Chapter 51: Yuji Itadori
"Max Elephant!"
Megumi Fushiguro curved his fingers to form an elephant's head shadow, then the shadow in front of him surged like a fountain, rising high, and a colossal creature burst out of it, breaking through the obstruction.
Then, with a melodious trumpeting sound, an elephant with Cursed Energy marks on its body appeared. Its forehead also bore the design of one of the Ten Divine Treasures, just like the other Shikigami Fushiguro summoned.
As soon as the irritable Max Elephant appeared, it raised its thick forelegs and stomped towards Megumi Fushiguro. The prepared Megumi Fushiguro had already summoned Nue, and with a backflip, he avoided the flying rocks. Then Nue carried him into the air, dodging the torrent of water that subsequently surged from Max Elephant's trunk.
"Nue!"
After the two Jade Hounds diverted Max Elephant's attention, Megumi Fushiguro landed on the ground untouched by the water. Under his command, Nue spread its wings, casting a shadow on the ground. Its sharp cry was obscured by the subsequent thunder. The wildly dancing electric snakes instantly pierced the water surrounding Max Elephant. The perfectly coordinated Jade Hounds had already jumped away, leaving Max Elephant wrapped in the coiling electric light.
Then the Jade Hounds dispersed into shadows on the spot, falling to the ground. Megumi Fushiguro immediately pinched his fingers to summon the Great Serpent. Max Elephant's massive body was coiled by the Great Serpent, and under the immense force after a brief charge, the still paralyzed Max Elephant was thrown into the air.
Then it was met with Nue's pounce. Its flashing lightning attack and the Great Serpent worked together to firmly suppress Max Elephant, making it unable to exert its immense strength at all, and it had no chance to use its Cursed Energy-condensed water attacks.
Within a few rounds, Max Elephant collapsed to the ground, overwhelmed. Megumi Fushiguro, who was also heavily burdened, let out a sigh of relief. He then activated his Technique, recalling the now tamed Max Elephant into his shadow. Nue and the Great Serpent also disappeared.
"Nice! Megumi, well done."
Megumi Fushiguro turned around to see Panda and the others watching from the side of the training ground. Their participation in the Shikigami taming ritual would have been useless, so they just watched Megumi Fushiguro complete it alone. Fortunately, the latter's control over the coordination between Shikigami was excellent. In a two-on-one situation, Max Elephant had no chance to fight back and was successfully subdued.
In the period since the new year began, the reduced frequency of missions had left everyone with more free time. The occasional missions they received were also easy-to-deal-with Curses. As for Yuta Okkotsu, he had already departed for overseas.
Kamihara Hajime also received only Grade 2 and Grade 1 missions, which were frankly quite boring. After completing a mission and returning, Kamihara Hajime would go back to his dorm to play games and read books on Jujutsu, Domain, and Barrier Techniques that he borrowed from Gojo Satoru.
There was a lot of confirmed information in them, but also many fantastical ideas that were merely conjectures of predecessors, or conclusions drawn only from speculation and observation. For example, information regarding Domain Expansion; not many people mastered this, and those who did might not be able to effectively convert it into something teachable.
Therefore, Kamihara Hajime had been learning quite painfully during this time, but Barrier Techniques were fine. This subject was very straightforward, like one plus one equals two, not difficult to learn, and only a little talent was needed to improve.
And today, being free, he came to watch Megumi Fushiguro tame his Shikigami. Over there, Megumi Fushiguro raised his hand to cover his face at Panda's shout, then gave up, simply maintaining a calm expression.
"Beep-beep."
While walking together on the stone path, Kamihara Hajime's phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and saw it was a message from Gojo Satoru. After a quick glance, Kamihara Hajime stopped and called out to Megumi Fushiguro: "Megumi, Gojo Sensei gave us a mission. We're going together."
"Then you two go ahead and carry out the mission. Goodbye." Panda waved goodbye to them. After Kamihara Hajime and Megumi Fushiguro arrived at Gojo Satoru's location, he immediately told them the details.
"The mission is simple. A sealed Sukuna finger has been confirmed, and we just need to retrieve it. The only thing to be careful of might be the Cursed Spirits attracted to it. Although there probably won't be any danger, it is still a Special Grade Cursed Object, and Sukuna's finger at that, so you two should go together."
Gojo Satoru spread his hands, indicating that was roughly the situation. Kamihara Hajime felt there was no problem after hearing it. Even if a Cursed Spirit fused with Sukuna's finger, like in a previous mission, it didn't seem like a big deal; in fact, it would make it more interesting.
But this mission felt somewhat familiar… Kamihara Hajime thought of this and asked: "Where is the mission location?"
Gojo Satoru took out his phone and looked: "Hmm… Sugisawa Third High School in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture."
After a brief recollection, Kamihara Hajime knew why he felt a sense of familiarity: high school, Megumi Fushiguro, Sukuna's finger…
Was he about to meet Sukuna's vessel, Megumi's future classmate—Yuji Itadori? This boy, so special that he could become the vessel for Sukuna, the Curse King. One must know that no Cursed Spirits, whether Grade 1 or Special Grade, could absorb Sukuna's fingers; they simply couldn't bear it.
The previous Cursed Spirit had only swallowed the finger, at most utilizing some of the aura emanating from Sukuna's finger, so he was able to obtain the intact finger after exorcising it.
Yet, this Yuji Itadori, whom he hadn't met yet, could maintain his consciousness and control over his body after becoming Sukuna's vessel. It was incredible; perhaps… this was the protagonist's halo.
In addition, Yuji Itadori also possessed remarkable talent. Although he was also the type without an Inherited Technique, his talent in physical combat was astonishing.
Not long after enrolling, he easily learned the Black Flash technique under Aoi Todo's guidance and became the latter's best friend. Yes… because they both shared the same 'xp' hobby.
As for the purely evil Curse King—Ryomen Sukuna, it was a pity that his first appearance was less than one-tenth of his full power, so he couldn't immediately witness the legend's glory.
…
Sugisawa Third High School, Sendai City.
"Spirit of the Coin, Spirit of the Coin, please tell us what animal the student council president is afraid of."
Yuji Itadori, with light pink hair, was sitting around a table with Sasaki and Iguchi from the Occult Research Club. The three of them pressed their index fingers together on a coin, beneath which was a piece of paper covered with writing. This was a long-standing occult game, somewhat similar to the Ouija board.
Specifically, the three would do this: the coin, pressed by the questioner's index finger, would move and stop on words, which would be the answer to the question. Of course, these were just useless games; without special factors, no Curse would come to play "Spirit of the Coin" to scare you.
The coin's movement could be due to unconscious pressure from nervousness, or it could be one of them deliberately moving it. At this moment, after seeing the words the coin stopped on, Itadori and the others connected them and found it was "Clione," a type of planktonic mollusk, nicknamed the sea angel.
Amidst the trio's hearty laughter, the door of the dimly lit clubroom, obscured by curtains, was thrown open with a "bang." The object of their ridicule—the student council president—appeared at the doorway.
"Oh, it's the planktonic creature president. What brings you here?"
The student council president, with a dark expression, adjusted his glasses and said sternly: "I've already told you, the school isn't spacious enough to allow research clubs without even activity reports to monopolize clubrooms! Starting today, this will be the girls' track and field club's changing room. Please leave quickly."
"Slap."
Sasaki of the Occult Research Club, the short-haired girl, slapped a thick notebook onto the table. Yuji Itadori raised a finger and said with a serious expression: "Don't underestimate my seniors, President."
The president was somewhat unnerved by the trio's strange expressions but still asked: "What is this?"
Sasaki showed a sinister smile, though it didn't look very scary on her face: "This is valuable information we've researched, and it's about this school."
With Sasaki's deliberately lowered voice, she began her emotionally charged explanation: "You know our school's rugby field was closed, right?"
Of course, the president knew about it; he was present when it was closed, and even issued the order. Hearing this, he nodded: "Of course, because many people who were active on the field were admitted to the Hospital due to physical discomfort."
"Hehe."
Sasaki continued with a hint of triumph: "Aren't you curious? Those rugby players were all incredibly strong, yet they suddenly fell ill and were hospitalized."
"Actually, before they experienced physical discomfort, they all heard some strange sounds."
Sasaki opened the notebook on the table, pointing to a newspaper clipping pasted on it: "Look at this newspaper from thirty years ago. It's about the disappearance of a construction company employee named Yoshida. According to the last sighting, he disappeared right here, at Sugisawa Third High School, which was still under construction at the time!"
Sasaki's emotions surged. Her gaze was directed forward but unfocused, as if she was staring at the truth behind it all: "At that time, Yoshida borrowed money everywhere and was even targeted by the Yakuza. That means the murdered Yoshida was buried by those bad people right here at the Sugisawa Third High School, which was under construction, and the location is under the rugby field!"
"All of this is the doing of Yoshida's still-existing vengeful spirit!" Sasaki clenched her fist forcefully, her face filled with triumphant confidence, feeling that her deduction was simply perfect.
"No."
After hearing Sasaki's words, the president pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting a chilling white light, just like his next words: "It's ticks. They were hospitalized because there were ticks on the rugby field."
Sasaki, who had fallen from the peak of confidence, visibly wilted. The few of them were speechless in the face of this plain truth. Then, Itadori was the first to perk up: "So what? My seniors have been working hard to solve supernatural phenomena, and these investigations and deductions, aren't they the best activity report?"
The president's imposing aura did not yield an inch. He reprimanded loudly: "This isn't child's play! You're spreading inexplicable rumors every day, and ultimately, the biggest problem is—"
"You're Yuji Itadori, right! Aren't you in the track and field club? In that case, your club doesn't even meet the minimum required number of members!"
As Itadori looked innocently bewildered, Sasaki and Iguchi glared at him resentfully. "Huh? Didn't I sign up for occult research?" In fact, Itadori didn't care which club he joined. He joined the Occult Research Club not only because he found it somewhat interesting but, most importantly, to be able to leave school promptly at five in the afternoon. Most other clubs had many members and were incredibly busy, none of which he wanted.
But… when did he become part of the track and field club?
"It was me!"
A burly man with a buzz cut pushed open the clubroom door. Takagi, the track and field club advisor, looked at the turning Yuji Itadori with an incredibly serious expression: "I changed it for you, Itadori… To dominate the nation, we need you."
Yuji Itadori clearly recognized this person, pointing at him with an incredulous expression and shouting: "It's you again! Can you stop pestering me? I've refused you several times already! I don't want to join the track and field club."
"No!"
Takagi's imposing words interrupted Itadori. Then, with a serious expression, he proposed a bet to Itadori: "Itadori, let's have a competition. We'll decide the winner on the track and field ground. If I win, you'll join the track and field club obediently."
"If I lose, I promise the track and field club will never bother you again…"
"No problem!"
Yuji Itadori showed an incredibly confident smile: "Then let's go now. I have something to do later."
Track and field ground.
In front of a sand pit, Takagi and Yuji Itadori's competition attracted the attention of everyone there, who gathered around to watch the spectacle. Both were well-known in the school: one was the track and field club advisor, a retired professional athlete who had recently been invited.
The other, the "Tiger of West Middle," had a resounding reputation, not to mention having appeared on a TV obstacle course show, where he was called some kind of reincarnation. His fighting… uh… athletic ability was also exceptionally outstanding, so everyone was very curious.
"Takagi is getting serious. Itadori might be in trouble."
Looking at Takagi, who was wearing only a sleeveless shirt revealing his firm muscles, the surrounding students discussed amongst themselves. Two shot puts were placed in front of them, and Takagi was explaining the competition rules to Itadori: "It's simple. Shot put. The one who throws further wins. One round decides it."
Yuji Itadori agreed without any objections: "Who goes first?"
"I'll go first." Takagi stood in front of the white line, easily picked up the shot put, and assumed the most standard posture. At this moment, he felt as if he had returned to his peak. Takagi felt his condition was exceptionally good for the first time in a long while. After winding up, the shot put in his hand drew a perfect arc in the air and heavily landed in the sand pit in the distance.
"Fourteen meters!"
The person measuring reported the data, causing another round of exclamations: "Takagi still has it! Itadori! Go for it!"
Takagi wasn't smug. With his arms crossed, a faint smile was on his face. As he watched Itadori, who didn't know shot put, throw the shot put forward using a baseball throwing technique, he silently said in his heart: "Sorry, comparing strength with a sprinter like you… but you understand my determination, right, Itadori? Your talent should have a greater…"
"Thud!"
A clear thud startled Takagi. Then, looking over, he, like the other spectators, opened his eyes and mouth wider than ever before. The shot put thrown by Yuji Itadori was now embedded in the iron post of the goal at the end of the sand pit, and this was about thirty meters from the goal!
"That's ridiculous. Can he do that with his bare hands without Cursed Energy?"
Kamihara Hajime and Megumi Fushiguro stood on the playground, commenting on this scene. Unable to find Sukuna's finger at the originally confirmed location, they followed the faint Cursed Energy scent and searched for it in this high school, then witnessed this scene.
Megumi Fushiguro also showed surprise: "He's quite strong, a bit like Maki-senpai."
Kamihara Hajime chuckled at this: "Are you saying Maki is a strongwoman? I'll tell her when we get back."
Megumi Fushiguro rolled his eyes at Kamihara Hajime, then turned and motioned to the Jade Hounds nearby to continue searching: "Boring. Let's find the Cursed Object quickly. It's almost dark."
Over there, Yuji Itadori seemed to have something to do after the competition. After bidding farewell to the others, he ran towards the school gate like a gust of wind. The moment he brushed past Megumi Fushiguro, the sudden, close-by Cursed Energy made Megumi Fushiguro's hairs stand on end.
"Wait—"
Megumi Fushiguro had just turned his head when he saw that the figure was already just a retreating back. He couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "That fast? He must be a car in disguise."
Then he looked at Kamihara Hajime beside him, who spread his hands: "Didn't you say this mission was mainly for you?" Megumi Fushiguro sighed, turned around, and prepared to inquire about that person's situation and find him quickly. No wonder the Jade Hounds wanted to bring them here; they must have sensed some aura.
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