Hidden among the other Cursed Spirits, the female ghost had been rather inconspicuous. However, the moment she separated from the group, her presence suddenly grew stronger.
Dark green mist spread beneath her feet, while flames coiled around her body. Disease and fire, two disasters that humans had feared since ancient times, were both gathered in a single Cursed Spirit.
Akira frowned slightly as he observed her.
"What grade do you think she is? Second Grade, or Semi-First Grade?"
"Semi-First Grade, I think," Akemi Aki answered after examining the ghost. "But after taking an attack like that from Little Sha, she's already seriously injured. Even someone like me, a Third Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer, should be able to exorcise her now."
According to the grading standards of the Jujutsu world, a Jujutsu Sorcerer could generally handle a Cursed Spirit one grade above their own. For a Third Grade Sorcerer like Akemi Aki, a Second Grade Cursed Spirit was already close to her limit.
A Semi-First Grade Cursed Spirit would normally be too dangerous for her to fight alone.
However, the situation was different now.
Gardevoir had already dealt considerable damage to the female ghost. After witnessing Little Sha's overwhelming strength, Akemi Aki felt much more confident about finishing the job herself.
"Speaking of which, Akira, I don't think I've ever told you about my Jujutsu before. My technique is called 'Barrier,' and..."
She suddenly stopped speaking.
A new surge of Cursed Energy had appeared nearby.
Compared to the enormous presence of the Cursed Spirit, this energy was much smaller. However, it was also far more concentrated, gathered tightly around a single point.
And its source was standing right in front of her.
Her own son, Akira.
"Orala!"
Akira stepped forward and threw a punch.
His movement looked almost casual. There was no complicated technique, no strange phenomenon, and certainly no indication that he was about to unleash anything extraordinary.
But the moment his fist struck, Akemi Aki clearly felt the air ripple.
Bang!
The female ghost, who had only just managed to crawl back onto the shore, was struck directly in the chest.
Her body was immediately smashed into the ground.
The impact caved in her chest, and the surface beneath her cracked apart. Fractures spread outward in all directions, forming a web of cracks around the fallen Cursed Spirit.
The ghost struggled weakly, unable to stand again.
Akemi Aki stared at the scene.
"..."
For a moment, she could not find anything to say.
Hadn't they just agreed that it was her turn to act?
And wasn't Akira supposed to be someone who had never received proper Jujutsu Sorcerer training?
She had reminded him more than once that protecting himself should always come first.
After all, ever since his childhood in the Kamo Clan, Akira had been regarded as someone without talent. Because he had failed to inherit a Cursed Technique, the clan had treated him as a useless burden.
Yet this same child had just knocked down a Semi-First Grade Cursed Spirit with a single punch.
Even though the creature was already injured, that was still something far beyond what she had expected.
"Akira, you..."
Before she could finish, Akira raised his hand toward Gardevoir.
Seeing his gesture, Gardevoir understood that he was fine and continued clearing the remaining Cursed Spirits around the shrine.
Only then did Akira turn back toward his mother.
He smiled slightly.
"Mom, I only failed to inherit a Cursed Technique. That doesn't mean I don't have Cursed Energy."
"..."
Akemi Aki looked at him again.
There was nothing wrong with what he had said.
Cursed Energy and Cursed Techniques were two different things.
Cursed Energy was the foundation, while a Cursed Technique determined how that energy could be used.
Having an inherited technique naturally offered far greater possibilities. However, even without one, Cursed Energy itself was far from useless.
The most basic applications were strengthening the body and concentrating Cursed Energy into an attack to damage an opponent.
These methods were simple and direct, without the complicated conditions or special abilities associated with inherited techniques.
Of course, simple did not necessarily mean easy.
Anyone could understand the idea of strengthening their body with Cursed Energy. Actually mastering that process, controlling the energy properly, and using it effectively in combat required considerable training.
Fortunately, Akira had never neglected that aspect.
Back when he still lived in the Kamo Clan, his status had allowed him to learn and memorize the methods used to train both Cursed Energy and physical strength.
Although he had never received the same treatment as the clan's talented children, he had still managed to obtain the necessary knowledge.
And after leaving the clan, he had continued training without interruption.
This had always been part of his plan.
After all, just because he possessed Gardevoir did not mean he could afford to become completely dependent on her.
With Gardevoir's strength, there was certainly no need for Akira to rush into every battle personally. Doing so would only expose him to unnecessary danger, and it might even interfere with the experience she gained from defeating enemies.
From the perspective of efficiency, letting Gardevoir handle most fights was obviously the better choice.
However, there was another problem to consider.
A Pokémon Trainer could not afford to be too weak.
In the Pokémon world, there were plenty of examples of powerful Pokémon refusing to obey their Trainers.
Some ill-tempered Pokémon might even look down on a Trainer they considered unworthy and simply ignore their commands.
Akira had no intention of allowing something like that to happen to him.
Naturally, he trusted Gardevoir. Their relationship had already gone far beyond that of an ordinary Trainer and Pokémon.
But who could guarantee that every Pokémon he encountered in the future would have the same personality?
Even without considering Pokémon, maintaining a strong body was valuable in itself.
Whether he wanted to earn money, work hard, travel, or simply enjoy his life, having a healthy and powerful body would only make things easier.
After all, what was the point of having money and freedom if his body could not keep up?
Imagine wanting to enjoy yourself, only to find that your back hurt, your arms and legs felt weak, and you were already exhausted before doing anything.
Wouldn't that be miserable?
For someone who intended to enjoy his second life properly, Akira certainly did not want to end up like that.
Therefore, physical training and Cursed Energy control had always remained important parts of his daily routine.
And now, the results were finally beginning to show.
Akemi Aki looked at the female ghost lying helplessly in the cracked ground.
Then she turned toward Gardevoir, who was still exorcising the remaining Cursed Spirits with almost ridiculous ease.
Finally, she looked back at her son.
A complicated expression appeared on her face.
After a moment, she sighed.
"Akira, letting you leave the clan was probably the biggest mistake the Kamo Clan has ever made."
Akira merely smiled without answering.
*Their biggest mistake?*
He actually thought the opposite.
As far as Akira was concerned, allowing him to leave had been one of the smartest decisions the Kamo Clan had ever made.
After all, he understood perfectly well what kind of place that clan was.
As long as the atmosphere of the Jujutsu world remained unchanged, the conflict between him and the Kamo Clan would never truly disappear.
The longer he stayed, the greater those conflicts would become.
And once their disagreements reached a certain point, there would be no peaceful way to resolve them.
Leaving early was better for everyone.
At the very least, putting some distance between them allowed both sides to preserve a little dignity.
Besides, the Kamo Clan was hardly the only family with this problem.
The Zenin Clan, another of the Three Great Clans, had already produced more than one example of what happened when a family valued Jujutsu talent above everything else.
Speaking of which...
One of those people should have arrived in Tokyo by now.
If Akira remembered correctly, that person had already entered Tokyo Jujutsu High.
He wondered when they would finally have the chance to meet.
While Akira was thinking about these things, Gardevoir finished dealing with the remaining Cursed Spirits.
The female ghost lying in front of him was no exception. Although she had barely managed to survive his punch, she could not withstand Gardevoir's final attack.
With that, the entire area was finally cleared.
At the same time, Gardevoir's experience increased again.
Her level, which had originally been 30, had risen all the way into the latter half of Level 31.
She was already approaching Level 32.
Seeing the results, Akira became even more convinced that his decision had been correct.
As expected, farming experience in high-level areas was much faster!
The Cursed Spirits around Tokyo's famous spiritual sites were clearly stronger than the ones they had encountered in the countryside.
Naturally, that also meant they provided much better experience.
If he could clear all the major spiritual sites around Tokyo, Gardevoir's level would increase considerably.
At that point, even the highest-ranking opponents in the Jujutsu world might no longer be beyond her reach.
Thinking about the possibilities, Akira could not help feeling pleased.
"All right, that's everything. Let's go home and get some sleep. Big cities really are better than the countryside. Just look at how much we gained tonight."
As he spoke, Akira crouched beside the crack left by his earlier punch.
Something unusual had caught his attention.
He reached into the broken ground and picked up a small fragment.
Akemi Aki, who had been preparing to leave, noticed his actions and leaned closer.
"What did you find? Is that some kind of item for Little Sha?"
"Not exactly," Akira answered, examining the fragment in his hand. "But it's not much worse than that."
An item interface had appeared in front of his eyes.
**[Z Crystal Fragment (Fire)]**
Akira's eyes immediately brightened.
A Z Crystal Fragment!
Although the fragment was Fire-type and therefore unsuitable for Gardevoir's Psychic and Fairy attributes, that was not the important part.
What mattered was what its existence represented.
*Z Crystals actually exist in this world!*
And if Z Crystals existed, then Z Moves should also be possible.
As someone familiar with the Pokémon games, Akira naturally understood what that meant.
Z Moves allowed Pokémon to unleash powerful attacks by drawing out the power of their moves through the use of a Z Crystal.
Although there were various conditions involved, their destructive power was considerable.
If Gardevoir could eventually master a compatible Z Move, her combat strength would increase another level.
However, Akira's thoughts did not stop there.
*Wait a minute...*
*If Z Moves exist, what about Mega Evolution?*
*And Dynamax?*
The more he considered the possibilities, the more excited he became.
In the original Pokémon games, Z Moves, Mega Evolution, and Dynamax belonged to different regions and generations.
They also had their own restrictions.
But this was no longer a game.
This was a real world where Pokémon existed alongside Cursed Spirits, and even fragments of Z Crystals could appear after exorcising enemies.
Who could say that the original restrictions would still apply here?
What if Mega Evolution, Z Moves, and Dynamax could all be used together?
Just imagining the combat strength Gardevoir might possess under those conditions was enough to make Akira impatient.
Of course, whether such a combination was actually possible remained unknown.
He would need to investigate further.
But at least he now had a reason to believe that these special powers existed.
That alone was already a considerable discovery.
*Good!*
*Then the next goal is decided.*
He would clear every suitable spiritual site in Tokyo and see what other rewards he could obtain.
Whether it was experience, Z Crystal Fragments, or other rare items, he intended to collect as much as possible.
With that decision made, Akira suddenly felt more motivated than ever.
He put the fragment away and reached for Gardevoir's hand.
Gardevoir happily took it, looking just as eager as he was.
The two then started walking toward home.
Behind them, Akemi Aki quietly collected the Curtain she had erected earlier to prevent ordinary civilians from witnessing the battle.
After putting it away, she hurried to catch up with her children.
Looking at their backs, she could not help feeling a little helpless.
Her son was already powerful enough to knock down a Semi-First Grade Cursed Spirit with one punch.
And her daughter was even more outrageous, capable of exorcising an entire group of Cursed Spirits without showing the slightest difficulty.
Meanwhile, she was still only a Third Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer.
As their mother, this situation hurt her pride a little.
However, that feeling was quickly overshadowed by something else.
Pride.
Seeing how capable her children had become, Akemi Aki felt genuinely happy.
*With children like these, what more could I possibly ask for?*
...
Unfortunately, the three members of the Ake family had no idea that another group would arrive at Yoshiwara Shrine shortly after their departure.
Only five minutes after they left, three figures entered the shrine grounds.
Their group was rather similar to Akira's.
One male, one female, and one nonhuman.
However, the girl in this group was younger than Akemi Aki, while the nonhuman member looked far less like an ordinary person than Gardevoir did.
After all, it was a Panda.
Upon entering the shrine, Panda immediately stopped and sniffed the surrounding air.
"Hmm?"
Something seemed strange.
He looked around before speaking.
"Something's wrong. The smell of curses here is really faint. There's barely anything left besides some residue."
He sniffed again.
"And I can smell traces of a Curtain. Someone was definitely here before us."
Hearing this, the girl beside him raised an eyebrow.
She had a single ponytail and carried a long weapon over her shoulder.
"What? Are you saying someone got here first and stole our prey?"
Panda scratched his head.
"That's what it looks like."
"Tuna tuna."
At that moment, the shortest member of their group suddenly spoke.
The boy pointed toward a nearby section of the embankment.
Following his finger, the other two noticed something unusual.
A large crack had appeared across the surface.
The girl immediately became interested.
"Oh?"
She jumped over lightly and landed beside the damaged area.
After crouching down, she examined the cracks carefully.
Then she placed one hand against the ground and tested the surrounding surface with a few movements, checking how the damage had spread.
A moment later, a grin appeared on her face.
"Interesting."
Panda walked over.
"What is it? Did you find something?"
"Yeah. This wasn't caused by an ordinary Cursed Spirit."
The girl stood up and looked at the damaged ground again.
"Someone hit this place with an incredible amount of force. Judging by the cracks, it was probably a blunt weapon."
She paused briefly.
"Or a fist."
"A fist?" Panda repeated.
"That's right."
Her grin widened.
"Whoever did this must be a real expert."
Panda examined the surroundings once more before confirming what he had suspected.
"Well, whoever they were, they certainly did a thorough job. There aren't any Cursed Spirits left. Everything here has already been exorcised."
Their assignment had effectively disappeared before they even arrived.
Panda turned toward the girl.
"So, what do we do now?"
The girl looked at him as though he had just asked an incredibly stupid question.
"Do you even need to ask?"
She adjusted the long weapon resting on her shoulder.
"Of course we're calling that idiot teacher and complaining!"
Her smile turned sharp.