The Spar

The Zenin Household was bathed in sunlight as morning approached, accompanied by a gentle breeze that heralded the upcoming day.

Jinichi Zenin, a member of the elite jujutsu sorcerers known as the Hei, stood proud within the household. His rank of Special Grade 1 reflected his status as a high-ranking member of the Zenin Clan. However, his routine was disrupted two weeks ago when he was tasked with training and mentoring a family member.

Despite Jinichi's initial reluctance to take on the role of mentor to the newest family member, he couldn't dismiss the opportunity it presented. With aspirations of ascending to leadership within the Hei, he viewed this responsibility as a stepping stone toward realizing his ambitions. In the competitive landscape of the Zenin Clan, where climbing the ranks and attaining higher status were paramount, Jinichi saw the potential benefits this mentoring role could offer him. It wasn't merely an obligation but a strategic move to advance his standing within the clan.

Jinichi looked at Megumi, who was training with his Divine Dogs. Megumi seemed to be giving commands and noting down the individual response times of his Dogs.

"Unsummon your dogs and follow me," Jinichi called out to Megumi Zenin, his brother's son. Megumi looked at him suspiciously and then unsummoned his Divine Dogs while keeping his guard up. 

As Jinichi glanced at Megumi, he recognized the sharpness in his gaze, realizing he was wise to stay on guard; otherwise, he would have knocked him out cold. His eyes also seemed to burn with ambition, a trait Jinichi knew would be a pain to deal with.

Megumi was the first to enter the training room, donning a black robe that epitomized the image of a Zenin. He possessed short black hair, sharp features, and an expressionless face. Even his demeanor exuded the aura of a seasoned Sorcerer, though he wasn't one.

Jinichi recalled information about the boy; he was his brother's son, Toji, who had no Cursed Energy, ran to marry a random woman and started gambling all his money away after she died. As Jinichi Zenin remembered, the boy also had the prized Cursed Technique of the Zenin Clan, the Ten Shadows Technique. 

In contrast, Jinichi Zenin was a muscular man with wild, spiky hair and thick eyebrows. His Cursed Technique, Missile Fists, wasn't on the same level as the Ten Shadows Technique. However, what stood out most about him was the overwhelming sense of pressure he exuded. It was a sense that made it clear to everyone that he would fight tooth and nail to win. 

"Get ready to fight upon my command," Jinichi repeated the same sentence he had given countless times since Megumi joined the last two weeks. He thought of training Megumi best by repeatedly sparring with him. Only through the heat of battle would a Jujutsu Sorcerer get stronger.

Still, there was a better time to think about his method of training Megumi; he had to spar with the brat.

"I assume were going to fight hand to hand," Megumi stated. He took a basic fighting stance with fists forward and cursed energy covering his body. "I'm ready"

Jinichi would have chuckled at this boy. Megumi has been trying to beat him in a fight for two weeks but has yet to succeed. 

Talent or potential was a rare gift, often making kids and adults think they were special, primarily when they were raised in one of the Three Great Clans; they saw how most Sorcerers outside of those Three Clans were lackluster.

Jinichi is one of those arrogant people. Reaching Grade 1 took talent and a lot of hard work for him. But seeing Megumi before him made him rethink how special he was. 

Megumi had the most potential and talent in the Zenin Clan, comparable to Gojo Satoru's. In just a day, he had gone from someone with no fighting experience to someone able to fend off the Grade 2 Curses in the Disciplinary Pit. At the pace Megumi was going, he would reach Grade 1 as a teenager. He would probably get a Special Grade if he can master the Ten Shadows Technique, but that would take a lot of time.

Jinichi sighed and got into his stance while keeping his eyes on Megumi. The fight was about to begin, and some other Zenin members came to watch the spar from the sidelines.

"Start!"

Both combatants charged simultaneously, but it was evident to Jinichi Zenin that he would win again in this spar. He idly wondered what Megumi would do to surprise him this time.

As soon as they closed the distance, Megumi attempted a palm strike, but Jinichi swiftly countered with a punch to the face to try and knock out Megumi.

Megumi barely dodged and countered the attack with a punch to the liver, surprising Jinichi with his reaction speed. 

'Well... it seemed that Megumi is now able to hit me. I should take up the pace.'

Jinichi started reinforcing himself with cursed energy and attacked Megumi with a speed he couldn't react to. 

Megumi was outpaced but was not giving up as he still tried to predict where Jinichi would attack to dodge and counterattack at any opportunity. An Idea flashed in Megumi's head. 

Jinichi wanted to end this quickly, so he reinforced himself even more and started punching Megumi's chest multiple times and sweeping his legs from under him, causing Megumi to fall down and seemingly hit his head on the ground.

Looking at Megumi being unresponsive on the ground, Jinichi said: "Take him to the infirmary," to one of the attendants responsible for tending to the injured. 

'I might have overdid it in this spar.'

Jinichi walked away without glancing at his fallen opponent but suddenly stopped and lifted his arm to block Megumi's surprise kick.

'Huh, so he faked being knocked out so that I would stop reinforcing my body with cursed energy and kick me with a reinforced leg to win. If he was bit older, that might have worked.'

If he had been more talkative and Megumi had been his son, Jinichi would have complimented his cunning. Too bad he wasn't; he swiftly knocked him out with a chop to the neck and walked away.