What is a Cheating Player?

"Based on my understanding of jujutsu, there are only two types of criteria."

"Individual-based criteria and cursed energy-based criteria."

"Individual-based criteria can be further divided into living-body criteria and soul criteria."

"Living-body criteria are the easiest. Catch a few Cursed Spirits as cannon fodder, or borrow some cursed corpses from the principal. Wear it down until it's nearly spent, then have Panda beat the stuffing out of it. If that's not enough, Gardevoir can hold the line. Once it's down to its last breath, you step in and claim the kill."

Megumi Fushiguro was dumbfounded after hearing this. "You can do that?"

"Rules are dead; people are alive." Akesato continued instilling his philosophy of life. "This world isn't about who follows the rules better—it's about who can break them more reasonably and legally. As long as you complete the exorcism, the process doesn't matter at all. Jujutsu Sorcerers were meant to walk outside the mundane world, in the shadows of human reason. If you don't know how to adapt, you'll die."

How could a mere delinquent teenager compare to a dirty adult in this regard? His rather handsome face had nearly wrinkled into a rag.

"What about soul criteria?" the boy, whose values had been thoroughly refreshed, continued asking.

"That's more troublesome. Cursed Spirits definitely won't work, and I don't know about cursed corpses since I haven't tried them. Even if they don't work, though, there are still cursed tools. Smash its face in with cursed tools first, and once it's nearly beaten down, you can go up and exorcise it."

The great King of Heroes had become an Archer precisely with this move. Akesato called it the "Golden Flashy Tactic." Well, the "Panda Tactic" wasn't bad either—after all, they were both humanity's oldest tricks.

Maki gave a dry laugh. "I'm in charge of Jujutsu High's storage vault. There are dozens of cursed tools in there—more than enough for you to smash it with."

Megumi Fushiguro: "..."

He suddenly felt as though he had joined a den of thieves. Even the whole atmosphere was wrong.

"Cursed energy-based criteria are even more troublesome. Cursed corpses, cursed tools, and Cursed Spirits can't be used. Fortunately, Jujutsu High never lacks close-combat fighters. Even without cursed energy, they're still strong. We can find a way to bind the shikigami's movements while you focus on attacking."

Akesato clenched his fists, and Maki flicked her ponytail. They made a perfectly matched male-and-female pair of fiends.

Incidentally, Akesato had tested Gardevoir's Psychic Power. At its core, it was mental power, and cursed energy was part of mental power, so she was excluded as well.

"Unfortunately, none of those will work. The Ten Shadows Technique prohibits all of the above. What a stingy ancestor. If Masakado Taira and Seimei Abe knew, would they be so mad they came back to life?"

While pouring cold water on them, Satoru Gojo casually exposed the old secrets of the Three Great Families.

The origins of the Three Great Families corresponded to the three most famous vengeful spirits in Japanese legend.

The Gojo family originated from Sugawara no Michizane. That required no further explanation.

The Zenin Family originated from Masakado Taira. According to legend, Masakado Taira had a son named Masakuni Taira, and Masakuni Taira was Seimei Abe's original name. There was no need to explain the relationship between shikigami and Seimei Abe, and the Ten Shadows Technique also bore Seimei Abe's influence.

As for the Kamo family, it originated from Emperor Sutoku.

In his later years, Emperor Sutoku was exiled by Emperor Go-Shirakawa. To demonstrate his sincerity, he copied five sutras in his own blood, only for Emperor Go-Shirakawa to regard them as a curse and refuse to accept them.

Enraged, Emperor Sutoku bit through his tongue and wrote upon the returned sutra scrolls in blood: "May I become the Great Demon King and throw the world into chaos. With these five Mahayana sutras, I dedicate merit to the evil paths." From then on, he neither ate nor drank, dying in resentment, his corpse resembling a yaksha.

It was said that after Emperor Sutoku passed away, blood continued to seep from his coffin even after its lid had been sealed, never ceasing for a long time. The Kamo family's signature Cursed Technique, Blood Manipulation, was born from this blood and used blood as its medium.

Akesato did not doubt Satoru Gojo's judgment, nor did he lose heart because of it. His face still wore the calm composure of someone with everything under control.

"It's fine. There are still solutions. We can use terrain and all sorts of tools—for example, build a sufficiently sturdy cage to trap the shikigami inside, then slowly attack it from outside with long-range attacks. There's also all kinds of modern equipment: excavators, steamrollers. As long as they can conduct cursed energy, even if it's Cthulhu, I'll haul it away by the boatload.

"Of course, those are external forces. You can borrow them, but you can't rely on them. The key to a Cursed Technique will always be its user. There's no way the exorcism ritual can restrict the user as well. So do you understand now? Why I had you train in close combat, tool usage, and coordinating with shikigami?"

Megumi Fushiguro's pupils contracted. "The sorcerer shouldn't be limited by the Cursed Technique. The sorcerer is the one controlling the Cursed Technique."

"Bingo! You've never had only shikigami. Don't let the Ten Shadows Technique box you in. Like I said, techniques are dead; people are alive."

As Akesato spoke, he discreetly glanced at Satoru Gojo. This man had innovated upon an almost perfect inherited Cursed Technique, truly evolving from the strongest into the invincible.

Unfortunately, Satoru Gojo had accomplished it himself but had failed to convey it to anyone else.

That was the difference between geniuses and ordinary people. Geniuses possessed every necessary element through instinct, while ordinary people could only gradually categorize and summarize, constantly correcting themselves, in the hope of catching up to a genius's footsteps.

Akesato was very glad that he possessed the Pokémon Trainer system. Starting from an egg, starting from nothing, allowed him to observe everything with such clarity and insight. Only then could he be qualified for this Assistant Teacher role, continuously opening the door to a New World for others.

From that moment on, Megumi Fushiguro was no longer that delinquent Fushiguro. He was simply a junior student at Jujutsu High.

"I understand. Please continue to guide me in the future, Senior Akesato, and the rest of you seniors as well. I'll do everything I can to master every Shadow Technique. When that time comes—"

"Bring it on anytime." Maki crooked a finger at him.

"Count me in." Panda raised a paw.

"Salmon." Inumaki continued speaking Inumaki's speech.

Akesato watched the scene before him with a smile at the corners of his lips.

Jujutsu Kaisen wore the label of a hot-blooded shonen story, but it actually walked the path of the underworld more than the path of the living. Death and crippling injuries were commonplace. With his help strengthening them, things should develop much better from now on.

He just did not know whether, with Megumi Fushiguro becoming stronger, Yuji Itadori would still swallow Sukuna's finger and become the fuse that set everything off.

But that might not be a bad thing. A good person like Yuji Itadori was more suited to living under the sunlight than in the shadows.

As for the villains, Akesato could take his time and find them one by one to deal with them.

He hated underworld nonsense the most. The world of the living was much better.

"We all have to become strong, and then do something for this world," Akesato muttered to himself.

It was precisely then that Satoru Gojo admitted, "You're better suited to being a teacher than I am. I'm not as good as you at teaching students. I'll be counting on you from now on as well. The first-years—Megumi, and perhaps another transfer student in a couple of days. Tell me if you need anything. Don't hold back."

"Nothing for now. I've already received my reward."

There were emotional rewards: the heartfelt respect of the boys and girls, his mother's peaceful daily life and gentle smile.

There were material rewards as well. Salary and royalties were secondary; the most important thing was the system's brand-new notification.

—Trainer Meme detected. Meme collection and conversion in progress. New Trainer Template: Green added.

As expected of the second male lead, Hedgehog Head. Now this was what you called a cheating player. Leans back strategically.