The forest was too peaceful for what it was meant to be.
Morning light filtered through the canopy in thin, pale lines, catching on drifting dust and the faint mist that clung to the ground. Somewhere deeper in the trees, birds called to one another, blissfully unaware that the area had been cordoned off specifically for violence.
I stood at the edge of the clearing with Tomogui at my side, arms folded as one of the elders finished explaining the day's exercise.
Together with us were the other four who managed to rank within the top six for the tournament.
"Today's training will be practical," he said, hands tucked into the sleeves of his robes. "You will be split into pairs and sent to eliminate cursed spirits that have been gathered within this forest. Treat this as a real exorcism."
I let my gaze drift across the others gathered in front of the elder. The highest-ranked participants from the internal tournament. The ones deemed worthy of personal instruction.
"Judging by what they showed during the tournament, their max potential was limited to the lower end of Grade 1."
Even standing still, they looked unimpressive.
Not their posture, skills, or demeanor. None of that was lacking; if anything, they were more collected and ready to fight than me. The problem was their tiny reserves, their horrendous efficiency, and their cursed technique. Blood manipulation was heavily limited by human physiology.
Tomogui shifted beside me. "This test seems straightforward," he murmured.
"Unfortunately," I replied.
The elder continued. "The pairs have already been decided. You will rotate through the forest in turns. When one team completes its task, the next will be sent out. I will be watching over the team, exorcizing a curse."
I already knew where this was going.
Three pairs. Two other teams. Which meant we would have to wait.
I resisted the urge to sigh.
Weaklings
The first pair was sent out almost immediately. They were Tenken and Ren Kamo.
We were instructed to remain near the clearing and observe from a distance as the elders monitored their capabilities.
So I watched.
The two advanced cautiously, cursed tools drawn; they were skilled. They danced around the cursed spirit and chopped into it, when the cursed spirit suddenly grew a few limbs back, they seemed surprised, but kept their composure.
'What a waste of time. All that skill would be useless against someone overwhelmingly faster, or stronger.'
'Disappointing'
The elders nodded in mild approval, seemingly impressed by this performance.
"Acceptable performance," one muttered, making notes on a clipboard.
I stared at the dissipating remnants of the curse and felt nothing but irritation.
'Even though I knew the three clans were weak in the grand scheme of things, this is disappointing.'
The second pair went next. It was Hibiki and Daichi. I fought Daichi, and while he wasn't anything impressive to me, he definitely had grade 1 potential.
When they fought, it was actually impressive. Despite never fighting before, they linked up pretty well. Hibiki was even using Flowing Red Scale to amp his physical stats.
Although it was significantly inferior to what I could achieve through reinforcement alone, it did remind me that I haven't figured out any unique applications to my cursed technique.
Tomogui watched quietly beside me, expression neutral.
"They're not terrible," he said after a while.
"That's the problem," I replied. "They're supposed to be the best."
He didn't argue.
He rarely did.
But I could feel his attention drifting, the familiar undercurrent of frustration he never voiced out loud.
Even when he landed the black flash, it was out of insecurity/ disgust at falling behind me. More importantly, the fact that Chiral Manipulation, the cursed technique we used, would never work as fluidly for him.
By the time the second pair finished, nearly an hour had passed.
I leaned against a tree, eyes half-lidded as an elder called us forward at last.
"Futago. Tomogui. You're next."
Finally.
We stepped forward together.
As we passed the others, I caught snippets of conversation—quiet relief, tired laughter, shaky confidence. They looked proud of their performances.
That annoyed me more than their failures.
Tomogui lowered his voice. "You're in a bad mood."
"Observant," I muttered.
He hesitated, then asked, "Do you really think it's that bad?"
I considered the question.
"They're not useless," I admitted. "But they are frogs in a well, most of them believe that grade 1's are untouchable."
Tomogui glanced at the forest ahead.
"…Maybe we just see things differently."
Into the Forest
An elder led us to the perimeter and gestured deeper into the trees.
"Grade 2 manifestation reported in this sector. Eliminate it and return. Simple enough."
Simple indeed.
The moment we were out of sight, the tension I'd been holding onto eased.
No more watching. No more waiting.
Just work.
We moved through the forest in practiced silence, senses stretched outward. Tracking curses had long since become second nature. Disturbances in the air, subtle shifts in cursed energy density—signs that others would miss stood out clearly to us.
"There," Tomogui said quietly after a few minutes.
I felt it too.
Something ugly is lurking ahead.
A twisted presence crouched between two massive trees, its body a mess of warped flesh and jagged bone. A Grade 2, just as promised.
"Stay cautious," I said.
Tomogui nodded.
Effortless
The curse shrieked the moment it noticed us, lunging with wild, uncoordinated aggression.
I sidestepped quickly, reinforcing my arm and punching the side of the curse's arm. The moment my fist made contact with its arm, the cursed arm burst.
Tomogui circled to its flank, moving in perfect sync.
No wasted words. Our mental link helped in these types of team fights.
*Is it really Jujutsu Kaisen if we don't jump people?* Tomogui remarked through our link
Immediately after those words registered in my head, Tomogui's punch landed on the cursed head, splattering it into blood stains
Immediately after Tomogui massacred the curse, something changed.
It happened without warning.
A sudden spike.
Tomogui froze mid-movement.
His cursed energy flared erratically, twisting into a pattern I had never felt from him before.
"Tomogui?" I called.
For a moment, everything went quiet.
Then Tomogui looked down at his own hands, eyes wide.
*…I think,* he muttered through are link internally, *I manifested my technique*
My heart pounded.
*You just manifested your technique!* I responded, full of joy.
Tomogui having his own cursed technique meant he didn't have to rely on Chiral Manipulation, which he was limited in using. Moreover, I would get access to his own cursed technique using the unique link between our souls.
It wasn't a guess.
I could feel it.
The shape of his cursed energy had changed completely.
Quiet Realization
After my shock at Tomogui's technique manifestation. I turned to look at the curse we just exorcised, and noticed there was some weird golden core with 2 orange strips that emerged from the curse's disappearing corpse.
*Hey Tomogui, the memories relating to your cursed technique haven't come to me yet. Does the golden core on that curse's degrading corpse have to do with it*
*Yes, from what I can tell, it's a core aspect of the technique, Cursed Evolution.* He responded while approaching the core and taking it into his pocket.
*Shouldn't you be more discreet? If the elders see, they will ask questions* I asked
*Other than people with the cursed technique Cursed Evolution, no one can see this core. Except Satoru Gojo, maybe*
When we returned, the elder seemed very happy at our performance.
"Amazing, wiping out a grade 2 cursed spirit with such ease at your age? You two will definitely be Special Grades when you undergo your Grading Evaluation, in 3 years," The elder stated.
Reminding me that sorcerers with high potential/connections to the three great clans are evaluated at 12. Although I heard that we are evaluated at that age, I don't know what the evaluation process is like.
"Thank you," I said.
He seemed a lot happier than before. 'Did he actually expect us to struggle with a grade 2 curse?'
He nodded, marking something down.
Daichi didn't seem that surprised by our capabilities to wipe a grade 2 curse that easily, but the others were different, though. They didn't seem to believe that someone almost half their age was that much stronger than them.
*Once we get home, we can use the cursed technique on this golden core and see what it results in*