Chapter 126: Advanced Cursed Tool Applications
Early the next morning, Maki Zen'in came looking for Ren again.
"What's the meaning of this?"
Her cheeks were puffed up with indignation. She looked angry, but beneath that anger lay a tangle of far more complicated emotions.
"Why didn't you tell me there was something this valuable hidden inside it?"
As she spoke, she gently caressed the ring on the ring finger of her left hand.
Ren's eyelid twitched when he noticed the jade-inlaid silver ring wrapped around her slender, fair finger.
...How did it end up there?
He distinctly remembered putting it on the middle finger of her right hand.
Still, that wasn't the important part.
Looking up at the conflicted girl before him, he smiled sheepishly.
"I just thought..."
"...the timing wasn't right."
"What do you mean, the timing wasn't right?"
"I had a sword in one hand and a ring in the other."
He scratched his cheek with an embarrassed grin.
"It would've looked like..."
[If you don't accept this, I'll kill you.]
Maki stared at the carefree, grinning boy.
Suddenly, an overwhelming impulse welled up inside her.
She rushed forward and wrapped him tightly in her arms once again.
"I accept."
Their foreheads nearly touched.
Their lips hovered only inches apart.
Unlike the day before, she didn't kiss him immediately. Instead, she gazed into his eyes from up close, as though she wanted to engrave every detail of his face into her memory.
Her voice was soft and unwavering.
"I accept."
"...Accept what?"
Seeing his utterly clueless expression, Maki couldn't decide whether to laugh or be annoyed.
A smile slowly spread across her lips.
One arm slipped around the back of Ren's neck.
Then—
Shing!
A flash of cold steel appeared.
Something icy pressed gently against his throat, carrying with it a faint, stinging chill.
Maki stood there with the Split Soul Katana in one hand, a teasing smile on her face.
"If you don't accept..."
"...then I'll be the one who kills you."
Without waiting for a response—and paying no attention to Ren's confusion or half-hearted attempts to protest—she leaned forward.
Her cool, sweetly fragrant lips met his once again.
After another long, lingering kiss that left both of them flushed and breathless, they finally drew apart.
A shimmering thread stretched between their lips before slowly breaking.
The next moment, Maki leaned in again. She lightly ran the tip of her soft, rosy tongue across his lips, teasing away the glistening strand that still connected them, along with the lingering trace of the kiss.
Seeing her reveal such an alluring side—a side she rarely showed—Ren felt his heart race. For a fleeting moment, all he wanted was to pull her into his arms and forget everything else.
Fortunately, he still remembered why he had come.
There was another matter he had completely forgotten yesterday after Maki's surprise kiss had left him utterly distracted.
"Maki."
Placing both hands on her shoulders, he gently pushed back the girl who was about to kiss him again. Looking seriously into her flushed face, he said,
"Let's practice using cursed tools."
"...What?"
Maki blinked in surprise.
"I suddenly had a new idea about how cursed tools can be used."
"...All right."
She reluctantly suppressed the lingering desire in her heart.
Although she was a little annoyed that the boy seemed utterly incapable of recognizing the right mood, what mattered to her even more was fulfilling whatever he wished to do.
She took two steps back.
Disciplined by nature and accustomed to rigorous training, she entered a focused state almost instantly.
"What are we practicing?"
She drew the Split Soul Katana, casually twirling it through a flourish. The alluring warmth from moments ago vanished, replaced by the sharp, dignified aura of a warrior. Her cool, beautiful face radiated confidence, like a valkyrie stepping onto the battlefield.
"Do you want to test this?"
Sparring with cursed tools was something they did regularly.
As Ren had once told her,
"Among all the students at Jujutsu High, your skill with cursed tools is unmatched."
Maki had once suspected that was merely an excuse to spend more time with her on campus.
But, truthfully, she enjoyed those sessions just as much.
Ren's ability to learn bordered on the absurd. In such a short time, his weapon techniques had advanced by leaps and bounds, to the point where he was already beginning to surpass even her. Sparring against someone like that only sharpened her own skills further.
Since he had just given her the Split Soul Katana, she naturally assumed he wanted to help her become familiar with her new weapon.
In reality...
That wasn't really necessary.
She had mastered virtually every kind of cursed weapon. Although the Split Soul Katana was new, the techniques for wielding blades like it had long since become second nature to her.
Unexpectedly, Ren shook his head.
"Not the Split Soul Katana."
"...What?"
Maki stared at him, convinced she had misheard.
"Not the Split Soul Katana?"
He nodded again.
"No."
"You don't need practice with swords anymore. You're already skilled enough."
Because she possessed no cursed energy of her own, Maki had devoted herself almost entirely to physical combat and cursed tool mastery. Her proficiency with weapons was extraordinary—a talent Ren deeply admired. Through training with her, he himself had learned an incredible amount.
"...Then Playful Cloud?"
Maki asked hesitantly.
Ren smiled and interrupted her.
"Not ordinary weapon practice."
"I want you to use Playful Cloud to train something much more interesting."
"What?"
She looked puzzled.
"Using the cursed energy stored inside a cursed tool... to fight?"
After listening to his explanation, Maki couldn't help blurting it out.
"That's right."
"...Is that even possible?"
"You won't know unless you try."
"If it works, it'll be an enormous advantage for someone like you, who doesn't possess cursed energy."
"...It actually sounds pretty interesting."
Maki frowned thoughtfully.
"But I don't have an innate technique. Even if I could manipulate cursed energy... besides strengthening the weapon itself, what could I possibly do with it?"
The cursed energy inside a cursed tool already existed to reinforce the weapon.
Extracting that energy only to pour it right back into the weapon seemed utterly pointless. It would accomplish nothing except require extra effort.
Unexpectedly, Ren smiled and shook his head.
"Your understanding of jujutsu is too narrow."
"Cursed energy is the foundation of all jujutsu."
"Even without an innate technique, it has countless applications."
"As for what it can do..."
He grinned.
"Guaranteed hits."
"Fully automatic counters."
"And dramatically enhancing your own physical abilities."
"...How is that possible?"
Maki's eyes widened.
Guaranteed hits.
Automatic counterattacks.
Massive physical enhancement.
Every one of those sounded like abilities that should require a specialized cursed technique.
Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, Ren said,
"It's hard to explain with words."
He accepted Playful Cloud from her, settled into a stance, and slowly closed his eyes.
"Just watch."
"Come at me."
"As long as you can land even a single hit on me..."
"...you win."
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