There were large, medium, and small bodies, along with styles that ranged from cool to cute to oddly ugly with its own charm. They could serve as tanks, damage dealers, or support, using physical or magical approaches without missing a single role. On top of that, they had to be subdued before use, and some could even evolve at a cost.

  Beyond that, rare humanoid forms and godlike beasts among Pokémon also existed within Ten Shadows Technique. Akira believed that if Megumi Fushiguro were dropped into the Pokemon World, he would still do extremely well, though Gary Oak or Green might risk being overshadowed. The thought alone was amusing enough.

  Among the “ten Pokémon” that Megumi Fushiguro possessed, the most popular were naturally the Divine Dogs pair, the Divine Dogs. In battle they were ferocious, and in daily life they could become a source of joy, much like clumsy dogs playing in the snow. Their balance of strength and friendliness made them hard not to like.

  As for pure cuteness and healing power, that title belonged to Rabbit Escape. Even Akira, who sometimes missed spicy rabbit head dishes, had to admit how adorable they were. After being rendered through Ten Shadows Technique with a light ink wash effect, their charm rose to another level.

  As soon as Megumi Fushiguro finished the Exorcism Ritual, Panda urged him to summon the rabbits. Everyone took one into their arms to play, and even the tough, no-nonsense Maki Zenin and Rika Orimoto, who had transformed into a Cursed Spirit, could not resist. Of course, the latter had been warned by Yuta Okkotsu not to damage the rabbits.

  This scene once again confirmed Akira’s thinking. As long as Yuta Okkotsu set aside his prejudice and sincerely accepted and treated Rika Orimoto well, Rika Orimoto was controllable, at worst a little too strong at times. The overall risk remained manageable.

  The only real exception was Panda’s second brother, Pancham. Relying on being cuter than everyone else, he bullied other creatures without caring about their level, waving his tiny fists and chasing the remaining rabbits all over the place. The chaos was impressive in its own way.

  It was worth noting that the technique was called “Ten Shadows Technique”, not ten individual Ten Shadows Technique. It allowed multiple instances to exist at once, and the weaker the individual, the greater the number. Coincidentally, many such examples existed among Pokémon as well.

  There was the Kangaskhan that was respectfully called big brother and liked to bring its children along to fights. There were also Dugtrio and Magneton, which evolved straight into a combined form. And then there was Wishiwashi, individually weak, so they simply grouped together and pushed group combat to the extreme.

  Megumi Fushiguro, and you still say you are not a Pokemon Trainer? Akira thought to himself, indulging in his rich inner monologue. Megumi Fushiguro knew none of this and instead bowed deeply to Akira.

  “Thank you very much, Senior Akira, and welcome back.”

  Kento Nanami once said that the growth of a Jujutsu Sorcerer was not linear, and people were the same. Some reached adulthood physically but remained children inside, while others matured overnight and crossed from boyhood into manhood. Many Curse User fell into the former category, while Megumi Fushiguro was a clear example of the latter.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Before his sister’s accident, he had been full of middle-school bravado, the kind who specialized in putting down troublemakers. He liked to sit on piles of defeated delinquents and deliver artsy speeches about boundaries and dignity. Back then, he would even end with a blunt threat if they crossed the line again.

  Now, while he had not reached Kento Nanami’s level, he had become mature and dependable. When Akira greeted him with a casual “I’m back,” it felt oddly strange. Living in Japan for so long had made such exchanges second nature, but using them with Megumi Fushiguro still felt off.

  “Are you here to train today?” Akira asked.

  “Yes. I thought of a way to subjugate ‘Rabbit Escape’, but there were some issues during execution. Thankfully, the seniors helped fix it.”

  The combat power of Rabbit Escape was negligible, but their numbers and speed were troublesome. Megumi Fushiguro’s plan was to confine them in an enclosed room and deal with them one by one. The idea itself was sound.

  However, he overestimated the sturdiness of the buildings inside Tokyo Jujutsu High. In order to finish quickly, he summoned Great Serpent and accidentally smashed a hole in the wall, letting more than half of the rabbits escape. Luckily, Panda reacted quickly and prevented the Exorcism Ritual from ending in failure.

  A group of humans turned out to be less reliable than a single Panda, leaving Makoto speechless. To make matters worse, this very Panda continued to display crushing emotional intelligence. “I heard from Gojo that you went on a confidential mission. Did it go well?”

  “There were some twists, but overall it went fine,” Akira replied lightly.

  Someone was clearly unwilling to let that pass so easily. A frivolous, unreliable adult male appeared out of nowhere, unusually without a blindfold, dressed in casual clothes and wearing newly customized Sunglasses. He hooked an arm around Akira’s shoulder with familiarity, his face full of pride.

  “It was not just fine, it was overwhelmingly fine,” he said. “Nanami told me everything. Learning ‘Black Flash’ in one week. As expected of me, my eye for students is excellent.”

  Akira and Megumi Fushiguro both turned their heads away in silent agreement. This so-called teacher had probably taught less than twenty-four hours in total. Still, when Satoru Gojo talked about judgment, that part was hard to refute.

  “Black Flash?” someone asked. “You mean that ‘Black Flash’?” “How did you even do it?” The name alone drew everyone’s attention.

  “According to Satoru Gojo-sensei, if you have hands, you can do it. It is nothing special,” Akira said. Being surrounded by masters of humble bragging had clearly rubbed off on him. Besides, whether it was impressive depended on who you compared it to.

  He was immediately met with collective disdain, except from Satoru Gojo, who nodded enthusiastically. “Right, right. You even said I was showing off back then, but it was just the truth.”

  Akira immediately distanced himself with action. “I was joking. Having hands is only part of it. For your first ‘Black Flash’, using the motion you are most familiar with gives the highest success rate. That is just my personal feeling, though, and it is hard to put the experience into words.”

  “If it is hard to put into words, then just experience it directly with your body,” Maki Zenin said, tossing aside the rabbit in her hands. Between being cute and getting stronger, the choice was obvious.

  “Unfortunately, that is impossible,” Akira said with a sigh, shaking his head. “‘Black Flash’ cannot be held back. I am afraid I would beat you to death.” The words were harsh, but this was not something that could be glossed over.

  Satoru Gojo also spoke up. “He is right. If ‘Black Flash’ hits a vital spot, even I could die. That is why I have never demonstrated it. Once it comes out, the fight is over.”

  With even the troublemaker saying so, Maki Zenin could not argue further. She looked at Akira with clear frustration. She had always treated him as her goal, and their close combat levels had long been comparable.

  With Cursed Energy enhancement, Akira had greater raw power, while Maki Zenin, trained from childhood under experts and shaped by System-like discipline, held the edge in technique. Now that Akira had mastered “Black Flash”, his strength jumped an entire tier, while she was still progressing step by step. For someone as competitive as her, that was hard to accept.