In some ways, the world is actually quite fair.
If you want to improve, you have to put in the work. If you want to be stronger than others, you have to sweat more and endure more pain.
Some people seem to make progress as easily as eating or drinking—and for some, it really is that easy.
Just like Sōjun Minamoto.
But no one sees the pain he endured while developing his technique—his eyes and arms bursting open bit by bit, his flesh tearing apart inch by inch.
It was a pain that cut deep, down to the cellular level.
No one knows the pressure of forcing more Cursed Energy into an already overflowing vessel, sealing the bottle tight and still pouring more in. At any moment, he might explode and vanish without a trace.
The pressure didn't come from the fear of death—but from constantly hovering at its edge, stepping back and forth across that line.
"But I'm someone who's the same inside and out. When I smile, it means I'm happy. When I'm angry, I show it. I don't smile on the outside while brooding on the inside, getting lost in my own manufactured sense of nobility, thinking,
'Ah, I'm so great.'"
Sōjun Minamoto's voice was distant, as if drifting down from the horizon, echoing in the hearts of Amanai Riko and the other two.
He separated the three of them with a few solid blows, leaving them barely able to keep up. In terms of strength, speed, and technique, he was on a level they couldn't even begin to approach.
Sōjun Minamoto paused, giving them a brief moment to catch their breath.
He casually stretched and looked up at the sun.
The cicadas buzzed intermittently in the summer heat. There was nothing to block the view in the courtyard except a large tree. Its branches and leaves shimmered golden, and the sunlight filtering through cast patches of light on the ground—like it was also casting shadows across their hearts.
This was a match of raw Cursed Energy and hand-to-hand combat, with no techniques involved.
Now, the three of them had a much clearer understanding of Sōjun Minamoto. It was a completely different experience compared to sparring with techniques.
Their bodies and minds were worn down, bruised and battered. The quiet Sōjun Minamoto was nothing like the one they trained with.
Without realizing it, they all looked up at each other. The shadows in their hearts only deepened.
Without his strange techniques, even then, they were like tiny boats on stormy seas—on the verge of capsizing at any moment.
Their only advantage was their numbers, but even working together, it didn't amount to much.
In the end, Sōjun Minamoto knocked them all down with just a few punches and kicks, leaving them too exhausted to even stand. He still looked completely at ease.
"That's enough for now…"
He signaled the end, and the others instantly relaxed, collapsing onto the ground without hesitation.
"Haibara."
Sōjun Minamoto walked over to Yu Haibara and looked down at him.
"Feeling moved right now, aren't you?"
Yu Haibara lay sprawled out, clearly defeated. The gap was just too big. At those words, he froze for a second before quickly responding,
"No."
"Then why are you smiling?"
"I'm not."
"If I say you are, you are. Now explain—why are you smiling?"
"Uh… maybe I just thought of something happy?" Yu Haibara replied cautiously.
"Curse out Nanami."
Yu Haibara: ?
Kento Nanami: ??
"Do it."
"I don't think that's a good idea…"
"Do it."
Yu Haibara slowly got up, hesitated, then shuffled over to Kento Nanami. He looked up, their eyes met—and just as quickly looked away.
It was like catching your best friend's eye from the stage while trying to do something serious. That weird feeling crept in—like you wanted to laugh, but knew you couldn't. So, you just had to hold it in.
"Nanami... Nanami, sometimes you're really annoying," he muttered, glancing at his best friend with a weak voice.
"That's it?" Sōjun Minamoto leaned in. "Be harsher."
"Nanami, the things you do and say... they really get on my nerves sometimes."
"That's all you've got?" Sōjun Minamoto's tone rose slightly. "Huh?"
Huff...
Yu Haibara took a deep breath, then inhaled sharply.
"The way you talk—always so vague—it drives me nuts. Just be clear.
When we're in the cafeteria, it takes forever for you to pick your food. That's annoying too.
You clearly don't like wide noodles, but when I took you to the noodle shop, you didn't say a word. Then after eating, you casually go, 'I don't like wide noodles.' That seriously annoyed me.
Your over-the-top bangs... I've been meaning to say something forever. That hairstyle's been out of style for ages. Why are you still clinging to it?
And you never take the initiative with anything—I always have to push you. You don't even hate doing it, so why not just take the first step?
Even when something should be fun, you always find a way to kill the mood.
You never come to us first when we've got free time.
And when we're on missions, you act like it's such a burden, going on about 'sacrificing personal time'—stuff like that really brings everyone down..."
Huff... Huff...
The more Yu Haibara spoke, the more fired up he got, until he let it all out in one breath, slightly out of breath by the end.
Kento Nanami listened quietly, unable to respond. "So you..."
Huff—Haibara cut him off.
"But you still ate the noodles. That annoyed me. You still finished what you were told to do. That annoyed me. You always stay with us until the end of a mission...
Honestly, you're so annoying!"
"..."
Kento Nanami and Riko Amanai had never seen Yu Haibara like this before.
He'd never even raised his voice at anyone. He always spoke slowly, and if he happened to start talking at the same time as someone else, he was always the one to stop and let the other person speak first.
In truth, the three of them had only been training together for a few months, and Nanami had only known Haibara a bit longer than Amanai had.
But they trained together, studied together, went on missions together. They were comrades who trusted each other with their lives—a bond forged in life-or-death moments.
Yu Haibara stood frozen, stunned by his own outburst. All that pent-up frustration needed a release.
Sometimes, just saying things out loud makes a difference. Rather than tearing yourself up inside, sometimes it's better to let it out—even if it means going a little off the rails.
And honestly, it felt pretty great to snap like that.
He let out a low, mischievous chuckle.
Then he turned to Sōjun Minamoto with a smile.
"Thanks. You made me realize I've been doing it all wrong. Always giving without boundaries only drains you in the end. And honestly, it's a kind of distrust toward your teammates."
He glanced back at the other two, smiling softly.
"From now on, let's work hard—together."
Sōjun Minamoto hadn't been picking on Haibara just for the sake of it.
There were only three students in their year. Like it or not, they were going to be a team. At the very least, they'd spend the next four years at Jujutsu High learning and going on missions together.
And beyond that, they'd face real danger—meaning teamwork and trust would be even more important.
From Sōjun Minamoto's perspective...
Yu Haibara and Kento Nanami were close. He also got along just fine with Riko Amanai. Haibara was the glue holding the three of them together—the mediator who could talk to both sides.
But Nanami and Amanai didn't mesh well. Their personalities clashed. It was like the front-row and back-row kids in class—capable of talking to each other, but not exactly friends.
Because of her past, Riko Amanai's emotional maturity had taken a hit. She was fourteen, but mentally, more like seven—right in that annoying, rebellious kid phase.
Nanami hated hassle. He stayed as far from trouble as possible, so there was no way he'd go out of his way to bond with her.
Their trio depended entirely on Haibara to keep things balanced.
But Haibara had his own issues.
He was a textbook people-pleaser. Always thinking from the other person's perspective, always accommodating—even at his own expense. He sought acceptance through self-sacrifice and rarely voiced his own thoughts, just to avoid conflict or rejection.
In the world of Jujutsu, Haibara was an anomaly—a rare type of sorcerer.
Everyone else's angel. His own personal demon.
That's why Sōjun Minamoto wanted to make sure Haibara was the unshakable anchor of the team. If he could stay stable, the others just needed to follow his lead and center their tactics around him.
Once they were strong enough and survived the fragile period of growth, they wouldn't even need to operate as a team anymore.
Sōjun Minamoto folded his hands and gazed into the distance, his thoughts churning. A few of his clones were out there, busy with their own tasks.
No one knew that the more he understood someone... the less of a threat they became.
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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