"Hahahahaha, how could anyone mistake konjac for a bug and get that scared!"
Yoshino Nagi, Junpei's mother, laughed heartily while clutching her stomach.
Her uninhibited demeanor also allowed Yuji and Junpei to relax. No longer feeling constrained by the presence of an adult, the group began to chat freely like peers.
During this, Yuji even used a movie reference for an impromptu performance, successfully capturing the attention of Junpei, a movie buff.
Seeing her son's long-absent happy smile, Yoshino Nagi smiled with relief from the side.
Yoshino Nagi knew that Junpei had recently encountered something that weighed heavily on him, but her son was unwilling to speak, and as a mother, she could not be too forceful.
So, after work today, when Yoshino Nagi saw Junpei spending time with a friend, which was a rare occurrence, she immediately invited Yuji to their home as a guest.
Watching Junpei and Yuji chatting and laughing,
Yoshino Nagi's thoughts drifted back to a few days ago.
At that time, Junpei stood before her like a startled small animal, head lowered, saying he did not want to go to school anymore.
The panic in her son's eyes pained Yoshino Nagi as a mother.
But seeing her son's desire not to worry her, she could not scold him.
Her son was already suffering enough. Yoshino Nagi truly could not bear to provoke him further.
Yoshino Nagi felt distressed, and at some point, she had lit a cigarette.
"It's fine. It's okay not to go."
While Junpei still had his head lowered, not daring to look at her, Yoshino Nagi quickly adjusted her mindset and spoke in as relaxed and joking a tone as possible.
Yoshino Nagi smoked and drank, but she was truly a good mother, a single mother who worked hard to provide for her son.
Smoking and drinking were actually a way for this mother to relieve stress, just like Shoko, who witnessed countless lives depart on her operating table.
"Huh?"
Junpei looked at his mother in surprise, at the mother who often encouraged him to study hard and live the life he wanted in the future.
"Children your age tend to take everything too seriously. School is just a small fish tank. The world is vast, you know. Just choose what you like."
Yoshino Nagi flicked the ash from her cigarette, trying to speak in a casual tone.
Finally, she even made a joke about herself.
Facts proved that this method indeed made most of Junpei's unease disappear.
Yoshino Nagi was truly a gentle and strong person.
She cared for her beloved son while working hard outside, not bringing negative emotions from work home... It was late, and Yuji stayed at Junpei's house.
After quietly tidying up the living room, Yuji declined Junpei's invitation and chose to sleep on the living room sofa.
Outside the Yoshino home, a transparent Curtain had already been set up.
Nanami, for the first time in a while, picked up the strong coffee he used to drink during his working-man days, guarding Junpei and his mother from the second floor across from the Yoshino home.
Yuji was inside, a warning Curtain was in the middle, and outside was protection from a reliable Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer.
The reason for doing this was solely to guard against one person.
Kenjaku.
To Mahito, Junpei was just an interesting toy he had stumbled upon.
If Junpei had not interacted with Yuji, this toy might have been broken, or Mahito, once busy, might have simply forgotten about it.
It was like how sometimes, when people passed by an ant nest and saw the swarming ants below, they might casually drop a bit of bread.
But when Kenjaku discovered Yuji and Junpei meeting, everything changed.
Junpei became a very useful pawn.
That was why Kenjaku later gave Mahito a finger and had Mahito command Cursed Spirits to attack Junpei's mother.
Finally, he orchestrated that tragic incident at the school... At this moment, not far from Junpei's house,
Kenjaku, wearing a black hooded top, was carefully observing the situation inside Junpei's home.
"Yuji is there too."
Kenjaku stared at Junpei's house, lost in thought.
If Mahito were still around, Kenjaku might have already started to act by now.
But Mahito's sudden disappearance raised a hint of alarm in Kenjaku's mind.
The large-scale collapse of the sewers proved that Mahito had definitely undergone an intense battle.
The large amount of Cursed Energy residue left at the scene also fully indicated that Mahito had been defeated only after using all of his strength.
But strangely, no Cursed Energy residue from a second person was found at the scene.
"From the traces at the scene, it doesn't look like Kusakabe. Naobito is still in Kyoto, which means the Tokyo Branch sent out a Special Grade, then."
This was the reason for Kenjaku's hesitation.
He could not be sure whether Mahito, who had no morals and ran faster than him when in danger, was still alive.
If Mahito was still alive, then the Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer who came to exorcise Mahito was likely still in this area.
If he were discovered, he would be surrounded and attacked, and he would not be able to escape quickly.
Being good at escaping did not mean liking to escape.
"Let's leave it at this for now, but it's not like I can't do anything at all."
Thinking this, Kenjaku took out a Sukuna finger he carried with him, attaching a portion of his Cursed Energy and Soul Power to it.
Soon, Kenjaku's figure disappeared, and a Cursed Spirit appeared, picked up the finger, and walked toward Junpei's house.
"The Curtain is reacting."
Nanami immediately opened the window and jumped down from the second floor.
Inside Junpei's house, Yuji was already fighting the Cursed Spirit that had suddenly entered the room.
Bang.
Yuji punched through the Cursed Spirit's chest, and a familiar feeling emerged from deep within him.
'How strange. Why does this Cursed Spirit feel a little familiar to me?'
And in the Domain of the living, unknown to Yuji, Sukuna sat atop a hill made of skeletons, looking down at the suddenly appearing Kenjaku.
Sukuna's fingers could resonate with and sense each other.
Kenjaku exploited this, creating a connection between the two fingers at close range.
"Long time no see, Sukuna. How have you been lately?"
Kenjaku raised a hand and greeted him with a smile.
Whoosh!
A slash aimed at the stitches on Kenjaku's head instantly appeared before him.
"Oh, that was close."
Kenjaku seemed prepared and easily dodged the attack.
"If you dare to speak to me like that again, I'll kill you."
At this moment, inside the room, Yuji was continuously punching, creating hole after hole in the Cursed Spirit.
Nanami, who had broken through the window, immediately drew his short sword and severed the Cursed Spirit's head.
"What happened? Is Yuji alright?"
Yoshino Nagi was awakened by the continuous loud noises from downstairs, and remembering that Yuji was still on the first floor, she immediately came to check.
"Thief! Get away from that child, I've already called the police!"
Seeing Nanami holding a short machete, Yoshino Nagi immediately stood in front of Yuji, holding up her phone as a threat.
"Wait, don't call the police. It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding."
After a chaotic explanation, Nanami took out his cursed tool glasses, which allowed her to see Cursed Spirits.
Junpei also displayed his Shikigami.
The misunderstanding was finally resolved.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)