Chapter 22: Chapter 22 Black Widow
Gwen and Alex were sitting on the floor in the yard of Neo's house, meditating while trying to gain better control over their cursed energy.
Meanwhile, Neo was watching them, observing how long they had been meditating to check if they were releasing more or less energy than he had asked of them.
But as Neo watched, he was surprised by the talent of both. Even though he didn't like to admit it, they were geniuses comparable to Higuruma and Gojo. All he had to do was explain once how to use the energy properly, and they were already able to use it quite well.
This was somewhat concerning to him, as he remembered that in the jujutsu world, the more talented a side was—whether cursed spirits or sorcerers—the world balanced things out by putting equivalent or stronger enemies on the opposing side.
This is why Neo was a little worried. Above Alex and Gwen, he himself was the greatest imbalance in the world.
But he wasn't too concerned about that compared to other issues, especially because he had to complete the crime lord's mission as quickly as possible. He realized that since he completed that mission, he hadn't received any new ones, and that was a big problem.
While Neo was lost in his thoughts, Natasha was hidden behind the door, taking pictures, listening, and even memorizing what Neo was saying to report back to Nick Fury.
Neo clearly knew Natasha was there, but he didn't care. What he taught Gwen and Alex was the bare basics, so it didn't matter much if she shared it with others. The worst that would happen was that they would create many cannon fodder.
What Neo didn't want her to know was what he was about to teach them next, because those were things that could be very problematic to teach to others.
Gwen, who had been sitting for a while, suddenly remembered something but calmed herself.
Unfortunately, her energy fluctuated, which Neo noticed right away. He then launched a slash in her direction.
Gasp!
Gwen, who had been focused, was attacked when her sixth sense screamed at her to dodge or she would die instantly. She quickly rolled backward to avoid the slash.
Surprised and a little angry at Neo, Gwen shouted at him.
Gwen: "DAMN IT, NEO! WHY DID YOU DO THAT? I ALMOST GOT HURT!"
Neo looked at her for a moment before replying.
Neo: "Gwen, look, I'm just doing what you asked of me. I'm training you to become a jujutsu sorcerer. So if you want to be one, you need to be prepared for this. In the future, you'll lose your innocence when you face your first curse. I'm preparing you for that."
Gwen looked at him with some bewilderment, as this was the third time he had mentioned this. Why did he keep saying it? She knew curses were bad, so why keep repeating it?
Neo shook his head with pity for the girl but decided not to say anything. He had already warned her about the dangers of being a jujutsu sorcerer, so there was nothing more he could do except teach her.
After this conversation, Neo checked his watch and said.
Neo: "Gwen, you need to go home now. Your parents will be worried, and I don't want my house surrounded by cops."
Gwen heard this and looked at the clock, panicking when she realized it was already 7 PM, and she was late to get home. She better hurry, or she'd be grounded.
Faster than when she dodged Neo's attacks, Gwen quickly grabbed her things and began rushing to leave while waving goodbye.
Gwen: "BYE, GUYS! SEE YOU TOMORROW!"
She left as fast as she could, while the others didn't even have the chance to properly say goodbye.
Adrian: "Pfft HAHAHAHAAHAAHA I really like this girl, boss, she's so funny. Hahahahahah."
Adrian almost lost it laughing while training with two knives in his hands, but soon stopped laughing and returned to training intensely.
Meanwhile, Carina watched Gwen leave with envy while still practicing her technique with sticks. But when Gwen was gone, she immediately refocused all her energy on training.
Alex, meanwhile, was in a strange state of meditation, using his cursed energy at a minimalist level, controlling it to the point where even a strand of his hair could shift it. It was an extraordinary level of control.
Neo noticed this and allowed Alex to proceed the way he wanted, knowing it would help him learn to forge more advanced weapons of superior quality.
Meanwhile, Neo kept an eye on Natasha, who had been inspecting the house. She had checked almost every room, except for Alex's forge, which she decided to leave for last.
After some time, Natasha had searched the entire house and found nothing, so she decided to enter Alex's forge, thinking it was just another room.
But when Natasha stepped inside, she was shocked by what she saw. The forge was surprisingly large, taking up the entire room. All kinds of forging tools were scattered around, along with several strange and macabre-looking weapons on the floor.
The more she looked at the forge, the more surprised she became, as what she saw was at least astonishing. There was blood in some areas of the forge and the room, making it look more like a scene from a horror movie than a medieval forge.
But being a good spy, she kept her composure and walked over to one of the weapons on the floor, picking it up. She was stunned to find that it weighed almost a kilo or less, despite being a katana.
Just as she was about to look around, she heard a voice behind her.
Neo: "Truly impressive for the Black Widow, managing to enter the forge without being noticed by the alarms I set up. Interesting. If you weren't with S.H.I.E.L.D., I would've recruited you to my side."
Natasha: "Since when did you know?"
She said it with a cold smile, already realizing that she was probably going to be killed by Neo at this moment. So, she simply asked.
Neo looked at Natasha, smiling, and with a hint of amusement in his gaze, he said:
Neo: "Remember when I told you to follow the rules, or something bad would happen?"
Natasha recalled when she had been hired and just nodded, a little scared of what might happen.
Neo continued.
Neo: "I'm glad you remember. Now we can start with what I promised I would do..."
He started walking toward Natasha, deliberately releasing his aura to further instill fear in her.
And it worked, because now she felt as though she were facing death itself. She began to retreat unconsciously, but unfortunately, she backed into a wall, with nowhere else to go. Panic set in.
And Neo finally said, almost pressing his face to hers:
Neo: "You're fired, and you won't receive severance, as stated in the contract."
He spoke this as if delivering a death sentence. Natasha closed her eyes in fear, but when she heard what he said, she froze.
"How is there no severance for being fired?" she thought, looking at Neo, who had a serious expression, while she gazed at him in utter confusion.
Neo continued.
Neo: "Yes, I know. But this is how it goes. Please, I'll ask that you leave without causing any trouble. I can even write a recommendation letter for you, though I'll have to mention your misconduct. Of course, only if you want that."
At that moment, Natasha was incredibly confused. So much so that now she was standing outside Neo's house, holding a recommendation letter she never asked for and feeling humiliated.
He had clearly known about her spy identity from the beginning and was treating her this way to embarrass her.
When she realized what Neo had done, her face flushed with anger. She was furious at Neo for making her go through all that during her brief time working there.
She had cleaned the bathroom, had to serve clients in a humiliating way by mimicking a sweet voice, and even wore the costume to attract customers.
But, as angry as she was, it wouldn't do any good to stay that way. So, she reached into her shirt, grabbed a disposable phone, and quickly dialed a number.
Natasha: "Sir, unfortunately, the plan failed..."
She paused, listening to the other side before responding.
Natasha: "He always knew I was a spy, so I wasn't able to uncover anything about them—except that I found out they're manufacturing strange weapons in the house."
At that moment, Natasha listened to some murmurs on the other end of the phone until she suddenly interrupted Nick Fury.
Natasha: "Sir... can you send someone to pick me up? I don't have a car or any way to get back to the base."
Hearing this, Nick simply agreed with Natasha and dispatched a car to pick her up.
Meanwhile, Neo was sitting in his room, studying cursed energy and how it could be used.
He still didn't fully understand how to wield cursed energy efficiently. Despite possessing some of Sukuna's knowledge, Neo still struggled with energy consumption, especially when releasing his slashes. This made him weak in prolonged fights.
Because of this, Neo had been training at night to improve his control while waiting for his fusion percentage to increase.
He was also researching how to use cursed energy to forge weapons and much more. At one point, he even considered creating and implanting the Six Eyes in himself. In the world of Jujutsu, this was considered impossible, but Neo discovered that it was technically feasible.
However, the required resources were so absurd that he simply dismissed the idea.
After training for a while, Neo stopped and began contemplating a more complex training method for the four of them. Eventually, he came up with a plan.
Unfortunately, it was extreme, to say the least. So, he decided to wait a bit and ask them about it next week, after the combat test.
With that thought settled, Neo lay down and fell asleep, unconcerned about anything else.
One week later...
Training was going well for everyone.
Adrian was ready to move on to the next weapon.
Carina had become proficient with her batons and could fight decently without major issues.
Gwen was progressing in her innate technique and could now use it at a basic level.Alex was still undergoing physical training—not making significant progress, but achieving some results.
The whole group now stood before Neo, feeling somewhat confused. He stood before them shirtless, wearing only a kimono with the upper half draped down, leaving his torso exposed. None of them understood why he was dressed like that.
Carina and Gwen blushed at the sight of Neo's physique but were also confused. However, what stood out the most were the tattoos running down his body, disappearing below where they could see.
Everyone was focused on him, trying to understand why he had called them there. Then, he suddenly surprised them by saying:
Neo: "Today is fight training..."
Hearing this, everyone got excited. Some had unresolved tensions (like Carina with Gwen, who wasn't even aware of the rivalry), while others just wanted to fight for the thrill of it (like Adrian).
But one of them, and only one, was confused by this and asked:
Alex: "But sir, if we're going to fight each other, why are you dressed like that?"
The moment Neo heard the question, he flashed a sinister grin that sent chills down their spines and spoke with unsettling enthusiasm.
Neo: "Who said you'd be fighting each other?"
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Hey guys, if you're enjoying my fic, please send some power stones!
I've got some news that might make you happy—I'll try to maintain a schedule of posting a chapter every other day to keep things manageable for me. But just so you know, I won't be writing or posting anything on Mondays.
Also, if there's anything you don't like, have any questions, feedback, or suggestions, feel free to send them my way! I always read everything.