Chapter 10 — Tenth Punch
"Ow, that hurts—! I just got control of my body back and it already hurts!" Yuji Itadori clutched his shoulder, tears nearly welling up in his eyes. "It's swollen like crazy!"
"Ah, sorry!" A drop of sweat slid down Saitama's bald head. "I already tried my best to hold back!"
"It's fine." Gojo Satoru placed a hand on Yuji Itadori's head. "Just have Shoko treat it when we get back."
Keeping his hand there, he turned to Saitama and asked,
"So, Saitama-kun, can you tell the difference between Sukuna and Yuji now?"
"Yeah!" Saitama confidently pointed at Yuji Itadori. "If it's Sukuna, he's the guy who runs around naked every time he shows up!"
"..."
Silence lingered for a moment. Gojo's expression stiffened slightly.
"…Are you serious? You're not joking?"
"Uh…"
Realizing he'd given the wrong answer, Saitama scratched his head and hesitated before saying,
"But if you put it that way, I don't really know anything else."
"…When Sukuna appears, he speaks with Sukuna's own voice, his pupils turn red, and Sukuna's distinctive curse markings appear on his body," Gojo explained expressionlessly.
"You already know that much. Why didn't you just tell me?" Saitama said, somewhat speechless.
"No, no. A good teacher doesn't just hand out answers. They let their students try to find the answers themselves first. That way, the students grow." Gojo raised a finger and wagged it, then showed a satisfied smile. "I'm really such a nice guy who cares about his students."
"I didn't exactly become your student because I wanted to, though," Saitama replied awkwardly.
"But when it comes to jujutsu knowledge, Saitama-kun definitely needs a teacher." Gojo smiled, then glanced at his watch. "It's getting late. How about I treat you guys to a meal? A little celebration for your enrollment. I know a nice café—the desserts there are absolutely amazing."
"I'm in!" Yuji Itadori said immediately.
…
In Tokyo's Beika Town, the glass door of Café Poirot was pushed open, and the brass bell above it rang crisply.
"Welcome. Table for three?"
The blond, tan-skinned waiter behind the counter asked politely. Gojo immediately pulled out a stool at the counter, curled his legs up as he sat, and greeted him with a grin.
"Yo, Amuro!"
The waiter, wearing a name tag that read "Amuro Tooru," was clearly an acquaintance of Gojo's. He smiled, glanced at Yuji Itadori—who was wearing a T-shirt with the character for "soy sauce" on it (borrowed from Saitama)—and finally let his gaze settle on Saitama, dressed in a yellow bodysuit and cape.
(Note: You guys may have noticed already, some characters are from "Detective Konan", like Amuro Tooru)
"Two new faces, I see." Amuro skillfully picked up three menus and placed them in front of them.
"They're both my students," Gojo said proudly. "This one's Yuji Itadori, and that one's Saitama."
Then he pointed at Amuro.
"This is Mr. Amuro. If the police can't help you, you can try asking him."
"Oh!" Yuji Itadori's eyes widened. "Is Mr. Amuro a police officer too?"
"Nope." Gojo leaned back lazily in his chair and lowered his voice. "He's even more impressive than that. It's a secret—"
"Whoa—"
Yuji Itadori stared at Amuro in amazement. Amuro simply smiled and said,
"Let me know when you've decided what to order."
"I'll have a cola and a burger set," Saitama said.
"I'll have my usual—vanilla syrup coffee, a strawberry parfait, and salmon with cheese," Gojo ordered smoothly. "As for Saitama-kun and Yuji, give them squid ink pasta and ginger tea. Mr. Amuro's squid ink pasta with tea is absolutely amazing—you've got to try it."
Yuji Itadori: "Oooh! Sure!"
Saitama: "..."
"I'm in a rare good mood today, I'll give you a basic rundown of the troublesome jujutsu world while we wait for the food," Gojo said, casually twirling a fork in his hand. "Unlike Megumi, you two didn't know anything about jujutsu before this."
"The jujutsu world is something ordinary people can't know about. After all, being able to see curses is one of the most basic requirements for entering it, and very few people can do that. The total number of sorcerers is actually quite small, around…"
"There are family factions within the jujutsu world. The main ones are the Three Great Families: the Zen'in, the Kamo, and my family, the Gojo…"
"Sorcerers and curses are ranked from highest to lowest as Special Grade, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, and Grade 4. Sorcerers of the same rank are generally stronger than curses…"
"Promotion for sorcerers is recommendation-based. You need two high-ranking sorcerers to recommend you, and after passing a review…"
"There are only two schools that train sorcerers: the Tokyo school where we are, and the sister school in Kyoto…"
"…"
While Gojo was talking endlessly, Amuro had already finished preparing the food and brought it over.
"Here's your squid ink pasta. And ginger tea," he said with a smile to Saitama. "Please enjoy."
Looking at the plate of pitch-black pasta and the ginger-scented drink placed in front of him, Saitama glanced at Gojo—who was still talking nonstop—and his expression grew increasingly blank.
Why doesn't this guy listen to people and just orders whatever he wants?
And that waiter even went along with it.
Damn it… I really wanted burgers and cola. I can't even focus on what Gojo's saying…
---
"The monster of the Ghost City… huh? Tch."
Pedestrians passed back and forth at the intersection. Jogo observed their movement patterns and waited for the red light to end before crossing. For an intelligent Special Grade curse like him, observing human behavior held considerable meaning.
Hidden as he was, none of the bustling pedestrians around him could see the pale-blue-skinned, volcano-headed, single-eyed curse. After all, when a Special Grade curse conceals itself, only sorcerers can perceive its presence.
As he walked toward the Ghost City, Jogo recalled the conversation from before he set out.
"The monster of the Ghost City?" he had repeated the name back then, just as he did now.
"That's right. You know about that abandoned district in Tokyo where land is worth a fortune, don't you? That place is called the 'Ghost City.'"
"So what?" Jogo had asked irritably.
"Haha… If we're being precise, I'm actually responsible for the creation of the 'Ghost City'… Four years ago, I planned for curses to breed in that area, devour each other, and ultimately produce the strongest among them."
Jogo had begun to lose patience.
"What exactly are you trying to say, you fake monk?"
"Ryomen Sukuna has revived. So we need more Special Grade allies on our side. According to the plan I made four years ago, there should be at least one Special Grade curse born in the Ghost City by now." The man answered with a smile, unbothered by Jogo's attitude.
Jogo's single eye widened in surprise as he stared intently at the man standing by the window with a curse's gloomy gaze.
The man by the window adjusted his robes and turned back with a smile like a cunning fox. He handed a tablet to Jogo.
"This shows a discussion thread about the 'Monster of the Ghost City,'" the man said with a gentle yet sly smile. "It's not enough to just watch humans you can see. As a Special Grade curse, you should learn to gather information through the internet too. Go on, take a look."
Jogo took the tablet and scrolled through the thread under the man's guidance.
It was an anonymous discussion about the abandoned district in Tokyo known as the Ghost City. Many users claimed that in the early hours before dawn, they had encountered a figure running at incredible speed near the area. Others had recklessly ventured inside to explore and found ruins that seemed to have been destroyed in a single blow, along with completely shattered concrete ground.
"At the very least, we can confirm that the high-speed running figure is most likely the urban-legend-level Special Grade curse known as 'Turbo Granny,'" the robed man said with a narrowed smile. "These sightings are proof that my cultivation plan succeeded. Producing a curse like Turbo Granny is quite the profit."
(Makes one wonder whose balls would Turbo Granny take?)
Looking at the tablet, Jogo said uncertainly,
"But according to the witnesses, that fast-running figure looked like a bald man…"
"'Turbo Granny' is a Special Grade curse that manifests as an elderly woman. It's perfectly normal for her appearance to include age-related baldness," the robed man replied with a smile.
"According to the plan I made four years ago, after cultivating a Special Grade curse in the Ghost City, I would subjugate it with my Curse Spirit Manipulation. But now that Sukuna has revived, circumstances have changed. The Special Grade curse in the Ghost City may have other uses. Jogo, go investigate the situation there first."
When he mentioned "the me from four years ago," the man's tone shifted ever so slightly, but Jogo didn't notice. Instead, he asked in astonishment:
"So you already predicted Sukuna's revival four years ago, Geto Suguru?"
"Not exactly." Geto Suguru lowered his eyes and gave a restrained smile. "But as long as the one who harvests the fruits of victory is the current me, that's enough."
…
"That guy really loves being mysterious."
Jogo muttered in dissatisfaction. By now, he had reached the wire fence separating the Ghost City from the rest of the district and passed through it effortlessly.
The deeper he went into the Ghost City, the more desolate it became. Long-abandoned vending machines were covered in rust, windows were shattered, and dirty vines crept across the buildings.
"No wonder it's called the Ghost City. This place has been completely abandoned," Jogo muttered as he walked. "…Hm, someone up ahead?"
Jogo narrowed his eye slightly and, through the glaring afternoon sunlight, saw a figure in the distance—a bald man dressed in a cheap-looking yellow bodysuit and cape like some kind of party costume.
No trace of cursed energy… A normal human?
"What's a normal human doing in a place like this dressed like that?" Jogo stopped, puzzled at first before realizing. "An explorer like the ones in that discussion thread? They've got a death wish."
After staring at the bald figure for a few seconds, Jogo suddenly grinned, revealing a mouthful of blackened teeth. A vicious smile spread across his face.
"This is the 'Ghost City,' where humans can't survive. If he dared to come here, he must've prepared himself for the consequences."
Jogo suddenly crouched and burst into a sprint. From the volcano-like opening on his head, a curled, ember-like insect popped out before plopping back into his boiling brain matter.
After gaining momentum, Jogo kicked off the ground and leapt high into the air, pouncing toward the bald man.
"Humans are so useless. Even with an attack right in front of them, they can't see the great me when I'm invisible!" he cackled, chopping his hand toward the shiny bald head.
Just as his palm was inches away—
A hand suddenly slapped across Jogo's grinning face.
Smack!
Before he could even retract his malicious grin, Jogo's huge eye rolled back, showing a wide expanse of white.
He lost consciousness instantly. His volcano-like head flew into the air like a kite with its string cut, smashing through the upper-floor windows of an abandoned building with a crash before falling inside, completely unconscious. The body left behind dissipated into smoke as its cursed energy supply vanished.
"…Huh? What was that? I just felt something annoying behind my head…"
Saitama lowered his hand and stared blankly at where Jogo had been. Because of the Special Grade curse's concealment ability, he couldn't see anything at all.
"The presence felt really faint. And weak too. Was it a fly?"
Then Saitama suddenly froze.
He looked at the clothes on the ground that had appeared after the concealed cursed energy vanished—a spotted haori, a white scarf, and black pants.
"Were these clothes here just now?"
"And looking closely, even the underwear's still inside…" Saitama scratched his head, then seemed to realize something. His expression turned subtle.
"The guy who left these behind… did he run off naked?"
After standing there blankly for a while, Saitama turned around and walked to the glass door of an abandoned shop. Hooking a finger into his cheek, he used the reflection to check his teeth.
"I kept worrying on the way here about whether the squid ink pasta stained my teeth black. I was so focused on that I couldn't think about anything else… It tasted okay, but I'm definitely never eating that stuff again."
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Setting note: If a Special Grade curse hides itself, Saitama can't see it. If it doesn't hide itself deliberately, he can see it. Anything below Special Grade can always be seen by him.
Turbo Granny: A Japanese urban legend. If you're interested, you can look it up—it's not very scary, just a story about a granny who runs extremely fast. Some drivers claim they've seen Turbo Granny running as fast as their cars, which scared them into accidents. Also a character in (Dandadan).
But the one actually spotted was Saitama doing his daily 10-kilometer run.
If nothing unexpected happens, updates should be daily starting today. Thanks in advance for all your support!