"Welcome back, Young Master Naoya."
When Zen'in Naoya returned to the ancestral mansion, a group of servants was waiting in the courtyard.
Leading them was a composed and beautiful noblewoman in a kimono. She bowed and knelt at the entrance, personally untying the shoelaces for this aristocratic young master.
"Would you like to take a bath first? Or would you like to have dinner first?"
The one personally serving Zen'in Naoya was Maki and Mai's biological mother.
She was also Zen'in Ogi's wife, Zen'in Naoya's nominal aunt.
Ever since both Maki and Mai left the Zen'in clan, this veteran Yamato Nadeshiko was the only one who could satisfy Zen'in Naoya in terms of daily living.
But obviously, such service under traditional feudalism made the current transmigrator feel extremely uncomfortable all over.
"...Young Master Naoya?"
Zen'in Naoya took off his shoes on his own, then took off his coat and handed it to his aunt, saying coldly: "No need to prepare dinner."
"Alright, then—"
"No need for a bath either. Also, cancel all my social engagements for tonight. Don't let anyone disturb me; I'm going into secluded training."
Then, ignoring any attempts to dissuade him, Zen'in Naoya walked straight towards the dojo alone just like that.
This unusual action instantly left the servants in the mansion dumbfounded, and they couldn't help but whisper among themselves privately—
"The Young Master didn't go out to play today???"
"A Young Master who loves social banquets so much is staying at home... Could it be that the Young Master offended some big shot?"
"Impossible! Young Master Naoya is an extremely popular figure in any social setting. Not only does he have enviable looks and aura, even those who hate the Young Master have to admit that!"
"What does training mean? Didn't the Young Master just get home? Does he need to do extra training at night?"
"Shut up!"
Hearing the servants' gossip, the aunt immediately scolded them with a cold face.
"Go prepare a late-night snack for Young Master Naoya right now! Find a few people to warm the Young Master's bed. Until the Young Master goes to sleep tonight, all of you must keep your eyes wide open!"
The servants' guesses were not entirely unfounded.
Zen'in Naoya was indeed full of worries.
He didn't have any spare time now to go out and squander his youth maintaining upper-class relationships.
For a transmigrator whose life was hanging by a thread, the thing that could make him feel most at ease right now was to find ways to improve his strength.
Investing, sponsoring, and building good relationships with the protagonist's group were only backup plans.
In this world today, there were simply too many enemies who could easily kill him, and they could bring death at any moment.
Possessing strength sufficient to stand above all else was the most crucial thing.
The transmigrator looked up at the skill column on the system panel—
[Projection Sorcery].
[Divides 1 second into 24 equal frames, using the field of vision as the angle of view, and then imitates the predetermined movements designed within the angle of view. The designed movements cannot be corrected midway. If an action excessively ignores the laws of physics and movement trajectories, the user will be frozen for 1 second.]
The original owner did not practice any other jujutsu.
It wasn't that he was too arrogant.
In the jujutsu world, a jujutsu sorcerer who could understand and specialize in a cursed technique was extremely outstanding.
After all, normal people didn't have a system panel and couldn't possibly understand the effects of an Innate Cursed Technique. They could only become proficient in using the technique through countless life-and-death battles.
The reason why the Big Three Sorcerer Families were the Big Three was that they had a complete historical tradition and clear records of the effects of their inherited techniques. This allowed descendants to take fewer detours when practicing the techniques compared to other jujutsu sorcerers.
However, Projection Sorcery was an extremely unique tier among the Zen'in clan's inherited techniques.
Because it was a newly emerging technique in the Zen'in clan over the past century. Unlike the simple and powerful Ten Shadows Technique, or the long-inherited Blazing Courage, Projection Sorcery was a modern jujutsu with complex and profound mechanics, possessing an extremely high ceiling for development.
Even Zen'in Naoya's father, Zen'in Naobito, understood Projection Sorcery at a level of knowing how it works but not why it works.
Not to mention the original owner; his understanding of Projection Sorcery was even more shallow, otherwise he wouldn't just frantically throw punches.
Projection Sorcery possessed a terrifyingly high ceiling.
This wasn't Zen'in Naoya blindly praising it.
In the original work, Zen'in Naoya, who died and incarnated as a cursed spirit, once stepped into the realm of Domain Expansion.
In Jujutsu Kaisen, jujutsu sorcerers who possessed a Domain were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Even Geto Suguru, one of the four Special Grade Sorcerers, didn't awaken a unique Domain even upon his death.
Domain Expansion was the pinnacle for a sorcerer.
Gojo Satoru once had a famous saying—
The best way to counter a Domain is for our side to expand a Domain as well.
Without a Domain, you were inferior. It was like reaching level 6 but not putting a point in your ultimate. Without an ultimate as a trump card, how could you game against experts?
In the original work, Zen'in Naoya's Domain was named "Time Cell Moon Palace." Its effect was extremely terrifying and perverted, belonging to the same strong-control category as "Unlimited Void."
Within the Time Cell Moon Palace Domain, it could simply be seen as casting Projection Sorcery on every single cell in the body. It required every cell of the enemy to make the exact same movements as Zen'in Naoya's corresponding cells. Any cell whose movement differed from Naoya's would be instantly frozen for one second.
Simply put, move and you die.
Of course, if you don't move, you also die.
Although the original owner only awakened the Domain after becoming a cursed spirit, and even though Zen'in Naoya couldn't do that at all right now, it also meant he possessed the talent to rank among the top-tier sorcerers.
As long as he practiced diligently from now on, he should have a chance to step into the realm of Domains.
However, the transmigrator obviously underestimated the difficulty of Domain Expansion.
Although he possessed knowledge, intelligence, and understanding far exceeding the current jujutsu world...
Ultimately, he was not the original Zen'in Naoya. Without the original owner's memories, he was completely blind when it came to the flow of cursed energy, let alone the application of cursed techniques.
Therefore, his foundation as a jujutsu sorcerer was almost entirely barren.
"...Failed again."
Zen'in Naoya panted heavily.
Almost instantly, he felt an abnormal stiffness in his body.
Without a doubt, it meant his Projection Sorcery had failed again.
He couldn't keep up with the preset 24 movements.
Even if this body possessed considerable potential and could keep up with various complex movements, the one presetting the movement routes was the transmigrator's soul.
He had to completely calculate 24 movements within a short 1 second, and without violating the laws of physics, rewrite the 24 movements in a reasonable and perfect way.
Of course, succeeding was simple.
Taking 24 steps within 1 second—such a thing was naturally a piece of cake.
But to reach the ceiling of Projection Sorcery, he had to at least reach the point of running 24 steps.
Succeeding for 1 second was far from enough.
Zen'in Naoya had to succeed continuously 10 times, 100 times, even 1000 times!
Every time Projection Sorcery succeeded, it meant the acceleration would be retained, and his next 24 movements would only become faster!
This meant that with every success, the calculation power required from his brain would nearly double!
Just attempting to approach the ceiling of Projection Sorcery made Zen'in Naoya feel a stinging pain in his brain.
His temples ached unbearably, and his eyes swelled as if they were going to burst.
His vision turned a bluish color, and the lights in the dojo flickered like stars.
In this world filled with countless afterimages, Zen'in Naoya's brain was frantically trying to keep up with his body's movement speed.
Fast!
Must be fast!
Must be faster!
He absolutely could not let his brain's thinking speed lose to his physical body.
If he lost to his physical body like this, wouldn't it mean he was even more garbage than that scum villain original owner?!
Zen'in Naoya continued to operate Projection Sorcery at high intensity like this, letting cursed energy begin to flow throughout his entire body.
"...!!"
Unbearable, intense pain struck.
It felt as if all the bones and muscles in his body were smashed by a hammer, or as if all his muscles were twisting and tearing against each other. This kind of pain could not be described with words.
Crack!
Crack!
These sounds all came from his body.
Joints twisting, heart shattering.
Ribs breaking, bone fragments piercing into his lungs.
At least, in his subconscious, that's how it felt.
However.
Despite undergoing such intense baptism of pain, the transmigrator didn't let out a single scream, nor did he bite his lip.
If it were the original Zen'in Naoya, he would have probably been defeated under this kind of extreme speed, right?
Because to that frivolous aristocratic young master, this kind of near-damaging acceleration was meaningless.
In actual combat, there would never be such a long warm-up time.
The number of times Projection Sorcery was used to settle a battle would be 10 times at most. The enemy would be defeated because they completely couldn't keep up with his movements.
If the battle wasn't settled in 10 seconds, it meant his attacks couldn't pierce the enemy's defenses, and he should strengthen his cursed energy output methods.
Blindly accelerating was completely meaningless.
Yet, Zen'in Naoya allowed the cursed energy to surge through his blood vessels. Through the flow of cursed energy, he imprinted the will of the transmigrator onto every part of this body.
Not just the heart.
Neck, shoulders, arms, abdomen, thighs, calves...
He wanted to thoroughly engrave the memory of being dominated into every inch of skin on his entire body!
"Snap—!"
With the sound of a string snapping in his brain, a wave of powerlessness struck.
Failed again.
Zen'in Naoya fell heavily to the ground.
His cursed energy was completely exhausted; he couldn't even move a single finger.
His whole body felt exhausted from this limit-breaking training.
Although he wanted to close his eyes and sleep just like this.
The original owner was not the sloppy type who would fall fast asleep lying in the dojo, letting his whole body be soaked in sweat.
Zen'in Naoya forced his eyes open, climbed up from the ground just like that, left the dojo, and went to take a bath.
"Young Master... Madam specifically ordered us to come scrub your back..."
"Get lost."
Although he felt like he was about to faint, he ignored the maids' requests.
He carefully washed his body with body wash, soaked in the hot spring for a good while, and then Zen'in Naoya put on a bathrobe and walked out of the bathhouse.
"Young... Young Master... Madam specifically ordered us to come attend to your bed..."
Returning to his room after the bath, Zen'in Naoya looked at the maids shivering under the covers, and his vision instantly went dark—
No, I was just so exhausted I almost lost a life in the dojo, and you guys specifically ran over in the middle of the night to help me jerk off?!
"—Get lost!!!"
Zen'in Naoya used his last bit of strength to kick the group of frightened maids out of the room.
"What the hell..."
The transmigrator collapsed directly onto the bed and let out a long breath.
Only now did he somewhat understand why the original owner hated women so much.
Women really do affect the speed of drawing a sword.
Starting tomorrow, it might be better to have Oda come to the mansion to handle internal affairs...
With this thought in mind, Zen'in Naoya finally fell into a groggy sleep.