Chapter 121: Taming Piercing Ox
Fortunately, on his flight back from the remote island in the middle of the Pacific a few days earlier, Ren had passed quite a few uninhabited islands.
With his flawless memory, he quickly picked out one that was relatively close and led Tsumiki and Megumi straight there.
After landing, the three of them immediately began making preparations.
Tsumiki once again constructed the terrifying GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, while Ren set up a barrier around the island to prevent the explosion from being observed from the outside and causing unnecessary trouble.
Once everything was ready, Megumi formed another hand seal in the shape of a bull's head.
A gigantic crimson bull burst out from the shadows.
Throwing back its head, it let out a thunderous bellow before immediately lowering its horns and charging straight at Megumi.
At the very same moment, the GBU-57's tail fins began spinning.
Jets of blazing fire and thick smoke erupted from its rear as the massive bunker-buster launched directly toward Piercing Ox.
"This is basically a jousting match," Ren remarked leisurely from a distance, watching with his arms folded.
Before he had even finished speaking—
BOOOOOOM!
The entire island shook violently.
Towering walls of seawater rose around the island, blotting out the sky.
Gradually, the smoke dispersed.
The raging waves slowly calmed.
Megumi looked toward the center of the explosion.
Nothing remained there except a gigantic crater.
Feeling the changes within his Ten Shadows Technique, a smile of delight appeared on his face once again.
Tsumiki clapped her hands in satisfaction.
"Perfect."
"Megumi, let's keep going."
"Let's tame the next shikigami."
"Huh?"
Megumi's eyes widened.
"We're... still going?"
Taming three shikigami in a single day was already an unprecedented achievement.
He hadn't expected Tsumiki to have him continue.
But after giving it some thought, there really wasn't any reason to stop.
As long as he was still capable of taming them, then naturally he should keep going until he reached his limit.
Every additional shikigami represented another significant increase in his strength.
However...
As he gazed at Tsumiki's fair face, concern gradually appeared in his eyes.
"I'm fine," he said softly.
"But... are you really okay, Tsumiki?"
"Senior Ren told me before that your Construction Technique consumes an enormous amount of cursed energy."
"That bunker-buster weighed over thirteen tons."
"Can you really keep constructing things like that?"
Megumi only realized the implications of it now, and his expression froze in shock.
Over thirteen tons.
Construction Technique was notoriously inefficient.
Yet Tsumiki had created more than thirteen tons of material in one go just for his sake.
Was that even possible?
Given the inefficiency of the technique, shouldn't that have been impossible from the start?
Forget about doing it a second time—even the first bunker buster should have been beyond what was realistically achievable.
If Tsumiki had somehow surpassed those limits...
Then what price had she paid?
What terrible cost had she borne?
Had she... overdrawn her own life force?
The thought made Megumi's heart tighten.
What have I done?
Just to become stronger... I made Tsumiki—
His pupils shrank.
Looking at his sister, guilt and fear filled his face.
He was suddenly terrified that, in the next instant, she would cough up blood and smile weakly as she told him,
"Megumi... you have to keep living... Then your sister's efforts... won't have been in vain..."
Instead, Tsumiki looked perfectly normal.
She was breathing a little harder than usual, but there was no sign of exhaustion or that she was forcing herself to stay standing. A gentle smile still rested on her elegant face.
"It's fine," she said reassuringly.
"How can it be fine?" Megumi blurted out anxiously. "Construction Technique—"
"That's right."
Tsumiki calmly interrupted him.
"Construction Technique is indeed an extremely inefficient cursed technique."
Then she turned toward Ren.
A radiant smile bloomed across her graceful features, while her bright, watery eyes overflowed with admiration and affection.
"But thanks to Senior Ren, I've already greatly improved its efficiency."
"Improved?"
Megumi looked utterly confused.
Ren, meanwhile, simply nodded.
He had already taught Tsumiki the crucial Binding Vow that dramatically enhanced Construction Technique.
Originally, he had intended for her to spend more time refining her cursed energy control before learning it.
But circumstances had changed.
He had begun the process of becoming a Grade 1 sorcerer, which meant he would soon be undertaking joint missions with other Grade 1 sorcerers and could no longer stay by her side.
At nearly the same time, Maki had also started her own Grade 1 promotion process.
That meant Tsumiki would soon be left without anyone Ren completely trusted to look after her.
Being a jujutsu sorcerer was an extraordinarily dangerous profession.
If Tsumiki couldn't survive the challenges directly ahead of her, then there would be no point talking about her future potential.
The standard efficiency of Construction Technique was simply too poor.
If she were to run out of cursed energy during a solo mission and lose her life because he had insisted on waiting...
He knew he would never forgive himself.
After much deliberation, he had decided to teach her the Binding Vow ahead of schedule.
The only condition he gave her was simple:
Even after learning it, she must never become complacent.
She still had to continue improving the precision of her cursed energy control.
"I understand."
At the time, Tsumiki had agreed without hesitation.
After personally experiencing the Binding Vow's effects, her eyes had shone with delight.
The way she looked at him then was exactly the same as now—perhaps even more so.
Filled with amazement.
Filled with admiration.
"Senior... you're incredible."
"To think you've researched Construction Technique to such a profound level."
"Well..."
Ren scratched the corner of his eyebrow awkwardly.
Her unabashed admiration left him feeling slightly embarrassed.
"I wouldn't really call it researching Construction Technique. It's just a flexible application of Binding Vows."
"But..."
Tsumiki smiled softly.
"You must have discovered this Binding Vow long ago, right?"
"So why did you only tell me now?"
Ren was about to explain, but the girl beat him to it.
A pair of dimples appeared as her bright eyes sparkled.
"You don't have to explain, Senior."
"I already know."
"You did it because you were thinking about me."
Ren let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Talking with someone as perceptive as Tsumiki certainly made life easier.
He had genuinely been worried she might think he had been deliberately hiding the method from her.
"You wanted me to improve my cursed energy control first," she continued gently.
"That way, after making the Binding Vow, I'd gain even greater benefits."
"But..."
"Why choose to tell me now?"
"I've only been a sorcerer for a short time. I still have plenty of room to improve."
She gazed at him with warm, affectionate eyes.
"That... was also because you were thinking about me, wasn't it?"
"You won't be able to stay by my side for a while."
"You were worried I wouldn't be able to protect myself."
"So... you had no choice but to teach me the Binding Vow early."
A gentle smile spread across her face.
"So it's okay, Senior."
"I understand all of your intentions."
"Everything you've done... has been for my sake."
"So even with this Binding Vow..."
"I'll continue working toward the future you hope to see for me."
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