojo Satoru spoke from the side. "Genichi's Cursed Energy is related to his Cursed Technique too. The generation of his Cursed Energy was probably being unconsciously influenced by his Cursed Technique long ago, which is why his Cursed Energy regenerates so quickly."

"Hmm... If my Cursed Technique, Limitless, combined with the Six Eyes means that my Cursed Energy is practically never depleted, then perhaps Genichi might one day make his Cursed Energy generate faster than it is consumed, thereby achieving 'infinite Cursed Energy' in a certain sense..."

After hearing Gojo Satoru's words, Shen Yuanyi lowered his head and looked at his hands. Time... Is my Cursed Technique time? At that moment, many figures surfaced in his mind... Time... It seemed like something truly extraordinary.

Before he could think more carefully, Gojo Satoru pulled him close. Gojo Satoru beamed. "What do you think? Your Cursed Technique is appearing for the first time! Do you want to give it a name?"

Shen Yuanyi paused, then said, "I'll call it... Wheel of Time."