Clap, clap, clap.
Watching his two henchmen get beaten to a pulp, Naoya was not angry. He actually applauded from the side.
"Very good. You do have the right not to put him in your eyes."
Naoya looked at Eichi with open admiration.
"Hm?"
Eichi scratched his head, a little puzzled.
I did not put you in my eyes either, so why did you filter that out?
The next moment, Naoya reached a hand out to him.
"Pledge your loyalty to me, Eichi. When I become the Zen'in Family Head, you will be the leader of Hei."
Looking at Naoya's arrogant and entitled expression, Eichi finally understood his thought process.
"You treat yourself like a young lord and think everyone should revolve around you."
Facing the mockery, Naoya's expression did not change.
"The strong are entitled to everything, not to mention you and I both share the Zen'in surname."
Naoya spread his arms as if to embrace the world.
"I see. Zen'in, huh."
"Ah, because you are also a Zen'in."
Because he was a strong Zen'in, he felt his arrogance was justified and Eichi's mockery was tolerable.
Those who are not Zen'in are not Jujutsu Sorcerers, those who are not Jujutsu Sorcerers are not human.
Eichi once again felt the Zen'in Family's distorted feudal ideology.
"Although your proposal is good."
"Oh, do you have other conditions? Tell me..."
"However, I refuse."
"Huh?"
The unexpected refusal cut off what Naoya had been about to say.
A look of astonishment appeared on his face.
He could not comprehend it.
Born into the Zen'in Family, a genius from birth, and heir to the Family Head's powerful Technique.
The word "refusal" had never appeared in Naoya's life.
No, it had appeared once before.
A figure like an ancient vicious beast surfaced in his mind.
Those who are not Jujutsu Sorcerers are not human.
This was a truth Naoya had known since childhood.
If so, then Toji, who had no Cursed Energy and could not become a sorcerer due to his Heavenly Restriction, should be weak and pathetic, right?
But the moment Naoya saw Toji, his worldview was shaken.
What he saw was not a weak, pathetic Toji.
It was a slumbering vicious beast.
The instant he saw Toji, he understood one thing.
This was an existence he could not contend with.
That was the first time his worldview was impacted.
And now, it was about to be impacted a second time.
"It seems I need to make you understand your place first."
A cold sneer curled Naoya's lips.
In martial arts, speed is paramount.
Although Naoya did not know that saying, his less than ten-year career as a sorcerer could be summarized by it.
"Just you?"
Eichi's provocation completely ignited Naoya's rage.
Eichi did not care.
He had already applied Mahoraga's enhancements to himself.
A surge of Cursed Energy poured into Eichi's eyes, and the prickling sensation made him squint.
This made Naoya think he had found an opening.
Projection Sorcery activated.
Naoya charged at Eichi at incredible speed.
He wanted to defeat Eichi with the fastest speed and the most irresistible force.
He wanted Eichi to recognize his place.
However, Naoya did not know that his movements were being completely tracked by Eichi's eyes.
The first step covered less than a meter, then each step extended as he rushed straight in.
Eichi simply shifted a few meters to the side and easily dodged.
Naoya's Technique was Projection Sorcery.
Its ability was to divide one second into 24 equal parts, and Naoya had to pre-design movements for each of those 24 frames.
Then he had to execute those 24 movements.
If he struck an enemy during this process, the enemy would have to move within 1/24 of a second.
If they failed to move within that 1/24 second, they would be frozen by the Technique and suffer one second of paralysis.
Conversely, Naoya's pre-designed 24 movements had to be completed. If even one movement was interrupted, he too would fall into a one-second paralysis.
Information about Naoya's Technique was not a secret.
When Naobito first appeared, Gege gave him a very high power ranking, placing him at the ceiling of Grade 1 sorcerers.
Later, after the battle with Sukuna, the title of "strongest Grade 1 sorcerer" was officially given to Kusakabe.
It is unclear whether that was because Kusakabe had always hidden his true strength.
Eichi had long prepared for Naoya and Naobito's Techniques.
He had consulted Toji about it.
The answer he received was, "As long as you are fast enough, you do not need to be afraid."
Eichi asked how fast that meant.
Unsure how to describe it, Toji directly demonstrated.
During that demonstration, Mahoraga used Toji's attacks and speed to provide a suitable solution for Eichi.
First, enhance dynamic vision to track high-speed movement.
Then, stimulate the entire body with lightning to temporarily increase speed.
From one of Naoya's attacks, Eichi gauged Naoya's speed level.
Next, he only needed to endure one attack to let Mahoraga adapt.
"I say, can you only dodge?"
Naoya's words made Eichi's thoughts pause for a moment.
Your attack failed, so should you not realize you lack the advantage, analyze the situation, and find a way to make your attack effective?
Why do you think me dodging means I am afraid to face you head-on?
Do you really think Projection Sorcery is that strong?
Forget it, adapting to Techniques can wait. For now, I will just beat him up.
Eichi grinned, his knuckles cracking.
That smile sent a chill down Ranta and Futo's spines.
It looked delighted, and a little insane.
Naoya was indifferent, because he believed he would win.
The victory of the Zen'in Family's young lord was destined.
Naoya cast Projection Sorcery.
Lightning flickered around Eichi's body.
They charged at each other.
The next moment, Naoya stopped.
Literally, completely stopped.
Eichi, wrapped in lightning, moved far faster than Naoya had imagined.
Projection Sorcery was only halfway executed when Eichi rushed up to him.
Naoya's preset sequence could not continue.
He suffered a one-second stun from his Technique's backlash.
In that instant, Naoya seemed like a flat pane of glass with his portrait painted on it.
Like a film producer, he could only watch helplessly as Eichi's fist flew toward his face.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)