“To speak in terms of personality, Ieiri Yuuki possesses a very strong sense of self. He acts using himself as an anchor and does not overly consider or rather, completely ignores outside opinions.”
“Yet, the magical part is when interacting with people, he always manages to give the other party an illusion, a strange sense of favorable impression.”
“Whether human, or non-human.”
The Gojo training ground.
Four youths were running swiftly across the arena, divided into two teams for a sparring session: Itadori and Ieiri on one team, Fushiguro and Kugisaki on the other.
“Kugisaki!”
Fushiguro Megumi’s eyes darkened. “Take down Ieiri first.”
“Got it!”
Although Kugisaki Nobara, much like Itadori, had only recently enrolled, she had spent her time in the countryside studying sorcery under her grandmother and possessed a very strong grasp of cursed energy.
Her physical combat skills were not inferior in the slightest.
“Straw Doll Technique…!”
Before the long nail infused with cursed energy could execute its technique, Kugisaki found herself unable to move. Three golden cords of cursed energy had bound her down before she even realized it!
Those three golden “cords” connected directly to Ieiri’s index, middle, and ring fingers on both hands. At that moment, his left hand exerted force while his right hand crossed and pulled backward in opposition.
It was [Binding]!
One of the cursed talisman techniques.
Before Itadori Yuji’s praise could even make it halfway out of his mouth, it twisted into a different tune, because he saw Fushiguro Megumi pull a feint and dash right past him.
Completely ignoring him.
Then, charging straight toward Ieiri!
Itadori Yuji: “……Eh?!”
Though stunned for a moment, his reaction was quick, and he immediately gave chase.
However, blocking his path was Kugisaki Nobara, who had already broken free.
Fushiguro possessed the fast-attack shikigami [Nue], and the assault was already right in front of him.
Naturally, Ieiri couldn’t maintain [Binding] indefinitely and immediately switched to [Area Attack].
“Itadori, you and Ieiri are basically a combination of a mage and a knight. If you want to win, the logical move is to ‘take out’ the high-output mage first!”
Kugisaki broke into a smile, cursed energy once again pouring into her long nail. The Straw Doll Technique’s move, “Hairpin,” could cause the long nail to trigger a large-scale explosion.
This was her trump card!
On the other side.
“Swoosh—”
Cursed talismans burst out from Ieiri Yuuki’s pockets, thrusting forward explosively under the guidance of his cursed energy.
A circular halo immediately manifested beneath Fushiguro Megumi’s feet, followed by roaring flames!
In the blink of an eye, Fushiguro Megumi burst out from the thick smoke.
Simultaneously, the black Divine Dog coordinated seamlessly, popping its head out near Ieiri Yuuki in an attempt to bite open the cursed talisman master’s pocket and devour all his cursed talismans.
Ieiri noticed it.
“[Repel]!”
“Boom—”
The youths’ cursed energy fluctuations surged wave after wave across the training ground. With every landing point of their attacks, a dense lingering residue (taint) was left behind in that exact spot.
Though it was merely sparring, no one held back, and the training ground was now completely enveloped by surging remnants of cursed energy.
Until the ringing of a bell chimed through the air.
Everyone instinctively stopped.
At that moment, Itadori Yuji, who had been competing with Fushiguro in physical combat, didn’t continue further, dropping down from midair one after another.
“Whew, time really flies.”
Break time arrived.
Itadori Yuji wiped away his sweat, suddenly thinking of something, and said, “Ieiri, the cooldown time should be up by now. You can summon a shikigami again, right?”
Yuuki nodded.
Drinking water immediately after intense exercise was prohibited, so a servant of the Gojo family presented clean towels for the youths to wipe the sweat from their faces.
“Thank you.”
With the sparring session concluded, Ieiri Yuuki let out a breath, finally having the free time to pay attention to the comments floating in midair.
The comments weren’t present all day long; they vanished from time to time, and after experiencing it a few times, Ieiri Yuuki had figured out the pattern:
They only appeared when important plot points were happening.
Unknowingly, the comments had provided him with a great deal of information.
Thus, he had developed a new function
Trolling the comments.
For instance, right now, the youths were sitting cross-legged, waiting for their heart rates to recover.
At a time like this, naturally, it was time to chat.
Ieiri Yuuki pondered and said, “I was thinking, I’d like to try summoning a Curse other than Muzan.”
Perhaps because he had awakened his technique later in life, he only possessed a superficial understanding of the technique itself.
[?!]
[Turns out he isn’t limited to summoning just the Trash Boss?!]
[Excitedly rubbing my hands together. Since this is a brand-new project, will Bungo Stray Dogs get dragged in for a cameo too?]
[No Longer Human, In the Gloomy Sadness, Please Don’t Die, Super Deduction if all four of these gathered in the JJK world, I daren’t imagine how much of a blockbuster that would be]
[But Yuuki can only summon one at a time, right? And what if it’s restricted to Demon Slayer?]
[Then it’s still the Trash Boss]
[Muzan in this world is a Curse, still hates sunlight, but won’t die]
[Equivalent to having his most feared weakness eliminated he is genuinely, overwhelmingly strong]
“Why not continue summoning ‘Muzan’?” Itadori Yuji asked.
Due to sharing a body, Itadori could always hear Sukuna’s insatiable desires toward classmate Ieiri deep within his mind.
Sukuna was constantly coveting his friend’s body.
This made Itadori Yuji feel somewhat uneasy. He wanted to make Sukuna give up, but he couldn’t beat Sukuna.
So having Muzan summoned would also add an extra layer of protection.
Ieiri Yuuki remained unaware of his inner thoughts and said, “If I always summon the exact same Curse, wouldn’t it get pretty boring?”
Besides, humans naturally love the new and loathe the old.
Ieiri Yuuki supported his chin and thought.
Of course, Muzan was special.
Though Muzan had a bad temper, he was gorgeous to look at, which was pleasing to the eye.
Moreover, he was the first Curse Yuuki had ever summoned; his status was naturally different.
After listening to his reasoning, Fushiguro Megumi… “azen?”
The sense of deja vu was a bit too strong…
“Of course I love you.”
“You are special.”
Ieiri, don’t act like a scumbag!
Hearing this, Kugisaki felt as though she had found a kindred spirit, raising her hand: “Understood, it’s just like the new season’s clothes; periodically updating them is the only way to give people surprises.”
She even offered an example: “Among them, pajamas are definitely the most special, of course.”
“The longer you wear pajamas, and the closer they fit to your body, the more comfortable they feel.”
Fushiguro Megumi… “azen?”
He felt it made a fair amount of sense.
Yet something felt off.
[The formula is here: Muzan equals pajamas]
[No way? Then for this summoning, the Trash Boss is just going to be benched like that?!]
[Help, why can’t I ever keep a straight face when I see the phrase ‘benched/watered down’……]
[Judging by Muzan’s foul temper… if he really gets sealed for two weeks, he’s going to go crazy, literally crazy]
[He’s the most petty-minded of all]
[Yuuki, danger!!]
[If the waifu wants to summon a new love, I’m all for it. Super looking forward to it!]
Yuuki chuckled softly. There was no helping it; human nature inherently favored the new over the old, so what could he do?
And as for Muzan, what kind of furious reaction would he display?
Would he… tear off that mask of pretense?
He genuinely looked forward to it.
Ieiri Yuuki changed the subject, putting forward a hypothesis:
“The maximum retention time for a summoned Curse is two weeks, but that doesn’t mean I have to wait two full weeks before I can summon a new Curse, right?”
Fushiguro Megumi started, immediately grasping his meaning: “…You mean?”
The cooldown time for the technique was two hours, and there were many two-hour blocks in a single day.
Ieiri Yuuki nodded, holding up a single finger as he smiled and said, “Perhaps I can use this opportunity to research the feasibility of summoning Curses multiple times a day?”
Itadori stood up: “Then I’ll go call the teacher…”
Speak of the devil, and the devil appears. At the front gate, a tall figure held his head high and chest puffed out:
“The handsome and dashing Teacher Gojo has heard the cute students’ summons and makes a brilliant appearance!”
Itadori cheerfully trotted up to greet him: “Teacher Gojo, you’re back from your business trip!”
The white-haired teacher, whom they hadn’t seen in days, still possessed that same frivolous yet reliable aura, his pink lips curving slightly: “During the few days I’ve been away, all of you have shown very obvious progress!”
“Especially Yuuki and Yuji, your cursed energy has condensed quite a bit.” The Six Eyes saw it crystal clear.
“As expected of my students!”
o(￣▽￣)ｄ
Gojo Satoru paused, remembering something:
“Right, Yuuki, your school uniform is ready. I had someone place it in your room first.”
Problematic students usually wore white uniforms.
However, Gojo Satoru felt that color looked truly unsightly against Ieiri Yuuki’s design drafts, so the final version remained the same black as Fushiguro and the others’ uniforms.
A full pitch-black set, including a sleeveless top, cargo pants, Martin boots, and a specialized belt with several small pouches for storing categorized cursed talismans, as well as compact cursed tools.
Practicality had been fully taken into consideration.
And it was quite dashing!
Ieiri Yuuki expressed his gratitude.
Gojo Satoru rubbed the tip of his chin once more, stating his purpose here.
“Right, I have a small mission here. Let’s have Yuuki get a real taste of actual combat first and practice his skills?”
“The danger level isn’t high; it’s related to cursed speech. It just so happens you can have the second-year seniors lead you along.”
[Cursed speech? Must be Toge, right?!]
[Looking forward! Looking forward!]
“Right, Teacher, could you do me a favor?” Ieiri Yuuki called out to Gojo Satoru, who was preparing to head back to his room to destroy his souvenir stash a pile of sweets.
Gojo Satoru: “What is it?”
Ieiri Yuuki voiced his thoughts.
“I’m worried that any newly summoned Curse might also be powerful and uncontrollable, so I’ll need Teacher to be present.”
Gojo Satoru grew proud. “Asking Teacher, you’ve definitely found the right person, because—”
“Teacher I am the strongest sorcerer, after all!”
The white-haired teacher said this, full of high-spirited vigor, “Go ahead and summon with confidence and boldness!”
Ieiri Yuuki nodded: “Alright.”
Simultaneously, he instructed Fushiguro and the others to back away to a safe distance.
As the summoning-type technique was activated once more, space began to warp.
From within the pitch-black space, a figure stepped out, and the first thing to come into view was a flash of purple hem.
Everyone held their breath, and the vast training ground fell into absolute silence.
Soft and gentle footsteps paused right in front of them.
A woman stepped out from the space.
She wore her long black hair tied up in a bun, her eyes resembling pale purple mist, and she was dressed in a matching purple kimono.
[?!]
[Ahhhhhhh!]
[It’s Lady Tamayo, the genius of the scientific research world!]
[A genius indeed, can’t argue with that, since she really is a ghost
[Can someone give a summary? I don’t remember the plot]
[Lady Tamayo, a ghost who broke free from Muzan’s curse control]
[Then relied on her own strength to develop the anti-ghost poison that influenced the final battle outcome]
[Hiss!]
[So how about we let her study the Curse and see what happens?]
[Wait, Curses leave lingering residue, right? Will the Trash Boss recognize Lady Tamayo’s residue? Given his personality……]
[?!]
[Yuuki, danger upon danger!]
[If you guys are going to fight, make sure you take it to the bedroom!!]