The blood flooding the corridor receded, and the light of dusk once again shone into the school.
The shadows beneath Luke’s feet seemed alive as they devoured the remains of the Special Grade cursed spirit.
He could clearly sense the Shadowkhan absorbing the cursed spirit’s power to strengthen themselves, even increasing Luke’s own total cursed energy by a certain amount.
“It seems the Black Chi demons from the Jackie Chan Adventures world undergo some special changes in a world where curses and cursed energy exist. Hmm… right now, the Shadowkhan already have combat strength comparable to a powerful Grade 1 Sorcerer, and they still have plenty of room to grow.”
Luke had finished testing the Shadowkhan’s strength and functions.
Of course, he didn’t lower his guard.
He knew this was the beginning of the main storyline, so any kind of unexpected incident was possible, especially now that a Special Grade cursed spirit had already appeared.
Luke still had Round Deer as a trump card.
Round Deer could output Reverse Cursed Technique, and that positive energy was capable of killing a Special Grade cursed spirit in a single hit.
Luke remained alert.
Yuji suddenly shouted, “There’s another monster over here!”
Luke looked over and saw another cursed spirit baring its claws and fangs.
He didn’t waste any time.
One punch shattered the cursed spirit, and he fed the remains to the Shadowkhan as an extra meal.
The cursed-spirit crisis was finally over.
Yuji Itadori let out a sigh of relief and muttered, “Good thing those monsters can actually be killed. I can’t believe something this dangerous exists in the world.”
He was still shaken by what had happened.
Luke smiled and asked, “I didn’t make you late, did I? I remember you had something important to do.”
Yuji froze, then suddenly remembered.
“That’s right! I promised Grandpa I’d visit him after school today. How much time has passed already?”
Yuji looked devastated.
Meanwhile, in a corner, the stitched-forehead man who had secretly orchestrated everything clicked his tongue in displeasure.
“Tch. Looks like I misjudged him…”
Kenjaku rubbed his chin as he recalled the cursed-energy aura Luke had released earlier.
“Interesting. It seems this generation’s Ten Shadows user has something I’ve never seen before.”
As a sorcerer who had lived for a thousand years, Kenjaku possessed an enormous amount of experience and knowledge.
He had also seen Ten Shadows users from previous generations, so he immediately noticed that something about Luke was different.
He sensed that Luke was preparing to leave with Sukuna’s finger.
Yuji Itadori, the core of the opening stage of his plan, was also about to leave the school.
Several cursed spirits with deep, ominous auras flickered around Kenjaku.
After considering it for a moment, however, he abandoned his original plan.
“His name is Luke, right? I hope he puts on an interesting performance in the new world I’m going to create. Heh…”
Kenjaku gave a cold laugh and turned away.
That night, Luke reported the details of the Sukuna finger retrieval mission to Jujutsu High.
Principal Masamichi Yaga folded his arms.
“So you’re saying that while you were alone, with ordinary civilians nearby, you consecutively exorcised a Special Grade imaginary cursed spirit and an unidentified Grade 1 cursed spirit, and no one was injured afterward?”
His tone was strange as he looked Luke over several times.
Then he spoke seriously.
“I know you’ve been subjected to some unpleasant criticism lately, and that may have placed you under considerable pressure. But when reporting missions, you still need to maintain a rigorous and practical attitude.”
“Believe it or don’t. That’s what happened.”
He casually tossed Sukuna’s finger onto the principal’s desk.
Yaga picked it up and confirmed that the seal on it was still functioning.
Normally, as long as the seal hadn’t been damaged, a finger placed inside an ordinary school would at most attract Grade 1 cursed spirits.
The sudden appearance of a Special Grade was genuinely unexpected.
Yaga felt that something about Luke’s mission was strange no matter how he looked at it.
After a brief silence, Yaga suddenly spoke.
“Satoru, what do you think?”
As soon as he finished, a third voice appeared in the room.
“Well, well. Being a sorcerer means never knowing whether tomorrow or some unexpected disaster will arrive first…”
It was that familiar casual, frivolous tone.
Luke turned his head.
Sure enough, it was the man with the unmistakably eccentric appearance.
White hair styled upward, black uniform, black blindfold.
Judging only from his clean jawline and youthful skin, he should have been an exceptionally handsome man.
Unfortunately, his entire presence radiated such overwhelming self-centered confidence that people instinctively felt a sense of distance from him.
This was Satoru Gojo, the strongest sorcerer of the modern era, a teacher at Jujutsu High, and by far the most powerful among the four Special Grade Sorcerers.
Before Gojo spoke, Luke hadn’t even noticed when he had entered the principal’s office.
It was almost as though he had simply teleported inside.
That alone showed how unfathomable his strength was.
Luke was already quite familiar with Gojo after studying at Jujutsu High for a year, so he casually raised a hand in greeting.
“Sensei, where did you go to make money today?”
“I went to Sendai to buy some Kikusuian specialties.”
Gojo lifted the shopping bag in his hand, then looked at Luke, who was completely unharmed.
“This really is surprising. You took on a mission that turned out far harder than expected, and somehow you actually came back to Jujutsu High without being covered in injuries.”
His usual tone carried its familiar irritating edge.
But since Gojo was the strongest of the modern era, there wasn’t much anyone could do about it.
He could be as sharp-tongued as he wanted.
Still, after teasing him, Gojo added, “It’s good that my student came back without a scratch. Otherwise, as his teacher, I’d have a headache.”
As he spoke, Gojo suddenly leaned closer and examined Luke.
His previously casual tone became more serious.
“No wonder Principal Yaga called me back right away. Luke, something pretty remarkable has happened to your body, hasn’t it?”
A meaningful smile appeared on Gojo’s face.
With the special constitution known as the Six Eyes, he could perceive changes in cursed energy with extreme precision and directly examine the bodies and techniques of cursed spirits and sorcerers.
Luke answered casually, “That’s right. It was an unexpected gain while I was becoming stronger. Can you use the Six Eyes to give me some guidance?”
He wasn’t worried that revealing the Shadowkhan’s existence to Gojo would cause trouble for him.
Given Gojo’s supreme confidence, the possibility that someone else could pose a threat to him barely entered his mind.
Luke understood that well, so he spoke directly.
He wanted Gojo’s help developing his abilities.
Gojo tilted his head.
“If it’s a request from my adorable student…”
Luke’s figure was reflected in Gojo’s brilliant blue irises.
After observing him for a moment, Gojo spoke with interest.
“Rather than calling you a sorcerer, it would be more accurate to say that half of your soul has turned into something resembling a cursed spirit, even though you still maintain a human appearance.”
“I can say with certainty that you now possess the characteristics of a cursed spirit, while the half of you that remains human allows you to avoid the weaknesses cursed spirits normally have.”
Gojo carefully explained what he had observed through the Six Eyes.
Luke nodded slightly.
From Gojo’s description, his current condition seemed to have formed a self-reinforcing loop.
The cursed-spirit side of him allowed him to absorb human curses and continuously grow stronger.
Meanwhile, the human side let him avoid the fatal weaknesses of cursed spirits while still retaining the advantages of a sorcerer.
Looking at Luke’s bizarre physical composition, even Gojo couldn’t help commenting,
“You’re basically a hybrid between a human and a cursed spirit now. I really have no idea how you managed to turn yourself into something like this.”
Luke casually made up an explanation.
“It’s like boys and girls going through puberty. When you reach a certain point, your body just starts changing. It’s hard to explain.”
Gojo nodded as if that made perfect sense.
“Right, right. That’s what you call natural talent.”
Yaga, however, asked seriously, “Is it dangerous?”
“At the moment, I don’t see any problems.”
Gojo put his blindfold back on.
“It’s fine, Principal. Taking in problem children is basically a tradition at our school, isn’t it? Luke will only become more impressive from here.”
He sprawled comfortably across the sofa, showing no sign of distancing himself from Luke because of his inhuman transformation.
Then again, Gojo himself was widely regarded as a monster by the jujutsu world.
His tolerance for beings that deviated from ordinary humanity was extremely high.
With just a few exchanges, Jujutsu High accepted the fact that Luke now possessed the constitution of a cursed spirit.
After a brief pause, Luke suddenly looked at Gojo.
“Sensei, I have the ability to use Reverse Cursed Technique…”
Gojo froze for a moment, then immediately understood.
“You mean you want to sign up for the special hand-to-hand combat reinforcement program your teacher personally designed for top students?”
His interest was instantly piqued.
Luke rubbed his fists together, excitement entering his voice.
“Exactly. I’ve wanted to see what your close-combat skills are like when you’re actually serious for quite a while.”
Gojo’s overwhelming strength meant that when teaching weaker students, he usually had no choice but to rely mostly on theory and relatively hands-off instruction.
There were only two exceptions at the school.
Special Grade Sorcerer Yuta Okkotsu and the powerful Grade 1 Sorcerer Kinji Hakari.
Both could use Reverse Cursed Technique to heal themselves, which gave them the qualifications to receive one-on-one practical combat instruction from Gojo.
Now Luke could also heal himself through Round Deer.
He fully met Gojo’s standard.
Luke eagerly flexed his hands.
“Sensei, let’s go!”