"Hahaha, I couldn't hold back, sorry about that. Next time, when you've got a cursed tool in hand, let's spar again."
Gojo laughed it off, not caring in the slightest about his own rude behavior.
"Let's hope you live to see that day."
Jinsuke brushed past Gojo and left straight away.
Unable to fight without a cursed tool? Of course not. Up until now, he hadn't revealed the true power of his Blood Qi.
Blood Qi represented raw vitality, masculine force — there was no way it could fall short compared to cursed energy, which was born of negative emotions.
Against a cursed spirit, he wouldn't mind cutting loose. But if the opponent was Gojo… he simply had no interest. With that Limitless defense standing in his way, and without knowing Domain Amplification or wielding the Inverted Spear of Heaven, there was no way to settle such a fight. It would just drag on pointlessly.
As Jinsuke walked away, Gojo's smile gradually faded, his expression sharpening.
"That guy… even if you ignore cursed energy, he's already at special grade level, isn't he?"
Reaching special grade purely through martial arts… that was downright absurd.
When Jinsuke returned home, Maki was already training hard in the yard, sweat pouring down her forehead. Riko lounged on the sofa, watching TV. From the kitchen came the sounds of clattering.
"Ah, Uncle, you're back?" Seeing how casually they'd all made themselves at home, Jinsuke felt a vein twitch on his forehead. These brats…
"All done with your business?" Riko asked offhandedly.
Jinsuke gave a small nod. With no leads on Kenjaku's whereabouts, the best he could do was reassure Toji and Megumi not to worry too much. Kenjaku would show himself eventually, and there was no way he'd allow Tsumiki to be possessed by anyone.
Clang!
Another loud crash came from the kitchen, making Jinsuke's heart sink. A bad premonition rose in his chest.
"…Where's Mai?"
"In the kitchen. She insisted on helping wash the dishes—wouldn't listen no matter what I said."
The very next second, Jinsuke appeared in the kitchen. His once-full set of plates had dwindled to a pitiful few. On a stool stood Mai, happily scrubbing away, her little hands and even her cheeks covered in suds.
"Look, big brother! Aren't I amazing? I'm helping you wash the dishes!"
She beamed at him proudly, completely oblivious to what was about to happen.
Without a word, Jinsuke stepped forward, rinsed the soap from her hands and face, and then laid her belly-down across his lap.
"Eh? Big brother, what are you doing?" Mai blinked at him with wide eyes, thinking maybe he wanted to play a game.
Smack!
Her yelp filled the kitchen. Only then did she realize this was definitely not a game.
"Waaah! Why are you hitting me?!"
Smack!
"How many times have I told you not to go in the kitchen?! You think my words are just noise?!"
Smack!
"Oww! Stop! I get it already!"
Smack!
"Uuu… Maki! Riko! Save meee!"
Smack!
…
Only after thoroughly disciplining her did Jinsuke let her up, and he began cleaning up the battlefield the kitchen had become.
He'd been gone nearly half a day—she had been "washing" this whole time, even pulling out clean dishes just to rewash them.If not for the shards of porcelain scattered everywhere, he might've actually praised her.
"I told you not to step in the kitchen. You wouldn't listen, and now look what happened." Riko, utterly merciless, teased Mai as she sat sniffling, hands on her sore backside, cheeks puffed out.
"Hmph!" Mai turned away, sulking, refusing to speak with the woman who didn't save her.
After Jinsuke finished tidying up, he fixed his dark gaze on Mai.
"Next time you dare set foot in the kitchen… don't even think about eating my food again."
"Ehh?! No, anything but that! Mom's cooking is awful! I only want to eat what you make! I swear, big brother—I'll never do it again!"
Hearing that, Jinsuke's stern expression softened a little. He even found himself pitying her mother. For Mai to complain so bluntly… her cooking really must be that bad.
Perhaps it was also because his own dishes carried flavors from his past life—comfort food, hearty, delicious. It just happened to be exactly what Mai loved.
"Pffft—ahahahaha!" Riko burst out laughing, holding her stomach.
"I can't, Mai, you're killing me here."
"I'd better head home before she makes me laugh to death" she added, waving goodbye. She had a mission tomorrow anyway.
Once Riko was gone, Mai lowered her head, tugging gently at Jinsuke's sleeve.
"Big brother… Mai knows she was wrong. Please forgive me this time, okay? Mai loves you the most~"
Jinsuke gave her a flat look, unimpressed.
"This is the last time."
"Yay! Big brother's the best!" All traces of tears vanished, her joy bubbling over.
Over the years of living together, Mai had thoroughly figured Jinsuke out. He looked fierce, but in truth… he wasn't scary at all.
In her heart, the place he held had been steadily rising.He was already close to surpassing even her sister's spot.
Jinsuke sighed inwardly. So it's true—girls who act spoiled really do have it easiest. Humans naturally have a soft spot for cute things. Nothing to do with "lolicon" or any of that nonsense—simply put, little sisters count as cute too.
His eyes turned to Maki outside the window, still pushing herself in training, sweat pouring off her. At least his disciple gave him true satisfaction. Not yet ready, but her perseverance alone had already won his approval.
When her body reached the right threshold, he would finally teach her real techniques.
With that thought, Jinsuke stepped into the yard himself, intent on some light training before cooking dinner.
His consciousness sank inward. The Scripture had already lit up five pages, meaning he could now open the Fifth Gate.
But from this point on, he could feel clearly — the difficulty of advancing would skyrocket. Physical training alone was losing its effect. Even after a full year of intense effort, hunting a handful of curses would probably yield faster growth.
At best, he estimated he could reach the Sixth Gate —the furthest possible without chakra. Already, drawing out even a thread of Blood Qi was incredibly difficult. Beyond the Sixth Gate, training would likely be completely useless.
Fortunately, he had his golden finger. As long as there were cursed spirits to consume, he had nothing to fear.
After a short workout, he whipped up a simple dinner to feed the two sisters.
A few days later, word arrived from Jujutsu High — every available teacher was summoned for a meeting.The topic: a special grade cursed spirit with no official record… the same one that had injured Tsumiki.
Jinsuke's lips curved faintly. A special grade cursed spirit, huh?He wondered just how much of a surprise it would bring him.