Chapter 57: Testing the Remnants of Curse Masters
"Finally, I'm back!"
After bidding farewell to Aykut and their overly enthusiastic gratitude, Kamihara Hajime took a ship to Denmark and then flew directly back home from the airport.
Although foreign scenery was novel and beautiful, for Kamihara Hajime, who wasn't used to the food even in his own country, staying in these places with scarce delicacies for too long was torture. No matter how beautiful the scenery, it couldn't truly be eaten as food.
After getting off the plane, Kamihara Hajime took a taxi directly to Shibuya, where he had a good meal to make up for the hardships of the past few days. Then he went to the most famous dessert shop to buy some souvenirs. Since he would be asking Gojo-sensei for help, he might as well bring some gifts.
Tokyo Jujutsu High.
After Kamihara Hajime returned, he only saw Panda at Jujutsu High, and he had just finished a mission and was resting. He thought that it was already June, so things should indeed be getting busy.
Even Itadori and the others, who had just enrolled, had practical combat mixed into their Jujutsu High studies. After all, Gojo Satoru had arranged for them to exorcise a Cursed Spirit right after they arrived at Jujutsu High, although that Cursed Spirit was very weak.
Kamihara Hajime returned to his dorm for a good rest. The mission report had already been submitted. In fact, the news of the mission's completion had been received two days ago. All Kamihara Hajime needed to do was add specific details and provide another perspective.
After playing games in his room for over half a day, a knock sounded on Kamihara Hajime's dorm door. The person who pushed open the door was Gojo Satoru.
The latter stretched as soon as he entered, sinking into the sofa in the room. His gaze swept over the exquisitely packaged desserts on the table, and his previously somewhat lazy expression immediately brightened.
"Is this for me, Genichi?"
Kamihara Hajime was concentrating on shooting down the last enemy with a few shots. The final victory settlement popped up on the screen. Hearing the question, he took off his headphones and turned around, saying, "Ah, yes, I brought it back after getting off the plane."
"How was the mission?" Gojo Satoru wasn't wearing his Jujutsu High uniform today, but ordinary casual clothes, with sunglasses perched on his nose. Kamihara Hajime seemed to recall that his simple shirt wasn't cheap.
He lay on the sofa, tasting the dessert and asking Kamihara Hajime. The latter got up, poured a glass of water, and shrugged, "It was just so-so. That Cursed Spirit was a bit interesting. It used its Technique amplified by the climate a lot."
"And it also used Domain Expansion. This domain was specialized for survival. If I hadn't successfully used a new move that was still in conceptualization, it might have drilled into the sea and escaped."
"New move? Is it the move you were conceptualizing before, combining the forward and reverse applications of your Technique?" Gojo Satoru's interest was indeed piqued.
Kamihara Hajime smiled and nodded, "Yes, I successfully performed it for the first time in combat. And unlike Gojo-sensei's Purple, which brings pure destructive power, would Gojo-sensei like to comment?"
"Haha, you messaged me for this, didn't you? Let's go, I'm very curious too."
On the way to the dojo, Kamihara Hajime also asked his question, "Gojo-sensei, these Curses are said to be born from ordinary people's negative emotions, but why does it feel like many Curses that should have been born haven't formed?"
Gojo Satoru shielded himself from the warm sunlight overhead, "Essentially, Curses are still catalyzed by Cursed Energy born from negative emotions, and they are usually directed at a specific thing, like death or some other vague concept, which makes it not so simple for a Curse to form."
"Moreover, just having this Cursed Energy often cannot give birth to powerful Curses. Special Grade Cursed Spirits, especially, don't appear just anywhere."
Gojo Satoru then gave another example: "The clearer the negative emotions are directed, the easier it is for Curses to be born. This is also why urban legends and ghost stories don't easily give birth to Curses. The recorded hypothetical Cursed Spirits are pitifully few compared to the vast number of legends."
"In hospitals, schools, or other places, the regret, fear, and despair there all have clear, tangible objects. But people's fear of earthquakes, mudslides, and other natural disasters is much more abstract, and Cursed Spirits related to them are not so easily born."
"And often, the Curses that are born only possess a part of the attributes of those things. The Cursed Spirit you encountered this time is already very rare. It was probably born after a long period of gestation."
Entering the empty, deserted training ground, Gojo Satoru then asked, "What about your new move? How do you plan to test it?"
Kamihara Hajime began by looking at his outstretched right hand: "Gojo-sensei, as you know, the forward and reverse effects of my Technique, in my anticipation, after their collision and excluding the failure case where nothing happens, will produce a unique effect. I temporarily call the successful phenomenon from last time—Time Stop."
"Time Stop?" Gojo Satoru stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and then questioned, "I remember that when you use your Technique at full power, the surrounding scene slows down to a near-stopped state, right? What's the difference between these two?"
Kamihara Hajime's expression was a bit strange: "There is, and the difference is huge. When Time Stop occurs, everything I can observe is in a stopped state, including Cursed Energy, which also stops flowing. That Cursed Spirit's domain was broken this way."
Gojo Satoru's eyes under his sunglasses were shining brightly: "If Cursed Energy also stops, it means the effect of Techniques will also temporarily cease. A Domain Expansion, naturally, will break apart on its own after losing the support of Cursed Energy and Techniques. Instead of talking so much, let's experience it! Genichi, cover me with that move and let me feel it."
Gojo Satoru took off his sunglasses, his Six Eyes eagerly preparing to witness the upcoming scene. Kamihara Hajime originally had the same intention, so he then channeled Cursed Energy into his Inherited Technique.
The forward and reverse applications once again began to collide simultaneously. Strange Cursed Energy fluctuations began to spread outwards, but under Kamihara Hajime's careful control, this fluctuating wave quickly and suddenly disappeared.
"Uh, it failed, haha!"
Under Gojo Satoru's focused gaze, Kamihara Hajime gave an awkward laugh: "This is what I meant by a failure case. Let's try again…"
Not everyone has Gojo Satoru's Six Eyes, capable of incredibly precise Cursed Energy manipulation like him. For Kamihara Hajime to successfully combine the forward and reverse applications of his Technique was already a sign of his extraordinary talent. This was merely an initial, unpracticed attempt.
In Kamihara Hajime's subsequent attempts, with Gojo-sensei observing and guiding him, he took the opportunity to test various fusion methods, including the speed and timing of Cursed Energy transmission. It was a rare day when Gojo-sensei wasn't busy running around, so he had to seize the opportunity to thoroughly test everything.
During one serious fusion attempt, Kamihara Hajime successfully achieved Time Stop again. Gojo Satoru and everything around him, enveloped by the effect, truly became a static picture.
"One second…"
While accurately calculating the 'passage' of time in his mind, Kamihara Hajime approached Gojo Satoru. As if he had thought of something, a smile curled on his lips, and he then hoisted Gojo-sensei and placed him by the door.
Four seconds had now passed. Kamihara Hajime already felt an abnormality in his Technique. The Time Stop effect began to waver. At 4.6 seconds, it could still be sustained to beyond five seconds, but it was pointless. After throwing Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, Kamihara Hajime deactivated the Technique.
Time resumed its flow. Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, suspended in the air, dropped. Gojo Satoru by the door also regained movement. He instantly noticed his change in position and looked astonished. If Kamihara Hajime had touched him in the Time Null State, he might have been able to perceive what had happened afterwards. But now, appearing by the door, there was no trace to be found.
"That's very interesting!"
Gojo Satoru noticed Totsuka-no-Tsurugi on the ground. With a thought, he realized what Kamihara Hajime had done: "You threw Totsuka-no-Tsurugi during Time Stop, and then after it was released, it didn't continue to move?"
Kamihara Hajime nodded: "Exactly. And as soon as Totsuka-no-Tsurugi left my hand, it would also stop in mid-air. I discovered this when I tried to use a ranged attack in this situation before."
Gojo Satoru thought for a moment and then devised a simple test plan: "You activate Time Stop when these short swords are thrown, then change their direction, and try to attack me at the same time to see if my Limitless will fail."
Kamihara Hajime rubbed his head and laughed awkwardly again: "Gojo-sensei, you'll have to wait a moment. The collision of these two Techniques results in a brief disruption afterwards, preventing me from using the Technique immediately. If I end it actively early, it's very brief, but if it lasts longer, the subsequent disruption time will also be longer."
And Gojo Satoru's Six Eyes also provided the answer: the longer Kamihara Hajime's Technique fusion collision lasted, the greater the burden would be. It was not like Gojo Satoru's Purple, which causes and pursues destructive damage; after fusion, it's just unleashed. The former requires an ultimate balance, and then maintaining this impossible balance continuously.
And after such a deep entanglement ends, Kamihara Hajime's Technique needs a brief recovery. The deeper the 'depth,' the longer the recovery time. That last instance probably required... nearly a minute of rest.
After his Technique recovered, Kamihara Hajime followed Gojo Satoru's suggestion, taking five short swords from the weapon rack in the dojo. After throwing them all towards a wall, Kamihara Hajime once again froze the wheel of time.
He nudged the short swords suspended in the air, slightly changing their direction. Then, Kamihara Hajime came to Gojo-sensei's side, condensing Cursed Energy in his fingers. His fingertip grazed Gojo Satoru's right arm, and the Limitless, which repelled all harm, had disappeared!
Kamihara Hajime's fingertip broke through the stopped Cursed Energy defense on the surface of Gojo-sensei's arm. No blood flowed from the broken wound, and then the Technique was released.
"Clang, clang, clang"
The wooden swords hit various spots on the wall, even the corner and the nearby wooden rack. After time resumed, those short swords flew in the direction Kamihara Hajime had changed them to during Time Stop.
Gojo Satoru also noticed the wound on his arm. Although it was instantly healed by his Reverse Cursed Technique, in his perception, his Technique had not been deactivated. This small wound seemed to appear out of thin air, bypassing Limitless...
"The state is also stopped, Gojo-sensei."
This time, the wooden sword entered a stopped state while it was flying. After the Technique was deactivated, it retained its thrown state. Although its direction was changed by me, this state continued, so it didn't fall to the ground afterwards like things thrown during Time Stop.
Further testing was simple. Gojo Satoru brought a small animal with a certain amount of Cursed Energy and a main item: a special cursed tool that detects whether a target still has life based on Cursed Energy, even detecting special states like suspended animation.
So Kamihara Hajime took this item, and after entering Time Stop, he killed the large rat. There was not a single drop of blood escaping from the horizontally cut body. And when Kamihara Hajime used the cursed tool to examine the rat's corpse, the result was very strange: the rat was still alive!
"Does the state of 'life' also stop? Currently, it seems that the consequences only begin to unfold after the Technique is released, continuing the previous state. Even if you, Genichi, crushed that rat to dust during the stop, it would still be 'alive'..."
In subsequent tests, it was also found that Kamihara Hajime's Time Stop had a range, approximately a circle with a radius of over two hundred meters centered on him. The specific size, like the duration, could be controlled, and naturally, the larger it was, the harder it was to control.
Standing within that invisible range, only Gojo Satoru saw that miraculous scene. Reality became a paused image on a screen. That feeling truly was a miracle that could not be described with words.
"On this path, I am not alone after all. Genichi, Yuta Okkotsu... and Megumi. Individual strength is 'limited'. To reach the ideal world, one cannot rely on oneself alone. It is you who must continuously rise up..."
"The things you wanted earlier should probably arrive tomorrow. I likely won't be at Jujutsu High, so remember to receive them. This new move is very interesting, but it's not absolutely stable yet. You still need to practice and master it more."
After a day of practice and testing, Gojo Satoru left with these few words. The reason he said this was because Kamihara Hajime had experienced a third situation earlier. Fortunately, Kamihara Hajime promptly stopped the Technique's activation before the distorted, terrifying fluctuations could erupt.
In Gojo Satoru's observation, if the situation at that time had been allowed to unfold, what would have appeared would not have been Time Stop, but rather chaotic, distorted, unknown results. That's why he urged Kamihara Hajime to practice more.
The next day, Kamihara Hajime indeed received the items he had requested, contained in a medium-sized box, delivered by two men in suits. After checking the Cursed Energy seal to ensure it was intact, they officially handed it over to Kamihara Hajime.
Over the next few days, Kamihara Hajime spent his time practicing his Technique and poring over and understanding these documents. Maki and the others, who had returned after completing their mission, barely saw Kamihara Hajime's figure. This relentless training continued until a new mission was assigned.
"Eliminate the remnants of the Curse Master group formerly known as the Star Religious Group, later taken over by the Curse Master Suguru Geto."
Kamihara Hajime pondered after reading the mission information. After the Hyakki Yagyō incident, Suguru Geto was executed by Gojo-sensei, and his subordinate Curse Masters went into hiding. For a long time, there had been no news of their activities.
As for this mission, whatever was behind it, as long as they were Curse Masters who indiscriminately killed innocents, they must have been prepared to be killed by others at will. Aside from the harm caused by their numbers, the harm caused by Curse Masters of the same grade is usually greater than that of Cursed Spirits.
"I'll take this mission."
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