The day after the Shadow Crocodile was exorcised, Eichi's mission report caused quite a stir at Jujutsu Headquarters.
A 15-year-old capable of exorcising a Special Grade Cursed Spirit was already considered a genius, but Eichi wasn't the only one who had achieved this. Both Suguru and Satoru had done the same.
However, achieving Domain Expansion at the age of 15 was exceedingly rare.
Some people were thrilled, while others were troubled.
Naobito was, of course, one of the happy ones.
Although Eichi had a poor attitude toward the Zen'in Family and had already expressed his intent to establish a new Zen'in branch, Naobito found Eichi's personal attitude toward him surprisingly favorable.
It was the same with Toji.
While Toji wouldn't hesitate to strike down any Zen'in who provoked him, he still gave Naobito some Face.
Of course, that might have been more for the sake of money and cursed tools.
Thinking of this, Naobito felt a pang of pain for the Zen'in Family's Sealed Repository. So many powerful cursed tools had been taken by Toji, and the empty spaces had yet to be refilled.
Surprisingly, the one most vexed by Eichi's growth was the Gojo Family Head.
When Eichi submitted his Jujutsu Rank assessment application, the Gojo Head thought it was the perfect time to pressure him into changing his surname to Gojo.
But before he could even act, Satoru had already shut it down.
When overt pressure didn't work, the Gojo Head considered a more subtle approach, but that failed too.
Coupled with Satoru's interference, the Gojo Head couldn't help but feel absurd.
They couldn't even 'steal' the heir to the Ten Shadows Technique, and their own Six Eyes user was already off the rails.
---
At Tokyo Jujutsu High.
"How about we go to the beach?" Eichi suggested as Masamichi left the classroom.
"Oh, yes, yes, let's go now!" Satoru's mood instantly lifted.
"Satoru, we still have class this afternoon."
"It's just hand-to-hand combat. We can practice that at the beach."
"But—"
"Suguru, it's okay to relax once in a while. Just leave a note for Yaga-sensei."
"...Eichi, you too?"
"We've been working overtime for days. We deserve a break."
Saying that, Eichi dragged Suguru and Artoria out with him.
Majority rules, off they went.
---
Caw, caw.
Seagulls circled above the small yacht docked near the beach.
It was one of the Gojo Family's private yachts.
"Are the girls still not ready?" Satoru leaned lazily by the window.
"What, waiting to help Ieiri-san put on sunscreen?" Eichi teased from the side.
"No way, she'd hit me!" Satoru waved his hand like he was swatting away the idea.
"Sorry for the wait."
Just then, Shoko and Artoria stepped out from the changing room.
Shoko wore a bright red bikini, full of youthful energy.
Artoria's swimsuit was mainly white, accented with blue trim and tied with delicate bows at the sides and back.
"Whoa, looking good!" Satoru gave a thumbs-up.
"If you keep staring, I'll gouge out your eyes," Shoko said sweetly, though the words were menacing.
"You look great, Ria."
"Thank you."
Even though she knew modern swimsuits looked like this, Artoria still felt a little awkward wearing one for the first time.
"Want to try this?" Eichi handed her a water gun, clear-bodied with yellow reservoirs on both ends.
"What is this?" Artoria aimed and pulled the trigger.
A jet of water sprayed out.
Finding it interesting, she fired again at the sea.
"Want to go diving? I heard the underwater view here is beautiful."
"We didn't bring diving gear, did we?"
"It's fine. We're strong enough not to drown."
"That's true," Suguru nodded.
The underwater world was like a dream.
Sunlight filtered through the clear azure water, casting brilliant light patterns.
Small fish darted between colorful coral reefs.
The sea was pristine and untouched by pollution.
Floating on the surface, Eichi let his thoughts drift.
Elsewhere, Satoru and Suguru were racing underwater.
Shoko had found a particularly beautiful fish and was considering whether to take it home as a pet.
Artoria watched a sea turtle glide lazily past.
They gathered ingredients from the area and cooked a seafood barbecue, along with soup.
After they ate their fill, Eichi and Shoko lay on the beach, sunbathing.
At some point, Eichi drifted into a deep sleep.
---
"Satoru, are you sure about this?"
"You're doing it too, Suguru."
"I mean, it's fine with Eichi, but Ieiri-san will definitely kill you."
"It's fine, Shoko won't mind something this small."
The voices seeped into Eichi's dream.
Drowsily, he tried to move and rub his eyes.
"...Huh?"
He couldn't move.
Opening his eyes, he found his body buried in sand and... two very obvious, sand-formed mounds on his chest.
"Satoru, have you decided what to put on your tombstone?" Eichi turned his head with a terrifying smile.
Then his expression froze.
Beside him, Shoko was also buried in sand, still sleeping.
And based on the shape... Satoru had sculpted her into a muscular strongman, comparable to Toji.
Of course, the most ridiculous part was the massive, seawater-mixed sand sculpture between the legs.
"Pfft." Eichi couldn't help laughing.
Shoko stirred awake.
"You guys are so noisy—huh?" She opened her eyes and took in the situation.
"GOJO!" Her furious roar echoed across the beach.
"Hey, Suguru, send me a copy of the photos."
"Sure, just a sec."
"Wait, why is there only Shoko's? Where's mine?"
"...Oh." Suguru hadn't expected Eichi to want his own blackmail material too.
Eichi didn't mind the look Suguru gave him.
After all, after spending enough time with Satoru, he had learned one thing.
If I'm not embarrassed, then others will be.
As long as he didn't care, Satoru couldn't use it to mess with him.
Soon, another photo arrived on Eichi's phone.
"You know, Satoru may deserve a punch, but his craftsmanship is amazing," Eichi said, admiring the curves of the sand figure.
"Can't argue with that," Suguru replied.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)