Natsuki Subaru walked along, converting his surroundings into photos and sending them to the group.
[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: This environment looks a lot like my side? Is there an Adventurer's Guild or something? There should be plenty of beautiful girls there!]
[Jujutsu Physical Education Student: Eh, it looks pretty much like what you'd see in games and anime.]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: This seems to be the town center; it's likely a place like the Royal Capital.]
[Jujutsu Physical Education Student: In a sense, does this count as a meeting between internet friends?]
[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: You know, it actually kind of does.]
[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: Luckily we introduced ourselves earlier, otherwise it would be way too awkward to call out screen names in person. Seriously, what logic was used to generate these group nicknames?]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: You've got some nerve saying that, considering you used a fake name at the start!]
[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: Hee-hee! No choice! You have to protect your privacy when chatting online!]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: Besides, your nickname isn't wrong at all.]
Natsuki Subaru pursed his lips. Since joining the group, Sato Kazuma had been cursing his goddess at a high frequency; this nickname perfectly matched his mental state.
But what did his own nickname, Jealous Witch's Object of Escape, mean?
Who was the Jealous Witch?
Did she have anything to do with him?
He had never heard of that term before.
[Jujutsu Physical Education Student: I'm also curious. Where do the nicknames come from? Why am I called a physical education student?]
[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: Maybe it's because your grades are terrible?]
[Jujutsu Physical Education Student: That's possible. Come to think of it, my exam scores were always pretty average. Were your grades good?]
[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: ...]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: ....]
Sato Kazuma and Natsuki Subaru didn't know what to say for a moment, because both of them were high school dropouts.
[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: Ah, anyway, why is the Group Leader's nickname Unsurrounded One?]
Sato Kazuma shifted the topic incredibly stiffly, though he was indeed a bit curious.
The nicknames seemed to reflect the group members' inner thoughts or characteristics.
But Group Leader Yuji Itadori's nickname seemed somewhat baffling.
'Unsurrounded One'—what did that mean?
[Jujutsu Physical Education Student: I might know what it means.]
The Young Itadori looked at the chat interface, his eyes narrowing slightly.
'Die surrounded by others.'
Those were the words his grandpa had once said to him.
But why was the other version of himself the Unsurrounded One?
At that moment, Yuji Itadori, acting as the Group Leader, replied in the group:
[Unsurrounded One: I'm not sure either. It might have something to do with the current Jujutsu World.]
Yuji Itadori certainly knew what 'Unsurrounded One' meant.
After all, the people who were once by his side had departed one after another.
However, Yuji Itadori did not say it out loud.
At the very least, he shouldn't let the other version of himself know about this cruel future.
He was also unwilling to watch his other self experience such a future again.
"Senior Itadori, what do you Jujutsu Sorcerers usually do?"
Natsuki Subaru closed the chat interface and asked Yuji Itadori beside him with some curiosity.
Although he had just experienced death once, Subaru seemed to have moved on quickly and was very interested in everything regarding Yuji Itadori.
"Exorcising Cursed Spirits," Yuji Itadori replied.
"Cursed Spirits? Are they like ghosts?"
"Exactly."
"Wow, there really are ghosts in this world!"
As the two of them chatted back and forth, looking at the boy before him whose eyes projected a burning gaze, Yuji Itadori couldn't help but think of his former self.
His past self was somewhat similar to the Natsuki Subaru in front of him.
Yuji Itadori then asked about the general situation Subaru had experienced, and the latter poured out all the details in a non-stop flow.
"...and then I was suddenly ambushed. That's pretty much how it went!"
"I see."
Yuji Itadori nodded.
"So, if we keep walking forward, we'll run into three thugs looking to mug us, right?"
This feeling right now was a bit like accepting a mission back at Jujutsu High School.
"Yeah, in the alley up ahead... but that seems to be the only path to the Slums."
"I understand."
As Yuji Itadori spoke, his pace did not falter.
"Should we call the guards over?"
"No need. Besides, didn't you say we're short on time? We need to reach that place before dark."
"Yeah..."
Natsuki Subaru looked at Yuji Itadori, whose expression appeared incredibly calm.
"Hand over the money!"
Before Yuji Itadori could finish his sentence, a shrill voice rang out from ahead.
Three thugs in eccentric clothing blocked their path.
"It's you three again, Chin, Kan, and Ton!"
Natsuki Subaru pointed at the three in front of him and shouted.
There was no mistake; time really had started over!
"What are you babbling about? Hey, hey, hey! If you don't want to die, hand over everything valuable you've got!"
One of the lean young men spoke dismissively to Natsuki Subaru and Yuji Itadori.
"This kind of behavior isn't right. If you leave now and turn over a new leaf from today on, I can act as if nothing happened."
Yuji Itadori's gaze, calm as water, fell upon the three men. His tone was equally devoid of ripples.
He remembered back in middle school, he had encountered similar situations a few times; when he saw upperclassmen from other schools bullying or extorting younger students, he would always step in to stop it.
Because of his great strength, he would beat them to a pulp every time, eventually earning the nickname 'The Tiger of West Junior High'.
If only he could persuade them to return to the right path.
But these people usually didn't seem very receptive to advice.
As soon as Yuji Itadori finished speaking, one member of the trio walked up to him with a menacing look.
He was tall, nearly two meters in height, with a build larger than Natsuki Subaru and Yuji Itadori combined.
"You bastard, you looking to die?!"
The big man shouted angrily at Yuji Itadori, while simultaneously grabbing the latter's collar, intending to hoist him up—
However, Yuji Itadori didn't budge an inch.
"What?!"
He was utterly astonished, because the person in front of him was clearly much leaner than himself.
But why...
It felt as if he had just tried to lift a mountain.
In the moment of his shock, Yuji Itadori's fist slammed into his head.
Despite his robust build, he actually flew out like a small pebble, even knocking over the other two as he went, causing them all to lose consciousness instantly.