The dawn silence in the Zen'in residence was broken not by birds, but by the whispers that drifted like poisonous fog through the hallways and gardens. Servants spoke in low voices. Young clan members whispered in the corridors, nervous, curious, a mixture of admiration and fear. The news had already spread like wildfire: Naoya Zen'in had developed a technique inspired by time manipulation, and Naobito, the clan leader, had tasked him with hunting a special-rank cursed spirit before he turned 18.
Perspective: Servant Yae (35 years old)
Yae, one of the oldest maids, had worked for the clan for over fifteen years. She had watched Naoya grow from that spoiled and violent child to the young man who now walked with the sharp steps of a predator. As she cleaned the halls of the east wing, her mind couldn't stop replaying the scene from the previous night.
"I saw it," she murmured to another maid. "I saw Naoya-sama vanish and appear behind a cursed man in the blink of an eye. It wasn't Shinsoku. It was... something else."
"A new cursed technique?"
"Yes," Yae nodded, clutching the rag in her hands. "A jump. A damned time jump."
The other maid gulped.
"And what did the leader say?"
"Naobito-sama watched... as if evaluating an incomplete work of art. Then he gave her a test: she must hunt a special-rank spirit before she turns 18."
"And if she fails?"
"Then he was never worthy."
Yae said no more. But deep within her soul, she felt a queasy, a queasy unease. Not out of fear of Naoya, but out of the certainty that something, something irreversible, had already begun.
Perspective: Jin Zen'in (19 years old)
Jin, a young man from the clan who had been trained since childhood to follow in the footsteps of the enforcers, was hitting the training bag hard. He didn't say it out loud, but what he felt was... envy.
"That bastard," he muttered under his breath. "How the hell did he do it?"
His friend, Reiji (17), heard him from the other side of the tatami.
"Are you talking about Naoya-sama?"
Jin snorted.
"Who else? Did you see the report? He moved outside the flow of time for 1.5 seconds. It's like he paused the world and walked outside of it."
"But it wasn't a domain expansion."
"No. A standalone cursed technique. Can you imagine combining that with a domain expansion?"
Reiji gulped.
"Naoya-sama could be... the weapon we need against the Gojo Clan."
Jin looked at him seriously.
"Or he could become worse than Gojo. Worse than Touji."
Reiji hesitated. The words were dangerous within the clan, but many thought them. What if the monster they were nurturing turned out not to be a shield... but an uncontrolled sword?
Perspective: Naoya Zen'in
Naoya walked through the inner garden, his hands in his pockets. His face was calm, almost bored, but his mind was a whirlwind of sharp thoughts.
"So the old man gave me a test. A special spirit before I turn 18..."
It didn't bother him. It excited him.
"That means they don't have the courage to stop me. Not yet."
He remembered the faces of the elders when they saw his technique. The panic disguised as rationality. The murmurs of the servants, the forced respect of the young. And the figure of Naobito, watching from the shadows before intervening.
"A hunt..." he muttered with a crooked smile. "They're giving me permission to unleash myself. How generous."
"Right now, only Gojo, Sukuna, and Toji could kill me. No one else. And Toji... tsk. That man must have been one of us. A true Zen'in. No restrictions, no chains."
He didn't say that out loud. He just thought it, with the same intensity as a knife hidden up one's sleeve.
"Do you think this will put me in my place? You don't understand. This test isn't to prove I'm strong. It's to see if you need me more than you fear me."
He passed a group of young men training. They all stopped reflexively. One bowed. Another lowered his gaze. No one spoke to him.
Naoya smiled.
"Keep training," he said, his voice thick with arrogance. "Maybe that way you won't die when the time comes."
And he kept walking. He knew they were watching him. He knew they hated him. And he loved it.
Perspective: Private Meeting Between Young People
Later that night, in one of the lower rooms, several young people gathered secretly.
"Did you see him today?" a girl asked. "He doesn't even bother to hide his contempt."
"I saw him, yes," Reiji said seriously. "And I also saw what he can do. He can appear behind you before you blink."
"Do you think the test will slow him down?"
"No. It will make him stronger."
"And if he fails?"
Jin spoke for the first time.
"Then it will be the end of him."
"And if he wins?"
Jin was slow to respond.
"Then... it will be the beginning of ours."