Heavenly Restriction, Eight Gates!

After extorting Yuki Tsukumo, Shinsuke Zenin brought her to a rather nice little loft. The decor was exquisite, and it was obvious at a glance that it hadn't come cheap.

"Come in."

Shinsuke Zenin took out a key and opened the door with practiced ease.

"Don't tell me this is your house?"

Yuki Tsukumo stepped inside with a shocked expression, looking around the place.

Where had this guy gotten so much money to buy such a luxurious house? He hadn't scammed it off someone, had he?

Yuki Tsukumo was somewhat suspicious.

"Of course it's not mine. Do I look like the kind of person who'd spend money on a house?"

Shinsuke Zenin shot her a glance.

Why would he waste money buying a house? All he had to do was find some woman to support him.

"That's good, that's good."

Yuki Tsukumo instantly let out a sigh of relief. She felt a little more balanced inside.

"Come on. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish."

Back in the room, Shinsuke Zenin took off his clothes and lay face-down on the bed, as if he already knew exactly what was about to happen.

Looking at the explosive muscles covering Shinsuke Zenin's body, Yuki Tsukumo swallowed, her face flushing slightly.

Though she had seen it more than once, it still stirred up a strange feeling in her every time.

Being handsome would've been enough, but his body is this good too. He really was born to live off women.

Shaking her head to throw out those improper thoughts, Yuki Tsukumo placed a hand on Shinsuke Zenin's back. A stream of pure Cursed Energy flowed into his body.

Shinsuke Zenin's powerful senses allowed him to clearly feel that Cursed Energy moving through his body, seemingly trying to uncover the secrets of the Heavenly Restriction.

For certain reasons, Yuki Tsukumo's ideals clashed with those of the Jujutsu World's higher-ups.

She believed that exorcising curses merely treated the symptoms, not the root cause, and could not solve the real problem at all.

In this world, everyone possessed Cursed Energy within their bodies, but most people could not sense it.

Those capable of controlling that Cursed Energy and using it for themselves were known as Jujutsu Sorcerers.

The task of most Jujutsu Sorcerers was to exorcise the various curses born from negative energy and protect ordinary people.

Of course, some Jujutsu Sorcerers used their great power to do as they pleased, breaking laws, committing crimes, carrying out acts of terror, and threatening the stability of ordinary society.

Such people were known as Curse Users who had betrayed the Jujutsu World, and they were also enemies of Jujutsu Sorcerers.

Yuki Tsukumo believed that the root of curses lay in Cursed Energy. As long as Cursed Energy vanished from the entire world, curses would no longer be born.

Among known humans, there were currently only two people with absolutely no Cursed Energy in their bodies.

One was Toji Zenin of the Zenin Family, one of the three great families of the Jujutsu World.

The other was the person before Yuki Tsukumo now—Shinsuke Zenin.

As it happened, the two were biological brothers.

"Are you done researching? My time is very valuable."

Veins like coiling dragons gradually bulged across Shinsuke Zenin's body, as though rejecting the Cursed Energy running wild inside him.

"Whew..."

Letting out a long breath, Yuki Tsukumo withdrew her fair hand, her expression somewhat helpless.

"Why, exactly?"

"Why is your body able to avoid generating Cursed Energy?"

Yuki Tsukumo was close to breaking down. She had spent money again, yet learned nothing.

She felt like she had been thoroughly ripped off.

"I told you to give up. Stop wasting your time on this pointless stuff. You'd be better off killing some curses and making some money. Eating and drinking well is more important than anything."

Having dealt with Yuki Tsukumo for so many years, Shinsuke Zenin naturally knew what she wanted to do.

"No, let me study you a little longer!"

"I can feel it—I'll definitely discover something if I have more time!"

Yuki Tsukumo looked utterly serious. She could feel that the longer her Cursed Energy remained inside Shinsuke Zenin's body, the stronger the repulsive force it encountered became.

If her Cursed Energy could hold on a little longer, or if she poured in a greater amount, she might be able to discover the principles behind the Heavenly Restriction.

"That won't do. I don't work for free."

Shinsuke Zenin waved a hand and refused outright.

This woman was always trying to get a free ride. That absolutely would not do—once there was a first time, there would be countless more.

"I'll pay. Triple!"

Veins popped up on Yuki Tsukumo's forehead as she held up three fingers.

"This is the last time. If it still doesn't work, I'm really giving up."

After researching for four or five years without gaining anything useful—and instead being scammed out of quite a bit of money by this man—she swore this would be the last time.

Rather than stubbornly fixating on Heavenly Restriction, she might as well think of other methods, such as how to turn all humanity in the world into sorcerers. That could also solve the fundamental problem.

"Fine, one last time. But don't come bothering me again after this."

Shinsuke Zenin reluctantly agreed.

For him, getting paid just for lying down for a while was something he was quite happy to do.

Anyway, Yuki Tsukumo wouldn't be able to research anything in the end.

A deal where he got paid without doing any work—aside from Yuki Tsukumo, he doubted he could find a second person like that.

After all, even living off a woman required physical labor.

But to Yuki Tsukumo, this felt like paying money and not getting laid. Every time, it left her miserable for quite a while.

"This time, I'm increasing the Cursed Energy intensity. If you can't hold on, remember to say so."

Yuki Tsukumo took a deep breath, determination in her eyes. This was the last time—don't disappoint her now.

The next moment, her small, cold hand covered Shinsuke Zenin's back again. Powerful Cursed Energy surged fiercely into his body, and in an instant, his body reacted with rejection.

Veins bulged one after another, making him look especially terrifying.

Shinsuke Zenin's expression changed. He immediately sensed that the somewhat technological-looking scripture in his mind had begun to shake violently.

"Boom—!"

A violent wave of heat erupted from his body, forcing all the Cursed Energy inside him out. The overbearing force made Yuki Tsukumo stagger, and she had to retreat several steps before steadying herself.

"What's going on?!"

Yuki Tsukumo's gaze turned grave. Was this also the power of Heavenly Restriction?

How could it be so overbearing?!

"Huff..."

Shinsuke Zenin hurriedly suppressed the turbulent power within him, and his reddened skin gradually returned to normal.

"My Heavenly Restriction was never compatible with Cursed Energy to begin with. Something like this is normal."

He hadn't expected it either. Yuki Tsukumo's Cursed Energy had entered his body so many times already—they should have been old acquaintances by now. Yet the cheat in his mind had apparently taken offense.

His consciousness sank into his mind, where a scripture lay quietly: Eight Gates!

That's right—the ultimate embodiment of taijutsu!

It had suddenly appeared in his mind on his eighteenth birthday.

Perhaps because he had been watching an exhilarating compilation of Might Guy when he suddenly died from overwork in his previous life, he had gained this cheat in this life.

When it first awakened, he had been overjoyed. A late cheat was still a cheat.

Eight Gates and Heavenly Restriction—weren't they a perfect match?

When he thought that the ultimate physique granted by Heavenly Restriction would let him open all Eight Gates and kick the Jujutsu World apart in minutes, he discovered that he had no chakra at all. He couldn't even open his acupoints, let alone the Eight Gates.

Still, this cheat had some conscience. It had slightly modified the training method of the Eight Gates.

By tempering the body to its limit, he could produce the power inherently possessed by the flesh itself: the power of blood and vitality.

He could use that tangible power of blood and vitality to open his acupoints, achieving the same effect as chakra.

It could be said that the Eight Gates within him was a purely physical art, something capable of bringing the body's power to its absolute limit.

It was just that tempering the power of blood and vitality was ever so slightly difficult.

His consciousness opened the scripture in his mind, and somewhat intelligent-looking words surfaced upon it.

[Gate of Opening: 100%]

[Gate of Healing: 100%]

[Gate of Life: 100%]

[Gate of Harm: 11%]

...

[Gate of Death: 0%]

At present, he could only fully open the first three Gates. The boost to his strength wasn't particularly outrageous, but it could improve every aspect of his physical condition.

Such as speed, presence, and so on.

The physical strength granted by Heavenly Restriction was already powerful enough. If he wanted to greatly enhance his body's attributes through the Eight Gates, he estimated that he would need to open at least the first five Gates—the Gate of Closing.

Soon. As long as he slowed down on living off women a little and increased the intensity of his training, it probably wouldn't take many years before he could show the world what true ultimate taijutsu was.

After all, the power of the Eight Gates was closely tied to the user's physical strength.

Might Guy opening five Gates and Rock Lee opening five Gates were not on the same level.

The power created by combining Heavenly Restriction with the Eight Gates would undoubtedly be terrifying.