It was late at night.
Tokyo Jujutsu High.
A warm yellow light glowed from within an old school building.
This place was originally a warehouse for clutter. It was remote, gloomy, and usually, even stray cats wouldn't bother visiting.
But Gojo Satoru was a man of his word. Since he had given Hayashi En the title of "Jujutsu High Logistics Consultant," he let En do whatever he wanted with this unwanted piece of land.
This suited En perfectly.
Remoteness meant privacy, and privacy meant it was convenient for conducting certain shady business.
"Phew..."
En locked the heavy wooden door and hung up a "Closed" sign. He collapsed onto the red velvet sofa he had scavenged from a second-hand market like a pile of mud, lacking any semblance of decorum.
Exhausted.
This wasn't physical fatigue, but extreme mental overextension.
Talking and laughing in front of Ryomen Sukuna and bargaining under Gojo Satoru's pressure was like tap-dancing on two nuclear launch buttons. A single wrong step would lead to total annihilation.
'But...'
En raised his hand, took off his gold-rimmed glasses, and rubbed his aching brow.
'It was all worth it.'
He snapped his fingers.
The air vibrated slightly, and a pale blue system interface that only he could see emerged in the darkness.
[SYSTEM: CURRENT BALANCE: 50,070 POINTS.]
Looking at that string of numbers, a smile finally appeared on En's pale face—the smile of a nouveau riche.
In this high-risk world of "Jujutsu Kaisen," this was the capital he needed to stand tall.
"Time to spend."
En sat up straight and rubbed his hands together, his eyes scanning the rows of items.
He knew very well that he needed to improve his physical constitution first.
Although he possessed heaven-defying rule-based abilities that could force trades, his actual body was just that of a slightly healthy modern office worker.
Never mind a Special Grade cursed spirit; even a Grade 4 spirit's sneak attack could snap his neck in one bite.
If he encountered spirits on the level of Jogo or Hanami, the mere heatwaves and pressure they released could rupture his internal organs.
'Heavenly Restriction (Full Body)... Price: 500,000 points.'
'Six Eyes Bloodline... Price: 400,000 points.'
'Special Grade Sorcerer Constitution... Price: 300,000 points.'
En's lip twitched.
There were plenty of good things, but they were incredibly expensive.
'I can't reach the heavens in a single step right now.'
'I don't need to be able to tank Sukuna, but at least... I should be able to survive the aftershocks of a Special Grade battle and take a couple of hits without dying.'
After some careful calculation and filtering, his finger stopped on a highly cost-effective option.
[SYSTEM: ITEM NAME: BASIC SORCERER CONSTITUTION ENHANCEMENT (GRADE 2 LEVEL)]
[SYSTEM: TYPE: PHYSICAL RECONSTRUCTION]
[SYSTEM: DESCRIPTION: THROUGH CURSED ENERGY REFINEMENT, THE PHYSICAL STRENGTH OF AN ORDINARY PERSON IS ELEVATED TO THE STANDARD OF A GRADE 2 SORCERER. ENHANCES CARDIOPULMONARY FUNCTION, MUSCLE DENSITY, AND NEURAL RESPONSE SPEED.]
[SYSTEM: PRICE: 15,000 POINTS.]
[SYSTEM: REMARK: ALTHOUGH YOU CAN'T TEAR CURSED SPIRITS APART WITH YOUR BARE HANDS, YOU'LL AT LEAST BE A SUPERHUMAN.]
'A Grade 2 sorcerer's body is enough.'
En calculated. In this world, a Grade 2 sorcerer was already an elite who could perform missions alone, run a marathon without losing breath, and wouldn't die instantly from a punch.
"Purchase!"
[SYSTEM: DING! TRANSACTION CONFIRMED. 15,000 POINTS DEDUCTED.]
[SYSTEM: RECONSTRUCTION BEGINNING...]
Intense pain surged like a tide.
"Ugh!!"
En bit down hard on the sofa's armrest, the veins on his forehead bulging. This wasn't just reconstruction; it felt like every bone in his body was being shattered and rebuilt, every muscle fiber torn and reconnected.
Ten minutes later.
The inhuman torture finally faded. En was drenched in sweat, looking like a fish that had just been pulled from the water.
But he could feel that his body had changed.
The heaviness from years of sitting in an office had vanished, replaced by an unprecedented sense of lightness and fullness.
He clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking sharply. The sense of power made him feel like he could punch through a wall right now.
'I have the foundation to stay alive. Next is... a Cursed Technique.'
En put his glasses back on and looked at his balance.
[SYSTEM: BALANCE: 35,070 POINTS.]
His current offensive means relied entirely on spending money for one-time items or using his "Rules" to suppress others—it was too expensive and lacked consistent output.
En's gaze quickly browsed the "Technique" column.
Suddenly, his eyes fixed on a familiar technique.
[SYSTEM: ITEM NAME: RATIO TECHNIQUE (ENHANCED VERSION)]
[SYSTEM: TYPE: INNATE TECHNIQUE]
[SYSTEM: EFFECT: 1. FORCED WEAK POINT: DIVIDES THE TARGET'S LENGTH INTO TEN SEGMENTS, CREATING A WEAK POINT AT THE 7:3 RATIO. HITTING THIS POINT GUARANTEES A CRITICAL HIT.]
[SYSTEM: 2. SOUL VIBRATION (NEW): UPON A SUCCESSFUL HIT TO THE WEAK POINT, THE RESULTING SHOCKWAVE WILL IGNORE PHYSICAL DEFENSE AND TRANSMIT DIRECTLY TO THE TARGET'S SOUL, CAUSING BRIEF SOUL STUN OR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE.]
[SYSTEM: PRICE: 20,000 POINTS.]
'Mr. Nanami's technique... and it's an enhanced version?'
En's eyes lit up.
The original Ratio Technique was already a god-tier physical attack, known for allowing even a dull blade to cut through steel.
And this system-enhanced version actually added a "soul attack" attribute!
What did this mean?
It meant he now had a natural counter against Mahito, who possessed Idle Transfiguration and had to be killed by attacking the soul.
Furthermore, the Soul Vibration could cause stunning.
For a sorcerer who needed to stay focused to activate their technique, this was a nightmare.
"Bought!"
[SYSTEM: DING! TRANSACTION CONFIRMED. 20,000 POINTS DEDUCTED.]
[SYSTEM: TECHNIQUE CIRCUIT IMPLANTATION IN PROGRESS...]
This time, there was no intense pain.
Only a cool current flowed into his brain, then quickly spread throughout his body.
A vast amount of knowledge regarding geometry, division, and striking angles was carved into En's mind like instinct.
The world changed in his eyes.
He looked at the solid wood coffee table in front of him.
In his vision, black ruler lines appeared on the surface of the table.
And at the 7:3 division point, a bright red dot was flickering slightly.
That was the "dead line."
The flaw in all things.
En casually picked up a cheap plastic pen from the table.
With a flick of his wrist.
"Strike!"
The pen turned into an afterimage, accurately piercing that red dot.
"Vroom!"
The next second.
"Crack."
The thick solid wood coffee table snapped cleanly into two pieces starting from the point of impact.
The cut was as smooth as a mirror, as if it had been sliced by a laser.
At the moment of the break, En clearly felt an invisible wave spread from the tip of the pen, causing even the dust in the surrounding air to tremble.
'Is this... Soul Vibration?'
En looked at the pen in his hand.
Just now, if a living person had been standing there, not only would their body have snapped, but their brain would have likely turned to mush.
"Perfect."
En satisfiedly tucked the pen into his chest pocket.
With this move, he was no longer a helpless merchant, but an assassin who could break through an opponent's physical and mental defenses at any time.
[SYSTEM: BALANCE: 15,070 POINTS.]
In the blink of an eye, the huge sum of money was down to spare change.
En felt a bit of a sting, but he knew he absolutely couldn't skimp on this last purchase.
In the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, there was one move that was a nightmare for all sorcerers—Domain Expansion.
Once pulled into a domain, the opponent's attacks were guaranteed hits. If he encountered freaks like Mahito or Jogo who could open domains, no matter how good his body was or how strong his technique, he would be a dead man.
He had to have a countermeasure, which was "that."
"Simple Domain."
En searched.
[SYSTEM: ITEM NAME: SIMPLE DOMAIN (AUTO-TRIGGER VERSION)]
[SYSTEM: TYPE: PASSIVE SKILL/BARRIER TECHNIQUE]
[SYSTEM: DESCRIPTION: NO HAND SIGNS OR INCANTATIONS REQUIRED. WHEN THE SYSTEM DETECTS THE HOST IS WITHIN AN ENEMY'S DOMAIN, IT AUTOMATICALLY DEPLOYS A SPHERICAL BARRIER WITH A 2-METER RADIUS TO NEUTRALIZE THE GUARANTEED HIT EFFECT.]
[SYSTEM: PRICE: 15,000 POINTS.]
"You did this pricing on purpose, didn't you?"
En looked at his balance and grit his teeth. This was meant to squeeze every last penny out of him.
But to stay alive, there was no choice.
"Buy!"
[SYSTEM: DING! TRANSACTION CONFIRMED. 15,000 POINTS DEDUCTED.]
[SYSTEM: CURRENT BALANCE: 70 POINTS.]
Back to square one.
Looking at that pitiful balance, En slumped back onto the sofa powerlessly.
The thrill of being rich vanished, replaced by a deep sense of crisis.
"I'm broke."
"I don't even have enough points to activate the Creditor Protection Mechanism once."
En looked at the ceiling and muttered to himself.
Right now, although he had a Grade 2 sorcerer's body, a technique that could strike the soul, and a Simple Domain, his core deterrent—the rule-based system based on "points"—was temporarily out of commission.
He had to make money.
He had to find new high-quality clients as quickly as possible.
"Knock knock knock."
Just then, someone suddenly knocked on the heavy wooden door of the old school building.
En's gaze sharpened.
Who could it be at this hour?
En sat up straight, adjusted his slightly messy shirt, and put on his gentle, professional fake smile again.
Although he was out of money, he couldn't drop his facade.
"Please, come in."
The door opened, and the night wind poured in.
Standing at the door was a young girl wearing the Jujutsu High uniform.
She had a high ponytail, wore glasses, and held a long-handled naginata that was taller than she was.
Her eyes were stubborn, yet they betrayed a long-suppressed longing.
Zenin Maki.
"I heard a new shop opened here?"
Maki walked into the room, her sharp eyes scanning the surroundings before landing on En with scrutiny.
"That idiot Gojo said you can buy anything here."
Maki slammed the naginata onto the floor with a heavy thud.
"Is that true?"
En looked at the girl in front of him and smiled.
He had just been worrying about money.
'And here she was, a big fat sheep... no, a high-quality client, arriving right at his doorstep.'
"Of course it's true, Maki."
En stood up and made an elegant "please" gesture.
"Whatever it is you want."
"As long as you can pay the price."
"In this Exchange No. 8..."
"There is no deal that cannot be made."
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