"Honestly, it's been a long time since I laughed this hard."
"It's just like when a background extra manages to create the most hilarious moment in a show. It's truly exhilarating."
Kenjaku stood up, dusted off his kasaya, righted the tipped teacup, casually wiped the spilled tea, and slid the door open to leave.
"As expected, plans can never keep up with changes."
Kenjaku walked down the corridor for a long time, passed through several doors, bypassed a few rockeries, and finally arrived at a secluded courtyard.
The courtyard wasn't large. The ground was paved with fine white gravel, and a Taihu stone stood in the middle, covered in moss.
In the corner was an old cherry blossom tree, its trunk twisting toward the sky, its branches and leaves sparse. Mahito crouched under that cherry blossom tree. His long blue hair trailed on the ground, his hair and body covered in fallen leaves and dust.
Kenjaku walked up to Mahito and looked down at him.
"Hey, Mahito. How long are you going to stay depressed here?"
"..."
No response.
"Mahito, I'm talking to you."
"..."
Still no response.
Kenjaku was a bit speechless. Hanami was burned alive by Yuji Itadori. If Hanami hadn't sacrificed itself, even Jogo might have died. And Mahito, one step ahead of them, had the living daylights beaten out of him by Yuji Itadori.
"Seriously, it's only been a few days..."
One by one, they just love throwing themselves at Yuji's feet.
Kenjaku let out a long sigh. Although it was a good thing that Jogo was willing to rein itself in, losing Hanami and Mahito at once still made him feel very uncomfortable.
"Stop running away, Mahito."
Kenjaku's voice turned cold, losing its previous frivolity and mockery.
"Hanami is already dead. You don't want to be the second one to die after Hanami, do you? If you guys still want to achieve your previous goal, listen to my arrangements from now on."
"..."
Mahito finally reacted. He raised his lifeless eyes and looked at Kenjaku.
"Listen closely, Mahito."
Kenjaku held up one finger.
"You've seen Sukuna's fingers, so you should know the principle of incarnation, right? Swallowing a cursed object, and then the body is taken over. It's as simple as that."
From the golden age of jujutsu a thousand years ago to the present, Kenjaku had made Binding Vows with many strong individuals who felt regrets about their lives.
He helped turn these people into cursed objects and stored them until the right time. Then he would feed these cursed objects to modern humans, allowing these strong individuals to incarnate like Sukuna and gain a second life.
But the condition was that these strong individuals had to participate in the Culling Game he hosted.
All humans who swallowed the cursed objects would be incarnated without exception. But because the brain structures of these incarnated humans were different from sorcerers—and their strength as vessels was not enough to withstand the souls of these strong individuals—even after incarnation, these strong individuals would only fall into a coma and couldn't fully awaken.
To wake them up, he needed Mahito's Idle Transfiguration to alter their brains into "sorcerer structures"—granting these humans the "strength" to become vessels.
That's why Kenjaku found Mahito.
The Culling Game still required long-term planning, and Kenjaku wasn't in a hurry. The most pressing issue to solve right now was his severe lack of capable subordinates.
"I need you to do some things for me, Mahito."
What Kenjaku wanted to do was use Mahito to release some of the strong individuals originally slated to be resurrected in the Culling Game ahead of schedule.
Among them was the strongest sorcerer from four hundred years ago—who slaughtered all the strong individuals in Japan during his youth—
The Thunder God. Hajime Kashimo.
Besides him, he also wanted to release some strong individuals with the strength of Grade 1 sorcerers to serve as his subordinates. Such as Reggie Star, and so on...
That guy Hajime Kashimo is very interested in Sukuna, so he will definitely be a very good asset to me.
"In addition, Hanami is dead, and its position needs to be filled by another curse."
"Hundreds of years ago, I used a woman in the Kamo Clan for an experiment—making her give birth to human-curse hybrids. These are now the Death Painting Wombs."
"Later, I believed my understanding of curses and humans had reached perfection, so I tried to create an 'artificial curse.' Although its power was too overwhelming and it suffered from severe mental disorders—making it difficult to control—so I sealed it away."
"But the current Yuji Itadori makes me feel threatened. So it's time to take some action."
Evening.
Several black luxury sedans carrying students from the Tokyo and Kyoto schools drove smoothly on the road. Nobara Kugisaki sat with the other Tokyo school students.
Kiyotaka Ijichi was driving attentively. Satoru Gojo sat in the passenger seat, chattering endlessly. Yuji, Megumi Fushiguro, and Junpei Yoshino squeezed together in the back seat.
Yuji sat by the window, watching the scenery flash by. Junpei listened attentively to Satoru Gojo's speech. Megumi, still recovering from his injuries, leaned against the window with his eyes closed, resting.
"So I'm saying..."
Satoru Gojo spoke.
"Sometimes I really feel like Yuji is like those reincarnators in novels who travel back from the future with memories."
"Could it be that he really is one?"
"..."
The air in the car fell silent for a moment.
Nani?
Yuji's eyes widened abruptly.
Weren't we talking about the exchange event just now? Why did the topic suddenly shift to this?
"Yeah, yeah!"
Junpei chimed in enthusiastically.
"Now that you mention it, Gojo-sensei—I also think Itadori-kun is very much like a reincarnator in a light novel! Look, he's only been in contact with jujutsu for a few days, yet he knows everything, does everything well, and his combat experience is so rich that he doesn't seem like a rookie at all."
"And the feeling he gives off is extremely reliable—like he's experienced a lot of things."
Seeing this, Satoru Gojo turned around and continued smilingly. "Oh? Yoshino-kun, do you also read light novels?"
Junpei answered. "I loved reading them in middle school, but not so much now."
"If Itadori is a reincarnator who traveled back with future memories, everything would make sense!"
"Because he is simply absurdly strong!"
"Right, right? Your teacher feels the same way."
Satoru Gojo nodded.
"..."
How could Gojo-sensei know?! Can the Six Eyes even see this kind of thing... No, no. Gojo-sensei must just be joking...
"Am I right, reincarnator Yuji Itadori?"
Satoru Gojo turned his head and stared straight at Yuji.
"..."
A drop of cold sweat rolled down Yuji's forehead.
Although he knew Satoru Gojo was joking.
He was sweating bullets.
"Ha, hahaha... Yeah."
Yuji let out a dry laugh. This sweating appearance didn't look normal no matter how you looked at it. But considering Yuji was never good at lying...
And what's a reincarnator? He's just a hardworking sports student.
"...Yuji, is it hot in the car?"
"It's okay."
Satoru Gojo turned to the driver's seat. "Ijichi, please turn down the AC a bit."
"Yes, Gojo-san."
After receiving Ijichi's reply, Satoru Gojo turned back to look at Yuji. But just as he was about to speak, Megumi's voice rang out.
"I say, Gojo-sensei—you said you were taking us to a team battle with the Kyoto school, but where exactly are we going? Can't you give us a hint?"
Megumi was a bit exasperated.
Phew—saved. Good thing Fushiguro is here.
Yuji wiped the sweat from his face.
"Hmph, I already said I can't. Besides, we're almost there."
Satoru Gojo snorted lightly. The corners of his mouth curled up.
Just thinking about what they were going to do next made him want to laugh.
The black luxury sedans slowly pulled over to the side of the road.
Satoru Gojo was the first to push open the car door. He stepped onto the sidewalk with his long legs, hands in his pockets, looking up at the three-story building in front of him. A smug smile on his face.
"We're here, we're here! Everyone get out!"
The students from the Tokyo and Kyoto schools emerged from the black sedans one after another, standing by the road looking around, then followed Satoru Gojo's pace.
"An internet cafe?"
Before entering, Megumi looked up at the giant neon sign above his head. The corners of his mouth twitched twice.
"Gojo-sensei, why did you bring us to an internet cafe?"
"Hmph—"
After leading the students into the empty internet cafe lobby, Satoru Gojo turned around to face the group of confused students. With his arms crossed, he enthusiastically presented his theory.
"Ahem! Good question, Megumi!"
He cleared his throat.
Because Megumi had complained to Satoru Gojo earlier that Yuji and Ryomen Sukuna playing games in the middle of the night kept him awake, Satoru Gojo had a sudden inspiration.
"E-sports is also a sport!"
Satoru Gojo spread his arms, as if embracing the whole world.
"Your teacher has already rented out this entire internet cafe as the competition venue in advance!"
"And think about it—physical confrontation is so tiring. Running, jumping, fighting... what if you get injured again?"
"Playing games is different. You can compete while sitting down! How easy and enjoyable! Moreover, the purpose of a team battle is to foster teamwork. Doesn't e-sports require exactly that? This is the perfect way to cultivate your team spirit!"
"Therefore, your teacher grandly announces here! The upcoming team battle will be conducted in a 5v5 team format!"
"...Huh—?"
After Satoru Gojo's words fell, the atmosphere in the internet cafe lobby fell silent.
Everyone looked at Satoru Gojo with a "Are you fucking kidding me" expression.
No, seriously? You're turning my Jujutsu High into a vocational school? Having LAN parties at an internet cafe?
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