On the forest path, Eiji and the White Divine Dog were running at full speed, while in the sky above them, an owl with a bone-like face was relentlessly attacking them.
Whoosh.
The Nue closed its wings and shot towards Eiji like an arrow loosed from a bow.
"Woof woof!"
The Divine Dog, which had been closely monitoring the Nue's movements, immediately issued a warning.
Hearing this, Eiji immediately executed a clumsy roll, dodging behind a nearby tree and successfully evading the Nue's pounce.
Seeing the Nue approach the ground, the Divine Dog: White immediately lunged forward, attempting to force it down. Unfortunately, the Nue was prepared and repelled the Divine Dog: White with several bolts of lightning.
"What a shame."
Seeing that White had failed to bring down the Nue, Eiji didn't linger. Using the cover of the forest, he continued to advance towards his destination.
He was met with a barrage of lightning attacks from the Nue.
As the lightning continued to fall, a question suddenly popped into Eiji's mind: why is it that on rainy days, hiding under a tree makes you more likely to be struck by lightning?
Soon, Eiji was forced back onto the forest path by a series of lightning strikes, and the situation returned to how it was at the beginning.
"Phew, finally here."
Seeing the clearing ahead, its ground covered in weeds, Eiji finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This short hundred-meter distance was the most exhausting he had ever run.
Thump.
As if tripped by something, Eiji stumbled and fell onto the dry weeds. The Nue, which had been searching for an opportunity in the sky, immediately swooped down towards Eiji.
A split second before the Nue's sharp claws could grab Eiji, White rushed in from the side, knocking Eiji away before instantly dissolving into a pool of shadow and merging with the ground.
"This is it!"
The Divine Dog: Black, who had been waiting nearby, immediately bit through the ropes securing the trap. A large net emerged from beneath the weeds, ensnaring the Nue as it struggled to spread its wings and fly back into the sky.
As the net rose, a silver Chess Piece was also lifted into the air.
It was a Chess Piece with only an upper body, horns on its head like a beast, and a golden hue.
Strike while the iron is hot.
"Summoned Spirit · Divine Dog, Imaginary Summon · Berserker!"
The Divine Dog: White, which had been de-summoned earlier to dodge attacks, reappeared. Black and White together bit down hard on the Nue's wings.
The Nue unleashed its lightning with all its might, trying to break free from the Divine Dogs' binding, but before the Divine Dogs could be overcome, a large hand suddenly appeared, grabbed the Nue's claws, and smashed it fiercely onto the ground.
It was a figure entirely covered in shadow, exuding an ominous aura.
Imaginary Summon, Shadow Servant Berserker.
This was the method Eiji had researched and developed using the Holy Grail left to him by the system during this time.
The Holy Grail left by the system contained Chess Pieces corresponding to the seven Classes. These seven Chess Pieces were the cores for summoning Imaginary Heroic Spirits once enough Phantasm Force was gathered in the future, serving the role of the Heroic Spirit Cores in the original Heroic Spirit Summoning.
However, Eiji had not yet gathered enough Illusionary Power, so he couldn't summon Heroic Spirits.
But after thoroughly studying the information about the Holy Grail left by the system, Eiji had a bold idea.
Could he summon the mass-produced Shadow Servants from the original work by using the Cursed Energy flow of the Ten Shadows Technique to activate the Heroic Spirit Chess Pieces for summoning?
The Ten Shadows Technique was a Cursed Technique for summoning shadow summoned spirits.
Heroic Spirit Summoning was also categorized as a Cursed Technique for summoning familiars/summoned spirits.
Therefore, using the Ten Shadows Technique with the Heroic Spirit Chess Pieces as a medium to summon Shadow Servants seemed feasible.
After many attempts, Eiji successfully summoned a Shadow Servant.
Unlike the Divine Dogs, which remained within Eiji's shadow after being summoned, Shadow Servants would disappear immediately after de-summoning, leaving only the Chess Piece behind.
Each time a Shadow Servant was summoned, the Chess Piece had to be taken out and used for summoning again.
Furthermore, Eiji discovered another use for the Chess Pieces.
These seven Chess Pieces seemed to have been modified by the system into Cursed Tools.
When the Divine Dogs consumed a Chess Piece, they would receive corresponding enhancements.
For example, Black, having consumed the Assassin Chess Piece, had its stealth and attack power enhanced, making it even more lethal.
This was also why the Nue had not detected Black before its action.
White, having consumed the Cavalry Chess Piece, gained enhanced mobility and endurance.
"Finish it off in one go!"
Seeing the Nue knocked to the ground, Eiji unleashed his full Cursed Energy without reservation, strengthening the Divine Dogs and the Shadow Servant.
In the next moment, countless attacks rained down upon the Nue.
In just a few seconds, the Nue gave up resisting and dissolved into a pool of shadow, merging into Eiji's shadow.
"Phew, it's finally successful."
Eiji happily wiped the sweat from his brow. After dismissing the Shadow Servant, he rode the White Divine Dog back to his small courtyard.
A white figure was waiting there.
"Satoru, you're here?"
Eiji wasn't surprised. Satoru Gojo had visited several times since he'd moved into this courtyard, and their relationship was quite good.
While Satoru Gojo was already showing signs of his future self, his personality hadn't yet reached the absurd level seen in the story.
And before he became "2.5 Satoru," Satoru Gojo was quite reliable.
Even after arriving in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, Eiji found the future plot developments ridiculous whenever he thought about them.
Shouldn't a hero challenging a demon king involve the hero meticulously figuring out the demon king's abilities and then defeating him with all their might?
Why did it turn out that Sukuna, the demon king, had already figured out all of the hero Satoru Gojo's abilities beforehand, and then inexplicably cut Satoru Gojo down to "2.5 Satoru"?
Even if you wanted Satoru Gojo to fail, that would be acceptable. Failing for the sake of his students or being tricked by Kenjaku would have been fine.
He shouts that he won one second, and the next he's having a life-review montage?
And afterwards, without even a moment to mourn Satoru Gojo becoming "2.5 Satoru," Kashimo immediately arrived on the battlefield.
Without even a moment to mourn Kashimo's death, the genius acknowledged by Sukuna, Hajime Kashimo, immediately arrived on the battlefield.
Without even a moment to mourn Hajime Kashimo's death, Yuta Okkotsu, who had just finished watching a comedy show, immediately arrived on the battlefield.
Without even a moment to mourn Yuta Okkotsu being bisected, the Second Generation Calamity of Heaven, Maki Zenin, immediately arrived on the battlefield.
Wait, Yuta Okkotsu was just cut, it's not certain he was turned into "2.5 Satoru" like Satoru Gojo.
"Why have you been staring at me?"
"You're good-looking."
"Isn't that obvious?"
"..."
Eiji's thoughts fell silent.
"Were you just taming a Summoned Spirit?"
"Yeah, a big bird that can fly. I plan to travel with it later."
What boy didn't have a dream of being like the Condor Heroes when he was young?
"Interesting, summon it so I can see."
"Nue."
Eiji didn't refuse. He formed hand seals, and then a human-sized owl, the Nue, appeared between them.
His recently recovered Cursed Energy rapidly decreased, but Eiji didn't mind, as he also wanted to see it.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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