Chapter 57: Yuji Itadori? The Vessel for Sukuna?
"...Dead?"
Upon hearing this news, Emiya was slightly incredulous. Not about why the technique of a deceased person would reappear, but about the death of a Special Grade Sorcerer itself.
If the requirement for a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer is to exorcise a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit with 100% certainty, then the minimum requirement for a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer should be to have exorcised multiple Special Grade Cursed Spirits, right?
Coupled with the earlier information that the Jujutsu Headquarters does not directly assign the Special Grade ranking but rather grants the title to sorcerers far exceeding conventional combat strength, one should understand the unique nature of every Special Grade Sorcerer.
While Gojo Satoru is the one given the title of "The Strongest," anyone who shares the title of Special Grade Sorcerer with him cannot be weak. Emiya couldn't currently imagine what kind of curse could kill a person of that strength.
Take Mahito, for instance.
His strength and Cursed Technique were indeed tricky, but if he directly faced Gojo Satoru, the outcome would likely be a three-to-seven split in Gojo's favor.
"You're quite curious why a Special Grade Sorcerer would die so easily, aren't you?"
Nanami Kento noticed the confusion in Emiya's mind, but to facilitate his request, he recounted the entire event from the beginning.
"In fact, eleven years ago, Geto-san and Gojo-sensei were classmates at Jujutsu High. Because of their immense strength, they were both rated as Special Grade Sorcerers and collectively referred to as 'The Strongest.'
At that time, Geto-senpai still held the belief that 'Jujutsu Sorcerers should protect non-sorcerers,' and fought tirelessly for it. He could exorcise nearly four hundred Cursed Spirits in a single year..."
Why did he know so much about it?
Because Nanami Kento was also a student at Jujutsu High at the time, only two years behind those two monstrously strong seniors. At the very least, Geto-senpai was genuinely trying to realize his philosophy back then; Nanami could vouch for that.
"Classmates, collectively called 'The Strongest'?
So, that Geto-san and Gojo-sensei were best friends, right?"
Emiya didn't know Geto Suguru, but he understood that a person like Gojo Satoru would probably not allow anyone else to share his title of 'The Strongest,' especially not so blatantly.
But if that was the case, it became even harder to explain why that Special Grade Sorcerer met with an accident.
Emiya did not make any reckless guesses, knowing that the other party would soon give him the answer.
"Yes. If that doesn't count as best friends, there's no more fitting term."
As he reminisced, Nanami Kento's voice inevitably grew mournful and melancholic.
"But it was in that same year that Geto Suguru, a Special Grade Sorcerer, massacred 112 villagers during one mission, defected from Jujutsu High, and subsequently killed his own parents, who were non-sorcerers.
From then on, every one of his actions was accompanied by the sacrifice of a large number of non-sorcerers; it seemed that was his very goal... He was consequently sentenced to death by the Headquarters and designated as 'The Worst Cursed User'."
A Special Grade Sorcerer who had always desperately protected non-sorcerers suddenly defected one day and became the worst Cursed User, slaughtering ordinary people.
There must have been a difficult and insurmountable psychological journey involved, but Nanami Kento was unaware of the details. Perhaps Gojo Satoru, his best friend, would know more.
Who's to say? The Jujutsu world is just such a cruel place... No, perhaps the entire world is like this?
Nanami Kento himself once chose to flee the Jujutsu world to become an ordinary office worker because, at that same point in time, his contemporary and best friend had died in a mission due to a misjudgment of a Cursed Spirit's grade.
It was that very incident that caused his aversion to the Jujutsu world.
Thinking back now, the upheaval Geto-senpai experienced must have been far greater than his own, since Haibara was not only Nanami's best friend but also very close to Geto-senpai at the time.
The death of a best friend was a hammer blow to Nanami's life, but for Geto Suguru, it was just another heavy burden added to his back.
The thing that utterly breaks a person's will is never a single hammer blow, but the countless snowflakes piled on, one after another.
Only those who can completely see no hope will abandon hope.
"Evolving from a person dedicated to protection into a slaughterer of those he once sought to guard...?"
When encountering an unforgivable murderer, Emiya's first reaction should have been disgust. But the first reaction he had this time was confusion.
From his actions, it could be seen that the Special Grade Sorcerer's objective was neither money nor fame, but simply targeting ordinary non-sorcerers. He even started with his own non-sorcerer parents to clearly achieve this goal.
So, what kind of event could cause such a massive transformation, from undisputed good to unforgivable evil?
Kirei Kotomine?
For some unknown reason, the name of that priest suddenly crossed Emiya's mind.
"If you ask why Geto Suguru became that way, I don't know.
But as for the reason...
Even ordinary people possess weak Cursed Energy, but as non-sorcerers, they cannot control it. So, the Cursed Energy generated by negative emotions leaks out and forms entities called Cursed Spirits.
Therefore, if all non-sorcerers were exterminated, Cursed Spirits would no longer be produced in the world, and Jujutsu Sorcerers would no longer be persecuted by ordinary people or forced to fight at the cost of their lives... This is what he told me personally back then."
That's right, Nanami Kento actually encountered Geto Suguru after his defection. However, although Nanami was disgusted by certain things due to the death of his best friend, he could not accept the extremely radical idea of killing all non-sorcerers.
In his view, despite some differences between Jujutsu Sorcerers and non-sorcerers, they ultimately still belonged to the human race and could not be crudely distinguished in this manner, much less subjected to indiscriminate slaughter. This went against Nanami Kento's principles, so he refused without hesitation.
He had expected to be killed by the other party then, but Geto Suguru simply left with a cryptic blessing before turning around and walking away.
Emiya fell silent.
It seemed that, in principle, this was indeed a method that could completely eradicate the rampant Cursed Spirits, but... but...
"Is such an extreme method the only way to eliminate all Cursed Spirits?"
Since he came from a world without life forms like Cursed Spirits, Emiya believed that the persistent existence of Cursed Spirits in this world was definitely due to some difference between the two worlds. If a way could be found to eliminate this difference, could this disaster be solved?
The idea might be a bit naive, but it was still a possible conjecture, wasn't it?
"From that perspective, eliminating all ordinary people's Cursed Energy, or making all non-sorcerers learn to control Cursed Energy, are also possible ways to achieve the goal of eradicating Cursed Spirits.
But there has only ever been one case of a person without Cursed Energy, and the birth of a Jujutsu Sorcerer also depends on bloodline and talent... If any of those points held promise, a Jujutsu Sorcerer would have already worked hard on it."
Nanami Kento knew he wasn't suited for research, or he would have tried long ago.
"I'm afraid, Emiya.
The world simply doesn't have convenient things like the 'All the World's Evil.' Its cruelty is the constant state."
After this description, Nanami Kento immediately pulled the conversation back from its tangential path and resumed the story.
"Then, a year ago, the Special Grade Cursed User Geto Suguru launched a disaster known as the 'Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.'
He unleashed thousands of Cursed Spirits he controlled onto both Tokyo and Kyoto, overwhelming the Jujutsu Sorcerers. He took advantage of this gap to strike directly at the Jujutsu High Headquarters.
But there, perhaps due to the dispersed power of his Cursed Spirits, he was heavily wounded by the students of the High School and fled. He was subsequently pursued by Gojo-sensei.
Though no body was recovered, Gojo Satoru personally executed Geto Suguru—that is the final fact."
In summary, Geto Suguru, Gojo Satoru's best friend, had already died eleven years ago. And Geto Suguru, the Worst Cursed User, was confirmed dead one year ago.
So, why would the Cursed Technique of a person who should be dead suddenly reappear?
"Did a new person awaken Cursed Spirit Manipulation, or... did Gojo-sensei not deliver the final blow back then?"
Emiya's temporary guesses were only these two.
"Impossible. The Jujutsu world has balance and a binding system; it's not possible for someone to instantly awaken a Cursed Technique just because the previous user died.
And I believe in Gojo-sensei. Although that guy is unreliable, he wouldn't be careless in a matter like this.
So, that is the core of the problem, and it is what I want to ask of you."
Nanami Kento turned his head and looked directly into Emiya's eyes.
"For now, do not spread the information about Cursed Spirit Manipulation, and do not tell Gojo-sensei... He is always extremely exhausted handling missions, and there's no telling what exaggerated things he might do if he learns about this.
I will go ahead and try to investigate the truth first, and then tell him myself when the time is right.
I implore you to do this."
As he spoke the last sentence, Nanami Kento even bowed, making this request earnestly.
Geto Suguru was not only Gojo Satoru's best friend but also Nanami's senpai. Nanami Kento felt it was necessary for him to investigate the truth of this matter.
However, until things became a bit clearer, he felt it best not to put too much pressure on Gojo Satoru. Nanami Kento knew well that even though that guy usually seemed like an easygoing optimist, the intensity of the Cursed Spirit missions he handled was actually higher than that of all other Jujutsu Sorcerers combined.
"No, Mr. Nanami...?!"
Nanami Kento's sudden bow and formality made Emiya slightly uncomfortable. He quickly helped the other party up and said, "As long as you explain clearly, I will definitely help. There's no need for this."
"Thank you, Emiya-kun... I will find out the truth as quickly as possible.
Then, let's part ways here. You should also have your own things to attend to."
Seeing that Emiya had agreed to his request, Nanami Kento did not delay and immediately set off. It was likely that after completing the mission report, he would immediately begin to investigate the truth, which in a sense, was also lightening the burden on Gojo Satoru.
Unfortunately, Emiya himself had little understanding of the Jujutsu world or Cursed Users, nor did he have many acquaintances, so he probably couldn't help with the investigation at all.
"I didn't expect the outwardly cheerful Gojo-sensei to be working so hard."
Emiya couldn't comprehend what it felt like to personally kill one's former best friend, so he couldn't comment rashly. But it was obvious that it was a huge blow, one that ordinary people might never recover from for years, or even a lifetime.
"The Jujutsu world truly is cruel."
If he could, Emiya truly wanted to try and change this situation.
But that would likely be a very long process.
After parting ways with Nanami Kento, Emiya immediately returned to his residence at Jujutsu High and started preparing dinner.
He often had to prepare meals for four people; this was because, besides the lunch box he occasionally prepared for Miko, Gojo Satoru alone could finish two large portions and still complain afterward that he was hungry.
And if nothing unexpected happened, Gojo Satoru should also have 'reappeared' from his room by now.
Bang, bang, bang—
The moment this thought flashed through Emiya's mind after preparing the meal, the front door was kicked open after a rapid knocking, by a size 43 foot.
"I smell it, I smell it! I can already smell it!
Today's delicious meal is ramen, right, ramen! Don't underestimate my sense of smell!"
The one walking into the room with hands in his pockets and constantly sniffing was none other than Gojo Satoru.
"How rare. You're not jumping in through the window today?"
Emiya glanced at the other party from behind the kitchen counter, then skillfully prepared two sets of bowls and chopsticks.
However, he quickly realized the reason Gojo Satoru had surprisingly and honestly used the front door today: he was followed by a strange student in a Jujutsu High uniform.
It was a boy with magenta hair who looked somewhat like a delinquent.
"What are you saying in front of my student, Emiya-kun? Would I, as a teacher, be the kind of brave hero who barges into someone else's house without knocking?"
After delivering this rare serious line, Gojo Satoru suddenly became lively again, pulling the student in front of him and introducing him personally:
"That's right, that's right. This is Yuji Itadori. He's the Vessel for Sukuna!"
Sukuna's Vessel?
What in the world was that?
Completely unfamiliar with these terms, Emiya momentarily thought Gojo Satoru was just being his usual self, so after retrieving a new set of bowls and chopsticks, he said:
"But since you didn't notify me in advance, your extra portion of ramen can only go to the guest."
Gojo Satoru suddenly fell silent. This time, his expression was quite serious, as if making a decision that could not be defied.
"Yuji Itadori, get out."
"...??"
"What are you talking about, Gojo-sensei!!!"
Sometimes, the falling out between teacher and student is this sudden and swift.
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