Chapter 161
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of weapons colliding rang across the training field beneath the morning sun.
Maki attacked Kiriya in relentless waves, her spear shifting from wide, crushing sweeps to sudden thrusts aimed at the smallest opening.
In her hands, the weapon seemed almost alive, changing direction with frightening speed.
Panda and Inumaki could barely follow the exchange from the sidelines.
"Wow. It hasn’t even been that long, and Maki’s spearwork has already improved again," Panda said.
"Salmon roe."
"Too bad it still isn’t enough against him." Panda slapped his knee. "They’re both human, so how can the difference be this ridiculous?"
"Salmon."
The person they were talking about was naturally Kiriya.
No matter how fierce or experienced Maki’s attacks became, she could not land a clean hit.
With the Sharingan active, Kiriya read every shift of her shoulders, every change in her grip, and every twitch of her feet before an attack.
He drifted around her like a phantom, moving forward, backward, or suddenly above her line of sight.
Again and again, strikes that should have hit nothing but air.
Sometimes, Maki had barely begun moving before Kiriya’s sword was already touching the weakest point of her spear.
A slight push or twist would break her momentum and force her back on the defensive.
Under those red eyes, Maki felt completely exposed.
The strength and reflexes she had always taken pride in meant very little if he could see through everything before she even committed to it.
Whoosh!
After nearly fifty exchanges, Maki’s rapid movements came to an abrupt stop.
Kiriya’s blade rested only a few centimeters from her throat.
"That’s the match."
He smiled, withdrew his sword, and tossed it behind him without looking.
The blade dropped neatly into the upright sheath.
Maki sat down on the ground and breathed heavily.
Her gaze moved to the faint layer of sweat on Kiriya’s forehead, and amazement flickered in her eyes.
"Yesterday, you looked like you belonged in intensive care. Now you’re moving around as though nothing happened."
She shook her head.
"That recovery of yours is terrifying."
"It’s nothing special. I only know a tiny bit of.... healing magic."
Kiriya held his thumb and index finger almost together to emphasize how "tiny" it was.
"Sure you do."
Maki rolled her eyes.
The previous day, Kiriya had suffered severe burns, widespread muscle and tendon damage, and several broken bones.
His condition had been horrible.
Even she would have needed several days in bed after injuries like that.
Returning to full strength would have taken more than a week, even with Shoko Ieiri’s Reverse Cursed Technique.
Kiriya had slept for one night and apparently returned at full health.
Then he had proceeded to dominate her in a spar.
"Is this what having talent is like?" Maki muttered. "You can just do whatever you want?"
She was not only referring to his healing and recovery.
There were also those eyes.
How could one person possess so many different abilities?
"Well, talent does let you get away with quite a lot."
Kiriya smiled in an infuriatingly smug way.
"These eyes, for example, allow me to read an opponent’s movements, identify weaknesses, and counter them with very little effort."
Maki’s fingers tightened around her spear.
Before she could smack him with it, however, Kiriya’s tone changed.
"But talent isn’t the only reason I reached this point. Finding the right method was just as important."
"A.... method?" Maki repeated the word slowly.
A powerful impulse rose inside her.
"You mean... there’s a way to become stronger?"
"That’s right."
Kiriya leaned closer to her ear and lowered his voice.
"A way that doesn’t depend on cursed-energy talent. A path capable of turning an ordinary person into someone who can crush a special-grade curse."
"A road to overwhelming strength."
Maki’s thoughts exploded.
’Without relying on cursed energy...’
’Strong enough to defeat a special grade?’
The idea overturned everything she understood about power.
In this world, a person’s potential was almost entirely decided at birth.
Their total cursed energy and innate technique could not normally be gained through hard work.
Everything depended on what they had inherited.
If someone was born with a powerful technique and a large reserve of cursed energy, their future was practically guaranteed.
If they were unlucky and possessed neither, then they were forced to remain spectators—like ordinary people who could not even perceive curses.
Maki had been particularly unfortunate.
Her cursed energy was so weak that it was lower than that of many ordinary humans.
The only blessing hidden within that misfortune was her exceptional physical ability.
Through martial arts and cursed tools, she could still fight.
But Maki’s ambitions went far beyond merely being competent.
She wanted to grow stronger.
Stronger and stronger, until no one could look down on her again!
She would become a Grade 2 sorcerer, then Grade 1, and force every member of the Zenin clan who had mocked her to shut their mouths.
Unfortunately, ambition did not change reality.
No matter how brutally she trained or how much her strength improved, she could always feel an invisible wall ahead of her.
Her limit.
Maki hated it and desperately wanted to break through, but it was not something determination alone could overcome.
Now Kiriya was telling her that another path existed.
The hope she had buried began to stir again.
Panda and Inumaki had moved closer during the conversation, and both stared at Kiriya with open surprise.
"Something like that actually exists?" Panda asked.
"Of course." Kiriya spoke calmly. "It’s the reason I managed to survive yesterday."
Maki’s expression became more serious than ever.
"What does it cost?"
Kiriya smiled like a devil offering temptation.
"That’s something you’ll have to decide for yourself."
"..."
Maki fell silent.
"Maki..."
"Mustard leaf."
Panda and Inumaki looked at her with concern, but neither knew what to say.
They understood how deeply she desired strength. They had no right to stop her from considering the offer.
At the same time, they feared she might name some absurd price she was willing to pay.
The tense atmosphere followed them all the way through breakfast.
Then—
"Oh, there you are."
Gojo’s voice came from behind them, breaking everyone out of their thoughts.
"Morning, Gojo."
Kiriya greeted him first.
"Want something to eat?"
"I already had breakfast."
Gojo waved off the offer and got straight to the point.
"I’ve spoken with the head of the Zenin clan. We can visit today."
"Wow. You work quickly when you feel like it."
Kiriya sounded genuinely impressed.
"Haha, it wasn’t difficult. Naobito is a reasonable man when he wants to be."
Gojo smiled.
"If you’re ready, we can leave now."
"Sure."
Kiriya nodded, then looked toward Maki.
"That’s your family home, isn’t it? Do you want to come?"
"Hm?"
Maki, Panda, Inumaki, and even Gojo turned toward him in confusion.
Kiriya grinned.
"There are some decisions you can’t make until you’ve seen everything with your own eyes."
"I’m coming," Maki said immediately.
Panda and Inumaki made the same decision almost at once.
"Gojo, bringing them along won’t be a problem, right?" Kiriya asked.
"Not at all."
Gojo waved casually.
"But what happened to these three? They all look like they’ve been pondering the meaning of life!"
"They’re thinking about their futures."
Kiriya shrugged.
"Really?"
Gojo studied them for a moment before his gaze settled on Maki.
A faintly interested smile appeared on his face.
"It feels like something entertaining is about to happen."
"I have the same feeling."
Kiriya rolled his neck.
"Consider it a small thank-you gift."
"Haha. Then I’ll look forward to it."