Jujutsu Kaisen: Naoya Zenin Wants to Live! Chapter 25: I Love Watching Women Fight Most

"How exactly did he pull off an instant-cast technique?"

After class, the students imdiately started going over what had happened.

Even though Naoya Zenin had perford that near-miraculous feat right in front of everyone, they still only understood that it had happened, not how.

Using [Binding Vow] to skip the incantation and the operation of the technique itself was a wild, almost absurd idea, but at the very least, most of the freshn had imagined sothing like a [Chantless Cursed Technique] before. So had even tried tinkering with that kind of trick themselves.

After all, compared to the conservative, aging Jujutsu World, the freshn were young and had grown up with a more modern education.

They might not understand things like equivalent exchange in Jujutsu, and they might not know that the completeness of an incantation amplifies a technique's power, but at the very least, they had all played mobile gas.

Was this not basically just skipping the ultimate move animation?

But nobody had ever told them the Jujutsu World even had a feature like that.

And normally, sorcerers who tried to skip the animation on their ultimate move just skipped straight past their own lives and got killed on the spot by Cursed Energy backlash.

So what kind of terrifying [Binding Vow] had Naoya Zenin made to use a [Chantless Cursed Technique] so casually?

What exactly had he gambled away?

That was what every student wanted to know.

"That was definitely not [Binding Vow]! He had to be cheating!"

Momo Nishimiya was in a terrible mood.

After all, she had just humiliated herself in front of everyone in the classroom. Right now, all she wanted was to get back to her room and vent into a pillow. She had no interest in staying here and picking everything apart like a headless chicken.

Modern Jujutsu?

[Chantless Cursed Technique]?

What a load of lodramatic nonsense!!!

Naoya Zenin had definitely used so Cursed Tool to boost his strength. That was the only way he could have pulled off an instant-cast technique.

Although Momo Nishimiya was mixed-race, the Jujutsu education she had received growing up was as traditional as it got. Flying through the air on a broom made her look like a witch, but her [Tool Manipulation] was actually an ancient technique with a long history, rooted in the Tsukumogami of yokai legend, giving life back to objects as though they were soul-bearing Cursed Corpses.

Soone like her, even raised with Western cultural influences, could never possibly agree with Naoya Zenin's so-called modern Jujutsu.

"Naoya Zenin said it himself. The greater the price, the greater the power you get. But he was standing there like nothing happened. How does that look like soone who used [Binding Vow]? So he was definitely cheating!"

That argunt drew nods from most of the students.

After all, [Binding Vow] had always been seen as an extrely dangerous Jujutsu technique. To protect their students, even the teachers at Jujutsu High would not teach it, out of fear that their precious students might die young because of it.

And the essence of [Chantless Cursed Technique] was shortening ti. Going by the logic of equivalent exchange, Naoya Zenin should have had to sacrifice years off his lifespan.

What, had he really shaved years off his life without a word just to show off in class?

"...No. He definitely used [Binding Vow]."

As a fellow heir of one of the Three Great Families, Noritoshi Kamo pondered for a mont before rejecting Momo Nishimiya's theory.

"There is a story that hundreds of years ago, the head of the Gojo Clan and the head of the Zenin Clan fought a battle to the death. At the ti, the head of the Gojo Clan, just like Satoru Gojo-sensei, possessed both [Six Eyes] and [Limitless Technique]..."

"Just like Gojo-sensei?! Then the Gojo Clan definitely would've won!"

Kasumi Miwa cut in at once, declaring it with absolute certainty.

As Gojo-sensei's number one fangirl, she had to support her idol with both hands and feet, even if it was his ancestor.

"Yes. Back then, everyone in the Jujutsu World thought the Gojo Clan would win that battle."

Just thinking of how the story ended still made Noritoshi Kamo uneasy.

"However, the final outco was that both sides died together!"

"What?!"

Kasumi Miwa looked like she had been struck by lightning. She instantly lost all composure and collapsed onto the floor.

"That's impossible! There's no way Gojo-sensei's great-great-great-great-grandfather could've lost!!!"

"...Kamo-senpai, are you saying...?"

chamaru imdiately understood what Noritoshi Kamo ant.

"That's right. I think it was most likely because of the effect of [Binding Vow]."

Noritoshi Kamo's voice turned grave.

"The Zenin Clan must have already mastered so forbidden art hundreds of years ago. Their developnt of [Binding Vow] has far surpassed that of today's Jujutsu World. I imagine that's the trump card that let Naoya-sensei use [Chantless Cursed Technique] today."

At that, everyone turned in unison to look at Mai Zenin, who had been standing silently to the side.

"Mai, you must know sothing, right?"

After all, she was Naoya Zenin's cousin. No matter what, she had to know at least so kind of secret.

"What a joke. The Zenin Clan doesn't have any such forbidden art."

Mai Zenin answered coldly at once.

After all, she had never heard of anything like that in her life.

And as for that battle to the death back then, she only knew bits and pieces from overhearing the older generation talk about it. She had heard that the head of the Zenin Clan used the legendary [Ten Shadows Technique], and in the end summoned a shikigami no one had ever successfully brought forth before. As for the more specific details, even she did not know much.

But based on what she knew of Naoya Zenin, Mai would stake her reputation on one thing. That arrogant man had never learned any forbidden art of the Zenin Clan.

[Chantless Cursed Technique] was absolutely a Jujutsu technique Naoya Zenin had only obtained recently.

She had no idea which genius he had stolen it from, but it definitely was not so forbidden art passed down in the Zenin Clan since ancient tis, the way Noritoshi Kamo claid.

Mai Zenin wanted badly to expose that truth, but then she rembered that no matter what, Noritoshi Kamo still carried the blood of the Kamo family. And although she herself had suffered abuse all her life in the Zenin Clan, the blood running through her veins was still Zenin blood in the end...

So in the end, Mai chose not to betray the Zenin Clan by exposing the secret of [Ten Shadows Technique].

"...How boring. I'm leaving."

Although Mai herself also wanted to master [Chantless Cursed Technique] as soon as possible, she had no desire to let other people stand there discussing that blood relationship to her face just because of Naoya Zenin.

Naoya Zenin might have been her cousin, but he was also the man she hated most.

If they kept digging any deeper, all they would uncover was Mai's miserable past as a wretched servant in the Zenin Clan.

So the short-haired girl chose to leave the classroom alone.

"Mai! Wait for !"

Not long after Mai Zenin left the classroom, Momo Nishimiya hurried after her and called out to stop her.

"...Nishimiya-senpai. What do you want?"

Seeing the displeased frown on Mai's face, Momo Nishimiya knew she was in a bad mood, but she still took a deep breath and spoke.

"I-I know why you're angry now! And I know why you've always refused to talk about your family!"

Worried about Mai lately, Momo Nishimiya had used her father's connections the day before to learn about Mai's past in the Zenin Clan, as well as the fact that she had been ordered around as Naoya Zenin's maid for a very long ti.

So after gathering her emotions, she tried to comfort her with complete sincerity.

"It's just like that bastard Naoya Zenin adding my points back! I understand it now! That kind of behavior is basically charity. It only damages my self-respect even more!"

One deduction and one addition?

No punishnt at all?

Maybe for ordinary people.

But for Momo Nishimiya, for this arrogant little witch, it only brought a sense of sha she had never felt before.

A simple deduction was nothing.

Momo Nishimiya would have earned the points back through her own efforts.

But adding them back imdiately?

Anyone could tell that was Naoya Zenin making a concession because of her father.

Momo Nishimiya's father was not only a sorcerer, but also an Arican with considerable influence among the U.S. forces stationed in Japan.

And even if the total score ended up unchanged, every student would still rember that Momo Nishimiya had been punished today.

Ten years from now, twenty years from now, thirty years from now, even after she dropped dead, this little witch felt like the incident would still be carved onto her tombstone.

And with Naoya Zenin's arrogant personality on top of that.

Momo Nishimiya instantly understood the true aning of those added points.

That was the ease of a victor.

It was pity from the winner toward a loser who had overestimated herself enough to challenge him.

Even the praise had only been perfunctory, a aningless bit of performance.

Those added points had instead left an indelible scar on Momo Nishimiya's pride.

"...Is that so? Impressive. So you already know about all that?"

Mai Zenin finally turned around and tilted her head, studying Momo Nishimiya with interest.

"So what exactly do you think, Nishimiya-senpai? Do you think I'm shaless? That inside the Zenin Clan I'm just so lowly servant, yet outside I brazenly let everyone treat like the young lady of the Zenin Clan? And I still always act so high and mighty?"

"No! How could I ever think that?! I feel sorry for you, Mai!!"

Momo Nishimiya shouted anxiously.

"Ever since I found out about those things... I haven't stopped hating Naoya Zenin for a single mont! Even now! The mont I think about soone as gentle and kind as you being tornted like that by him for so long! I-I want to kill him with my own hands right now!!"

At last, the little witch revealed what she really wanted.

"Mai! Let's work together! I'll tell my father! I'll have him report it to the school! As long as the two of us testify together, we can definitely drive that despicable coward Naoya Zenin out of this school!!"

"...That's nice."

After quietly listening all the way through, Mai Zenin finally smiled gently.

"You're right. No matter what, Naoya Zenin is a teacher now. If we female students co forward together to accuse him, then under the pressure of public opinion, he'll have no choice but to resign."

"Right?! That's a good idea, isn't it?!"

But before Momo Nishimiya could smile too, the young lady of the Zenin Clan suddenly leaned close to the blonde girl's ear and said in an incomparably arrogant voice,

"But... why should I work with you?"

"...Huh?"

"You're just so mixed-blood from the West! Don't push your luck!"

Mai Zenin backhanded her across the face so suddenly that the little witch had no chance to react.

"A third-rate sorcerer like you. Who gave you the right to pity ? Who gave you the right to ddle in the Zenin Clan's affairs?!"

Momo Nishimiya covered her cheek in disbelief, staring at Mai with utter shock.

"Mai, y-you've misunderstood sothing..."

"No matter how much Naoya Zenin abused , no matter how much he beat , he is still my blood cousin. He is still the next heir of the Zenin Clan. A lowborn outsider like you has no right to pity !"

Mai was clearly sneering at Momo Nishimiya.

And yet her fists were clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her palms and drew blood.

"So don't... please don't keep looking at with those eyes, like you understand everything. I'm begging you..."

"Mai... I just wanted to help you..."

"If I ever see you show any disrespect to my cousin again, Nishimiya-senpai, I will end our friendship."

"Mai!!"

Watching Mai Zenin run off, Momo Nishimiya felt nothing but crushing loss, as if a bullet had torn through her heart and left behind a hollow hole.

She had genuinely wanted to help Mai, so why had it ended like this?

"Why, Mai? Aren't we... weren't we best friends...?"

There was no trace of Momo Nishimiya's earlier arrogance left in that mutter.

"What did I do wrong? What exactly did I do wrong? I clearly, I clearly cared so..."

What remained instead was a hollow despair.

"Ugh..."

There it was again, that terrible feeling of her chest suddenly twisting tight.

Momo Nishimiya had long since realized the cause of that pain in her chest, but she had kept running from it.

Now she had no choice but to face that pain and draw a line through it.

So for Mai Zenin...

She really was nothing more than an irrelevant outsider.

"...Naoya Zenin, this is all your fault."

Momo Nishimiya lowered her head, gritted her teeth, and at last found the answer.

"I hate you! I'll hate you for the rest of my life!!"