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Ding~
>Defeat a Special Grade Sorcerer (1 point) [Collect]
Seeing the notification, Naoya simply collected the point.
After the brawl between the Special Grades was over, the two made their way towards the other three.
Kuroko was looking at the two of them with awe. Being new, he didn't know that people could be that powerful, and that to him was too cool.
Unknown to him, both Yuki and Naoya held back a lot, with Naoya not using his stronger shikigami and Yuki not using her Star Rage to the max.
Both knew that if they were to crank it up a notch, a huge chunk of the school would have been destroyed, and even the other people in the school could get caught in their fight and get seriously damaged.
Nagino knew that and internally thanked the heavens that both of them were sensible enough not to destroy the school grounds.
Utahime looked at Naoya with mild surprise. Firstly, despite being a Special Grade just like Yuki, he kept the advantage during the entire fight while keeping Yuki, a far more experienced sorcer, at bay. Secondly, despite being an infamous Zenin, he was not escalating things more than necessary.
Naoya looked at Kuroko and Utahime.
Unsurprisingly, Kuroko looked quite roughed up while the senior had almost no scratches on her.
Kuroko, without his cursed technique, was easy to handle for the more experienced sorcerer.
"So, what are we doing next?" asked Naoya.
"Nothing. Enough for today. Go and rest up," said Nagino.
He looked at the four students and thought about what he should do to teach them. The Special Grades were too overpowered and needed almost no input from him. Pairing the other first year with Utahime was also not that worthwhile since the boy learned almost nothing. The gap between them was too big for him to catch some tricks from their battles.
"Zenin," Nagino said, "starting from the next practical class, you'll help Kuroko with cursed energy control. His technique is strong, but without proper control, he'll be a liability on missions."
"Got it," replied Naoya.
Kuroko looked at Naoya and gave a grateful nod to him.
"What about the rest of us?" asked Utahime.
She looked at everyone, with only four of them, and with each of them being at a different level, they could not effectively train together.
"Your basics are all clear. I suggest that you all work on refining your techniques. Tsukumo doesn't need guidance, and I don't believe Zenin does either. I can help Iori with combat training, but you will learn that naturally as well when you go on missions. Understanding your technique better will help you more at this point, when you already have experience dealing with cursed spirits. If you want to learn other stuff like barriers and other basic sorcerery then do tell me," replied Nagino.
Utahime blinked and then looked at the students. One was a greenhorn, and two were way beyond comprehension levels... What was she supposed to do at school then?
Naoya looked at Nagino and didn't know what to say. Wasn't being at a Jujutsu school kind of pointless? Granted, he did have a somewhat capable sparring partner in the form of Yuki, but that is for this year only. What would he do for the next three years?
Jujutsu, to a high degree, was a personal endeavour with not much being able to be taught beyond the basics and some common techniques.
He then began thinking about what he needed to do for improvement.
. Develop a Domain
. Tame the divine general
. Develop a technique to deal with Satoru's Infinity
. Delve deeper into Solid Shadow, Ten Shadows, and Projection Sorcery
. Get new shikgami into the roster
Among these, the only options that were doable at the moment were developing new techniques, exploring his techniques, and new shikgami if he finds some that are suitable. He didn't want to add anything below Special Grades or Grade-1 with a good technique. Below that, his shikigami were more than enough, and he wasn't going to be a hoarder.
'Well...let's focus on Technique development for now. Knowing Satoru, he would pull something out of his ass and would become strong out of nowhere. My only plus point is steady progress that adds up.' thought Naoya.
"Well....let's do that later. I am going to the cafeteria. Because of the outdoor class, I didn't eat much during lunch," muttered Naoya.
"Want to come as well?" asked Naoya, and looked at his fellow students.
"...I can eat," replied Kuroko.
"I already ate....maybe some tea," muttered Utahime.
"I want something sweet!" declared Yuki.
And just like that, the group decided to go for a late afternoon snack, though seeing Naoya 'snacking' around made all of them question reality. Where the hell did this boy with a well-built body store all that food?
Kuroko and Utahime looked a bit envious of Naoya. One being a sportsman and the other being conscious of her weight, they could never indulge too much. Naoya, on the other hand, seemed to break all sorts of common sense.
Naoya was unbothered by their slight resentment. If they can't eat that much, then it was just a skill issue....maybe some genetics as well, but who cares. It wasn't like he didn't work hard to keep his body in shape.
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TIMESKIP: 3 weeks.
A few weeks passed by since high school started, and Naoya was busy developing and mastering some new concepts, thinking about his techniques. Some looked like they could be achieved, while most were a dud.
He was also busy bully- *cough**cough* training Kuroko and Utahime as well. A new job he took on their request.
Kuroko was being taught how to get his cursed energy under control in the same way he was taught when he was young....with a stick.
Utahime, though wary at first, seemed to give in to her helplessness, being the only one stuck and unsure of what to do. Yuki, though strong, was busy with missions and was quite violent during teaching, something Utahime had experienced firsthand, so asking her for help was the last resort for her.
Naoya, though, was surprisingly normal...or so she initially thought.
She asked Naoya what she could learn to improve, and her junior mentioned RCT and anti-domain techniques.
RCT was one of the most difficult techniques one can master, while anti-domain techniques weren't common for non-clan people of the jujutsu world. Learning them was more of a novelty for sorcerers.
When her junior offered to teach her the 'Simple Domain' technique, she was very excited. Her impression of Naoya improved at that point.
Only, when it was too late, did she realise that she messed with a crazy motherf*cker.
Right now, Naoya was demonstrating to her how to use the simple domain, since he could not directly tell her because of the binding vows imposed on this technique, she had to learn it by seeing him do it, just like he did.
She looked at the small transparent barrier around Naoya and tried to mimic it herself.
"Want to test?" asked Naoya with a smile.
"...You monster..." muttered Utahime, but still gave a nod, moved her arms forward and opened her palm.
"Zankyo."
A stick materialised out of nowhere and struck Utahime's palm.
"OUCH!!!!"
"Still not there," replied Naoya with a smirk.
Utahime glared at the smirking junior and promised herself that one day she would have her revenge.
Currently, the two of them were in Zankyo's Domain since it was their only way they could test the potency of anti-domain techniques.
Kuroko was in a corner as well, trying to use cursed energy reinforcement to defend against incoming blunt wooden weapons.
"Now now, don't glare at me. It is for your own good," replied Naoya with a smile and grasped her hand, where she was struck and partially summoned Senzu to heal her.
Utahime remained silent and pouted. She knew that she was the one who asked for help and that this training was helpful, but still, she felt wronged.
She looked at her junior, who was holding her hand very familiarly and felt slightly embarrassed. She wasn't used to this kind of skinship.
'Is he taking advantage of the situation?' she thought.
Naoya totally was.
He was a saint among the Zenins, but he still was, at heart, a virgin teen with a dream.
"There, all done. Let's start again," said Naoya, let go of her hand, stepped back and demonstrated the simple domain once again.
Utahime looked at Naoya's face, trying to gauge him, but seeing the calm expression on his face made her drop the matter for now.
"Alright," replied Utahime and tried to form a simple domain once again.
She looked at Naoya and gave him the gesture to go ahead. Naoya nodded and gave Zankyo the go-ahead, and immediately, a sharp sound of the stick cutting through the wind was heard.
"Ouch!"
Naoya chuckled and thought that maybe he should treat her to something after the training.
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Later that day, after their training, Nagino approached them.
"You, three a mission arrived for you."
The three looked at Nagino, waiting for him to explain in detail.
"An expected Semi-Grade 1 cursed spirit subjugation. You three will be departing in the evening. Gather anything that you all may need," said Nagino.
"Semi-Grade 1 and the three of us? Isn't that too much?" asked Utahime.
"Maybe because you were too weak, they added me to look after you," said Naoya.
"Huh? What did you say?!" asked Utahime in anger.
Naoya laughed and took a step away from her.
"On a serious note, maybe we are grouped so that Kuroko and I can gain some experience, and for that, a capable and experienced sorcerer will be needed," said Naoya.
Hearing that, Utahime looked pleased and nodded in satisfaction. To her, that reason seemed plausible.
"Now the question is who that capable and experienced sorcerer will be, and why were you added senpai?" added Naoya.
Nagino and Kuroko blinked in surprise and started laughing.
Utahmied looked at Naoya, trying to process whether the bastard actually said what she heard and once she confirmed that, she smacked Naoya, only for him to dodge.
"Just you wait, you disrespectful brat who doesn't know how to respect your senpai!!!!" yelled Utahime and chased Naoya.