It didn’t take long for Megumi to come to his senses again.
“He’s awake!”
“Don’t yell... my head’s ringing.”
Even so, it didn’t seem like he was badly hurt.
If he rested a little, he’d probably recover quickly.
Megumi, holding his head, suddenly noticed that his right hand felt strangely empty.
“What the hell. Where did Sukuna’s finger go...?”
“Ah, that.”
“Yuji ate it.”
“I didn’t mean to!”
Megumi gave Yuji, who was making a wronged face and defending himself, a flat look.
He’d gone to all the trouble of exorcising it, and then Yuji just swallowed the finger whole.
In Megumi’s mind, Yuji’s intelligence had already dropped to the level of a little kid eating dirt at a playground.
“What happened?”
“You passed out while holding it tight, so I tried to keep it away from you in case it affected you badly... but then Sukuna popped out and ate it.”
“Sukuna did?”
“Yeah! That bastard doesn’t even do his job properly!”
Gojo had clearly said Sukuna would point them toward the finger’s location in order to regain his power.
Yuji had believed that too, but in the end, it was nothing like that.
That bastard was basically a parasite always looking for a chance to stab someone in the back. He didn’t care whether people lived or died; the only thing guiding him was his own irritation. Getting him to cooperate was close to impossible.
“Gojo-sensei... did he lie to me?”
“He probably didn’t lie. He just blurted out whatever came to mind.”
“Yeah, that sounds like Gojo-sensei.”
“You’re only realizing that now?”
After grumbling for a bit, they soon prepared to head back to the bridge.
From above, Nitta had spotted them and was waving the car keys around while shouting something or other.
“So, shall we head back?”
“Yeah.”
They got into the car and headed for Jujutsu High.
-----------------------------
The trip back to Jujutsu High didn’t take long, but thanks to the aftermath of battle, the kids were soon knocked out cold.
Nobara and Megumi, who had been more seriously injured, were sleeping as if they’d fainted, while only Yuji and Junpei remained wide awake.
“Why is he like that...?”
Yuji hadn’t said a word since earlier.
Junpei didn’t want to break the quiet mood, so he hadn’t spoken up, but he was curious.
Why had someone who was always so bright suddenly fallen into such deep thought?
They might have gotten back faster by taking the route through the Curtain, but since they’d all solved the problem together, Junpei wanted to go back with everyone this time.
He also wanted to hear what had happened inside.
Junpei absentmindedly looked out the window, and his eyes met the full moon hanging bright in the sky.
The calm moonlight illuminated the inside of the car.
“It’s bright.”
“...Yeah.”
Yuji’s reply sounded so drained it was exhausting just to hear.
“Did something happen? You’ve looked down ever since earlier.”
“...Junpei. If, hypothetically...”
“Yeah?”
“If people die because I’m alive, what am I supposed to do?”
Junpei thought for a moment about what that meant.
“Why are you asking that?”
“That Sukuna finger we picked up. I think... it’s probably connected to me becoming Sukuna’s vessel.”
“.....!”
“When Sukuna incarnated in my body, the finger that had been sleeping must have awakened too. That’s probably why the exorcisms started in June.”
“Are you sure?”
“Almost.”
So that was why he’d been so gloomy all this time.
Junpei thought about what to say to comfort him.
After hesitating a little, he opened his mouth.
“Yuji. I... I’ve never had to carry a burden as big as yours, and I’m the kind of guy who forgets unrelated faces pretty fast, so I can’t fully understand how you feel.”
“...I see.”
“But you’re kind, so you feel responsible and suffer even for deaths your hands can’t reach. You worry about things beyond your ability one by one, and blame yourself for them. You always want things to turn out right...”
“......”
“I’m not saying that’s bad, but I am saying you shouldn’t push yourself too hard.”
“...But this is the only thing I can do. If I’m carrying Sukuna, this bomb in my body, what else am I supposed to do besides save people?”
-The only place my life can be used is here.
“I’m scared to admit that people die because of me. If more people die because I’m alive than the people I save... then maybe I really should die,”
“You’re the one who taught me that there’s no such thing as a human who deserves to die.”
Yuji’s eyes widened.
“You just need to do what you can do. And why do you think you have to carry it all alone?”
-The people you save might go on to save others like you.
“The world is all interlocked like gears. If Sukuna exists and curses keep turning through the world, then there has to be an equal cycle of good too. The result of that is right in front of you, isn’t it?”
“.....!”
“I was saved by that part of you. Because you saved me, I was able to save people too.”
“Junpei...”
“So don’t say things like that. I’m always grateful.”
Yuji turned his head away and said nothing.
But Junpei noticed the faint redness at the corners of his eyes, and decided to tactfully pretend not to see it.
It was consideration for his benefactor and friend.
“Mmnh...”
Junpei gently patted Nobara’s head as she leaned against his shoulder, then quickly changed the subject.
“More importantly, wasn’t Fushiguro’s face while he was sleeping absolutely hilarious earlier?”
“...Hah, haha. Yeah.”
“I wonder what kind of person Tsumiki is, to make that cool-headed Fushiguro pull a face like that. I’d like to meet her sometime.”
“We should go visit her together sometime.”
“Would Fushiguro even allow that?”
“Can’t promise anything. That guy seems like a total sister complex.”
“Heh heh.”
-------------------------------
Deep inside the branch of the religious sect where the curse users lived.
The cheerful atmosphere of the three of them playing Monopoly had sunk heavily.
The source of the killing intent was a man sitting between Mahito and Geto.
“What’s wrong, Choso?”
“My little brother died.”
Crack!
The game piece in Choso’s hand was crushed.
At that, Mahito, who had been enjoying the game, pouted.
“Aah! Don’t break the pieces~!!”
“So you can tell, huh.”
“What happened? If they were incarnated bodies, maybe, but I don’t think those two would lose to a curse worth only one finger.”
“Geez. Do I really need to say more~?”
While Mahito, showing no interest whatsoever, rummaged through the Monopoly bag, Geto waited for the report on his phone.
He had assigned a curse to escort Eso and Kechizu if they succeeded in their mission.
He’d know the situation soon enough.
“Wait a second.”
Rrrrkkk...
The markings under Choso’s eyes darkened little by little as his anger poured out.
“Oh.”
By then, Geto had checked the report and smiled to himself.
‘Good. Honestly, I thought it would have been better if those two had died instead.’
Kechizu didn’t even look human, and he was so weak he was almost useless.
Eso was a little better, but compared to Choso, he was basically a defective product too.
If they couldn’t even take part in the Shibuya plan, it would be better to use their deaths to spur Choso on.
And just as planned, things had worked out that way.
“The report’s in. The ones who killed Eso and Kechizu were—”
Yoshino Junpei, a first-year at Jujutsu High, and his group.
Hearing a familiar name, Mahito’s mouth twisted grotesquely, and Choso ground his teeth.
“Ooh~ Junpei~”
“I’ll remember that. The enemy of my brothers...!”
Yoshino Junpei.
Another name had been added to the list of people he wanted to kill.
The master of Crimson Blood Manipulation, and the first Cursed Womb: Death Painting.
Choso.
--------------------------
Two days after their return, Gojo came back from a business trip, opened the classroom door with a broad grin, and walked in.
“Wow, you took down a special-grade curse and even beat enemies on par with it. You’re all growing fast. Must be because your leader is so outstanding?”
““No.””
“That denial was fast?!”
Laughing heartily, Gojo singled one person out.
“Especially Megumi. I hear you succeeded in deploying a Domain? Everyone, give a round of applause for our friend who has reached the pinnacle of jujutsu!”
“Waaah—”
Clap clap clap clap
“Don’t!”
Megumi snapped at the kids, who were clapping with smug grins.
But the more they wanted that reaction, the louder the applause got, and Megumi’s face only darkened further.
“All right, train on your own again today. I’ve got somewhere to go. Any questions?”
Gojo, standing with one leg crossed, tapped the lectern.
Junpei cautiously raised his hand.
“Sensei, could you spare me a moment alone?”
“Huh! Junpei, do you want another one-on-one counseling session with me? Unfortunately, I’m not confident I can hold back like I did last time.”
“Not that.”
“Domain Expansion.”
Gojo’s gaze changed meaningfully.
Junpei’s eyes, facing him, shone with firm resolve.
---------------------------
“We don’t have much time, so I’ll just explain the basics.”
Gojo, who had taken Junpei out of the classroom, got straight to the point.
“You know what a Domain is, right?”
“Yes. It’s a technique that imbues a space divided by a barrier with a cursed technique.”
“A space imbued with a cursed technique falls under the user’s control. That’s why attacks inside a Domain are guaranteed hits. Even for me. Whether you have a Domain or not is one of the deciding factors in a fight between top-tier sorcerers or curses. If you can’t deal with it, you lose on the spot.”
He knew that.
He hadn’t seen it himself, but Megumi had said he’d used a Domain against the finger curse.
That was why Junpei had dragged Gojo aside like this, feeling impatient.
For the first time in a while, the feeling of competitive spirit was burning fiercely inside him.
“So how do I do it?”
“There are basically three things you need to deploy a Domain: barrier technique, image, and hand signs.”
Gojo held up three fingers and folded them down one by one as he explained.
“Barrier technique does depend a bit on aptitude, but it improves quickly with training. As you get into the advanced stuff, there are more things to keep track of, but when you’re deploying a Domain, you don’t need that level of finesse.”
“I see.”
“Hand signs are the same. Just choose the right one and set it. Think of it as the opening that lets you deploy the Domain image you want. Names carry power, after all.”
Barrier technique and hand signs weren’t the important part.
That meant anyone could reach a certain level with training.
But there was a reason a Domain was called the pinnacle of jujutsu.
“The problem is the image. You have to decide the outline yourself, the amount of cursed energy consumed by it too, and you have to be able to manifest a clear landscape. Whether you can deploy a Domain or not depends on whether you have the high-level sense and understanding of your technique to make that possible.”
“So it’s basically like being handed a blank canvas and told to draw a picture from scratch...?”
“Nice understanding.”
As expected, it wasn’t easy.
There was someone who could give advice, but no one could help directly.
Only by steadily drawing out everything he’d built up and pouring it all in could a Domain finally bear fruit.
You could even call it the process of completing a single “work” that contained the essence of a sorcerer’s life.
“Anyway, that’s the explanation. I’ve got to go now, so I’ll leave you with homework.”
“What is it?”
“What I think you need most urgently is to understand your essence.”
Junpei frowned at the somewhat vague wording.
My essence? Could I even know that clearly?
No one could decide it for him, and even if he defined it himself as “This is me!” there was no guarantee that would make it true.
If it were that easy, every dog and cow would be running around using Domains.
‘Should I read some humanities books or something...’
“You’re thinking something weird again, aren’t you?”
“Huh? No, I’m not.”
“It’s obvious at a glance. You’re good in every way, but you think too much. You take the easy road and then make a complicated detour around it.”
Clicking his tongue, Gojo pressed a finger against Junpei’s forehead over and over.
“Your true self, connected to your cursed technique. That’s the point. So finish your technique first. Practicing a Domain comes after that.”
“So that means,”
“Choose your final shikigami.”
About a month remained until the Shibuya Incident began.
Junpei had been given a task.
No one yet knew how things would turn out, but one thing was certain: he was standing right before the final wall.
A Domain.
The secrets of an unresolved technique.
If he could overcome all of it,
he would step into a realm no one had ever reached.
Until Yoshino Junpei is reborn as the Sea God,33 days remain.
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