On the way back, Toji drove while glancing at Yukio from the corner of his eye.
Yukio was sitting in the passenger seat, staring blankly out the window.
He suddenly spoke up, “By the way, why didn’t you use your ability to absorb that monk?”
“That was a special grade cursed spirit.”
“It would’ve been a huge help if you summoned it during a fight later.”
Yukio rested his head on one hand and lazily pulled his gaze back.
“I don’t like monks.”
“They’re ugly.”
Toji, “…”
That was a pretty strong reason.
Yukio continued, “Besides, that thing only reached special grade because of that cursed finger.”
“Without the finger, it’d probably just be some trash grade three.”
He paused, his expression turning more serious.
“And there’s another reason.
Yaga Masamichi was nearby.”
“I don’t want other people knowing about my ability for now.”
“At least…”
“Not before I completely leave the Zenin clan.”
After hearing that, Toji nodded, “Do whatever you want.”
“You’re grown enough now.
Handle this stuff yourself.”
Yukio suddenly turned his head and stared at Toji.
“Brother, did you already know that cursed spirit wasn’t normal?”
“And Yaga Masamichi showing up at just the right time, was that part of your plan too?”
Toji rolled his eyes.
“You’re overthinking it.”
“I just wanted to see what a first grade cursed spirit worth that much money looked like.”
He paused, feeling a little ridiculous himself.
“But it really did surprise me.”
“First time seeing an intelligent cursed spirit.”
“What’s even crazier is that it actually had money.”
It really was ridiculous.
A cursed spirit paying someone to kill itself?
First time in jujutsu history.
It was so absurd that the cursed spirit probably had some kind of binding curse forcing it to do that.
Yukio smiled, “But it’s not bad either.”
“Now that we got the money, going to Jujutsu High is settled too.”
“That finger…
should be pretty important to Jujutsu High.”
He suddenly remembered something and looked at Toji.
“Brother, you’re seriously strong.”
“Especially your combat talent.
That’s just a complete skill gap.”
“That monk didn’t even get the chance to open a domain.”
Most special grade cursed spirits could use Domain Expansion.
That monk clearly could too, but Toji never even gave it the time to use it.
At the time, Yukio had already prepared himself for a hard fight.
After all, neither of the brothers had cursed techniques.
They had no large-scale attack methods, and they didn’t even have any decent cursed tools.
That put them at a huge disadvantage.
Low floor, limited ceiling.
Being able to kill a special grade cursed spirit sounded impressive.
But if they ran into a special grade with some strange ability, they’d still be helpless.
In some people’s eyes, killing a special grade was already the limit.
But for Toji and Yukio…
Far from enough.
Yukio’s goal was to stand at the true peak of this world together with Toji.
He remembered how the monk’s attacks had landed on Toji and couldn’t help asking, “Brother, is your defense really that insane now?”
“That special grade cursed spirit’s attacks hitting you felt like scratching an itch.”
Toji thought about it, not completely sure himself.
“Maybe it’s because of Heavenly Restriction.”
“Trading away cursed energy for peak human physical strength and resistance to cursed energy.”
“And…”, He paused.
“Under the rule that humans grow stronger as cursed spirits grow stronger, we’re getting stronger too.”
“And your brother here actually trains his body, alright?” Get faster updates on g.com.
Yukio fell into thought.
‘Trading cursed energy for physical strength and cursed energy resistance…’
A bold idea suddenly appeared in his head.
‘What if there was an ability that could absorb cursed energy, then convert it into nourishment to strengthen Heavenly Restriction?’
‘Theoretically, it should work.’
‘Like turning magic into physical stats.’
‘But the problem is…’
‘Where would I find an ability like that?’
Right then, the Golden Scale Blade Yukio carried with him flashed faintly with a dark golden light inside the shadow space.
Yukio noticed nothing.
Abilities involving absorption and conversion seemed likely to exist in certain special cursed spirits.
Maybe after entering Jujutsu High later, he could find related information.
Yukio didn’t believe Heavenly Restriction really had some kind of limit.
Even if nobody had ever broken through before.
Then he’d become the first.
[A Few Days Later]
Yukio returned to campus life.
Even though he was now the most talked about person in school, with girls screaming wherever he went and boys silently looking up to him.
He was still inexperienced.
Not because he lacked chances, but because he simply didn’t want to.
His body hadn’t fully developed yet.
He didn’t want this kind of thing affecting his growth.
Current Yukio was in his first year of middle school and already 173 centimeters tall.
Combined with that cold and handsome face, he was basically a walking heartbreaker.
But he knew his own situation.
Judging from Toji’s height, he could definitely grow taller.
Over 180 centimeters for sure.
The class bell rang.
Yukio carried his school bag toward the parking lot while still thinking about whether he should train taijutsu extra tonight.
Then he froze.
A silver-haired girl was sitting on his beloved motorcycle.
Long legs crossed, posture lazy, looking at him with a half-smile.
Mei Mei.
A crowd had already gathered around, pointing and whispering.
The girls’ hearts shattered everywhere.
Was their prince charming about to get stolen away by a third year senior?
The boys’ hearts shattered too.
Their goddess actually came looking for Yukio on her own?
What pissed them off even more was why that guy had to be so handsome.
Yukio frowned and walked over.
“What are you doing?”
Mei Mei tilted her head and patted the back seat.
“Get on.”
“I’m taking you somewhere.”
Yukio pointed at himself, then at the motorcycle, full of confusion.
“This…
is my bike, right?”
Mei Mei smiled slightly, completely giving off older sister vibes.
“Don’t worry about those little details.”
The crowd instantly exploded.
This dialogue.
This atmosphere.
This direction things were going.
Yukio twitched at the corner of his mouth, but still got on the bike in the end.
Mei Mei naturally shifted backward until she was almost pressed against his back.
Screams rose one after another.
Even with Yukio’s thick skin, the tips of his ears got a little hot.
He twisted the throttle, and the motorcycle roared out of the crowd.
Following Mei Mei’s directions through several turns, they finally stopped in front of a quiet high-end cafe.
The two sat across from each other.
The atmosphere…
was strange.
Yukio broke the silence first, sounding slightly annoyed.
“I’m a sigma man.
Don’t think you can seduce me.”
Mei Mei held her coffee cup and took a graceful sip, completely unconcerned about his attitude.
“I’m about to enter Jujutsu High.”
“Before that, my family gave me a task.”
Yukio raised a brow.
“What task?”
Mei Mei raised one finger.
“Earn one hundred million yen.”
Yukio almost sprayed out his coffee.
‘One hundred million?!’
‘Making a third year middle school girl earn one hundred million?!’
He steadied his expression and waited for Mei Mei to continue.
Mei Mei put down her coffee cup, her tone calm.
“Our family businesses are spread across all kinds of industries.
Our information network is very good.”
“About your background, being from the Zenin clan but not attending the clan school, I roughly know the reason.”, She paused.
“I also know you and your brother take side jobs.”
“Even though you used fake names, you two are way too recognizable.”
“Anyone with decent information channels can find out it’s you.”
Yukio didn’t deny it.
Using fake names was just showing an attitude.
We don’t want to appear under our real names, so don’t bother us.
As for truly hiding from people who cared enough to investigate, he never expected that anyway.
“And then?”
He took a sip of coffee.
“You want me to help you?”
“You should know I’m a poor kid.”
“I don’t have money to give you.”
Mei Mei rolled her eyes.
“Stop pretending.”
“I want to work together with you.”
“There are some high-paying missions I can’t complete alone, and I can’t use my family’s power.”
She looked at Yukio, and for once, her eyes carried a trace of genuine sincerity.
“So I want to take missions together with you.”
Yukio froze for a moment.
“Then how much are you still short?”
Mei Mei raised one finger again.
“I’ve earned ten million so far.”
Yukio frowned.
“What if you don’t earn enough?”
Mei Mei’s expression dimmed for an instant, but quickly returned to normal.
“Then I’ll become abandoned by the family.”
“No resources, no connections, no support.
Nothing.”
Yukio fell silent.
Another one of those family problems.
He looked at Mei Mei, this girl who clearly wasn’t that old yet had already learned to arm herself with coldness and maturity.
“Fine.”
He suddenly spoke.
“I’ll help you.”
Mei Mei’s eyes lit up as she looked at him in surprise.
“Really?!”
“You’re such a good person!”
“You’re nothing like the rumors say, acting all arrogant and ignoring everyone!”
“So you have a gentle side too!”
Yukio felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze and looked away.
“Don’t celebrate too early.”
“I’m not sure I can help you earn one hundred million.”
But Mei Mei smiled brightly.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s enough that you agreed.”