Panel Improvements

Kana Shizumi felt a slight headache.

The memories churning through his mind were shapeless, like glass dropped on the floor and shattered into scattered fragments.

So I had to piece them together myself after all...

Fortunately, with no outside interference, Kana Shizumi quickly sorted through this portion of his thoughts.

He did not know the name of the man in those memories. Even things like the man's face were vague and hazy...

It was as though a voice kept murmuring by his ear, "Those things aren't important." Kana Shizumi's attention naturally fell on the rest of the information.

First...

This thing was a Cursed Object.

Then what exactly could it do, and what effects did it have?

No sooner had the thought formed than Kana Shizumi watched the jade slowly sink beneath his flesh... Like water blending with milk, the Cursed Tool naturally embedded itself into his body.

"...???"

A little frightened in hindsight, he groped himself up and down. In the end, through his perception of blood, he roughly located the abnormal sensation in his "chest."

The Sky-Covering Jade had sunk deep into his heart, as though it had become a part of his body.

At the same time, familiar prompts appeared before Kana Shizumi's eyes.

[Obtained Six Paths Crossroads—Heavenly Canopy Jade]

[Integration conditions met. Total cursed energy +5]

[Preparing to activate the Cursed Tool's special effect...]

As he watched the string of messages appear, Kana Shizumi's initially complicated expression turned excited.

So that was it. No wonder!

Jail Mom really did hand me a gun.

And after observing and piecing things together, it was not difficult for him to draw an even further conclusion.

"This thing is activated through blood..."

Kana Shizumi recalled the suffix attached to his Innate Technique on the panel.

Modified Blood Manipulation.

He had reason to suspect that Kenjaku had mixed something strange into his inheritance. Like a key, it could directly activate and unlock the restrictions originally left within these Cursed Tools.

There was too little information for him to learn anything deeper for now. But that was not particularly important; he could slowly explore it later.

And judging from the results... he had gained quite a lot.

After all, Hanami's rampage through the hospital had also earned Kana Shizumi some other "rewards."

[Completed the "Line Between Life and Death" trial]

[Obtained special reward: Cursed Energy Efficiency +2]

Huh!

From the looks of it, completing his troublemaker mission was far from the only way to earn rewards.

"Through realizations during PvP, or experiences from breaking through in the heat of battle... I should be able to obtain corresponding special rewards that way too."

Logically speaking, Black Flash should have been easy to trigger when the fight got more and more intense.

Considering what had happened before, Kana Shizumi had reason to believe... that if he had possessed the strength of a Grade 1 Sorcerer back then, he probably could have landed a Black Flash.

Go for it! I can go all out!

At this point, aside from lamenting how pathetically weak he was, he had no other thoughts.

"My attributes went up again."

As he sighed, Kana Shizumi took a moment to glance over his current panel.

[Kana Shizumi]

[Total Cursed Energy: 44 (+5 from Cursed Tool)]

[Cursed Energy Efficiency: 24]

[Cursed Energy Output: 22]

[Innate Technique: Modified Blood Manipulation]

[Physical Combat and Cursed Energy Control: 33]

[Derived Abilities: None]

After a brief moment of thought, Kana Shizumi once again assigned the 2 free attribute points he had obtained earlier to "Cursed Energy Efficiency."

Only after seeing the value rise to [26] did Kana Shizumi feel somewhat reassured.

In truth, this battle had given him a rather profound realization.

—For someone at his current level, cursed energy circulation efficiency was an absolutely crucial factor.

"Faster circulation, more power contained within a single technique, and lower consumption at the same time..."

He could fight, endure, and run.

Improving the overall efficiency of his cursed techniques was, in the most literal sense, the best possible attribute for a technique as broadly applicable as Crimson Blood Manipulation.

Of course, the main reason was that Kana Shizumi really wanted Piercing Blood after seeing it.

After all, what man did not want a big sniper rifle of his own?

Blood compressed through Convergence, then activated and fired with a specific method... could briefly reach speeds beyond the sound barrier.

A handmade sniper rifle, huh.

Still, the Six Eyes were just too overpowered.

Satoru Gojo could make his consumption fail to keep up with his cursed energy recovery, firing a Blue Fist with his left hand and a Red Fist with his right, then clapping his hands together for a world-shaking explosion.

And if that still did not kill you, he could open his Domain and stuff all sorts of garbage into your brain. With that absurd 1.9-meter physique, he had an absolute advantage in hand-to-hand combat too...

Kana Shizumi started laughing as he thought about it.

How was I supposed to fight a shit-monster boss like that? From the villain's perspective, Sukuna absolutely had to show up.

Otherwise, Jail Mom would have to lead everyone in attacking Gojo's shoe soles with their heads...

With that thought.

Kana Shizumi let out a soft breath and looked around.

It was still early, not yet time for the temple to open. But if he kept making trouble here, he would most likely run into some unnecessary problems.

Tightening the brand-new Mammut jacket he had acquired for free around himself, Kana Shizumi hurriedly left.

One day later.

"Welcome back."

Kenjaku warmly welcomed Kana Shizumi as he returned to their temporary base, dusty from travel.

He even got up and pulled out a chair for him.

"Sit."

In the presence of an elder, Kana Shizumi displayed the proper restraint of a young man.

"These are pickled persimmons I brought from Kyoto. Please enjoy them..."

Seeing the exquisitely packaged gift box, even Kenjaku could not help choking up.

"So you delayed your return by a day just to buy souvenirs?"

"Huh? No... I ran out of money. The Shinkansen was too expensive, so after running a third of the way, I took a night bus back."

Kana Shizumi pulled out the last 126 yen in his pocket, his face full of melancholy.

"Give me another two days on my own, and I'll probably be surviving out of trash cans. Honestly, Tokyo's crows are pretty fierce. I might not even be able to beat them in a fight for scraps... So, Jail Mom."

"Do I really not get paid for missions?"

Kenjaku raised his right hand and rubbed his cheek expressionlessly, his tone carrying an indescribably awkward embarrassment.

"I'll give you a bank card later. The funds in it can be withdrawn and used at will..."