The Zenin Clan's affairs were resolved perfectly—at least in Sōjun Minamoto's eyes.
He took what needed to be taken, returned what needed to be returned, and left without a single thread of entanglement.
He ruffled the little girl's hair, then crouched down to look into her eyes. "Listen to your sister, okay?"
The girl hung her head, clearly not in high spirits, but she didn't act out or resist.
"The puppy will stay to protect you," Sōjun added.
The two girls were bound by mutual salvation. He had given one of them the power to change her circumstances—whether they could seize that chance was up to them.
A Ten Shadows Technique user held undeniable status within the Zenin Clan—especially one who had subdued nine of the Shikigami.
Masaki Zenin, the girl, had inherited Sōjun Minamoto's Ten Shadows Technique. She could summon the tenth Shikigami if she tried, but whether it would appear was up to Mahoraga—and by extension, Sōjun Minamoto.
Even so, the technique itself held immense potential. Inheritance and fusion between Shikigami, technique expansion... even the Round Deer's external Reverse Cursed Technique alone could earn her a place in the Jujutsu world.
Moreover, her Cursed Energy aptitude was nothing to scoff at. Once Zenin Naobito learned of her, he would no doubt look out for her—for the sake of her technique, and for Sōjun Minamoto's sake. He would give her space to grow.
To suddenly wield such power—whether she chose to fall to her demons or rise above was up to her.
Having done all he needed to, Sōjun Minamoto felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He called for a servant and returned to Jujutsu High by carriage.
He made his way to the residence of Noriyuki Zenin—the identity his clone would take on from now on.
The man held considerable status at Jujutsu High, backed by clan influence. Until Masamichi Yaga officially became principal, he could still play a valuable role.
Meanwhile, in his own dorm on the far side of the campus, Sōjun Minamoto stretched.
After living somewhere long enough, it's only natural to grow attached—to the place, the bed. His dorm had become a space that gave him peace of mind.
Next up: a proper study of Mahoraga.
At his thought, a towering Shikigami leapt once again from the unknown realm into the present world.
It had become an alternate clone of Sōjun Minamoto.
This Shikigami opened the vertical eye on its forehead—a unique entity, following the likes of Fly Heads, Chōchin-obake, White Bone Tree, and Garuda.
Counting them all, beyond the standard types, he now had representations of curses, spirits, barriers, technique constructs—and now Shikigami. Without realizing it, his collection of special clones had grown into something substantial.
Each special clone existed for a reason. Sōjun Minamoto kept them all with a goal—and a plan—for what came next.
With a single knife-hand strike, laced in Black Flash, he slashed Mahoraga nearly in half.
"Ka~"
The wheel above its head trembled slightly.
Mahoraga quickly used a Reverse Cursed Technique to heal and had already begun to show some resistance to the Black Flash.
Sōjun Minamoto nodded in satisfaction. The more advanced the attack, the longer it took to analyze, the slower it was to adapt.
But that was fine. He unleashed several more Black Flash strikes, each slamming into Mahoraga. The wheel spun faster and faster, its adaptability rapidly increasing. The damage from Black Flash lessened with each hit.
At this rate, Mahoraga would eventually become fully immune to Black Flash—specifically, his Black Flash.
He still had many techniques he hadn't yet used on Mahoraga: flames, Projection Sorcery, gravitational forces, spatial techniques, sensory interference...
What he needed to do now was feed Mahoraga every one of them—broaden its adaptability, and ideally, help it develop counters.
Mahoraga would only grow more complete, more powerful.
Watching it take the hits passively, the wheel above its head buzzed with a constant "fsshh—fsshh—fsshh," like a fan on full blast.
Sōjun Minamoto kept repeating the same technique, layering it to increase adaptation speed. When it reached a certain threshold, he'd switch to a new technique and repeat the process—pushing Mahoraga's adaptability to the limit.
Meanwhile, his other self was studying the Mahoraga Dharma Wheel and recording data.
As a physical embodiment of analysis and adaptation, the Dharma Wheel was highly unique—not a cursed object, nor a Cursed Tool like the Sword of Extermination. It felt more like part of Mahoraga's body.
As he thought this, Mahoraga extended its right arm. A short sword emerged, glowing with the same positive energy as the Reverse Cursed Technique.
Sōjun Minamoto looked at the two energies—they were clearly different.
Shikigami weren't like Cursed Spirits. Their bodies were composed of Cursed Energy, meaning positive energy didn't poison them—instead, it healed them.
But they weren't human either. Their bodies weren't made of flesh and blood.
They were somewhere in between—holding traits of both. They could be healed by positive energy and regenerate like Cursed Spirits.
The Dharma Wheel had the same properties—that's what made it so special.
Positive energy didn't harm Sōjun Minamoto either.
Mahoraga removed the positive energy from the Sword of Extermination and instead infused it with Cursed Energy. It slashed down at him. Sōjun Minamoto dodged, and the two began exchanging blows.
It's adapting fast—its growth is almost visible, Sōjun noted as he continued observing.
But he also saw Mahoraga's flaw: it couldn't grow stronger on its own. It could only passively adapt to external stimuli.
In other words, Mahoraga had the potential to become the strongest—but how strong it became depended entirely on the strength of its opponents.
Which meant, ultimately, everything circled back to Sōjun Minamoto himself. He was the one who could grow without limits.
He possessed a portion of the evolution authority within Unlimited. The essence of evolution was adaptation—but it only made up a small part of his technique. There was still a gap between him and Mahoraga.
However, he did have one clear edge: Mahoraga could only adapt passively.
He could adapt actively.
In theory, as long as he strengthened Mahoraga first, and Mahoraga in turn enhanced him, the two could enter a self-reinforcing cycle—like a perpetual motion machine for growth.
If he managed to fully decipher the Mahoraga Dharma Wheel's ability to "adapt to all phenomena," and combined it with the authority of evolution, he would gain the power to "evolve in order to adapt to all phenomena."
At that point, he could rely solely on himself to progress infinitely.
Their relationship would shift—he would take the lead, and Mahoraga would become secondary, a powerful whetstone for sharpening his strength, as well as a vessel for exploring the non-physical world.
That was exactly the future Sōjun Minamoto had envisioned.
The thought alone stirred something deep in his chest. He ramped up his attacks on Mahoraga, pushing it to the brink.
Meanwhile, his other self pushed Star Eyes to maximum output, focusing on analyzing the Dharma Wheel.
Over the next few days, Sōjun Minamoto created several more clones to coordinate with Mahoraga in their attempt to form a self-sustaining loop of strength.
With the dorm no longer spacious enough for their activities, they relocated permanently to the Shrine Domain.
At first, Mahoraga was the one taking all the hits, growing stronger through sheer endurance. Sōjun Minamoto's role was simply to unleash different techniques.
Only after some time, once Mahoraga had reached a certain level, did their exchange become mutual, with a subtle yet clear feedback cycle beginning to take shape.
Sōjun Minamoto was more than pleased. Both his physical prowess and technique mastery had now entered a period of rapid growth—with no end in sight for the moment.
Of course, he also began probing into the non-physical world. But all he saw was a dense, gray mist, where time and space felt suspended. Whenever Mahoraga entered, it would quickly fall into a deep slumber.
This sleep was so deep that even its adaptive power couldn't counteract it, making progress excruciatingly slow.
But Sōjun Minamoto wasn't in a rush—he could afford to take his time.
...
Eventually, his analysis of the Mahoraga Dharma Wheel began to bear fruit.
A plain iron ring on his wrist had changed—its once dull greenish hue had become vivid, and ten pale golden bells now hung from its outer rim.
Mahoraga raised the Sword of Extermination, now brimming with Cursed Energy. In the next instant, a strand of Black Flash wrapped around the blade as it came crashing down. Sōjun Minamoto raised his arm to block. The bells rang out—
"Ding~ ding~ dang—"
A few crisp chimes echoed, with the last note lingering long.
The short sword lodged into the bone. Mahoraga pulled it free, and the wound began to close. Once fully healed, it swung again, but this time, the injury it caused was significantly less severe.
Sōjun Minamoto had developed a slight resistance to Black Flash.
Though still not as effective as the Mahoraga Dharma Wheel, that didn't matter. He just needed more time. Besides...
He glanced at his left hand, left leg, and right leg.
There were still three more of these rings.
Just as Sōjun Minamoto was completely absorbed in his routine—growing stronger, delving into the non-physical world, and refining the Mahoraga Rings—a message arrived from Suguru Geto:
"Promoted to Special Grade. Get here, now."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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