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The moment they stepped into the narrow alley, the atmosphere shifted. A chill crawled up Naoya's spine as thick, oppressive cursed energy flooded the space. It wasn't clear yet, but the sounds of movement echoed faintly — whatever it was, it was big.
"Naoya-sama, stand behind," barked the Zenin bodyguard, flaring his cursed energy as a faint blue glow rippled across his forearms.
"Satoru-sama, you too," the Gojo clan guard followed, eyes narrowing as his cursed energy pulsed in response.
From the shadows, distorted shapes began to emerge — long-limbed figures with mouths too wide and eyes bulging like cracked glass. The stench of rot hit them next, heavy and cloying, like old blood left to ferment.
"A nest…" muttered the Zenin guard. "There's a whole cluster here."
"Probably drawn by the crowd's negative emotions," added the Gojo guard grimly. "Someone might've died nearby… and these things came feeding."
Naoya felt a twist in his gut. It wasn't fear — not exactly — but something close to recognition. The sensation of cursed energy stirred within him again, raw and unstable, reacting to the curses' presence.
Ding~
>Encounter a Grade 3 Cursed Spirit (1 point) [Collect]
>Encounter a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit (1 point) [Collect]
'Thanks for the heads-up...' thought Naoya, Shisui already in his hand.
The Zenin guard stepped forward, noticing the cursed tool. "Stay back, Naoya-sama. I'll handle this."
"It's for self-defense, just in case. Don't worry," said Naoya, having no intention of joining the fight.
"Right," Satoru said — but his grin told a different story. He was already bouncing on his heels, eyes glimmering with excitement.
Naoya sighed. "You're going to jump in anyway, aren't you?"
"Hm? You won't?" asked Satoru.
"No."
"Why?"
"Why not?"
The two kids stared at each other, neither understanding the other's perspective.
A giant centipede-like cursed spirit grinned grotesquely at the prey before it and launched forward.
The Zenin and Gojo bodyguards sprang into action.
The Zenin guard struck the Grade 2 centipede curse with a cursed energy-enhanced blow, pushing it back — and more importantly, away from the kids.
The Gojo guard moved to handle the Grade 3 curses — five in total.
'Might get a bit tricky to hold these many back…' thought the Gojo bodyguard.
"See that, Naoya? They're outnumbered. It's at times like these that us Jujutsu sorcerers should step forward and help," said Satoru.
"I'm not an official sorcerer yet. Neither are you," replied Naoya.
"Where's your enthusiasm?"
"Six feet under."
The two stared at each other before Satoru smirked.
[Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue—]
A glowing blue orb of cursed energy began forming before them.
Before it could fully manifest, Naoya smacked Satoru, canceling the technique instantly.
"Dummy! We're in a narrow alley. Do you want to die under rubble?" scolded Naoya.
"Then help me take down the spirits."
"Why are you so insistent I join? Go ahead and do it yourself," said Naoya flatly.
"Because if I did that, I'd get scolded. But if I said Naoya jumped in first and I had to 'reluctantly' join to protect Gojo pride…" Satoru grinned.
'…Such thoughtfulness, just to avoid getting scolded,' thought Naoya, facepalming.
[Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue—]
"Alright, alright! I'll do it! Seriously, blackmailing your friend," said Naoya, trying to stop Satoru's cursed technique.
Satoru grinned mischievously. His plan worked.
"I'll take the left one. You take the right," said Satoru, already cloaked in cursed energy.
Naoya nodded, switching his technique to Projection Sorcery — the alley was too cramped for anything flashy.
Both kids launched forward simultaneously.
"Stand aside! Heroes coming through!" declared Satoru, announcing himself to the Gojo bodyguard.
The guard glanced back and saw the two boys rushing toward the curses — and sighed internally.
Naoya reached his target first and activated his technique, slowing time for himself while freezing the cursed spirit in a frame.
Appearing above the spirit before it could react, Naoya struck the suspended frame, shattering it and damaging the spirit. It screeched in rage — but before it could move again, Naoya was already beside it, Shisui glowing with cursed energy.
With a clean slash, the cursed spirit was bisected in half.
Ding~
>Defeat 1 Grade 3 Cursed Spirit (1 point) [Collect]
"No fair! You're faster here too!!" yelled Satoru, locked in close quarters with his curse since he couldn't risk using Blue in the narrow alley.
"Pass," said Naoya, rushing over.
Satoru smirked and pushed the curse toward Naoya, who froze it mid-motion and sliced it cleanly.
The two high-fived and turned toward the bodyguards.
Freed from fighting one versus five, the Gojo bodyguard subdued the remaining Grade 3 curses easily and joined the Zenin guard against the Grade 2.
"Now for that one," said Satoru, stepping forward with a smile — only for Naoya to grab him by the collar.
"No. That one's stronger."
"Not stronger than me!"
"Still no. Let them earn their keep," said Naoya.
"Eh? I wanna fight the big one too!!" whined Satoru.
"They're almost done. Let them finish," said Naoya. Indeed, the bodyguards were close to victory.
Moments later, the Grade 2 curse fell, and the two guards finally relaxed.
They glanced back at their young masters — who weren't even sweating — and sighed again.
'What's with the kids these days? Already this strong…' they thought, though both couldn't help but smile. Their clans' futures looked bright.
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Done with the exorcism, Satoru and Naoya decided to eat — ramen, of course.
After finishing his sixth challenge-sized bowl, Naoya finally sighed in satisfaction, while the owner fumed in disbelief. The "challenge bowl" cost only 100 yen, and the kid had devoured six of them.
"Where does all that food even go?" asked Satoru in disbelief.
Being who he was, Satoru had ordered one too — but barely managed a quarter before giving up. Yet his friend, roughly the same size, had destroyed six bowls without effort.
"You're not eating that, right? Gimme. Boss, he'll pay~" said Naoya, sliding Satoru's bowl toward himself.
The owner and Satoru both gawked. The kid could still eat more.
"Why am I paying?" asked Satoru, incredulous.
"You lost. I ate six; you ate half. Now pay up. Though mine didn't cost much."
Satoru sighed. Gojo ended up paying full price, while Naoya's feast had practically been free.
Ding~
>Complete 1 Food Challenge (1 point) [Collect]
Naoya dismissed the message and continued eating happily.
After settling the bill, the two parted ways and headed back to their estates.
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At the Zenin Estate — Naobito's Chamber:
"That's all that happened today, Naobito-sama," said the bodyguard, recounting the day's events.
Naobito listened quietly, eyes narrowing in thought.
His son was growing stronger — already defeating Grade 3 curses with ease. At this rate, he could probably take on Grade 2s with both his techniques, he mused.
"Maybe letting that Gojo brat take him out sometimes isn't that bad…" muttered Naobito, smirking faintly."Good. You're dismissed."
"Yes, Naobito-sama," said the guard, bowing before leaving.
Naobito looked toward Naoya's room. The light inside was still on."Now, let's make sure he keeps growing… just like this," he muttered.
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Inside Naoya's Room:
"Today was… very eventful," muttered Naoya, letting Cupcake, Frosting, and Maou out of his shadow to stretch and play.
He carefully arranged his manga on the shelf, along with the broken puck — its other half still with Satoru.
Then, he took out his prized possession from today's outing — the Dragon Balls and the Shenron figurine.
He opened the box and began assembling the dragon, placing it proudly atop the bookshelf, surrounded by the glowing orbs.
A smile tugged at his lips.
Ding~
>Collect 1★ Dragon Ball (1 point) [Collect]
Collect 2★ Dragon Ball (1 point) [Collect]
…
>Collect 7★ Dragon Ball (1 point) [Collect]
>Collect all 7 Dragon Balls (+1000 Cursed Energy) [Collect]
"...Huh?" muttered Naoya in disbelief.
'So generous!' thought Naoya after he finally processed what had just happened.
'System.'
Ding~
____________________
Name: Naoya Zenin
Title: Body Stealer, Possible Zenin Heir
Cursed Technique: Ten Shadows Technique (Active) / Projection Sorcery (Inactive)
Cursed Energy: 1800/1800
STR: 52
DEX: 38
VIT: 66
INT: 70
LUK: 25
Extra Points: 3
Achievements: More(+)
_____________________
After opening the Achievements tab, Naoya collected everything there was to claim.
His Extra Points jumped from 3 → 14.
Seeing that his timer was up, he decided to allocate the points.
____________________
Name: Naoya Zenin
Title: Body Stealer, Possible Zenin Heir
Cursed Technique: Ten Shadows Technique (Active) / Projection Sorcery (Inactive)
Cursed Energy: 2800/2800 (+1000)
STR: 55(+3)
DEX: 40(+2)
VIT: 70(+4)
INT: 70
LUK: 26(+1)
Extra Points: 4
Achievements:
_____________________
"Unexpected rewards always feel nice," muttered Naoya with a smile, wrapped up snugly between Cupcake and Frosting.
Suddenly his room's door opened and Toji stood there with a frown.
"What are you lazing around for? Hurry up, today's ass whooping lectures still remain." said Toji.
"Oh...I still had to do them today..." muttered Naoya and sighed in regret. You cannot get everything in life.