Jujutsu Kaisen: I Have A Gardevoir

For Akira, Pokémon are all like children of the Ming family. If someone hurts one of his children, he certainly has to make them pay for it.

Among the four people other than Suguru Geto, the best person to ask was Yuki Tsukumo.

The old butler was a loyal dog to his convenient mother, so his stance was naturally opposed to Akira.

Hayami could be trusted, but looking at the injury on her cheek and the appearance of the blond guy, Akira more or less had an idea of what had happened.

That left only Yuki Tsukumo.

She was straightforward, with enough experience and strength.

If she truly had an interest in Swablu, there was no need to injure it—capturing it alive or outright killing it would have been easy for her.

Of course, Akira could have asked Swablu directly, but he didn't want to reveal his ability to communicate seamlessly with Pokémon. Besides, Swablu was only a few days old, and its recognition and descriptive abilities were still lacking.

Yuki Tsukumo was not surprised by Akira's question. "This, huh? Rather than asking me, why not ask him?" She extended a finger, pointing at the blond young man standing behind her.

Akira followed her gesture. "Did you touch my bird?"

The blond young man quickly tried to explain, "Mis—misunderstanding, Akira-kun—"

But Akira didn't listen. He simply asked, "Did you touch my bird!!!"

"I saw it with the curse spirits, so I thought—"

"I don't want to hear it. I just want to know: did you touch my bird? Answer yes or no!"

"I-I didn't mean to—"

"So you did. An eye for an eye."

Akira's words sounded like they were squeezing out from between his teeth, chilling everyone to the bone.

At the intersection of light and shadow, a pair of cold eyes slowly opened, silently radiating terror.

The blond youth instinctively sensed danger and disappeared from his original spot almost instantly.

The moment he vanished, Darkrai—the owner of the cold eyes—appeared in his place.

Had he been even a second slower, Darkrai's claws would have landed on him.

But although he escaped Darkrai's attack, he couldn't change his fate. Just as he reappeared, a pair of panda paws landed perfectly on his shoulders.

The blond young man, feeling an indescribable terror, started sweating profusely and announced his identity as quickly as he could:

"I am Naoya Zen'in, the first heir to the Zen'in family's headship."

"And what of it?"

Akira took Swablu from Hayami's hands and carefully smoothed its newborn wings.

"I am Akira, a friend of Maki, and an assistant and student of Satoru Gojo."

Much like with Yuki Tsukumo, Akira already had a hunch about the blond guy's identity.

Who would dare slap Hayami in the face? Who could make her look so aggrieved and vulnerable? Yuki Tsukumo? Hayami wouldn't dare provoke her, and Yuki wasn't interested in doing such things.

The old butler? He wouldn't either—Hayami bore the Zen'in name, not Kamo, and he was the most aware of the boundaries between families.

The only one who could casually abuse Hayami without any concern was a high-ranking sorcerer from the Zen'in family.

A newly appeared Pokémon was enough to spark the interest of the Three Great Families.

And it just so happened that the Pokémon was in the hands of someone from their family's "servant." How could some pampered noble scion possibly let this go? Swablu resisted, so they decided to beat it down.

And Hayami? She had been bullied for so long that slapping her in frustration came naturally to them.

Among the young people in the Zen'in family who fit the description of a blond, high-ranking sorcerer, there was only one—Naoya Zen'in.

He was Maki and Hayami's cousin and the youngest special grade one sorcerer of the Zen'in family. His status was far above that of "worthless" Maki and the servant Hayami.

Hitting him would mean poking the hornet's nest of the Zen'in family—the family with the most martial virtue. That was what Naoya wanted to convey to Akira, and it was his greatest leverage.

Akira knew this well and responded in kind.

I am Akira—the holder of "Cursed Spirit Manipulation." Special grade one, I can fight casually.

I am Maki's friend—if Maki wants to turn against the Zen'in family, I'm on her side.

I am an assistant and student of Gojo Satoru—my position in the Gojo faction is not trivial. Before you use your family's influence, think carefully if you can bear the consequences.

In short, you can't beat me one-on-one, and your faction can't pressure me. You still dared to touch my bird—do you think I'll let you off easily?

After speaking, Akira put Swablu on his shoulder and slowly, deliberately walked up to Naoya Zen'in, crushing his last hope with a punch.

A series of cracking sounds like frying beans echoed, and Naoya screamed in pain from the blow to his shoulder.

His shoulder blade was predictably shattered, and his arm and rib bones suffered varying degrees of fractures.

"You should be grateful you're Maki's prey; otherwise, today wouldn't end with just broken bones—dare to touch my bird!"

Akira slowly withdrew his hand, his demeanor akin to that of a grand lord, Huang Silang—utterly dismissive of everyone around him.

"Is being one of the Three Great Families supposed to mean something? Get lost, and don't let me see you again. Otherwise, I'll just have to apologize to Maki."

What would require an apology? Of course, it would be taking away Maki's chance to hunt her prey forever.

Understanding the hidden meaning, Naoya didn't dare say another word. The moment Panda released his grip, he disappeared, moving so quickly that even Yuki Tsukumo and Suguru Geto couldn't quite keep up.

To be fair, Naoya Zen'in's strength was certainly not weak.

Whether within the Zen'in family or the entire Jujutsu world, he was a capable fighter.

That was why he was the first in line for the headship of the family (Fushiguro Megumi was protected by Gojo Satoru). He commanded the Zen'in family's most elite combat force—a group of Grade 1 sorcerers called "Katana."

The reason he couldn't even last a single round against Akira came down to an old and familiar issue—asymmetrical information.

Naoya Zen'in's technique was called "Projection Sorcery," also known as "Frame Rate Warrior."

It could break a second into 24 frames, tracking the enemy's movement.

It also allowed him to preset his own movements, moving at the human visual limit—the limit being 24 frames per second.

Because of this technique, Naoya's father, the current head of the Zen'in family, Naobito Zen'in, held the title of "fastest human" for a long time, until Gojo Satoru rose, relegating him to second place.

The greatest advantage of speed is gaining control of the fight—being able to attack or retreat at will. Even if faced with an opponent they couldn't beat, they could still run away.

Unfortunately, he faced a cheating transmigrator.

Akira knew the crucial weakness of "Projection Sorcery"—the 24-frame movement must be continuous; if interrupted, the user would be stiff for one second.

How could it be interrupted?

Of course, by using psychic power.

It didn't even take much force—predicting the future and using telekinesis to trip him up would immediately trigger the stiffness, after which the Pokémon could assist in capturing him.

Result—Zen'in clan? No one can put up a fight! (Cue classic meme!)

This move completely shattered Naoya's delusions and made him realize that everything he relied on meant nothing in front of Akira!

This young man wasn't just far beyond his peers; he was already qualified to be compared to the two Special Grades behind him.