Not long after Eichi and Mahito began to play,
Junpei walked home with a happy expression.
Junpei had not been this happy in a long time.
For him, today's experience was not something to write about in an essay, but something he would truly remember for a lifetime.
First, three of the elementary school students who had been bullying him disappeared, and then he received recognition from others.
Deep down, Junpei knew that Mahito was not someone worth following, nor was he a good person.
But even so, Junpei did not care.
Or rather, he tried to make himself ignore Mahito's true nature, ignore the modified humans Junpei had seen with his own eyes, living lives worse than death.
Because for the first time, he was accepted, he was recognized... Before meeting Yuji, Mahito could be said to be the only one who recognized Junpei's existence, one of the only two pillars in his heart.
Therefore, Junpei actively ignored the dangers involved.
Coupled with the fact that Junpei awakened his Cursed Technique today, gaining power that previously only existed in fantasy, this naturally made him shift his attention.
Under Mahito's guidance, and subtle modification, Junpei awakened his Cursed Technique.
Shikigami, Yodotsuki.
It had the appearance of a giant jellyfish, could fly, could release paralyzing toxins, and had a pair of sharp tentacles that could pierce enemies.
Junpei possessed a Cursed Technique and a decent amount of Cursed Energy, and shortly before meeting Yuji, he had been stimulated enough to see Cursed Spirits.
All of this proved Junpei's talent.
But unfortunately, Junpei did not have the brain structure needed to use a Cursed Technique.
When Mahito's worldview was impacted and he touched Junpei's face, he slightly modified his brain, then guided him to activate his ability.
Junpei looked at his palms, feeling the Cursed Energy flowing within him. A pleasant smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
With this power, his life would begin to change.
He, who had originally been powerless to resist bullying, now had the strength to fight back, and this power was very safe.
According to Mahito's explanation, ordinary people could not see Cursed Energy, nor could they detect Cursed Spirits and Shikigami.
This meant that Yodotsuki's actions would not be seen by others.
Moreover, Yodotsuki's poison would paralyze others, and he could completely disguise it as illness, retribution, or some other situation, so that those delinquents would no longer dare to do bad things in the future.
Yes, even after months of bullying, Junpei only wanted to teach those delinquents a lesson, not kill them.
"Yoshino, you're finally back, honestly."
At Junpei's doorstep, a round giant infant, so fat that he would sweat and pant when walking, appeared.
Junpei's homeroom teacher, who entered the school after graduation, had always been in a safe and comfortable environment, and had never experienced the harshness of society.
"You're a student, you can't just not go to school."
Teacher Otomura, who was just over 1.6 meters tall and estimated to weigh 250 pounds, wiped his sweat and complained.
"Three of your friends passed away. Weren't you good friends with them? Why didn't you attend their funerals?"
As soon as Teacher Otomura finished speaking, Junpei showed an incredulous expression.
'Good... friends?'
Junpei's pupils trembled incessantly, and countless memories flashed through his mind.
'Is this person actually serious?'
Junpei recalled when he sought help from Teacher Otomura due to the bullying, and the teacher had actually defined the bullying as playing. Then he called the other students over, said a few meaningless words, and considered the matter over, resulting in Junpei being violently retaliated against.
He recalled being covered in injuries and bleeding in many places, and Teacher Otomura clearly seeing him in the corridor but immediately lowering his head and pretending to pass by.
He recalled being forced to eat bugs, mud, and other filth for their amusement, and being slandered by a delinquent girl, who wanted to feel satisfied, for having lewd eyes, which led to him being brutally beaten by several delinquents who had feelings for her... Countless images flashed through Junpei's mind, and the scar on his forehead and the marks on his body began to throb.
'This is truly insane...'
Uncontrollable negative emotions instantly filled Junpei's heart and began to grow wildly.
The originally calm Cursed Energy within him began to surge, and Junpei, who had just felt Cursed Energy and did not know how to use it, now wielded it as if it were an extension of his arm.
Raising his hand to form a hand seal, Junpei looked at the giant infant in front of him with a crazed expression.
"Get out of the way! I can't stop!"
A loud shout attracted both their gazes, and Junpei, whose head was clouded by anger, and Teacher Otomura, who was constantly stepping on landmines, simultaneously turned to look at Yuji in midair.
The appearance of Yuji, the little angel, timely prevented Junpei from losing his mind and saved Teacher Otomura, who was wildly dancing after stepping into a minefield.
"Why are there Fly Heads everywhere, honestly?"
Yuji forcefully exorcised the Fly Head in one hand, while his other hand rubbed the back of his head, which had just hit a concrete utility pole.
"Hiss, utility poles are really hard."
The concrete utility pole, which had a small dent from being hit by a certain strong sports student: "..."
"Ah, target found!"
Yuji, sitting on the ground, looked up and saw Junpei, then immediately extended a hand.
"Eh? Me?"
A huge question mark appeared above Junpei's head.
"I have something important to discuss with you. Come with me."
Yuji instantly appeared in front of Junpei, and such close contact made Junpei subconsciously step back.
"Which school are you from, student? How rude.
Didn't you see that I was talking to him? What important thing could a child have? Go wait somewhere else."
Teacher Otomura knew what teenagers of this age feared most, and like some adults, he believed that children's matters were all play, not as important as adults' matters.
Seeing that Yuji refused to leave, Teacher Otomura was clearly a little angry.
"Don't you understand..."
Yuji looked speechlessly at the teacher in front of him, whose eyes were so small that he had to search for a long time to find them, and who was spouting outdated platitudes from over a decade ago.
'He's so long-winded. Gojo-sensei is definitely better.'
Yuji's mind conjured Satoru, who had been teaching him how to use Cursed Energy hand-in-hand these past few days.
'What would Gojo-sensei do now...'
Suddenly, a light bulb flashed above Yuji's head.
"Take this!"
Yuji at this moment fully demonstrated what it meant for a famous teacher to produce an outstanding student.
His powerful arm strength completely pulled down Teacher Otomura's pants, which he had not even unbuckled yet.
Teacher Otomura was stunned by Yuji's never-before-seen magical move, his mind going blank.
"Yamete, no, stop it quickly."
After reacting, Teacher Otomura's cheeks instantly flushed, his tone shy and his movements awkward as he tried to snatch back his pants.
However, he was facing the Tiger of Nishinaka, the legendary strong sports student.
"Please, give me back my pants!"
Teacher Otomura, with his more than two hundred pounds of weight, chased after him with difficulty, swaying with each step.
...What exactly happened?
Junpei's attention was completely drawn to the Gojo-style greeting in front of him, and the anger in his heart had long been cast aside.
However, before Junpei's brain could process everything that had just happened, Yuji had already appeared behind him with Satoru's signature stride.
"Seriously, he already ran a lap!"
Junpei's brain, which had not finished processing the previous scene, overloaded again, and he was vaguely led to the riverside by Itadori Yuji, the little angel.
Not far from the two, Nanami, who was secretly protecting Junpei, was now rubbing his temples in pain, seemingly recalling some unpleasant memory.
'Daijoubu. According to that person's request, he will return to Tokyo Jujutsu High after this mission.'
Although they had only spent a few days together, Nanami now deeply understood one thing.
Yuji and Satoru had terrifyingly good compatibility.
(To be continued.)