The air on the training ground seemed to freeze, filled with a silence of anticipation for new power.
Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru focused their gazes on Mukyoku Nagi, waiting for him to attempt the domain theoretically belonging to the extreme of "Fast"—named "No Resistance."
Nagi closed his eyes, sinking all his mind into his body.
Completely different from the feeling of forcefully intervening with external kinetic energy requiring extremely precise calculation when executing "Nagi," what he needed to do now was to explore inward, searching for the sensation of reducing "resistance" infinitely until it returned to void.
The essence of "Technique Reversal: Fast" (Shun) is reducing resistance.
Then its Maximum Technique should be pushing this ability to reduce to the absolute—zeroing out resistance.
His Cursed Energy began to circulate in a strange way, no longer expanding outward to form a cancellation field, but converging inward, wrapping around himself, and attempting to influence all "resistance" rules within an extremely small range around his body.
This was much harder than imagined. Resistance was omnipresent—existing between objects, in the air, and even within energy flows.
Zeroing it out meant confronting one of the basic physical laws of the entire world.
Vermilion pupils glowed faintly under his eyelids. The powerful auxiliary ability of the "Vermilion Eyes" operated at full capacity now, not for calculating complex kinetic energy vectors, but to assist him in perceiving and manipulating that microscopic, omnipresent "resistance."
The curse formed by his mother's twisted love granted him perception and control beyond ordinary people according to his needs.
Time passed bit by bit. Fine beads of sweat seeped from Nagi's forehead; this process consumed enormous mental effort.
Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru waited patiently without urging. They both understood how difficult it was to explore a brand-new Maximum Technique.
Suddenly, the air around Nagi seemed to have an extremely subtle, imperceptible ripple.
A strange sense of "smoothness" emanated with him as the center.
"Maximum Technique —"
He opened his eyes abruptly, a light of realization flickering in his vermilion pupils.
He slowly raised his right hand.
"Zetsu (Absolute)."
He whispered the name, voice light but carrying decisive certainty.
No light, no sound, nor powerful Cursed Energy fluctuations.
But Gojo Satoru's Six Eyes and Geto Suguru's keen perception instantly captured the anomaly!
On the surface of Nagi's raised right palm, and in the extremely thin layer of space wrapping the palm, all "friction," "viscosity"—all forms of resistance seemed thoroughly erased by an absolute power!
That place turned into a domain of absolute "smoothness"!
"Success?"
Geto Suguru asked in shock and uncertainty; he had never felt such an eerie state.
"Wow! This feeling... so peculiar!"
Gojo Satoru's Six Eyes stared dead at Nagi's palm, as if looking at some rare treasure. "Not energy protection, nor strength enhancement... the 'nature' changed! I actually can't see the details there clearly; all perception probing over just 'slips' away!"
To test the effect, Nagi moved his mind, maintaining the effect of "Zetsu" on his palm, then picked up a small stone with rough edges produced from previous destruction by the training ground side.
He gently placed the stone on that palm flickering with the invisible "absolute smoothness" effect.
The next moment, an astonishing scene occurred!
That stone actually couldn't stay on his palm!
It couldn't even generate a shred of static friction. Like being placed on an ideal plane forever at absolute zero friction, it instantly slid down naturally following gravity and fell to the ground.
The whole process was incredibly smooth, without any stumbling.
"Pfft..."
Gojo Satoru couldn't help laughing out loud. "What is this? A magic show? Can't even hold a stone?"
But soon, his smile receded, eyes becoming serious, seemingly discovering something. "No... this effect is..."
Geto Suguru also realized something, his expression changing slightly.
He immediately waved his hand, summoning a Cursed Spirit "Needle Bee," extremely fast and petite like a dagger, commanding it to shoot at Nagi's palm applied with "Zetsu" at high speed!
*Whoosh!*
"Needle Bee" shot over!
However, the instant its sting was about to touch the skin of Nagi's palm, a change occurred again!
That Cursed Spirit seemed to hit an invisible, absolutely smooth barrier where no force could be applied. Its attack angle was deflected tremendously!
Like a tire skidding at high speed, its originally precise piercing trajectory went out of control instantly, "sliding" obliquely past the edge of Nagi's palm. Because its own speed was too fast and it suddenly lost the expected resistance, it almost lost balance and rolled away! It couldn't perform an effective attack at all!
"What?!" Geto Suguru exclaimed.
He clearly felt that it wasn't Nagi's palm becoming hard, but his Cursed Spirit simply couldn't establish an effective leverage point in that area!
All attacks would be led astray and slide away by that "absolute smoothness" nature!
"Not just physical contact!"
Gojo Satoru's Six Eyes saw more thoroughly, tone carrying excitement. "Even energy flow would be severely affected in that area! Resistance drops drastically, difficult to maintain stable energy form! Suguru, try a ranged Cursed Energy wave!"
Geto Suguru nodded, personally condensing a mass of compressed Cursed Energy, shooting it at Nagi's palm like a cannonball.
Sure enough.
After entering the influence range of "Zetsu," the structure of that Cursed Energy mass actually began to become unstable. The surface energy fluctuations seemed "smoothed," and the trajectory underwent an imperceptible deflection. The power dropped obviously. Although it finally hit Nagi's palm and exploded, most energy seemed to be vented and slid away along that "smooth" surface, causing shock far below expectation!
"Incredible..."
Geto Suguru murmured. "This is simply top-tier defense enhancement! No, not entirely defense; it makes all attacks unable to effectively 'act' upon it!"
Nagi felt the Cursed Energy consumption and mental burden.
Maintaining the "Zetsu" domain, especially when resisting external energy impacts, also consumed significantly. However, unlike the instant massive output of "Nagi," "Zetsu" was more like a continuous state maintenance altering rules.
Mind moving again, he tried spreading the effect of "Zetsu" from his palm to his entire forearm, even attempting to attach it to his feet.
When he covered his soles with "Zetsu," he immediately felt standing became extremely difficult!
The static friction provided by the ground almost vanished. He had to control muscle balance with extreme care to avoid slipping.
But simultaneously, with just an extremely slight push off the ground, he obtained starting speed far exceeding usual! Because there was almost no friction loss under his feet!
"Not just defense..."
Light in Nagi's eyes grew brighter. "Used for movement and surprise attacks... effect will be stronger!"
He released "Zetsu" from his feet; he couldn't proficiently use this movement method yet.
He tried briefly endowing a picked-up small metal piece with the effect of "Zetsu," then threw it.
The metal piece endowed with the "absolute smoothness" attribute experienced a plummet in air resistance during flight!
The flight trajectory became unusually straight and stable, speed decay also much slower, like the warhead of a supersonic aircraft!
"Wow! Can play like this too?"
Gojo Satoru was dazzled. "Enchanting weapons? Reducing air resistance? This idea is not bad!"
Nagi experimented continuously, applying "Zetsu" to different body parts or small objects.
"Vermilion Eyes" assisted him in finely controlling range and target. He discovered this technique relied heavily on the user's skill and imagination.
Used well, it was a divine skill integrating offense, defense, and strong support; used poorly, one might not even stand steadily.
Finally, he released the technique, panting slightly, face carrying a trace of fatigue but more excitement and contemplation.
"'Zetsu'... Domain of No Resistance."
He summarized in a low voice. "Effect very strong, but requires extremely high control skill. And, it seems unable to expand large-range like 'Nagi,' more suitable for local application and target attachment."
"Already very perverted!"
Gojo Satoru walked over, patting his shoulder hard (carefully avoiding areas potentially still effective), face carrying exaggerated exclamation. "Seriously, Nagi, what are you made of? Hmm?"
He circled Nagi, scanning up and down with Six Eyes, tone becoming somewhat complex: "Only been a few months? Less than half a year at most?"
Geto Suguru also walked over, nodding in agreement, smile carrying a trace of helplessness and marvel: "Yeah. Incredible thinking about it. Not only thoroughly mastered 'Maximum Technique: Nagi' comparable to Domain Amplification overnight, now even found the way to the theoretically completely opposite 'Maximum Technique: Zetsu'... This is the ultimate secret of techniques countless Jujutsu Sorcerers can't touch in a lifetime. Moreover..."
He paused, gaze falling on Nagi's vermilion eyes. "...from the start, you mastered 'Reverse Cursed Technique' which even Satoru hasn't learned yet. This growth speed can no longer be described as 'genius,' simply..."
"Is a monster!"
Gojo Satoru chimed in, tone half-teasing half-serious. He elbowed Geto Suguru beside him. "Suguru, feel it? Huge pressure! Going on like this, is our title of 'Strongest' not going to be kept soon? Feel like if we don't cultivate hard, really going to be left far behind by the rookie!"
Geto Suguru smiled bitterly, rubbing his glabella: "Indeed. Compared to you, feels like our cultivation these years was like... hmm, slightly slacking off."
Though saying so, no jealousy in his eyes, rather more relief and an aroused fighting spirit. "Looks like can't just focus on collecting Cursed Spirits in the future, must put more effort into deep technique development too."
Listening to this Strongest Duo's half-true half-fake complaints and exclamations, Nagi didn't know how to respond for a moment.
He didn't feel he was that special, just exploring power following instinct and need. The "curse" left by his mother and that approaching crisis sense were the biggest driving forces pushing him forward constantly.
"I just... need power." He finally said simply.
Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru looked at each other, both understanding the meaning in his words.
The Kamo family mystery, the behind-the-scenes mastermind—all hung over this youth's head like the Sword of Damocles.
"Don't worry!"
Gojo Satoru hooked Nagi's neck, returning to that cynical look. "Before you fully grow to crush everything, the title of Strongest will be carried by me and Suguru for you first! But seriously,"
He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "That move 'Zetsu'... can let me use it first next time? Feel like invincible for pranks!"
Geto Suguru face-palmed speechlessly: "Satoru..."
The cheerful atmosphere temporarily diluted the previous heaviness.
However, just as the three focused on experimenting and discussing, none noticed that deep in the shadow of a tall tree at the training ground edge, the air produced an extremely faint, unnatural distortion.
A miniature Cursed Spirit about fingernail size, shaped like an inconspicuous beetle, lurked quietly there. It emitted almost no Cursed Energy fluctuation, yet its compound eye structure clearly reflected the scene in the training ground, especially every detail when Mukyoku Nagi executed "Nagi" and "Zetsu."
This Cursed Spirit's eye structure was special, seeming capable of transmitting seen images to extremely far places in real-time.
...
An extremely distant hidden location from Tokyo Jujutsu High.
In a dim Japanese room, only a few candles flickered, reflecting a huge, twisted family crest projection on the wall.
A figure knelt in the shadow, face blurry, only jaw line and a trace of faint, cold arc at the mouth corner visible.
In the air before him, an illusory screen made of weak Cursed Energy was playing the training ground scene in real-time!
The image was transmitted through that miniature Cursed Spirit's eyes.
Seeing Mukyoku Nagi precisely cancel Gojo Satoru's "Blue" and easily neutralize Geto Suguru's various Cursed Spirit offensives, the person in the shadow let out an extremely light inhaling sound like a viper flicking its tongue.
When seeing Nagi execute "Maximum Technique: Zetsu," displaying that eerie "No Resistance" characteristic, the blurry figure's breathing seemed to stagnate for an instant.
"...Extreme of 'Stop,' Domain of 'No Resistance'..."
His low, hoarse voice echoed in the silent room. This time, under that fanaticism, there was a trace more of cold weighing and apprehension. "...In just a few months, from an ordinary person knowing nothing of Jujutsu, leaping to become a Special Grade combat power touching technique ultimate secrets..."
On screen, Gojo Satoru was laughing while hooking Nagi's shoulder saying something; Geto Suguru also smiled aside.
The person in the shadow swept a cold gaze over Gojo Satoru and Mukyoku Nagi's figures.
"...Six Eyes... now another pair of Vermilion Eyes... truly hindrance..."
Voice filled with apprehension and disgust. "...Must speed up... original plan needs adjustment. Must remove this upgraded obstacle first, or at least... make him temporarily unable to pose a threat."
His thoughts ran fast.
"His power core originates from that 'Curse of Love'—'Vermilion Eyes.' Perhaps... start from here?"
Kenjaku pondered. "Any curse has its root and weakness. That strong 'guardian' obsession, can it also become a breakthrough to twist his mind?"
"Or... utilize his psychology of investigating the Kamo family backstage person to set a trap? He is full of doubts about his background and persecution reason; this is curiosity and weakness usable."
"Or... lure the tiger from the mountain? Create an emergency requiring Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru to leave High simultaneously, then take action on the lone Mukyoku Nagi? Though strong, his awakening is short; combat experience and means dealing with conspiracies surely far inferior to those two seasoned guys."
Vicious plans generated, deduced, optimized in his brain. He needed to choose a plan with highest success rate, smallest cost, and wouldn't expose his existence prematurely.
"Zenin family..."
Kenjaku's mouth corner hooked a cold, malice-filled smile. "...How did I forget this ready-made 'knife'."
He recalled intelligence collected before.
At the Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event, that idiot called Zenin Ryuichi, because of publicly insulting Mukyoku Nagi's dead mother, was heavily injured by the enraged Nagi on the spot. Reportedly still lying in family recuperating, losing face completely, becoming a not-so-small laughingstock inside Zenin family.
"Ancient Big Three Families... don't they value that ridiculous face and so-called 'bloodline pride' most?"
Kenjaku chuckled low, as if seeing the plan success scene. "A branch family (or neglected heir) beaten into a cripple publicly by an 'origin unknown,' 'non-Jujutsu family background' kid—this shame, how can those old fogies in Zenin family swallow easily?"
Especially current Zenin head Zenin Naobito, that old fox, though seemingly open-minded, valued family reputation in his bones no less weak.
And that Zenin Naoya, extremely arrogant, believing "non-sorcerers are not human," was an excellent object to utilize. His paranoia about bloodline and strength could easily be incited.
"Don't need my personal move at all, not even excessive forged clues."
Kenjaku's finger tapped the ground lightly. "I just need to... cleverly 'remind' the Zenin family that the kid who heavily injured their disciple and trampled their face not only has no remorse but becomes more arrogant under Gojo Satoru's protection, strength advancing by leaps and bounds, even mastering powerful force threatening Zenin status..."
He could push secretly, making Zenin family think Mukyoku Nagi's existence itself was a challenge to Big Three authority.
Let those arrogance-blinded Zenin sorcerers, especially young and aggressive Naoya eager to prove himself, actively find trouble with Mukyoku Nagi.
"Best... make conflict escalate."
Calculating light flickered in Kenjaku's eyes. "Let Zenin family use some 'unconventional' means, force out more of Mukyoku Nagi's trump cards, even... if both sides suffer, that's best."
Regardless of result, extremely beneficial to him.
If Zenin family successfully heavily injured or killed Mukyoku Nagi, one biggest obstacle on his road to seizing Geto Suguru's body gone.
If Mukyoku Nagi heavily injured Zenin people again, his feud with Zenin would be completely unresolvable, possibly attracting crazier Zenin counterattack, forcing Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru to divert massive energy to cope, creating larger activity space for him.
Either side damaged was what he delighted to see.
"Perfect 'knife'..."
Kenjaku almost cheered for his clever plan. "Let you arrogant idiots go test the edge of that 'No Resistance Domain' first."
He needed to choose a suitable intermediary, a role capable of spreading news and igniting anger in Zenin family silently without burning himself.
"Need more hidden observer... at same time, more precise messenger."
Kenjaku's gaze became deep. "In Jujutsu world, always some frustrated 'carrier pigeons' eager to cling to power and pass news."
He rose slowly; shadows flowed, covering his figure.
Mukyoku Nagi's rapid growth, like a huge stone thrown into calm lake, not only aroused companions' marvel and fighting spirit but thoroughly disrupted mastermind's century layout, forcing these covetous eyes hidden in darkness to reveal sharper fangs prematurely.
He slowly raised a hand, dry finger swiping lightly in air.
At training ground edge, that miniature Cursed Spirit silently merged into deeper shadow, as if never existed.
Illusory screen extinguished; room returned to dimness, only candle crackle and that increasingly dense, shuddering plotting aura in shadow remained.
On High training ground, excitement of successful test hadn't faded.
Nagi looked at his hands, feeling power flowing in body and two distinct extreme domains, heart full of expectation for future and deeper curiosity about own power.
Gojo Satoru was still excitedly planning how to develop various "pranking" usages of "Zetsu."
Geto Suguru pondered how to coordinate tactics with Nagi's new ability.
They didn't know yet, a pair of eyes hidden in deepest darkness had firmly locked onto them, especially onto that power on Mukyoku Nagi originating from taboo love and unknown bloodline, enough to subvert the pattern.
Under brief calm, undercurrents already accelerated surging.