"Master, I'm ready!"
In the mountains not far from Jujutsu High, Maki stood before Jinsuke, excitement shining in her eyes. Today, her master would teach her something stronger — and nothing thrilled her more than the thought of becoming more powerful.
"Don't get too excited. Let's see if you're even capable first. We'll start with an extreme workout."
Jinsuke handed her the specially prepared weighted gear.Maki slipped it on without hesitation and immediately entered training mode. She had seen her master undergo these brutal exercises countless times before, so she was well aware of what was coming.
She had tried it once herself — and never again. Unlike her master, she couldn't recover quickly after pushing past her limits. She would need two or three days just to move again. That kind of delay would ruin her training progress and possibly damage her still-growing body.
But now… she was ready to try again.
Jinsuke watched closely as Maki's sweat poured down like rain, observing every change in her body. Her physical strength was already impressive — but whether she could awaken blood qi energy was another matter entirely.
After a few hours of relentless training, Maki was nearing her limit, gasping for air. Unlike Jinsuke and his brother, she didn't have that terrifying regenerative ability that allowed them to sustain high-intensity training for hours.
"Stay conscious," Jinsuke instructed calmly. "Focus on your body — feel every change inside."
Maki's skin flushed red from the heat of overexertion, steam rising faintly from her body. Seeing this, Jinsuke's eyes lit up.
"There it is…"
"Master! I can feel it!" Maki exclaimed breathlessly. "There's… there's a warmth in my stomach!"
But before she could celebrate—
Pfft!
Blood spurted from her lips.
"Maki!" Jinsuke rushed forward, supporting her trembling frame. "What's wrong? Where does it hurt?"
Her face flushed deep red, veins bulging across her forehead.
"Master… two forces inside me… they're fighting each other!"
Then her eyes widened in realization. "It's… cursed energy!"
Jinsuke immediately understood. The faint spark of blood qi she'd cultivated had awakened the dormant traces of cursed energy inside her — the two opposing forces now clashing violently.
Blood qi, and cursed energy — polar opposites. They could never coexist.
If Maki had normal levels of cursed energy, that small thread of blood power would've been crushed instantly. But because her cursed energy was abnormally weak, it was actually being challenged by this newly born energy within her.
Still, the clash was tearing her fragile body apart.
"Maki," Jinsuke said gravely, "you have two choices. One — I remove the blood energy you've just forged. Your cursed energy will stabilize, and you can become a jujutsu sorcerer… though your ceiling will be low.
Or two — I erase your cursed energy completely. You'll be like me, unable to use jujutsu for life."
"I choose the second!" Maki snapped without a moment's hesitation, her expression fierce. "To hell with cursed energy! It shows up now, of all times? I don't need it anymore!"
Jinsuke smiled faintly. "Good. But brace yourself — my power isn't gentle."
He pressed a hand against her shoulder, and a surge of raw vitality flooded into her — wild, feral, unstoppable.
Pfft!
The cursed energy within her was instantly crushed and expelled, fleeing into the distance as if terrified. Maki coughed up another mouthful of blood, collapsing weakly into Jinsuke's arms.
"It's done," he said softly. "From now on, Maki… you'll walk the same path as me."
Her last trace of cursed energy was gone. She was now a true non-curse user. Though she hadn't gained the overwhelming power Jinsuke possessed, she had taken the first step.
Still, due to her twin bond with Mai, she could never reach complete detachment — as long as Mai possessed cursed energy, Maki's own potential would remain partly restrained.
But at least now, she could finally cultivate the power of blood qi.
"Master," she whispered, exhausted yet exhilarated, "that power just now… is it the power that belongs only to us?"
Jinsuke nodded. "Yes. I call it the blood qi. It's exclusive to those who walk the path of physical cultivation. But this—" he gestured calmly "—is only the beginning."
He sat her down against the trunk of a great tree and continued, "Now, focus. Feel the energy inside you."
Using his own qi, Jinsuke guided the faint current within Maki's body toward a point in her head — an acupoint waiting to be awakened.
"Your next step," he instructed, "is to fill this point completely with qi until it fully opens. That will mark your true beginning."
"I understand, Master!"
After a short rest, Maki stood again, determination burning in her eyes. This new energy didn't feel weaker than cursed energy at all — if anything, it felt fiercer, more alive.
Cursed energy was born of negativity. Blood qi, however, was something primal — raw, forceful, and utterly domineering.
Her body had finally allowed her to feel its strength.
Jinsuke, meanwhile, pondered deeply. Maki's case made him realize something crucial — if his own qi and blood were strong enough, it could forcibly expel cursed energy from others. But such a method would be deadly for most people. Maki's situation was unique — perhaps the only one of its kind.
After ensuring she was stable, Jinsuke straightened and called out coldly,
"You've been watching long enough. Come out already."
A familiar, lazy voice replied,
"Oh, come on — I didn't want to interrupt your little bonding session. Didn't expect you to have this kind of trick up your sleeve, though."
Gojo stepped out from behind a tree, grinning. His Six Eyes glimmered as he examined Maki.
"Wow… not a single trace of cursed energy left. How'd you even pull that off?"
"Gojo-sensei?" Maki's expression turned sour — she couldn't believe this guy had been spying on their secret training the whole time.
"Hey, don't look at me like that," Gojo said, waving his hands defensively. "I just came here to find him." He nodded toward Jinsuke.
Then his smile sharpened slightly. "By the way, the higher-ups sent me. They ordered me to secretly execute you. You knew that, right?"
Jinsuke remained calm — but Maki's eyes widened in shock.
"What!?" she exploded. "Those damn geezers dare to kill my master!?"