Toji looked at the retreating Naoya in silence.
After the kid was gone, he clicked his tongue in annoyance.
'Hope of the Zenin clan, they say…..'
A flash of anger passed through his eyes.
'How would those farts react if I just kill him?'
The answer was all too obvious to him.
'Tsk, they wouldn't give a shit….'
He was all too familiar with the disgusting, venomous nature of the Zenin clan.
Even if Naoya were to die, most people would only be happy, not sad.
Remembering how the brat was smiling brightly while trying to greet him made him shake his head.
'Doesn't look like he will survive for long here… heh, not that it matters to me.'
Turning around, he started walking away.
He had come here just to see the future hope of the Zenin clan. Now that he had seen him, there was no reason for him to stay here any longer.
Arriving back in his room, Naoya quickly closed the door and wiped away the sweat from his forehead.
'Holy shit! I feel like I almost died.'
The pressure emitted by Toji was simply too great. It was several times more than the combined pressure he felt when he was sitting inside the Zenin meeting hall.
'Idiots! Fucking retards! How can you piss your own clan member off so much! Especially when he's so strong!'
Internally cursing at the incompetence of the Zenin clan, Naoya released a breath, sat down, and started circulating cursed energy.
It seemed convincing Toji with words was too hard for now. He would have to wait until he softened up after finding his wife.
So now, focus on training! Increase your strength! So that if everything goes sideways and he ends up fighting Toji, he will come out victorious!
"Come, Phantom! Let's train!"
"Yes, master!"
Phantom appeared beside him and also started training.
----
Next day.
Inside the training ground, Naoya waved his spear under the guidance of his father.
His cursed energy reinforcement became faster and more efficient. He was even starting to reinforce his weapon with cursed energy.
*Bam*
Of course, he was still an amateur and would get beaten up by Naobito almost every single time.
When they sat down to take a break, Naobito suddenly asked him,
"I heard you met Toji yesterday. What happened?"
Naoya frowned for a moment before replying.
"He told me to scram or he'd kill me."
"Hm, that is very much like him…."
Naobito held his chin and lowered his eyes as if deep in thought.
"He's incredibly strong," Naoya said.
"Oh? How did you know?" Naobito asked while tilting his head.
"I felt pressure from him… much stronger than anything you or the clan elders have displayed."
"Hm, you have good instincts… unlike most Zenin," Naobito muttered in a calm tone, then stared silently at the sky.
After their rest was over, they started training again.
"Your progress speed is decent. You just need to keep practising to improve, so let me teach you something else as well."
"Okay."
"Here, pay attention. This could be one of the most useful techniques you will master."
Naobito took a stance and started moving his cursed energy.
Then, under Naoya's eyes, a faint blue outline seemed to surround his body.
He recognized this move.
'Falling Blossom Emotion.'
It was used by Naobito against Dagon and then by Gojo against Sukuna.
This was an anti-domain technique, which worked as a self-defense move as well.
To put it simply, while using Flying Blossom Emotion, the user is shrouded in cursed energy that counter-attacks the moment a hit makes contact. The cursed energy defends the user automatically, countering cursed attacks with equal force to nullify them.
It pushed the cursed energy inside the user outwards, meaning while using it, you cannot reinforce your body with cursed energy. At the same time, it doesn't counter physical attacks.
In short, it's really only good against domains which have a sure-hit attack advantage.
"You need to push your cursed energy outwards instead of reinforcing yourself…."
Naoya followed his guidance and started manipulating his cursed energy.
But even after trying several times, he couldn't do it.
"From now on, practise this move as well," Naobito said in a calm tone.
He believed that with Naoya's genius, it was only a matter of time before he understood how to use it.
And he wasn't wrong.
Because the very next day, Naoya was able to use it.
Although he was just a beginner, as long as he kept practising, he would become an expert in no time.
Slowly, a week passed by.
During this week, Naoya focused solely on training. His cursed energy efficiency, his body reinforcement became better, and he also gained some proficiency in the anti-domain technique.
In the morning, he trained all day, and at night, he summoned Phantom, who would start his own training.
Using the experience he received from Phantom made his training even faster than before.
And now, he felt it was time to take the next step.
Standing in the training ground, Naoya made a hand sign and started a ritual.
He was going to control his next shikigami.
As the ritual took place, a large owl-like creature with orange feathers and a white, mask-like skull suddenly appeared before him.
*Cry*
The shikigami opened its mouth and let out a strange cry while flapping its wings.
But before it could move, a wooden spear reinforced with cursed energy suddenly pierced through its head, making it stop and go limp.
Naoya waved his spear and killed the shikigami, not giving it time to do anything else.
'It's best to kill them as soon as possible.'
Having successfully completed the ritual, he felt a connection with the new shikigami.
It was called Nue, and it had the ability to take flight as well as fire lightning attacks at his enemies.
Pretty decent.
'Then next.'
Naoya moved his hands and made another gesture, starting another ritual.
He was going to master a few of them in one go.
After some time,
He managed to tame two more shikigami.
They were the Toad and Rabbit Escape.
'If I fight using Projection Sorcery, I should be able to tame another one….'
Phantom had been diligently practising Projection Sorcery, due to which he was now able to use up to 9 out of the 24 frames.
Though he was unable to use it openly due to being under the Zenin clan's surveillance.
'This technique is very powerful, especially in the hands of someone with a good weapon like the Inverted Spear of Heaven. It can pretty much kill 99% of sorcerers, given that they don't know its effects.'
Naoya in the series was really an idiot, not using a weapon and instead beating his enemies with his bare hands.
If he had a cursed tool, with a little more practice, he could probably subdue all the shikigami inside the Ten Shadows Technique except for Mahoraga.
The more he thought about it, the better it seemed.
'No! I must get a cursed weapon from that cheap old man!'
He really felt he could speed up his progress of subduing the shikigami this way.
"You want a cursed spirit tool?" Naobito asked in confusion.
"Yes, it will help me master the Ten Shadows Technique faster…," Naoya explained his plan while leaving out the use of Projection Sorcery.
"But would it not be considered outside interference and null the ritual?"
"Maybe, but what's the problem in trying? If it doesn't work then so be it, but if it works then…."
"Hm, alright. I will get you one."
"Get me a spear."
'Inverted Spear of Heaven, please!!'
"A spear?…hm okay wait here."
----
After some time.
"Here you go," Naobito said while handing a plain-looking spear to Naoya.
"Oh, thank you…," Naoya took the spear with visible disappointment on his face.
'Sigh, it's not the Inverted Spear of Heaven….'
"What? You don't want it? Then give it back!" Naobito said as he raised his hand to take the spear back.
But before he could grab it, Naoya pushed it inside his shadow inventory.
"Your things are my things, and my things are, of course, my things, father!"
"That doesn't sound right. Where did you learn it from?"
"I made it up myself."
"Hmph, you brat are always coming up with some weird things. If you have so much free time, then put it into training, understand…."
"Sure, why don't you teach me some new technique like you did before?"
"New technique? Go and master what I have taught you first. It's not good to just keep learning new things," Naobito said while shaking his head.
"Alright then, I will head back…."
Knowing he wouldn't be getting anything new from this petty old man, Naoya left the place and headed back to his room.
After closing the doors, he summoned Phantom.
"I'm here, master."
"You pretend to be me. I'm going out."
"….. Are you sure, master? It could be dangerous."
"Yes. If anything happens, I can substitute with you, so it will be alright."
"I understand."
The reason he didn't send Phantom in his place was because, compared to him, Phantom was weak in both technique and cursed energy reserves.
Phantom was more like a normal person, and while he was a genius, the speed of their progress was not the same.
Slipping inside the shadow, Naoya silently exited the room without the guards noticing.
Since he knew the layout of the whole place, it wasn't hard for him to quickly leave the Zenin family estate.
After he was unable to hold his breath any longer, he came out of the shadow and summoned Nue to fly away.
Entering a remote area, he quickly got to work and started a ritual.
A giant pink elephant suddenly appeared before him with its trunk raised.
Then, without any warning, it fired a high-speed beam of water.
Using Projection Sorcery, Naoya easily dodged the attack and attacked the elephant several times in a row.
*Roar*
Ignoring its loud roar, he again activated the cursed technique, leaving afterimages in his wake as the cursed spear in his hand moved at a crazy speed.
Due to the elephant's size, the battle lasted for some time before ending.
Naoya stood on the ground, breathing roughly. The battle really tested his stamina.
At the same time, he felt a connection with the new shikigami, Max Elephant.
'This settles it. Cursed weapons can be used when subduing the shikigami….'
While he was battling, he also improved his Projection Sorcery. Now he was able to use 11 frames instead of 9.
'For the next one….'
Naoya thought for a moment before summoning all of his contracted shikigami.
Divine Dogs, Nue, Toad, Max Elephant, and Rabbit Escape.
"Get ready to attack as soon as the shikigami shows up, alright?"
All of them nodded like good little puppies.
After getting them in position, Naoya again made a sign and started the ritual.
This time, his target was the Great Serpent.
And unsurprisingly, he managed to subdue it pretty quickly.
The Toad shikigami held it down while the others attacked it at the same time, not to mention Naoya, who suddenly appeared beside it and froze it in place.
As the shikigami died, Naoya felt another new connection was established.
Now only four shikigami remained.
Round Deer, Piercing Ox, Tiger Funeral, and Mahoraga.
Ignoring the obviously impossible one for now, the others were nothing to scoff at either, except for Round Deer, which mainly acted as a healer.
After thinking for a moment, he started the ritual again.
This time, a towering deer appeared in its place, appearing serene and a little holy.
His summoned shikigami were prepared and launched attacks at the same time, just like before.
And the towering deer, not being an attack-type, was quickly overwhelmed by all the moves.
Still, because of its Reverse Cursed Technique, it was a lot harder to take down, making Naoya almost empty his cursed energy reserves.
Fortunately, the towering deer went down before that happened.
Having made a connection with the shikigami, Naoya thought for a moment, then shook his head.
With his current strength he might not be able to beat the other shikigami, who were mainly power-oriented.
He would need to increase his strength again before trying.
As he was thinking of returning, the summoned shikigami suddenly came up to him and started affectionately rubbing their heads against him.
Naoya was taken aback by their sudden actions, but feeling their affection, he smiled and started patting the shikigami like pets.
"Good job, everyone. Thank you for your help."