Chapter 103: Chapter 24
Seijirou stood before his devoted inner circle—Suzune, Emi, Yukina, Haruka, Renji, Shou, and Sakai—all of them bearing bandages, bruises, and an overwhelming surge of determination.
He was wearing a fresh set of clothes, his own injuries hidden, and a confident smile plastered on his face.
He bid them farewell, his voice carrying clearly. "I'm leaving now. You all know the goal. Get stronger. Get ready. We'll see each other soon."
"Don't worry boss, next time I'll be sure to crack open that bastard's face!" Sakai clenched his fist.
"I'll beat the crap out of those damn Shinomiya Elitists! Acting so high and mighty just because they go to a prestigious school? Let's see what they'll do once we completely wrecked their territory." Renji grinned.
Shou remained silent, but his eyes burned with determination. He will never allow what happened last time to happen again!
They swore again to get stronger, to master their Karyoku, and to execute a thorough and humiliating revenge against Ayano and the entire Saint Shinomiya Highschool.
"Take care of yourself." Suzune approached him, cupping his cheeks and planting a soft kiss on his lips before she took a step back.
"You too. Do not force yourself to learn Karyoku. You heard how dangerous it is." Seijirou warned worriedly.
Yukina stood in front of him, before resting her head to his chest and simply wrapped her hands around his waist.
"I won't kiss you for now. I'll reserve that once we wiped the floor with those people's face."
Seijirou smiled, "Well, I'll look forward to that them."
She took a step back, and Emi followed.
Unlike Yukina however, she kissed Seijirou on the forehead and smiled, "That is my good luck kiss. Let's go to a cosplay event after all of this is over."
"Ah, it's been awhile since I've been into one. Very well, I promise you that."
Emi grinned happily as she took a step back.
Seijirou then turned towards Haruka, and wondered if she was going to softly and lovingly say her goodbyes as well.
But as always, she simply stared at him, eyes completely devoid of any emotion, her arms crossed under her chest.
Right when Seijirou thought she wasn't going to say anything.... "Be careful."
Seijirou blinked.
Haruka stared at him, her eyes serious. "I do not know what you're relationship with Shirohara Retsu is, but she is dangerous. Be careful around her."
Seijirou smiled. "Well, I'll take that to heart."
He wouldn't.
Just as the goodbyes were finished, a brilliant red Ferrari La Ferrari—a hypercar of breathtaking design and terrifying rarity—pulled up silently beside the group.
The driver's window whispered down, revealing Retsu behind the wheel, her red eyes sparkling with anticipation beneath her black-rimmed glasses.
She was dressed in a sleek, elegant white suit that made her look less like a nurse and more like a high-stakes, professional operative.
Seijirou nodded at her, sharing a brief, knowing glance.
He then said his final goodbyes, patted Shou and Renji on the shoulder, and entered the car.
Retsu revved the engine—a deep, visceral growl that shook the air—before slamming the accelerator.
The million-dollar car shot forward with breathtaking speed, leaving Suzune and the others in a cloud of dust, utterly stunned by the shocking display of wealth and power.
Suzune looked around, staring at the shocked faces of everyone in the group. "Okay...does anyone know that Retsu-sensei is actually loaded?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Sakai then interjected, "Not just loaded, she's influential too. That car isn't something you can buy with just money alone."
"Rei would surely suck up to her if she found out." Suzune muttered, staring at the dust that was left behind by the car.
"Who cares about that?" Shou began to walk, "I'm leaving. You all should prepare yourselves for training as well."
With that, they all stared at each other and nodded.
*
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Inside the luxurious cockpit, Seijirou settled into the carbon fiber seat, still processing the scene.
"I have to say, Retsu," Seijirou remarked, his voice smooth. "I'm genuinely surprised you have a car like this. This is a limited edition, isn't it? Very hard to acquire."
Retsu smirked, her eyes briefly meeting his before refocusing on the mountain road ahead. "It is. It belonged to an unfortunate Saudi Prince whose beloved wife contracted an incurable disease and asked my grandfather for help. Grandfather was able to cure the wife and this car was among the many gifts he had given."
She then looked at him teasingly. "Do you want it? I can give it to you. I have another two of this car in the garage that are gathering dust."
One was a gift to her by an unfortunate man whom she had manipulated before discarding, the other belonged to a family who had to sell their assets after she made the head of the family hopelessly obsessed with her and got into debt and was forced to commit suicide.
Seijirou shook his head. "Maybe someday. For now, I'm not interested in such excessive displays. Besides, like bikes more than cars anyway."
Retsu shrugged, but she had already made up her mind to give it to him. After all, he isn't just going to refuse if she simply park it in his garage, is he?
She mentally added a note to have one of her family's transport teams deliver the car to Seijirou's house garage the moment they arrived at the training manor.
Seijirou then steered the conversation back to the task at hand. "Tell me more about your grandfather. What kind of person is he? And the training setup?"
Retsu hummed, navigating a tight curve with surgical precision. "My grandfather already has a lot of disciples. Each of them is already capable of effectively using Ki. They are strong, certainly. Although, each one of them is more useless than the last."
Seijirou raised an eyebrow. "How so? You mentioned they are strong."
Retsu shook her head, the contempt clear in her voice. "Strength is just a tool, Seijirou-kun. Their minds are soft. They are easy to manipulate and played around with. They are like a pack of dogs trained to wag their tails obediently while following their master's orders."
Retsu allowed a faint, predatory smile to cross her lips.
She thought of her past, when she was still learning human emotions and had used all of her grandfather's disciples to practice her acting skills.
She had perfected her imitation of human emotion because of them: Just act gentle here, show kindness there, and even make them think that they are special by showing that she was only treating them differently while she was cold or indifferent with others.
Thanks to their pathetic devotion, she was able to flawlessly master the art of acting human and was able to perfectly fit into society.
Not only that, because of her intensive "training," she gained the genuine love and absolute loyalty of every single one of her grandfather's disciples.
"Well, they were useful to order around for a time," she continued, her voice bored. "But now I have already grown bored of them. Having dogs wagging their tails around while following you and listening to your every word was only good in the early days. Eventually, they just got annoying."
"Oh." It was moments like this reminded Seijirou that this woman beside him is batshit insane.
Retsu turned her head toward Seijirou for a few seconds, her red eyes intense, before staring back at the road.
She then spoke one final, critical piece of information. "There is one more thing, Seijirou-kun. To awaken your Spirit Circuits and successfully learn Ki, you need to harness a very specific, very important feeling."
Seijirou blinked, turning toward her, utterly focused. "What is it? Willpower? Concentration? Compassion?"
Retsu smiled, a genuine, private, and slightly terrifying smile reserved only for him. "It's Irritation."
Seijirou simply stared at her, utterly dumbfounded, the absurdity of the requirement hanging in the air above the roar of the V12 engine.
Retsu continued, explaining the bizarre requirement with scientific detachment. "It isn't just any irritation, Seijirou-kun. It's the moment your body, mind, and soul are so completely irritated by the current state of affairs that it rejects the limits of its own existence. It is the moment you become so impatient and annoyed by being weak that your inner self forces the dormant circuits to activate."
She glanced at him again. "Think of it this way: Ki is the energy of inner command. Karyoku is the energy of bargaining. To command, you must first refuse the state of being commanded, and that refusal must be absolute and deeply felt. You must be completely, utterly annoyed by the notion that something external like Karyoku, or internal like your own physical limits, can dictate your life."
"My grandfather is a master, but his disciples rely on years of tedious meditation and focused calmness to gradually stimulate their circuits," Retsu explained. "But for a powerful, volatile, and arrogant soul like yours, that's inefficient. We need to find the trigger that will maximize your inherent arrogance and turn it into raw, activated energy. Your intense, focused annoyance is your shortcut."
"He intends to teach you the Ki techniques," Retsu promised. "But I will ensure you are in the perfect state of controlled Irritation to actually awaken the energy."
Seijirou stared at her, and wondered how she can make it sound so genuine? Irritation? Really?
However, he said nothing, focusing on the road. Everything will become clear once he reached their destination and started his formal training.