Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue

The supreme Cursed Technique passed down through generations of the Gojo Clan, [Limitless], was an exceedingly complex technique.

In principle, it resembled Achilles' paradox that "a man can never catch up with a tortoise." In practice, it governed the surrounding space-time through precise Cursed Energy manipulation capable of operating at the atomic level.

It was precisely this complexity that made the Six Eyes essential to using the technique. Even with the Six Eyes, prolonged use put a tremendous strain on the brain.

On the morning after returning to the Gojo Clan estate in a private car, Chinatsu fought off her drowsiness and climbed out of her bedding early.

Of course, Satoru Gojo did the same.

Only, Satoru Gojo headed off to class looking bleary-eyed. He still hadn't passed his etiquette lessons, after all. His teacher was incredibly stubborn, too. By the look of things, those two would be at it for another ten days or half a month.

But Chinatsu wasn't going to wait for Satoru Gojo. Whether it was to gain true freedom or to keep him from turning the tables on her once he became stronger than her, she had to grow stronger as quickly as possible.

Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!

In the early morning light, two plastic cans sat a short distance in front of Chinatsu.

Chinatsu fixed her eyes on one of the plastic cans ahead, slowly raised a hand, and formed a finger gun.

Bit by bit, Cursed Energy separated from the energy within her body, condensing into a tiny pellet at the tip of her finger gun.

With a rather childish "pew~" from Chinatsu, the pellet of Cursed Energy shot from her fingertip like a handgun bullet, striking one of the two plastic cans nearby with perfect accuracy.

The plastic can went flying with a clang! A dent, neither shallow nor deep, remained where the Cursed Energy pellet had hit it.

That was what simple manipulation of Cursed Energy could accomplish, but using a Cursed Technique could achieve far more.

Chinatsu's azure eyes turned toward the other can nearby, the one she hadn't knocked away.

She slowly exhaled and raised both hands, moving a little like Naruto forming a Rasengan.

"Blue!"

Chinatsu shouted with intense concentration, but it was as though a crow had flown overhead, cawing into the silence. Her first attempt ended in embarrassing failure-she hadn't managed so much as a fart.

Still, Chinatsu wasn't discouraged. Limitless was inherently complicated to use. Succeeding after just a few attempts would have been the unusual outcome.

Chinatsu collected herself and kept trying, from early morning until night, from Satoru Gojo leaving for class to the classroom warfare that followed, and finally to him storming out of the classroom with both hands in his pockets...

Chinatsu still hadn't succeeded.

The children her age at the estate who envied Chinatsu's talent witnessed all her hard work, and they couldn't help lowering their heads a little.

Although talent determined eighty percent of a Jujutsu Sorcerer's strength, that didn't mean effort had no value. What mattered was whether you compared yourself to others or to the person you used to be.

When Satoru Gojo came out of the classroom and saw Chinatsu engrossed in learning Blue, he hurried over to join her.

Failure... failure... failure...

And so Chinatsu spent several days accompanied by the word "failure." Those failures weren't entirely wasted effort, though. She had managed to produce an incomplete Blue several times during practice.

A faint light gradually began to gleam in Chinatsu's azure eyes. Through those countless failures, she slowly grasped the key points and core principles behind successfully using Blue.

Chinatsu stood still, keeping her breathing steady. As Satoru Gojo continued failing beside her just as she had before, she raised both hands and clenched them.

"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!"

Suddenly!

Blue light flashed between her hands, and this strange energy, resembling both light and flame, kept expanding.

Satoru Gojo froze at the sight beside her. As a fellow Limitless user, he naturally understood at once that Chinatsu had successfully used Blue.

An increasingly powerful pull emerged from the small azure black hole between Chinatsu's hands. In the courtyard where they stood, the leaves of a tall tree rustled loudly under its suction.

When Chinatsu directed that pull in a single direction, the nearby plastic can instantly lifted off its base, spinning erratically as it hurtled toward her and was sucked into Blue.

Crunch! Crunch! Crushing noises rang out. When Chinatsu dispelled Blue, the plastic can had been compressed into a ball, which dropped quietly to the ground.

"It worked..."

Looking at the plastic can crushed into a ball on the ground, Chinatsu knew she had truly succeeded. Before she could celebrate or cheer, a powerful wave of drowsiness swept through her mind.

Chinatsu was only six years old. The intense practice had left an enormous amount of fatigue built up in her brain. Now that she had successfully used Blue, she no longer needed to suppress that exhaustion, and it surged into overwhelming sleepiness.

Chinatsu slowly raised a hand to her forehead, trying to force herself to perk up, but it did little good.

"Since you got it working, go to sleep. What are you still standing around here for?" Seeing Chinatsu in that state, Satoru Gojo waved a hand at her, urging her to hurry off to bed.

Chinatsu had wanted to strike while the iron was hot and get a firmer feel for the technique, but Satoru Gojo was right. What she needed more right now was sleep.

Chinatsu nodded and walked back to her room step by step, yawning with her eyes half closed. The moment she lay down in her soft bedding, she fell asleep.

Once Chinatsu left, Satoru Gojo, now alone in the courtyard, immediately began working twice as hard.

He had fallen behind!

This is bad! Really bad! I was planning to get stronger than my big sister, then turn the tables and make her call me her big brother... I need to master [Blue] soon, too! Satoru Gojo thought anxiously.

A week later.

Satoru Gojo successfully outlasted his etiquette teacher, and on that very same day, he finally managed to use Blue.

Now equipped with the ultimate defense, Limitless Defense, and an offensive option, Blue, Chinatsu and Satoru Gojo were finally more than iron-shelled tortoises. They could undergo grading as Jujutsu Sorcerers.

A Jujutsu Sorcerer's grade couldn't be decided through words alone. It required proof of strength, and the best way to prove a Jujutsu Sorcerer's strength was naturally to exorcise Cursed Spirits.

Chinatsu and Satoru Gojo's true working lives as Jujutsu Sorcerers were about to begin...