The next day, Itadori Wasuke, who had not slept a wink all night, suddenly felt that he was no longer tired. His body no longer felt any fatigue, and he realized that the end was near.
Just as he was wondering if Itadori would come today, Yuji Itadori appeared at the hospital room door with a bouquet of flowers.
Itadori Wasuke, still anxious, immediately shouted loudly:
"Idiot! I told you not to come. You always come here for nothing."
Knotted, long accustomed to his grandfather's tofu heart wrapped in a knife-sharp mouth, walked over to the windowsill as if nothing had happened, began to place the packaged flowers there, and replied:
"Isn't this the same as usual? Besides, these flowers aren't for you. They're for the nurse."
Just as he was about to retort, Itadori Wasuke remembered his conversation with Locke from the day before.
"Although my goal in getting close to you is to find the problems that haven't been solved yet, I sincerely hope that you won't leave with regrets during the time I've spent with you."
"My adoptive father in this life was a very old and withdrawn old man. He once betrayed his national class and comrades, and refused to forgive himself until his death, choosing to depart in peace."
"I don't know what happened to him back then. I only know that until his death, he chose to go alone with all his sins and self-curses. But he never thought that this would only make the survivors feel pain and become a true regret."
"So, I think that no matter what happened with Knotted, it wasn't your fault. You don't need to blame yourself. All you need to do is say a proper goodbye to him. Don't let all this turn into an irreparable regret."
Thinking of this, Itadori Wasuke set aside his usual manner, looked at his proud grandson, and realized that no matter what, he still couldn't rest easy and let him face everything alone.
And indeed, he could only entrust it to Yuji... this one.
"Yuji."
Seeing his grandfather's tone suddenly change, a bad feeling arose in Yuji Itadori's heart. He calmed down and obediently asked:
"What is it, Grandpa?"
"Come here. Sit down."
Putting down the flower in his hand, Yuji Itadori obediently sat down beside his grandfather, watching as he silently held his hand.
"Yuji, I know you don't want to hear about your parents, but the day will come when you have to face it. If you really want to know something, just ask Mr. Nosaka. You can trust him anytime."
Hearing "Nosaka," Yuji Itadori was momentarily stunned, then realized it was his grandfather's attending physician, Nosaka Locke.
"Remember, Yuji, you are very strong. So you must help others and save others. But right now, you're not strong enough, so you can only do what you can."
He paused, his breathing growing weaker and weaker, but he still stubbornly advised:
"If you can save people, try to save them. Even if you don't get thanks, it doesn't matter. If you don't understand, it doesn't matter. If you feel confused, don't worry. In short, you must work hard to save others."
His words gradually faded, and Wasuke's eyes slowly dimmed. But suddenly, a light reappeared, staring at Yuji's face, word by word, with final expectations and regrets:
"You... you must die surrounded by everyone."
"Ten million... don't be like me, who clearly has so many regrets but can't do anything about it... but... it's okay... it doesn't matter."
The last words were light as smoke. The moment they fell, Wasuke suddenly loosened his hand and slowly lowered it.
Yuji Itadori froze in place, staring blankly at his grandfather's closed eyes. His familiar face showed no expression, and even the last trace of warmth was gradually fading away.
He was cold. As if he had exhausted all his strength, even his breathing was intermittent and painful. The only family he had left was gone. Overwhelming sorrow and confusion completely engulfed him. For a long time, he couldn't come to his senses. Even tears seemed frozen in his eyes, too heavy to fall.
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At a cemetery in Tokyo, Locke, dressed in a coat, looked at the gravestone before him in the setting sun, appearing somewhat confused.
"Old man, my sister won't be coming back to see you this year. Her situation isn't very good, so I'll be running around for her. Don't give her a hard time."
"Come to think of it, I'm thirty-six this year. Plus sixty from my past life, that makes ninety-six. I originally planned to settle down after this, but then it happened this year, and finally, things changed."
Locke, born in the last century, had been reincarnated and adopted by an old man in Japan as an orphan.
Perhaps because he was an ordinary person at first, he didn't fully awaken the memories of his past life until his brain almost fully developed at twelve years old. He also understood why, as a child, he always wanted to see ghosts—it was the distorted system interface.
Then, the distorted system accompanied him for over twenty years. He waited until he was ready to give up, planning to pack up and return to prison to spend the next life, but he woke up again.
Thinking of this, Locke leaned down and carefully wiped his adoptive father's gravestone. His voice was soft but full of deep emotion:
"In the two years before you left, you always said that the people of this country were cursed. But that's precisely why those kind people who keep their hearts and walk the right path are even more precious. I understand what you said, but this obstacle in my heart has been confused for a long time, and I've never been able to overcome it."
"It was only when I tasted revenge that I suddenly woke up. Without empathetic hatred, it's impossible to talk about understanding."
"It's because of this that I came to my senses. Although you never say it, deep down you always saw me as a saint, hoping that I could change everything."
"But you're wrong. I'm just an ordinary person who has lived a second life. Neither a living Buddha in your eyes, nor a saint capable of saving everything."
"Anyway, you didn't ask me to do this, so I won't. I'll just do what I have to do in my current role."
"Destroy the demons and save those innocent people."
As he finished speaking, a gentle breeze blew around Locke. He stood up, stretched his waist, and said calmly:
"If you don't say anything, I'll handle it the way we agreed. Anyway, you originally helped defeat them too, so you should understand me. So I'll beat the cursed spirits, deal with Sukuna, prevent so many people from dying, and repay your kindness."
With that, Locke turned around and was about to leave, waving his hand at his adoptive father's gravestone.
"Old man, I'm leaving. Next time I come to see you, I'll talk to you."
And in a place he didn't notice, a rogue who existed only in his field of vision leaned under a tree, looked at him, nodded, and disappeared.
Before he could take a few steps, Locke's phone suddenly rang. He saw it was the head nurse.
"Hello... huh? Say that again? What? Mr. Itadori has passed away?"
According to Locke's years of medical experience, Itadori Wasuke should have lasted at least two more days. He didn't expect it to be so soon. And Itadori Wasuke's death meant one thing.
The plot of Jujutsu Kaisen was about to begin.
The vessel was about to become the container.