EHHHH?!"
Fushiguro Megumi frowned. "Gojo-sensei, isn't pulling strings like that… kinda inappropriate?"
"Well, she did pay me 500 gold coins, which is equivalent to over 30 million yen, just to ask for my help. If you guys can give me that much money, I'll pull some strings for you too."
THIRTY MILLION?!!"
Both of them froze in shock.
Itadori Yuji gulped, his eyes sparkling. "Big Sis is amazing! You gotta take good care of your little bro from now on!"
Fushiguro muttered, "B-But it's only thirty million…"
His voice lacked confidence.
Paimon chimed in, "What a rotten teacher! That thirty million was meant for orphanage donations!"
"Hahaha! But you guys did spend money, so it still counts!"
"Donating money? Paimon, I—"
"Don't call me Paimon! Call me Big Sis!"
"But my Big Sis is Miss Lumine. Are you trying to challenge her for the Big Sis title?"
"Uh—n-no, that's not what Paimon meant. Ahem… you can just call me Second Sis then… wait, no, that sounds weird."
"Got it, Lil' Paimon understands, Lil' Paimon."
Gah!"
Itadori Yuji scratched his head and changed the subject. "By the way, what was that finger from yesterday? You guys kept talking about this 'Sukuna' guy—who is he?"
Gojo Satoru explained, "Ryomen Sukuna—he's a mythical demon god, said to have four arms and two faces. But he wasn't just a legend—he was a real human… though that was a thousand years ago.
"During the Golden Age of Jujutsu, the sorcerers of the time united their forces to challenge him—only to suffer a crushing defeat.
"He was later named 'Sukuna,' and after his death, his body was preserved as a powerful cursed object known as 'Dead Wax.' We couldn't even destroy it.
"Without a doubt, he is the King of Curses."
Yuji shuddered before hesitantly asking, "So between him and you… who's stronger?"
"Well… if Sukuna were to regain all of his power, I'd have a bit of a tough time."
"What do you mean, 'a bit'?! Would you lose?"
"I'd win~"
Itadori's expression twitched. At this point, he had no real sense of Gojo's actual strength. Given the teacher's carefree and unserious attitude, he was highly skeptical.
Fushiguro turned away, only to realize something. "Wait a second… Lumine's gone again."
He spotted her not too far away and sighed. She's off doing weird things again…"
Lumine had climbed up a tree.
It looked like… she was picking apples?
"…It's just some wild fruit. Was that really necessary?"
Then he noticed her movements.
"Wait—why don't you just climb down like a normal person? Why did you jump? And why did you land with an attack?!
"Also, why do you sometimes hop while walking? And why do you randomly spread wings?!
"…By the way, where the hell did those wings come from?!"
Fushiguro Megumi finally couldn't hold it in anymore. He had endured the entire trip, but now—he really, really couldn't take it anymore.
Zephyr said, "Fushiguro, you're slipping. Ever heard the saying, 'A journey of a hundred miles is only half complete at ninety'? People tend to let their guard down at the most critical moments."
"You have the nerve to say that?! Whose fault do you think this is?!"
For once, Paimon actually sided with Fushiguro. "Calm down. If you take this seriously, you've already lost."
"..."
Meanwhile, Yuji's eyes were practically glowing with admiration. "Big Sis is so cool!"
Gojo Satoru adjusted his blindfold and said lazily, "Alright, enough chit-chat—we're here~."
"So this is the place… Man, I'm nervous."
Fushiguro said, "No need to be nervous. You're not gonna pass anyway."
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY, YOU LITTLE—"
As they pushed open the mansion doors, a dimly lit room greeted them. Candlelight flickered, casting eerie shadows.
A deep voice echoed from the center of the room.
"Too slow, Satoru."
"You're 20 minutes late."
"I won't scold you, but I have told you to fix this bad habit of yours."
A middle-aged man in black clothing sat there, wearing sunglasses—indoors—in the dark.
Surrounding him were dozens of creepy-yet-weirdly-cute dolls, and in his hands, he was meticulously crafting another one.
Itadori Yuji was shocked.
A grown man… making cute dolls?!
He glanced at the others—Gojo and Fushiguro looked completely unfazed.
And then there was Zephyr—who also showed zero reaction. But that was because she already knew the story.
Itadori's mind raced.
"Big Sis is incredible! This must be her first time seeing this guy too, yet she's completely unfazed by this ridiculous scene!
This composure… this level-headedness… this powerful mental fortitude… She's a role model I must learn from!!"
Gojo sighed dramatically. "If you're not gonna scold me, then don't complain. You were making dolls anyway—what's another 20 minutes?"
Then, he casually introduced, "This is Principal Yaga Masamichi."
Lumine nodded politely.
"Much appreciated."
Itadori, however, was stunned. "Wait… We came here to enroll, and the principal is thanking us? Gojo-sensei, does that mean… we already passed the test?!"
"Hahahaha, no way! Lumine is a special case—you're different. You still have to take the test."
"EHHHH?!"
Itadori pouted like a kicked puppy.
The principal turned his gaze to Yuji, his voice heavy.
"Itadori Yuji, let me ask you—why are you here?"
Yuji blinked. "...Uh, for a meeting?"
"I mean, why are you enrolling in Jujutsu High?"
"…To study jujutsu?"
"And after that? Once you understand curses and gain the ability to exorcise them—what will you do?"
"…What will I do? Well, since curses hurt people, I'll eliminate them… and contribute to society?"
However, the principal's response was ice-cold.
"Why?"
"…Huh?"
"Accidents, illness—people die every day in ways you'll never even know about. That's just the way life is.
"So if someone dies because of a curse… why does that make it unacceptable?"
At some point, Gojo Satoru had silently stuffed a pair of earplugs into his ears.
Itadori Yuji said, "That's what I heard in my grandfather's last words. The details don't matter—I just want to save people."
"Last words? So you're saying… you're fighting curses just because someone told you to?"
The room grew heavy with tension.
The principal stood up, his voice firm and unwavering.
"Itadori Yuji, you are unqualified!"
"HAAAH?!?"
He raised his hand, and beside him, a hideous doll slowly rose to its feet.
Itadori's eyes widened in shock.
Wait… isn't that just a puppet?!
"This is a Cursed Corpse—a doll, but it's infused with my curse energy."
Before Itadori could even process the words, the Cursed Corpse vanished in an instant—
—and with a single punch, sent him flying.
The impact stunned him. It took him a second to recover before he stammered, "T-That's… a doll?! A doll is this strong?!"
The principal stated, "A person's true nature is revealed in desperate situations. Since I haven't heard the answer I want—the attacks won't stop."
Fushiguro Megumi sighed. "Poor guy… I can't even watch anymore."
Paimon frowned. "So that thing is what you kept calling a Cursed Corpse? It's hideous! How did you ever associate Paimon with something like that?"
"That's just one type of Cursed Corpse. Some actually look… well, nicer."
Before the words even fully left his mouth—
BAM!
Itadori was smashed into the ground again.
"Are you just following someone else's orders to fight curses?"
"No! It's not just 'someone else'—it was my family!"
"…Family is still 'someone else,' isn't it?"
Another brutal hit landed, leaving Itadori dazed and dizzy.
"Damn it… No matter how hard I hit, it's not working!"
…Right.
It's a puppet.
It doesn't feel pain.
And it doesn't feel fear.
//END
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