Someday? That day is today

The atmosphere in one of the Zenin Clan's halls was murderous.

Gu Yanzhi stood in the center, supporting the still-unconscious Maki. Her arm rested across his shoulders, her breathing faint but fairly steady. The blood at the corner of her mouth had dried into a dark red streak on her face.

A ring of Kukuru Unit members surrounded them, their sharp Cursed Tools all pointed at the pair. Numerous folding screens stood around the hall, with the Zenin Clan's elders seated behind them. Candlelight cast their shadows onto the paper screens, where they swayed slightly amid the discussion.

Naobito Zenin sat in the clan head's seat, propping his head on one hand and tapping his temple lightly with his fingertips, as though considering some thorny problem.

"Mai's actions showed utter contempt for the Zenin Clan's authority," an elder said from behind a screen on the left. "A junior, and a girl at that, attacked the young master so viciously in our own courtyard. If she isn't severely punished, what becomes of the Zenin Clan's rules?"

"What Cursed Technique has she awakened? Her cursed energy is astonishing for someone so young." Another voice came from behind a screen on the right. "She sent Naoya flying with one strike, then held him motionless in midair-a Cursed Technique of that caliber is rare even among the Zenin Clan's younger generation."

"Is it similar to Ranta's?"

"So what? After living off the clan for all these years, she turned out to be an ungrateful wretch. We can't simply let this go."

"But if hers truly is a once-in-a-century talent, disposing of her rashly would be a waste. Better to detain her first and decide what to do once we've investigated her Cursed Technique."

"Enough."

Naobito Zenin finally spoke. His voice was quiet, yet every argument fell silent at once. Still propping up his head, he looked through lowered eyelids at the blood-covered girl in the hall, his expression grave and unreadable.

Gu Yanzhi stood there with a cold gaze.

He had neither interrupted nor offered a defense from beginning to end, merely listening in silence as these lofty figures discussed how to deal with him. They had yet to order his execution not out of mercy or fairness, but because they had suddenly discovered that this object, previously classified as "trash," possessed tremendous value. Now they were deciding whether to keep it.

Gu Yanzhi glanced down at Maki, who remained unconscious from her severe injuries beside him. Naoya had been carried away for treatment, but Maki had been completely ignored-no one cared about her. She had not even taken part in his fight with Naoya, yet she had still been dragged here to stand judgment alongside him. She was probably only alive because her Heavenly Restriction gave her a constitution far beyond that of an ordinary person. Otherwise, this clan would have tormented her to death long ago-this was how the Zenin Clan treated "trash."

Ignoring the arguments from those seated above him, Gu Yanzhi continued thinking about his fight with Naoya Zenin.

Although he had barely used his Cursed Technique, he had discovered a problem-his cursed energy was difficult to control. When he used the Object Manipulation Cursed Technique to repel Naoya, he had been completely unable to gauge how much cursed energy he poured into it, making the technique's power difficult to regulate.

He had a tentative theory: Mai's body had not fully developed yet.

Using Jujutsu required the brain and abdomen, the two core regions of cursed energy. Since a child's body was not fully developed, its cursed energy pathways were not mature enough. Thus, even though he already possessed considerable cursed energy, he could not use his Cursed Technique as he wished. Moreover, Mai's own Cursed Technique had yet to awaken fully, and her organs had not been trained and strengthened through its use. In all likelihood, the problem lay with the body.

While Gu Yanzhi was still pondering this, he suddenly felt warmth on his cheek.

Startled, he raised a hand to touch it-a clear liquid coated his fingertips, glimmering in the candlelight.

Were these... tears?

Tears spilled involuntarily from the corners of Gu Yanzhi's eyes, flowing faster and faster, sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto Maki's shoulder.

These were not his emotions. His mind was perfectly clear, without any sadness or anger, yet the tears would not stop.

At the same time, Maki spoke beside him. Half-conscious, she struggled to force out each word, her voice so faint it was barely audible. "Mai... this clan is shit..." Her eyes were still closed, her lips pale from blood loss, but those words seemed etched into the deepest part of her consciousness, demanding to be spoken even while she was unconscious. "Someday... we have to escape... someday..."

Tears continued streaming down Gu Yanzhi's face.

Mai's body was crying. A suspicion took shape in Gu Yanzhi's mind.

He spoke slowly in the depths of his consciousness, keeping his voice very soft. "Do you want to leave? I might be able to do it now."

Silence lingered for a while.

A faint, faltering voice came from deep within Gu Yanzhi's mind.

"I'm... so... scared..."

"But... I hate... this family."

The members of the Zenin Clan were still arguing over how to deal with this girl who had suddenly unleashed such astonishing power when the girl standing judgment in the center of the hall slowly raised her head.

Tears streamed down Mai's face. For an instant, time seemed to stand still-the arguing members of the Zenin Clan frowned, and the Kukuru Unit members raised their blades warily.

A powerful surge of cursed energy erupted from Mai's body.

"Stop her, now!"

The moment the clan head's words fell, the surrounding Kukuru Unit members all advanced a step, their Cursed Tools gleaming coldly. Clearly prepared for this, they charged almost in unison.

Boom.

An invisible force suddenly expanded outward from Gu Yanzhi.

The air grew heavy in an instant, as though an unseen giant hand had seized the entire hall. The wooden floor beneath his feet shattered first-countless cracks spread in every direction from Gu Yanzhi, the boards buckling and bursting under the tremendous pressure. An irresistible force pushed outward from within, producing a piercing sound of tearing.

The force struck so suddenly that the Kukuru Unit members at the front had no time to react. As though struck head-on by an invisible giant hammer, their blades flew from their hands, and their bodies hurtled backward like kites with severed strings, smashing through the screens and paper doors around the hall one after another.

The elders who had sat so loftily above him now lost all composure as well, tumbling to the floor in scattered heaps.

Naobito Zenin had already withdrawn from the hall. Blue light from his cursed energy flashed around him, his brows drawn into an involuntary frown as he assumed a fighting stance.

The dust slowly settled.

The entire hall was unrecognizable-the floor had buckled, the walls had collapsed, and the screens lay scattered in pieces. Only the small patch where Gu Yanzhi had stood remained untouched, like the eye of a storm.

Gu Yanzhi shifted Maki higher onto his back and used Psychokinesis to secure her firmly behind him. The tear tracks on his face had yet to dry, but the corners of his mouth curled slightly upward.

"Then that day is today."