Afterward.
Asou Akiya was hauled away by Yaga Masamichi for a private lecture.
Meanwhile, Gojo Satoru and Getou Suguru cornered Zen'in Naoya. The two seniors stood like guardian deities at the gate, leaving him no chance to escape.
Getou Suguru hooked a thumb toward himself, "Zen'in, let's have a little chat."
Zen'in Naoya immediately activated his Cursed Technique, but his Projection Sorcery was utterly countered in front of Gojo Satoru. Using instantaneous movement, Gojo Satoru interrupted the technique midway through its activation, causing Zen'in Naoya to suffer a backlash from his own technique. His body and expression froze in place, becoming as motionless as a photograph.
Just as Gojo Satoru had once remarked, Projection Sorcery really wasn't much in his eyes.
Watching the technique be so completely shut down with his own eyes, Getou Suguru couldn't help but feel a surge of shock.
Holding the "photograph" of Zen'in Naoya in one hand, Gojo smiled, his eyes icy with amusement.
"I wonder what happens if I tear this photo apart?"
He looked eager to try, displaying the same cruel delight as someone toying with trapped prey. Nanami Kento and Haibara Yu felt their scalps go numb.
Haibara Yu hurriedly pleaded, "Gojo-senpai, we're still students. Zen'in-kun only told the truth because he wouldn't dare lie to a teacher."
Pulling on Nanami Kento's sleeve, Haibara coaxed him into speaking as well.
Reluctantly, Nanami added, "That's simply the kind of person Zen'in-kun is. Yaga-sensei chose him as the point of inquiry precisely because he knew Zen'in-kun doesn't like telling lies."
"Doesn't like telling lies?" Gojo Satoru stopped tugging at the frozen "photo" and turned to Getou Suguru. "Suguru, do you believe that?"
"I've never known the esteemed young master of one of the Three Great Clans before. How would I know whether he likes lying or not?" Getou Suguru replied leisurely.
Yet those words also gave Zen'in Naoya a way out, sparing him from ending up with missing arms or broken legs.
That would have been too cruel.
Getou Suguru's way of dealing with the juniors was considerably kinder.
After enduring what felt like an eternity under the backlash of his technique, Zen'in Naoya finally recovered. Looking at the two of them, his heart pounded with lingering fear.
Gojo Satoru grinned. "I'm going to give you some pointers on your Cursed Technique, and Suguru's going to coach you in hand-to-hand combat. You should be happy."
Getou Suguru smiled. "Let's head to the training grounds."
Zen'in Naoya was hardly the sort of person who would willingly jump into a pit of fire.
"I'm not going!"
Gojo Satoru and Getou Suguru exchanged a glance before grabbing Zen'in Naoya by the arms and sprinting straight toward the training grounds with him in tow. Ieiri Shoko stepped sideways, deliberately blocking the two kouhai's view.
"Don't worry. As long as he's still got one breath left, I can save him."
Hearing that put Haibara Yu considerably at ease.
"Thank you for your hard work, Ieiri-senpai!"
Nanami Kento's gaze drifted away.
What Ieiri-senpai clearly meant was that they could beat him half to death.
Farewell, Zen'in Naoya.
...
Inside Yaga Masamichi's office, nothing had happened to Asou Akiya. Instead, he had been punished with copying Tokyo Jujutsu High's school regulations one hundred times.
The burly middle-aged man glared at him in exasperation. Of all the students, the one least likely to break the rules had somehow become the ringleader.
"Weren't you trying to leave a good impression on the Higher-Ups? What the hell happened to you? Skipping school for an entire day and night?"
"Satoru dares to pull stunts like this because the Gojo Clan is there to clean up after him!"
"And who do you think you are?!"
Yaga Masamichi scolded Asou Akiya so thoroughly that he was left utterly drenched in criticism.
Asou Akiya didn't dare raise his head. He humbly accepted every word of reprimand while rapidly copying the school regulations from memory. He knew every rule by heart.
After exhausting himself from all the scolding, Yaga Masamichi paused to catch his breath and finally took a proper look at Asou Akiya.
The sixteen-year-old black-haired boy had lean shoulders and a straight back. His training intensity had steadily increased over time, and with it, his muscle mass had slowly grown. Unlike the other two highschool boys whose bodies developed rapidly, Asou Akiya's changes were subtle, accumulating little by little. People unfamiliar with him would never notice the difference, while those who knew him well were often dazzled by his ability to view the entire jujutsu world from a grand strategic perspective, causing them to overlook the youthful immaturity still lingering in his appearance.
"Akiya, save up a little more money this year. I can help you rent a Cursed Tool from the Cursed Vault."
"Ah... that won't be necessary."
"Don't be stubborn. This concerns your safety."
"I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you... I already have a Cursed Tool."
Asou Akiya spoke timidly, causing Yaga Masamichi—who still thought of him as a poor child—to freeze in surprise.
Instinctively, Yaga Masamichi asked, "Was it from Gojo? No—I mean, were you actually willing to accept his kindness?"
Asou Akiya answered with complete seriousness.
"No. I found it myself."
Yaga Masamichi's face filled with disbelief.
"Any Cursed Tool costs a fortune. How come I've never managed to pick one up?" Yaga Masamichi hesitated before lowering his voice, "...Did you buy it from the black-market? You didn't get ripped off, did you?"
Asou Akiya shook his head, "I just found it."
Yaga Masamichi fired off three questions in succession, "What grade is it? What does it look like? What kind of technique does it possess?"
Smiling, Asou Akiya answered, "It's a Special Grade Cursed Tool; It's in the form of a long sword; Its technique allows it to ignore hardness and directly attack the soul."
Yaga Masamichi murmured under his breath, "The soul..."
Anything related to the soul was extraordinarily rare in the jujutsu world.
His interest was obvious, yet he seemed restrained by some unspoken concern. Seeing this, Asou Akiya said straightforwardly, "I'll finish my punishment first. After that, I'll show you the Cursed Tool. There's also something I'd like to ask. Sensei, do you know of any Special Grade Cursed Tools with healing abilities?"
Yaga Masamichi frowned in thought.
"I've hardly ever heard of such a thing."
A moment later, his phone rang. After answering it, Yaga Masamichi stormed out in a fury to rescue someone on the training grounds.
"Those damn brats!"
By lunchtime, Zen'in Naoya was sprawled face-down across his bed, practically a corpse.
Outwardly, he looked perfectly healthy, but in reality, every inch of his body hurt so badly that he couldn't move. This was the price of offending Ieiri Shoko.
Asou Akiya stopped by to visit him, only to be met with Zen'in Naoya exploding in rage.
"You came to laugh at me, didn't you?!"
"No."
"Because I sold you out, they beat the hell out of me! Gojo-kun and Getou-kun have both been fooled by that weak, innocent act of yours—they actually think you're some kind-hearted person!"
Asou Akiya opened the refrigerator and checked whether there were any ingredients inside.
"Enough. Stop complaining for a minute."
His expression turned slightly displeased.
"I told you to buy groceries and cook. Did you just let my words go in one ear and out the other?"
Trapped inside the tiny dorm room, unable to enjoy any gourmet food, and having just been mercilessly beaten, Zen'in Naoya's eyes reddened with frustration. He was so furious that he could barely get the words out.
"I... will never... in my entire life... cook!"
"Ugly Treasure."
Giving up on arguing with him, Asou Akiya summoned Ugly Treasure.
A purple, human-faced, worm-like Cursed Spirit crawled into the room through the doorway.
"I need your help identifying a Special Grade Cursed Tool," Asou Akiya said to Zen'in Naoya. "Take a look and tell me whether it's one of the Special Grade Cursed Tools kept in the Gojo Clan's Cursed Vault."
Zen'in Naoya pulled the blanket over his head, refusing even to look at him.
"I'm not looking."
Asou Akiya tempted him with an offer.
"If you help me identify it, I'll take care of your lunch."
Still sulking, Zen'in Naoya snapped, "I'm not hungry!"
Asou Akiya's expression darkened, "I'm giving you an out, and you're refusing to take it? Sit up. Look at it first, then you can go back to resting."
Zen'in Naoya: "..."
Bound by the command enforced through their Binding Vow, Zen'in Naoya's cheeks twitched in pain as he forced himself upright.
Asou Akiya reached into Ugly Treasure's stomach and withdrew a Special Grade Cursed Tool shaped like a candlestick.
It was not an offensive-type Cursed Tool. Based on Gojo Satoru's gaming terminology, it had already been classified as a healing-type Special Grade Cursed Tool. Its technique forced anyone pierced by its spike into a state where their life was locked at the brink of death. They became immune to attacks infused with cursed energy, and their life would be forcibly sustained for one to three days. The price, however, was that the Cursed Tool could only be removed after the victim had learned the Reverse Cursed Technique. Otherwise, they could only wait for the Special Grade Cursed Tool's restorative power to run dry, at which point their body would crumble into ash.
This Special Grade Cursed Tool simply didn't suit Fushiguro Toji's style.
Asou Akiya had long suspected it was an external acquisition rather than one originally belonging to him.
"The Special Grade Cursed Tool... the Fate-Reversal Candle."
Zen'in Naoya recognized the "rare treasure" from the Three Great Clans' Cursed Vault at a single glance—the black candlestick-shaped Special Grade Cursed Tool.
"Rather than calling it a healing-type Cursed Tool, it's more accurate to describe it as a one-time life-preserving item."
His knowledge of Cursed Tools was exceptionally thorough. Deliberately avoiding the sharp spike protruding from the candlestick, he spoke with obvious apprehension.
"It's a Cursed Tool forged from the corpse of a Reverse Cursed Technique user. No matter which clan possesses it, it's considered one of the treasures kept at the very bottom of the vault. The Fate-Reversal Candle's technique doesn't vary much from one example to another. It uses the human body as the candle itself, while the positive energy generated through the Reverse Cursed Technique serves as the fuel for its cursed technique. In ancient jujutsu clans, it was commonly used to safeguard a family's inheritance, preventing the sudden death of members who were too important to lose."
After listening to his explanation, Asou Akiya's heart began to race.
"It's not just that, is it?" he blurted out. "The ancient jujutsu world was far more perilous than the modern one. It's called the Fate-Reversal Candle—'reversing fate' clearly isn't a casual name. It can't be such a simple Cursed Tool. Doesn't it also increase the user's chances of awakening the Reverse Cursed Technique?"
Zen'in Naoya looked at him as though he were insane, "Betting your life on a probability? Only a lunatic would do something like that."
He clicked his tongue.
"How did my cousin end up collecting something like this? Nobody in the Three Great Clans uses this thing anymore."
Then he added coldly, "If you don't use it, you might still have a sliver of life left. If you do use it, all you can do is wait to be reduced to ashes. At best, it keeps your corpse from falling into the hands of curse users."
The Fate-Reversal Candle turned death itself into the pressure needed to comprehend the Reverse Cursed Technique. Once the user was pierced by the Special Grade Cursed Tool, positive energy would continuously flood their body for three days and three nights, forcing them to experience and grasp the principles of the Reverse Cursed Technique. No matter who they were, the process dramatically increased the likelihood that they would awaken the technique.
It was something that would only ever be used in the most dangerous, most desperate situations imaginable.
It perfectly fulfilled one of Asou Akiya's long-held wishes: to be cremated after death, leaving no remains behind.
His emotions surged.
"So that's why..."
No wonder Gojo Satoru had given him this Cursed Tool.
Gojo knew how desperately he wanted to master every form of power that someone born without an innate technique could possibly attain. He knew how weak he was, how easily he could find himself standing at death's door. He knew that Asou Akiya would never resign himself to dying from grievous injuries—that he would seize every single chance to defy fate and turn the tables.
Even if he never awakened the Reverse Cursed Technique, this Special Grade Cursed Tool would still grant him the opportunity to see his friends one last time. Its immunity to cursed energy attacks meant that, even when confronted by a Special Grade Cursed Spirit, he would have a chance to escape alive.
The person in this world who understood him best... was actually Gojo Satoru.
Catching the hope shining in Asou Akiya's eyes, Zen'in Naoya suddenly changed his tune.
"You could give it a try."
There was unmistakable malice in his encouragement.
"Maybe you'll get lucky and actually succeed."
Having obtained the answer he wanted, Asou Akiya carefully placed the Fate-Reversal Candle back into the deepest recesses of Ugly Treasure's stomach, making sure its spike couldn't accidentally scratch anyone.
His voice remained calm, though it carried an unmistakable note of quiet excitement.
"I'll use it... on the day I truly have nowhere left to turn."
He hoped that day would never come.
And yet, if it ever did, he hoped it would truly allow him to overturn fate itself.
"This is the greatest gift I've ever received."
Asou Akiya smiled brilliantly, his eyes curving into crescents until his deep black pupils disappeared from view.
Zen'in Naoya's eyes widened in disbelief.
The Fate-Reversal Candle—a Special Grade Cursed Tool that countless people in the modern jujutsu world regarded as nothing more than a death sentence—was, in Asou Akiya's eyes, the greatest gift imaginable.
Did he really possess the resolve to stake everything on surviving after embracing certain death?
"You..."
Zen'in Naoya hesitated before finally forcing out a warning.
"It was already tested in ancient times. Unless the user awakens the Reverse Cursed Technique and fulfills the condition for removing the Cursed Tool, no outside force has ever been able to negate the price exacted by this Special Grade Cursed Tool."
Then his face suddenly turned deathly pale, "The Inverted Spear of Heaven is in Gojo-kun's hands...!"
The Fate-Reversal Candle forcibly prolonged a person's life for three days.
The Inverted Spear of Heaven forcibly nullified techniques.
Together...
What kind of horrifying, infinite life-preserving combination was that!?
Zen'in Naoya suddenly felt that every shred of goodwill behind his warning had been completely wasted. He angrily turned his back on Asou Akiya and pounded the bed.
"Toji should've never left behind something this ridiculously valuable! Aaaagh!"
Asou Akiya couldn't help laughing at his childish outburst.
For some reason, even Zen'in Naoya's features seemed unexpectedly pleasant to look at now.
Covering his mouth, Asou Akiya tried to suppress it, but his light, cheerful laughter spilled out uncontrollably.
There was nothing he could do.
The Rainbow Piggy was simply too hilarious.
Although the Inverted Spear of Heaven no longer existed, that didn't stop Asou Akiya from laughing at him for believing there was some shortcut to be taken.
"When a jujutsu sorcerer stands on the brink of death, the only person they can rely on is themselves. As someone born into one of the Three Great Clans, you should understand that your enemies aren't always Cursed Spirits. Sometimes, they're humans who excel at wielding all kinds of weapons."
Leaving behind the warning that foreshadowed the Zen'in Clan's destruction in the original story, Asou Akiya walked out of the room.
"..."
Zen'in Naoya remained frozen for a long time, unable to recover from the shock.
Was Kamo... actually trying to guide him?
Could that bastard Kamo really awaken the Reverse Cursed Technique one day?
His greatest ambition for the future had always been to become the head of the Zen'in Clan, inherit the family, and lead it through the era of the Gojo Clan's overwhelming dominance. Yet compared to Kamo's relentless drive to keep climbing higher, he suddenly felt as though he were the one taking the easy path.
The pressure of constantly being outdone left Zen'in Naoya clutching his head in agony.
"No! I absolutely can't let him succeed! He's only fit to spend his entire life standing still!"
Wasn't there still their Binding Vow?
He would never allow Kamo to reach a point where he needed to use the Fate-Reversal Candle!
Within the next five years, he would train with everything he had and grow stronger.
Tokyo Jujutsu High wasn't going to produce another wielder of the Reverse Cursed Technique!
...
Asou Akiya sent over lunch as a return gift: a large pot of century egg and lean pork congee, made with his own hands.
Zen'in Naoya was so angry that he refused to eat it. After spending the afternoon recovering from his injuries, however, he had no choice but to grudgingly reheat it and finish it that evening.
—Madman! Freak! Miser!
—...What a bizarre flavor!
_________
Author's Note:
[Special Grade Cursed Tool: Fate-Reversal Candle]
Origin: Crafted from the corpse of a Reverse Cursed Technique user. (This was foreshadowed in the history exam section~)
Appearance: A black candlestick with a sharp spike. (The human body serves as the candle.)
Cursed Technique Effect: Piercing the target with the spike places them in a life-lock state, rendering them immune to attacks imbued with cursed energy while forcibly sustaining their life for one to three days. The price is that the user must awaken the Reverse Cursed Technique in order to remove the Cursed Tool. Otherwise, they can only wait until the Special Grade Cursed Tool's restorative power is exhausted, at which point their body will be reduced to ashes.
Source: An original creation by the author; not a Special Grade Cursed Tool from the original canon.