Ryosuke was already closing in on her before she even finished speaking, his fist shooting straight toward her, aiming for her stomach this time. Yuki, anticipating his move, slipped nimbly to the side, pivoting with almost feline grace. She countered instantly with a quick punch, and this time, she caught Ryosuke square in the ribs.
The blow caught him off guard. He staggered back, sharp pain radiating from the point of impact.
He hadn't expected his aunt to still be able to hit that hard, especially with the amount of cursed energy he had released. He frowned, trying to understand how she had managed it.
Yuki, meanwhile, kept smiling, her eyes glinting with mischief.
"But there's a problem," she continued, straightening up. "Even though you've managed to release a massive amount of cursed energy to coat yourself in it, you still lack experience."
She took a step toward him, her gaze as piercing as ever. "You're still leaving vulnerable spots uncovered. If you were facing a more experienced sorcerer, they could easily exploit those openings."
Ryosuke frowned, glancing down at his own body. He could feel the cursed energy flowing around him, forming a protective barrier, but he realized now that it wasn't uniform. His energy wasn't covering his body completely, leaving certain spots—subtle but still exposed—unprotected.
He clenched his fists, a fresh wave of excitement surging through him.
"Then I'll just have to get better," he murmured to himself.
Yuki watched her nephew, smiling faintly.
"And also," she went on, "that means if you can coat your entire body in cursed energy without leaving a single gap, you'll truly be untouchable in close combat."
She paused, letting her words hang in the air, weighing each one. Ryosuke, still holding a defensive stance, frowned slightly, wondering what was coming next.
"However, close combat is just one part of the whole," she continued, taking another step forward. "It's important, sure—it'll save you in many situations. But… it's not everything."
She slowly raised her hand. A denser wave of cursed energy filled the air between them. Suddenly, a strange creature appeared, coiling around her arm like an extension of her body. The bone-white serpent slid smoothly along her arm.
"I didn't properly introduce him last time," Yuki murmured. "This is Garuda—my familiar, but also part of my technique."
Ryosuke narrowed his eyes. This was technically the second time he'd seen the creature, but he already knew what it was.
"She's going to use her technique."
Yuki went on, "You see, techniques… they're what finalize everything. They're what make the difference."
She let a moment of silence pass before continuing.
"Techniques are a bit like firearms. Even a ten-year-old child, without any martial arts training, could take down a master with a gun—provided, of course, they know how to use it."
Yuki glanced down at Garuda, her expression sharpening.
"It's the same for jujutsu. Even a novice sorcerer, with a strong enough technique, can overthrow the most seasoned fighter. No matter how much cursed energy someone has, if the technique is powerful enough, it can destroy everything."
Then she shot Ryosuke a pointed look. Before he could react, she suddenly thrust her arm forward. Garuda, still coiled in a ball, was launched into the air at blinding speed. The creature shot forward like an arrow, its bony form spinning with eerie grace, heading straight for Ryosuke.
"Dodge!" she barked, her sharp voice shattering the quiet of the clearing.
But Ryosuke chose not to dodge. He decided to face the attack head-on.
His aunt didn't know it, but he was fully aware of her technique.
"She's assigned virtual mass to the familiar."
In a single burst, he released all the cursed energy he could at once. The air around him rippled under the pressure.
"Let's see who's tougher—you, my dear Garuda, or my shield."
Then came the impact.
The collision was brutal.
The moment Garuda struck him, it was as if a massive explosion had gone off. The shockwave hurled him backward with devastating force, sending him crashing through several trees. The thick trunks splintered under the blow, and Ryosuke was violently thrown to the ground, rolling several meters before finally skidding to a halt on his back.
For a few seconds, everything around him was a blur. The sky above seemed to spin, and his breath was caught in his chest, as though his lungs refused to work. Pain throbbed through every part of his body, but his mind, despite the impact, was strangely clear.
"How much mass did she put into it?"
Meanwhile, Garuda swiftly returned to Yuki, curling back around her arm. Yuki stared at the spot where Ryosuke had crashed, a flicker of concern crossing her face.
"I told you to dodge…" she murmured to herself.
She sighed, shaking her head, but her smile returned quickly. It had only been about an hour since she began sparring with him, but she knew her nephew wouldn't be taken down so easily.
The truth was, she had given Garuda nearly 10,000 tons of mass. It sounded insane, but considering the absurd layer of cursed energy coating Ryosuke, it made sense. Based on his first energy release, she had estimated that 10,000 tons would exceed his defense. And just in case she had overestimated, Garuda had been ordered to halt his attack if necessary.
"Garuda carried the attack through to the end. That means…"
Ryosuke had held out.
And just as she expected, he was soon back on his feet.
From behind the trees, Ryosuke emerged slowly, rubbing his aching forehead, his shirt torn from the impact, his arms streaked with dirt.
But despite it all, an amused smile played on his lips.
"Alright, I get what you mean now, Auntie."
Yuki nodded in satisfaction.
"My technique—what I call Star Rage—is what's known as an innate technique. It's been with me since my awakening, like a part of my very being. I don't even need complex incantations or equations to activate it. Star Rage lets me add virtual mass not only to myself but also to my shikigami."
She gently stroked the bony serpent coiled around her arm.
"Isn't it a bit risky to tell me so much about your technique, Auntie?"
Yuki laughed.
"You're my nephew, Ryosuke! I'm not going to be that paranoid. Besides, there's a little-known rule in the world of jujutsu. It's called the Binding Vow Rule." She locked eyes with him. "When you choose to reveal your technique to your opponent, you willingly put yourself at a disadvantage. But in exchange, your technique becomes much stronger against them."
A moment of silence passed between them.
Ryosuke nodded, a faint smile curling his lips. "In that case… I'll reveal my technique to you too, Auntie."
---
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