Right now, what Rin found most difficult wasn't how to control his newly awakened Innate Cursed Technique, but how to tell Geto Suguru about it.
He sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at the sky outside the window that was gradually turning a pale, fish-belly white, his brows knitting together once more.
Putting aside the fact that the Sharingan—a "bug" ability far beyond the norm—was already absurd enough, adding a brand-new Innate Cursed Technique on top of that completely shattered the Jujutsu World's fundamental rule that "Jujutsu Sorcerers usually only possess one Innate Cursed Technique."
Was he supposed to tell him he had twin Cursed Techniques? Damn, this wasn't Douluo world.
But keeping it a secret didn't make sense either; after all, he and Geto Suguru were master and apprentice, and more importantly, comrades fighting side by side. Hiding things would only create distance.
More importantly, with this Innate Cursed Technique, he wouldn't need to trouble Geto Suguru to put so much effort into building a Cursed Spirit system for him. In the future, he could treat Cursed Spirit Manipulation as a support skill, while the new Cursed Technique would be his core combat power.
But then again, how was he supposed to explain the "sudden appearance of an Innate Cursed Technique"? He couldn't just say he had been mistaken before and had mistaken the Sharingan for an Innate Cursed Technique, right?
Rin rolled his eyes at the ceiling. After pondering for a long time without finding a solution, he simply decided to put the matter out of his mind. Things would work out in the end; perhaps once he started training, he would know what to say.
He deftly put on his training gear and returned to the training ground. He started with a warm-up jog around the field, lap after lap, until he had finished ten kilometers and worked up a light sweat before finally stopping.
Checking the time, it was just in time for breakfast. Rin turned and headed toward the living room, but as soon as he stepped inside, a rich, fragrant aroma stopped him in his tracks.
Miguel was bent over, placing steaming baskets of food and flower rolls onto the table. The plump, white food had a faint pink hue, and the sesame seeds on the flower rolls glistened under the light. Just the smell was enough to make one's mouth water.
"Wow, it smells so good!" Rin walked over quickly, his eyes sparkling. "Why did you make a man-style breakfast today?"
Miguel straightened up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and jokingly complained:
"It's all Geto Suguru's doing! He specifically told me yesterday to make something that tastes like your hometown, saying you'd definitely like it. And look what happened—it forced me to crawl out of bed at four in the morning to knead dough and make food. My hands are practically sore."
Rin felt a bit embarrassed upon hearing this. He quickly moved to Miguel's side, reached up to massage his shoulders, and said in a coaxing tone, "That must have been really hard work, Mr. Miguel."
He had always been fond of this African man. Although Miguel looked rugged on the outside and even had cursed tattoos wrapped around his arms, he was actually very thoughtful. Knowing Rin loved spicy food, he would always prepare an extra small dish of chili oil when cooking, and when Rin was tired from training, he would proactively offer him chilled fruit juice.
At the Star Plasma Cult base, besides Geto Suguru, Rin was closest to Miguel.
"Oh my, when we were talking yesterday, didn't you say you wanted to'show off your skills' and let Rin taste your cooking? How did it become me exploiting you today?" Geto Suguru walked into the living room wearing wooden sandals, the hem of his black monk robe swaying gently. He smiled, pulled out a chair, sat down, and waved at Rin. "Sit down quickly. The food just came out of the steamer; they won't taste good if they get cold."
Miguel and Rin exchanged a smile, stopped bickering, and sat down to pick up their chopsticks.
Rin picked up a meat bun and took a big bite. The rich broth exploded in his mouth; the meat filling was fresh, tender, and juicy, with the faint fragrance of scallions, instantly awakening his taste buds.
He chewed while asking vaguely, "Why didn't Nanako and Mimiko come to eat?"
Miguel chuckled upon hearing this, took a sip of porridge, and said, "Not all teenagers are as capable of waking up early as you. Those two girls won't wake up until eight or nine o'clock. I've already left a basket of food and soy milk for them; they can eat as soon as they wake up."
"I see." Rin nodded and took another bite of the food, thinking to himself that it was a good thing he was in the habit of training early, otherwise he would have missed such a delicious breakfast.
Halfway through the meal, Geto Suguru suddenly raised his hand. With a slight ripple of Cursed Energy, a Cursed Spirit shaped like a weight appeared beside the table. It was about half a meter tall, entirely grayish, and its facial features were squashed together, looking rather comical.
"This is a Cursed Spirit I specifically chose for you." Geto Suguru pointed at the Cursed Spirit and explained, "Its ability is to change its own mass; it can be as heavy as an iron block or as light as cotton. Your current physical fitness is too strong, and ordinary training is already hard to improve upon. With this, it can help you with both workouts and combat."
Rin quickly put down his chopsticks, raised his hand to activate Cursed Spirit Manipulation, and subdued the Cursed Spirit. Holding the Cursed Spirit, which had turned into a black ball, he was somewhat surprised: "Such a weak Cursed Spirit actually has such a powerful ability? Being able to change mass at will is just too incredible."
"It sounds powerful, but it actually has a major flaw." Geto Suguru picked up a flower roll and said slowly:
"Although it can change its mass, its own constitution doesn't get stronger along with it. If it sets its mass too high, it could even be crushed by its own ability. That's why I hadn't paid much attention to it before, but yesterday when I thought of you, I realized this ability is very suitable for you. Your constitution is comparable to a Special Grade Cursed Spirit; you can fully withstand the pressure of mass changes."
Rin suddenly realized, quickly put the Cursed Spirit away, and said earnestly, "Thank you, Teacher." He picked up another food, and just as he was about to take a bite, he suddenly remembered the training and asked:
"So what should I train today? Should I continue familiarizing myself with Cursed Spirit Manipulation?"
"Your teacher today is not me." Before Geto Suguru could speak, Miguel put down his bowl and patted his chest. "It's me."
Rin was stunned for a moment, then smiled and teased, "Mr. Miguel, isn't your job that of a chef? How come you're also moonlighting as a training instructor?"
As soon as he said this, Geto Suguru couldn't help but chuckle, his shoulders shaking slightly.
Miguel jokingly scolded him and tapped Rin on the head:
"You brat! Do you really think I'm staying here to be your chef? I'm an executive of the Star Plasma Cult. If it weren't for Geto Suguru asking me to stay and instruct you in close-quarters combat, I would have gone out to execute missions long ago!"
"So that's how it is." Rin rubbed his head and smiled embarrassedly.
Geto Suguru put down his chopsticks and added on Miguel's behalf, "Miguel's close-quarters combat level is the strongest among us. I feel at ease having him instruct you."
Rin knew this. After all, Miguel's reputation for having the strongest elbow strike wasn't just empty talk; in the original Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, he had single-handedly held off Satoru Gojo for ten minutes, which was already incredibly impressive.
Rin's eyes lit up upon hearing this. He quickly sat up straight, his tone filled with anticipation: "Then I'll be troubling you from now on, Mr. Miguel!"
Watching his earnest expression, Miguel nodded with satisfaction. "Finish your meal first. You need to be full to have the energy to train—today's training volume won't be small."
"Then, Teacher Geto, what will you be busy with today?" Rin bit into a food and looked up at Geto Suguru across from him, while inwardly deliberating that this might be the best time to tell him about his new Cursed Technique.
Geto Suguru was using his chopsticks to pick up a piece of pickled vegetable and answered casually upon hearing this:
"I'm still helping you organize the combat system for Cursed Spirit Manipulation. Although I have six thousand Cursed Spirits in my possession, many of their abilities are either repetitive or useless to me, and I've long since forgotten the details. I have to re-screen them all and pick out the ones suitable for you. For instance, this Cursed Spirit that changes mass was dug out from a pile of Cursed Spirits. The workload is not small."
He spoke in a relaxed tone, as if talking about an ordinary matter, but Rin felt a warmth in his heart. Geto Suguru had his own things to attend to, yet he was still putting effort into Rin's Cursed Spirit system.
Rin put down the food in his hand, took a deep breath, and finally made up his mind to speak: "Teacher Geto, there's something... I'd like to tell you."