Chapter 23: The Mismatched Body and the Thick Cursed Energy
Unlike modern society with its established rules and regulations, the foundation of the Jujutsu world is still a stark, naked survival of the fittest.
Why did the Three Great Clans become the ruling power of the Jujutsu world?
Naturally, it's because their bloodline power makes them far easier to grow strong than ordinary Sorcerers, and they control a large amount of classified information, allowing them to lord over the common Sorcerers.
A powerful enough Sorcerer will face almost no punishment, even if they violate Jujutsu High's orders or refuse to carry out mission requests.
The Higher-Ups even prioritize a Sorcerer's strength and their potential contribution to the Jujutsu world when passing judgment. As long as they remain exploitable, the Higher-Ups rarely sentence a Sorcerer to death or life imprisonment; instead, they are ordered to offset their crimes by the number of Cursed Spirits they exorcise.
As for non-Sorcerers? They clearly aren't entitled to such treatment. It would be a waste of the prisons designed for Sorcerers to use them for non-Sorcerers, wouldn't it?
So the Higher-Ups choose the most convenient option for themselves.
Take Satoru Gojo, for example. Even if he were to commit a heinous crime that the Jujutsu world absolutely could not tolerate and had to be sentenced to death to uphold the rules... would the Higher-Ups truly issue that death warrant?
No, they wouldn't.
Because no one in the Jujutsu world could enforce that death sentence.
Because he is 'The Strongest.'
"The only reason you feel constrained is because you aren't strong enough yet." Gojo pointed a finger at his own head, speaking the truth without hesitation.
Next, he abruptly pulled over a chair, crossed his arms, and sat down. "But you don't need to worry about any accidents for now. I've temporarily resolved his predicament for you. Even the Higher-Ups have to consider other people's opinions sometimes.
Because I am 'The Strongest,' you know."
Clearly, even before entering the room, Satoru Gojo had decided to win Emiya over to his side.
He clearly possesses not only the power of 'The Strongest' but also the intelligence to figure out how to make things more advantageous for himself. A person who only uses their muscles is obviously less threatening than a person with both strength and intellect.
It seems the man is genuinely thinking of overthrowing the corrupt state of the Jujutsu world and is acting toward that end in his own way.
"Thank you, Gojo-san.
If there's anything you'd like me to help with...
Don't worry about it, don't worry about it~" Emiya's words were cut off by Gojo. Unlike the cautious Emiya, Gojo had been quite relaxed since entering the room, and he was still relaxed now.
"I can't stand their way of acting and their attitude, so interfering with them is just a regular pastime for me.
Alright, alright, let's stop focusing on these trivial things and look at something much more interesting, shall we?" Gojo pointed a finger lightly at Emiya. "Your Cursed Energy quality is quite unique, you know."
Cursed Energy quality? Emiya subconsciously looked down at himself but failed to notice any difference.
The only Cursed Energy he had seen so far was his own; how could he make a comparison without a benchmark? He genuinely hadn't thought that Cursed Energy, like magical energy, could have different attributes.
"You're wondering why Cursed Energy has attributes, right?
In fact, it's a matter of course. Everyone is a different individual, and the emotions that generate Cursed Energy are not all the same, so the resulting Cursed Energy is naturally different.
Simply put, a technique is an 'appliance,' and Cursed Energy is the 'electricity.' Everyone recognizes that techniques (appliances) are different, but few Sorcerers notice that Cursed Energy (electricity) can also be in different conditions.
For example, high-voltage and low-voltage electricity might look the same to an amateur, but the difference greatly affects how they're actually used."
As someone who is also a teacher besides being 'The Strongest,' Gojo's explanation was quite easy to understand.
"Well, since the nature of Cursed Energy rarely affects the use of a technique in most cases, and studying Cursed Energy is far less efficient than studying techniques, no one really pays attention to it.
However, your Cursed Energy quality..." Gojo tilted his head, seemingly trying to figure out how to describe the situation.
"If we continue with the 'electricity' analogy, your Cursed Energy should be the ultra-low-voltage type.
Should I call this exceptionally pure negative emotion, or the negative emotion within the negative emotion... It's really confusing.
In terms of effect, your Cursed Energy is much thicker than an ordinary Sorcerer's, and your total Cursed Energy volume also seems large. Whether used to execute a technique or for direct Cursed Energy output, it should be very effective.
You have great talent in Sorcery as well, Emiya-kun."
Gojo's words were unequivocally complimentary, but to Emiya, they were quite baffling. Didn't this imply that the negative emotions generating his Cursed Energy were far more severe than the average person's?
But that was strange. Emiya didn't feel like he had such severe negative emotions himself.
"By the way, besides Cursed Energy, have you felt your Innate Technique, Emiya-kun? I'm curious about that too!"
For a Sorcerer, the Innate Technique is the most crucial element.
Without a powerful technique as a foundation, no matter how strong the Cursed Energy, it's merely a bullet without a gun, rendering it largely ineffective.
This is why no one bothers to pay attention to the various quality changes and differences in Cursed Energy.
Emiya controlled the newly acquired Cursed Energy, letting it coat his palm, and clenched his fist, but no miraculous epiphany occurred. Only a deep, dark glow emanated from it.
"If you mean an ability that comes naturally, I don't seem to feel anything." Emiya merely realized that he had gained a special power called Cursed Energy in his body.
However, there was no trace of an instinctive technique or a sudden influx of knowledge in his mind. The conclusion was that he seemed to have failed to awaken the decisive Innate Technique for a Sorcerer.
"Is that so? You didn't awaken one? How could that be?" Gojo clearly didn't understand the issue of Innate Techniques, but he quickly stood up, walked over to Emiya, and patted his shoulder.
"But it doesn't matter. Even with a bloodline, the awakening of an Innate Technique is a highly random process.
Given your unique talent, perhaps you'll wake up one day and suddenly find you've awakened a technique?" This was not mere comforting nonsense; Gojo genuinely believed it.
Some people are simply born unique, and no matter how much they try, their brilliance cannot be hidden.
In Gojo's view, Emiya was such a person.
"You don't need to comfort me, Gojo-san.
Even if I really don't awaken one, it won't affect me." Emiya was very accepting of this matter and abnormally calm. He was never striving to find power or become the strongest; awakening Cursed Energy was an unexpected bonus, and he wouldn't fret over not getting more.
"Why are you so dejected? My praise was sincere." Gojo even pouted like a young girl, seemingly taking offense at Emiya's disbelief.
But he quickly waved his hand at Emiya. "However, it is quite late. You should get some rest now, Emiya-kun. Stay at Jujutsu High for the night.
The new appointment letter should arrive at Jujutsu High tomorrow; you'll at least be a Grade 2 Sorcerer, I think.
Keep it up, Emiya-kun.
You're going to be very busy from now on, you know."
After shouting a final few words of encouragement to Emiya, Gojo called a Jujutsu High staff member to escort Emiya back to the temporary accommodation for visitors.
Jujutsu High, as an institution, is a school of no small size. Although there are only a few dozen students combined, it has all the necessary facilities. Perhaps the number of maintenance staff actually exceeds the combined total of students and faculty?
"Remember to get some good rest, E—mi—ya—kun—" Gojo was still leaning by the window and enthusiastically waving his hand as Emiya's figure slowly disappeared from sight.
His shouted farewell was not at all restrained. An uninformed person would truly believe they were the closest of friends.
Frankly, Emiya felt facing a serious and rigid 'Strongest' would have been better than facing this lively and eccentric 'Strongest.' Because with the latter, you truly never know what kind of stunt they might pull next.
Even after Emiya completely vanished from his sight, Gojo remained at the window, quietly staring in the direction Emiya had gone.
"What kind of future will he bring? I'm genuinely excited to find out..."
Knock, knock, knock—
The room door was suddenly knocked upon. The person who entered was Kento Nanami, whom Gojo had dismissed earlier.
He had returned, still because of Emiya.
"What do you think of that child, Gojo-san?" He was, after all, the junior Nanami had brought into the Jujutsu world, so he felt responsible for his situation no matter what.
"He's great, Nanami-chan, better than ever!" Gojo turned around, arms spread wide, greeting Nanami with a full smile that made even the familiar Nanami feel a slight chill.
"Am I most interested in the strength he showed or his mysterious 'Projection Magecraft'?"
"No, no, no!" The former certainly made him take notice, and the latter was undoubtedly something he had to take seriously, but it wasn't enough to make him this ecstatic.
"That level of strength and potential can only cause a minor ripple in the Jujutsu world, but it's far from a complete upheaval.
The most important thing is Emiya-kun himself... His mere presence there already made my Six Eyes restless..." Despite knowing he was wearing a blindfold, Gojo still pressed his hand against his eyes.
"Nanami-chan, can you believe that there are people in this world whose very existence is distorted?"
"What?" Nanami couldn't quite grasp Gojo's meaning.
"I mean, you must have seen those scar-like marks on his body, right?" Noticing Nanami's confusion, Gojo tried to guide him.
"Yes... Is there a problem?" Nanami frowned. He could tell they weren't actual burn scars, but he had no further information.
"Of course there's a problem! The information my Six Eyes gave me is that parts of his body aren't completely his, or perhaps they are... It's like a condition of such perfect matching that it's as if another-time him has been merged with current-time him."
Gojo was perplexed as to why such a thing was happening, but the information from the Six Eyes was conclusive.
"Then there's the Cursed Energy. I have never seen such thick Cursed Energy. Not even on a Special Grade Cursed Spirit."
Cursed Energy is generated based on negative emotions, but what kind of person and what kind of emotions could nurture such completely pitch-black Cursed Energy?
"Furthermore, that Cursed Energy's compatibility with him is strange. It's a perfect match, and yet it also doesn't seem completely like his own..."
Gojo even started to doubt if his Six Eyes were malfunctioning, to give him such bizarre information and conclusions. But when he looked at others, the information from the Six Eyes remained accurate.
This meant the problem wasn't his eyes; it was Emiya himself.
"How could that be? Even you, Gojo-san, can't figure it out?" Nanami couldn't understand the information, but he could see the bewilderment in Gojo's words.
"Exactly, exactly! It's because even my Six Eyes can't fully see through him that he becomes even more interesting!
Perhaps only with the appearance of a person, an entity, like this, can this world usher in a complete change."
Gojo could practically see the end of everything currently existing in the Jujutsu world with a single glance.
How could such predictable things and entities ever change the world? He had devoted most of his energy to education simply because he couldn't see a solution to the problem and had placed his hope in the future.
The appearance of such a person, full of unknowns, in the Jujutsu world did not make him afraid. Fear was something the old fogies in the Higher-Ups should be feeling.
He, Satoru Gojo, only felt excitement and anticipation.
It was a little regrettable, though...
"It's a shame that guy won't get to see it."
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