As the core of the barrier and the cursed spirit were destroyed at the same time, the [Curtain] vanished.
As the cursed energy that had been enclosing them scattered, Nanami and Junpei returned to the second basement floor parking lot.
"........"
The corpse of Uryu Kazuya, dead instantly with his head pierced through.
Junpei could read the will to live the man had shown in his final moment from that pitiful, gruesome sight.
"This man asked to be saved before he died."
"I see."
"He must have been slowly being eaten without even realizing it."
It might have begun with his own will, but in the end it was not his choice.
A man devoured by the cursed spirit he had lured in. Junpei, who had sought guidance from Mahito.
For some reason, it did not feel like someone else’s problem.
"He had a family too, and he must have been trying hard to live..."
"Are you pitying him?"
"I’m not pitying him. He called a cursed spirit and killed people, so he met the ending he deserved. It’s just... I keep thinking maybe he could have lived better. Maybe he never had to get tangled up with some cursed spirit in the first place."
It was a pointless what-if, but the bitter aftertaste remained.
A person was saved, and a suspect who had committed murder was punished.
Even if it looked like the simple justice of a flat little fairy tale, reality was different.
There was no absolute evil in the world, and no absolute good either.
"Do jujutsushi usually see this kind of thing a lot while working?"
"Yes."
"You too, Nanami?"
"...Yes."
His gaze shifted to Yamamoto Mie, still unconscious behind them.
The things he had heard from the department store staff alone were enough to show that woman’s cruelty had crossed every line.
She used rude language and curses as a matter of course, smashed things whenever she felt like it, and had been sued more than once for assaulting employees.
And yet she had to be saved. There was no such thing as a human being who "should die"; if someone could be saved, then saving them was a jujutsushi’s job.
"There’s no such thing as a human who deserves to die. The result is only decided by interests and social judgment."
"........"
"You said you wanted to save people so no victims would end up being used by cursed spirits."
It’s good to have ideals. But you can’t become consumed by them.
A jujutsushi has to be able to compromise with reality to some extent.
Only when you can keep your convictions without being shaken by the gap between compromise and ideals do you truly become a jujutsushi.
"That’s contradictory."
"It is contradictory."
It certainly was contradictory.
And yet the path forward was not escape or self-justification, but carrying even that sense of guilt and moving on.
That was the proper way of the jujutsushi.
Junpei felt like he understood that meaning, at least a little.
Grrrrr
He was in the middle of serious contemplation when his stomach ruined the mood.
"And late mealtimes are one of the little sorrows of being a jujutsushi."
"Hahahahaha!!!"
Nanami said it with such a serious face that Junpei couldn’t tell whether it was a joke or not, but he decided to take it as a joke.
Apparently that was the right answer, because Nanami gave his shoulder a light pat and headed for the car with Junpei supported at his side.
"I’ve contacted Ijichi. The cleanup will be handled soon. Let’s go eat."
"You’re paying, Nanami?"
"Would I make a student who’s still in school pay?"
"What do you feel like eating?"
"I’d like some greasy side dishes with beer."
"Then take me somewhere you know well."
"No. It’s more comfortable if I’m the only one who knows my regular place."
"Huh?"
------------------------
The remaining two weeks flew by in an instant.
Maybe the first request had been cursed with bad luck, because the next two were ordinary Grade 1 cursed spirits.
And Junpei...
"[Kan]."
Mooooom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom
thunk
"That’s the last one."
"You’ve worked hard."
"No, I’m the one who should be thanking you."
Junpei scratched his head awkwardly and waved it off.
He was happy the requests were over, but even more than that, he was happy that it had been proven his poison was not weak.
Up until now, every opponent he had fought—Itadori, Mahito, and the parking lot cursed spirit—had all been enemies poison didn’t work well on.
"Mahito, were you lying to me? You said I had talent."
He felt like demanding an explanation.
They kept saying poison was a rare trait, but every opponent he met had some kind of countermeasure.
Itadori because he had eaten one of Sukuna’s fingers, which was a cursed object.
Mahito because damage wouldn’t go through unless the soul was struck.
The parking lot cursed spirit because it could draw cursed energy from its host to make up for the loss.
Just when he had started doubting his own ability, its true value was proven in the remaining requests.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to call his cursed technique a rare poison type.
Most Grade 1 cursed spirits were finished off by the thorn of [Sediment Moon], without even needing to reach [Bloom].
They would just get stabbed once, their bodies would stiffen up, and they’d flop over. There wasn’t much of a fight to speak of.
"Huh? Am I... actually really strong?"
He desperately held back the corners of his mouth from loosening.
"He’s spacing out."
Nanami looked at Junpei with narrowed eyes.
He didn’t seem to realize it yet, but since the first request, his cursed energy control had surpassed that of active-duty sorcerers.
He was similar to Itadori Yuji, but different.
If Itadori Yuji was the type to burn with fighting spirit and leap in harder the stronger the enemy became, Yoshino Junpei was the type to grind his brain as coldly as possible and squeeze out a strategy that would guarantee victory.
The common point was that both of them grew rapidly when faced with the threat of death.
Having grown once already, he was guaranteed victory against an ordinary Grade 1 cursed spirit.
"Yoshino-kun. With this, the punishment handed down to you is complete."
"It was all thanks to you, Nanami."
"No. All I did was watch. Completing the request was entirely thanks to your own strength. You can be proud. You’re strong."
"Ah..."
At those words, Junpei’s eyes reddened.
He acknowledged me.
This person acknowledged me.
At last...
Realizing he had shown tears, he hurriedly wiped his face.
It wasn’t even that special a moment. He had just been acknowledged by this person.
He himself didn’t quite understand why it felt so moving.
"What is this...?"
"Who knows? I have no idea."
Whether Junpei cried or not, Nanami adjusted his sunglasses and returned with him to the car where Ijichi was waiting.
Originally they should have headed to Ijichi’s house, where Itadori was staying, but this time was different.
"Huh? Isn’t this the wrong way?"
"There’s no need to go to Ijichi-kun’s house anymore. The request is over, so now you need to prepare to enter Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School."
"Then where are we going now...?"
"Gojo’s house."
The destination was Gojo’s secret residence near Tokyo.
The strongest one, who had gone on a business trip to Africa, had returned.
-----------------------
Deep in the mountains, where no human foot ever reached.
In a hot spring where heat and steam rose into the air, someone was taking a rest.
"Hoo..."
Kyaaaah
From the crown of the cursed spirit, which was sucking on a cigarette pipe shaped like a human head, donut-shaped smoke rose into the air.
It had shrunk a little and its face had become soft and cute, but there was no mistaking who it resembled.
A head like Mt. Fuji.
A single large eye planted in the center of its face.
Jogo, the special-grade cursed spirit born from the earth.
He was recovering his cursed energy in nature after a long time, enjoying a peaceful moment.
There were no humans anywhere nearby, and the gloomy atmosphere combined with the soothing heat made it the perfect retreat.
"Ah! Found you, found you!! Jogo-o-o-o!!!"
A gender-neutral voice that ruined his reverie pierced his ears.
Its owner, who had run up while throwing off their clothes, dove straight into the hot spring Jogo was soaking in and splashed water everywhere.
Mahito.
"Damn it. That was my favorite."
Jogo muttered to himself as he tossed the waterlogged cigarette aside.
Annoying, yes, but that guy was a comrade and their leader.
He was glad to see him after so long, and there was no need to get worked up over a disposable thing like that.
"Looks like your cursed energy has mostly recovered?"
"Yeah. It’s really comfortable here. Humans don’t come near it either."
"Having no body is worth thinking about at least once. Self-repair efficiency drops."
"Mahito, you’ve worn yourself out a lot too, haven’t you?"
"Ah, you noticed? Sukuna and the vessel. Those guys were total natural enemies for me."
Floating in the warm water and swimming around, Mahito recalled that day.
"It started as a game with a toy I happened to get my hands on, but it didn’t go as planned. I should’ve taken a hostage after all."
"No. Binding is something one imposes on oneself, so it doesn’t work well if someone else gets involved."
The one who explained that was Geto, who had followed after Mahito.
Mahito frowned.
So he knew that and still didn’t tell him something that important?
He was grateful that he had played along with the game, but every time this happened, his born-in violence felt like it might burst out.
"I should’ve done something to Junpei no matter what. Or taken the other students hostage and dealt a fatal blow. Or maybe not? Sukuna probably wouldn’t care about something like that anyway."
"Jogo. I’ve thought it over, and I think it’s better to move ahead with Geto’s plan first. Sukuna is worth that much."
"You mean gather all the fingers and offer them to Sukuna?"
Even if that means we’re wiped out in the process?
The black teeth exposed by Jogo’s smiling mouth gleamed ominously.
"Fine. One hundred years from now, it doesn’t have to be me laughing out in the wilderness. If curses can stand tall as people, that’s enough."
"Then from here on out..."
Geto laid out the plan.
As they listened, Mahito and Jogo’s eyes sparkled.
"So that’s what it means to enter the tiger’s den... How are we going to do it?"
"The hand has already been set."
The operation will be carried out on the day of the exchange event.
We’ll recover the six fingers Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School has collected.
------------------------
Meanwhile, after arriving at Gojo’s house, Junpei was dealing with an unexpected situation.
"You must be Yoshino Junpei?"
"Ahaha..."
A tall man with an absurdly laid-back air pushed straight in.
With his eyes covered by a blindfold and his white hair standing up sharply, this was Gojo Satoru, the man who would become his homeroom teacher.
Yuji, standing blankly behind him, didn’t seem very interested in helping.
"Wow, I never thought a new first-year would be coming in now. And you’re from a non-sorcerer background, too?"
"Yes..."
"I’m Gojo Satoru. I’ll be your homeroom teacher. And I’m the strongest. My favorite things are daifuku and pancakes, so make sure you remember that."
What kind of self-introduction was that?
"Ah, what’s with that face? You’re thinking, ‘My expected homeroom teacher is this handsome social butterfly, but I’m a loner so there’s no way I can handle this!’ Right?"
"Not at all."
He had only meant to think it, but the words came out of his mouth.
His old habit of never being able to hold his tongue had finally exploded here.
"Haha, harsh. But I don’t dislike that type."
"Is that so..."
"Nanami over there told me about you. He said you’d already learned the basics, right? And you’ve even done requests before."
"Yes."
"Good. Saves me the trouble of explaining things. Then this is the end of today’s meeting!"
"...Huh?"
He called him all the way here just to say that?
Why had he even been told to come here?
"No interview or paperwork or anything?"
"Huh? Why would I bother with something that annoying? I just called you over so I could see your face before you enrolled."
"........"
"And, don’t you still have something to do before going to Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School?"
That was true.
He still hadn’t sorted out the house he had lived in with his mother.
Her funeral had been held, but he hadn’t gone home during the request period.
"You’re right. I forgot about that."
"Want me to come with you?"
"No. I’m better off alone."
He had to go there eventually anyway.
And he didn’t want another person’s traces to touch that space.
One car and one person to take him there was enough, and Ijichi was the only one he needed.
"I’ll drive you, Yoshino-kun."
"Thank you, Ijichi."
---------------------------
"So, after going around together, what do you think?"
"At the very least, he won’t become a curse user. He has his own convictions, too."
"I knew calling you was the right choice."
"I’m sick of babysitting kids, so next time find someone else."
"You’re the only one I can rely on~"
"What a tragic human relationship."
After Junpei left, Gojo and Nanami talked in the living room, just the two of them.
They had things to handle regarding Itadori Yuji’s survival and Yoshino Junpei’s enrollment.
"I’m worried the old fossils in the upper ranks will complain again. They made such a fuss about execution and all that when it came to Yuji, but if I step in, they won’t dare make a peep."
"I see."
"I’m that amazing, you know? How about showing a little more respect in your reactions?"
"You were never someone worthy of respect as a senior."
Nanami listened to Gojo’s whining with one ear and let it out the other.
After all, ninety percent of what this man said was useless self-praise or outdated jokes.
And because everything was centered on himself, there was no room for sympathy at all.
The strongest, but the worst senior.
An adult child whose mental age was stuck in his late teens.
A narcissist.
That was Nanami’s harsh assessment of Gojo Satoru.
There were also other words—fool, heat-snatcher, plant guild leader, Ee! Gojo Satoru...
"What is this nonexistent memory...?"
Weird words floated up, but they were quickly erased from his mind.
"What did you do with the finger that was at Junpei’s house?"
"I handed it over to Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School. If I gave it to you, you’d just feed it to Itadori-kun."
"Tch."
Ignoring Gojo’s click of the tongue, Nanami unfolded a newspaper.
"More importantly, ask Mei Mei for a favor."
"For what?"
A jujutsushi recommended by two or more Grade 1 sorcerers can rise to Grade 1 after a few missions accompanied by a supervisor.
And Junpei had already completed three requests under Nanami’s supervision.
All that remained was to receive a recommendation from another Grade 1 sorcerer.
"I’m going to recommend Yoshino Junpei for Grade 1 sorcerer."
If Ino Takuma, who had deliberately stayed at Grade 2 just to get Nanami’s recommendation, had heard that, he would have cried blood.
"You really think highly of that kid?"
"At least more highly than I do of you."
"Hey, now..."
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