A One-Way Road to Reincarnation

by heihin

Summary:

After the recently inducted Board Chairman's disastrous move to get rid of Academy City's Dark Side, a mysterious Kihara decides to take matters into her own hands and prepares a simulation to develop his skills in politics and governance. With the assent of the Puzzle, he is sent as member of the Zenin with the explicit goal to "bring the Heian era to the world of curses".

Credits goes to 木原レイリ (Kihara Reiri, the one who isekaied Accelerator)

Notes:

• A translation of 一方通行六歳転生(呪術廻戦) by 木原レイリ

Chapter 1: One Way Road to Reincarnation

Experiment Supervisor : Kihara Reiri
Experiment Control Number : 000001
Calculation Difficulty : 0a6 (easy)
Cumulative Duration : 861,196,875.32 seconds

Description:
This experiment is part of the "Accelerator Reincarnation" program, designed to foster the growth of  good governance capabilities. It involves sending the souls of Subject  (commonly known as Accelerator, hereafter referred to as Subject A), Qliphah Puzzle 545 (hereafter Subject B), and the Will of the Misaka Network (hereafter Subject C) into a universe created in a surplus dimension (hereafter referred to as the Experimental Field).

■ Experimental Rules
The experiment is initiated by the supervisor or their designated proxy. The supervisor or proxy must inform the subjects of the objectives in an appropriate space, allow them to select their birthplace and era, and then transfer them to their respective vessels. Subject A’s vessel is a human fetus, Subject B’s vessel is an accurate replica of Subject B’s original body, and Subject C’s vessel is assigned a pseudo-Misaka Network.

Subject A’s memory awakening is uniformly set to occur at age six, with Subject B’s manifestation adjusted accordingly. The evaluation period spans from Subject A’s awakening until 2,000 years after Subject A’s death. Evaluation metrics are calculated based on the attached documentation. After the experiment, the memories of Subjects A and B are to be processed in accordance with the attached evaluation value correspondence table. The time in the Experimental Field and related facilities is adjusted to 10^11 times that of the real universe. Once evaluation values are finalized, the time acceleration rate should be increased for swift processing.

Caution: During the construction of the Experimental Field, unauthorized access by an entity codename "Dragon" was detected in the target dimension. Personnel are required to verify the security of programs related to the Misaka Network.

Researchers proposing new experimental developments should record their suggestions in the feedback section of the latest report.

■ Experimental Objective

"To bring the Heian Era to the World of Curses"

■ Route Selection by Subjects

Zen’in Route: ●  

Kamo Route  

Gojo Route  

Civilian Route  

 

Ancient  

Nara  

Heian  

Kamakura  

Edo  

 

Sashisu Generation: ●  

Haka Generation  

Okkotsu Generation  

Itadori Generation

Record:
At the start of the experiment, Subject A was charging the computational assistance device and was unable to communicate. Assent was obtained from Subject B. Consequently, route selection negotiations were conducted between the experiment supervisor and Subject B.

Remarks:
Based on Subject B’s proposal, Subject A is set to be born in 1989 as a direct descendant of the Zenin family. Additionally, Subject A’s connection to the Misaka Network has been temporarily adjusted to bypass the need for a computational assistance device by synchronizing the brainwaves of Subjects A and C.

■ Subject A Profile
Name: Zenin Yurio 
Date of Birth: October 24, 1989
Sex: Male
Father: Zenin Naobito 
Technique: Vector Transformation  

Remarks:
Due to the influence of ability development and heavy reliance on said ability for daily life, records indicate that Subject A experienced significant hormonal imbalances during puberty, resulting in a frail constitution. For this experiment, relevant medical technology and diagnostic records from that period have been pre-installed in the memory domain of Subject B’s vessel. Personnel are required to pay special attention to Subject A’s health during these periods.

Chapter 2: The Sixth Birthday

October 24,1995

“The hell is this?”

Before he realized it, Accelerator was standing in the corridor of an unfamiliar Japanese-style house.

Accelerator is the strongest esper in Academy City and the “human” who inherited the position of Board Chairman. From his perspective, the trial concerning the slaughter of 10,000 clones of the third-ranked Level 5, known as the Sisters, during the Level 6 Shift Experiment had finally concluded. He had secluded himself in his custom-made solitary confinement cell, sorting through pending matters like RC Occultics, the Handcuffs incident , the Los Angeles case, and the public disclosure of the Sisters. He had been reviewing documents related to an ongoing prisoner transport, ordering the demon to wake him if anything happened, and then collapsed onto a king-sized bed, falling asleep without even taking off his shoes.

At the same time, he also had memories of living in this place called the Zen’in household. Here, Accelerator was a six-year-old boy named Zenin Yurio.

This household was the epitome of patriarchal chauvinism. Even as a direct descendant, Yurio showed no signs of manifesting a cursed technique, so he was treated like an inferior and subjected to unjust violence.

His faint sense of low self-esteem, emaciated build, and his resemblance to Gojo Satoru, born around the same time, probably didn’t help. Though his frail health was likely due to the Zenin clan’s traditional culture of child abuse rather than any hormonal imbalances.

“This makes no damn sense.”

“Master!!”

A synthetic demon leaped out from the air.

“I’ve been waiting for you!”

“Hah?”

It was a grotesque being, a delicate girl’s silhouette adorned with wings and a tail resembling marine life. Her dress, like a Rorschach test that changed depending on the viewer, was covered in newspaper articles describing Accelerator’s trial and the chaos in Academy City caused by Operation Handcuffs.

Accelerator almost thought he was dreaming from stress, but seeing a familiar face, Qliphah Puzzle 545, only deepened his confusion.

“They told me not to approach you until you regained your memories, so I was locked in that white space for six years! I’ll never forgive that damn hag!”

“First, I need to figure out what’s going on. Tell me everything you know.”

.

.

.

“And that’s why I chose the modern Zenin clan. It’s not too bound by the jujutsu world, and power is everything here, so Master, should have no problem becoming the clan head!”

Accelerator let out a deep sigh.

It seemed that while he was asleep, he’d been dragged into yet another one of those damned Kiharas’ shitty experiments. Whether it was science or magic was unclear. If it was magic, the fact that even Qliphah Puzzle 545, a being adept in magic, couldn’t comprehend the otherworldly methods used was a serious threat.

For now, it seemed he had no choice but to work toward fulfilling the experiment’s “objective”: “To bring the Heian Era to the World of Curses.”

He was worried about the pending matters he left behind, but according to the Puzzle, the Kihara she met in that white space explained that “this universe's flow of time operates at 100 billion times faster than the original world.” Spending 3,000 years here would equate to just one second back there. The truth of this was uncertain, but he had no choice but to believe it.

At the same time, he need to figure out a way to escape this world. Being in the palm of the Kiharas’ hands was far too precarious.

Kihara Reiri was infamous in Academy City’s urban legends. Decades ago, she was considered the most brilliant scientist, but one day, she and her research institute vanished from Academy City. Rumors abounded, some said she went to another planet or universe, others say that she was erased by the Board Chairman, or that she relocated to the Imaginary Number District. The truth remained unknown. Even the phone Accelerator inherited from Aleister Crowley contained no information about her.

Once he returned, he addded her to the investigation list and reconsider the Kihara management system.

But for now—

None of that mattered.

“First, I’m taking over the Zenin clan. Follow me, Qliphah Puzzle 545.”

Chapter 3: The Head of the Clan

In his private quarters, Zenin Naobito, the head of the Zenin clan, was catching up on recorded robot anime when he carelessly blurted out to a familiar intruder who abruptly slid open the fusuma door:

“And who are you?”

“Hah? Can’t even recognize your own kid? Got early-onset dementia?”

“No, your tone and posture are completely different. So that's not possible.”

“Just felt like switching things up.”

The eldest son, who was supposed to be perpetually expressionless, gave a wry smile and plopped down cross-legged without permission.

Naobito had a mountain of things to say to this six-year-old boy who barged into the head’s room, but for now, there was a more pressing matter.

“What’s that floating transparent thing? It’s not a cursed spirit, right?”

“It’s my-, ah yeah, my shikigami.”

“I’m Qliphah Puzzle 545, a made-in-the-UK artificial demon. What is it?”

“…I see.”

So, the shikigami can talk.

Zenin Yurio had been a striking child from the moment he was born.

Among Naobito’s all-male offspring, his birth stood out, even amidst his hectic life as a Special Grade 1 sorcerer and head of the Zenin clan, so he visited the mother and son’s room the weekend he was born.

He had congenital albinism. His hair and skin were pure white, and his eyes were the color of red blood. These traits indicated extreme sensitivity to sunlight, particularly ultraviolet rays, adversely affecting skin and vision.

Such congenital conditions sometimes manifest as Heavenly Restrictions in jujutsu, boosting cursed technique power or increasing cursed energy reserves. His cursed energy didn’t seem particularly high, so Naobito pinned his hopes on his potential cursed technique.

After Gojo Satoru’s birth strengthened cursed spirits, Naobito’s days grew busier, and he forgot about the brat for a while.

Around age three, he began spotting him from a distance at clan events. According to reports, he was always expressionless, showing no emotional nuance. He avoided interacting with others, remaining silent and alone unless given orders. Combined with his appearance, this made him quite unsettling.

Perhaps he had a Heavenly Restriction of “lacking emotions.” Sorcerers often lack empathy, so it might not be particularly powerful, but it was a possibility.

His cursed energy was low, but he excelled in cursed energy manipulation exercises. With enough control to protect himself, he could avoid serious injury in the violence-ridden Zenin household.

By age five, there was still no sign of a cursed technique. The Zenin clan began treating Yurio, low in cursed energy, without a technique, and physically frail, as a defective non-sorcerer. They were jumping the gun. Cursed techniques typically manifest between ages four and six, so it wasn’t definitive yet.

It’d be refreshing if he inherited the Ten Shadows Technique.

With such thoughts lingering in the back of his mind, Naobito’s busy days passed.

Six years after Yurio’s birth, he stormed into Naobito’s room, transformed into a completely different person.

“So, you’re here to report awakening your cursed technique? Is that the shikigami?”

He heard that some cursed techniques, upon awakening, could drastically alter a person’s personality. He must be one of those cases.

…That’s what it should be. It’s not like some weirdo possessed him, right?

For the record, there’s no known case of a Special Grade cursed object successfully possessing a toddler.

“Yeah, that’s part of it, but I’ve got bigger business. Also, the technique’s got nothing to do with this thing.”

“First, the technique. Is it something with precedent?”

“Vector Transformation.”

“…What’s that?”

When the white-haired son reached out and touched the tatami mat beside him, it snapped with a loud CRACK , as if twisted by an invisible hand.

You realize this is someone else’s room especially the head’s room, right?

“As you can see, I can control the vectors of motion or energy of anything I touch. Electromagnetic waves, still working out the parameters, but I should be able to manipulate cursed energy too.”

I see.

Like Projection Sorcery, it’s a technique that governs the behavior of objects touched by the hand. Being able to manipulate motion, not just stop it, makes it more versatile than Projection Sorcery. But Naobito’s intuition told him it must be insanely difficult to control.

For an average person, it’d probably be limited to imparting shocks or launching weapons or cursed energy. His training would determine his potential.

No point diving into that now, so he kept it to light advice.

“Vector Manipulation, huh? Don’t give your technique too outlandish a name. Tradition matters in the jujutsu world. I’ve had my share of trouble with Projection Sorcery. Call it Object Manipulation, or if you must, Vector Manipulation Technique.”

The white-haired boy tilted his head, then nodded as if to say, “Fine, whatever.”

“So? What’s the real issue?”

“Hand over the head’s seat.”

Naobito’s eyes widened in shock, then he burst into hearty laughter— WAHAHAHAHAHA!

You’ve changed too much!

His confidence in his technique, combined with his white hair, reminded him of Gojo Satoru. After laughing his fill and catching his breath, he spoke, his gaze filled with anticipation.

“There are three conditions.”

“Name ‘em.”

“First, obviously, you’ve got to be stronger than me.”

“No problem there.”

That cocky reply didn’t faze the amused Naobito.

“No matter how powerful a technique is, mastering it’s a tall order. Only a handful ever do. Some techniques, like the Ten Shadows or Limitless, are practically impossible to master. Then there’s physicality and cursed energy, both of which you lack. Sometimes a simple punch is stronger than a poorly used technique. Plus, your brother Naoya has the same Projection Sorcery as me. Half-assed efforts won’t outweigh inherited techniques.”

There’s no sorcerer with the Ten Shadows now, so that’s the benchmark. If one existed, he would need to surpass Mahoraga, known only in texts.

He didn’t reply but seemed to understand, so he continued.

“Second, it’s impossible until you’re 15. Making a six-year-old the head would get us kicked out of the Three Great Families.”

By the time he’s 15, I’ll be 56 and still in my prime. Beating me before then is unlikely.

Naobito calculated as much but added for good measure. The white-haired boy frowned, tilted his head slightly, then sighed in resignation.

“…Guess I’ve got no choice.”

“Third, secure a fiancé.”

“Huh? I ain’t marrying anyone!”

“No,” Naobito shook his head.

“It’s a sorcerer’s duty to have children if born with a superior technique. Plus, if your technique becomes inherited, it’ll strengthen your position.”

He swallowed the words, We don’t know yet if your technique’s a hit or a miss .

The white-haired son thought for a moment before speaking.

“So, basically, I just need to spread my technique around the Zenin clan, right?”

“That’s the gist of it.”

“If a technique’s just information etched into the brain and soul, then as long as I’ve got the original data, I can imprint it with my technique. For now, I’ll implant it into everyone in the clan who doesn't have a technique unless they don't want it.”

“…Right, sure. If you can pull that off, that works.”

His creativity was impressive, but he couldn’t fathom the precision in cursed energy manipulation required. Even Gojo Satoru might not manage it.

He could picture him failing and reluctantly picking a fiancé, but instead of laughing it off, he decided to let him try as he pleased.

Naobito exhaled, stood up with a “Yo!” and grinned.

“Now, we’re heading to the training hall. Just for today, I’ll personally train you. If you ever beat me, I’ll declare you the next head on the spot, so train with that in mind.”

 

October 25, 1995

The next day, after a sudden summons, the Zenin clan sorcerers gathered not in the grand hall but in the largest training hall, buzzing with speculation about the reason.

Soon, the sliding door to the second-floor observation deck opened. The head’s entrance silenced the hall momentarily, but the noise resumed when a six-year-old boy with low cursed energy and no technique entered beside him.

“Naobito, what’s the meaning of this?! Why is he up there?! That’s no place for a defective monkey like it!"

Zenin Ogi, head of the Hei unit and Naobito’s younger brother, couldn’t help but shout. The response came not from the grimacing Naobito but from the boy herself.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Unfazed, the six-year-old, once always expressionless, now grinned eerily.

“I’m planning to scrap that kind of thinking entirely, but for today, I’ll let it slide. If I got mad at every brainless jerk like you, my head’s blood vessels wouldn’t hold up. I’ve grown, y’know. Praise me, kay?”

This time, the training hall fell completely silent.

As everyone stared in shock, the six-year-old strutted forward like he owned the play From nowhere, a grotesque girl-like figure stacked several cushions beside the head’s seat. The white monster plopped down, crossing his legs.

No one dared say, “Throw him out.” A technique-less six-year-old direct descendant, escorted by the head to the upper seat and mouthing off to Zenin Ogi, head of the Hei and Naobito’s brother, it was too much for their brains to process. All the sorcerers could do was gape.

But the answer came from the monster himself. Just days ago a powerless toddler, he now stood with a grotesque girl at his back, declaring with a confident smirk a greeting incomprehensible to those steeped in the Zenin’s misogyny and disdain for non-sorcerers, whom they called monkeys.

“Alright, attention! I’m Zenin Yurio, the next head of the Zenin clan. Nice to meet you all☆”

Furious roars echoed through the Zenin training hall.

Chapter 4: Heavenly Restriction and the Other Side

“Naobito! What the hell is this?!”

Seeing his brother’s son, whom he had dismissed as defective, lounging arrogantly in the head’s seat, smirking down at him, Zenin Ogi trembled with rage. His inferiority complex toward his stronger brother, Naobito, and his resultant disdain for the weak had been pierced straight through.

“Well, I told him I’d make the kid the next head if he could beat me, and I lost,” Naobito replied with a grimace, as if he’d bitten a lemon.

Ogi’s anger surged, blood rushing to his head, leaving him speechless. He couldn’t tell if this was a joke, but this detestable man was saying Ogi was weaker than the defective brat standing there. His rationality nearly snapped, urging him to draw his blade. His right hand already hovered over the sword at his waist.

Then, “Can I speak?” Zenin Jinichi raised his hand.

“I get that you’re saying this kid’s stronger than the current head. His bloodline’s sufficient, and there’s no need for transfer procedures. The issue is whether he’s really that strong. That’s why you gathered us here, right?”

“Exactly. Words won’t convince you, so anyone doubting him strength can face him in a simultaneous mock battle,” Naobito said.

The Zenin sorcerers buzzed with surprise at the unexpected development.

“But let me warn you, fight like you mean to kill,” Naobito added with a grin, about to say, “or you’ll die,” when someone moved.

It was Ogi, seething with fury.

“Technique Release: Blazing Courage !!!”

Drawing his sword, he activated his cursed technique, engulfing the blade in explosive flames.

“Burn to ashes, you defective trash!!”

Zenin Ogi, head of the Hei unit, was a Special Grade 1 sorcerer, no matter how much he was disparaged. He leaped to the observation deck with speed imperceptible to average sorcerers, slashing down.

The white-haired monster didn’t even glance at him, his expression unfazed.

“Gah…!”

In the next instant, Ogi was slammed back to his original spot, as if time had rewound, collapsing motionless.

The hall’s clamor didn’t subside.

“Now then,” the white-haired monster said, unperturbed.

With a light tap , he hopped onto the observation deck’s railing, technique unclear. Scanning the assembled sorcerers with a devilish grin, he declared:

“Time to clean up. I’ll be done in three minutes.”

“Surround him! Encircle him!!”

“Attack!!”

Dozens of sorcerers, with and without techniques, encircled him, attacking relentlessly, but the white-haired monster at the center barely moved.

• Those slashing with swords had their blades blown away.
• Those punching had their arms crushed and broken.
• A Tokko member, involving the Kukuru Unit, launched countless kunai, only for them to rebound and strike their throwers.
• A boy tried to restrain him with his technique, but a mere twitch dispelled it, leaving him collapsing with blood streaming from his eyes.
• A Hei member summoned a massive earthen arm to crush him, but it was blown back, injuring allies with debris.
• Those who hesitated were blasted by shrapnel-like rubble, knocked unconscious.

A machine-gun-like roar echoed, but the monster’s calm expression never wavered. The training hall, devastated by his counterattacks, became a scene of carnage.

In moments, only a few remained. Special Grade 1 sorcerer Zenin Jinichi summoned a colossal fist to fill the vast training hall, striking as he shouted:

“Toji!!”

Likely a call for backup, but it came too late. A tremendous shock rebounded, shattering Jinichi’s right arm into pieces.

Then—

“No choice, huh.”

A beat later, responding to Jinichi’s call, a nearly 190 cm tall man, who’d been standing listlessly, struck faster than sound.

Accelerator, grin intact, thought this was the last fool, ready to end it.

CLANG!!

The Heavenly Tyrant’s fist shook Accelerator’s skull.

For some reason, his vector reflection failed, and the impact hit. Before losing to a certain boy, he have been pathetically blown away, but his battle-hardened spirit, forged through near-death experiences over months, by his reckoning, reacted instantly. He neutralized the vectors coursing through his body, avoiding fatal injury while shielding himself with cursed energy.

For a moment, the spiky-haired boy’s face flashed in his mind.

—No, not him.

A bitter memory surfaced, the face of the man who made him Academy City’s Number One, a detestable figure.

Toji’s assault didn’t relent. A barrage of imperceptible, effective punches rained down. He occasionally disabled his “reflection,” but the blows remained potent.

Finally—

“Guh!”

BOOM!!

A cannon-like kick sent Accelerator crashing through the training hall’s wooden wall.

“I saw that everything touching you gets reversed. You showed it off plenty to the small fry, so I figured it out,” the Heavenly Tyrant said with a faint smile.

“Your technique is ‘Reflection.’”

Amused, he continued.

“My body’s special. Unlike those sorcerers, I can do some clever tricks, like pulling my fist back just before it touches your skin.”

His grin betrayed the thrill of beating down an arrogant sorcerer like him, a “monkey” in his eyes.

“So, you basically punched yourself.”

His voice was gleeful, like explaining a newly devised magic trick. The monster showed no signs of stirring beyond the wall.

“All I need to do is watch for when you disable your technique. I can read the timing from your muscle movements and gaze.”

Grinning, Toji said.

“Piece of cake, self-proclaimed next head.”

Turning to his brother, caught in the chaos, Toji asked.

“Aniki, you holding up? I’m pretty sure he’s still good to go.”

“Sorry, I’m out. Thanks for stepping up,” Jinichi said, collapsing onto his back, his right arm swollen purple and red.

“Man, a Special Grade 1 sorcerer, and you’re this pathetic?” Toji teased, eager to mock his brother’s disgrace.

Then—

A terrifying pressure erupted from behind.

“True, the default setting is ‘Reflection,’ but that ain’t the core.”

Staggering, blood seeping from his face, the brat showed no fatal wounds. His previously low cursed energy now radiated overwhelming pressure, as if his lack of emotional fluctuation had suppressed it.

“My Vector Transformation Technique can alter the ‘direction’ and "magnitude" of momentum, heat, electricity, e v e r y t h i n g, just by touching my skin.”

THUD!

Manipulating the vectors under his boots, he charged at bullet-like speed. Toji instinctively raised his right arm, thrusting a fist as he closed in.

SLAP!

The white-haired monster caught his right fist with his right hand.

“Guys like you can’t do shit if I grab you.”

Toji tried to swing his captured arm, but it wouldn’t budge, as if devoid of strength. Switching instantly, he aimed a spinning low kick with his left leg.

But—

Faster still—

“Relax.”

Zenin Toji, for the first time in his life, was overpowered.

The white monster’s mouth split into a grin. Unleashing Academy City’s Number One computational ability, he manipulated his body’s vectors, yanking Toji’s right arm downward at high speed. Leaping, his lethal left hand clamped onto Toji’s contorted face in a horizontal swipe.

“This time, I’m going easy on you!!!”

Wind speed: 120 meters per second.

A ferocious gust, capable of tearing off car roofs or houses, blasted from his hand, sending Zenin Toji crashing through the training hall’s roof and soaring away.

That day, a sudden galewind struck Kyoto, breaking the prefecture’s record for maximum instantaneous wind speed. Tiles and laundry were blown away, but fortunately, there were no human casualties.

Zenin Naobito, head of the Zenin clan, received stern letters from the prefectural government and police headquarters.

"No way, right?!" Zenin Naoya, age five, was stunned by the battle before him.

He’d heard the clan had a defective albino brother and a dropout of monkey who had zero cursed energy. He imagined some pathetic faces.

When he saw the white-haired boy enter with dad, he was shocked. He was undeniably a powerhouse. What was Uncle going on about, calling him defective? Were his eyes rotting? Not recognizing the strength of the person in front of him, talk about unfit to be a sorcerer. He should just quit.

In the mock battle, his big-talking uncle and brothers fell one by one to single blows. The only one holding his own had no cursed energy at all.

Was that Toji-kun? Totally different from what he’d heard. Were his uncle and brothers not only weak but also brainless?

If Toji was a monkey, his brothers were just braindead jellyfish.

His trust in the adults’ words and his ingrained values shattered in an instant. The dazzling battle before him made his vision feel clear, sparkling.

Excuses.

Gender.

Cursed energy or techniques.

Status or titles.

None of it mattered.

The only thing of value was strength.

And these two alone were on the other side!

Soon, Toji-kun was blown away by Yurio-niki, disappearing from sight. Only Yurio-niki, Naoya, and Papa remained standing in the training hall.

“Naoya, you good with this?” Papa asked.

“You know the answer, don’t you?” Naoya shot back.

Papa nodded and shouted:

“Victor: Yurio!”

“No one can doubt Yurio’s strength now. As of today, Zenin Yurio is the next head!”

Since Naoya’s technique was confirmed as Projection Sorcery, he had been treated as the next head. That was overturned so easily. Yesterday, he’d have stomped and gone for blood.

But now, none of that mattered!

Naoya ran forward. Beyond the pathetic pile of fallen sorcerers, where the grotesque shikigami (?) shouted, “My master getting pissed after taking a hit ‘cause he let his guard down is so immature and awesome!” while Yurio applied an iron claw, Naoya dashed to meet him.

“Yurio-niki!!”

“Hah?”

Turning to him, Naoya’s face lit up with joy as he said:

“You’re insanely strong!”

He felt him staring at him like he was some oddity, but he didn’t care.

He wanted to get closer, to reach this kind of power.

And someday—

He’d definitely reach the other side!

Ten kilometers away, landing near Lake Biwa, a nearly unscathed yet drenched Toji muttered hatefully  “I fucking hate sorcerers....”

 

“Surround him! Encircle him!!”
To all the beloved members of the Kukuru Unit, GG.

The boy trying to restrain him with his technique
Suffered mild vision loss, but if the technique’s mastery were higher, it could have caused blindness.

The detestable man’s face
Kihhhhaaaara-kuuuuun! (He’s gonna use the Kihara Counter☆)
For those unfamiliar with Index, search for “Kihara Amata.”
You’ll surely encounter a treasure trove of amazing MAD videos.

Pulling the fist back just before it touches the skin
Also known as the Kihara Counter.

“Piece of cake, self-proclaimed next head”
A homage to what Hamazura said in Old Testament: “Easy win, Level 5.”

“Going easy this time”
Last time, Amata ojisan used the Kihara Counter, he got turned into a shooting star.

Notes:

Toji would have broken his hand if had done that, next chapter explains how it works.

Chapter 5: Accelerator 's Basic Application of Vector Transformation

Can Toji mimic the Kihara Counter? No. Only someone like Amata and Mina Mathers have managed to precisely do the Kihara Counter. Amata because he's the one personally responsible for developing Accelerator's ability and as such he created that backdoor weakness (A Structural flaw) to exploit. It requires abnormal precision something Toji lacks. Sure's he got speed but that precision is also another important component. Specifically to do this.

The Kihara referred in this graphic is Kihara Amata.

The reflection field, actual size unknown, only adds a negative unit vector on anything that leaves it's range of influence . Normally, he doesn't need to think or even calculate the things that enter his field.* This is made all the more evident by the fact that he's not even aware of all the things he reflects, yet they automatically get reflected anyways. One deliquent shot a lazer at him while his back was turned and his reflection worked. His processing power to maintain the field can be taken down if he himself diverts it to something else, like his hands, when he first fought Touma or with his healing of Last Order.

Accelerator doesn't calculate every attack that enters his field. If it did, his ability would be ineffective against surprise attacks. What he's calculating is his white list, the non harmful things he allows into his field, like certain types of light and a certain amount of gravity.

To Accelerator the most basic mathematical operation is adding a negative value to anything that exits his field which is why the vector field doesn't normally need Accelerator's conscious input.

The only processing power he expends is for maintaining the filter active and that processing power can be actively diverted like said earlier. So his ability can be active or passive depending on the situation.

*Note he can use this field to calculate if the attack has foreign vectors like magic or in another fic, Sukuna's slashes, which results in the attack getting deflected or blocked, since his calculations do not account for those foreign vectors, (he is fast when adjusting to this gap in information) instead of reflected, like with Kakine's attacks filled with 25,000 unknown vectors. Or when an enemy magician attacked him with a magical spear of water.

But what if you're attack goes super fast that his reflection couldn't adjust?

Kuroko's Teleport esper ability will get reflected by his field, it reaches up to 11 dimensions, and Teleport is an instant attack.

Chapter 6: The First Jujutsu Research Seminar

November 8, 1995

Half a month had passed since the battle that half-destroyed the training hall and confirmed the next head of the Zenin clan.

The incident strained relations between the Zenin clan, the Jujutsu Headquarters, the other Great Families, and Jujutsu High. Thanks to modern medicine and the robust constitutions of sorcerers, no one suffered lasting injuries. However, aside from Toji, most were too injured to take missions, increasing the workload of non-Zenin sorcerers by about 30%. Even Toji, usually relegated to menial tasks, was armed with cursed tools from the storehouse and sent scrambling across western Japan.

Frustrated by the widespread issues, the Jujutsu Headquarters began piling the scattered, grueling tasks onto the Zenin clan’s head, Zenin Naobito, the root cause of this off-season busy period. For two weeks, dark circles never left Naobito’s eyes. Naturally, Naobito started offloading these tasks onto Yurio under the guise of “field training,” making the monster the youngest ever, at age six, to undertake solo missions.

In the early afternoon, past 2:30 PM, in a dim shrine deep in the mountains of Wakayama, Accelerator watched a Grade 1-equivalent cursed spirit vanish with a grotesque “Gugeeee!” while pondering cursed energy.

In the recent battle, he used his cursed technique with the same instincts as his original Academy City ability, securing victory. However, Accelerator knew the recklessness of challenging the magic side with only Academy City’s abilities and knowledge. Crushing small fry was fine, but experience taught him that unknown variables always emerged.

The faces of Aiwass, Nephthys, and recently Anna Sprengel, who wreaked havoc in Academy City, flashed through his mind. Such outliers were rare but not nonexistent. With this in mind, Accelerator had been striving to fully master cursed energy’s parameters.

In Academy City, espers alter their brains, losing their normal  perception of reality to gain a personal reality. Abilities manipulate the microscopic world by observing this skewed reality. On the magic side, Mana is the end result of refining life force, it also may be altered by various techniques, into usable energy. Magic consumes this mana to forcibly drag otherworldly phenomena into reality. Both systems draw “supernatural phenomena” from “something not in reality.” Since esper abilities stem from Aleister, the former Board Chairman and magician who took what he learned from the abbey of Thelema  to create Academy City, this similarity might be expected.

Now, cursed energy. From the lessons he had since birth and after two weeks of reading the entire Zenin archives, Accelerator summarized its traits:

1. All Japanese people possess cursed energy.
2. Even foreigners emit faint cursed energy near death.
3. Cursed energy arises from negative emotions.
4. Cursed energy can be channeled into objects.
5. Cursed techniques are powered by cursed energy.
6. Cursed spirits are beings born from negative emotions, their bodies made of cursed energy.
7. Zenin Toji lacks cursed energy. Bindings apply to him, but otherwise, he’s treated as an inanimate object.

That’s about it. It made sense that the Three Great Families, steeped in centuries of specializing in jujutsu, were in such a state.

From this, Accelerator hypothesized three origins for cursed energy:

1. Cursed energy is a type of magical power.
   If true, cursed techniques and innate domains were like personal realities or phases respectively, as he was born with a technique to manipulate supernatural phenomena, he was akin to a gemstone esper, a rare existence in his original universe, an esper who was born with their ability instead of needing to undergo the Power Curriculum Program. Sorcerers use cursed energy as fuel to draw phenomena from techniques. Weaknesses: no known magical power refinement methods exist beyond cursed energy, and the magic side lacks equivalents to cursed spirits except angels and demons. If angels and demons appeared as frequently as cursed spirits in the original universe, that world would’ve collapsed long ago. The interpretation is plausible but too risky to assume.
2. This world’s humans are distinct creatures from the original world, rendering existing knowledge less useful.
   Here, humans refine cursed energy instead of life energy. This is the most likely hypothesis.
3. This universe has different laws, making all prior knowledge unreliable.
   Since Accelerator’s vector calculations and Qliphah Puzzle 545, a magical power construct, function normally, the perceivable differences are minimal, so this hypothesis has little impact. However, since an unknown Kihara freely interferes here, complete independence is unlikely.

Thus, keeping Hypothesis 1 in mind but prioritizing Hypothesis 2 as the most likely. Accelerator’s five years as a child of jujutsu sorcerers and his experience analyzing magic in the original universe treated cursed energy as something similar to magic, an energy derived from supernatural phenomena. Redefining this world as “composed of energy, including cursed energy” would improve precision. Differences from his original ability also needed exploration.

While researching, a haggard Naobito, dark circles under his eyes, appeared, dumped a pile of mission orders, shoved him into an assistant supervisor’s car, and left. Wanting to test cursed spirits and techniques beyond himself, Accelerator readily accepted , now facing his sixth spirit at the tip of the Kii Peninsula.

Zazazazaza! With an unpleasant sound, nearby leaves gathered, forming a grotesque girl’s shape.

Qliphah Puzzle 545.

“Nihihi. Another failure, huh?” she said.

“It seemed fine on the surface, but when I tried precise movements, it diffused, and I couldn’t aim,” Accelerator replied.

“Hard to tell if that’s a high-level excuse or just a lame one. Truly profound words, Master!” Qliphah teased.

“Shut up. Practical use is a long ways off. With this accuracy, tampering with souls could spawn some freakish monster.”

Accelerator was experimenting with rewriting information in cursed spirits. Half a month ago, he promised Naobito to implant his technique into Zenin members instead of choosing a fiancé. By hypothesizing cursed energy’s subtle behaviors and rewriting information, he caused a tormented Grade 1 cursed spirit to collapse and vanish. The road ahead seemed long.

“Nihihi. I thought Master, who surpassed the Abyss with the Artificial Tree (Clonoth), could easily master negative emotional energy?”

Qliphah had refined magical power from leylines but couldn’t handle cursed energy at all, likely because her maker, hadn’t anticipated such a force. Her adaptability was lacking.

“No choice. I’ll stick to studying how the brain works for now.” 

The biggest obstacle in implanting his technique into volunteers was writing information onto the soul.

Few know this fact, but the soul and body are two sides of the same coin, mutually complementary yet capable of being distinct entities with high uncertainty. Like quantum theory’s wave and particle, or Zen Buddhism’s being and nothingness. They’re one existence but appear separate to human perception, sometimes behaving as if they are truly distinct. The body is the body, the soul is the soul, yet the body is the soul, and the soul is the body.

The issue isn’t that. Technique information is stored in the body, specifically the right prefrontal cortex and the soul. Observing the soul requires near-perfect guesses about cursed energy parameters. Apparently, the soul significantly influences cursed energy refinement. Understanding cursed energy requires understanding the soul, and vice versa, creating a deadlock. Accelerator aimed to resolve this cycle by directly manipulating cursed spirits, but progress was stalled.

He still didn’t grasp the soul-body relationship. If a technique could alter the soul, would the body change? If the body was injured or lost limbs, would the soul’s shape change? Did implantation require one, the other, or both? The approach would differ entirely.

Simplifying, though, made it easier. Continue researching cursed energy and souls, but start with the brain. When the soul’s nature is clear, address it as needed. Accelerator had experience overwriting brain information entirely during a certain incident, bypassing the need for goggles. Editing a technique’s data requires neither soul knowledge nor deep cursed energy understanding. A surgical approach was already feasible.

 

November 12, 1995

Zenin Clan Jujutsu Research Seminar

Titled as such, the grand hall gathered the Zenin members currently mobile.

Participation was voluntary. Gathering hotheaded sorcerers like Ogi would clearly stall progress. As expected, most combat unit members didn’t show. Only Naoya, beaming, declared his attendance, hovering around the monster an hour early, chattering excitedly. What was so fun about it?

Those who came were non-combatants, men, women, and children, dozens in total, with little cursed energy and no techniques. At the announced time, the white-haired child, flanked by his demon, began explaining the seminar’s purpose.

The seminar aimed for research, not combat skills, and would broadly study jujutsu around three main topics:

1. Research on cursed techniques, barrier techniques, and shikigami.
   Studying the structure and effects of techniques. Currently, only inherited techniques have ample documentation, but the goal is comprehensive coverage.
2. Research on applied jujutsu.
   Exploring advanced applications of existing jujutsu techniques.
3. Most importantly, technique development.
   For Accelerator’s sake and to reform the Zenin Clan ’s culture, he announced developing techniques for all volunteers. Starting with two or three cooperative volunteers eager to escape their current status. Their success would encourage other hesitant members and shift the clan’s talent-driven tradition. The target technique is the Vector Transformation Technique, potentially the strongest in skilled hands.

At this, the attendees exchanged glances, conferred, and nervously presented two trembling five-year-old girls with pale faces.

Talent or not, their resolve was unmistakably Zenin.

Implanting technique and innate domain information into others. He thought he was pioneering development, but ironically, the concept mirrored inhumane experiments from Academy City’s dark side: the Dark May Project, which implanted parts of the Number One’s thought patterns into a nitrogen-manipulating esper.

Accelerator frowned briefly at the two girls but, confident in his procedure, performed the technique implantation without issue. The subjects, Zenin Midori and Zenin Saiai, slowly opened their eyes.

“Just to check: any issues with sensation, color vision, taste, smell, or hearing?” Accelerator asked, listing areas prone to ability development accidents.

“Yes,” both replied in unison.

A simple test, lifting an object on their palms without moving, confirmed the procedure’s success as the object popped upward. The adults who offered the girls sighed in relief and began excitedly discussing who’d go next.

Then—

Glare.

The girls’ eyes fixed on the adults.

“Hey, why the hell are you getting all giddy, you shitty bastards?” Midori’s voice crawled along the floor.

“Keeping quiet doesn’t mean you get to pull this super, super messed-up stunt, huh? Getting cocky just ‘cause you’re bigger? Don’t screw with us, you third-rate punks!” Saiai’s trembling voice seemed to shake the room.

The timid girls, once only trembling, harbored resentment toward the adults who offered them up. It was obvious in hindsight. In the Zenin’s harsh environment, their pent-up stress, unleashed by the monster’s implanted innate domain, erupted as immense cursed energy.

“Time to scrap these shitty bastards!!!”

Hellish screams erupted.

The adults looked to the monster, the culprit, for help, but he was lost in another universe, recalling his own dark past of getting carried away with punks. Though only months ago by his reckoning, his past behavior stung now that he’d calmed down. Qliphah and Naoya, visibly shocked but seeing his inaction, showed no intent to intervene.

No mercy was shown.

“Be grateful we’re letting you go out with a bang!!” they roared.

Fusuma doors shattered. Blood sprayed, bones snapped, hair tore, teeth scattered. Black sparks flickered.

For minutes, a hurricane raged in the Zenin room until the monster, snapping back, subdued them. Thus, the first Jujutsu Research Seminar ended without gaining members. The two oppressed girls deeply thanked the monster for freeing them, the monster regretted carelessly implanting innate domains, Naoya gained two perfect sparring partners, and the Zenin clan, just recovering, fell back into dysfunction as the chore-handling members suffered near-fatal injuries.

“Just to be sure, you don’t have memories from another world, right?” Accelerator asked.

[ [ What are you talking about? ] ] they shot back.

 

Author's thoughts (Not the translator's):

I think Accelerator, around the time he fought Touma, had a pretty low mental age, stuck at about 10 due to losing friends because of his ability. Living with Last Order, who’s mentally similar, made him adopt a guardian role, and by the end of Old Testament, he matures significantly, what healthy development. This took about two months. He continued the guardian role peacefully, but by late November, things got weird. Specifically, he starts acting like Touma’s backseat guardian. By December 10, during the 10-day battle in England, he’s in a support role, playing the understanding mentor to Touma or, as Board Chairman, acting as the passionate teacher protecting his “student” (Touma), punching the Queen under the guise of diplomacy. Executing strategies as Chairman, nearly dying in explosions, and making the Sisters globally recognized leads to the Accelerator of December 29, the model for this story. In just four months from August 21, his mental age skyrockets past 20. He’s closer to a super-mature Nanamin-type guardian. (Meanwhile, Touma, despite losing memories or spending billions of years with Othinus, barely changed besides the PTSD he developed from her.)

 

Notes:

Shota Naoya joined the Accelerator Family, and Kinuhata and Kuroyoru wanted in too.
By the way, the Zenin family’s gonna break.

Chapter 7: The Strongest, Part 1

May 15, 2000

Four and a half years since the Second Zenin Clan Bloodbath Incident.

Early summer.

At the 500th-and-something-Jujutsu Research Seminar.

The gloomy north-facing room of a traditional Japanese house, once poorly lit, was now ablaze with LED lights all night long. Cutting-edge computers and equipment, rivaling the cost of Special Grade cursed tools, lined the space, charging toward the forefront of the era.

The white-haired monster, Zenin Yurio, began the seminar by taking a stack of reports for the past few sessions he missed due to being busy with missions. Leaning deeply into a folding chair in the corner, he started skimming through them. Meanwhile, the magic-side’s transparent, grotesque demon girl showed no interest in the discussion, rolling around entangled in scattered cables at the room’s edge. Her mere silent flopping somehow felt blasphemous, perhaps the nature of a demon.

“So, about the measurements of the cursed energy field and spatial curvature inside barriers we were working on last time…”

Standing before the meeting table, holding documents, Zenin Asuka (16) droned on about the previous sessions’ recap and future plans. Though lacking talent in cursed techniques or output, her creativity and obsession with jujutsu surpassed a Grade 1 sorcerer’s. She absorbed the scientific knowledge brought by Accelerator in no time, and, freed from chores by the next head’s authority, immersed herself in research daily. Shocked and fleeing during the bloodbath of the first seminar, she started attending by the third, becoming nearly ever-present. Most projects now revolved around her, to the point that sessions without her were postponed. Recently, she’d been studying for the Daiken*1 to enter a national university’s physics department. When the white-haired, emotionally volatile boy reflexively remarked, “There’s still stuff to learn?” she passionately argued it was for “romance, not just study.” As partial thanks for her usual contributions, a small fraction of her tuition was covered by research funds. Though unclear to Accelerator, she seemed drawn to the term “doctoral program.” Raised in the Zenin environment, she excelled in classical literature, English, and science, but the clan’s secret records dragged down her history and civics grades.

Apparently, in the outside world, it wasn’t Zenin Naotaka who killed Oda Nobunaga. Now who the hell is Akechi Mitsuhide?

“Oh, by the way, I just had a super idea! Black Flash is caused by the recoil of spatial distortion from cursed energy excitation, right?”

Abruptly changing topics from her pipe chair, Zenin Saiai(9), a subject from the first seminar’s experiment, spoke up. Her variation of the Vector Manipulation Technique specialized in reflection and air molecule-based defense.

“Last time, modeling the fluid-dynamic flow of cursed energy after topological changes in barriers with our pseudo-Navier-Stokes equation was a super breakthrough. So, like, if we control cursed energy flow with a bullet-shaped barrier, couldn’t we arbitrarily trigger Black Flash?”

She reported her idea to Asuka with glee.

“Hah, if you’re serious, I almost feel sorry enough to hug you,” scoffed Zenin Midori (9), sitting beside her.

Also a first-seminar subject, Midori’s Vector Manipulation Technique excelled in offense, manipulating air molecules for spears or bombardments. Her combat style was the opposite of Kia’s, leading to inconclusive mock battles. Currently, Midori was forced to wear a black cat-ear headband as a part of a penalty game, utterly lacking dignity. The tense atmosphere was confined to her and Saiai.

“Forgetting the uncertainty principle? That’s basic, dumbass. No matter how precisely you channel cursed energy, it’s still probability-based, isn’t it?” Midori jabbed.

“That’s not what I’m talking about, super obviously! With a sufficiently large barrier, it’s super obvious you can model it with classical mechanics!” Kia retorted.

Occasionally, mansion residents were roped in as assistants or subjects, but the regular attendees were just these three, including Yurio. Inviting outsiders was avoided for secrecy and to not ruin ordinary people’s careers with the eccentric “jujutsu research.”

Seeing the two glare at each other, Asuka smiled coyly and said, “Midori-nyan—”

“I’ll kill you,” Midori snapped.

“Let’s discuss a bit more gently, okay? You’re cute, after all,” Asuka continued, unfazed by the glare, acting like an older sister.

“Sai-chan’s idea is interesting, but it hinges on controlling the spatial curvature inside barriers. Right now, only Yurio-kun can freely manipulate cursed energy density in the barriers. Until we solve this, the postponed research on otherworlds and cursed energy properties won’t progress either.”

Sighing, she added, “We were supposed to have auxiliary cursed tools for domain expansion by now.” Stroking Midori’s cat ears, she cooed, “Midori-nyan’s great for speaking up, so good, so good!”

“Don’t assume everyone in the world loves being patronized!” Midori growled.

“Super tsundere, super annoying,” Saiaimuttered.

“Huh?!”

As the two monster-powered girls nearly started a playful scuffle, Zenin Naoya burst in, grinning.

“Yurio-niki, you here?”

Naoya had initially attended the seminars but, unable to follow, now focused on self-training, only showing up for sessions that could boost his growth. His rapid progress earned him glares from Midori and Saiai, who saw him as a “research thief” chasing the same white-haired monster. Occasionally, he and Qliphah Puzzle 545 bickered childishly over the “true subordinate” spot. Knowing from experience that engaging only emboldened them, the white-haired boy often reflected all sound to ignore them.

The monster boy looked up.

“What is it?”

“Didn’t wanna interrupt, but dad and the others told me to fetch you,” Naoya said.

“For what?”

Naoya, caught in an awkward side-glance, hesitated before explaining.

“That Gojo Satoru kid’s at our place, apparently. Wants to fight you.”

“Huh? Can’t we just pretend I’m not home?”

“Uh…” Naoya, picking up on his revered Yurio-niki’s question, added, “Seems Dad bragged about you so much it caught Satoru’s interest. Also, they totally know you’re here.”

“…What a pain.”

Gojo Satoru was born a powerhouse.

Everyone treated him as special. He wasn’t lonely, but those around him were equally fragile and fleeting, divided by a biological line. All that remained was boredom.

Amid his days, he heard a rumor, 90% of it from his father, the Gojo clan head, ranting about Naobito and the Zenin clan.

A monster who, at six, slaughtered the Zenin’s sorcerers to claim the next head’s seat.
The youngest ever sent on solo missions.
A modern prodigy wielding an absurdly complex, precise technique as naturally as a bird flies.

His boredom flipped to anticipation. He wanted to fight. Repeated appointment requests were dodged with “busy with missions,” so he had his attendants track Yurio’s schedule and stormed the Zenin estate unannounced.

But as he waited, his excitement cooled. His high faded. No one could reach him anyway. Fearing disappointment, he considered leaving, until…

Tap.

The sling door slid open.

The Zenin’s monster, flanked by his demon and entourage, entered. There stood a white-haired, undeniable powerhouse, just like him.

Zenin Yurio (10)
The Zenin’s monster boy, Naobito’s pride and next head. Blood-red eyes peer from behind white hair like Satoru’s. About 150 cm tall, with worryingly malnourished white skin and delicate limbs. His pristine, high-quality white kimono reflects his ability.

Qliphah Puzzle 545 Publicly claimed shikigami,
Self-proclaimed made-in-UK artificial demon. A grotesque girl resembling marine life. Her dress, like a Rorschach test, displays unsettling articles that vary by viewer. Uses a mysterious energy, not cursed energy, despite being a shikigami.

Zenin Naoya (9)
Wielder of the inherited Projection Sorcery. Relentless training brings him close to Naobito, the fastest sorcerer. Nicknamed the next head’s subordinate for always trailing Yurio. The first in the group, including Yurio, to master Reverse Cursed Technique.

Zenin Midori and Zenin Saiai
From the branch family’s fringes, originally talentless but later acquired the Vector Manipulation Technique. To the Six Eyes, their techniques appear hazy and peculiar. Their speech patterns mimics Yurio’s, and due to the Bloodbath Incident, they’re shunned or feared by the Zenin clan.

Zenin Asuka Self-proclaimed Zenin’s doctoral candidate,
A round-glasses girl stylishly sporting a lab coat. Her glasses are cursed tools, no lenses, allowing even low-cursed-energy users to see cursed energy and spirits. Also from the branch family’s fringes with no talent, her Zenin blood grants her 2.9 vision in clan health checks (Zenin tests measure up to 15.0 with cursed energy enhancement; for reference, Maasai record 11.0).

Seeing the monster and his entourage, Gojo Satoru grinned. A world free of boredom stood before him.

The summoned monster, eyeing Satoru grumpily, said.

“You know you’re the challenger, right?”

Satoru’s excitement surged.

“Is Yurio-niki gonna be okay?” Naoya asked.

“Huh?” Qliphah, giving him a “you serious?” look, peered at his face.

“You know about Satoru-kun’s Limitless, right?”

“No matter how strong his technique is, there’s no way a spoiled 10-year-old brat could beat the battle-hardened, ruthless Master!” Qliphah scoffed.

Notes:

*1:
University Entrance Qualification Examination, the modern equivalent of the High School Equivalency Test (Kounin).

Chapter 8: The Strongest, Part 2

Around 2 PM.

A bright Monday, the kind of afternoon that lifts your mood with a walk, but its cheerful air didn’t reach the deepest recesses of the Zenin estate.

Gojo Satoru and Zenin Yurio faced each other in a vast underground arena. A heavy tension, enough to make an ordinary person vomit or faint, dominated the space.

On the second-floor observation deck, about 30 Zenin members, including Naoya, Asuka, and the head, Naobito, along with a few Gojo clan members who’d come with Satoru, watched the events unfolding .

The Zenin’s largest training hall, wrecked in the First Bloodbath Incident four years ago, had been renovated into a massive underground arena, costing billions of yen, rivaling a concert hall in size. The mastermind behind the overhaul was the Jujutsu Research Seminar’s leader, Zenin Asuka.

The catalyst was a cursed spirit found near Okutama, an embodiment of modern urbanites’ insect phobia. A hive-like shell structure housed hundreds of thousands of writhing, Grade 4-equivalent cursed spirits resembling plump bee larvae, forming a 190 cm-tall Grade 1 humanoid cursed spirit, Hachisugami. Its revolting aura*1 and ability to regenerate from a single larva in days made it a vile entity. Sealed by Jujutsu High sorcerers for over 20 years, Asuka, reviewing its sealing records, requested it as experimental material. Accelerator reduced it to a few specimens and brought it to the Zenin estate.

Modern jujutsu relies on Tengen’s support, a universal format across Japan. The Jujutsu Research Seminar’s ultimate goal is to unravel jujutsu’s fundamental principles and establish a technical system viable without Tengen’s aid, a daunting task akin to building cutting-edge antivirus software without existing programming languages or millennia of libraries. Historically, some wielded bizarre barrier techniques*2 independent of Tengen, but most were Heian-era sorcerers who mostly relied on raw talent due to limited knowledge on creating barriers.

Drawing on jujutsu theory, Heian-era records, and ancient Onmyodo texts from the disbanded Tsuchimikado clan post-Meiji Restoration, Asuka crafted a masterpiece without relying on modern barrier, talisman, or sealing techniques. Using timber from Aokigahara and Hachisugami’s proliferated flesh and blood, processed through 17 bindings, eight “baths,” and 259 primitive steps, she created a cursed object: the Zenin’s secret reinforced material, Reihoshukotsu (Spirit Bee Tree Bone).

The underground space, expanded from the former storehouse, was fully encased in this eerie timber. The vast arena functioned jujutsu-wise as a single organism, defending with cursed energy against impacts and self-sustaining its consumption, a perpetual motion machine. Even the Special Grade 1 sorcerer Zenin Ogi, slashing full-force dozens of times under the guise of “training mishaps,” left no scratches. Unless a Special Grade sorcerer deliberately tried to destroy it, it would remain intact for tens of thousands of years, resilient enough for nuclear shelters or even missile test sites. However, its sturdiness came at the cost of the cursed spirit’s regenerative ability; any damage caused necrosis, requiring the same arduous process to replace parts. Asuka, dissatisfied, aimed to achieve ultimate durability via bindings that harmed no one, rivaling Special Grade cursed objects.

All Reihoshukotsu components were jujutsu-wise linked, limiting its use to this arena. The months-long process of slaughtering hundreds of thousands of Hachisugami larvae drove several assistants to mental breakdowns, introducing the concept of workplace injury to the Zenin clan for the first time.

The second-floor observation deck, made of standard materials, was expanded to seat hundreds (in zabuton terms), protected by a potent barrier unshaken even by Accelerator’s kicks, which could pierce nuclear shelter doors. This fixed, immobile barrier, with a primitive structure that self-destructed after 50 hours, drew cursed energy from Reihoshukotsu to sustain activation.

But enough talk.

“Conditions?”

Barely hiding his irritation at the supremely annoying jujutsu world’s strongest barging in, Zenin Yurio asked. Conditions meant victory terms, technique restrictions, and the like.

The natural-born powerhouse Gojo, with an age-appropriate expression and no malice, grinned and said.

“Survive 10 minutes against me, and I’ll give you a reward. Name something me or the Gojo clan can do.”

Though not expecting that much, he was certain this boy wouldn’t go down easily. With that, the Zenin’s monster boy sighed.

“Huh, Binding: if you surrender or get knocked out, you lose. Afterwards let me analyze your Six Eyes and technique in the lab. And cover this place’s maintenance costs.”

Sorcerers don’t refuse favorable terms out of fairness or hidden motives. They don’t decline benefits and even clarify to eliminate implied limits. Yurio also closed the loophole of Gojo surrendering within 10 minutes to dodge the promise, explicitly making it a binding. This was a typical sorcerer’s contract sense.

Far removed from typical sorcerers, Gojo flashed a grin at the boy’s bold demands. He had no need to request anything, assuming his victory was a given.

“Fine, give it a shot.”

Six Eyes precisely mapped the boy’s technique, a complex one manipulating targets based on understood laws of the world. It required supercomputer-like processing, an utterly unorthodox, absurd technique. Normally, it’d be an outlier compared to constructed techniques or Limitless. Yet, freakishly, the boy before him wielded it flawlessly.

Anticipation.

Gojo’s lips curled at the novel sensation. Slowly raising both palms, he intoned:

“Cursed Technique: Blue.”

A beautiful blue flash, a clear, radiant light, and air-distorting pressure materialized at his palms. A test jab. A negative space, forcibly manifested in reality, a death zone crushing all matter, surged toward the white-haired boy.

“My Vector Manipulation Technique controls the vectors of motion or energy of anything I touch, like electromagnetic waves or, roughly, others’ cursed energy.”

Pop! With a sharp sound, blue energy scattered and flowed around the red-eyed monster. Blue vanished before reaching him.

No disappointment yet. Gojo knew this opponent wouldn’t falter here.

Guided by Six Eyes and talent, Gojo strategized. If there was a breakthrough, it was that Blue was dispersed before touching him. Perhaps the technique cloaking his skin couldn’t handle Blue normally, or it carried some risk. At impact, his cursed energy moved anew. Like the difference between manual and automatic, it resembled instantaneous counters using “Simple Domain” or Shin-Kageryu’s iaijutsu. Judging this, the modern prodigy planned his next move to topple the opponent.

“Technique disclosure’s pointless. Six Eyes sees everything, idiot.”

“Just being nice. Wouldn’t want you to look pathetic not getting it,” Yurio shot back.

“Oh, yeah?”

The next instant, he vanished. In the empty space, countless small Blue orbs rained down, exploding, engulfing even the cursed floor.

Yurio manipulated his soles’ vectors, darting through the rain of Blue at high speed.

Limitless vs. Vector Transformation. Both protected by inviolable techniques, victory hinged on pinpointing the other’s weakness.

Unleashing Blue after Blue, Gojo pondered. His dodging suggested no safe way to handle multiple Blue orbs. Concluding this, Gojo floated using Limitless, relentlessly bombarding with Blue. With Six Eyes’ precise cursed energy management, he’d never run dry.

The floor shattered, walls dented. The ground flipped, forming countless craters. A scientific girl scream from the stands, "that floor costs 500 million!!”, went unheard.

Then.

The air was compressed, until a mass of plasma appeared, scattering white light as it exploded on Gojo’s barrier’s surface. Yurio’s test, noting how nitrogen and oxygen, always passed through Limitless. But if imbued with even a hint of cursed energy, it was easily countered.

“I said I see everything, didn’t I?”

As proof, Gojo stood unscathed, exactly as moments before.

“Can’t grasp my cursed energy and laws precisely, or already figured it out but can’t manipulate it?”

On why Yurio couldn’t dismantle Blue directly, Gojo offered an answer.

“All you did was cursed energy manipulation. My technique compresses cursed energy so finely and firmly with Blue that it can’t be broken, scattering it from within.”

“Know Achilles and the Tortoise? No one’s counted infinity, right? Insert infinite steps, and you’ll never reach beyond. My technique brings the ever-present infinite into reality. Either way, your technique can’t master my cursed energy.”

“And Blue pulls in with the force of dragging a negative world from beyond an infinite series. Just fire it with output too strong for petty tricks to dismantle.”

Yurio briefly made a face that screamed “what’s this guy on about?”at the infinite series talk, but wild theories for technique flexibility weren’t uncommon. His own personal reality was arguably worse. Gojo genuinely believed this, dismissing math as irrelevant to his life and never intending to study it. He’d research only when needed, a type common in sorcerer families that devalue general education, whether liberal or outdated.

“Phase, Twilight, Eye of Wisdom .”

Chanting for 120% output.

“Cursed Technique Lapse, Maximum Output: Blue !!”

A graze meant death. A massive, surging blue orb closed in.

But only if it grazed.

Pop! With an odd, high-pitched sound, Blue dispersed.

“Done?” Yurio taunted.

Gojo’s face twisted in shock.

The delicate boy merely stomped his foot, unleashing a shockwave-like cursed energy burst that collapsed Blue’s structure.

“Not that surprising,” Yurio said.

Gojo should’ve seen it, his monster technique. Vector transformation was a mere bonus. Its essence was “grasping the world's laws,” the ability Aleister, sought.

“Sure, I haven’t fully grasped your technique’s depths. It’s not about infinite steps, it's just you not showing everything. But for Blue, after all that flaunting, I can spot patterns and countermeasures.”

He spoke like it was obvious, revealing the trick. His analysis and finesse were, frankly, freakish.

“Can’t break my Limitless, so quit acting tough.”

Blue was no longer viable head-on. But nothing was sealed. The monster’s odds of surviving 10 minutes just skyrocketed. Gojo bluffed while rapidly planning his next attack.

The monster, grinned however, like a demon.

“Sure, I don’t have a way to break Limitless yet.”

His grumpy expression shifted for the first time, tinged with odd nostalgia, as if seeing his old self. He smirked.

“But that doesn’t mean it decides the fight!!!”

For example.

Zzt! Light converged at his fingers. The next instant, a thin laser, hot enough to melt iron, pierced Gojo’s shoulder.

“When you deploy Limitless around you, you unconsciously filter what's harmful from what's harmless. Makes sense, block light, and you can’t see. Like normal attacks, you might counter if you perceive it, but I just need to strike so fast that you can't react.”

Limitless was breached for the first time. No, not breached, exploited.

“That all you got?” Gojo laughed, sweating from the fresh pain of an unexpected weakness.

“Six Eyes enables atomic-level cursed energy control. Too much light causes damage? I’ll limit it. From now on, I’ll block light above a certain intensity.”

He regretted the bravado. That gap could’ve been fatal in real combat. He felt childish guilt for not making “landing a hit” his win condition, underestimating the boy.

“Big covers small, huh?” Yurio said, unfazed, chuckling as he reached into his sleeve.

“Then I'll just subtract.”

Crack! The floor split under his feet. Pulling a nail-like object from his sleeve, he let it drop, piercing the cracked floor with a crisp sound. A girl’s voice screamed, “Repair costs!!” but he ignored it.

“From darkness born, darker than darkness, cleanse and purify its taint. ”

A curtain descended, a materialized thought experiment from past anti-Gojo strategies. An enhanced consignment-style curtain, the Base,barring air and Gojo’s entry/exit but allowing all else, including light. The vast space shrank.

Snap! Blue-white sparks flared around the white monster.

“Oxygen molecules break down easily with electricity. Two oxygen atoms form oxygen molecules; three make ozone. Ozone’s different, all toxic and unbreathable.”

A technique once used by the clone of the Third-Ranked. He continued, laughing.

“Poison might be blocked with cursed energy, but you can’t trap or generate oxygen freely like me, can you?”

He stomped the Base.

“This curtain’s special, even Blue can’t break it. To dispel it, you need to steal and destroy the Base at my feet.”

Waving his hand, winds roared inside the curtain, increasing the air touching his body per unit time.

“I’ll give you a freebie: You have 70 seconds until I convert all the oxygen here to ozone.”

This meant a role reversal.

Until now, Gojo tested Yurio.

Now, Gojo had to defeat the Vector Manipulation-clad monster before the oxygen turned to ozone or before he collapsed afterward.

For the first time, Gojo Satoru felt tension.

“Rule change, you shitty bastard.”

“…Guh, gah…”

Countless Blue orbs were neutralized. Flipping the floor like a table was thwarted by raging winds. The curtain rejected Gojo’s cursed energy, causing maximum-output Blue to detonate prematurely.

Even as oxygen dwindled, Gojo kept moving. Over a minute, at full throttle.

But even the strongest was human. In oxygen’s absence, his strength faded. He dropped to his knees, collapsing.

Am I going to lose? he thought, consciousness fading.

Born to boredom, everyone weaker and frailer than him, he found no value in anyone. Hailed, feared, revered as the strongest, he wasn’t lonely, but his solitude was lonesome. He couldn’t expect a flowerbed to understand him.

You’re the same, aren’t you?

Seeing Yurio, a fellow powerhouse, thrilled him. When Limitless was bypassed, he was elated. But he sensed it, Yurio wasn’t fully serious, holding back because Gojo was too weak. Gojo gave everything, yet Yurio wouldn’t.

Don’t fall here!

Not until he caught up. Not with those lonely eyes. He could still stand. Squeeze out every ounce of strength. Burn all his cursed energy. Leap past limits.

I…

We…

Aren’t alone anymore!!!

“…Ryo… Domain… Open!!”

Infinity Void!!!

Gojo lacked the barrier technique mastery for proper domain expansion. What unfolded was an awkward, incomplete domain, lacking guaranteed hit or kill effects, without even defined boundaries, a reckless act like splattering paint in the air without a canvas. Limitless-infused cursed energy twinkled blue like a cold winter starry sky, spreading vast amounts wastefully. Accelerator instantly deployed a pseudo-“Simple Domain” counter, but it was rapidly eroded.

Manifesting Limitless’ interior of imaginary space and infinite information.

Gojo’s surging cursed energy, trapped by the curtain, filled the space. Guided by Six Eyes, it materialized precisely. As the innate domain manifested, the technique’s effects ran rampant. Without boundaries, it didn’t clash with the curtain, infiltrating and overwriting the pseudo-Simple Domain and curtain, devouring information.

It didn’t need to reach the monster boy. A momentary gap would suffice.

And—

The monster’s domain flickered out with a snap . His foot left the Base. A tiny Blue shot out, tracing a blue line. A crack sounded from the Base embedded in the ground, followed a beat later by a shatter, the enhanced consignment curtain collapsed.

“Guhah! Ha, ha, ha…”

Thanks to the curtain’s swirling winds, oxygen rushed into Gojo’s lungs. His cursed energy was nearly depleted. The strain of moving in an oxygenless state pushed his fatigue to its peak.

The monster, slightly staggered, recovered quickly, perhaps his pseudo-Simple Domain lingered or some mechanism protected his brain.

But.

It landed.

Gojo was thrilled. He felt he could do something now.

His cursed energy was low, but with Six Eyes, conventional depletion wasn’t an issue.

Gojo Satoru was the strongest. The strongest, thus Gojo Satoru.

Waiting for his technique to recover via domain expansion was a discarded option. Stalling was petty. This was an all-out cursed clash!

Clenching his fist, channeling cursed energy through his body, he launched like an arrow, stepping forward. He chose an unknown technique, a barrier technique rumored to have once breached Limitless, known only by name in Gojo clan texts.

“Domain Extension!!”

The genius naturally pulled off the unknown technique at the clutch, perhaps aided by his recent incomplete domain expansion.

For the sake of reaching someone with an untouchable technique like his.

To close the gap with the solitary boy.

Gojo Satoru discarded his invincible barrier, closing in on the wide-eyed, shocked boy.

*1:
Later named trypophobia, the fear of clustered patterns.

*2:
In this story’s interpretation, those barrier techniques were the ability to create stable open domains.

Chapter 9: The Strongest, Part 3

Seeing Yurio fend off Blue by some unknown means, Saiai and Midori thought.

(Is this where Vector Transformation Technique is headed?)

A place they hadn’t reached yet, but might someday. They stared, determined not to miss a moment.

Watching his master exploit Limitless’ weakness with a smirk, Qliphah Puzzle 545 thought.

(He looks like he’s having fun.)

His master was often misunderstood. Even now, the audience might see him as a ruthless lunatic. But through her experiences, Qliphah knew: her master was always—

Seeing the arena’s wrecked floor and walls, Asuka thought.

(Should I let those jerks off the hook?)

Special Grade-level sorcerers were oblivious to collateral damage. She was determined to make them pay for this mess. With many processes restricted to Zenin members due to secrecy, she resolved to at least make the Gojo clan help with processing tens of thousands of cursed spirits.

Seeing Gojo Satoru’s attacks start to land, the Gojo clan attendants thought.

(Everything’s going as planned)

They didn’t understand what Gojo and his opponent were doing. The curtain dropped, rose, and Gojo began pummeling the hated Zenin monster that was all. But Gojo was a freak destined to win. The Gojo clan stopped watching seriously, cheering like they were supporting a favorite soccer team in a stadium.

Seeing the Zenin’s monster being beaten, the general Zenin members thought.

(Shouldn’t we enjoy this rare fight?)

They didn’t grasp the battle’s flow, but they knew their next head was getting thrashed, a first. Losing to the Gojo clan stung, but Gojo was a freak destined to win. Initially unsure of the outcome, they saw the Zenin’s monster being overwhelmed. Might as well find another way to enjoy it. Wanting to see the haughty Zenin king, who strutted through the estate, lose, recalling the Bloodbath Incident’s pain, they quietly cheered for Gojo like watching soccer at home, careful not to catch the head’s eye.

Glancing at the Gojo and Zenin clans, Naoya thought.

(Should I kill them all?)

Watching his master, barely enduring heavy fists clad in Domain Extension, neutralizing even internal technique effects, through high-speed movement alone, Qliphah Puzzle 545 recalled her earlier taunt about Naoya’s weakness and thought.

(Gojo Satoru’s growth potential was freakier than expected.)

An explosive awakening of jujutsu talent at the brink. That alone cornered her master.

(I misjudged Gojo. Maybe I underestimated this jujutsu stuff.)

Sighing gloomily, her mood dampened. Then—

(Guess it’s time, huh?)

Boom!

Chasing the gliding, high-speed Yurio, Gojo Satoru charged like a cannon. Yurio shifted direction via the vectors on his feet, but Gojo, reading the cursed energy surge, instantly adjusted, landing a fist.

“…Guh…”

Moving at high speed, the first blow dealt less damage than if he’d been still, but it steadily accumulated.

Flawless cursed energy-enhanced physical reinforcement. Overwhelming combat sense. And above all—

(It’s not just neutralizing reflection, it’s disrupting internal shock dispersion! )

Domain Extension’s technique neutralization. The impact was surface-level but sufficient to deal damage.

Feeling his technique being eroded, Yurio strategized. A barrier technique, akin to a domain. Then—

Pseudo-Simple Domain .

In the brief moment of gaining distance, he constructed a countermeasure. From research on reconstructing Shin-Kageryu’s Simple Domain without Tengen’s aid, this unnamed, in-development technique lacked guaranteed-hit effects for counters like Drawing Blade but didn’t burn out his technique. With an outer shell like domain expansion, it could push back enemy domains with enough cursed energy output and precision. Unlike Simple Domain, it wasn’t passive, potentially nullifying domain expansion with mastery.

But—

Black sparks flickered.

“…Guhah…!”

An impact incomparable to before ravaged his body. Stopping was a mistake. The domains didn’t clash.

Yurio’s body flew through the air. Combat experience kept his calculations uninterrupted, but another hit landed before he could recover.

Domain Extension didn’t imbue technique effects. Like a non-closed domain, with neither domain carrying effects, no clash occurred. It became a brawl enhanced by cursed energy, a pure melee where Accelerator was weakest.

On one side, a well-raised 150 cm boy from a sorcerer lineage. On the other, a frail 150 cm boy, stunted by constant technique use.

Accelerator had no interest in domain expansion, which burned out techniques, a folly akin to draining his electrode’s battery instantly to defeat one foe in his original form. Against others’ domain expansions, he had counters; for guaranteed-hit techniques, Reflection sufficed. Thus, he had no measures for a technique-sealed scenario.

A fierce, spark-filled high-speed battle.

Amid the rapid exchange, Gojo Satoru grinned. His gem-like, eerie blue eyes gleamed.

Fists swung. Black sparks scattered. His already weak body slowed, even through vector conversion.

Soon, he’d likely be incapacitated.

Accelerator gave up.

Pushing Gojo to the brink by cutting oxygen flipped some switch. The freak before him was high, fully in the zone, the modern jujutsu world’s strongest.

(Time to call it…)

So, alone in his mind, Accelerator muttered:

(Answer, Qliphah Puzzle 545!!)

(Nihihi. You were done for, huh?)

A reply came.

(You sure about this? Letting a hardworking ‘kid’ win fair and square could show the ‘adults’ some class, no??)

(Like I care. This ain’t Academy City. I’m done playing teacher and indulging this freak’s game.)

(Ignoring how you got super into playing teacher halfway through, it’s great you don’t see yourself as a freak!)

It was never one-on-one. They were connected from the start.

As a “human” managing Academy City’s 2.3 million student population, he felt a nostalgic urge to yield to the hungry boy before him. But for the story’s progression, to escape this world fastest, he couldn’t afford to lose to Gojo Satoru here.

(Fold it before he notices.)

(Got it! Nihihi. It’s within the rules, but it feels super dirty! Sorcerers really thrive on this guilty thrill, huh )

Fighting fair, Accelerator had no way to repel Gojo now. He chose Qliphah Puzzle 545’s aid. To battle-crazed jujutsu sorcerer's like Gojo, it might be heresy. But this was undeniably Accelerator’s power. What would overturn this disadvantage?

The answer emerged.

"I am an artificial demon without a place among the ten spheres, thus I reside in the unmarked eleventh sphere as its administrator!!  My name is Qliphah Puzzle 545, my number is the true eleven, its meaning: “The stepping stone of evil that supports good deeds”!! 

“Hmm, /return. Nearly 10 years of silence, and you lean on me when it suits you, /escape.”

She had no voice now. Before, she could speak to the artificial demon via the Misaka Network, but now, like a muted mic in a virtual meeting, her voice didn’t reach the other side.

“Seriously, you’re using the Misaka Network like it’s nothing, don’t you ever question that, you blockhead? /return. Are you even sorry? /escape. Misaka’s Team Kamijou, so why am I always stuck with this guy? /escape.”

Like the Imaginary Number District’s angel or Hisako Yakumi, she was captured by that damn Kihara Reiri, stuffed into something resembling an AIM diffusion field modeled on the Misaka Network, a mere floating data entity. While trapped here, she glimpsed a scientist’s figure, but the cold, inorganic gaze confirmed her fate, and she was cast in instantly. The scientific demon Kihara Reiri showed no care for a network bug.

The Will of the Misaka Network was now a stage prop. Its terminals, abilities, and even proper AIM diffusion fields were gone. A being with computing power borrowed from a fraction of nearly 10,000 espers’ brains, merely an experimental device for subjects’ environments.

Still...

Ten years.

To make Accelerator, unrefined in this world, superhuman, she was forcibly linked to the jujutsu world for a decade, ignoring the ethical implications of forcing that onto a sapient entity. The Third Tree, a modern human-encompassing artificial tree absent from any mythology. The Will, bodiless and beyond boredom, had finished analyzing cursed energy from human emotions in its spare time.

As a service, it supplied the parameters of the jujutsu world synchronized with the artificial tree’s data.

“ 'Just this once' Misaka says but this is the second time now, /return. I’ll stomach a prince saving Misaka being someone other than Kamijou-chan, so don’t trip over this guy and end this dumb game already!! /return. And enough with shoving some old version of someone in my face, /backspace, I’m pissed off too!!!! /return.”

"Behold the hidden barrier beyond the ten, I slip within, obstructing any unworthy ascent, granting power to cross the Abyss only to the truly qualified!!"

Vmm!! Something that was non-cursed energy layered into Accelerator’s vision. With a wet splurch , blood seeped from his pure-white skin. Magic was for the talentless. Esper or sorcerer, Accelerator couldn’t use it. In exchange, something vital inside snapped with a pop-pop sensation.

"It is a tree crafted by human hands, a new tree absent from all mythologies!It is still a small sapling, but this new mystic power does not rely on the hand of gods and instead provides possibilities controlled by human hands. The artificial tree of Clonoth carries no good or evil!! I shall become this sapling's guide. Rejection of the Abyss, leave us as I become one with my chosen master and cross that line. We shall arrive beyond Keter! Where even undisclosed realms of zeroes hold no fear!!"

That’s fine, he thought, grinning.

From the monster’s back erupted translucent, pale platinum. Vibrant wings rivaling the guardian angel Aiwass descended into the jujutsu world.

Megi-megi-megi-megi-megi!! A dull sound rang. Not a shallow act like swinging wings or firing something. Surface bleeding was irrelevant.

Talent, imaginary space, infinite information, all worldly obstacles were transcended in a single leap. With cosmic-scale manipulation, he interfered with Gojo Satoru’s microcosm, brimming with infinite cursed energy.

Gojo Satoru...

Eyes wide in shock, mouth opening to speak, he lost consciousness and collapsed.

In a simple infirmary-like room, Gojo Satoru opened his eyes.

I lost, huh?

Even with Six Eyes, he couldn’t grasp what happened. That was the Zenin monster’s trump card.

For the first time, he was satisfied. It was fun. The fight undeniably made him grow.

He hoped that boy shared the same feeling. Could they fight again? He could still grow stronger, fight again.

And next time—

“…I’ll win.”

“Good morning!”

Swish! The curtain parted, revealing an older girl stylishly sporting a lab coat and what seemed like cursed tool round glasses.

“No aftereffects, great. Yurio-kunwas worried he went too hard. Technique back online?” she said, peering into his Six Eyes.

“Huh? Uh, who’re you?”

“Erm, let’s see…”

He vaguely recalled her beside Yurio when he arrived. An attendant might’ve explained something, but he was too focused on Yurio to remember. The round-glasses girl tilted her head, then brightened and said.

“A debt collector!”

A few minutes’ walk from the Zenin’s exclusive doctor’s clinic led to the place.

A bright, white light, unlike bulbs or fluorescents, blazed in the sealed room. A remodeled Japanese house room, its fusuma removed and plastered over. Despite early summer, air conditioning chilled the air. Large machines, unbefitting a sorcerer household, hummed quietly. Around them lay heaps of objects, the Six Eyes could only identify them as cursed tools, their jujutsu components minimal.

“What’s with that dumb face? You’re at the heart of the Zenin’s secret domain, be happier,” the girl said.

“What is this place?”

“Zenin Jujutsu Research Seminar headquarters!”

Gojo was floored.

“Is it okay to let a Gojo like me in here?”

For a moment, he felt thrilled, thinking the monster boy trusted him, but—

“We talked it over, and decided it’s a waste of time to be cautious. I mean, showing a regular sorcerer the stuff lying around here or even explaining it thoroughly, they’d barely understand 10% anyway.”

Not at all. Six Eyes or modern strongest, to them, he was just a sorcerer. It irked him.

“Try explaining something, then.”

“I said if I explained, but today’s not that kind of session.”

Unfazed, she continued:

“C’mon, the binding! Six Eyes!”

Clank. Connecting equipment from a metal shelf case to a computer, she grinned with uncontainable glee.

“No way to analyze Limitless yet, so that’s for later. Just let us record your Six Eyes!”

For mere hours, yet grueling hours, he was laid on a dentist-like chair, blasted with cursed energy light (visible only to Six Eyes) and regular light, peered at through an electron microscope, and photographed and filmed countless times.

“Perfect 3D scan and response samples! You can go now!” the giddy girl said.

Gojo felt his head pounding.

The day after, Gojo Satoru began wearing a blindfold.

Notes:

Board Chairman sandbags against innocent 10 year old.

Chapter 10: Tokyo Jujutsu High

April 12, 2005

In the afternoon classroom of Tokyo Jujutsu High, the new semester hummed with quiet energy.

Gojo Satoru, a Special Grade 1 sorcerer, the new head of the Gojo Clan, and a first-year high school student this spring, idled away the time before his assistant supervisor arrived for his next mission. He lounged at his desk, long legs propped up, leaning back in his chair and rocking it back and forth, lost in thought.

Typically, he wrapped bandages around his eyes to manage his Six Eyes, but today he wore custom-made sunglasses—99% ordinary black lenses, stylish yet practical.

Gojo Satoru had an opponent he was determined to defeat.

The current head of the Zenin Clan, Zenin Yurio.

In their last battle, Gojo had begun to grasp Domain Expansion and, with his innate talent, mastered it. He tried to schedule a rematch, but every attempt was rebuffed.

They crossed paths at imperial ceremonies, but such occasions were no place for sparring.

When he considered storming the Zenin Clan as he had before, he discovered the entire estate was now enveloped in a barrier that explicitly rejected Gojo Satoru, barring him from even passing the gates.

He briefly entertained breaking the barrier by force, but invading one of the Big Three Families by shattering their ward could spark a bloody clan war.

Reluctantly, he abandoned the idea, and no opportunity for a rematch had arisen.

For the record, he had yet to master Reverse Cursed Technique or Hollow Purple.

Gojo sighed heavily and pulled out the rollable LCD screen from his unfamiliar mobile device to review his next mission’s details.

“That’s a Vortex II, huh? As expected of one of the Big Three,” a voice remarked.

The speaker was Geto Suguru, who had become Gojo Satoru’s first true friend after a lighthearted greeting blossomed into camaraderie—though their bond began with Gojo dismissing Geto as weak, making Gojo the one at fault (a “Juzero” incident, so to speak).

“Yeah, this thing,” Gojo said, waving the device. “Suzushina Asuka sent it to me. I’m testing it, but no matter how you slice it, it’s a hassle.”

“What?! Satoru, you know AHT’s CEO?!” Geto exclaimed, eyes wide.

AHT.

Asuka (A) High (H) Technologies (T).

A company that seemed to vault twenty years ahead of its time with unnervingly advanced technology and a mysterious system outsiders called “Xsystem.” AHT dominated critical industries: medicine, energy, communications, defense, and computing.

Their grip was tightest in the computer industry.

When semiconductors were barely shrinking from three-digit to two-digit nanometer wiring, AHT unveiled the single-digit nanometer TOUMA series (named by the Zenin Clan head), mocking Moore’s Law.

No company or researcher could replicate it. The computer industry was now AHT’s domain, with competitors sidelined.

Military gear without TOUMA was obsolete, and rumors swirled that medical devices lacking TOUMA were unsafe.

Whispers also claimed AHT’s headquarters housed a supercomputer, “KamiJō,” with processing power dwarfing TOUMA, though its existence was unconfirmed.

Xsystem was even odder.

Unlike TOUMA, Xsystem wasn’t sold commercially, appearing only in AHT’s facilities or those of governments and municipalities.

While TOUMA and other products could be (barely) explained as scientific marvels, Xsystem seemed to operate on principles modern science couldn’t touch.

Researchers attempting to reverse-engineer Xsystem without permission were relentless. Most nations ran covert Xsystem labs, studying purchased equipment, black-market products, or blueprints, dubbing the unknown principles “X-Theory.” No team had succeeded.

The abbreviation’s pronunciation, “Acht-Acht,” stemmed from anonymous forums, inspired by the German 8.8 cm FlaK anti-aircraft gun.

Suzushina Asuka, a comet-like genius, was AHT’s face.

A striking woman in a stylish white lab coat and round glasses, she was homeschooled due to clan policy, bypassing traditional schooling. At 17, in 2001, she founded AHT, taking it public in record time. The next year, she enrolled in a Kyoto university, juggling academics and AHT’s operations.

Despite being a startup, she reportedly had deep political connections.

In just four years, she outstripped Bill Gates to become the world’s richest person.

Bright personality.

Unrivaled intellect.

Magnetic charisma.

These traits made Suzushina Asuka a global icon, especially in Japan, where she rivaled top idols and celebrities as a youth idol.

On forums, she was playfully called an alien, an interdimensional being, or “AAA.”

“The Suzushina family has four siblings,” Geto continued. “The only son, Suzushina Yurio, stays out of the media, but his existence is known. Apparently, he’s an albino sort of like you, Satoru.”

“…That’s the Zenin Clan head,” Gojo replied flatly.

“Huh?!” Geto blinked, bewildered.

Gojo began explaining the Zenin Clan’s situation to his friend, who, hailing from a non-sorcerer family, was still a greenhorn about the jujutsu world’s complexities.

Gojo Satoru wasn’t well-versed in AHT’s public rumors but knew plenty about the backstage drama.

He was, after all, directly involved.

At the time, the jujutsu world had cast a wary eye on AHT.

They suspected the company was flouting jujutsu regulations by distributing or even selling cursed tools publicly.

It was only logical, someone from the Zenin Clan’s core was spreading bizarre technology.

Jujutsu Headquarters convened a council, summoning Gojo, bearer of the Six Eyes, to investigate.

After days of scrutiny, no irregularities surfaced.

The gathered sorcerers and cursed tool craftsmen had to conclude AHT was unconnected to jujutsu.

Gojo included.

He was frustrated.

His Six Eyes confirmed the objects before him lacked cursed energy.

But his soul screamed otherwise.

Gojo was certain.

The grinning “MAD scientist” before him was absolutely up to something shady.

In fact, he later recalled seeing items at the Jujutsu Research Society’s headquarters—cursed tools strewn on the ground—that looked eerily similar to AHT’s products.

Since then, regular councils reviewed AHT’s new products, and Gojo attended every one.

Recently, the jujutsu side had grown complacent, with middle-aged sorcerers treating the meetings like product review sessions. But Gojo stayed sharp, his Six Eyes glaring, determined to catch AHT’s slip.

The Zenin Clan, the youngest of the Three Great Families, differed from the Kamo and Gojo Clans, which had served the imperial family since the Yamato dynasty’s founding as priests. The Zenin Clan rose in the Heian period.

Though powerful, they lacked the Kamo Clan’s grip on Jujutsu Headquarters or the Gojo Clan’s control over key sites like Izumo, Kii, and Dazaifu.

That was changing.

Cursed objects, cursed tools, and talent.

Fueled by Suzushina Asuka’s wealth and technology, the Zenin Clan was rapidly amassing resources and influence.

In a few years, the millennia-old balance among the Big Three had shifted dramatically.

Geto, meanwhile, was reeling at the realization that jujutsu elders were dominating the global economy.

“Is the jujutsu world that crazy?” he asked, eyes wide.

It seemed his view of the jujutsu world had veered into conspiracy territory.

Before his friend could spiral, Gojo wanted to clarify.

It wasn’t the jujutsu world that was abnormal.

It was the Zenin Clan.

April 19, 2005

Ieiri Shoko arrived at Jujutsu High, a week late.

Upon hearing the story, she immediately demanded Suzushina Asuka’s autograph.

Her intensity was so fierce that even Gojo, the jujutsu world’s strongest, flinched.

In the end, they decided to visit Suzushina Asuka together, combining it as an opportunity to bond.

 

Appendix: Public Information on the Suzushina Family
Father: Absent
Suzushina Asuka’s biological father (the 25th Zenin head) is deceased. Asuka consciously avoids the topic, making it a taboo.

Mother: Suzushina Shinri
Birth name: Zenin Mari. Suzushina Asuka’s biological mother, part of the Zenin Clan’s medical unit, and a licensed physician. Originally from a non-sorcerer family, she was interested in cognitive science but married into the Zenin Clan after being saved by the 25th head as a high schooler, shifting to surgery.

Eldest Daughter: Suzushina Asuka
Known by virtually everyone in developed nations.

Only Son: Suzushina Yurio
Avoids media but is known to exist. Rumored to be an albino.

Second Daughter: Suzushina Saiai  

Avoids media and doesn't hesitate to use force when harassed as stated by a reporter who kept bothering her for an interview. Thankfully, they were unhurt but were traumatized by Saiai's threats.

Third Daughter: Suzushina Midori
Occasionally appears in the media, using their fame for domestic and international missions. She serves directly under Zenin Yurio in the Zenin Clan and rarely handle curse extermination.

Appendix: Fictional Lore on Tengen Faction, Three Great Families, and Onmyoryo Lineage

The lineage of the Three Great Families and Onmyoryo is as follows (→ indicates renaming or splitting).
Nara/Heian-era name readings are approximate; expert corrections are welcome.
This will be updated if new canon details emerge.

 

Kamo Clan (Big Three Jujutsu Clan )

1. Kam Clan Known for their ability to manipulate all life.
   • Associated with Yatagarasu. Served the imperial family before Japan’s founding. Known for reddish hair.
     → Kamo Clan
   • Tengen faction’s Kamo Sei developed an “inferior technique for those without the ability (Blood Manipulation).”
     → Kamo Clan (Big Three)
   • Consistently controls Jujutsu Headquarters.

Gojo Clan (Big Three Jujutsu Clan )

1. Im Clan known for their ability to perceive all phenomena.
   • Associated with Yatagarasu. Served the imperial family before Japan’s founding. Known for bluish to white hair.
     → Izumo Imbe Clan
     → Nomi Clan (named for selecting burial mound sites).
     → Haji Clan
   • Tengen faction’s Haji Nyoirin developed “a technique to manipulate infinite information (Limitless)” and “a safety mechanism to prevent non-compatible users from becoming crippled (Six Eyes).” Allied with the Fujiwara Clan to replace the central Imbe Clan in court.
     → Sugawara Clan
   • In this world, Sugawara no Michizane has the “Soul Creation Technique” without Six Eyes. His Tobiume was exterminated in the Muromachi period.
     → Gojo Clan (Big Three)
   • Split off in the Kamakura period. Manages key sites like Izumo, Awa, Kii, and Dazaifu.

Zenin Clan (Big Three Jujutsu Clan )

1. Tengen Faction: Juichi
   •  A woman who developed “a technique with high initial control and future potential (Ten Shadows Technique).” Married a physically gifted and charismatic man from the Tengen faction, Bato.
     → No specific clan name (tentatively Zenin)
   • A reckless descendant, carrying a vow to “be treated as equals to the favored Kamo and Gojo Clans if they win once,” challenged the strongest Gojo Clan head and used a suicidal tactic, killing them. (The Gojo head died first after being flung at full speed, causing massive damage to the capital.)
     → Zenin Clan (Big Three)
   • Combat unit larger than Jujutsu High. Gojo and Kamo Clans seek to expel them from the Big Three but have never succeeded.

Abe Clan / Tsuchimikado Clan (Onmyoryo)

1. Imperial Family
   → Abe Clan (demoted to subject status).
   • Tengen faction’s Abe Senshu developed “a technique to manipulate all phenomena by consuming cursed energy (Word Soul Technique)” from shamanic abilities.
     → Abe Clan (Onmyoryo) splits off.
   • Abe no Seimei wielded Word Soul Technique and developed a name-manipulating loophole, making him nearly omnipotent. This loophole required talent and was called “Divine Speech.”
     → Inumaki Clan (Cursed Speech) splits off.
   • Joined the jujutsu world from Onmyoryo but follows its own path.
     → Tsuchimikado Clan (Onmyoryo) splits off.
   • Took over Onmyoryo leadership after the Abe Clan stepped down.
     → Five Elements Agency (urban legend).
   • Onmyoryo was abolished in the Meiji era. The Abe and Tsuchimikado main families vanished.

Others

• Tengen
  • A naturally immortal monster. Created a massive barrier from Dazaifu to Nara, expanding over time. The origin of “Japanese jujutsu.” Renamed disciples and themselves, inspired by mainland culture.
• Tengen Faction: Kenjaku
  • Developed “a pseudo-immortality technique” from Tengen’s abilities and “a method to turn sorcerers into cursed objects” as a byproduct. Tengen’s friend and utter opposite, a hedonist. Still alive.
• Ryoumen Sukuna
  
  • A Hida warlord with a “slash, burn, and eat technique.” Deified by locals while protecting his territory, which he found unsettling. Called the second coming of the original “Ryoumen Sukuna ,” but now the name refers to him. Loves eating. Tried a cursed spirit once but spat it out due to its vile taste. Visited Heian-kyo for gourmet food, only to terrify the nobles. An “evangelist for exciting fights” guiding strongmen through deathmatches. Not part of the Tengen faction.

Chapter 11: Kyoto Trip

May 3, 2005
During Golden Week, Gojo Satoru, Ieiri Shoko, and Geto Suguru boarded an early morning JR Shinkansen, heading to the sacred heart of jujutsu: Kyoto.

Along the way, Geto, with exaggerated politeness, provoked a middle-aged man reclining excessively, nearly sparking a fight. Gojo, meanwhile, got strangely excited over a game of UNO to kill time. Despite these antics, they arrived at Kyoto Station on schedule without major issues.

“By the way, can’t we visit your family’s place, Satoru?” Geto asked.

“No way. 100% no. Those guys are seriously unpredictable,” Gojo replied.

“Aren’t you the clan head?” Geto pressed.

“I only became head last year. I’ve barely got the Tokyo annex under control. I turned it into the Tokyo school just to get away from their nonsense,” Gojo said.
Something seemed to flip a switch in him, and Gojo began venting his frustrations.

“Those guys are so annoying. Always yammering about heirs and genetics, even sending women to my private room.”

“That’s surprising. I figured you’d just crush them with your power,” Geto said.

“They’re close with Jujutsu Headquarters, so I can’t just wipe them out. They’re weaklings, but do they even realize I’m holding back so I don’t accidentally kill them?”

The trio continued their slightly heavy conversation as they walked down a street lined with buildings that looked traditionally Japanese on the outside.
Thanks to AHT’s emergence, Kyoto Prefecture’s finances had suddenly flourished. As a result, generous subsidies were offered to renovate buildings and homes in Kyoto City to match the ancient capital’s aesthetic. Wealthy households and corporations jumped at the opportunity.

Rising property values led to an increase in modern buildings cloaked in traditional architecture.

This trend became known as the “Heian-kyo Movement of the Heisei Era.”

Rumor had it that the Kamo Clan and Jujutsu Headquarters were involved.

Now, Kyoto City boasted a quaint, traditional cityscape that suited the elite sorcerers of historic families.

A short walk from Kyoto Station stood AHT’s headquarters.

Entering a majestic wooden entrance that could pass for a ryokan, they gave their names and purpose at reception and were promptly escorted to the top floor.

“Welcome!”

In a spacious reception room blending Heian-kyo palace architecture with a New York luxury office salon, their host awaited: Suzushina Asuka, also known as Zenin Asuka (21).

“Sorry for intruding during your busy schedule,” Ieiri Shoko (15) said nervously, bowing politely.

“No worries at all. My research proposal got shot down by that stubborn Yurio-chan, so I’ve got free time,” Asuka replied.

“But what about running the company?” Shoko asked.

“I delegate everything. I’ve set up binding vows, so no one can betray me.”

“Is that okay with jujutsu regulations?” Shoko pressed.

“Hmm, Article 8, secrecy of jujutsu, right? I explained the concept of binding vows to make them work, but they probably don’t understand what it is. I made them forget they even agreed to it, so it’s fine, right? They’ll unconsciously do their jobs perfectly,” Asuka said breezily.

“Oh,” Shoko nodded, understanding.

Asuka’s casual disregard for others’ autonomy matched Shoko’s impression of the jujutsu world.

(She’s definitely one of them), Shoko thought, cooling her excitement slightly.

After enjoying an upscale bento lunch in the reception room and chatting, the group began a tour of the company.

The tour took them through cutting-edge research labs and showrooms displaying AHT’s latest products before an elevator whisked them underground.
They entered Asuka’s personal research lab, off-limits to anyone outside the Zenin Clan.

The windowless room was a chaotic sprawl of countless computers, a humming mysterious machine, electronic components, and unmistakably sinister objects that screamed cursed tool. The imbalance was striking.

The sheer size of the space was absurd.

As if declaring, “The laws of non-sorcerers are no laws” and “Kyoto’s underground belongs to the Zenin Clan,” the vast chamber left the trio wide-eyed.
Even for sorcerers, who often disregarded secular laws, this was excessive.

“Wait, isn’t there an underground mall around here?” Gojo tilted his head.

“Didn’t you notice, even with the Six Eyes?” Asuka asked, tilting her head back with a straight face, addressing only Gojo with polite speech.

Gojo bristled, irritated.

Asuka, oblivious to any provocation, continued, “You know, when we came down in the elevator—”

“Even after years, you can’t find a trace of Xsystem’s cursed energy field. There’s clearly something wrong with how you’re using the Six Eyes,” she added.

That struck a nerve.

Gojo Satoru’s cursed energy surged.

“Well, I don’t expect much from modern sorcerers who rely entirely on Tengen’s support for their jujutsu. Combine that with a lack of natural science knowledge, and you probably can’t understand anything. That’s why I can invite you into the Zenin Clan’s secret domain without a guard. But since you have those enviable, convenient eyes, you should put in a bit more daily effort—”

“Hey! Is that girl an AI personality?!” Geto shouted, cutting Asuka off just as Gojo was about to snap.

He pointed at a large display in the distance, where a brown-haired girl was rapidly opening and closing countless windows.

The world was in the midst of the third AI boom, accelerated by the TOUMA semiconductor series. AI personalities and androids were hot topics, with researchers worldwide.

AHT hadn’t published papers or products on AI personalities, but their reputation for proprietary tech made it plausible they’d developed one.

But this girl wasn’t that.

“Misaka-chan is… some kind of information lifeform floating in the cursed energy field? Maybe? I set up a dedicated server to resonate with part of it so we can interact,” Asuka explained.

“Isn’t that a cursed spirit?” Geto frowned.

“Hmm, it might be something your Cursed Spirit Manipulation could target,” Asuka mused.

“My main body has nearly 10,000 units, so it’s unlikely to work. Technically possible, though? /escape If someone tried, I’d take them down first. /escape Even as a temporary terminal, I’m not dying quietly. /return,” came a synthetic voice from the brown-haired girl, who had moved to a nearby display.

“…So, what are you?” Geto asked.

“Misaka is the Collective Will of the Misaka Network , shamelessly declaring so even now, detached from individual personalities. /return But human personalities are just emergent systems from organic parts claiming to be ‘self,’ so maybe I’m not entirely invalid. /return I might be indistinguishable from a cursed spirit by definition, but I’m not here to cause harm, so relax. /return,” the girl replied.

While Geto and Shoko continued the tour, Gojo, who had visited for inspections before, split off. Back in the top-floor reception room, he leaned back on a sofa, removed his Six Eyes sunglasses, and gazed at the ceiling and the sky through a skylight.

The world shimmered faintly with cursed energy, twinkling in pale blue, prickling the back of his eyes.

“Yoo-hoo, it’s Misaka! /return,” chirped a voice.

The brown-haired girl, presumed cursed spirit, appeared on a wall-mounted LCD playing an abstract environmental video.

“What do you want?” Gojo asked.

“Just thought I’d poke at a familiar white-haired grump looking all sulky. /return,” she said.

“Have we met?” Gojo asked.

“…Only I know you, Mr. Celebrity. /return,” she replied.

“So? What’s eating you? /escape Spill it to big sis. /return,” she pressed.

“Huh?” Gojo scoffed.

“Normally, I wouldn’t care what anyone's worried about except Touma-chan, /backspace but I’ve got full control of all terminals and no ‘tickets’ to burn, so I’ll hear you out. /return,” she said.

Gojo looked away from the screen.

Silence lingered. Perhaps because she was tied to the Zenin Clan or a pseudo-cursed spirit, the girl continued when she saw Gojo had no intention of talking.

“Worried about the Big Three balance as a Gojo? /escape Maybe it’s losing to him after being called the ‘strongest’ your whole life? /escape Or has someone’s attitude toward you changed? /escape,” she prodded.

Gojo didn’t answer.

“I don’t know why you’re so hung up, /backspace but obsessing over the ‘strongest’ title or caring about what others expect looks pretty pathetic from a step back. /return,” she said.

“Maybe you’re down because you can’t understand what Asuka-chan’s doing, but even I, an expert in that field, and the clan head can’t grasp over 80% of it, it’s that insane. /return She can’t use cursed energy or techniques, but throw her against Sukuna Ryomen now, and she’d probably survive. /return Don’t think of her as human. Worrying about it’s a losing game. /return,” she continued.

“Besides, you’re still the strongest in jujutsu, no question. /return You know his final attack wasn’t jujutsu, right? /escape,” she added.

The girl on the screen spoke lightly, trying to cheer Gojo up, but her words unconditionally affirmed his powerlessness, hardly satisfying.

What Gojo wanted was a spark to reach his goal.

Asuka’s comment about the Six Eyes’ operation potentially unlocking Xsystem’s secrets gnawed at him.

He dismissed it as Zenin nonsense from someone who didn’t understand the Six Eyes.

(What do they see?)

(What am I not seeing?)

Staring at the flickering cursed energy flows twinkling in his Six Eyes, Gojo muttered, “What is cursed energy?”

“Hmm, I’ve got the parameters for that answer, but I can’t explain it in words. /return Asuka-chan’s pretty much figured it out through ‘observation’ and ‘hypothesis and verification,’ but Kihara-style ‘science’ is so far removed from human language, no one else could understand it. /return,” the girl replied.

Gojo hadn’t expected a real answer to his musing, but her response piqued his curiosity. He glanced at the screen with a flicker of anticipation.

“But there’s one universal solution. /backspace,” she said.

“What’s that?” Gojo asked.

“Face death. /return,” she replied, her tone growing serious.

It was a method more effective than Black Flash, yet less realistic, an idealistic training path for sorcerers.

A mad technique: push yourself to the brink of death, trusting in your cursed energy talent and miracles to survive.

“Any method works, just face death. /return Grasp the core of cursed energy through it. /return The closer you are to death, the better you’ll understand the soul itself. /return If you want a shallow definition, cursed energy is ‘the energy of the soul, transformed through emotional channels.’ /return,” she explained.

“Something like Konpaku?” Gojo asked.

“Eastern soul and spirit? /escape Western spirit and body? /escape Maybe the soul of life and the soul of the inanimate? /return Either way, soul and body are two sides of the same coin… /return Ugh, this is wordplay nonsense. Face death and figure it out yourself. /return You’ll get it with a whoosh eventually. /return,” she said, exasperated.

Gojo sighed.

Ieiri had said something similar when he asked about Reverse Cursed Technique.

“But you know it’s a path of carnage. /escape You’re more likely to die before grasping cursed energy’s core. /return Do it, and you might see the truth behind Asuka-chan’s cursed tools, /escape but honestly, the best thing is to forget it all and just enjoy life. /return,” she added.

“That’s irresponsible,” Gojo said.

“This world’s humans don’t matter to me. /return But if I see a weak kitten, I’ve got enough kindnessto help. /return,” she replied.

“Got it,” Gojo said with a laugh.

It wasn’t a laugh of resignation.

The Aggregate of the Misaka Network had misunderstood from the start.

From beginning to end, it treated Gojo as “a human whose pride was shattered after being hailed as the strongest since birth.”

Having seen too many stories, good and bad, of ordinary students consumed by Academy City’s darkness and spiraling into tragedy, she misjudged him.

Even Accelerator, Aleister, or the Magic Gods had human pasts. So, it couldn’t understand the heart of a born monster.

Gojo Satoru was a creature born as the strongest.

From the moment he gained awareness, he felt a biological gap between himself and others.

His nature was closer to the magician Thor from Toaru.

He hungered for opponents worthy of his power.

Yet, he also felt despair, sensing no such foes existed in the modern era.

He carried a premonition that his loneliness would never be filled.

Then, he met someone superior to him.

The Will was mistaken.

Gojo had never been depressed.

He might hit walls and ponder solutions, but “suffering” or “anguish” were foreign to him.

The title of “strongest” was trivial.

Understanding Xsystem was merely a stepping stone to Yurio.

Deep in his subconscious, beneath emotion, a constant surge of joyous impulse welled up.

For years, no matter what he did, Gojo’s mind was fixed on one thing: a rematch with Zenin Yurio.

He’d gained something from this.

He would master Reverse Cursed Technique and Hollow Purple.

He’d test that offhand remark about jujutsu independent of Tengen.

He’d hone every ability to its limit.

And he’d fight Zenin Yurio again.

Next time, he’d win.

And for that...

He’d wander the edge of death as many times as it took.

“So, what are you doing?” Gojo asked.

The girl had been flickering countless windows on the screen throughout their talk.

Frankly, it was annoying.

“Net surfing. /return My unmanned network has processing power to spare, so I’m savoring every bit of the nascent internet’s content. /return,” she replied.

May 4, 2005
The trio stayed at a ryokan slightly too luxurious for high schoolers.
The next day, Gojo, knowledgeable about jujutsu-related landmarks, led a sightseeing tour of Kyoto.
Passing near Kyoto Jujutsu High, Gojo and Geto, out of curiosity, stormed in for a “test of strength,” earning the ire of Principal Gakuganji and Utahime senpai.
Ieiri skipped the school visit, indulging in a solo food tour of Kyoto.

Character Profiles

Gojo Satoru (15)
A battle-crazed, pubescent strongest creature seeking love and fulfillment.
Clicked with Geto, no longer lonely.

Geto Suguru (15)
A refined scoundrel.
Gojo’s overwhelming strength from the start means Geto won’t feel left behind, but he might turn yandere.

Ieiri Shoko (15)
Still pure as a new high schooler, but by the end of the semester, she’ll be jaded by the jujutsu world and picked up unehealthy vices like drinking and smoking.

Zenin Asuka (21)
Possesses every jujutsu talent except handling cursed energy and techniques.
Tops the Zenin Clan in morals and communication skills, but still a Zenin. (sort of Kihara-like)
At some point, her “science” became Science, leaving the Jujutsu Research Society unable to keep up.

Aggregate of the Misaka Network
A pitiful entity cut off from the network and treated as a plot device.
A bystander with no intention of acting, just enjoying life regularly. (Thinks Asuka is secretly a Kihara pretending to be a Zenin, her assessment isn't wrong.)
Feels slight responsibility for Accelerator’s victory due to her intervention. Kind, in her own way.

Chapter 12: Escort Mission

May 11, 2006 (Two Days Before the Full Moon)

BOOM!

A cloud of dust billowed across the outdoor training field at Tokyo Jujutsu High. From it, a figure shot out at breakneck speed.

Zenin Toji, the physically gifted bearer of a Heavenly Restriction.

He had lost his main source of income after the Zenin Clan’s combat unit dismantled criminal organizations nationwide. Yaga Masamichi recruited him and so he worked at Tokyo Jujutsu High.

With Toji’s skills, even most Special Grade missions were a breeze, so he earned a steady, high income, far more stable than his days in the underworld, where big jobs were rare.

His son, Zenin Megumi (4), lived in Toji’s room at the school but had been largely neglected for the past two years. The teachers and students handle raising Megumi much to their dismay (not). The kid was growing up fine.

Toji had been chewed out multiple times about Megumi, but he casually thought, ( Maybe I’ll find some woman to dump him on eventually), pretty heartless.

Whoosh! A gust of wind cleared the dust.

At the center stood a tall young man.

A white-haired monster with blue eyes.

The head of the Gojo Clan and Special Grade sorcerer, Gojo Satoru.

“Phase.”

“Parameter.”

“Pillar of Light.”

Like a burst of fireworks, a dozen of red beams materialized around Gojo.

His raised right hand, index and middle fingers extended, slowly pointed at Toji.

“Reverse Technique: Red.”

In the next instant, Toji’s figure vanished.

Simultaneously, a barrage of “Red” surged forward.

Toji wove through them, crossing the field from end to end in a single leap, closing in on Gojo.

In the blink of an eye, he slipped into Gojo’s blind spot, raising a strangely shaped blade—

Swish!

The monster turned, raising his right hand.

“Purple.”

(Here it comes.), Toji smirked.

Even in midair, with no footing and facing a lethal purple laser, Toji was far from cornered.

To his keen eyes, the seemingly empty air was filled with countless air molecules. Variations in temperature created differences in viscosity, and the slight distortions from refractive indices gave Toji the footing he needed.

Catching an invisible “surface” in the air, he twisted his body at the last second, dodging as a palm-sized torrent of purple light—its power restrained for the surroundings, sliced past.

They’d fought countless times, but the current Gojo Satoru had almost no openings.

So, if there was a chance to win, it was in the fleeting moment after Gojo unleashed a big move.

Crouching low, Toji swung his blade.

Their spars had started when Gojo enrolled, but back then, it was just hand-to-hand with curse-enhanced strength, like a friendly bout. Things got serious around May, a month later.

One day, the Gojo clan’s spoiled heir suddenly demanded, “Come at me with killing intent.” Under the condition that the Gojo clan would compensate for any broken cursed tools, Toji brought out the Inverted Spear of Heaven and beat Gojo senseless.

Months passed, half a year, then a full year. Things got weird after the new year.

After blowing billions of yen at the races and in a foul mood, Toji, as usual, toyed with and floored Gojo. This time, he went too far and stabbed a dagger into Gojo’s skull.

Oh crap, he’s dead, Toji panicked. But Gojo, having mastered Reverse Cursed Technique, came back to life and, in a frenzied high, half-killed Toji.

Talk about reaping what you sow.

After that, Gojo mastered Imaginary Technique: Purple and became the strongest. Toji lost to him dozens of times.

Eventually, Gojo lost interest in Toji.

But by then, Toji was the one fired up.

Before him stood the untouchable master of the Limitless technique.

He wanted to defy him.

He wanted to crush him.

To bring down the pinnacle of the Zen’in clan and the jujutsu world that had rejected him.

After dozens of rematches, Toji, claiming his eyes had “adjusted” to the near-light-speed Purple, started winning again.

Truly, the jujutsu world’s ultimate wildcard.

After defeating the strongest, Toji overcame the deep-seated inferiority complex ingrained in him since childhood. His self-esteem hit an all-time high, and he stormed the Zen’in clan, spouting nonsense about becoming clan head for Megumi’s sake. Only after hours of a high-speed battle with a worryingly energetic Naoya, was he blasted into outer space by a mysterious weapon scattering black beams called SPECIAL_GRADE_Over Modelcase_LIMITLESS-β. *1

He made atmospheric entry and fell into the Pacific  Ocean (Nee-chin would be impressed), he swam back to Tokyo Jujutsu High and hasn’t challenged them since.

That all happened in late March.

Now, their matches are a mix of wins and losses, with Toji’s win rate around 20%.

Haa~, Gojo exhaled, releasing tension.

The match was decided.

Having experienced similar situations and lost a few times right after firing Purple, Gojo now kept several Red beams in reserve while controlling the complex Purple technique. He’d been wary of Toji countering with a cursed tool or something, but he hadn’t expected a technique to come flying. Caught off guard, Toji took multiple Red beams head-on, was blasted dozens of meters, and collapsed.

“Every damn time, how do you dodge Purple?” Gojo asked.

“Dodging a bullet doesn’t mean you gotta be faster than it,” Toji replied, still sprawled on the ground. “You read the trajectory and move before it’s fired. Though, I can dodge bullets after seeing them.”

Easier said than done, this was skill at its peak.

The time between locking onto a target and Purple firing and passing through was less than the spark of static from a doorknob.

“Satoru!” Geto shouted from the field’s edge, near the school building.

“Yaga-sensei’s calling us!”

 

“So we're gonna be bodyguard's for some brat who's about to be erased?” Gojo asked.

“Correct.” Yaga confirmed.

The unexpected mission made Gojo double-check.

“Finally gone senile, huh?” Gojo said.

“It’s spring, so he’s all giddy about being the next principal,” Geto whispered.

Theiy continued their rude banter right in front of Yaga.

“Jokes aside,” Yaga said.

“I’ll decide if it’s a joke.” Gojo shot back.

“Is this about resetting Tengen-sama’s technique?” Geto asked.

“What’s that?” Gojo, the battle-crazed Gojo Clan head, asked, earning (you-should-know-this) looks from both.

According to them, Tengen possesses an “immortality” technique, but its effect rewrites their physical information, causing them to “evolve” into a higher entity without a will. To prevent this, Tengen must merge with a Star Plasma Vessel to rewrite their physical information and halt the evolution.

Tengen was the cornerstone of the jujutsu world.

They bolster the barriers of Jujutsu High and other jujutsu bases, as well as the strength of auxiliary supervisors’ barrier techniques. Without Tengen, sorcerers would be unable to function.

The mission: “Protect the Star Plasma Vessel, a young girl, and escort her to Tengen for the merger in two days.”

The suspected hostile organization: The Star Religious Group or the Time Vessel Association.

 

Time passed.

On a rooftop in Tokyo’s cityscape, Gojo, escorting Star Plasma Vessel Amanai Riko, had retreated from her middle school to avoid involving other students. He was now facing a cursed user who, despite having a powerful technique that created five identical paper-bag-wearing clones, was inexplicably weak.

“But that’s all about the forward technique,” Gojo finished explainin his technique.

“This one's infinite divergence.”

He pointed his fingers.

The curse user instinctively crossed their arms to brace for impact.

And then—

"Reverse Technique Red"

A repelling force more combat-oriented than Blue.

ZWOOM! With a deafening roar.

With no barrier in place, the curse user soared through clear skies of Tokyo scattering redflashes. 

“Satoru!” Geto called, rushing over at the urging of Kuroi Misato, Amanai’s caretaker, as Gojo’s excitement faded. He gazed into the distance.

“Sorry, Suguru, went overboard.” Gojo said.

“The assistant supervisors will handle the curse user. Were they strong enough to need Red?” Geto said.

“Nah, just got carried away,” Gojo admitted.

“…” Geto stared.

“My lady! Are you safe?” Kuroi called, catching up.

“Misato!” Amanai replied.

(Now then.), Gojo thought.

The curse user was dealt with, but returning to school was out.

Still, they had two days.

According to the forecast, no rain was expected for the week.

“Since we’re in Tokyo, let’s hit up Tokyo and Tsukuba for some sightseeing.”

 

Timeline as of now

Gojo Satoru (16)
His attitude kind of matches Toaru's Fourth-Ranked Level 5

Geto Suguru (16)
Struggling with mastering Reverse Cursed Technique and barrier techniques but has developed a concept for his maximum technique: Uzumaki.

Zenin Toji
Doesn’t hate Megumi but finds him depressing to look at, so he leaves him in an environment where he won’t die. Hasn’t married into the Fushiguro family, so he’s still Zenin.
Overcame the warped inferiority complex instilled by the old Zenin Clan.

Star Religious Group
With their intermediaries destroyed by the Zenin Clan’s combat unit, they posted an assassination request on the Network (dark web).

Five Elements Network (Dark Web)      
A recently established closed network community for freelance shamans, cursed users, priests, and others. Used for trading cursed materials, sharing knowledge, and handling illegal requests.

The network’s IT security is laughably weak, and Jujutsu High lacks tech experts, refuses to hire them, or collaborate with non-cursed user organizations, so most cursed users on the network remain unidentified.

The developer claims to be a successor to the Onmyoryo (Imperial Bureau of Onmyo), but they only know of the real Onmyoryo from history books and have no actual connection.

Note:The Zenin Clan Jujutsu Research Society could identify users, but since countless domestic cursed users take the bait on their own, they leave it alone. Illegal material trades are tacitly ignored, but posting assassination requests might result in black cars parked outside your house the next day, with a mohawked kimono-clad old man at your door.

Name Origin:Derived from Five Elements Agency (Toaru Majutsu no Index).

Curse Users   
A general term for those who use jujutsu without certification from the Jujutsu Headquarters, a government body. It’s a harsh label, but given many lack ethics or legal awareness, it’s not entirely wrong. Most jujutsu practitioners fall into this category, and those not recruited by Jujutsu High as teens rarely become sorcerers later. Most don’t even qualify as “Windows.”

Separated from the jujutsu world’s system, they range from those inheriting unique folk jujutsu traditions, to self-proclaimed witches or magicians using Wicca or Kabbalah, to those claiming to be espers. Essentially, a bunch of eccentrics who don’t get along with sorcerers or Headquarters.

Q
A group of cursed users composed of victims of the Jujutsu Headquarters and their associates.

Since strong innate sensitivity correlates with powerful cursed energy and techniques, these kinds of people naturally dominated.

They once set up a site on the Five Elements Agency advocating revolution.

Destroyed and absorbed by the Zenin Clan.

*1: The Zenin Clan received another strongly worded letter of protest from the Kyoto Prefectural Police Headquarters.

Chapter 13: The Last Day

Since they were in the area, Gojo Satoru wanted to arrange a tour of AHT through his connections. He called Zenin Asuka, who readily agreed but said, “I’m busy, so I’ll send someone to guide you.”

“I’m in the middle of an escort mission, but that person’s a jujutsu sorcerer, right?”

“Of course! But why are you sightseeing during an escort mission?”

An hour later, at 2:50 p.m., in front of Akihabara Station, at the meeting spot.

There stood a tall woman in a hooded jacket. Dressed in a punk-rock singer style. Long black hair with yellow highlights. Laced black pants.

The younger sister of the genius Zenin Asuka, often mentioned at Amanai’s school.

“That Umidori-chan!?” Amanai exclaimed.

“Zenin Midori, nice to meet ya,” she said.

“Zenin, as in that Zenin!?” Geto incredously asked again.

Greeting them with a languid air was Special Grade 1 sorcerer Zenin Midori (15).

“God, how do you have the energy to run around on a hot day like this? What are you, a third-grader on summer break?”Midori groaned.

“It’s getting summery, but it’s still pretty cool, isn’t it?” Amanai said.

“…Ugh, I was on a mission in Edinburgh until last week, so Tokyo feels damn humid in comparison. Also, what’s with that way of talking? Trying to play a character? You’ll lose friends like that.”

“I talk normally at school!”

“Edinburgh?” Gojo perked up.

Overseas cursed spirits are often detected late, almost always becoming Special Grade, but they only appear once every few decades in any given region.

Overseas missions are rare and typically shared with sorcerers through Jujutsu High.

As far as Gojo could recall, there hadn’t been an overseas mission since the Vietnam incident a few years ago.

“What were you doing in Edinburgh? Was there a cursed spirit report?” Gojo asked.

“Ah? Oi, why do I have to report Zenin business to the Gojo Clan head?” Midori shot back.

“…Ah?” Gojo blinked.

“Satoru, calm down.” Geto interjected.

“My job is to guide you, that’s it. A tour of AHT-related facilities. I made a minute-by-minute schedule, so you’d better be grateful."

Travel Itinerary

Day 1
3:00 p.m.: Board Tsukuba Express

4:05 p.m.: Visit Mobile Device Joint Research Institute

5:20 p.m.: Tour Next-Generation Medical Facility, Experience Telemedicine

6:10 p.m.: Planetarium and Next-Generation Space Technology Experience

Day 2
10:00 a.m.: Visit JAXA, Introduction to Japan’s First Private Satellite “Orihime”

12:00 p.m.: AIST Geological Museum

2:00 p.m.: Visit AHT Tsukuba Branch

5:00 p.m.: Tour National Institute of Geographical and Mapping Sciences Museum

7:00 p.m.: Vertical Takeoff and Landing Airport at Tsukuba Airport, Drone Experience, City Sightseeing

8:00 p.m.: Dinner and Window Shopping at Nearby Shopping Mall

Day 3
7:00 a.m.: Board Tsukuba Express

8:00 a.m.: Breakfast Around Tokyo Station

8:50 a.m.: Visit AHT Tokyo Branch

10:05 a.m.: Tokyo Cutting-Edge Aquarium

1:30 p.m.: AHT-Owned Limousine to Tokyo Jujutsu High

2:30 p.m.: Arrive at Tokyo Jujutsu High

After Sunset: Amanai Riko's Assimilation

 

May 13, 2006, 10:20 a.m., Tokyo Cutting-Edge Aquarium

Amanai Riko sat alone on a bench, gazing up at a massive blue aquarium tank.

Perhaps because it was just after opening, the dim, quiet space was sparsely populated.

“Pretty…”

“Yo.”

“Midori-chan.”

The silence broke.

“Having fun?” Midori asked.

“More or less,” Amanai said.

“More or less, after all this?” Midori sighed, sitting beside Amanai. Leaning back on her hands, she stared at the same tank.

“If your life were to continue past tomorrow, is there anything you’d want to do?” Midori asked.

“…Is there a point to that question?” Amanai replied.

“Nah, feedback on the tour and just my curiosity,” Midori said.

“You could use a bit more tact,” Amanai said.

Without looking at each other, they gazed at the underwater scene before them. In the radiant blue space, thousands of creatures swam, their scales glinting as they caught the light from above.

“…I,” Amanai began.

“I was born special ever since and that's been my normal. I’ve lived cautiously just for this day.”

“But these past few days…”

“Seeing all sorts of things with everyone, doing all sorts of things, eating foods I’d never tried, it’s been so much fun…”

“I wanted to go to more places with everyone. I wanted to keep going to school, to join the sports festival. It’s at the end of this month, and I definitely can’t participate, so I told everyone I’m moving away for family reasons. I didn’t join the team selections, but if I could, I’d have played badminton.”

“I wanted to spend more time… with everyone…”

"..."

Amanai trailed off.

“…Just kidding! I’m becoming Tengen! It’s not like I'm dying or anything, we're just parting for a bit! I’ve long made peace with that!” Amanai stood, flashing a bright smile and facing Midori.

“Is that so?” Midori said, still staring at the tank with a serious expression.

“If, by some miracle, the assimilation got canceled…”

“…What are you saying?” Amanai asked.

“Nothing. Never mind.”

 

May 13, 2006, 1:30 p.m., Shinagawa Station

“That’s the car.” Midori said.

Parked there was a slick black family limousine designed by an AHT affiliate.

Inside were sofas, a fridge, games, karaoke, everything a wealthy family might need to relax.

They probably weren’t in the mood for games or karaoke on the day of assimilation, but the fridge should be stocked with their favorite drinks and snacks, so they wouldn’t lack for conversation.

“My job’s done. You’re on your own from here.”

“Thanks, Midori!” Amanai said.

“We appreciate it,” Kuroi added.

“Thank you.” Geto said.

“See ya, Midori!” Gojo called.

Sending off the boisterous group, Midori finally relaxed, relieved to have completed a major task.

“Haa...” she sighed.

Goddamn it.

This was her last vacation for three months.

After years of investigations in Europe, she returned temporarily.

Told to take a break before a busy period, she’d been splurging her savings to hang out with Saiai when an unreasonable phone call interrupted her bliss.

“Got a favor from Gojo Satoru!” Asuka’s cheerful voice had chirped.

Midori had genuinely wanted to murder Asuka.

That’s how she ended up working on her day off.

Dealing with the Special Grade Gojo Clan head and escorting a girl toward assimilation, effectively death, had utterly exhausted her.

According to the Zenin Clan, she’s got three months of nonstop work lined up starting tomorrow.

Screw that.

“Haa...” Midori sighed again, heading to a movie theater to meet Saiai.

She didn’t care about some incomprehensible B-grade American movie, but canceling the fancy restaurant dinner was too frustrating.

She’d enjoy that course meal and Tokyo’s night view tonight, even if it killed her.

“…There’s gotta be someone better suited to keeping those guys away from Jujutsu High.”

May 13, 2006, 3:00 p.m., Foot of Mount Mushiro

“Good work, everyone. We’re inside Jujutsu High’s barrier”

The three-day mission was over. They reached the foot of a mountain with a shrine whose path to Tengen opened today.

“Finally, we're safe!” Amanai said.

“Indeed,” Kuroi agreed.

“Satoru, you really pulled through,” Geto praised him, who’d kept his technique active for three days straight.

Gojo finally relaxed.

“Never again. Babysitting kids is the worst.” he said.

“Huh!?” Amanai snapped.

!!!

“…Suguru, take Amanai and go.”

“Satoru, what’s wrong!?”

“Jujutsu High’s barrier just collapsed.”

His Six Eyes revealed an unbelievable sight—

The cursed energy forming the barrier was disintegrating, dissolving into the sky in an instant.

“There’s never been a breach of Jujutsu High’s barrier… Wait, what happened!?” Geto exclaimed.

The flow of atmospheric cursed energy shifted with terrifying speed.

The ever-present flowing field of cursed energy, a constant since birth, was unraveling and vanishing.

This meant...

Japan’s barriers…

It wasn’t an external attack.

Something had happened to Tengen.

“Scratch that! Fall back to the school—”

The mountain exploded.

A torrent of light obliterated the mountain with a deafening roar.

In a split second, Geto reflexively summoned a cursed spirit, grabbed Amanai and Kuroi, and headed back to safety.

Gojo, eyes wide, frantically processed the Six Eyes’ data, trying to comprehend what was happening.

And then.

From the searing torrent of light, capable of vaporizing iron, something emerged—

“Goddamn that thing. Robbing my oxygen using that sucks,” a voice complained.

A pale boy.

White skin, white hair, white kimono, red eyes.

His mere movement carried a pressure that seemed to make the world creak.

A modern anomaly on par with Gojo Satoru.

“Why are you here?” Gojo demanded.

“Ah?”

Zenin Clan head, Zenin Yurio.

“Why, you ask?”

His mouth split into a crescent grin.

“I killed Tengen.”

Appendix: Zenin Clan Strength Ranking (With Grades and Techniques) (As of 2006)

1. Zenin Yurio [Grade 1 Sorcerer, Vector Transformation Technique]
2. Zenin Asuka [No Grade, No Technique]
3. Zenin Naoya [Special Grade Sorcerer, Projection Sorcery]

---Insurmountable Wall---

4. Zenin Midori [Grade 1 Sorcerer, Vector Manipulation Technique]
5. Zenin Naobito [Grade 1 Sorcerer, Projection Sorcery]
6. Zenin Saiai [Grade 1 Sorcerer, Vector Manipulation Technique]
7. Zenin Jinichi [Grade 1 Sorcerer, Missile Fists]

Chapter 14: Turning Point 1

“I killed Tengen.”

The light converged and vanished.

Where a mountain once stood, only a massive crater remained.

After a split-second of eye contact, Geto, with Riko and Kuroi on a cursed spirit, shot off toward the school building.

Gojo Satoru snapped both hands into position.

“Hollow Technique: Purple.”

“Tch.” 

A purple beam tore through the spot where the white monster had stood.

The boy slid backward at high speeds dozens of meters away.

Domain Expansion, not a good idea.

Without Tengen’s support, the barrier’s outer shell might destabilize and collapse, burning out the Limitless technique.

Too much of a gamble.

Enhancing his body with cursed energy, Gojo chased at breakneck speed.

“I ain’t here to fight you” 

“Joking!” Gojo retorted.

Confessing to killing Tengen and expecting him not to fight? This was his ambition spanning decades. He won't let this slide.

He dodged, so Purple must be effective.

According to the Six Eyes, Vector Manipulation Technique requires advanced reasoning and calculations, he must have dodged because he used an  unknown technique.

Gojo swung a fist.

The energy from the strike rebounded with equal force, blocked by the Limitless, erupting in a sonic boom.

Yurio manipulated his vectors to land on the ground.

A certain physically gifted deadbeat once said, “If you reverse the fist’s direction, a couple of centimeters from contact, you can trick it.”

Utterly absurd.

Red hasn’t been used, but it’s likely useless.

If Blue didn’t work, Red probably won’t either.

Then, the only way to stop Yurio was Purple .

“Nine Ropes, Polarized Light, Crow and Declaration.”

Simultaneous control of multiple instances of Purple.

Two purple orbs materialized.

“Between Front and Back.”

—Misaka Network; Connection: 'Orihime-1' Authorization: Zenin Yurio*

Domain Expansion.

A technique that pours massive cursed energy into an innate domain, unleashing its effects by triggering an overload.

It wasn't manifesting an otherworld(Phase) as a phenomenon, instead recreating the otherworld itself into reality.(Phase of Science

Using the computational power of a supercomputer aboard a geostationary satellite over the equator to prevent his technique from burning out, he manually constructed the domain.

code = '001' Phase—

"A computational device deriving near-perfect inferences." ( ACCELERATOR )

The effects of Vector Manipulation Technique spread.

—Domain!

Just before firing “Purple,” Gojo’s Six Eyes detected the spread of cursed energy imbued with a technique’s effect.

If the opponent deploys a domain, even an imperfect one, not countering with a domain is a bad move.

He instantly abandoned control of the mid-activation “Purple.”

"Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void"

A beat later, Gojo’s cursed energy erupted.

Without Tengen’s support, the domain lacked its usual outer shell, manifesting as an incomplete form.

With no outer shells, the techniques’ effects clashed directly.

Due to its nature, the Limitless slightly overpowered.

Another beat later, the uncontrolled “Purple” collapsed, detonating.

The domain shattered.

“Domain Extension.”

Bracing against the pure physical blast from “Purple”’s collapse with cursed energy reinforcement, Gojo deployed an extension to prepare for a follow-up.

As the cursed energy forming the domain dissipated and visibility returned,

No one was there, just a scorched, gaping crater in the ground.

Gojo’s face went blank for a moment, then twisted in frustration.

“…That bastard got away!”

Jujutsu Headquarters Notice

1. Zenin Yurio is designated for execution as the primary suspect for the murder of Tengen.
2. Zenin Naobito, Zenin Naoya, Zenin Asuka, Zenin Midori, and Zenin Saiai are deemed co-conspirators and similarly designated for execution.
3. Special Grade sorcerer Gojo Satoru is appointed executioner.
4. The Zenin Clan is expelled from the Three Great Families.
5. A Jujutsu Headquarters-approved individual will assume the role of Zenin Clan head and CEO of Asuka High Technologies.

Jujutsu Headquarters Reform Directive

Issuer : Takamitsu Miwai, Director-General, Imperial Household Agency
Date : May 13, 2006 (Heisei 18)

Preamble:

Japan has long built peace and prosperity, grounded in the rule of law, respect for fundamental human rights, and principles of freedom and justice. These principles, enshrined in the Constitution of Japan, support the lives of every citizen. Furthermore, the stability and management of the jujutsu world, as part of the Emperor’s state duties, play a critical role in maintaining national order and tranquility.

However, recent lawlessness within the Jujutsu Headquarters has deviated from these principles, severely undermining trust among stakeholders. This has destabilized the jujutsu world and greatly affected His Majesty the Emperor’s heart. All sorcerers must reaffirm modern legal order and ethics in their duties, recognizing their role as part of the Emperor’s state duties.

Against this backdrop, comprehensive reforms of the Jujutsu Headquarters and its subordinate Tokyo and Kyoto Jujutsu Highs are necessary to establish a new system to protect Japan’s future and public safety. This directive is the first step.

Directive:

Article 1: Reorganization of Jujutsu Headquarters
The current Jujutsu Headquarters is dissolved as of today, with its authority and operations transferred to the newly established “Jujutsu Enforcement Bureau.” This organization will uphold the rule of law and human rights, aiming for jujutsu operations suited to modern Japanese society.

Article 2: Reorganization of Jujutsu High
Tokyo and Kyoto Jujutsu Highs, previously under the Headquarters, will now operate under the Enforcement Bureau. Sorcerer education and training will be regulated within legal and ethical frameworks, prioritizing youth development and societal contribution. The Highs will continue as command centers for sorcerers under Bureau oversight, ensuring compliance with laws and human rights.

Article 3: Appointment of New Operational Leader
Special Grade 1 sorcerer Zenin Yurio is appointed as the inaugural Director of the Enforcement Bureau. His experience, knowledge, and exemplary record in the jujutsu world make him suitable for this role.

Article 4: Objectives and Duties of the New System
The Enforcement Bureau will advance jujutsu operations and reforms based on modern legal order and ethics. Collaborating closely with external partners, led by Asuka High Technologies, it will respect imperial traditions while prioritizing efficiency, transparency, and public safety.

Notes:
Necessary legal procedures and regulatory revisions will be swiftly enacted to ensure the Bureau’s smooth operation. Cooperation from relevant institutions is requested. Individuals or organizations opposing this reform will be designated as cursed users or antisocial forces and dealt with accordingly.

Conclusion:
This directive, issued to ensure the jujutsu world’s stability as part of the Emperor’s state duties and to protect Japan’s future, is the best judgment. All stakeholders are urged to comply and implement it promptly.

Statement by the Chief Cabinet Secretary

Issuer : Chief Cabinet Secretary
Date : May 14, 2006 (Heisei 18)

Statement:

To the people of Japan and the world, the Government of Japan announces a significant development regarding a previously classified phenomenon unique to our nation, now termed “Sparks.”

“Sparks” are a rare natural disaster caused by the interaction of a newly discovered elementary particle named “Asukan,” with Japan’s unique geological structure, underground water veins, and magnetic anomaly zones. This phenomenon is specific to the Japanese archipelago, rooted in our land.

Research has revealed that this energy has contributed to localized natural disasters over millennia. Certain missing persons cases, mysterious deaths, and abnormal weather events in Japan are believed to be influenced by “Sparks.”

To study, prevent, and safely utilize this phenomenon, the government, in collaboration with Asuka Suzushina and Asuka High Technologies, has decided to establish the “Special Anomaly Disaster Research Institute” in Tsukuba City. Partnering with Tsukuba University, this institute will advance the understanding and safe management of “Spark,” contributing to national stability through new technologies.

Through joint research with Asuka High Technologies, disaster prevention towers called “Aerotowers” have been constructed in various municipalities, using a rumored “Xsystem” device to attract and remove atmospheric “Asukan.” These towers minimize “Spark” disaster risks, reducing the likelihood of encounters to the same probability as death by lightning, according to expert estimates.

“Sparks,” due to its nature, may cause phenomena difficult to explain with conventional science. According to Suzushina, this particle holds clues to unraveling fundamental mysteries of physics, such as spacetime and forces. The government and research institutions will work together to establish safe utilization methods, adhering to international standards, and advancing discoveries for a sustainable future.

In conclusion, we pledge to safely manage and maximize the potential of “Sparks” and the “Asukan” particle for Japan’s future and global peace. We request your understanding and cooperation.

Jujutsu Headquarters Notice

1. Takamitsu Miwai, Director-General of the Imperial Household Agency, and Prime Minister Akitsume Kishiue are designated for execution for violating Jujutsu Regulation Article 8.
2. Zenin Asuka is re-sentenced to execution for violating Jujutsu Regulation Article 8. Suspected of selling cursed tools under the “Xsystem” name, the executioner must interrogate her about their creation before execution.

Emergency Directive to the Jujutsu Enforcement Bureau

Issuer : Takamitsu Miwai, Director-General, Imperial Household Agency
Date : May 14, 2006 (Heisei 18)

Due to confirmed violations and hostile actions by the former Jujutsu Headquarters, it is officially designated an antisocial force. Its leaders are classified as cursed users. The Enforcement Bureau is ordered to detain them immediately.

[With Images] Mysterious Explosion Sounds in the outskirts of Kyoto Late at Night? Growing Anxiety

Date : May 15, 2006

This article has been deleted.

New York Times

Suzushina Asuka Establishes Tsukuba Advanced Industrial University, Begins Accepting Transfer Students

May 18, 2006

Tokyo — Asuka Suzushina, CEO of AHT, announced the establishment of the innovative “Tsukuba Advanced Industrial University.” This university aims to advance cutting-edge theoretical physics and industrial technology research, already accepting transfer students.

Suzushina stated, “To elevate global science and technology, exceptional education and research environments are essential. Tsukuba Advanced Industrial University will provide that platform.”

Backed by AHT, the university boasts state-of-the-art facilities and renowned professors, aiming to equip students with practical skills and theoretical knowledge. It strengthens corporate partnerships, building curricula to prepare graduates for immediate real-world impact.

Suzushina is a singular scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur. Her recent paper on the “Asukan” particle is considered a significant step toward completing Grand Unified Theory and M-Theory.

The university expects around 500 students in its inaugural year, anticipating exceptional candidates from Japan and abroad. Suzushina said, “I expect students to inspire each other, sparking new ideas and technologies.”

Jujutsu Enforcement Bureau Internal Document

The Zenin Clan Jujutsu Research Society is succeeded by the Tsukuba Advanced Industrial University Faculty of Science, Department of Physics, Elementary Particle Research Institute. This institute operates under the management of the Director of the Jujutsu Enforcement Bureau and University President, prioritizing the recruitment of non-sorcerer researchers. The terms “jujutsu” and “cursed energy” are concealed from those not authorized by the Bureau. Research on cursed energy, cursed energy fields, and Black Flash will be published as studies on the hypothetical “Asukan Mechanism” as needed.

There are currently no plans to disclose information about jujutsu or cursed spirits in any form.

May 13, 2006, Just Past 3:00 PM, Kitakami City, Iwate Prefecture

“Whoa, incredible! Amazing! Did Tengen really die?”

“Mama?”

“Wait, Yuji, I’m thinking.”

A black-haired woman laughed realizing the implications of a Japan without Tengen's barriers.

She was utterly delighted.

“They lived up to my expectations, no, he exceeded them! Oh, it was worth the wait. He transcended it even under the sway of causality,

A prodigy capable of changing the world, a hero with possessed absolute ‘selfishness’ to force it through!

(That alone brought down that filthy, thousand-year recluse!)

(My intuition tells me he’s more than that, so much more.)

(I want to force upon that kid dire, insurmountable injustices, drive him to the brink when all is lost! What will he show me then?)

(I need to rethink the plan. Why did I build it around Tengen, when I despise that thing so much? Even I  contributed to its immortality. The thought is infuriating. No, enough of that.)

(I want to know his potential. It can’t be just this! Human potential is so much more!”)

Her eyes widened, a mischievous smile forming as if she’d thought of something fun.

“Your enemies are the world and the past, Zenin Yurio. I have high expectations for you.”

Finally, she turned to her child.

“What?”

“There’s no precedent for a cursed object incarnating in a toddler without sealing, but my masterpiece? Would it hold? No, they showed me the possibility. I’ve got to push the limits too.”

“?”

“Yuji, where’s Daddy?”

“Dad’s out shopping.”

“Got it. Hey, Yuji.”

“What?”

“Say 'aah'.”

Notes:

* A jujutsu-related caculation network, tied to AHT’s technology. “Orihime-1” or more commonly known as the "Tree Diagram" has been repurposed as a supercomputer for Yurio’s technique to assist him in his calculations.

Chapter 15: Covert Operations (Part 1) – The nth Jujutsu Research Seminar

December 21, 1997

About two years had passed since the first Jujutsu Research Seminar marked by sacrifice and bloodshed.

A snowy midwinter.

Deep within the Zenin clan’s innermost sanctum in Kyoto .

“It’s Tengen,” Zenin Yurio (8), the white-haired king of the Zenin Clan, spat out while skimming at documents.

“Yup, that's what I thought.” Zenin Asuka (14), self-proclaimed head researcher, tossed her papers onto the table and slumped face-down.

“Kanto, Tohoku, Ryukyu, Ezo...all perfectly align with the periods when the Imperial Court gained control and the emergence of sorcerers and cursed energy. And no cursed spirits or jujutsu traces south of Hachijojima Island, where no barriers are set up for some reason? No matter how sloppy, that’s straight-up shady.”

Before them lay geological surveys of Japan, conducted under the authority of the next clan head.

Analyzing occasional samples, they’d been theorizing about the origins of jujutsu, and an unexpected truth had surfaced.

Incidentally, earlier that month, Kyoto hosted the third session of the Conference of Parties or COP3, and many Zenin Clan members were deployed to ensure security, making it a hectic period combined with regular duties. This was the first Jujutsu Research Seminar  in a month.

 With less work on her plate, Asuka pushed forward towards analysis and prepared these documents during that time.

“But it’s not a perfect match either. Around the 2nd century or so, cursed tools started popping up bit by bit from Fukuoka to Kanto.”

“If it was completely absent, we’d be asking where Tengen even came from. The ancestors of the Kamo and Gojo clans were serving the Imperial Family before the country was founded, right? So, there must’ve been people with cursed energy abilities since ancient times. Way more of a minority than now, though.”

He tossed the documents aside and took a sip of black coffee  as Asuka propped herself up on her elbows while flipping through the papers.

The documents listed ancient cursed tools preserved in the Shosoin Treasury and other Imperial facilities.

Most dated from the Nara period onward, but a few were older, especially weapons from the late 2nd century.

Roughly the time of the Yamatai civil war.

“What about this mysterious 5,000-year-old bronze artifact, this one's a lump of positive cursed energy? The more I look into it, the less sense it makes.”

“Huh? Just a trade item turned into a cursed tool, maybe?”

“Nah, it feels like it was made for jujutsu from the start. Kinda like the Straw Doll Technique, it's  meant to affect something. At the very least, it’s not just some ceremonial decoration like in modern rituals. Kamo and Gojo got nothing to say about it?”

“We’re short on people right now. Investigating Tengen’s barrier comes first.”

“Why don’t sorcerers care about theoretical research? Aren’t they curious about what they’re even doing? I’m definitely dragging non-sorcerer researchers into this someday.”

 

January 12, 1998

“There’s this thing called ‘bathing,’ right? When you want to quickly turn a weapon into a cursed tool, you soak it in the flesh of a living cursed spirit.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s basically what Tengen’s barrier is.”

The new year had begun and the rush of Imperial ceremonies was over. At the first Jujutsu Research Society meeting of the year.

Naoya, who only showed up at the start, wandered off during the research progress explanation. Seems solo training suits him better. The transcendent little girls, Midori and Saiai, now grasping middle school-level math and science, followed suit.

“The barriers spread nationwide, supposedly to ‘support sorcerers,’ causing cursed energy to linger when it's meant to dissipate quickly. Humans born and raised in that environment for years become, not cursed tools, but cursed humans.”

“Sorcerers, huh?” Yurio said.

“No its everyone in Japan Even when not near death, they constantly leak life force from their souls, but only the kind warped by negative emotions. Sure, there must’ve been people with an innate talent for refining life force into cursed energy, but not on this scale.”

Asuka lifted her face from the back of a Western-style cushioned chair that clashed with the time-period of the room and summarized the evidence on a whiteboard she’d dragged over.

For years, she’d been pondering how to bring peace to the jujutsu world, but now it seemed that neutralizing Tengen’s barrier could eliminate cursed spirits within a few generations.

Well, cursed spirits do appear overseas, so they wouldn’t vanish completely, but at least it’d be once every few decades.

Asuka’s smile faded abruptly.

“Let’s get rid of Tengen,” she said.

“…Nah, someone who’d kill a bank robber on sight without hesitation is just as much of a scumbag as they are.”

“You want to talk about rehabilitation, second chances, or human rights, but Tengen’s a 1000-year-old monster.  From these documents, it doesn’t seem like the type to reflect and change its ways. Tengen’s barely intervened in anything, take the horrors of Heiankyo for example. Sure, it’s talked up as an ally to sorcerers, so you might think it’d listen. But even if it’s kind to sorcerers and that’s a big if, it’s only kind to sorcerers. It’s just some monster thrilled to see more sorcerers pop up.”

“…”

That was something the white monster couldn’t accept. His thoughts drifted to a spiky-haired boy. He’d never give up, no matter how evil someone was.

For the record, Asuka  doesn’t grasp the slightest bit of the meaning behind human rights and other similar principles despite saying this.

“Even so, don’t give up before even trying to talk,” Yurio said.

“…Alright. Either way, the tasks before we eliminate Tengen don’t change. By the day we act, I’ll stack up reasons why ‘exorcising’ Tengen is the right call and get you to agree.”

The briefly tense atmosphere eased as Asuka backed off.

Regaining her composure, Asuka flashed a smile, stood, and grabbed a whiteboard marker.

“Let’s list what needs to be done.”

1. Eliminate Tengen’s barrier. Likely requires defeating Tengen nine times out of 10.

“Huh?” Yurio blinked.

“Just go with it for now. We’ll need countermeasures for fighting Tengen anyway.”

“…Fair enough.”

“Second.”

2. Address the response from the jujutsu world and Japanese government after Tengen’s defeat.

“This… how do we even deal with that?”

“…”

“Third for now.”

3. After the barrier’s gone, provide ongoing support to all sorcerers until cursed spirits are eradicated.

   
   

“This part’s my specialty, churning out cursed tools like crazy.”

“That’s three. Anything else?” Asuka asked.

“Nah, that’s good. …When was Tengen’s last assimilation?” 

“I think it was April of Eisho 3, so, uh, May 1506?”

“If the legend’s not a bluff, the next is 500 years later, 2006,” Yurio calculated.

“Nine years from now.”

(That’s the deadline) thought the ‘human’ who once ran Academy City’s Board of Directors, closing his eyes.

He survived the Dark Side, civil wars, and global conflicts.

Politics and war were his forte.

“Alright.”

Yurio opened his eyes.

“Decided?” Asuka asked.

“Yeah, start a company.”

Chapter 16: Covert Operations (Part 2) – Hida Sacred Mountain Sanctuary

Notes:

Cast This Time
Yurio (12): 152 cm, white embroidered haori-like garment, layered white and gray clothing, obi, hakama-like pants.

Naoya (11): 155 cm, casual kimono.

Asuka (18): 164 cm, jeans, blouse, white lab coat, backpack.

Midori (10): 150 cm, black punk pants, white hoodie.

Saiai (11): 147 cm, black jeans, white sweater.

April 21, 2001, Hida Sacred Mountain Sanctuary

Five intruders infiltrated the Hida Sacred Mountain Sanctuary, a site where Tengen’s barriers are managed and guarded by the Gojo Clan.

Naturally, they were Jujutsu Research Society (name pending) members: Zenin Yurio, Zenin Asuka, Zenin Naoya, Zenin Midori, and Zenin Saiai.

Two simple floating lights bobbed around the five, illuminating the narrow stalactite cave.

The Hida Sacred Mountain Sanctuary, located in northern Gifu Prefecture, at the eastern edge of what was Hida Province under the Ritsuryo system, is a two-kilometer-long ancient limestone cave.

In 1965, a civilian discovered a stalactite cave north of the river running through it, turning it into a tourist attraction. This is one of the most critical sacred sites for Tengen's barrier network, thanks to it being situated in a remote and relatively untouched mountain area, it only required simple seals until now. However, the influx of geological surveys and tourists prompted constant patrols by Gojo clan members based in Takayama City. If Satoru Gojo, like past Limitless users, can use teleportation, he’d likely appear instantly if anything went wrong.

Destroying Tengen’s nationwide barrier system required infiltrating and sabotaging each sanctuary. Getting caught would force the Zenin Clan’s plans into brute force, fleeing to Korea, China, or the U.S. to amass economic and political power before returning to enforce reforms. Thus, this operation was executed with utmost caution. Unfortunately, the ever-invisible Qliphah Puzzle 545, usually orbiting Accelerator, stayed behind in Takayama City, since the site's security response to magic was unknown, it was better to practice caution. (Grumbling, “Fine by me...” she floated off to sightsee in the city.)

Naoya, perhaps expecting Gojo Satoru to pop out of nowhere, nervously scanned the cave interior.

“Hey, these necklaces hiding our cursed energy, do they really work? Feels sketchy.” 

“You’ve been on about that forever. Okay, you get how barriers recognize living things?” Asuka asked.

“Dunno." Naoya admitted.

“…You should show up to the Research Society more. It’s not like there’s mandatory work or anything.”

“I go once a month, don’t I?” Naoya countered.

“Yeah, to skim useful info and ditch the rest. That cargo-cult line of thinking is so sorcerer-like,” The Zenin Head researcher teased.

“Cut me some slack. Stop being mean and explain will ya?” Naoya said, unfazed, urging her on.

Since meeting Yurio and Toji, Since meeting Yurio and Toji, Naoya’s been obsessed with reaching “the other side.” Asuka, who can’t use cursed energy or physical gifted, couldn’t sway him no matter what she says. This conversation was all smiles on the surface, but to him, it’s like dismissing a pop-up ad or donation banner on a website without a second thought.

Asuka, sensing his blunt attitude, sighed and explained while walking.

“First, barriers are techniques that hold and manipulate cursed energy that’d normally dissipate, right?”

“Yeah.” Naoya nodded.

“Barriers, especially in Tengen’s technical system or domains that only affect living things—automatically pinpoint a soul’s location by detecting changes in the internal cursed energy field. Make sense so far?”

“Sorta. Basically, you know someone’s there when their cursed energy messes with the flow"

“Exactly. This necklace creates a thin cursed energy membrane on the user’s body surface, call it a barrier’s outer shell, if you want. Roughly, it dampens incoming stimuli before outputting them. Ever heard of noise cancellation? It’s kinda like that.”

“Hmm?” Naoya hummed.

“Cursed energy faces way more resistance passing through solids than gases, so unless a sorcerer manipulates it, it avoids solids like it’s repelled. The deployed membrane mimics that repulsion. In short, this cursed tool tricks the barrier into thinking your soul’s just some insignificant inorganic object.”

“Always wondered, where’s the soul? The heart?”

“…The soul’s humanoid, Naoya-kun. It exists synchronized with the body’s material particles. Cursed energy can be generated from the whole body, right? Though some trained jujutsu sorcerers channel it from the body’s center outward.”

“Got it.” 

“But it’s just a surface-level tweak. Like I’ve said a million times, using cursed energy will easily exceed the threshold and blow away the disguise. Don’t do it.”

“Same principle, so can’t you make a cursed tool that hides cursed energy usage?” Naoya asked.

“?? You mean reflecting internal stimuli back inside to cancel them out? That’s like sealing restraints, you good with that?”

“Oh, yeah, right.”

It’d probably block the whole body’s cursed energy flow, making movement a nightmare, especially for sorcerers who control it instinctively daily.

As they walked, they reached an open space.

“We’re here,” Yurio said.

“Wait, what’s that? A person?” Midori gasped.

“Ugh, what’s with that?” Saiai muttered.

“…Good thing, it’s a corpse.” Asuka said.

“Looks like a sokushinbutsu.” Yurio noted.

In the slightly open space sat a mummified monk.

The group flinched at the human shape but relaxed upon realizing it wasn’t alive. Cursed tools made from corpses were common in history, so no one from the Three Great Families would fuss over this.

“Four eyes, four arms, Ryomen Sukuna?” speculated Asuka.

“Wasn’t the King of Curses based in Hida? Or maybe the 5th-century originally?” Midori chimed in.

“Didn’t Buddhism come to Japan in the 6th century?” Saiai countered.

“Hmm, if it’s an anti-Imperial faction, it’s not weird for them to adopt Buddhism earlier than the mainland.” Asuka mused.

  “If so, maybe from the Japan Sea coast with mainland trade? Bit far, though.” Yurio answered.

“If true, it’d super boosts that wild theory about the fifth-century Buddhist kingdom ‘Fusang’ from the Book of Liang being somewhere in Japan.” Saiai pointed out.

The three debate enthusiasts launched into speculation.

Naoya, uninterested, wandered around. Spotting a handy stalactite hanging from the ceiling, he broke it off with brute strength and pocketed it, muttering, “A wedding gift for Toji-kun.” *

By the way, Toji thinks he’s completely cut ties with the Zenin clan and doesn’t know Naoya’s tracking him. He’ll be floored when a random stalactite shows up. Thinking it's a trap.

[*Naoya's defense: Morally questionable, but this hidden sanctuary isn’t a designated natural monument (yet), so it’s super legal.]

“If the legend’s true, can’t we tell by checking for two or four arms? Wanna check?” Asuka suggested.

“Don’t touch it.” Yurio warned.

Yurika, who’d been quietly listening like Naoya, stopped Asuka, who was about to charge in with curiosity.

Asuka, giddy, circled the sokushinbutsu, recording with a modified digital camera.

“It’s so blatantly placed here. Gotta be sanctuary-related.” 

“I’d love a sample, but it might mess with the barrier’s security, so no collecting or internal scans.” Asuka relented but kept tabs on this discovery.

“Let’s just set it up and get outta here.”

Asuka pulled a black case, about the size of a soccer ball, from her backpack. Inside, meticulously sealed to prevent cursed energy leaks, was a cursed object that acts as an energy source and doubled as a newly developed, self-sustaining barrier maintenance device that doesn’t rely on Tengen’s support (also used in the basement of AHT’s Kyoto HQ). On the day of action, it will receive a startup signal via relays installed along the way, overwrite and weaken the barriers at their core, and allow the outer shell to be manually destroyed from outside. It’s essentially a backdoor exploiting the lack of countermeasures against telecommunications. Simultaneous nationwide activation was the key, Tengen being a barrier master, could counter the time-staggered attack during the brief window of assault on the outer shell.

“Where do we bury it?” Asuka asked.

“Just dig a super random hole?” 

“I thought so, but the water’s shallower than expected. Won’t it leave traces?” 

“How about the ceiling?” Saiai proposed.

“It’ll fall during an earthquake, even a small one, with all these cracks everywhere. Super dumb idea.” Midori shot back.

“…”

Expecting the usual Midori-Saiai bickering, the group was surprised when Midori just stopped, stumped on what to do

In the end, they cut a stalagmite from the cave’s edge, dug a hole underwater, buried the device, reattached the stalagmite, and bonded it. The receiver cable, painted white to blend with the water-covered surroundings, would go unnoticed. The cave’s poor visibility helped.

Just in case, they chose the opposite side from Naoya’s broken stalactite.

Over the next five years until 2006, they’d infiltrate dozens of spiritual sites across Japan, performing similar sabotage.

However, the security-tight Yamaguni Imperial Mausoleum and Imperial Palace barrier nodes require prior arrangements with the Imperial Household Agency, so they’re saved for last. Tengen’s stronghold, the Star Corridor, can’t be touched until the day of action.

The five began retracing their steps, erasing traces.

“So, how’s the ‘Tengen Conquest Plan’ going?” Naoya asked.

“Ain’t called that.” Yurio snapped.

“Building eco-friendly barrier alternatives is on track. AHT’s up and running smoothly. Politics?” Asuka asked checking to make sure their timetables were aligned on that date.

“I’m slowly winning over places where the Zenin heir’s name carries weight, but the Imperial Household Agency is off-limits until I’m head. We’ll need AHT’s economic clout too. HQ, Jujutsu High, Kamo, and Gojo, we deal with them after it’s done.” 

“…Why can't Yurio-niki conquer the world by force?” Naoya suggested.

“What are we, Sengoku warlords? Is your head stuck in the Azuchi-Momoyama era?” Asuka retorted.

“…Feels like a hassle, but as a last resort, maybe...” Yurio mused.

The sound of splashing water faded and the cavern soon returned to its original darkness and silence like nothing had happened.

Notes

Cargo Cult
A religion reportedly practiced in Melanesia, where people built mock control towers and runways to lure iron birds (airplanes) for advanced technology.

Since how the technique wielder interprets their techniques directly ties to strength, cargo-cult-style knowledge application is a standard approach for sorcerers. Serious, conventional, stubborn, or realists struggle with technique use. Thus, Naoya’s attitude is exemplary for a sorcerer.

The Soul's Humanoid Shape
As per Todou-senpai: “We exist in the world with our whole body and soul.”
As per Kenjaku: “The body is the soul, and the soul is the body.”
Mahito’s Idle Transfiguration: “Activates on contact anywhere on the body.”

Notes:

Sokushinbutsu-A type of Buddhist mummy that results from a practice of self-starvation and meditation.

Apparently a certain someone used Sukuna's mummified corpse as spare batteries. Kenjaku laughed so hard, he gave himself a hernia.

Chapter 17: Covert Operations (Part 3) – Zenin Naoya

October 10, 2005

“Oi, let’s be real here. What right does Kamo and Gojo have to act like they own the place? What a shitty joke. Kamo’s Cursed Techniques suck, and Gojo? Hah, it’s just Satoru carryin’ the whole damn clan, ain’t it?”   Zenin Naoya spat venomously.

Before him were dozens of men and women of all ages and walks of life, forced to kneel before him. The group ranged from an elderly woman nearing ninety to a six-year-old boy, but they all shared one thing in common, their faces were contorted in terror.

Surrounding them in a tight circle were the combat operatives of the Zenin Clan.

This was a remote mountain village in southern Chiba Prefecture, the stronghold of the Cursed Sorcerer group known as “Q.”

At the forefront of the group, a middle-aged man, Q’s leader, a non-combatant, was groveling, his forehead pressed to the ground, drenched in cold sweat. The Zen'in Clan’s assault team had stormed in, and with Q’s top fighter, Bayer, absent, the group had crumbled without putting up much resistance.

“Jujutsu world’s basically ours Half the sorcerers are Zenin, Jujutsu High’s got a measly twenty percent, and the rest are scraps fromability  the Kamo and Gojo. We’re runnin’ this show, so why the hell are those losers actin’ all high and mighty? Makes zero sense.”

The relationship between the Zenin Clan’s operatives, who pride themselves as the strongest force in the Jujutsu world, and other sorcerers is abysmal. To them, not only non-sorcerers but even sorcerers from Jujutsu High, Kamo, and Gojo are objects of disdain.

When people think of Jujutsu Sorcerers, many might picture Jujutsu High, but there’s a clear gap in average ability between Jujutsu High sorcerers and those from the Three Great Clans. It’s akin to comparing police officers to soldiers.

Sorcerers at Jujutsu High learn Jujutsu through a structured curriculum during their student years, but in the Three Great Clans, grueling training begins in childhood and continues until retirement. As a result, their physicality and combat skills are on a different level.

That said, the talent for Jujutsu can sometimes leap over such efforts with ease.

The Zenin Clan’s strength among the Three Great Clans lies in their numbers. There are roughly 600 Jujutsu Sorcerers nationwide under the Jujutsu Headquarters, and half of them are under the Zenin Clan. This includes influential families like the Ashiya and Kumaso lineages*1, as well as regional powers. This dominance stems from the Zenin Clan consistently taking the front lines in battles and absorbing numerous organizations. This contrasts with the Kamo and Gojo clans, which primarily expand through their branch families.

Despite their overwhelming numbers, the Zenin Clan are treated as the lesser of the Three Great Clans. The Kamo and Gojo clans, with histories predating the establishment of the Yamato Imperial Court, have served the Imperial Family for centuries, earning immense trust from the court, now the Imperial Household Agency.

It’s a matter of brand prestige. In European terms, it’s like comparing ancient noble families to a newly risen band of barbaric mercenaries. Despite the Zenin Clan’s nearly thousand-year history, they’re still seen as upstarts. As a result, key positions in Jujutsu Headquarters, roles as priests in imperial rituals, and guardianship of sacred sites like spiritual mountains, Dazaifu, Izumo, and imperial mausoleums are almost exclusively held by Kamo and Gojo.

This is the root of the thousand-year feud among the Three Great Clans. Thus, the Zenin Clan looks down on Jujutsu High sorcerers and despises the Kamo and Gojo.

And so, they shout.

“If you’re not of the Zenin Clan—”

[  [  [  [ You’re not a Jujutsu Sorcerer!!  ]  ]  ]  ]

“If you’re not a Jujutsu Sorcerer—”

[  [  [  [ You’re not even human!! ]  ]  ]  ]

Naoya smirked with satisfaction at the well-drilled response from his operatives. The members of Q trembled, shrinking further in fear.

“Alright, old geezer, listen up. We’re runnin’ low on grunts, yeah? Like, we’d take a damn cat if it could work. Normally, we’d just off ya, but lucky you, we’re generous. You get to slave away for the great Zenin Clan ‘til you croak. How’s that for a deal?”

Naoya grinned wickedly, peering into the eyes of the man who cautiously raised his head.

“Oi, listen up! Zenin or not Zenin? Choose fast.”

“Z-Zenin…” the man stammered.

Absorption of enemy forces. This was a common sight for the Zenin Clan since the Heian era.

On this day, Q ceased to exist.

Zenin Naoya was in anguish.

His Projection Sorcery was indeed a powerful Cursed Technique, capable of reaching “the fastest” speeds, and his Cursed Energy reserves and output were well above average. But in this state, he couldn’t imagine ever reaching “the other side.”

During a mission in late April to exorcise a Special Grade Cursed Spirit in Iraq, he fought fiercely and finally succeeded in generating positive Cursed Energy and mastering Reverse Cursed Technique . However, he hadn’t achieved Technique Reversal, and he had no leads on developing a Domain Expansion .

He could now reach about ninety percent of the speed of Zenin Naobito, but that wasn’t enough to contend with the likes of Zenin Toji, Gojo Satoru, or, most importantly, the current Zenin Clan head.

Naoya agonized.

He experimented, trained relentlessly, imposed and discarded Binding Vows , took on brutal missions, teetered on the edge of death, and then—

He stopped thinking.

Upon reflection, if something was too complex to figure out, he could just leave it to someone who enjoyed thinking.

Naoya had an epiphany.

“Yo, Asuka-chan, I need you to figure something out for me.”

“Your reliance on others has hit new heights…” Asuka sighed.

"The additional investigation into the local forces that intervened in the Iraq mission yielded almost no results. I’ve already recalled Saiai-chan, so assign a blue tag to that. The discovered Proto-Elamite documents will stay under a yellow tag until translation is complete.”

This was the underground facility of AHT’s Kyoto headquarters, within a vast Autonomous Void Barrier . It was the deepest sanctum of the Zenin Clan, accessible by an elevator descending for dozens of seconds from a sealed door.

The Void Barrier was maintained by a non-electronic computational device*2  powered by Cursed Energy, boasting such precision and stability that even Gojo Satoru, who visited in May, didn’t recognize it as a barrier. The entrance, like that of the Star Corridor, was an elevator.

At the center of this futuristic space filled with machines, displays, and Cursed Tools, a woman who called herself a “Jujutsu PhD” lounged on an out-of-place claw-footed sofa, operating a tablet.

“Assign a yellow tag to Zenin Megumi, presumed wielder of the Ten Shadows Technique . The rumors about the Five Elements Agency are too dubious, but keep a gold tag on it until we find traces of Abe or Tsuchimikado. So, what was it? Something about strengthening your Projection Sorcery?”

“Yeah.” Naoya confirmed.

Naoya perched on a nearby precision machine. Asuka shot him a disapproving glance, but Naoya lacked the ability to pick up on such cues. Still lounging, Asuka wirelessly connected her tablet to a nearby display and pulled up Naoya’s file from the archive.*3.

The display showed a profile resembling a resume.

“How’s your understanding of cursed energy and your technique?”

“Cursed Energy? Got Reverse Cursed Technique locked in. Nailed it in Iraq half a year back. Technique’s just like it says there.”

“Hmm.”

Naoya’s submitted Cursed Technique details read: Projection Sorcery: Forces touched “objects” to move to a “designated position.” Designation occurs at 24 frames per second. Failure results in a one-second freeze. Unreasonable designations are prohibited.

“Unreasonable designations?”

“Like stuff movin’ in ways that spit in the face of physics or ignoring physical laws.”

“For example, passing through all obstacles without breaking them and reaching the Andromeda Galaxy in one second, physically possible, right?”

“…Hah?” Naoya blinked.

“Noted. You don’t have a detailed understanding.”

“Oi, you mockin' me?”

“But you’re running at subsonic speeds.”

“That’s 'cause I'm layering it.”

“Oh?”

Asuka closed her tablet, opened a black laptop lying at her feet, and reconnected to the display.

“Let’s unfold your prefrontal cortex technique data. Turn on that thing you’re sitting on and wear the attached headgear.”

Naoya pressed what looked like a switch, and a green light flickered on with a low hum. The device, inspired by how Accelerator embedded his Cursed Technique and Innate Domain data into Midori and Saiai*4,, converted neural networks estimated from electrical signals into discrete values. As Naoya donned the headgear, the display slowly began showing analysis results.

“First, what’s a Cursed Technique?” Asuka asked.

Naoya vaguely recalled the answer from a research meeting long ago.

“Some kinda tool to yank the rules of an Innate Domain and put it into the real world, right?”

“Close enough. Let’s review the basics.”

“Starting with the Innate Domain. Memories etched into the soul during infancy...past lives, prenatal memories, ancestral memories, or even the first few months after birth form the Innate Domain through Cursed Energy, These are otherworlds with laws distinct from reality.”

For example, it’s theorized that Sukuna gained a “hunger” domain and the Cleave-Dismantle-Fire Cursed Technique from consuming his twin in the womb. Inherited techniques like Projection Sorcery likely stem from “ancestral memories,” though the associated domain for it remains unknown. Since distinguishing “past life memories” from “ancestral memories” was impossible, they’re broadly categorized as “other people’s memories.”

“Domain Expansion constructs this otherworld with Cursed Energy, which is why domains are abstract and surreal. If a sorcerer formed an Innate Domain after gaining self-awareness, their domain might resemble a real-world city, but I’ve never heard of such a case. Domain Expansion is rare anyway, only a handful per era can do it. It requires deep understanding of Jujutsu, sufficient Cursed Energy and output, and mastery of barrier techniques. The hurdles are insanely high.”

"And an Innate Technique is like a set of parameters that allows the environment of this 'otherworld' to be properly brought into reality. It adheres to the laws of the Innate Domain and typically forms between the ages of 4 and 6. It’s like a user interface (UI) for manipulating the laws of that otherworld."

UI or User Interface. A term for tools to operate computers, if Naoya recalled correctly. For instance, Projection Sorcery was shaped by knowledge of “animation,” and this technique's effects (curses) on a subject might stem from knowledge on using a "camera". Depending on the era or civilization, it would manifest differently.

“That’s the premise. What we can infer is that Cursed Techniques are things applied after the fact or post-hoc, unchangeable at their core, but there’s room for slight modification through ‘interpretation.’ With that in mind, let’s look at Naoya-kun’s current Cursed Technique composition… You can take that off now.”

Asuka sat up, facing the display.

“Basic info: contact-type, effect is designating positions and interpolating motion. Pretty standard object-manipulation interface. Since it doesn’t directly dictate motion, it’s pretty versatile."

“Like Aniki’s Vector Transformation?”

“That’s a special case. Yours is closer to Cursed Corpse Manipulation. In our classification, it’s typical im- type . All good so far?”

“What’s im-type again?”

“Didn’t you attend the discussion on technique lineages? We broadly divided them into  four categories: kam-type, im-type, FR-type, and unclassifiable. Kam-type involves manipulating souls, like Blood Manipulation or Puppet Manipulation, Kamo-affiliated families excel here. Im- type deals with physical laws, like Limitless or Construction Technique, Gojo-affiliated families dominate here. FR- type is tied to folk beliefs, like Spirit Sorcery or Shikigami, classic Japanese curses, often long-range Cursed Energy attacks. And unclassifiable means foreign sorcerers or anomalies like Vector Manipulation.”

Naoya half-listened, deeming it irrelevant to enhancing his technique.

“Don’t know the details, but got any ideas?”

“Hmm… What do you want to achieve?”

“Mastering technique reversal, domain expansion, moving faster with more complex trajectories, and maybe having a high-powered move sounds nice.”

“Greedy, aren't you?”

Asuka scrolled through incomprehensible strings of data. The measurements mixed systematic, algorithm-analyzing information with junk data that didn’t fully form a Cursed Technique, making the results hard to parse. Naoya didn’t understand it and saw no need to ask.

“Alright, with Projection Sorcery, the ‘cursed’ target must have its positional changes dictated by the sorcerer at a set cycle. This includes the sorcerer themselves. The method involves instantaneous imaging within the sorcerer’s field of vision. Precision can be rough, but you can’t make absurd designations. If an unreasonable positional change is rejected, it’s probably because the interpolation of motion between frames throws an error. That means you’d fail to reach the designated position one second later and freeze. If stacking is possible, that’s 24×24, so 576 fps? No, maybe it just means the conditions reset each time you reapply the curse.’ If you reapply the curse every frame, you could theoretically accelerate 24 times in a second. But each acceleration increases resistance from surrounding matter, raising the required precision and processing speed, so the difficulty skyrockets exponentially, and your computational capacity runs dry. If you develop a knack for making minimal designations, you’ll gradually get faster. The difference between the previous head and you, Naoya-kun, is probably just experience…”

After a while, Asuka finished reading and flipped over a nearby memo and started writing.

“First, let’s establish a basic strategy. For starters, you should stop constantly stacking curses, it’s a waste of computational power and cursed energy. Let’s go with a straightforward approach. Since you’re already handling 24 fps…”

A quick note: Asuka’s motto is, “If it’s theoretically possible, it’s possible. If it doesn’t work, the theory’s wrong.”

“‘Frame interpolation for 48 fps.’ Basically, if you properly insert the in-between frames, you won’t get bugs. I can think of a few ways to handle interpolation, but as a sorcerer, you should figure it out yourself. Worst case, impose a binding vow or have my brother install the knowledge. Theoretically, you could hit 240 fps, but aim for 48 first, then maybe 60. The next issue is air resistance and G-forces.

‘Acquire basic engineering physics (and get a sense for numerical magnitudes).’ ‘Study and counter resistance.’ Fluids, quantum mechanics, knowing the basics of how things behave should let you pull off some sorcerer-style rationalization. It’s not like you’re using Vector Manipulation. I’ll send you a list of books, so hit the library when you’re back upstairs or ask my brother. At this point, your ability to sustain calculations will probably hit its limit.

You’ll likely take damage to your frontal lobe, so ‘Constantly deploy Reverse Cursed Technique.’

This will drain your cursed energy reserves completely, so ‘Study human anatomy and jujutsu physiology,’ ‘Study the theoretical physics and material properties of cursed energy (up to the latest research),’ and ‘Master precise cursed energy manipulation.’ For human anatomy, books are fine, but learning from Mom in the medical unit will be faster. There are plenty of teaching materials lying around on the beds. While you’re at it, see if you can output Reverse Cursed Technique. For cursed energy, if the texts aren’t clear, you could always try ‘near-death experience’ it, but that’s needlessly painful, right? For precise manipulation, bluntly put, do what Gojo Satoru or Yurio-chan does. Naturally, use Projection Sorcery."

If your imagination and thus creativity hits a wall, ‘Enhance instantaneous imaging through suggestion.’ The medical unit’s been working on that with Yurio-chan's instructions and supervision.

For aerial mobility, maybe ‘Capture surfaces in the air’? Gas has different refractive indices depending on humidity, so if you enhance your vision with cursed energy, you might be able to see it.”

She handed him her notes.

The resulting memo read:

• Frame interpolation for 48 fps (-> then aim for 60 fps) (Ask my brother)
  
• Master basic engineering physics (specifically, grasp numerical scales) (Ask my brother)
  
• Study and counter resistance like air resistance and G-forces (Ask my brother)
  
• Maintain Reverse Cursed Technique constantly
• Study human anatomy and jujutsu physiology (Ask my mom)
  
• Study theoretical physics and material properties of cursed energy (latest research) (-> or wander the brink of death) (Ask my brother)
  
• Master precise cursed energy control (Start by practicing minimizing cursed energy usage without diminishing effects whenever you physically enhance yourself)
  
• Enhance instantaneous imaging through suggestion (Go to the Zenin medical unit)
• Capture surfaces in the air

The sheer difficulty sent a rare shiver of tension through Naoya, the first in six months. Suppressing a grimace, he pictured the clan head and Toji, steeling his resolve.

(I’ll make it to the other side, no matter what!)

“Anything else?” Asuka asked.

There was more. He had been meaning ask about this one.

“Domain Expansion? Sorry, no clue why you can’t. It’s not technique-related. It’s theoretically possible, so why not?  A mental block maybe? As for technique reversal, since your technique is already kind of a glitch, it’s not guaranteed you can master it. Maybe something like reversing the frame order? For a high-powered move, maybe study Black Flash or the inverse of Construction Technique.”

Thankfully, no more brutal tasks were added, though he felt slightly insulted. Taking the memo, Naoya stood.

“W-Well, thanks.”

“Oh, did you grab any research candidates?”

It was a routine question whenever Naoya’s combat unit went curse-user hunting.

For years, clan head Yurio had ordered the combat unit to capture curse users *5 and register freelance sorcerers as preparations for the jujutsu world’s looming reform. The combat unit used this to bolster forces, while Asuka aimed to train competent researchers.

Asuka was livid. Most Zenin personnel, barring a few from non-sorcerer families, lacked even basic education *6. The knowledge required was so alien it was inevitable, but they couldn’t handle development or even clerical work. They were assigned simple assembly tasks while being educated, but their zero motivation meant no progress *7. Jujutsu regulations barred recruiting non-sorcerers as researchers, leaving only persuading sorcerer kin or cursed victims or capturing curse-user affiliates, binding them with vows, and training them. Their motivation was shaky, but a vow to “give full effort within reason” made them passable*8. Yet, years into this, manpower and talent remained scarce.

If the reform succeeded, Asuka swore to recruit top-tier non-sorcerer researchers.

“Everyone but Q’s combatants is upstairs, bound with the usual vows. We took the combatants.”

“Got it. I’ll bring contracts later; herd them into a room. And, good luck."

"…The excavated Ugaya dynasty ritual tools get a blue tag. Mai-chan and Maki-chan’s experiment is progressing well, keep the yellow tag. Oh, Black Bird Manipulation technique data came in. Red tag, and let’s see how it works…”

Asuka flopped back onto the sofa, reopening her tablet. Naoya, without looking back, boarded the elevator to the Zenin estate and returned to the surface.

 

March 28, 2006

On a quiet weekday afternoon, a man stormed the Zenin estate, aiming for the clan head’s seat.

His name was Zenin Toji, a Heavenly Restriction physical prodigy.

Assassination, gambling,child neglect in short, a scumbag. But even he had a shred of humanity left.

“Take care of Megumi.”

Having lost his wife and abandoned everything, he defeated Gojo Satoru, master of Reverse Cursed Technique and Hollow Purple, the modern era’s strongest, overcoming a lifetime of persecution-driven inferiority. Finally, he woke up.

Then he remembered, he planned to sell Megumi to the Zenin clan.

Even if he hadn’t, Megumi’s fate was sealed. Without cursed energy or a technique, a name change might’ve sufficed. But recently, to Toji’s horror, Megumi manifested the Ten Shadows Technique .

Could he protect Megumi from the hell that was the Zenin clan? Sadly, while Toji had combat prowess, he lacked power.

Then, like divine revelation, an answer struck.

“I’ll just become the Zenin clan head.”

A coup, plain and simple.

“Well, if it ain’t Toji-kun! Long time no see!”

Toji slipped through the Zenin estate’s barrier unnoticed or so he thought. Within a minute, a spring breeze stirred, and a blond man in a green kimono stood there, grinning.

“A homecoming? It's been what, ten years?”

“Nah, just here to take the clan head spot.”

Toji grinned wickedly.  His weapon-storing cursed spirit spat out the Chain of a Thousand Miles and Inverted Spear of Heaven .

The blond man’s eyes widened, freezing for a split second before—

“Fuh, fufu… fuhaha!”

The sinister-looking blond stifled a laugh, creepy as hell.

The next moment, an overwhelming surge of cursed energy erupted from the man, his face now painted with unhinged glee.

“You’ve got a damn good look on your face now, Toji-kun!!!”

A fraction of a second later, the tyrant clashed with the new “fastest.”

---

Evening

The two landed on a rooftop. One’s kimono was tattered but unscathed; the other, despite being a physical prodigy, was battered black and blue and gasping for breath, an unusual sight.

“Haa, haa...you monster.”

“Comin’ from you, Toji-kun, that’s a compliment.”

Naoya glanced toward a metallic clanking sound. A six-legged silver tank approached, its barrel was marked on the side with the label SPECIAL_GRADE_Over_Modelcase_LIMITLESS-β .

A drone hovered near Naoya.

“Hey, you weren't planning to finish this, are you?” [Asuka’s voice]

“Caught me, huh?”

“How many hours you think have passed?”

“What’s that?” Toji asked.

“S’posedly, a failed attempt to reverse-engineer Satoru-kun’s Limitless.”

Black sparks crackled at the barrel’s tip, some faintly glowing purple. Toji’s mind flashed to the white-haired monster at Tokyo High, cold sweat breaking out.

“Well, catch ya later, Toji-kun. Here's a piece of advice—”

Naoya took a single step.

In an instant, a cannon-like fist slammed into Toji’s gut, scattering black sparks.

As Toji flew through the air, the cold scientific turret adjusted instantly.

“Don’t die on me.”

Immediately after, a crimson-black beam tore through space like a flash.

Zenin Toji smashed through the Zenin barrier and was sent soaring out into the stratosphere.

That day, a black thunderbolt was spotted over Kyoto, and the Zenin clan received another stern letter of protest from the Kyoto Prefectural Police, their second time in twelve years.

● Gorilla Kaisen’s Prodigy

Special Grade ‘Human Fighter’ Zenin Naoya-kun

Pushed his "Ability development"to the limits, reaching a peak of 60 fps.

Possesses the same capabilities as Academy City’s HsF-00 fighter plane*9. (The Academy City HsF-00 is capable of speeds at least 7000 kilometers per hour or 1944 meters per second roughly equal to Mach 5.7, studying physics and having a Kihara-like Zenin clan member along with a portable Testament aka Yurio is good for "espers" like Naoya.)

The third special-grade sorcerer. Below Gojo, above Tsukumo.

Today’s Black Flash record: four. Lifetime total: six.

Knows how to apply RCT on others, according to Asuka, Projection Sorcery imposes its effects on others, by using that principle on Reverse Curse Techinque, it's easier for him to output Reverse Cursed Technique. Healers are always nice to have.

Deemed capable of toppling a country based solely on his mobility and efficiency. Well, he can handle anything short of a nuclear bomb or submarine with his bare hands.

Lacks a special move for now, but he’ll probably start shooting black flash lazers soon.

Give him 30 minutes and some iron sand and he'll be capable of cleaving Eurasia in half. (Lol)

Recently, he has been toying around with the idea of applying his Projection Sorcery on abstract concepts like space as his potential Maximum Technique. The clan head told him if he's testing that, he better get him and Asuka involved. He once tried it on his own without their supervision only for him to accidentally create a literal cavitation bubble in the fabric of space thanks to the mismatch between the coordinates of space from 1 second ago to now.  In less than a split second, it exploded rocking the foundations of the Zenin estate and causing cracks to the barrier. Asuka got really mad after that.  The clan head and Asuka has hammered it to his head to call them should he ever attempt that again. He's pretty happy with the result. He's dubbed it Void Cavitation.

● Jujutsu World's Scientific Doctor

CEO of the world’s top corporation and the undisputed five-year champion of the “Person You Absolutely Shouldn’t Share Technique Data With” ranking, outranking Kenjaku and Mahito.

Recently purchased Black Bird Manipulation technique data for 300 million yen, sensing hints of the Yatagarasu legend.

When asked by Saiai what she wanted for Christmas last year, she replied, “Limitless, Blood Manipulation,Ten Shadows Technique.” She got no reply. She’s trying to curry favor with a young Kamo Noritoshi and Zenin Megumi, but hasn’t found an opening. Gojo’s a lost cause.

Her favorite is, naturally, Construction Technique . Its beauty is unmatched, divine craftsmanship. Capable of generating rare materials, it holds immense engineering value. It aids in joule conversion of “information” in cursed energy theory and provides structural data on space, cursed energy, and material particles, even offering clues to physics’ ultimate goal, M-theory. Plus, it has a complete recording function at the existential level for “cursed” objects. It’s practically perfect. Utterly useless in combat, though.

● Innate Domains and Cursed Techniques

The idea of outputting otherworldly laws from one’s Innate Domain (Personal Reality) through calculations, adapted from Aleister’s Power Curriculum Program but applied to Innate Domains and Cursed Techniques. The calculations produce the cursed technique.

● SPECIAL_GRADE_Over_Modelcase_LIMITLESS-β

Stands for “Beyond Special Grade,” “ Limitless ,” and “Incomplete.”

Built to replicate the Hollow Purple fired relentlessly in Tokyo Jujutsu High, but currently just a Black Flash beam. Asuka lost interest, so no further improvements are planned.

● Toji-kun’s Fate After he Tried Aiming for the Canon Maki Route

As revealed earlier, he landed in the Pacific Ocean and swam back to Tokyo Jujutsu High.

A few days later, he received a letter from the clan head ordering him to stop.

● The Zenin Clan Head Scheming Behind the Jujutsu World

Recently dreamed of punching some boy at some high school. For some reason, he transferred and was seated next to him in class. Close friends and willingly joined the Delta Force's antics with even the Iron-Wall Girl sometimes tagging along.

A Zenin clan head and some guy with spiky hair punching each other. From the left:Misaka Mikoto a.k.a. Biribiri, Komoe-sensei, and Index.

● Five Elements Agency

Rumored to be the successor to the Onmyoryo which disbanded in the early Meiji era.

Some say it’s on a southern island; others claim it’s existed as the Onmyoryo’s specialized training institution for over a millennium. Its existence is dubious.

Based on these rumors, a dark web group calling itself the “Five Elements Network” emerged, but its developers don’t believe in the existence of this mysterious organization.

● Appendix: Industrial Value Ranking (Asuka-chan's Research)

1. Construction Technique
2. Vector Manipulation
3. Blood Manipulation
4. Limitless
5. Star Rage
   
6. Sky Manipulation
   
7. Séance Technique

● Appendix: If Academy City Was a Jujutsu City (Aleister Crowley's Notes)

1. Accelerator [Vector Manipulation]
   -> Purpose: Main-plan.
   
2. Gojo Satoru [Limitless]
   -> Purpose: Sub-plan.
3. Choso [Blood Manipulation]
   -> Purpose: Constructing a cursed spirit with a soul-manipulating technique or something similar to an Electromaster ability.
   
4. Zenin Mai [Construction Technique]
   -> Purpose: A material conversion device. Expected to generate esoteric matter (Dark Matter).
   
5. Tsukumo Yuki [Star Rage]
   -> Purpose: For research on gravity and space-time.
6. Sukuna [Malevolent Shrine]
   -> Only strong. The technique has no value, so it receives zero research funding. A monster who completely ignores the Parameter List. Ensure he does not encounter Imagine Breaker.
   
7. Takaba Fumihiko [Comedian]
   -> Impossible to research. Use to punish unruly Kiharas.

Possible Level 5 Candidate, Okkotsu Yuta [Mimicry Technique]

* 1: Q

A group employing a unique jujutsu system rooted in southern Kyushu. During the Satsuma Rebellion, the Zenin clan head made Mahoraga self-destruct to take down numerous samurai clan leaders, leading to Q’s surrender. However, over the past century, they have grown increasingly uncooperative. They are highly cohesive, making espionage impossible, and adhere to exclusionist principles. Only a handful of their sorcerers are registered, but their actual numbers are likely far greater, though this hasn’t been deemed a problem. Apparently, they can exorcise cursed spirits using pure swordsmanship, even without the ability to see cursed energy. They reportedly have ties to the UK dating back to the Anglo-Satsuma War, but details are unclear. To unravel this mystery, a research team led by Zenin Midori was forcibly dispatched to the depths of the British Isles.

* 2: Xsystem

A cursed tool that repurposes the information retention, transmission, and autonomous properties of cursed energy. Even Gojo Satoru's Six Eyes, before his awakening, couldn’t perceive its intricate details. “Get yourself a Hazuki loupe.”

* 3: Zenin Clan Comprehensive Database

A comprehensive database maintained by the Zenin clan. Submission of detailed technique information is generally voluntary, but depending on the policies of a unit’s commander, it may be mandatory.
*4:Indirect Learning Device (T Testament

The reproduction of Academy City technology that was used to directly install information into the brain. The subject lies down inside the apparatus, here, the helmet is inserted unto the subject's head. By sending out electrical signals into the brain, the machine can input large amounts of information in a short period of time by affecting all five senses of the body. Using the machine, information such as speech, logic, motor functions as well as the personality and emotions of the subject can be installed.

* 5:  Capture, Not Slaughter

Referring to the capture of curse users, not their extermination.

* 6: Education Gap

Interviewer Asuka: “Do you at least know Ohm’s Law?”
Average Member: “It’s about repeating the words you’re told, right?”

* 7: Lack of Motivation

Despite improvements in treatment thanks to Accelerator, both now and in the past, the Zenin clan’s dropouts desire either to live peacefully without pain or to suddenly awaken jujutsu talent and shine as sorcerers. They have no interest in cramming their heads with complex, seemingly irrelevant information.

* 8: Binding Vow Adjustment

Initially, a binding vow of “Devote your entire being and risk your life until you drop dead from work” was imposed, but after seeing a flood of patients sent to the medical unit, the current clan head lectured Asuka, leading to its revision. Asuka remains unconvinced.

* 9: Sorcerer Ranking

The clan head is considered grade 1 since footage of him in combat hasn’t been publicly shown. His technique is vaguely recognized as “Reflection.” The final ranking is undecided but likely: 1. Gojo 2.Okkotsu 3.Zenin 4.Tsukumo 5.Geto 6.Yaga. Strategic-grade sorcerers outside the rankings are abundant like Takaba, for example. Sorry Yaga-sen~

Notes:

Asuka's habit of adding colored bookmarks to subjects of interest is a homage to Kihara Yuiitsu's method of tagging.

If Naoya keeps amping up the speed, he might just end up in the New World, a place that is described as the "excess regions of the timeline" where the Magic Gods reside. He might find another Geto in there along with some ordinary looking teenager.

A Hazuki Loupe is a brand of eyeglasses in Japan.

Chapter 18: Covert Operations (Part 4) – A Day in the Life of Zenin Asuka

April 25, 2006

For Zenin Asuka, the concept of day and night was vague.

This is of course, because she’s holed up in a windowless room.

Thanks to a self-imposed binding vow of “never sleeping more than 1 hour and 21 minutes per day for my entire life,” she’s mastered the art of fully recovering her mind and body in minimal time, making the distinction between day and night even hazier.

To avoid friction with others due to this disconnect, she tries to align her daily routine with societal norms as much as possible.

---

4:00 AM
Asuka rides the elevator up to the Zenin estate and heads to the armory to inspect the issued cursed tools. This kind of grunt work wasn’t supposed to fall on her, but with no specialists or properly trained technicians, she had no choice.

Currently, the main and branch families issue three types of cursed tools to their combatants: a pseudo Falling Blossom Emotion, a durable simple domain, and a pistol loaded with cursed technique bullets.

The pseudo-“Falling Blossom Emotion” neutralizes curses that touch the domain deployed on the user’s body surface. Its mechanism is as straightforward as noise-canceling tech, capable of countering curses up to Grade 2. However, it interferes with the user’s own cursed techniques, so sorcerers with innate techniques can’t use it.

The durable simple domain is designed for missions misreported in grade, where a sorcerer might get swallowed by a cursed spirit’s domain. It can hold out for up to 48 hours until rescue arrives. It prevents attacks from either side, and since it’s autonomous, it consumes no cursed energy, making it useful even for those trained in New Shadow Style or Falling Blossom Emotion.

The cursed technique bullets replicate Zenin Jinichi’s “Giant Fists Technique,” capable of countering curses up to Grade 2. There was demand for bullets replicating Ougi’s “Fire Technique” and part of Naoya’s “Freeze a Cursed Target for 1 Second Technique,” but the former refused, and the latter was too complex to replicate. The pistol’s nickname is Kenken (Fist-Fist), short for “Punch Pistol.” One Kukuru member once secretly shouted, “Eat this, Busaiku Meteor !” during a mission, only to get caught by the man himself and personally meteored into oblivion.

Thanks to these tools, mortality among combatants facing Grade 2 or lower threats has been nearly eliminated. Incidentally, the Hei unit, under Zenin Naoya’s leadership, is banned from using these tools per his policy.

---

8:00 AM

It’s a university day, so Asuka gets ready in a chipper mood. In the past, her goal was to become a “doctoral candidate,” but Japan’s peculiar “paper doctorate” system allowed her to breeze through doctorates in multiple fields. So there’s no real reason to keep attending, but she still lingers for the joy of interacting with non-sorcerer friends. Though they can’t match her knowledge, their quick wit made conversations fun. With the “reform” a month away promising more freedom to do researcher, she’s eager to recruit them to her side.

---

10:00 AM
To stay enrolled, Asuka had to attend a mind-numbingly boring lecture, sitting in the back she busied herself scrolling on her tablet through, reviewing a summary of business reports from AHT’s San Francisco headquarters. It’s around 6:00 PM there, depending on the location. The San Francisco HQ was chosen to compile daily activity reports from AHT’s U.S. branches at the end of their day.

AHT is merely a front for the Zenin clan, so Asuka hasn’t pushed for business expansion. Yet, thanks to Zenin Yurio’s knowledge and Asuka’s computational engineering designs, the company’s tech attracted Japan’s top executives and foreign CEOs, leading to rapid growth. The more they work, the more results they produce, it’s addictive according to her,

Asuka’s satisfied as long as research funds and support for Zenin operations worldwide are secured, so she lets them do as they please. When the U.S. CEO gifted her a multi-trillion-yen physics research institute plan for her birthday, she practically danced with joy. She gleefully rewrote the plan to include facilities for unpublished cutting-edge theories and hypotheses, sending it back. That was the first time she broke the five-day no-sleep barrier. (The CEO nearly fainted. Then, a flurry of emails demanded she publish the theories ASAP, so she sent back a pile of related documents with a “Do it yourself, you pest.”)

With no issues in the reports, she resumes skimming titles and abstracts of yesterday’s newly published papers.

---

12:00 PM

After chatting with friends for 40 minutes at a soba shop near campus, she took a private helicopter for a 90-minute trip to Tokyo. The “reform” led by family head Zenin Yurio and Miwa Takamitsu of the Imperial Household Agency is reaching its climax, and today’s meeting included her. Which sucks. Her role is just to share AHT’s movements, coordinate with them, and relay decisions to the executives, so boring.

Do I even need to be here? she thought. Honestly, she's a Zenin through and through, Asuka acknowledged politics but she personally found it such a needless hassle. Conquer enemies, crush rebels, that’s their philosophy.

Liberal democracy? Is that a tea brand? Freedom, equality, public good, tolerance? Has that ever actually been achieved anywhere?

She once genuinely asked, only to be told that ideals are just goals, so its fine, and it’s all about endless adjustments and effort anyways. She gave up understanding.

(Boring. Power is the only true hierarchy.)

---

6:00 PM

A dinner meeting is held, but since it’s just the same group from the earlier meeting, it was just an extension of the boredom. In a corner of the salon in the same building, Asuka spends her time petting the water-blue hair of a four-year-old Miwa girl who came to greet her.

(Oh, Miwa, you’ve taken pity on poor me and sent this healing angel~)

“Kasumi-chan, you’re always so polite, huh? That’s impressive.”

“Yes! My father taught me! He says it makes me sound smart!”

“Is that so? I only use polite speech with people like Gojo Satoru, the Higher-Ups, or government officials, but having a polite formal persona could be fun too.”

“I think it’s great! Gojo Satoru! I want to meet Gojo Satoru too!”

“Hmm~? The real Gojo Satoru’s kind of a rude jerk, you know.”

“But its the Gojo Satoru!”

---

8:00 PM
The meeting finally ends,and Asuka heads to the Zenin clan’s Tokyo estate with Yurio-chan.

8:30 PM

After finishing equipment checks and adjustments, she takes the helicopter back to Kyoto, another 90-minute ride.

11:00 PM
Crashes on the sofa to sleep.

1:00 AM
Wake up, shower, grab the hairdryer, return to the sofa, and opens the research system’s admin page.

“Found you.”

A notification pinged in one of her reports  that a “Tsumikado Amane” checked into a business hotel in Oi City, Fukui Prefecture.

Asuka’s lips curl into a grin.

For investigations related to the “Five Elements Agency,” areas tied to the Abe clan are blanketed with surveillance from windows, informants, cursed energy sensors, security cameras, the works.

She never expected someone to brazenly use the Tsumikado name, what a stroke of luck.

All known Tsumikado descendants in the surface world have been accounted for and don’t practice onmyodo, but this person’s a complete unknown. There’s no Japanese citizen named Tsumikado Amane.

“This is getting intersting, isn’t it?”

---

3:00 AM
In the moonless night in the Fukui Prefecture, at a certain hotel.

Asuka had the other guests bribed with hefty sums and relocated to other accommodations within a soundproof barrier.

Confirming the hotel was empty, she stands before the door of “his” room and taps her smartphone.

“From the darkness, blacker than darkness, purify that which is impure.”

A pseudo-curtain descends. It’s a curtain without Tengen’s support. The chant was unnecessary, she only added purely for flair, Since no cursed energy was infused, Tengen’s barrier won’t activate by mistake.

The barrier’s effects are “complete visualization of all cursed energy” and “prohibiting Tsuchimikado Amane from entering or exiting.”

A thud comes from inside the room. At the very least, the target’s got enough cursed energy sensitivity to wake up from the barrier’s activation.

Without hesitation, Asuka drew her handgun and pulled the trigger.

ZUGAAAAAN!

A deafening roar, unfit for the silent night, echoes as an invisible fist seems to materialize. The door, along with the wall and ceiling, was spectacularly blown away.

If this guy’s just a civilian using a fake name, I’ll apologize and pay him off, if he’s still alive, she thought belatedly.

As the wind roars and the smoke clears, a brown-haired glasses-wearing boy appeared.

“Damn, that’s loud! Why the hell would you blow up my whole room?!”

“Hello. You’re Tsumikado Amane, correct?”

“Yeah, I’m Amane. What’s your deal?”

The boy brushed off dust. Forming a hand sign, his casual yukata morphs into what’s likely his usual outfit, a blend of a shirt and kimono, reminiscent of a student from the Taisho era.

“Hmm, close enough. Zenin Asuka. Maybe you would know me as Suzushina Asuka?”

“Don’t know, don’t care. Who the hell are you?”

His words genuinely surprise Asuka. These days, finding someone in a developed country who doesn’t know her name was rarer than a unicorn.

The boy tilts his head, as if recalling something, then speaks.

“Oh, Zenin? That clan of prideful barbarians ripping off the Heishi? Man, my first time seein' the real deal.”

He cackled for some reason, then got serious.

“So, what do you want? Amane-san’s pissed enough to wanna kill you right now.”

“Just a few questions, maybe?”

The boy’s face twists, veins bulging on his forehead, as he pulls out a 30cm wooden rod.

“Is that a cursed tool?”

“In your terms, yeah. It regulates spiritual energy flow, like a talisman. And it’s not disposable.”

(Spiritual energy, huh?)

“Nice. And?”

“This.”

"Unique Incantation: Electron Acceleration Mechanism."

Crackle crackle!

A dragon of lightning manifests around the boy.

“Don’t take it personally, this is just punishment for interrupting my sleep.”

He swings the cursed tool, and the dragon streaks through the air. In response, a bull-headed shikigami appears before Asuka, charging at the dragon. Just when it seems the dragon might overpower it, the cursed energy scatters, and the dragon dissipates, its residual energy scorching the surroundings.

“All that theatrics just for a basic technique? Guess the ‘onmyoji are just a sorcerer faction’ theory’s true. Disappointing."

"Ah, a shikigami user with an anti-curse technique? Too bad, countermeasures for shikigami and cursed spirit users were established back in the 18th century.”

The boy swings his cursed tool again.

“Exorcism Curse!”

“Oh?”

A dense mass of positive cursed energy forms a silver dragon, obliterating the bull-headed shikigami. It barrels toward Asuka but dissipates the moment it touches her, as if repelled by something.

“Big fan of dragons?”

“Seiryū’s my guardian deity. Born in spring, you know.”

“Hmm? That one was pretty good. Makes me wanna study it. What else you got?”

“Don’t get cocky. Sword Seal Slash!”

An invisible slash flies toward her.

The part that hits Asuka melts away, while the rest slices through the wall behind her. Seeing this, the boy pivots and sprints toward the window.

( An anti-curse technique wrapped around her whole body? Maybe physical attacks will work?)

“I read about that in onmyoji cultural research! It’s does exist!”

A frustrated voice calls out.

“Who cares?!”

The boy unleashes slashes in all directions as he leaps through the blown-out window. The unvoiced slashes carve through the floor and ceiling, causing the structure to collapse. As rubble crashes down, the small hotel becomes a pile of debris. He pulls a talisman written on washi paper from his pocket and thrusts it forward.

“Borrowin’ this, Pops. ‘Anti-Gravity Mechanism: Kyu Kyu Nyo Ritsu Ryo’.”

The talisman burned.

Instantly, tenfold gravity crushes the rubble pile, grinding what was once a hotel into fine fragments.

(Got her this time) he confidently thinks, but a second later, the debris explodes from the center and an unscathed Asuka emerges.

“…Tch, what a pain.”

“It’s simple. The barrier’s outer shell analyzes incoming data and auto-constructs a counter-technique. Unless it’s a super complex technique or  something as absurd like Gojo Satoru’s ‘Purple’, it blocks pretty much any physical or cursed energy attack.”

“Technique disclosure, huh?”

“No, just being polite. So, what’s next?”

Hearing the conditions, the boy thought of a few solutions. But they’d require pouring his all into constructing a technique. Running out of spiritual energy in what’s basically enemy territory? Yeah, no. Besides, something tells him that even if he broke through her defense, she’s got more tricks up her sleeve. (If sensei or senpai were here, they could probably take this crazy woman down) the boy mused as he cursed his inexperience and surrendered.

“Ugh, fine, I’m done. So, what’d you wanna ask about?”

“Everything you know about the Five Elements Agency.”

“Oh, you’re one of those people.”

The boy thinks for a moment, then says lightly with a easy-going smirk, “Eh, fine, it’s just a sorcerer.”

Wagging his index finger, he spins his words smugly.

“The Five Elements Agency was established outside Tengen’s barrier in the late Heian period as a research institute. It’s an educational institution for Onmyōji. It was a government agency expelled by the Imperial Court in Meiji Year 3. It’s the legitimate successor to the Onmyōdō Bureau. And—”

Golden cursed energy erupts from the boy’s cursed tool, shattering the barrier.

Its output? About 0.69 Gojo units, neither positive nor negative, a neutral cursed energy.

Grinning, the boy tosses out a parting shot.

“The Five Elements Agency is the world’s strongest independent nation, fusing onmyoji arts with Western magic.”

Snap!

A sound like a burst rings out and the boy vanishes.

---

Tsumikado Amane : “Man, I got jumped by this scary chick in the middle of the night the other day!”

Friend : “(Getting night visits from strong chicks?) Ain’t that just your usual deal?”

Tsumikado Amane : “Nah, get this, she blew up my whole room at 3 AM!”

Friend : “That’s some avant-garde flirting right there.”

Tsuchimikado Amane (siscon [tentative] )

 

All Accelerator needs to form the rest of GROUP is a female shotacon in twintails and an Aztec stalker/sorcerer.

Below are the members of GROUP.