Akira understood that Kento Nanami meant well. What Nanami didn't know was that Akira's mental age was much higher than his appearance suggested. He had already prepared himself for the possibility of fighting people and even taking lives. If he couldn't bring himself to cross that line when necessary, he wouldn't have entered the Jujutsu World in the first place.
"Not for me. For yourself. In the end, how you turn out has nothing to do with me," Nanami said calmly.
Akira smiled without saying anything.
If Nanami really didn't care, he wouldn't have bothered giving him such advice. After all, being a Jujutsu Sorcerer was a dangerous job. People died all the time, and nobody could afford to worry about every junior they met.
As expected of King Nanami Kento. He really was a reliable adult.
What a pity. Nanami had almost every quality Akira appreciated, except for anything related to Pokémon or Pokémon Trainers. Then again, nobody was perfect. Even Satoru Gojo, who was outstanding in practically every field, had a personality that made people want to punch him.
"So, who are we facing this time?" Akira asked, changing the subject. "Mr. Gojo didn't tell me anything about the mission. I haven't even seen the intelligence report."
"As expected. It's him, after all."
Nanami's expression didn't change, as though he had already anticipated this situation.
"Our target this time is a Curse User organization called Q."
"Q?"
Akira blinked.
"That's quite a random name."
Considering how much Japanese organizations liked dramatic names, he had expected something along the lines of the True Jujutsu Sect. Even that would have sounded more impressive than a single letter.
"A name is simply a code used to identify an organization," Nanami replied. "Don't underestimate them because of it. Q has quite a history. Do you know about Lord Tengen?"
"Of course."
"Their objective is to make Lord Tengen lose control and use the resulting chaos to overturn the entire Jujutsu World."
Akira raised an eyebrow.
"That's a pretty ambitious goal. Are you sure the two of us are enough?"
"If we were dealing with Q at its peak, certainly not. However, that organization was destroyed once, ten years ago, by that man. What we're dealing with now is only a group attempting to revive it."
"I see."
Hearing that, Akira finally remembered.
Q was one of the organizations involved in that incident ten years ago. Back then, its ambitions had been crushed by the overwhelming strength of two Special Grade figures. Akira knew about the incident, although he hadn't expected the organization to appear again after so many years.
Time really could bury a lot of things. Apparently, it could also bring back problems that should have stayed buried.
Still, there was something else that caught his attention.
Lord Tengen...
Akira narrowed his eyes slightly.
For a moment, the expression on his face became difficult to read. Even Nanami, who had been observing him throughout their conversation, couldn't tell what he was thinking.
...
"Akira, how much do you know about Black Flash?"
Nanami suddenly asked this question while standing in front of a group of men wearing white military uniforms. They also wore white cloaks, with black cloth covering the lower halves of their faces.
No matter how Akira looked at them, they didn't resemble ordinary people.
"I know the basic concept," Akira answered without hesitation. "Normally, there's a slight difference in timing between a physical strike and the Cursed Energy applied to it. When that difference is reduced to less than 0.000001 seconds, the two become almost perfectly synchronized."
He continued while watching the men in front of them.
"That creates a distortion in space, and the destructive power of the strike is raised to the power of 2.5. However, there's one major problem."
"Which is?"
"The timing is too precise. It exceeds what a human can consciously control, so nobody can activate Black Flash whenever they want."
"Correct."
Akira had naturally studied the subject carefully.
Since he hadn't inherited a Cursed Technique, mastering Black Flash was one of the few ways he could improve his own Jujutsu abilities. Unfortunately, understanding the theory and actually performing it were two entirely different things.
Otherwise, he would have learned it long ago.
While the two were discussing Black Flash, the men in white finally lost their patience.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Get them!"
Several men rushed forward, pulling out weapons.
And those weapons were...
Guns and daggers.
Yes, ordinary firearms and knives.
These men belonged to Q, the Curse User organization they had come to investigate.
Half an hour had passed since Akira and Nanami met at the café. After locating one of Q's bases, Nanami had brought Akira straight inside without bothering to discuss an elaborate plan.
Apparently, he had decided that the best place to teach Black Flash was right in the middle of an actual fight.
Akira didn't particularly mind.
After all, actual Jujutsu Sorcerers were a minority even within Jujutsu Society. There had never been enough sorcerers to handle every problem, and Curse User organizations faced the same shortage.
Having several genuine Curse Users in a single organization was already impressive. Most of their members were simply ordinary people who had received combat training.
And when their targets were human, Cursed Energy wasn't always necessary.
A gun could kill someone just as easily.
Bang! Bang!
Two gunshots rang out.
Nanami calmly shifted his body, allowing the bullets to pass him. At the same time, he undid the buttons of his suit jacket and loosened his tie.
Two men approached with daggers.
Nanami stepped between them, caught their wrists, and twisted. Before either man could react, both daggers had already changed owners.
"That's the correct answer," Nanami continued, as though nothing had happened. "Unlike a certain someone, you actually bothered to study the theory."
"Well, I don't have the same advantages as him."
Akira shrugged.
Someone like Satoru Gojo could afford to be careless in certain areas. Akira couldn't. If he wanted to become stronger, he had to make use of every opportunity available to him.
"Stop talking and kill them!"
Seeing how difficult Nanami was to deal with, several members of Q immediately changed targets.
Their eyes landed on Akira.
Compared to the tall adult wearing a suit, the sixteen-year-old boy looked much easier to handle.
Unfortunately, they had made a serious mistake.
In terms of close combat ability, Akira was no weaker than Nanami.
The first man charged at him with a dagger.
Akira stepped aside, avoided the blade, and drove his fist into the man's stomach. Before the man could recover, another punch struck his face and sent him crashing to the floor.
The second attacker had barely reached him when Akira turned and punched him as well.
Two punches. Two opponents down.
He didn't even bother taking their weapons.
However, Akira wasn't finished.
He grabbed one of the fallen men by his clothes and lifted him off the ground.
"Hey, wait! What are you..."
Before the man could finish speaking, Akira threw him straight toward a gunman preparing to fire.
"AHHH!"
"Get out of the way!"
Bang!
The gunman fired in panic, but the incoming human shield blocked his view. A moment later, the two men collided and rolled across the ground.
Nanami glanced toward Akira.
His movements were efficient, and his judgment was quick. Using an enemy to interfere with another enemy's attack was a perfectly reasonable choice in a situation like this.
In fact, Nanami would have done something similar.
What surprised him was how naturally Akira had acted.
The boy was only sixteen years old. Most students his age would hesitate when confronted by armed humans, especially if they had only fought Cursed Spirits before.
Akira, however, showed no such hesitation.
He attacked when necessary, avoided unnecessary movements, and made full use of the enemies around him.
Nanami suddenly understood why Satoru Gojo had been so comfortable sending him on this mission.
That man hadn't even bothered arranging an Assistant Supervisor to accompany them.
At first, Nanami had assumed it was simply another example of Gojo's irresponsible behavior. Now, he was beginning to think that Gojo might actually have had a reason.
"You seem to have a good understanding of your own limitations," Nanami said. "Although Black Flash can't be activated at will, there are still ways to improve your chances of achieving it. I'll explain them as we go."
"Then I'll be counting on you, Mr. Nanami."
Nanami clapped his hands lightly and stopped attacking.
Akira also relaxed his stance.
There had only been a little over ten people inside this base to begin with. In the short time they had been talking, five had already been knocked down.
That included the unfortunate gunman who had been crushed beneath his flying companion.
With so few opponents left, there was hardly enough for the two of them to continue practicing.
Unfortunately, the members of Q didn't appreciate being treated like training equipment.
"DON'T LOOK DOWN ON US!"
One of the men, who appeared to be a small leader, roared in anger.
Unlike the others, he was carrying a high-quality rifle.
Now that his companions were no longer blocking his line of fire, he finally had an opportunity to use it properly.
He raised the rifle and aimed at the two intruders.
"Die!"
However, Nanami had already noticed him.
With a flick of his wrist, he threw one of the daggers he had taken earlier.
Clang!
The dagger struck the rifle barrel with frightening precision. Reinforced with Cursed Energy, the blade damaged the barrel badly enough to render the weapon useless.
"What?!"
The leader stared at his ruined rifle in disbelief.
Akira couldn't help feeling impressed.
Throwing a dagger accurately was one thing. Reinforcing it with just enough Cursed Energy to destroy a rifle barrel was another matter entirely.
Nanami had made the whole thing look effortless.
As expected of a Grade One Jujutsu Sorcerer. Whether it was physical ability, combat experience, or control over Cursed Energy, he had practically no obvious weaknesses.
"We can't beat them!"
"Run! Get out of here!"
The remaining members of Q finally realized what kind of opponents they were facing.
Their leader's rifle had been destroyed in an instant, and almost half their group was already lying on the ground.
Continuing to fight would only make things worse.
One man immediately rushed toward the back door and grabbed the handle.
Click!
The door didn't open.
"Huh?"
He pulled harder.
Still nothing.
"What the hell? Why won't it open?!"
Another man ran toward a window and tried to force it open.
That failed too.
Soon, the remaining members were checking every possible exit. The front door, the back door, and even the windows had somehow become impossible to open.
It was as though an invisible force was holding everything in place.
"What kind of trick is this?!"
"Someone break the door!"
"IT WON'T MOVE!"
Panic quickly spread through the room.
Their guns were useless, they couldn't defeat the intruders in close combat, and now they couldn't even escape.
Several men looked around desperately, trying to find another way out.
Unfortunately for them, there wasn't one.
Nanami was about to throw the second dagger when he noticed the situation.
He paused.
The sealed doors and windows weren't part of his preparations.
He turned toward Akira with a questioning look.
Akira met his gaze and smiled, giving him a small nod.
Nanami understood.
So that was what happened.
The person responsible for sealing the exits wasn't Nanami.
It was Gardevoir.
Because of her unusual nature, Gardevoir hadn't shown herself in front of the enemy. Instead, she had quietly followed Akira to the base.
Once Akira and Nanami entered the building, she remained outside and used her Psychic Power to seal every possible escape route.
Doors, windows, and anything else the enemy might try were all under her control.
As long as Gardevoir remained there, nobody inside could escape without first overcoming her Psychic Power.
Naturally, Akira had arranged this beforehand.
After all, there was no point charging into an enemy base only to let the targets scatter in every direction.
Nanami looked at the smiling boy again.
Strong combat ability, quick judgment, careful preparation, and the willingness to act decisively.
More importantly, Akira knew how to cooperate with others and didn't cause unnecessary trouble.
How long had it been since the Jujutsu World produced such a reliable junior?
Nanami thought about the sorcerers he knew.
Those with decent personalities often lacked the strength to handle dangerous missions. Meanwhile, those blessed with exceptional talent usually had personalities that made working with them a headache.
It was almost as if the stronger a sorcerer became, the more troublesome they were.
And when Nanami considered the most obvious example of that problem, a familiar face immediately appeared in his mind.
White hair. Blindfold. An irritating smile.
Satoru Gojo.
Nanami's expression darkened slightly.
Somehow, he had a feeling that one man was responsible for most of the trouble in the Jujutsu World.
*This must be Satoru Gojo's fault.*