Attempt

Kento Nanami still wore that expression of "I just want a peaceful life" as he flexed his right hand.

"The second attempt succeeded. Looks like I'm lucky today. Your luck, however, isn't so good, Curse User affiliated with Q."

Q was, after all, an organization of Curse Users. In a major city like Tokyo, a base with more than a dozen people was unlikely to be without a Curse User in charge.

Nanami and Akesato had been wary from the very beginning, and their vigilance only increased as time passed.

Unlike Cursed Spirits, Jujutsu Sorcerers were difficult to identify unless they used cursed energy. The deeper someone hid, allowing the outer members to be beaten until they broke down, the more it revealed that person's cunning.

And that was indeed the case. The Curse User was extremely crafty; even his companions did not know his identity. They merely thought he was like them, lying low in Tokyo while awaiting further orders from the higher-ups.

Although Akesato and Nanami's sudden intrusion had caught him off guard, he quickly calmed down and devised a battle strategy.

First, he would use the outer members as cannon fodder.

These people lacked the qualities of Jujutsu Sorcerers and could easily be recruited with money, religion, or outright brainwashing. They were perfect for testing the enemy's strength.

Once the enemy lowered their guard, he would use his jujutsu to secure victory in a single blow.

The strategy was sound, and Nanami and Akesato played right into it. Seeing that neither of them used jujutsu and fought only hand-to-hand, he felt that this was an opportunity granted by the heavens.

His jujutsu was "Reflection," which could rebound an enemy's attacks to a certain extent and was especially effective against physical attacks. Nanami's fighting style was practically serving himself up on a platter.

The ongoing lesson on "Black Flash" did make him somewhat concerned, since Reflection had its limits. But every Jujutsu Sorcerer knew that Black Flash depended heavily on luck. Some sorcerers only managed it once in their entire lives.

After Nanami failed once, he thought his chance had come. He never expected Nanami to succeed on his second attempt, breaking through his Reflection Cursed Technique in one strike and severely injuring him.

The sheer blow and disparity made him forget the pain. He stared fixedly at the man before him.

"No... impossible. How could Black Flash come so easily? You... who are you?"

"Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer Kento Nanami. I've always had rather good luck with Black Flash."

The unnamed sorcerer's face turned ashen as he finally accepted reality.

Nanami casually hauled him up and said to Akesato, "Classmate Akesato, you should give it a try as well."

"Alright."

Akesato nodded and followed Nanami's instructions, spreading cursed energy around his fist—not making the cursed energy follow his body, but making his body follow the cursed energy.

He inhaled.

He sank into a horse stance.

He threw a punch!

Flowing Spring Style—mere impact was enough to knock an enemy down.

However, the cursed energy that scattered outward without being gathered became the very reason his Black Flash failed.

"Don't simply spread it out. Make sure you can draw it back at any time. Focus more. Keep your body and mind in perfect unity, and completely integrate cursed energy into your breathing."

Akesato did as instructed.

Focus.

Another punch. Still not enough; his cursed energy and the force of his fist were misaligned.

Again!

More focus!

Mind and body as one.

Seemingly dispersed, yet actually gathered...

The third punch!

No, still not enough. It needed to be even more condensed.

Akesato completely immersed himself in his own world. The fourth punch, the fifth punch—one after another.

By the time he felt his cursed energy becoming sluggish and unable to keep up with the expenditure, no one besides Nanami was left standing in the base. The lavishly decorated place, resembling an upscale bar, had also been smashed to pieces.

He unwillingly glanced at his hands before lowering them helplessly. "I failed."

Nanami had already fastened his suit jacket and tied his tie. "That is the normal result. If Black Flash were so easy to learn, it would not be a dividing line for Jujutsu Sorcerers, nor would that person have sent you to find me."

"What are my shortcomings?" Akesato asked humbly.

"Two things. First, what I told you is my own experience, and it may not suit you. You need to develop an understanding of cursed energy that suits you better. Second, training. Continuously deepen your coordination with cursed energy through that understanding. As long as you are improving, you are on the right path—keep going until you reach the limit.

"Even then, do not stop. Make your fists and cursed energy into instinct. If you do that, perhaps one day you will break through that limit and land a Black Flash. Once you manage it for the first time, using Black Flash again will become much easier."

"I've learned a great deal."

Coming from Nanami, those words carried the greatest credibility, because he held the world record for consecutive Black Flashes, having landed four of them in a single day.

The experience and principles he taught Akesato were also what Akesato agreed with most deeply—and what he had always been doing.

Practice. Constant practice. Let it seep into the bones and become instinct, like a professional athlete's unceasing training. Then came waiting—waiting for the day when long accumulation finally burst forth.

As long as one did not give up striving, there would always be a few shining moments in life. Many athletes themselves did not know how they pulled off their most brilliant moments; they only remembered their bodies moving naturally.

Black Flash was precisely such a special state, something that could be called divine inspiration and a stroke of genius.

"Let's go. We'll return and report to Mr. Gojo first. Afterward, I'll try to help you find a more concrete feeling for it."

Kento Nanami's "mission accomplished" attitude left Akesato somewhat stunned.

"That's it? They—"

"—They're already dead."

"Huh?" No one had delivered a killing blow in his memory. Had he hit them too hard while absorbed in Black Flash?

"Don't look. They were killed by a curse. Some kind of cursed technique had been placed on all of them beforehand; once they touched upon the organization's secrets, they would die. This matter seems more complicated than it looks."

The moment Kento Nanami captured them, he had tried to obtain information. But just as the Curse User was about to speak, his heart split apart. Soon afterward, everyone else's hearts shattered as well.

"This isn't your responsibility. I did tell you to be prepared to kill, but I didn't mean for you to blame yourself for every enemy's death. Gathering intelligence and investigating hideouts aren't our duties either. Doing a passable job is enough. That's an adult's experience."

Akesato nodded without speaking.

But it was not as Kento Nanami thought. Akesato understood the working man's principles of muddling through and doing the bare minimum just as well. He was merely surprised by how he felt right now.

There was no anger, no fear, no lingering dread, no self-reproach...

There was only calm, as though the deaths around him had nothing to do with him. He did not even feel the empathy of one creature mourning another's fate.

Had he already grown accustomed to this cruel Jujutsu world?

Or had he been cold-blooded by nature?

Akesato did not know the answer.

But—

"Little Sa~" Akesato silently called.

A gentle ripple of Psychic Power came from behind him, like the soft rustle of wind passing through leaves.

Then, more and more figures surfaced in his mind.

Akemi.

Playful Panda.

Maki Zenin.

Panda.

Toge Inumaki.

And, of course, Satoru Gojo.

Before he knew it, his hardened heart had softened.

Yeah, this was good. This was very good.

Akesato, whose heart had become tranquil and peaceful, failed to notice that the Dark Egg he had carried with him, which had shown no reaction for four days, trembled faintly as though it were beating.

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