"You can't keep going like this, Little Uncle Naoya."
About ten years ago, Naoya Zenin was practicing his swordsmanship in his courtyard. Akira Zenin lounged in a nearby tree, lightly humming a tune he'd made up while writing out the next mission Naoya Zenin would be assigned.
The moment Akira Zenin spoke, Naoya Zenin immediately sheathed his sword and looked respectfully toward the branch on his left, his expression practically screaming, "Big brother, please teach me!"
This man rarely spoke. Each time he came to deliver a mission, he would quietly nap in the tree afterward and then leave without another word...
"Is there something wrong with my training?"
"Let's do this. Spar with me. No techniques."
At Akira Zenin's words, Naoya Zenin lit up as if he'd just struck gold. He hurried to grab two bamboo swords from the side, the motion so smooth it was obvious he'd rehearsed it countless times.
With swords in hand, the two stood facing each other without moving.
For a while, the only sign that time was still flowing was the slow drift of petals falling through the air.
Naoya Zenin gripped his sword, his presence drawn inward, calm and restrained as he fixed his gaze on Akira Zenin.
Having trained in swordsmanship since childhood, he could see flaws everywhere in Akira Zenin's stance. There was no proper form to speak of.
And yet, the lazy, almost gentle aura around Akira Zenin made him hesitate to act rashly.
Nearly an hour passed. Naoya Zenin's brows slowly knit together, cold sweat beading at his temples. Confronted with that overwhelming Cursed Energy for so long, he felt like he could barely breathe.
Akira Zenin had already closed his eyes. His posture grew even looser, as if he had fallen asleep standing there.
Then Naoya Zenin moved.
Sword in hand, he shot forward at astonishing speed.
Akira Zenin remained where he was and swung one-handed in a horizontal slash toward Naoya Zenin.
The instant the two bamboo swords, reinforced with Cursed Energy, collided, sparks burst into the air.
Naoya Zenin felt as though his wrist had been struck by a speeding train. His entire hand went numb, and he could no longer even feel the sword in his grip. It nearly flew from his hand.
Akira Zenin followed with a vertical slash. Naoya Zenin swung with all his strength to block, but his bamboo sword was cut clean in two. With a loud bang, he was sent crashing to the ground.
"Do you understand now?"
Akira Zenin walked over and crouched beside him, looking down at Naoya Zenin, who still hadn't fully recovered.
Naoya Zenin swayed as he pushed himself upright. A dark vertical mark stood out on his forehead, and his head was still ringing.
For a split second, he'd thought he saw a few long-dead servants waving at him from the other side...
"Tch..."
Naoya Zenin rubbed his head and took a moment to steady himself.
"So you're saying as long as the power is great enough, technique doesn't matter?"
Akira Zenin didn't answer. Instead, he asked:
"What does the strongest version of yourself look like in your mind?"
"Like Toji. Overwhelming physical strength, incredible speed, skillful use of multiple Cursed Tools to seize openings and kill the opponent in an instant."
"And your technique?"
"I've already pushed Projection Sorcery as far as it can go. The hardest parts, the mental calculations and movement planning, already happen subconsciously in battle.
The speed boost I can gain through the technique has reached the limit of this body.
The only thing left to train is how to find the best timing to lock someone down."
Akira Zenin shook his head.
"Do you know?
Those who break the mold all have something uniquely their own.
Technique. Cursed Energy. Body. Intelligence.
As long as one of those four exceeds the norm, they have a chance to glimpse a different world."
Naoya Zenin lowered his head and fell into thought.
Akira Zenin continued:
"You're strong in a very ordinary way right now."
"?"
"I never said training your swordsmanship was a bad thing. On the contrary, technique matters a lot.
But if you keep using your second uncle as your template, you'll lose what makes you uniquely you."
"My own uniqueness?"
Akira Zenin nodded.
"Have you ever thought about how to become stronger in a more concrete way? For example, reversing your technique?"
The Zenin Clan and the Gojo Clan shared most of their information, so Naoya Zenin was well aware of the existence of [Reverse Cursed Technique].
"Projection Sorcery… How would that even be reversed?"
"Every technique is made up of two parts.
The first is the core, the unchangeable foundation.
The second is the derivative, the structure you're free to build however you like.
Take Satoru Gojo's [Limitless Technique] as an example.
Its core is the manipulation of space at the atomic level.
Its derivatives are [Stasis Power], [Cursed Technique Lapse—Blue], and [Reverse Cursed Technique—Red].
Some techniques have a very distinct essence. Others are much more obscure. The former may require the user to develop them before their true power shows. The latter can directly enhance combat ability through their built-in effects."
Akira Zenin paused slightly, giving Naoya Zenin time to think.
"But in most cases, techniques that require development actually give the user a higher ceiling. Because when you clearly understand your own 'core,' the technique stops being just an embedded tool. It becomes part of your body."
Akira Zenin watched Naoya Zenin quietly for a moment, then turned, waved a hand, and left the courtyard.
He'd said enough. If that still wasn't enough to wake him up, then so be it.
...
"Akira, I've got it! I finally understand!"
After that lesson from Akira Zenin, Naoya Zenin had done nothing but think. Years of fighting had already given him a clear direction.
All he lacked was an insight into reversing his technique.
And now, he finally held the last piece of the puzzle.
Naoya Zenin shot toward Jogo, bringing his blade down in an unremarkable slash.
A massive flaming hand slammed straight at him, but Naoya Zenin didn't dodge. His body flickered, vanishing for an instant before reappearing beside Jogo, his blade sweeping horizontally.
Jogo froze for a split second at the sight, but quickly reacted and moved to defend.
Yet Naoya Zenin's sword had clearly swung toward Jogo's arm from the front.
Instead, a spray of blood burst from the back of Jogo's neck. He had nearly been decapitated.
This was the reversal Naoya Zenin had realized for Projection Sorcery.
Originally, he divided one second into twenty-four frames, planning and executing his movements frame by frame.
Now, he could "insert a frame," forcibly slipping an additional one twenty-fourth of a second into that same second.
On the surface, it looked like nothing more than an extra instant.
But to everyone else, that one twenty-fourth of a second simply did not exist.
With complete mastery of Projection Sorcery and precise planning, it could produce astonishing results in battle.
Even in a fight where death could come at any moment, Naoya Zenin trembled with excitement.
[Akira, did you see that?
Maybe I can use my technique to push technique itself to its absolute limit.]