“So that’s all the information, right, Yaga-sensei?”
“That’s right.
That’s everything.”
Yaga was sitting in a wheelchair, his entire body covered in bandages.
Standing before him was an assistant supervisor.
“Ugh… Looks like it’ll be a long while before I can get back on my feet.”
“Don’t worry too much.
We’ve already invited someone who can use Reverse Cursed Technique to treat you.”
“That’ll do.
Thank you.”
The assistant supervisor left, leaving Yaga and Suguru alone in the hospital room.
Yaga’s condition was terrible.
His bones were shattered, and his internal organs had suffered serious damage.
At this point, only Reverse Cursed Technique could heal him.
As for Suguru… strangely enough, all the bones he had broken had already healed.
He remembered.
It was at the moment he released Zabimaru’s seal.
There was also one detail Yaga had deliberately left out of the report he had just given the assistant supervisor.
“Yaga-sensei, why did you hide the fact that Zabimaru helped us defeat the Red Dragon?”
Suguru had been standing nearby at the time.
Still, he knew his teacher would never do anything with malicious intentions, so he waited until only the two of them remained before asking.
“Hm… It’s a rather long story.
You only need to know that the cursed tool you’re holding has tremendous strategic value.
And someone who can release its seal like you did is even rarer.”
“If the higher-ups find out about Zabimaru, they’ll definitely develop some bad intentions toward you.
It’s too dangerous for you to come into contact with them right now.”
Yaga had spent countless years in the jujutsu world.
He understood these principles better than anyone.
All he wanted was for Suguru to grow up safely until he became strong enough to protect himself.
“Zanpakutō, right?”
Suguru gently ran his fingers along the sword hanging at his waist.
“I don’t know much about it either, so I can’t explain it to you.
But once the two of us have recovered, I’ll take you to someone who can give you the answers.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now, go buy me something to drink.
I want coffee.”
“Is it really okay to drink coffee right now, Sensei?”
“What’s the harm?
I’ll be completely fine once the Reverse Cursed Technique arrives anyway.”
Suguru obediently followed his teacher’s request.
He trotted down to the back entrance of the hospital, where there was a vending machine.
At that moment, he sensed a powerful surge of energy coming from the sky.
“What?
A cursed spirit rampaging even in the middle of the city?”
It was a green stingray-like creature with a single golden eye.
It was slowly approaching the hospital.
…
At the same time, there were two figures riding on the creature’s back.
One was a platinum-blond young man wearing sunglasses.
He was shouting excitedly like a child.
“Haha!
Faster!
Higher!
This is what life is all about… right, Shouko?”
Beside him was a young woman with short brown bobbed hair and a beauty mark beneath one eye.
She held a cigarette in her hand.
“You’re such a child.
And why are you even following me?
You’re too heavy.
You’re making Minazuki work harder.”
“I’m not heavy, not heavy at all.
Besides, whenever you go outside, you need a bodyguard.
Compared to those guys, I’m way better.
I’m the strongest, after all.”
“I actually feel like I’m in more danger when I’m with you.”
“It’s not every day I get to ride Minazuki.
I’ve gotta take advantage of it.”
Satoru gently stroked the stingray’s back, enjoying his time on top of it as if he were on vacation.
Minazuki was Shouko’s Zanpakutō, forged for her by Kaito.
When its seal was released, it could transform into a flying stingray.
Over time, the number of Zanpakutō users who had awakened their Shikai had increased.
But one that could transform into a living creature like Shouko’s Minazuki remained completely unique.
“By the way, we should visit Kaito sometime.”
“He’s busy.
He doesn’t have as much free time as his brother,” Shouko replied sarcastically.
“I’m actually pretty diligent about my missions, you know.
Even escorting you today counts as a mission.”
Satoru flashed his white teeth and gave an arrogant grin.
“Hmph.”
Shouko smiled faintly.
“So, who are you going to heal today?
You normally don’t like people from the higher-ups.”
“A teacher from Tokyo Jujutsu High.
I’ve met him a few times.
He’s a pretty good person,” Shouko replied.
“A good person?”
Satoru had met all kinds of people in the jujutsu world.
And he had come to believe that the good people in this world were the most pitiful of all.
They were usually the ones who ended up sacrificing themselves and suffering misfortunes they never deserved.
“All right, I can see the hospital now… Let’s hurry—”
Bang!
Something suddenly shot up from the hospital.
“Is that a cursed spirit?”
With the Six Eyes, Satoru immediately recognized it.
“Since when does this hospital have such a wild way of welcoming guests?”
He looked closer and saw a boy with his hair tied into a bun standing where the cursed spirit had flown up from.
“Someone’s attacking.”
And judging from what Satoru could sense—
“This guy’s pretty strong…”
“Strong?”
For Satoru to call someone strong meant that person was certainly no pushover.
“All right, Shouko.
Find somewhere safe to land.
I’m going to go have a little chat with that guy.”
With that, he jumped freely from the sky.
“Damn, I missed?”
The moment Suguru saw Minazuki, he had mistaken it for an attacking cursed spirit and fired another cursed spirit at it to take it down.
Then, when the stingray tilted its body, he saw the two figures riding on its back.
“Oh crap.
So it wasn’t an attacking cursed spirit.”
Then, one of the figures dramatically leapt from the stingray and landed near him.
“Hey, you!
You almost shot down my beloved ride!”
“Sorry, sorry.
I thought it was a cursed spirit…”
“Enough excuses.
Pay for it first.”
CURSED TECHNIQUE: Lapse – Blue.
A blue sphere shot from Satoru’s palm straight toward Suguru.
“Dangerous.”
Suguru immediately sensed something abnormal.
He summoned a clam-shaped cursed spirit, which swallowed the sphere whole.
However, the cursed spirit couldn’t withstand the gravitational force.
It exploded, and the shockwave swept toward the two of them.
“Oh?
Was that a cursed spirit?
And you can control them?”
Through the Six Eyes, Satoru discovered something even more interesting.
“I admit I was the one who made the first mistake.
But it looks like you were just looking for an excuse to start a fight, weren’t you?”
Suguru gave his trademark smile.
He also understood the attack he had just experienced.
It had the ability to pull objects toward itself.
The clam-shaped cursed spirit had been around Grade 1 level, yet it had been killed in a single attack.
At this point, even though they had only just met, both of them had to agree on one thing:
He’s strong.
Interesting.
Satoru took off his sunglasses.
It was something he did whenever he encountered an opponent worthy of his attention.
“Come on.”
Suguru summoned several Grade 1 cursed spirits.
Because they were in a residential area, he kept their size relatively small.
He intended to use them to keep the enemy occupied first, then look for an opening to attack.
A swarm of cursed spirits charged toward Satoru.
But he remained completely unfazed.
His movements were light and effortless.
He dodged while destroying the cursed spirits one after another.
“Hey, Bunhead.”
Satoru called out.
“It’s not very gentlemanly to stand so far away while fighting.”
The moment he finished speaking, Satoru was already standing directly in front of Suguru.
“What?”
Satoru threw a punch straight at him, but Suguru quickly dodged and landed two blows to Satoru’s stomach.
However—
“It didn’t hit?
Something blocked it.”
The two of them were blasted backward.
“You’re a shikigami user, aren’t you?
And you’re pretty skilled.
“You’re interesting too, White-Hair.
That speed and defensive ability…”
This was the first time Suguru had ever felt this excited.
In the area where he lived, jujutsu sorcerers were already rare, let alone someone this powerful.
Then, from his waist, a surge of energy emanated from his Zanpakutō.
“Zabimaru.”
“Let me out.
This guy is awakening our fighting instincts.”
“All right.”
Suguru had made a vow with Zabimaru.
The two of them would become the strongest.
Now that he had finally encountered someone strong, what meaning would there be in running away?
He drew his sword.
Satoru’s expression gradually became serious when he saw it.
“You… have one of those?”
“You know about this?”
“I know quite a lot, actually.
But that’s strange.
Someone as strong as you has a Zanpakutō I’ve never even heard of.”
Geto wanted to ask more questions.
But right now, his primal fighting instinct was boiling over.
He ran his fingers along the spine of the blade and shouted—
“Howl, Zabimaru!”
The blade transformed.
Segments appeared along its length, each one extending into a protruding section of blade.
“You can even release it into Shikai?
This is getting really interesting.”
Satoru couldn’t hide his excitement.
“Be careful, White-Hair.
This is the first time I’ve ever used this against a human.”
Suguru swung his arm.
He was standing quite far away from Satoru.
Yet the blade suddenly extended.
The segments separated and stretched outward, transforming the sword into something resembling a whip.
“What?”
Satoru was caught off guard.
He instinctively raised his hand—
And a deep wound appeared across his arm.
“Another person who can hurt me.”
Satoru had also been somewhat careless.
At this point, he still had to manually activate and deactivate Infinity, so he hadn’t reacted in time.
“Oh?
So I can actually hurt you.”
Suguru was slightly delighted.
He rushed forward again, intending to use his momentum to increase the power of his slash.
But this time, things were different.
The blade stopped in midair before reaching Satoru.
“Can’t touch you again?
So that’s your technique.
I managed to hurt you earlier because you had deactivated it.”
“Exactly.
I won’t make the same mistake twice.”
“What an annoying ability.”
Geto repeatedly swung his sword from different directions, but Satoru remained completely unharmed.
“You know the paradox of Achilles and the tortoise?”
“Take that concept and bring it into reality, turning the distance between everyone into infinity.”
“That is my Cursed Technique—Infinity.”
“An unbelievable ability.”
Even so, knowing about an ability and being able to counter it were two completely different things.
Suddenly, Suguru had an idea.
“Zabimaru.”
The blade grew longer.
He swung it horizontally again.
“Pointless.
No matter which direction you—”
But Satoru suddenly noticed something strange.
Suguru wasn’t trying to cut through Infinity.
He was trying to bind Satoru.
More precisely, he was trying to bind the space surrounding him.
“The paradox of Achilles and the tortoise.”
“You have an ability like the tortoise’s shell, so I’ll deal with you the way I usually deal with turtles.”
“Bind them and hang them up.”
Suguru successfully restrained him.
Then, with tremendous force, he swung Satoru and hurled him directly into the wall beside them.
Dust filled the air.
Even so, Satoru stood back up without a single injury.
“Even if I’m not hurt, I can still say that made me dizzy.”
His tone remained playful.
But there was no longer any smile in his eyes.
“That sword can extend its segments.
And the number of segments can increase as well.”
“Calling it a sword isn’t really accurate.
It should be called a whip.”
“I’m still learning how to use it.”
Even so, Satoru had to acknowledge this person.
His combat skills were excellent.
His ability to read situations and utilize his powers was impressive as well.
“You’ve already gone this far, so it would be downright rude if I didn’t give it my all.”
“Come on.”
Satoru drew the sword hidden at his side.
Suguru was surprised.
“You have one too?”
“Scatter, Senbonzakura.”
At Satoru’s command, the blade turned white and emitted a brilliant light before gradually dissolving.
Only the hilt remained in Satoru’s hand.
“This is…”
The entire space was suddenly covered in hundreds of cherry blossom petals.
The sight was breathtaking.
“Give it everything you’ve got.”
“Otherwise, you’ll die.”
At Satoru’s command, countless petals flew toward Geto.
Geto’s instincts screamed a warning.
This attack was dangerous.
He summoned the Red Dragon while using Zabimaru to sweep away the incoming petals.
But their density was simply too great.
The Red Dragon had thick scales and tough skin, yet under the relentless barrage, even it began to bleed.
As for Geto, he managed to block most of the blades, but blood was already seeping from his wounds.
“Not bad.
Both that dragon and you.”
There was genuine praise in Satoru’s eyes.
“In that case, this next move—”
Satoru was about to continue when—
Smack!
“Stop right there, you idiot!”
“Ow!
That hurt!”
“You follow him for five minutes and of course something like this happens.
Hurry up and put Senbonzakura away.”
Shouko angrily punched him again.
“He started the fight!”
“Didn’t I already apologize?”
CALL IT BACK.
NOW.
Shouko had run out of patience.
“Okay, okay.”
The countless petals transformed back into the hilt of the sword in Satoru’s hand.
Shouko looked around.
“Look at the battlefield you created.
I’m telling Otome-sensei about this when we get back.”
“I’m sorry!
To make it up to you, I’ll take you to a pub.
They’ve got plenty of good drinks.”
“Hmph.”
Suguru also recalled his cursed spirits and Zabimaru.
This guy was far too strong.
He hadn’t even gone all out.
Of course, Geto still had a few trump cards.
But if the battle continued, Geto would be the one to lose.
At that moment, the girl from earlier arrived beside Suguru.
Without saying a word, she transferred her energy into Geto.
The wounds across Geto’s body healed.
“This is Reverse Cursed Technique?”
Very few people could use it.
Even fewer could use it on someone else.
Suguru immediately understood.
“You’re the person who was invited here to treat Yaga-sensei.”
“Oh?
You know him?”
“Yes.
I was waiting for you.
Sorry for being rude earlier.”
Geto explained that he had mistaken Minazuki for an attacking cursed spirit and retaliated.
“It’s nothing.
This only happened because of that idiot.”
Both of them simultaneously looked toward Satoru.
He had already wandered off somewhere else.
“Then please treat Yaga-sensei.
His condition is really serious.”
“Right away.”
“Hey, Shouko!
I’m seriously injured too!”
Satoru pointed at the arm that had been cut by Zabimaru.
“Deal with it yourself, idiot.”
“Hey!”
…
“Those two really are idiots…”
Yaga Masamichi rubbed his temples, his face filled with helplessness.
After being treated, he had completely recovered.
But his headache was still very much alive.
The heir of the Six Eyes from the Gojo Clan acting like this?
Fighting in public without even bothering to put up a Curtain.
And then there was Suguru…
Normally, the boy was so mature and composed.
Yet after meeting that brat for the first time, he had already been dragged down to his level.
“At this rate… I’m going to have to write another report to the higher-ups later.”
Suguru shrugged slightly, his tone calm.
“Even though I admit I started the fight… most of the blame still belongs to that White-Hair.”
He pointed directly at Gojo Satoru.
Beside him, Ieiri Shouko nodded naturally.
“Did we say anything wrong?”
“Hey—why are you two ganging up on me?”
Satoru frowned, looking genuinely wronged.
“Did we say anything wrong?” Shouko replied flatly.
“All right.
Enough.”
Yaga raised a hand to stop them, then turned to Shouko.
“Ieiri Shouko, correct?
Thank you for treating me.”
“You’re welcome.”
He nodded, then turned to Suguru.
“Suguru, this is Ieiri Shouko—the natural-born user of Reverse Cursed Technique.
A non-combat sorcerer… yet a national treasure-level asset.”
Then he glanced toward Satoru, his voice carrying a hint of helplessness.
“And that noisy brat over there… is Gojo Satoru, heir to the Gojo Clan, one of the Three Great Families.
After fighting him just now, you probably have a rough idea of his strength, right?”
Only then did he properly introduce himself.
“I’m Yaga Masamichi.
A teacher at Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Though I believe we may have met a few times before.”
Then he continued.
“And this is Geto Suguru—the newly promoted Grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer.”
The Introduction
The formal introductions began.
Thanks to the battle they had just fought, the three of them quickly became unexpectedly close.
“So you use Cursed Spirit Manipulation?
Sounds like you’ve got an entire army.”
Suguru shook his head slightly.
“There are a lot of them… but their quality isn’t particularly high.
They can’t compare to your Infinity.”
Yaga watched the three of them.
A warm feeling briefly passed through his heart.
If these three entered Jujutsu High together…
They might become good friends.
…
Then another thought occurred to him.
Or perhaps they’d become a walking disaster.
If he knew that this wasn’t merely a premonition, but almost certainly the future, perhaps he wouldn’t have remained so calm.
“Oh, Shouko,” Suguru suddenly spoke.
“That blue stingray from earlier… is it your cursed spirit?”
“You mean Minazuki?”
Shouko drew her Zanpakutō and showed it to Suguru.
Suguru froze slightly.
“…A sword?”
“Yep.”
“You have one of these too?”
Yaga suddenly remembered something.
“That’s right, Suguru.
I told you I would take you to someone who could explain Zanpakutō to you.”
“These two… are the answer.”
Hearing this, Satoru immediately got into character.
“Exactly.”
He crossed his arms and smiled proudly.
“The things we’re holding—the Zanpakutō—were created by my little brother.”
“They’re weapons that the entire jujutsu world has been forced to acknowledge.”
“Those old clan heads?
They practically have to lower themselves and beg him to forge a sword for them.”
Satoru continued rambling.
He was exaggerating a little…
But he wasn’t exactly wrong.
And more importantly—
He was genuinely proud.
Suguru listened before slowly summarizing.
“So the person who created these…”
“Is Gojo Kaito, your younger brother.”
He looked at the sword in his hand, his expression gradually becoming serious.
“Not only that… Zanpakutō seem to far surpass every cursed tool that has ever existed.”
“Their abilities aren’t even restricted to a single form.”
He glanced at each of them.
“Shouko’s can transform into a living creature.”
“Yours can split into countless blades.”
“And mine… is a whip.”
Suguru fell silent for a moment before speaking softly.
“To accomplish something like this at our age…”
“He really is a genius.”
“He’s probably a Grade 1 sorcerer too, right?”
Shouko shook her head.
“No.
Kaito is only classified as Grade 2.”
Suguru froze.
“Because he isn’t combat-oriented?”
“No.
He’s very strong.”
Shouko hesitated slightly.
“It’s just that… there are other reasons.”
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.
Satoru was no longer smiling.
“Those damn higher-ups.”
“Ahem.”
Yaga coughed, interrupting him.
He understood better than anyone that Kaito was a Heavenly Restriction case.
And he also understood the attitude of the higher-ups.
“This is something Kaito should explain himself.”
He turned toward Suguru.
“Since you’re currently waiting for your official Grade 1 certification, why don’t you go with these two?”
“You can learn more about Zanpakutō while you’re at it.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Shouko,” Satoru suddenly said, “want to go visit Kaito?”
“Right now?
Aren’t you afraid he’ll be busy?”
“What’s the problem?
He hasn’t contacted us in ages.
We have to go find him.”
He turned toward Suguru, his tone suddenly becoming much more natural.
“Come with us, Suguru.”
He called him by his first name.
It was a subtle sign of recognition.
“Then it’s settled.
Suguru’s coming, and Sensei is coming too.”
“Huh?
Me too?
But I still have to—”
“Forget it, Sensei.
The Gojo family will take care of everything.”
Satoru grinned.
“You want to meet my little brother too, don’t you?”
And just like that, despite all their excuses, Satoru successfully dragged the entire group along.
What did they use for transportation?
Shouko and Yaga rode Minazuki.
As for Satoru…
He casually hitched a ride on Suguru’s dragon.
Yaga couldn’t hide his amazement as they traveled.
“A cursed tool… can transform into a living creature to this extent?”
“This really is a miracle.”
“Heh heh.
That’s my little brother for you.”
Satoru sat on the dragon’s back, taking the opportunity to boast even more.
Shouko puffed out her cheeks.
“Don’t forget, I’m the one who awakened Minazuki.”
“And why are you riding a dragon now?”
“Haha!
I had to try it.
How often do you get the chance to ride a dragon in your lifetime?”
Suguru didn’t pay much attention to Satoru’s shameless behavior.
His eyes remained fixed ahead.
There was only one thought in his mind—
Gojo Kaito.
The person everyone spoke of with such respect.
What Suguru didn’t know was…
The upcoming meeting would completely change the course of his destiny.