Chapter 123: Self-Awareness
"Currently, there are only three Special Grade sorcerers in the jujutsu world, and one of them is still in training.
Gojo Satoru of the Gojo family's 'Six Eyes,' the traitorous Special Grade sorcerer Geto Suguru, and the freelance Special Grade sorcerer Tsukumo Yuki. These are the only three currently ranked as Special Grade."
Hikigaya Hachiman naturally didn't include himself. It felt awkward to praise his own strength, and besides, the Sorcery Association had tried to grant him the Special Grade title years ago—he simply didn't want it.
As for Okkotsu Yuta, who possessed a Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit, his eventual promotion to Special Grade was already a foregone conclusion. Furthermore, Yuta's current situation appeared controllable; it was likely that the elders of the Association would soon grant him the title as a way to bribe this young powerhouse.
On the surface, there were at most four people who could reach Special Grade strength.
In Hachiman's eyes, the overall strength of the current jujutsu world was actually quite low. Gojo Satoru was the strongest among them, but in terms of top-tier combatants who actually did the heavy lifting, he was essentially a one-man show.
Gojo's daily life was a non-stop grind. The man slept only three hours a day; the other twenty-one hours were spent handling Association business or Tokyo Jujutsu High affairs. Usually, he wouldn't return to his room to sleep until 4:00 AM, only to report to the school again at 7:00 AM. He worked year-round without breaks and often had to travel for business. If Gojo didn't have the Reversed Cursed Technique, Hachiman truly feared he would drop dead from overwork.
And this was even with Hachiman helping out from time to time.
The root cause of this situation was a severe shortage of sorcerers. There was a deficit not just in high-end combat power, but in low-level sorcerers as well. The difficulty of awakening an "Innate Technique" was one factor, but the lack of resources for those who did awaken was another.
Jujutsu resources were essentially monopolized by the Three Great Families. Various powerful, ancient techniques were kept strictly within their own lineages and never shared with the outside world. The soil controlled by the Association did not allow for the birth of powerhouses outside the Three Families, which led to the overall strength of the Association declining with each generation. To change this, one would have to find a simpler way to awaken Innate Techniques and break the monopoly of the Three Families.
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Hearing these names, the Nine-Tailed Fox (Hagoromo Gitsune) realized they were the two brats she had encountered before.
One of them, a particularly annoying brat, had a technique that involved subduing cursed spirits to use as his own. He didn't know the heights of heaven or the depths of the earth, actually trying to absorb her.
That had truly ticked her off.
Suguru Geto had been severely infected by her lethal "Cold Poison"—a toxin so potent even Special Grade spirits couldn't withstand it—which continuously destroyed internal organs. Even if that brat was lucky enough to survive, he wouldn't do so without losing a layer of skin. Otherwise, she'd write her title as "Lord of the Frost Moon" backward.
As for Yukino's inquiries about the strong, the Fox knew exactly what the girl was looking for. She was curious about the identity of the man who had pinned her "Lord of the Moon" to the ground and given her a reality check.
'This kid is really composed' the Fox thought.
'Even though he's a top-tier powerhouse of the world, he hasn't shown even a hint of an intention to expose himself.'
"Strange, there's no mention of the man in the golden mask," Yukino muttered to herself. The names Hachiman mentioned were all strangers to her, and none fit the description of the man in her memories.
"Wait." Having been burned once, the Fox was not going to let Yukino steer the conversation freely this time. She decided to preempt Yukino's line of thought.
"Actually, I already know who that bastard who beat me up is," the Fox said internally.
"You don't need to ask him. I'll tell you directly after we get home."
From the Fox's perspective, if Yukino actually asked that question, it would be a "death flag."
That brat Hachiman wore a mask for a reason; he was clearly a reserved person. The Fox suspected that his masked appearance had never been seen by anyone left alive—because anyone who saw it died.
One only had to look at how he attacked without hesitation, disregarding the hundreds of prisoners in that curse-user prison, to know that Hikigaya Hachiman was merciless.
Therefore, the Fox believed that letting the girl ask why the masked man wasn't among the top powerhouses would turn into a life-threatening mistake. She was worried sick; that was a topic you simply didn't touch.
The reason she was okay with exposing it to Yukino now was simply because the pressure from the "Post Office" had essentially vanished.
Yukino's psychological burden had lessened, so her reaction would be more manageable.
'Tell me at home? Why can't you say it here?' Yukino felt extremely suspicious.
"Don't worry about 'beautiful girl' business," the Fox snapped. "I'll tell you when I feel like telling you."
Yukino felt helpless. She truly didn't know if letting this ancient entity have access to the internet was a good or bad thing.
The Fox knew Yukino had a strong capacity for acceptance, but if she suddenly found out that the mysterious powerhouse was her own boyfriend... the Fox didn't believe Yukino could keep a straight face.
Could her acting hold up? So, the Fox planned to wait until they were alone at night to confess.
With a night to buffer the shock, Yukino might at least avoid showing any obvious abnormalities in public.
The Fox was actually starting to look forward to seeing the girl's face when she realized her boyfriend was the very person she was so curious about.
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"I'm not sure if whoever taught you mentioned this, but I want to emphasize it," Hachiman said. Knowing Yukino had a strong sense of justice, he feared she might try to help others in special circumstances without ensuring her own safety.
"Before you do anything, please consider your own strength. If the sky falls, there are Special Grade sorcerers to hold it up."
"I know," Yukino replied. She understood that a half-baked sense of justice couldn't save anyone and would instead become a burden that dragged her down. She sighed. She had truly experienced how small she was in the face of real power; she had tasted the flavor of facing death.
Furthermore, her greatest trump card had been defeated by that masked man. Yes, even after giving it her all, she had been defeated.
Last time, she had only escaped by using the "Post Office" teleportation. If next time she was simply killed in one hit before she could teleport, it would be game over.
Seeing that she didn't argue and lapsed into silence, Hachiman knew Yukino had likely been given a "reality check" by the jujutsu world already. He wanted her to prioritize her own safety before performing acts of justice.
"Also, if you run into those people from the Zen'in family and get into a conflict, remember to use the Kamo family name. Tell them your Clan Head said so."
The people of the Zen'in family truly looked at everyone through their nostrils.
From Zen'in Maki 's experiences, he knew that family had no humanity—only strength. They worshipped power. Consequently, their descendants were even more overbearing than those of the Kamo or Gojo families.
They had little strength but massive tempers.
Dealing with such arrogant people was a headache because if you hit the young ones, the old ones came out. If you beat the old ones, they started calling for reinforcements. It was a tedious cycle. Hachiman had clashed with them before; eventually, the head of the Zen'in family, Zen'in Naobito, had the Kamo family host a dinner where the old man downed eighteen bottles of high-proof liquor before Hachiman agreed to only wipe out the specific branch that had provoked him.
Otherwise, he would have done much more than clear out a single branch.
When Megumi eventually inherited the Zen'in family, Hachiman feared the assets would have shrunk by more than half. He understood why Gojo didn't raise Megumi in that environment.
A family whose only compass was calculated profit was destined for decline. If they truly collapsed, Hachiman could only say "good riddance." He was simply warning Yukino to use his name if she clashed with those fools; his name still carried weight. The Zen'in head had likely issued a strict order: anyone who provoked the Kamo family would be dealt with by the head himself according to clan rules.
"And don't try to challenge cursed spirits above your level."
Although sorcerer rankings were set so that a Grade 4 sorcerer's passing level meant they could kill a Grade 3 spirit, and a Grade 3 could kill a Grade 2, and so on... "even if Grade 1 sorcerers can exorcise some weaker Special Grade spirits, we're still newcomers. It's better to play it safe."
Knowing your own limits was the key factor in surviving a cursed spirit attack.
"I understand," Yukino said. She knew the value of playing it safe. You only have one life; disregarding it during battle would be foolish.
"Alright, looking at the time, it's about right." Hachiman checked the clock. He estimated Mutsumi should be getting out of school soon.
"True. It looks like no one else is coming today." Yukino packed her books into her bag and stood up. She felt a small flutter of excitement she could barely suppress. Hachiman had told her the benefits of joining the Association: she would have an official status, akin to a prosecutor. This official standing gave her a sense of security.
While Yukino didn't like special privileges, this particular privilege could benefit her family. Moreover, the Association paid bounties for resolving cursed spirit incidents. Even for the weakest spirits, a successful exorcism could cover a month's rent for Yukino's apartment. The Association had plenty of money; if they didn't provide enough "grass" for the horses to eat, no sorcerer would risk their life for them. Even the lowest Grade 4 sorcerer held significant authority, including priority disposal rights during an incident that other public officials could not obstruct.
Hachiman watched Yukino lock the Service Club door and asked, "My car is parked at the back gate. I heard from you that you told your driver not to pick you up today. Yukino, do you want to wait for me at the front gate, or come with me now?"
"Let's go together."
Hachiman figured Mutsumi's school time was almost up. Just as he thought, as Soyo Nagasaki grabbed her guitar bag to head to band practice, Mutsumi Wakaba was also finishing her packing, preparing to leave.
Soyo noticed this. She passed Mutsumi's classroom and saw her "Mutsumi-chan" hurriedly packing her bag.
'Strange, shouldn't Mutsumi be in the courtyard watering her little yellow flowers right now?'
As Mutsumi walked out, Soyo called out to her. "Mutsumi, are you going to ballet class?"
"No." Mutsumi shook her head slowly. "Going out with a friend."
Since Mutsumi was dealing with jujutsu matters now, she naturally couldn't involve Soyo.
"I see. Have a fun time with your friend!" Soyo didn't notice the issue at first. It was only after walking a short distance that it hit her.
'Wait? Where did Mutsumi get a 'friend'?'
The part of Mutsumi that made Soyo's heart ache was the fact that she only had their bandmates as friends. With the band falling apart, Mutsumi shouldn't have any friends left besides Sakiko and herself.
That meant... "Sakiko!"
Soyo was stunned by her own "brilliant" deduction. Although she had been counselled, the thought of seeing Sakiko still made her heart tremble. Driven by impulse, she began to follow Mutsumi.
Mutsumi, of course, noticed Soyo's shadow.
Having awakened her cursed technique, Soyo's tracking was painfully clumsy.
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