Toji, Megumi, and I gathered in an empty lot owned by the Gojo clan.
Thinking back, this was really the best option.
The Gojo clan sponsored the venue.
Thanks to Satoru handling the permissions and red tape, we were able to enter the grounds without any issues.
"I didn't expect to be able to come and go from the Gojo family's private property as I please."
Toji let out a low whistle as he scanned the surroundings.
His expression was a mix of surprise and genuine novelty.
"That's the beauty of influence. Might is power, after all."
"Aren't those the same thing?"
Toji gave a short laugh and summoned his Cursed Corpse arsenal. From the creature's maw, he drew a three-section staff.
It was deep red and exceptionally long.
It was exactly as I remembered it from the source: the Special Grade Cursed Tool, Playful Cloud.
Standing beside him, Megumi watched the tool appear and slowly increased the distance between them.
The boy's nervousness was palpable.
The Ten Shadows Technique begins with two wolf-type shikigami, the Divine Dogs. From there, one must undergo the taming ritual to subdue the remaining nine.
To tame is to subjugate.
The sorcerer must defeat the shikigami using only their own power.
If anyone else interferes, the ritual is nullified, and they have to start over from scratch.
However—what if it was Toji?
In the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, anything without Cursed Energy is treated as an inanimate object...
What would happen if someone with a Heavenly Restriction like his participated? This was a famous point of contention among fans of the series.
Even I, who didn't browse communities much, had seen the theories.
Why were the physical Heavenly Restriction and the Ten Shadows Technique born into the same lineage? Why did Maki follow Toji in quick succession?
I had reached a single conclusion for that riddle.
The Heavenly Restriction was born specifically because it was necessary for the Ten Shadows taming rituals.
"The Heavenly Restriction was born because of the Ten Shadows user, and vice versa? It sounds plausible," Toji muttered while limbering up his body.
I felt relieved that he seemed to agree with the logic.
"Well, we have to test that plausible hypothesis."
"If it works, great. If not, it can't be helped?"
"Exactly. Megumi, are you ready?"
I glanced toward him, and Megumi gave a firm nod.
Cursed Energy began to swirl around him like a slow-moving mist.
Normally, one cannot see Cursed Energy without a certain level of aptitude. The same goes for Cursed Spirits.
Yet, here we were, perceiving both clearly. Was it because we had been exposed to the Mystery of Magecraft, even if the system was different?
I pushed the idle thought aside and stepped back. Standing next to me, Minamoto-no-Raiko's eyes glittered with focus.
"Alright, begin."
At my signal, Megumi immediately pressed his hands together.
His fingers formed the shape of wings.
"Nue."
By forming the shadow's sign and calling its name, the shikigami manifested.
The shadows at Megumi's feet rippled and writhed before a large avian creature burst forth.
Its head looked as if it were wearing a white mask. It was a massive bird wreathed in crackling electricity.
It was Megumi's Nue, exactly as seen in the records.
—SKREEEECH!
The Nue let out a monstrous cry and lunged at Megumi, its hostility clear—just like the ritual with Mahoraga would be later.
"Doesn't look too troublesome. Maybe because it's a lower-grade shikigami?"
Toji, who had been standing on the ground, suddenly vanished and reappeared in the air above the flying Nue.
Mid-air, he swung Playful Cloud with terrifying force.
The staff whipped around with fluid grace, slamming directly into the Nue's masked head.
BOOM!
A thunderous impact echoed as the Nue was sent spiraling toward the earth.
The sound of the strike and the sound of the massive body cratering into the ground overlapped into a single roar of destruction.
The Nue lay on the ground, twitching for a moment.
After a brief shudder, it dissolved into what looked like liquid ink and vanished into the shadows.
One hit. It was over in a single strike.
"Yaaaawn."
Toji let Playful Cloud hang loosely in his hand as he yawned, looking utterly bored despite just vaporizing a shikigami.
This was the sheer power of the physical Heavenly Restriction.
Playful Cloud was a Special Grade Cursed Tool whose power scaled linearly with the user's physical strength. The synergy between the two was nothing short of horrific.
In the original timeline, a mindless Toji had literally shredded the Special Grade Cursed Spirit Dagon with this. Now, he was even more dangerous because he possessed his full intellect.
Toji rubbed his eyes and asked, "Megumi. Does it feel like it was tamed?"
"Yeah... I think so."
Megumi stood there with his eyes wide in disbelief.
Toji and I shared a look of mutual shock.
"It actually worked?"
"I know. I didn't think it would be that simple," I replied.
"So, that theory about the correlation between the Heavenly Restriction and the Ten Shadows was true?"
"I can't say for certain... but the credibility just shot through the roof."
My heart was still pounding. It felt as though I had just peeked at one of the fundamental secrets of this world.
Regardless, we had cleared a major hurdle. I needed to hear Megumi's thoughts.
"What do you want to do, Megumi? Do you want to breeze through the rest with your father's help?"
The choice was his: take the 'Toji Bus' to the finish line, or struggle through it himself, even if it was inefficient.
As a regular citizen—mostly—I intended to respect his choice. There was no need for him to suffer unnecessarily.
My own struggles hadn't been by choice, after all. It was just a desperate scramble to survive. While taming them himself would provide quality experience, I wondered if it was truly worth the hardship.
"I'll try to do it by myself for now," Megumi answered after a short pause.
He didn't hesitate nearly as long as I expected. He wanted to rely on his own effort first.
That willpower was quite admirable.
"That's good. But I think you should definitely use Toji's help when it comes to Mahoraga."
"Yeah. I will."
Megumi nodded obediently. Mahoraga was the peak and the absolute terror of the Ten Shadows Technique. Given how its difficulty level was fundamentally broken, Toji's intervention was essential.
The established strategy was to summon Guan Yu—or a similarly powerful entity—from a distance to tie it down, but even that was a nightmare. We had to consider the risk of failure; we couldn't let Megumi die.
"Why not just let me clear the full set for you? It seems more efficient to get that out of the way so you can focus on practicing your cursed technique," Toji suggested, sounding uncharacteristically proactive.
It was nice to see his hidden affection for his son coming through, even if he played it off as being aloof.
"It's fine. I want to see how far I can go."
"Well, it's not like we're in a hurry. Do as you like. Let me know if you get stuck."
"Thanks."
The father and son shared a brief moment of affection in their typically blunt, businesslike manner.
Building up Cursed Energy, taming shikigami—it was a lot for a young child. But he wasn't just any child; he was a child learning sorcery.
Once you step into the world of Jujutsu, a normal life is forfeit. Some measure of severity is required, provided it doesn't cross the line into abuse.
"Can you try summoning it once more?" I asked.
"Okay."
At my request, Megumi summoned the Nue. It appeared and waited quietly by his side, proving that it had been successfully tamed.
"How is your Cursed Energy?"
"Um... it's drained quite a bit. Honestly, I don't think I can call out any more for a while."
"You're still young, so that's expected. I wish there was a way to train and increase your total capacity..."
"Is there a training method for that?" Toji tilted his head in curiosity.
The source of Cursed Energy is negative emotion. The more twisted one's emotional state, the more energy they can produce. However, the total capacity is largely a matter of innate talent. This is why they say 80% of a sorcerer's potential is decided at birth.
"I'm sure we can find something if we look."
"Capacity is usually set by talent, so it might be impossible... but then again, if it's the Boss, maybe he knows something."
"I'll look into it. For now, though, control is the most important factor."
"That is the most realistic approach," Toji agreed.
If you can't change the size of the tank, you reduce the fuel consumption. It was a logical conclusion.
It would be ideal if he could reduce the consumption to near zero like a certain someone... but that would be difficult.
Still, if he aimed for that goal, he would surely gain something along the way. Probably.
"Who would be the best at Cursed Energy control?"
"Gojo Satoru, obviously," Toji replied flatly, though he didn't seem particularly hopeful after saying it.
"The problem is that he's only good at it himself."
"A typical genius. If a guy like that becomes a teacher, there's nothing to be learned from him."
"You're right."
I nodded, recalling the Satoru I knew from the series. I had no defense for that; it was simply the truth. Besides, the faculty at Jujutsu High weren't exactly known for their pedagogy; it was an organization that threw first-years directly into the field.
"I'll ask around back at the apartment. We might not find a perfect answer, but it's worth a shot."
"Thanks for looking out for him."
"Don't worry about it. You're looking after our kids too, so this is the least I can do. I'm counting on you for the future as well."
"Yeah."
Toji nodded stoically. Megumi also stepped closer and bowed, asking for my continued guidance.
By late afternoon, the Zenin twins, Maki and Mai, were preparing to head out.
It was their first day of training. Maki looked incredibly tense as she prepared to step out.
"Maki, don't overthink it. If you need any help, just say the word. Okay?"
I smiled at her, and Maki's cheeks turned bright red.
"Yeah, I got it."
"Good. Mai, be careful on the road, okay?"
"Yes, Oppa," Mai nodded shyly.
She was still bashful, but she seemed much more comfortable now.
I let out a sigh as I watched the sisters leave. Should I have bought them cell phones?
'Is the timing right for it?'
As time went on, children were getting phones at younger and younger ages. It moved from high school to middle school, then elementary school, and even kindergarteners.
'Let's put it on hold for now.'
I decided against it as they didn't seem to have a pressing need yet. I'd get them one when they entered middle school. At that point, I'd increase their allowance too.
I also needed to teach them how to manage that allowance properly. That way, when they eventually received the large sums of money being set aside for them now, they'd be less likely to blow it all immediately.
Economic sense should be taught from a young age. Since it was something I felt I missed out on, I definitely wanted to pass that education on to them.
"Master. If you are that worried, shall we attach a Mystic Code to them? That way, we can detect any danger and provide field defense instantly."
Koyanskaya of Darkness—my Foreigner—slid into the seat next to me with a subtle grin.
That actually sounded like a great idea.
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