June, 2018.
The bullet he had personally fired back then had, after half a year, finally struck its target—right between the eyebrows.
At this moment, White Zetsu felt that same surreal sense of disorientation.
"White Zetsu, stop spacing out. This guy's a first-year who just transferred into Jujutsu High."
With his black spiky hair, Megumi Fushiguro introduced him expressionlessly.
"…Hey."
White Zetsu shook Yuji Itadori's hand without much interest.
Just thinking about the looks on Maki and the others' faces after they returned from missions made him feel like dropping out of school altogether.
At the other end of the hallway, Gojo Satoru clapped his hands and smiled.
"Alright, now that everyone in the same year has met—"
"Megumi and White Zetsu, take Yuji around the school today. Tomorrow, we'll go welcome the fourth first-year together."
"Hey!"
White Zetsu glared at the white-haired man.
"Gojo, I don't need to go, right?"
"Why should I personally welcome some brat? Who does she think she is?"
"And besides, Mirai is the teacher for Class 2, right? Why do you keep assigning me work?"
"Fushiguro—"
Yuji covered his mouth and whispered,
"Does this guy have some kind of contagious disease?"
"He's so white he's practically glowing—shouldn't we send him to the hospital?"
"Hey, pink-haired gorilla."
White Zetsu turned toward them at the doorway.
"Talking behind my back like that—are you asking to die?!"
Yuji blinked his wide, round eyes and looked around before hesitantly pointing at himself.
"Pink-haired… gorilla?"
White Zetsu nodded firmly.
"You're the only one with pink hair here—who else would I be talking about?"
"…Gorilla?"
Gojo rubbed his chin, nodding in agreement.
"With Yuji's physical ability, calling him a gorilla actually fits pretty well."
Then he turned to White Zetsu with a grin.
"How about you just transfer to our class instead?"
"That guy dumped you in our class half a year ago—he's probably forgotten about you by now~"
White Zetsu waved dismissively.
"That bastard may be even more irresponsible than you…"
"But out here, I value loyalty!"
"He can be unkind, but I won't be disloyal!"
Gojo shrugged.
"I actually like your personality. I just don't get why you insist on following that fake-smiling guy."
White Zetsu declared confidently:
"When you're out here—"
"Alright, alright~"
Gojo turned and walked away, waving behind him.
"Just remember to come tomorrow."
"Otherwise, you'll find out how harsh things can get out here."
"That white-haired freak!"
White Zetsu gritted his teeth.
"Always threatening me—he's got some nerve!"
Megumi looked at the furious White Zetsu and shook his head helplessly.
Even if this guy were exorcised into ashes, his mouth would probably still be running.
A true case of "the spirit dies, but the mouth lives on."
Passing through the wide, grassy training field, White Zetsu led the two straight toward a standalone house.
Behind him, Megumi explained the school's layout to Yuji while also describing White Zetsu's unusual nature.
"No way?!"
Yuji pointed at White Zetsu in disbelief.
"You're saying that clown-face guy is actually a cursed spirit?!"
"He's completely different from the curse we saw at school last night!"
"You guys talk to him so naturally—I thought he was just a human with weird hobbies!"
When White Zetsu took over this body, the wound near his mouth from swallowing a blade had never fully healed.
That was why Yuji called him "clown face."
Megumi's expression changed, and he quickly tugged on Yuji's sleeve.
"Could you keep your voice down?"
"Pink-haired gorilla—take this!"
As expected, White Zetsu heard the comment and immediately turned around with a full-force punch!
Bang!
The strength was about that of an adult man—maybe just a little more.
With Yuji's physical toughness—known as the "Tiger of West Junior High"—it only caused a slight numbness and mild pain.
Yuji stared blankly at the fist pressed against his chest, blinking in confusion.
White Zetsu held his punching pose, head lowered, saying nothing.
One second. Two seconds…
Until Megumi appeared across from them, gesturing wildly and mouthing words.
Yuji seemed to understand.
"Ahh!!"
"It hurts! It hurts so much!"
Clutching his chest, Yuji stiffly fell onto the grass and began writhing dramatically.
"Hmph! Consider this a lesson!"
"If you dare talk behind my back again, one punch might take your life!"
After saying that, White Zetsu turned around, leaving behind the lonely silhouette of a "true master."
At the front of the house, White Zetsu told the two to wait and went inside alone.
"Even though White Zetsu is a cursed spirit, he's never harmed humans. And he actually gets along pretty well with the sorcerers at Jujutsu High."
"It's just that his personality is… a tiny bit…"
"Stubborn? Show-off? Loves bragging?" Yuji whispered.
Seeing Megumi nod, Yuji murmured:
"No wonder Gojo-sensei likes him—they're kind of similar."
"Last night, Gojo-sensei even told me he's the strongest human on Earth."
"So that was a joke, huh!"
Megumi twitched at the corner of his mouth and didn't bother correcting him.
In terms of having terrible personalities… those two really were alike.
But this house in front of them…
He'd heard Gojo mention it a few times—it belonged to a dangerous individual who always wore a fake smile.
The head of the Zenin clan, Maki's older brother… and also White Zetsu's true teacher.
Most importantly—just like him, that person was a sorcerer who wielded the Ten Shadows Technique.
Yet in nearly half a year since enrolling, Megumi had never once met him.
Inside the living room, White Zetsu looked at Mirai, who was curled up on the sofa reading, and complained:
"Hey, Mirai, don't you ever get bored?"
"You've been stuck at home studying those stupid books every day—you still haven't finished them after half a year?"
"Knowledge refined over nearly a thousand years—finishing it in half a year would already be impressive."
Mirai put down his book, his crimson eyes drifting toward the front door.
His indifferent gaze seemed to pierce through space, landing directly on the two boys whispering outside.
After a moment, he turned back to White Zetsu.
"Alright, what is it this time?"
"Heh."
White Zetsu grinned, and a caterpillar-like creature crawled out from his collar, opening its mouth to spit out two cursed tools.
One was a robe identical to the one White Zetsu was currently wearing.
The other—a pink revolver.
"Recharge them. That white-haired bastard Gojo is forcing me out on missions again."
White Zetsu tossed the revolver to Mirai while casually changing clothes on the spot.
Over the past six months, he hadn't just stayed at Jujutsu High—he had gone on missions with Maki, Inumaki, and the others.
Of course, what he relied on most was the uniform he wore, capable of resisting Grade 2 cursed spirits.
And that pink revolver, which once belonged to Mai.
Spirit and gun—White Zetsu had used them plenty to show off in front of Maki and the others.
Until Gojo banned him from doing so…
After that, he was assigned to protect the assistant supervisors—basically staying in the car on lookout duty.
After a while,
Mirai tossed the revolver back to White Zetsu and said calmly:
"By the time you return from this mission, I'll probably have finished my research."
"What do you mean?"
White Zetsu caught the revolver, his eyes full of anticipation.
"Is the plan finally starting?"
Seeing him grow excited, Mirai smiled faintly.
"Enjoy these last few months at Jujutsu High."
"Have some fun."