Under the open sky, the air was cool and perfect for training. The field Gojo had chosen was wide enough to allow Rika and Makima to practice without interruption. Trees surrounded the area, and in the distance, some students could be seen practicing. Hakari and Kirara were sitting on a nearby hill, resting while watching the scene.
Kirara, looking toward the two girls next to Gojo, frowned slightly. "They look too young to be students here... plus, they're not wearing the uniform," she commented, more as a casual observation than a criticism.
Hakari, with his arms crossed behind his head, barely glanced up. "I'm sure Gojo has some weird plan with them," he murmured without much interest, relaxing back in his spot.
Makima, who had remained calm and focused on her reading until now, sat quietly on a wooden bench, flipping through a book as the wind played with her hair. She didn't seem concerned about the situation. Gojo, on the other hand, was excited, especially about what Rika could show.
"Let's go to the center of the field, Rika," Gojo said with a wide smile, leading her to the clearing. "I want to see what you can do."
Rika took a deep breath as Gojo positioned himself in front of her, looking at her with that spark of enthusiasm that was his trademark. "Alright, now release as much cursed energy as you can. I want to see it all."
Gojo removed his glasses, letting his glowing Six Eyes observe every movement of energy. Rika nodded. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and clenched her fists near her chest. Silence filled the air for a moment, only broken by the whisper of the wind.
Suddenly, a burst of cursed energy erupted from Rika like an unstoppable wave. Her aura manifested in a dark purple color, dense and so charged with energy that the ground beneath her feet cracked slightly. A thick mist rose around her, pushing the air around her forcefully.
Kirara, who had turned her attention to Rika, widened her eyes in surprise. "But who is that girl?" she murmured to herself, incredulous at the amount of energy Rika was releasing.
Hakari, with his usually laid-back attitude, was now also watching her with interest, wondering where such power came from.
Gojo, enjoying the spectacle, pretended to cover his eyes, making an exaggerated expression of surprise. "What are you, super Rika?" he joked, laughing. "Amazing! You can stop now."
Rika, panting from the effort, nodded as her aura began to fade. The place was left saturated with cursed energy so dense it was palpable in the air.
"Impressive..." Gojo commented, evaluating the power he had just witnessed. "I'd say you have enough energy to be considered a first-grade sorcerer... or even special grade. This is going to be interesting."
He disappeared for a moment and reappeared almost at the same time, holding a bunch of small wooden sticks in his hand. "Here you go," he said, tossing one of the sticks to Rika. "I want you to inject a bit of your cursed energy into it."
Rika looked at the stick, nodding with determination. She placed the stick between her hands and started focusing, trying to control her energy flow. However, the stick exploded into a thousand pieces as soon as it received the energy, startling Rika and causing her to step back.
Gojo chuckled. "Hehehe, don't worry. This is more complicated than it seems. The trick is controlling how much energy you give it. If you give it too much, it'll explode, like you just saw. If you give it too little, it won't be strong enough. Your goal is to make the stick as hard as steel, but that requires precise control. And with your energy being so dense, it's going to be an interesting challenge."
Rika glanced at him, then at Makima, who didn't seem interested in what they were doing. Sighing, she sat down and began to try what she'd been told, failing miserably.
Gojo then turned his gaze toward Makima, who was still sitting on the bench, calm, with her eyes fixed on her book. Without lifting her head, she had already sensed what Rika had done. Gojo smiled, amused.
"Now it's your turn, Makima," he said loudly, waiting for her to react. "I want to see what you can do. Put that book aside for a moment, will you?"
Makima, without yet raising her gaze, sighed and closed the book calmly. "Alright," she finally said, standing up with casual elegance. She walked to the center of the field, where Rika had just been, while the wind lightly stirred her red hair.
Gojo, with a mischievous smile, watched as Makima prepared.
Gojo and Makima stood in the open field, surrounded by the vast expanse of land stretching under a clear sky. Rika's cursed energy still lingered in the air, but Gojo had already shifted his focus to the conversation he had started.
Makima, standing straight with both hands behind her back, seemed completely calm, as if the world around her had no effect on her. Her voice, low and soft, cut through the air as she asked Gojo.
"What do you want me to do?" while the sound of wood breaking and her servant's groans could be heard.
Gojo, adjusting his glasses and crossing his arms, looked at her with a carefree smile. "I want you to explain better what your cursed technique entails. Your background is pretty vague about it."
Makima reflected for a moment, her eyes fixed on the man in front of her. It wasn't a secret that she preferred to keep some distance when it came to details about her ability, but she knew that, because of Gojo's nature, it would be hard to dodge the answer. After a brief pause, she spoke with unshakable calm, as if sharing something trivial, even though she was revealing deep aspects of her technique, though not the most important ones.
"There's not much to explain," she finally said, raising her gaze toward him. "Since I obtained my technique, I can control beings I consider inferior to me, whether they are people, animals, or curses. However, if the target surpasses me in an important aspect, like cursed energy, my technique loses effectiveness. In those cases, the ability to control weakens, and I have to push myself much more, which drains my energy quickly."
Gojo nodded, remaining silent, while his eyes analyzed every word. His thoughts processed the information quickly. "Interesting..." he murmured to himself. "And the chains? How does that part work?"
Makima raised a finger, and from it, a small chain of cursed energy began to emerge, floating in the air like an extension of her own body. At first, it was thin and dull gray in color.
"This is one of the ways my technique manifests," she said, as if describing a simple trick. "I can summon various chains from my body. Right now, the chain is in attack mode. It's made of my cursed energy, and while in this state, it can be used to attack and restrain the target." The chain, which was still floating in the air, began to change again, this time taking on a bright golden glow.
"Now, the chain is in control mode," she continued, her tone slightly more serious. "In this state, the chain doesn't just act as a restraint but can also connect with the target, forcing them to follow my orders. The key factor in my technique is whether the target can resist or not. If the resistance is strong, the chain won't have the desired effect. But if the target is weaker or more susceptible, the connection is made."
Gojo watched in silence, completely focused on every detail of what Makima was saying.
"If the target yields, they connect to me, making them submit to my will," Makima explained, her voice still calm. "The affected one will only obey my orders, but they won't see me as an authority. In most cases, this control is temporary. If the connection breaks, the next time, it will be much harder to achieve the same effect. Resistance increases, and the connection becomes more difficult to establish."
Gojo, in silence, pondered what he had just heard. It was clear that Makima's technique didn't rely solely on brute power but also on her ability to manipulate the mental and physical control of others. With a light smile, Gojo finally spoke, his tone more relaxed.
"Wow... It seems like your technique has several layers of complexity, huh? And that chain is... quite practical." He took off his glasses for a moment, assessing the visual effect the chain had in the air. "I can't imagine anyone resisting that easily."
Makima didn't respond, simply returning to her book, her expression as unshakable as ever.
"I suppose you're not planning to use it on me, are you?" Gojo added with a playful smile, though his voice was filled with unshakable confidence.
Makima flashed a small smile. "If you behave," she calmly replied, making Gojo's smile tense for a brief moment. That response, as light as it seemed, triggered a small alarm in his mind. Was it a joke? he thought, Or maybe she knows more than she lets on.
Despite the relaxed atmosphere, Gojo couldn't shake the feeling that there was something deeper behind that smile. Makima has always been hard to read... better not underestimate her, he told himself, as he regained his usual carefree expression.