After only an hour and a half of walking, Shura successfully dragged the ingredients back to Jujutsu High. Then he sprawled on the ground with his tongue hanging out.
Natsu Hiraku compensated him with two large bowls of goat's milk. After all, he was still growing and needed plenty of nutrition. According to the doctor's orders, he would not be allowed to eat meat until the day after tomorrow.
That evening, after everyone finished dinner, Natsu Hiraku took Shura out to train. It was still tree-scratching, but today, Shura exhausted every last bit of Cursed Energy in his body.
The next day was the same.
The third day.
Perhaps because Shura had used Cursed Energy for so long that it altered his genes, or perhaps because of the Summoning Technique, his body began producing Cursed Energy on its own. His maximum Cursed Energy capacity also rose from 150 to around 200.
Natsu Hiraku was overjoyed when he discovered it. After all, what had initially caught his eye was the idea of having a backup power bank. Learning about Shura's Cursed Energy reserves had been purely accidental. During his spar with Maki Zenin, he had run out of Cursed Energy, then borrowed some directly from Shura.
Shura, who had been taking a nap, suddenly felt hollowed out inside. Thinking his master had caught him slacking off, he scrambled to his feet.
Seven days passed.
Shura's fur had grown back, and under Natsu Hiraku's careful care, he gained weight by the day. He had also grown quite a bit taller.
The eighth day.
Perhaps it was just in his head, but Natsu Hiraku kept feeling that something was off with Shura. He looked as though he had been pumped full of steroids. He was already twice his previous size, and even Black Jade had to look up at him.
Though he knew it was true, it was still hard to believe. Shura was growing far too quickly. It was possible that the Cursed Energy in his body was responsible.
Anyway, Shura would only need one slap to kill Black Jade. If they really fought, though, the odds were two to eight—Shura had the two, Black Jade had the eight. Black Jade was too nimble, and as a special Shikigami, he could return to the shadows. Shura had no way to deal with him.
But if Shura got a firm bite in, Black Jade would drop to his knees on the spot.
The tenth day.
Natsu Hiraku knew Shura no longer needed Black Jade's instruction, so he had Panda teach him instead. Panda had been bored all day anyway.
Panda happily agreed and declared that after his training, Shura would definitely become tough enough to take a beating!
Natsu Hiraku gave him a thumbs-up. Shura, watching from the side, had already gotten used to this. So long as his master was not personally training him, he would not end up half-dead from exhaustion. Fortunately, his master had not had time to train him that morning.
In the blink of an eye, a month passed.
Shura now stood seventy centimeters at the shoulder, measured roughly one meter thirty from head to tail, and weighed seventy-five kilograms. In just one month, he had reached the standard size of a fully grown Tibetan Mastiff, and he was still growing.
Natsu Hiraku was no longer surprised. Whatever the reason, Shura would be able to lend him a hand in the upcoming exchange event.
At the training field, Maki Zenin was training Yuta Okkotsu.
Under Maki and Natsu Hiraku's combined instruction, Yuta had become far stronger than before. At the very least, he could hold out against Maki for a while and even look for openings to counterattack.
Gojo Satoru walked over with a wave. "Hey! How's everyone doing?"
"Ah! Um..."
Yuta was struck in the face by Maki's staff the moment he got distracted to answer. She sternly scolded him, "Don't look around. Get back into your stance, idiot."
"Yes." Yuta covered his left cheek where the staff had struck him. She's so strict...
"Didn't you say you wanted to beat me at least once?"
"Yes!"
Watching Yuta get back up and continue striving, Natsu Hiraku lay atop Shura and commented, "Who could beat you in pure hand-to-hand combat, Maki?"
"Awwooo..."
Shura yawned. They had trained too long the night before, and he had not gotten enough sleep.
"Yeah, but Yuta's body has become very agile already," Panda said.
Gojo Satoru, who had just walked over, added, "His attitude has become much more positive too."
"Salmon."
Toge Inumaki nodded in agreement.
"All right, gather up!!"
Gojo Satoru clapped his hands and called out to Maki and Yuta.
Hearing him, Maki Zenin and Yuta Okkotsu stopped swinging their staffs and ran over. Natsu Hiraku got up, patted Shura to signal him to rise, then walked over to stand before Gojo Satoru.
Gojo Satoru nodded in satisfaction and looked at Toge Inumaki. "Toge, there's a mission that specifically requested you. Get it done quickly, then come back quickly."
"Salmon."
Toge Inumaki nodded.
"Specifically requested...?"
Yuta Okkotsu asked in confusion. Panda explained from beside him, "Toge is the only Grade 2 Sorcerer among the first-years. He can operate independently."
"Wow, that's amazing!"
Yuta looked at Toge Inumaki with open admiration.
Gojo Satoru interjected, "I wanted to recommend Natsu Hiraku for promotion to Grade 2 Sorcerer before, but he turned it down."
Those words immediately drew everyone's eyes to Natsu Hiraku, as though they were asking why he had refused.
"Why are you all looking at me? That was a month ago. Besides, I'm not strong enough to be a Grade 2 Sorcerer yet. Isn't it normal to refuse? If I get assigned a mission beyond my abilities someday, I could easily get killed."
Natsu Hiraku waved a hand and explained calmly.
Can you stop being so absurdly driven? everyone silently complained.
Gojo Satoru said, "All right, Yuta and Natsu Hiraku, you're going too. Yuta, act as Toge's assistant. Natsu Hiraku, just watch. Think of it as gaining some experience."
"Okay."
Naturally, Natsu Hiraku did not refuse. He could smell the scent of a System Quest.
Before the system issued a quest, it always came into contact with a Cursed Spirit or triggered a keyword. He had a feeling this exorcism would definitely come with a quest.
Besides, he had been resting for over a month. Every day, apart from training with Maki, he was training the dog. He enjoyed it, sure, but he could not keep doing this forever. Without System Quests, that meant he had no way to grow stronger other than physical training.
In other words, even the dog was getting stronger rapidly while he was progressing at a snail's pace—or perhaps not moving at all.
"Assistant...?" Yuta Okkotsu asked.
Gojo Satoru said, "Or perhaps I should say you're going to observe. Jujutsu comes in all kinds of forms. You can think of it this way: however many sorcerers there are, that's how many ways there are to exorcise Cursed Spirits. Toge's Cursed Speech is a great example. Go learn properly. To lift a curse, you must first understand curses."
Everyone walked out of Jujutsu High, where a black sedan was waiting by the roadside. Seeing that Yuta Okkotsu was frightened about his first real combat mission, Natsu Hiraku patted him on the shoulder and smiled.
"Don't be scared. Teacher Gojo said it himself—we're just here to watch."
"Yeah, but it's my first... no, second real combat mission. I can't help being a little scared."
Yuta gripped the black bag in his hands tightly. His Cursed Tool was inside.
"Salmon!"
Toge Inumaki raised a hand in greeting to the two of them.
As Yuta stood there with a confused expression, unsure what to say, Natsu Hiraku lifted his hand and slapped Toge's palm.
"We'll be relying on you to look after us two weaklings, Toge."
"Fish flakes."
Without Panda translating, how does Natsu Hiraku know what Toge is saying? Yuta Okkotsu thought helplessly.
Gojo Satoru, who had reached the black sedan, called out, "Yuta, Natsu Hiraku, come here for a moment."
"Coming!"
The two answered.
Toge Inumaki watched Yuta leave, unsure how to communicate with him. Natsu Hiraku usually came to play with him too, asking him to put a weight-increasing buff on himself.
It had to be said that no one could compare to him as the king of grind.
Gojo Satoru said, "Sorry, I can't go with you this time. But Toge can handle this mission alone, and as for Natsu Hiraku, there's even less to say. Just take Shura and watch from the side the whole time.
"But Yuta, I need to remind you—don't let Rika come out. No one can guarantee she'll obediently go back like last time. You may only use the portion of Rika's power that can be stored in your sword. If you let her fully manifest again, both you and I will be dealt with."
"What?!"
The moment Yuta Okkotsu heard that they would be dealt with, his pressure skyrocketed.
Natsu Hiraku, who watched the entire exchange while petting Shura, silently complained, Who could possibly deal with you...?
After that little interlude, the three of them and one dog got into the car. It was a little crowded, but it was still better than having Shura follow behind the car into the city center and cause a panic.
With the enhancement of Cursed Energy, he might look cumbersome, but he was not slow at all when he ran. Natsu Hiraku had tested him: on a one-hundred-meter track, he had finished in only three seconds, and he had not even reached his top speed at the start.
Of course, the result of such explosive power from such a heavy body was that the rubber track was instantly ruined.
Would that kind of speed fail to keep up with a sedan?
They arrived at their destination half an hour later. After getting out of the car, everyone stared at the silent shopping street, unsure what to say.
Jujutsu High School Assistant Supervisor Ijichi Kiyotaka, who was also acting as their driver, held a tablet in his hands and said, "The shops in this Happiness Shopping Street have basically all gone out of business. According to the plan, this area will be demolished and turned into a large shopping center. During the inspection, a group of low-grade Cursed Spirits was confirmed to be gathering here. Sorry for the trouble, Grade 2 Sorcerer Inumaki. Please exorcise these Cursed Spirits."
Before he could finish speaking, Toge Inumaki had already gone into a shop behind him to buy something. Natsu Hiraku followed him in to buy drinks. It had nothing to do with him anyway; he could wait until the System Quest was issued before making a move. Yuta Okkotsu listened attentively the entire time and did not notice that the two of them and the dog had left.
"Huh?!" After finishing, Ijichi Kiyotaka looked at the missing two people and one dog in shock. "Where are Sorcerer Inumaki and Sorcerer Natsu?"
"Thank you for your patronage!"
The voice coming from the shop beside them drew their attention. Natsu Hiraku emerged carrying a bag of snacks. Shura had a huge chicken drumstick in his mouth, while Toge Inumaki carried a bag in his left hand and a drink in his right.
Natsu Hiraku took a drink from the bag and tossed it to Yuta. "Catch!"
"Oh!"
Ijichi Kiyotaka seemed as though he had gotten used to it. He did not get angry and continued, "In short, the developer does not want the land they invested heavily to purchase to gain a bad reputation because of this and affect future business, so they urgently commissioned us to deal with it as soon as possible."
"Salmon."
Toge Inumaki nodded to show that he understood.
Ijichi Kiyotaka adjusted his glasses and said solemnly, "I'm going to put up a Curtain now. I wish the three of you success in battle!!"
As the black Curtain descended, the three people and one dog walked through the silent shopping street.
Yuta Okkotsu nervously looked around. "He said they were low-grade Cursed Spirits gathering together, right?"
"Yeah. If they're only low-grade Cursed Spirits, then one word from Toge will reduce them all to ashes."
Natsu Hiraku took a sip of his icy drink and looked at a small black fish floating through the air beside him. It voiced its resentment from its mouth: "I still want to eat, but Mom won't buy it for me. I'm sad..."
After that whisper, more and more small fish swam out. Each one voiced its own resentment, then gathered deliberately in a single place.
Shura bared his teeth at the floating Cursed Spirits. The fur on his body stood on end as he entered a state of combat readiness.
Looking at the Cursed Spirits gathering into a mass, Yuta Okkotsu recalled Maki's words at Jujutsu High: "The weaker Cursed Spirits are, the more they like to gather together." Then he complained, "Even so, isn't this way too many?!"
"Yeah. It would be a bit troublesome even if I handled them, but for Toge, it's just one sentence."
Natsu Hiraku said calmly.
"Why?"
Yuta Okkotsu asked in confusion. Over the past few months, he had never known how to communicate with Toge Inumaki. Without Panda translating, he could not understand a word Toge said—but Natsu Hiraku could!
"After studying for so long, you still don't know? As Teacher Gojo said, however many sorcerers there are in this world, that's how many methods there are for exorcising Cursed Spirits. If I exorcised these Cursed Spirits, I'd probably burn down the entire street. But Toge's Cursed Speech makes his words become reality. Still don't get it?"
As Natsu Hiraku spoke, he looked toward Toge Inumaki, who was approaching the group of Cursed Spirits.
Yuta Okkotsu looked over as well, Natsu Hiraku's words echoing continuously in his mind.
Toge Inumaki pulled down his collar with his left hand. The inherited technique markings were printed at both corners of his mouth and across his tongue. He opened his mouth and moved his tongue a few times, seemingly searching for the right pronunciation for what he was about to say. Then he took a deep breath and shouted at the Cursed Spirit swarm:
"Explode!!"
Before you continue