"Perception?"
Maki looked at Eichi strangely.
Thanks to her strong physique, Maki's five senses were sharper than those of an ordinary person.
So for a moment, she could not understand what specific perception ability Eichi was referring to.
"That's right, perception ability. What you can see and feel now is very different from Toji. You haven't reached Toji's Realm yet."
"Toji's Realm…"
Maki frowned.
Unlike the original Maki, who never truly had a teacher because she wanted to become stronger without relying on others, this Maki had always had Toji's guidance.
Although Toji was completely incapable of teaching others.
But often, combat is the best way to understand a person.
Therefore, even though Maki and Toji's teaching consisted only of fighting and nothing else, it still played an important role in Maki's growth.
And in past battles, Maki always had a feeling.
That Toji was far more perceptive than she was. Toji could detect many things she could not, at the first moment.
Maki had also asked Toji about this.
Toji scratched his head, said, "You'll be able to do it eventually," and then left.
Therefore, Maki knew there was still a gap between her and Toji, but she had no idea where that gap was.
"What exactly is different about the world he sees and the world I see?"
This question had been in Maki's heart for a long time, and she did not want to miss this opportunity.
"Do you know, there were once many powerful individuals who reached the pinnacle in arts such as swordsmanship and martial arts. Even if they could not see Cursed Spirits, they could still detect the presence of Cursed Spirits through changes in their surroundings."
"They could not perceive Cursed Spirits directly, but they could master everything around them except the Cursed Spirits."
"That feeling is very peculiar, as if one can see sounds and smell sunlight."
"Within a certain range, everything about themselves and everything about their opponent can be completely captured through perception."
Eichi gave a somewhat abstract example.
In normal human understanding, sunlight is something to see and sound is something to hear.
It is similar to the Transparent World in Demon Slayer.
Once the Transparent World is activated and one enters that state, the user can clearly perceive everything around them.
As the user's perception becomes stronger, they can see through everything within their own body and everything within the opponent's body.
Those who activate the Transparent World can clearly see the expansion and contraction of the opponent's lungs, as well as the flow and movement of their blood vessels.
This allows them to understand the enemy's movements and find their weaknesses.
Although the strong individuals in this world cannot see through things after reaching a certain Realm, they can achieve similar effects.
For example, there was once a swordsman who reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
He could detect the presence of Cursed Spirits by perceiving changes in the surrounding air, and then attack the Cursed Spirits with a cursed tool."
"You should know that even the air around us has differences in temperature and density."
"Mastering everything in the surrounding environment through perception and detecting even the slightest change. That is the difference between you and Toji."
Listening to Eichi's explanation, Maki fell into deep thought.
Master everything around her through perception. Do not miss even the slightest change.
She felt like she understood something, but she was always one step away from grasping the key.
Seeing Maki lost in thought, Eichi did not disturb her.
These were things Maki would have realized by herself in the future. Eichi was simply telling her in advance.
If the Culling Game was interrupted by him and never happened, and the Kappa and the Sword Master who originally taught Maki this principle never appeared, then Sasaki could teach her.
Seeing that Maki was no longer paying attention to him, Eichi turned and walked toward Inumaki Toge.
"Inumaki-kun."
"Salmon roe?"
Toge looked at Eichi in confusion.
"I've been meaning to ask, how is your physical combat?"
Toge thought for a moment, then pointed at Maki, Panda, and the others, and shook his head.
Eichi understood his meaning.
Toge meant that his physical combat ability was weaker than Maki, Panda, and the others.
Eichi nodded.
"Have you ever considered using Cursed Speech together with physical combat?"
"Bonito flakes."
Toge pointed at his throat and then shook his head, indicating that it would not work.
Yuta once remarked on the difficulty of using the Cursed Speech Technique after copying and imitating Toge's Technique.
The effect of the Technique spreads widely, making it difficult to precisely target the desired enemy.
Moreover, Toge often suffered backlash when using Cursed Speech against powerful enemies, such as when he used Cursed Speech against Hanami during the Exchange Event.
Even when using Cursed Speech with weaker effects, the backlash from the Technique was still difficult for Toge to endure.
"Is that so? Then have you considered using a cursed tool, like this?"
Eichi pulled a handgun from his shadow.
"…Salmon roe?"
Toge expressed confusion.
Although he had already seen the cursed tool revolver from Mai.
Toge, who had always lived in his hometown, still had a mindset closer to traditional Jujutsu Sorcerers.
So he found this modern cursed tool very novel.
"Actually, I think your Technique is very powerful, but the side effects are too great.
If you change your fighting style and use Cursed Speech with fewer side effects to interfere with the enemy's movements, then shoot the enemy in the head, it would be much better."
Eichi made a shooting gesture with his hand.
"Salmon."
Toge nodded. A hint of excitement appeared in his eyes.
Most boys cannot resist firearms.
"Of course, handgun cursed tools are currently only very effective against small Cursed Spirits.
If the Cursed Spirit is larger, you can choose a sniper rifle.
Other cursed tools are also fine. I remember the Tokyo Jujutsu High warehouse has many swords, spears, and other cursed tools with decent destructive power. If you like any of them, you can submit a borrowing application."
"One more thing, lean closer."
Eichi suddenly smiled and bent down mysteriously toward Toge.
Eichi was 1.88 meters tall, similar to Suguru and slightly shorter than Satoru.
Toge was only 1.68 meters tall.
Toge tilted his head and brought his ear close to Eichi.
"If the situation is critical, you can try persuading Panda to carry you while running."
"Then you can control the Cursed Spirit with Cursed Speech, Panda can punch the Cursed Spirit into pieces, and then carry you back."
"Bonito flakes."
Toge immediately straightened up and shook his head.
Although he also wanted to ride Panda and experience it, he felt it was not very polite toward his classmate.
"This is only a combination Technique for critical moments. Panda won't refuse then."
Eichi continued persuading him.
"Salmon mayonnaise."
Toge was half convinced.
"Don't worry, Panda won't be angry."
Eichi was not lying.
Because a few years ago, after Panda grew up, he really let a little girl ride on him to comfort her when she was crying in a corner.
Eichi and Satoru saw that scene and both said they also wanted to ride Panda.
Panda firmly refused.
In the end, both of them received a loving iron fist from Masamichi.
So when it is truly necessary, Panda actually does not mind using his cute appearance to help his classmates.
(To be continued.)