Jujutsu Kaisen: Naoya Zenin Wants to Live! Chapter 78: I Really Didn't Mean To Peep At Teacher Soaking

Beyond the long tunnel through the mountains lay Nagano.

Satoru Gojo had clearly guessed wrong.

Naoya Zenin's destination was not the snowy country of Hokkaido.

It seed that whenever people ntioned snow, they always thought of Otaru buried beneath a world of white, of the boy and girl both nad Fujii Itsuki, of the quiet canal by the harbor, and of a long railway track stretching toward the end of the world.

For the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer of the modern age, all it took was a single thought. In the next instant, he could teleport from the crowded, bustling tropolis of Tokyo to the remote reaches of Hokkaido, sit in a cable car eating ice cream while admiring the snow, and call out the nas of old friends toward the snow-covered mountains to vent the frustration and gloom in his heart.

So naturally, he would not care whether there was a second place in the world where heavy snow fell.

After all, the snow in Hokkaido was far too heavy. Heavy enough that even if a thousand Yuki-onna gathered their Cursed Energy there, the people still would not complain.

But Nagano was different.

This was one of Japan's few agricultural prefectures, mainly growing rice, fruit trees, and vegetables. If a snow disaster struck in winter, the fields would be crushed, the fruit trees would split from the cold, and the farrs' entire year of livelihood would be buried completely beneath the snow.

If farrs could not live properly, then the collapse of the entire nation would not be far away.

That was why every winter, once Yuki-onna appeared, Nagano beca a place where ergency missions had to be carried out.

Under the night sky, the land was a stark, luminous white.

The train slowly ca to a stop.

"S-So cold!!!"

The mont the students stepped out of the train doors, a wave of icy air swept across the platform and struck them head-on, biting to the bone like knives.

Compared to Kyoto's first snow, the snow here was much colder and far harsher.

Even a burly man like Aoi Todo struggled against the bitter cold. He could not help shrinking his neck down and pulling his uniform tightly around himself.

"Good thing I brought warm clothes in advance."

Kasumi Miwa was wrapped in a scarf, with a padded hat pulled over her ears. Fully equipped, she looked almost like a Nagano local.

"Even Cursed Energy can't keep out the cold. Looks like there really is sothing strange about this heavy snow. Everyone should hurry and put on more layers before coming out."

Noritoshi Kamo had just turned back to warn the students still inside the train when he heard a voice of praise beside him.

"Raising your body temperature by speeding up your blood circulation to resist the cold. It seems your understanding of [Blood Manipulation Technique] has improved quite a bit."

"It's all thanks to Naoya-sensei's guidance during the last class. I truly benefited a great deal."

Although Noritoshi Kamo was slender, his posture was the straightest of all the students.

With careful observation, one could see Cursed Energy constantly surging around the surface of his body. Even with the naked eye, it was visible that the blood beneath his skin was flowing faster, and steam had begun rising from him.

Naoya Zenin knew this was the effect of [Flowing Red Scale].

However, [Flowing Red Scale] was usually only used as a trump card to strengthen the body. The fact that Noritoshi Kamo could use such a technique so freely in daily life showed that his strength had indeed grown far beyond what it had been in the original work.

After all, although [Blood Manipulation Technique] was the weakest technique among the Three Great Families, its potential for developnt was imasurable. The Tiger Emperor alone was proof enough of that.

Back in class, he had only casually ntioned [Blood Manipulation Technique] a few tis, yet Noritoshi Kamo had already taken another step forward in his mastery of [Blood Manipulation Technique]. It seed he really was the kind of genius sorcerer who understood things as soon as they were explained.

But right now, Naoya Zenin did not have much energy to spare on that.

He frowned as he felt the cold wind.

The warmth inside the train had not fully dispersed yet, and he had not even walked off the platform to experience the true cold. Yet even his first taste of Nagano's winter was already sowhat difficult to withstand.

Although this was the season for snow, the snow in Nagano was far too heavy. It was so heavy that visibility was already blurred just three or four ters away.

The temperature had probably dropped to around minus twenty degrees Celsius.

This was definitely not normal weather.

The fact that a Grade 3 Cursed Spirit could achieve this much through Cursed Energy was genuinely unsettling.

"Exorcist! Exorcist!"

The group had just walked out of the station when they saw a man carrying a lantern, trudging slowly through the snow.

His scarf was wrapped so high that even his nose was covered, and the leather earflaps of his hat hung down on both sides, making him look like a devout believer from the Middle East.

Naoya Zenin knew this man was the contact for the mission, so he quickly went over to speak with him.

The man was the village chief of a nearby rural village. Because the village was ravaged by strange snowstorms year after year, he would specially hire related exorcists each year to drive away evil and avert disaster.

In the past, he had always hired monks from Zenkō-ji, but frankly, those monks had no real spiritual power. They would co over, put on a mystical performance, then leave with the money without actually handling anything.

Once, they got lucky. They made such a racket with gongs and drums, and their sutra chanting at night was so irritating, that they really did annoy the Cursed Spirit. The snow stopped imdiately the next day.

But then, one night, a monk was on duty chanting sutras. He wanted to go out to use the toilet, and as he was holding an oil lamp, he happened to run into the Cursed Spirit in the blizzard. The Yuki-onna only breathed out lightly, and the monk was drained dry on the spot. By the next day, he had beco an ice sculpture.

After that incident, the monks of Zenkō-ji were so frightened their legs went weak. They knelt right there, chanting Amitabha and begging the fierce ghost lady to spare their lives. Then one by one, they all ran off and never dared to co back.

In the end, the Jujutsu World learned about the matter and sent soone over specifically to exorcise the Cursed Spirit, finally putting an end to the farce.

So in the man's eyes, Naoya Zenin was naturally a highly powerful exorcist.

As for Jujutsu Sorcerers, he knew nothing about them. He could only be considered an ordinary person with so ties to the Jujutsu World.

"You're finally here! The snow this year is ridiculously heavy. In past years, only our village got hit especially hard, but this year, I don't even have to say it. The whole of Nagano Prefecture is suffering from this snow disaster! The governnt's snowplows have co several tis already, but they're completely useless! Good grief, it's almost twelve or thirteen feet deep! Taller than the grass on a grave!"

The man started pouring out his grievances the mont they t. It was clear that this heavy snow was not only affecting the village, but had already reached the point of disrupting transportation.

"Fine. It will be dealt with tonight."

Naoya Zenin wasted no words and gave him a direct promise.

"Seriously?!"

The village chief sucked in a sharp breath.

"In past years, those exorcists couldn't finish it without four or five days!"

"They are them. I am ."

Naoya Zenin then simply asked, "Has anything happened in the village?"

"Ah! We closed off the mountain early this year, so there haven't been any accidents."

When he reached this point, the man, who had just shown a smile, could not help sighing.

"It's just that one fellow went mad and kept insisting there was an extrely beautiful woman in the mountains. We couldn't stop him no matter what we did, and in the end, he went into the mountain for nothing and froze to death..."

What a pity. Looks like he had the constitution to see Cursed Spirits.

Naoya Zenin thought to himself.

People like that weren't uncommon among ordinary civilians. Simply put, they had an unusually strong sensitivity to the supernatural—strong enough to be compared to soone with the ability to see spirits.

With a bit of luck, people like that could beco assistant managers.

But to beco a true Jujutsu Sorcerer, the key was whether they could awaken an [Innate Technique].

Naoya Zenin had no intention of wasting words with the man, so he told him to hurry up and lead the way to the hot spring inn that had been reserved in advance.

The closer they got to the village, the heavier the wind and snow beca at night.

Naoya Zenin specifically gave the village chief a few instructions, telling him to go back and inform the villagers that no matter what they heard that night, they were not to co out and watch. Only after confirming that the man nodded and agreed did he finally feel at ease enough to prepare a barrier around the area.

When carrying out missions, Jujutsu Sorcerers would set up a [Curtain] over the mission area to block the sight of non-sorcerers.

But a [Curtain] was not all-powerful.

Non-sorcerers who could not see curses simply could not perceive the [Curtain]. It was like a psychological suggestion had been placed on them. They could not see what was happening inside and only felt that it looked no different from the usual scenery.

Aside from certain [Curtain] that have clear rules preventing entry, non-sorcerers can step inside the range of a [Curtain] without any issue. If they co into contact with Cursed Spirits, it will only cause unnecessary chaos.

Even if a [Curtain] could block ordinary people, Naoya Zenin still had to warn them repeatedly not to let so idiot wander in and throw their life away for nothing.

Although the Yuki-onna, as a Grade 3 Cursed Spirit, was no match for him and his students, ordinary people were basically free kills to her.

Fortunately, the Yuki-onna brought a blizzard with her, and no normal person would go out for a stroll in weather like this. That gave Naoya Zenin plenty of room to work.

Braving the wind and snow, he carefully set the range of the [Curtain].

He avoided every inn in the village, sealed off the main roads in and out, and finally covered the entire snowy mountain. Only then did he let out a long breath of relief.

The original host had no experience with barrier techniques. Usually, when he went out on missions, tedious tasks like setting up a [Curtain] were left to assistant managers.

So it was especially difficult for Naoya Zenin to set one up himself. To put it bluntly, even the students at Jujutsu High were better at it than he was.

Fortunately, he had previously watched Yuki Tsukumo set up a barrier technique up close. A great teacher made a capable student, and his imitation was convincing enough. Overall, the result was quite satisfactory.

Next, all he had to do was have the students patrol in shifts and wait for the Yuki-onna to appear.

By the ti Naoya Zenin returned to the hot spring inn, it was already late at night.

Unlike him, who was exhausted, the bored students had already started building snown outside.

After all, for many people from warr southern regions, snow was a rare joy they might go their whole lives without ever experiencing.

Although Kyoto also got snow, compared to the blizzard here, it was nothing.

"Nishimiya-senpai, did you know? People in Hokkaido put sushi on the snow before eating it."

"...?"

Kasumi Miwa had specially brought out a plate of sushi from inside and began educating Momo Nishimiya, the mixed-race girl, from a distance.

"Want to try?"

"Oh my god... Isn't that dirty???"

"Munch, munch, munch."

"You're actually eating it?!"

Compared to the girls, who were developing new cuisine, the boys' side was filled with a grim, murderous atmosphere.

"Todo, today I will settle once and for all who the strongest third-year student at Kyoto Jujutsu High is."

"Hah. Bring it on."

Noritoshi Kamo's face turned cold, and he said nothing more.

He circulated his Cursed Energy and activated [Flowing Red Scale]. In the next instant, killing intent erupted from him. He swiftly scooped up snow from the ground, packed it into a snowball, and hurled it straight at Aoi Todo!

The snowball was so fast that it beca a shooting star in the night, locking onto the burly man before him like a missile.

He could not dodge.

There was absolutely no way he could dodge.

Because Aoi Todo's hitbox was roughly equal to two normal people. In a snowball fight, an encounter where agility mattered most, he was clearly at an overwhelming disadvantage!

Yet Aoi Todo neither dodged nor avoided it.

Instead, he grinned at Noritoshi Kamo.

That sinister smile made Noritoshi Kamo's expression change on the spot.

"Aoi Todo! You despicable bastard!!!"

Sure enough, in the next mont, Aoi Todo clapped his hands, and the two of them instantly switched places.

In other words, Noritoshi Kamo's deadly opening throw smashed directly into his own face!!!

"You still have a long way to go."

Aoi Todo rely adjusted his hairstyle and let out a cold laugh.

With [Boogie Woogie], the most underhanded technique in all of Jujutsu Kaisen, as long as Aoi Todo wanted to, even Ryon Sukuna would lose his composure and go red with rage, let alone a greenhorn like Noritoshi Kamo.

Watching the students descend into complete chaos, Naoya Zenin, who had been busy for most of the day, nearly lost his composure.

He knew these students were all extraordinary people, but he had never imagined they would be extraordinary to this extent.

Weren't they out here on a mission?!

Why did every single one of them look like they were actually on vacation?!

Was he the only one acting cautiously, afraid of capsizing in so roadside ditch?

There was nothing he could do about it.

The painful example of a certain genius sorcerer who could not defeat a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit was still fresh in his mind.

Even when facing a re Grade 3 Cursed Spirit, Naoya Zenin would still stay completely alert.

After all, this was his debut battle.

It might just be stomping small fry, but if he sohow failed to win, wouldn't his reputation be ruined?

"Split yourselves into groups and make a patrol roster. If you spot a Cursed Spirit, notify imdiately."

Naoya Zenin had no intention of ruining their fun.

After all, students were at their liveliest at that age. There was no need to spoil their mood.

After giving them a few instructions, he planned to head inside the inn and rest.

The wind and snow at night were far too troubleso. On top of that, because he was afraid of affecting the villagers, he had been especially careful while setting up the [Curtain]. Combined with the high-intensity training he had been doing over the past few days, even soone as tough as him was genuinely starting to feel tired.

He should take a proper soak in the hot spring, recover his strength, and prepare to face the Grade 3 Cursed Spirit.

He did not choose the indoor hot spring. Instead, he specifically picked an open-air one.

After all, soaking in a hot spring while admiring the snow was a pleasure in itself. Choosing an indoor bath would have ruined the elegance of the evening.

The warm spring water rose over his shoulders, driving away the bone-deep chill around his body and easing so of the exhaustion that had built up over the past few days.

Naoya Zenin leaned against a rock at the edge of the hot spring, closed his eyes, and carefully sensed the range of the [Curtain].

Even while soaking in the hot spring, he did not let down his guard. Aside from the howling wind and snow by his ears, he was also carefully catching every abnormal fluctuation of Cursed Energy in the surroundings.

The open-air hot spring was surrounded by low pines. Snow weighed down the branches, and every so often, clumps of snow would rustle down and strike the surface of the hot spring, scattering fine ripples before instantly lting into the warm water. Wisps of steam rose and intertwined with the snow flying through the sky, blurring his vision while making the surrounding silence feel even stranger.

He could clearly sense that within the range of the [Curtain], the fluctuations of Cursed Energy remained unstable, as if sothing were lurking and moving in the dark, following the trail of wind and snow as it approached the village bit by bit, drawing closer to this hot spring inn.

That Cursed Energy was not especially violent, but it carried a bone-piercing cold that blended perfectly with the snowstorm. If he had not been concentrating so intensely, it would almost have been hidden by the natural chill.

"As expected, the Cursed Spirit has already noticed the [Curtain]."

Grade 3 Cursed Spirits did not possess much intelligence.

If there was a barrier they could not leave, then after running into it again and again, a Cursed Spirit would only beco more and more violent. With strong aggression, it would begin searching for living people within the barrier.

And as the caster of the barrier, Naoya Zenin would beco like a light bulb glowing in the night, drawing the Cursed Spirit's attention like mad.

However, there were simply too many Jujutsu Sorcerers inside the hot spring inn, and the Cursed Energy leaking out was far too vast. As a Grade 3 Cursed Spirit, the Yuki-onna already disliked showing herself. At this mont, she would only hide in the blizzard even more cautiously, waiting until deep night to strike and take Naoya Zenin's life.

But that was ideal.

It would give the students room to perform and show who could find this cautious Cursed Spirit first.

Just as Naoya Zenin thought that, a series of extrely light footsteps, almost swallowed by the wind and snow, ca from behind the low pines.

The footsteps were soft and faint, difficult to distinguish amid the storm, but the fully focused Naoya Zenin still noticed sothing strange.

No way?!

Could it be that this Yuki-onna wasn't timid at all?!

Naoya Zenin's heart tightened. His nerves instantly drew taut, and his closed eyes snapped open. A cold gleam flashed in them. Cursed Energy gathered in an instant, and the hot spring water around him rippled with fine waves under that sharp surge of power before slowly beginning to stop flowing.

There was no need to hold back.

Once Naoya Zenin made a move, he went all out.

Even if the target was only a Grade 3 Cursed Spirit, soone as cautious as him would never relax for a mont. Right from the start, he opened with his strongest move.

[Projection Sorcery], activate!!!

He instantly struck the water's surface with his palm. Beneath the blizzard, the scalding steam blurred his vision at once. In the next mont, the shuriken hidden beneath his wrist, already infused with Cursed Energy, flew out with full force.

Even when he entered the hot spring to bathe, this ticulous transmigrator had never disard himself. He had been waiting for the unexpected to happen.

After all, he had watched plenty of movies and learned from the experience of many predecessors.

Like those killers who retired from the underworld, only to be ambushed by enemies in the middle of the night and turn the tables with a pistol hidden under the pillow.

There were even people who carried a wrench with them to soccer matches.

Compared to those timid predecessors, bringing a shuriken into the bath was not strange at all, right?

But in the next fra, when he saw the enemy's face clearly, Naoya Zenin instantly threw the remaining shuriken with even greater force, knocking the first shuriken to the ground at an even faster speed.

"Eek?!"

For Naoya Zenin, it was just one long second of twenty-four fras.

But for this unexpected visitor, it was a narrow escape between life and death.

"Get out here!"

The next mont, a slender figure staggered out from behind the low pines.

The newcor was not a ghostly pale Yuki-onna, but a blond girl wrapped in a thick bathrobe, her hair casually tied behind her head with a towel, her cheeks faintly flushed from the wind and snow.

"I-I'm sorry! Sensei, I-I didn't an to peek at you..."

Momo Nishimiya had clearly been startled by Naoya Zenin's display just now.

In the blink of an eye, she had seen Naoya Zenin teleport right in front of her, and for so reason, shuriken she had only ever seen in movies and dramas were scattered on the ground.

Could Naoya Zenin be a ninja?!

The mixed-race girl was shocked.

But that shock was only a minor detail. What truly held the little witch's gaze was...

Naoya Zenin's completely naked body.

He usually looked like an elegant, handso young nobleman, but once his clothes were removed, that delicate impression vanished completely.

The marks left by years of intense training were faintly visible through the steam. His shoulder line was smooth and clean, his back straight as a pine, and every inch of muscle was clearly defined. It was not as thick and exaggerated as Aoi Todo's, but it carried a firm, powerful resilience.

Drops of water slid slowly along his jawline, passing over his protruding Adam's apple before winding down his neck and wetting the skin of his chest. Under the interweaving light of the lamps and the snow, they shone with an alluring sheen.

Momo Nishimiya looked only once before jerking her head down as if she had been burned. Her cheeks instantly flared hot, the blush spreading from the tips of her ears all the way down her neck, until even the roots of her ears were so red they looked ready to bleed.

T-T-This...

Can this really make it past the censors?!