"Crack."
The wooden sword in his hand shattered, its blade breaking into piece after piece and falling onto the grass in supreme glory.
The four people behind him who had witnessed it were already too stunned to speak. Tsukasa Hatayama had cut a boulder into nine pieces with a wooden sword?
A wooden sword?
He had used an ordinary, cheap wooden sword to slash a boulder, and succeeded. He clearly hadn't infused it with cursed energy, so its hardness should never have been enough to cut through solid rock.
Was he really not showing the four of them some sci-fi fantasy movie? Or were they still asleep, with everything before their eyes merely an illusion?
Tsukasa Hatayama looked at the wooden sword, now reduced to its hilt, and said regretfully, "The quality wasn't good enough. Even with the intent to cut infused into it, that couldn't overcome the wood's inherent fragility."
"The real shame is that I couldn't show you Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū's ultimate secret technique. If the sword hadn't broken, it would definitely have made everyone's jaws drop."
"What a shame..."
Tsukasa Hatayama shook his head regretfully again. It really was a pity he hadn't been able to demonstrate all the sword techniques he and the Hōgyoku had created over the past month.
After all, Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki was a sword-drawing technique faster than Godspeed. Once the blade left its sheath, the opponent died. It was also the ultimate move for countering Kuzuryūsen.
And in his previous life, Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū had been a childhood classic, a sword style built around speed, ruthlessness, precision, and draws too fast for the eye to follow.
The infamous Battōsai the Manslayer-Kenshin Himura-had made his name with this very sword style.
Perhaps this sword style would be trash in a mid-tier plane, but in the world of jujutsu, it was absolutely a secret art powerful enough to establish an entire school.
If he passed it on to Maki Zenin in the future, the sight would be almost unimaginable. A second-generation Heavenly Restriction Tyrant paired with the one-hit-kill Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki...
Far too brutal.
Once his thoughts had run their course, Tsukasa Hatayama walked over to the four with the broken wooden sword. Seeing that they still hadn't recovered, he waved his hand in front of each of their faces.
The four gradually came back to their senses, all looking at Tsukasa Hatayama as though he were a freak. Satoru Gojo's Six Eyes, in particular, revealed an almost tangible mix of emotions.
Over the past few months, he had been honing his hand-to-hand combat and working to grasp Reverse Cursed Technique. He had become especially adept at using Cursed Pressure and Rasengan.
He had thought this would let him catch up to his best friend. Instead, Tsukasa had only drawn farther and farther ahead, until he could barely make out that tall, slender figure with the faintest glimpse.
"But I won't give up. I'll catch up to him and surpass him." The complicated emotions faded from Satoru Gojo's eyes, leaving only determination.
He firmly believed that once he mastered Reverse Cursed Technique, he would surely be able to stand beside Tsukasa.
Unlike Satoru Gojo, who was unwavering in his pursuit, Suguru Geto had taken it all in stride.
Tsukasa had outclassed him ever since he entered Jujutsu High, and he had gradually grown used to it. If a day came when Tsukasa didn't outclass him, he might actually find it strange.
Besides, being the third strongest wasn't so bad. As long as his friendship with his best friends endured, whoever wanted to be the strongest could have the title.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Tsukasa Hatayama looked away, a little embarrassed. Their gazes made him feel like some kind of freak... it was a bit much to bear.
The four stopped giving him those strange looks, and Masamichi Yaga stepped forward as their teacher.
Puzzled, he asked curiously, "Tsukasa, you didn't infuse the wooden sword with cursed energy. What did you use to cut through the boulder?"
"Are you asking about the intent to cut, sir? It's just a little trick I created to amuse myself when I was bored."
Tsukasa Hatayama explained patiently, then raised the broken hilt again. As he activated Dark Manipulation, matter flowed up around the hilt like liquid.
Then, reshaping itself at his whim, it formed a black blade on the hilt. At a glance, it looked very much like a blade coated in armament haki.
Tsukasa Hatayama held the black sword upright and patiently explained, "I created this intent to cut based on sword qi from the Flame Country and the swordmasters in One Piece."
"As the saying goes, one sword casts its wintry chill across fourteen provinces. What's the point of holding a sword if you can't use sword qi? Just do what I do: gather the sword intent in your heart, then slash."
The black sword swept with his arm, unleashing a red crescent of sword qi that could cut through anything. Unstoppable, it sliced a gap in the wall ahead.
"This..."
The four widened their eyes again. Though the explanation had left them utterly confused, that didn't stop them from being awestruck by the sword qi before them.
Seeing their stunned expressions, Tsukasa Hatayama felt no pride at all. Instead, he felt unusually frustrated.
Yes, frustrated.
Because no one in this world could unleash a slash born of sword intent. They generally just poured cursed energy into their blades to make them harder.
Those with more cursed energy would channel it into their swords and unleash a few cursed energy slashes.
Call this world weak, and Ryomen Sukuna could still figure out a dimension-cleaving World-Cutting Slash. Call it strong, and it still felt inferior to the big three mainstream anime.
Overall, it was simply too one-dimensional, constrained by innate cursed techniques.
Still, one-dimensional or not, with him-the man known as the Jujutsu Professor-around, he could even whip up a cursed energy version of the Kamehameha.
Tsukasa Hatayama let out a barely noticeable sigh, then said slowly, "I divide this slashing sword intent into three stages. First, the unranked level. Second, Steel-Cutting Swordmaster. Third, Great Swordmaster, capable of cutting anything."
Hearing that it could cut anything, Suguru Geto recovered from his shock and asked excitedly, "Tsukasa, do you think I have the aptitude to learn it?"
"This isn't suited to you. Once you master Reverse Cursed Technique, I'll teach you the advanced version of Rasengan-Rasenshuriken."
"What?!"
Before Suguru Geto could speak, Satoru Gojo exclaimed in surprise beside him.
He asked eagerly, "Tsukasa, didn't you say cursed energy was too uniform to meet Rasenshuriken's requirements for a change in elemental nature?"
Tsukasa Hatayama gave a mysterious smile. "I did, but don't forget the positive energy produced by Reverse Cursed Technique. What if we added positive energy to it?"
"Even without wind's cutting properties, positive energy can deal massive damage to cursed spirits. That can make up for it."
With that, Tsukasa Hatayama extended his right hand and gathered the negative energy he normally used into a Rasengan.
Then he used the positive energy from Reverse Cursed Technique to add four spinning crescents around it.
Accompanied by a piercing whine and rapidly swirling winds, a massive, spinning red shuriken appeared in his hand.
The four were dumbstruck, standing blankly in the swirling wind as they stared at the almost unreal Rasenshuriken, its positive and negative energies intertwined.
A little pleased with himself, Tsukasa Hatayama offered, "Do you two want to try throwing it? If you do, put your hands here."
"Yes!"
Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto answered in unison, excitedly placing their hands over one another.
The three exchanged smiles, then threw the Rasenshuriken together in perfect sync.
"Boom."
The Rasenshuriken, containing both positive and negative energy, struck the grass and exploded with power rivaling a small missile, blasting a deep crater into the field.
The hot gusts blew all five of their hair into disarray. Shoko Ieiri, usually so languid, found herself looking at the beaming trio.
Watching quietly from behind as they laughed and horsed around, she felt envy well up inside her. She wanted so badly to join them, to let loose alongside them.
Suddenly.
A pair of fair, slender, bare hands reached over and pulled Shoko Ieiri into the group with a startled cry.
Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo froze, but soon welcomed her with warm smiles. Together, they draped their arms over one another's shoulders and admired the dust rising from the crater.
Shoko Ieiri turned her head ever so slightly toward Tsukasa Hatayama, who stood beside Suguru Geto, and thought gratefully, Thank you...
Behind them, Masamichi Yaga watched for a few moments before quietly leaving. His broad back looked forlorn, yet his resolute face held a warm smile.
Before you continue