someone asked.
"Of course she goes to Toge."
"Huh?" Panda froze, and both Toge and Maki Zenin looked confused.
Among the observers, Satoru Gojo reacted fastest. "I see. Because of Cursed Energy, differences in size and physical ability don't matter much. Toge doesn't lack Cursed Energy."
"That's right," Akira nodded. "'Cursed Speech' is very strong, but its flaws are just as obvious. My evaluation is that it's a Jujutsu that forces head on clashes. Against weak enemies it's convenient, just one shout. But against someone stronger, the backlash is much heavier, right?"
"Salmon," Toge replied, meaning yes.
After that, he made a running motion. Panda helped explain, "Toge runs very fast. It's for evasion and repositioning when he's at a disadvantage."
"Very good, but still not enough." Akira repeated his earlier evaluation, which was also the biggest problem of first year students. "In my view, this is a huge waste. You have such a convenient technique that you don't need to run at all."
He continued, "Take the situation where you chased Maki Zenin just now. If you were close enough, you could hit me hard during the instant I was frozen."
Toge's eyes changed. Maki Zenin and Panda also straightened their expressions. They had clearly realized something important.
"Did you notice it?" Akira said. "Toge can completely become a close combat killer."
In high intensity, high frequency close combat, any pause that should not exist was fatal. Even a single forced stop could decide the outcome.
Maki Zenin thought for a moment and said, "But Toge's Jujutsu is very hard to use. Cursed Energy spread, target selection, and technique precision all take huge amounts of practice. People like us who focus on close combat can't do that."
"Then specialize in one part, or borrow tools," Akira replied. "Jujutsu Sorcerer are still human. There's no reason not to use human advantages. If it's just fighting people, guns and grenades are actually the best single soldier weapons. One pause, one shot to the head."
"You're pretty evil," Satoru Gojo laughed happily. "But I like it."
Akira also smiled. "Only dead enemies are good enemies."
Maki Zenin and Panda unconsciously took a step away. The atmosphere given off by a teacher and an assistant together felt too dark and frightening. They both wondered if they might one day get sold out by them.
After briefly showing an adult level of Optimization Method, Akira returned to normal. "But considering the special nature of Cursed Spirit, it's better to choose materials that can conduct and store Cursed Energy, or directly use cursed tools."
Cursed tools were items imbued with curses, similar to Cursed Corpse. They could not act on their own, but they carried Cursed Energy and could damage Cursed Spirit.
"That's easy," Satoru Gojo decided. "Maki Zenin, take Toge to pick cursed tools this afternoon. Choose ones that are easy to use and carry, with priority on long range."
Cursed tools, like Cursed Corpse, were rare items. But as one of only two Jujutsu Sorcerer training institutions in all of Japan, the school still had some in storage.
"The same theory applies to Panda," Akira added. "Even if you don't need weapons, you can carry smoke bombs, flashbangs, or concussion grenades. Some people say relying on external tools isn't real strength, but cultivation is one thing and combat is another. I said it from the start, we are weak people, and pursuing victory alone already takes everything we have. Style and grace can wait until you become strong."
"Understood," Panda said, standing straight and bowing respectfully.
"Finally," Akira continued.
"Me?" Maki Zenin asked, already aware.
"You have the most problems, both hardware and software," he said calmly. "Your advantage is physical ability far beyond ordinary people, even beyond what normal Cursed Energy reinforcement can reach. Your disadvantage, if I'm not mistaken, is that you don't have Cursed Energy, right?"
"That's right," Maki Zenin admitted readily, pushing up the glasses on her nose. "Without it, I can't even see a Cursed Spirit."
She, Maki Zenin, was not a Jujutsu Sorcerer at all.
Maki Zenin was born into the Zenin Clan of the Three Great Clans, yet her situation was even worse than Noritsuna Kamo in his past. Noritsuna Kamo lived well until the age of eight, while Maki Zenin had never known a single good day since she could remember. Being unable to see Cursed Spirit directly sentenced her Jujutsu Sorcerer career to failure from the start.
Worse still, the Zenin Clan was the most extreme among the Three Great Clans in worshiping Jujutsu. It was easy to imagine what kind of Benefits Maki Zenin received in such an environment. Compared to the two figures from the Zenin Clan that Akira used as benchmarks, Maki Zenin was one of them.
By the traditions of the Zenin Clan, Maki Zenin should have been crushed under this pressure until death. Yet she refused to submit. Who said that without Cursed Energy, without Jujutsu, and without seeing Cursed Spirit, one could not become a Jujutsu Sorcerer?
She insisted on becoming one anyway, and if she lacked Cursed Energy, she would make up for it with Cursed Tools. If the Zenin Clan would not accept her, she would leave and prove herself on a larger stage. Her ultimate goal was to become the head of the Zenin Clan and change its rotten ways, forcing everyone to look at her again and vent the resentment she had carried.
That kind of resolve made even Akira feel inferior. It was inefficient, looked foolish, and had nothing to do with being the best or most optimal. Yet throughout history, anyone who achieved great things always carried a bit of this kind of foolish stubbornness.
"You chose the hardest road," Akira said with emotion.
"No. At least it is better than giving up without trying."
Maki Zenin casually tossed aside the long shaft that Akira had interrupted, snapping off the front and throwing it straight at him as a projectile. Akira caught it smoothly and dispersed the force with a practiced motion. He then spoke while gripping the remaining half.
"Then you should understand that you need more effort than others and far less room for error. First of all, do not use toys like this anymore." He twisted his hands and snapped the remaining wooden shaft cleanly in two.
A long-handled blade itself was not the problem, since longer reach meant greater advantage. A wooden shaft was also not wrong, as it controlled weight well and balanced hardness with flexibility, living up to the title of Thief of a Hundred Weapons. However, that logic only applied to ordinary people and not to a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
Skilled Jujutsu Sorcerer could produce physical output measured in tons. Ordinary materials simply could not endure the load brought by high-intensity Cursed Energy. The weapon would fail before its user did.
"I understand. The master who taught me martial skills was not a Jujutsu Sorcerer, so I did not consider this," Maki Zenin said as she nodded. Being easily defeated by Akira was not because her level was low, but because her weapon was too fragile.
"Is there anything else?"
"Yes, and quite a lot."