Jujutsu... Professor?

"All right, all right. I'll try not to bring it up anymore. Mommy talks too much and accidentally brought up your embarrassing past again."

Mirei Hatayama teased him with a bright smile, overflowing with maternal affection as she rubbed her son's hair. She couldn't keep her hands off it, shaping it into all sorts of Saiyan hairstyles.

Her dignified, refined demeanor went completely out the window in front of her son.

Her son was only fifteen, with another three years before adulthood. If she didn't create more embarrassing memories for him, he'd miss out on the joys of childhood.

Tsukasa Hatayama rolled his eyes slightly, then smiled and pressed his cheek against his mother's belly, quietly listening to her chatter.

After spending some tender moments together, Mirei Hatayama left with her maid, smiling all the while. She still wanted to chat, but her child needed his own space, after all.

Sporting a Super Saiyan hairstyle, Tsukasa Hatayama opened the panel he hadn't seen in ages to check whether the side effects of the Void Cursed Technique had been reduced at all.

[Name: Tsukasa Hatayama]

[Sex: Look down and check for yourself]

[Age: 15]

[Cursed energy: One / half a Nine-Tails]

[Cursed techniques: Dark Manipulation, Orochi's Void (14)]

[Domain: Comprehension in progress]

[Special ability: Mystic Eyes of Death Perception]

[Special item: Perfect Hogyoku (no independent consciousness)]

[Abilities: Ancient close-quarters combat (transcendent mastery), knife proficiency (transcendent mastery), slash (Hōgyoku original), Cursed Pressure (Hōgyoku original)...]

With a flick of his hand, Tsukasa Hatayama dismissed the entirely red panel, then stroked his chin as he considered the slight changes on it.

A month had thirty-one days, and half a month was fifteen and a half days.

This time, his sleep had shortened from fifteen and a half days to fourteen, which meant the Hōgyoku had secretly shaved off another day and a half for him.

At this rate, the side effects should be completely eliminated before the plot began, allowing him to become truly the strongest.

Of course, even a slight reduction in the side effects made him happy. Who liked lying motionless in bed for ten or twenty days at a time?

If that counted as good news, then didn't the Hōgyoku helping him break through his body's limits and increase his total cursed energy count as an immense blessing?

With his current body and cursed energy, he was practically a cursed-energy version of the Heavenly Restricted Tyrant. With the Hōgyoku's help, achieving physical transcendence in the future shouldn't be a problem.

Having thought this far, Tsukasa Hatayama said meaningfully, "Looks like I'll have to find time to let Geto and Satoru get used to a tyrant's strength in advance."

He stroked his chin again and murmured, "Next, I'll focus on my Maximum Technique and domain. Without a domain, I can't call myself Special Grade."

"And I'd really like to see what lies at the end of Dark Manipulation. Is it salvation for humanity, or destruction that engulfs the world?"

The next day.

At the Training Grounds, Suguru Geto sat on the stone steps with a worried look on his handsome face. His brows knitted tightly as he watched Teacher Yaga and Satoru spar, his thoughts in turmoil.

Shoko Ieiri sat lazily beside him, playing on her phone as though she'd seen it all before. She even shifted farther away from Suguru Geto, who looked like he was about to have his time of the month.

Shoko Ieiri lowered her phone and lazily sucked on a piece of candy, glancing at Suguru Geto as he worriedly gnawed on a finger.

Ever since that taciturn guy had gone home, Suguru Geto had been acting strange. He either wore a resentful expression or muttered to himself.

Then again, Suguru Geto's reaction was perfectly normal. Satoru Gojo depended on Suguru Geto, while Suguru Geto depended on Tsukasa Hatayama.

The bond between those three was strange, yet somehow enviable.

"So this is where you are. I was going to look for you in the classroom."

That calm voice, unheard for so long, suddenly came from behind them like a depth charge.

The four of them froze in the middle of their respective activities, then turned in delighted surprise. A slender young man came into view, his hair stirring in the breeze.

The worry vanished from Suguru Geto's face. He ran over with a heartfelt smile, then rose onto his toes and caught the young man under his arm in a headlock.

"You bastard, so you do remember how to get back to Jujutsu High! Look at you, all rosy-cheeked and well-fed. Those fifteen days must've been pretty comfortable, huh?"

Suguru Geto laughingly scolded him as he ruffled his black hair, rubbing it this way and that without stopping until it resembled a bird's nest.

With his hair sticking out in a ridiculous mess, Tsukasa Hatayama said sheepishly, "I exorcised so many curses for Jujutsu High. I needed some rest."

Suguru Geto naturally knew what his best friend had done and didn't give him any more trouble. Instead, he welcomed him warmly with a big hug despite their height difference.

Then, smiling cheerfully, he led Tsukasa Hatayama over to the other three, who had been waiting.

Before Tsukasa Hatayama could greet them, the irrepressible Satoru Gojo deftly snatched the two large bags from his hands.

When he opened them, the Six Eyes gleamed beneath Satoru Gojo's sunglasses. Inside were the newly released Family Bucket and a pile of outrageously sweet desserts.

He wiped away his drool and looked solemnly at Tsukasa Hatayama. "For the sake of these desserts, I'll make an exception and forgive you for leaving without saying goodbye."

His craving for sweets took over as he happily dug into the still-warm Egg Tarts. Two in one bite, four in two-he simply couldn't stop.

Unable to bear watching, Tsukasa Hatayama looked away and gave Masamichi Yaga, who wore a faint smile, a slight bow. Then he nodded to Shoko Ieiri, greeting her as an equal.

The former patted Tsukasa Hatayama's chest appreciatively, while the latter lazily waved.

After that, needless to say, the teacher and his four students sat in a circle on the grass to enjoy the Family Bucket.

After an hour of eating, drinking, and chatting, only Tsukasa Hatayama and Masamichi Yaga remained on the grounds.

While chatting with his teacher, Tsukasa Hatayama learned what had happened over the past fifteen days.

Following his last crackdown, weaker Grade 3 and Grade 4 cursed spirits still appeared, but Grade 1 and Grade 2 cursed spirits had become rare.

Special Grade cursed spirits were even scarcer. Unlike the future, when they would be everywhere, Jujutsu Society was relatively peaceful at present.

Peaceful though it was, something subtle had changed for him personally: while Satoru was taking Geto home, he had inadvertently revealed Cursed Pressure and the Rasengan.

Because of those two moves, people in Jujutsu Society had their eyes on him. Powerful abilities that didn't require a cursed technique-who wouldn't be tempted?

But his Special Grade status and the overwhelming strength he'd shown in suppressing cursed spirits kept them at a respectful distance. They didn't dare try throwing their weight around against someone younger.

Even a fool knew that a Special Grade Sorcerer was capable of destroying a nation.

With grease on his lips and his cheeks bulging, Tsukasa Hatayama looked at Teacher Yaga's serious face. "I knew this day would come, but what's this 'Jujutsu Professor' thing?"

Masamichi Yaga explained calmly, "It's an honorary title that sorcerers and curse users outside the school have given you, because you're creating a unique path."

Tsukasa Hatayama smiled faintly. "They heap such lofty praise on me for two little moves. If I created something that could destroy heaven and earth..."

"Would they have to call me... a god?"

Masamichi Yaga furrowed his thick brows and warned him, "You need to be on guard against those underhanded people. You can't keep treating everything like a joke."

"I know. But compared to me, your situation seems more dangerous, Teacher. If the Higher-Ups found out about the cursed corpse behind you..."

Tsukasa Hatayama kept chewing, his cheeks bulging, and left the rest unsaid. He gave a meaningful look at the shy little Panda peeking out from behind his teacher.

Masamichi Yaga fell silent and affectionately rubbed Panda's head.

A moment later, he changed the subject. "Come with me to meet the Higher-Ups in a bit. I hear they've prepared a reward for your work exorcising curses."

Tsukasa Hatayama nodded slightly, then picked up a chicken drumstick and handed it to Panda. The little Panda shyly ducked his head and thanked him.

(P.S. I revised the timeline in the previous chapter because I'd calculated it wrong. I also won't list the cursed technique skills anymore, to avoid padding the word count.)