"Unseal? Then I won't hold back either."
"Don't think you'll succeed!"
Hanami spread its arms. The ground behind it began to wildly sprout countless giant roots. Hundreds, thousands of thick tree roots burst from the earth simultaneously—densely packed together, almost blotting out the sky and sun.
It raised its hand and made a grabbing motion toward Todo and Yuji. The tree roots immediately gathered together, forming sharp, piercing shapes.
This muscular man's technique should be swapping positions with others. In that case...
I just need to include everything around me in my attack range!
Hanami thought to itself.
Aoi Todo frowned. Against such a large-scale technique, his Boogie Woogie couldn't make any effective evasions.
"Brother! Let's retreat!"
"No, Todo."
Yuji shook his head.
"...?"
"Although my Blood Manipulation can convert cursed energy into blood—solving the user's blood shortage problem—blindly converting a massive amount of cursed energy into fresh blood is a thankless task. Not only does it require dividing my attention to manipulate it during battle, but it also consumes even more cursed energy."
"So I usually only do this when I decide on a one-hit kill."
"You mean...?"
Aoi Todo vaguely understood Yuji's meaning.
"Look over there, Todo."
Yuji raised his hand, pointing to the end of the riverbank.
"Die!"
The endless tree roots forming spikes covered the sky above their heads like a waterfall. Aoi Todo sensed the approaching danger—but willing to trust his brother, he looked in the direction Yuji pointed. At the end of the riverbank, he saw a white-haired boy running toward them.
"Tuna mayo!"
"Inumaki?"
Aoi Todo was surprised, but he and Yuji both understandingly raised their hands to cover their ears. At the same time, Toge Inumaki pulled down his collar and shouted loudly in their direction:
"Don't move!"
Hanami's movements stopped.
Those overwhelming tree root spikes came to an abrupt halt less than a meter above Yuji and Todo's heads. The thick wood fibers trembled violently from the sudden stop.
"...?!"
Hanami widened its eyes.
...Cursed Speech?!
"Salmon!"
Toge Inumaki's hoarse voice came again. For Yuji Itadori, buying a little time was enough. At the same time, Aoi Todo understandingly raised his hand to swap—
CLAP!
Boogie Woogie had no cooldown and no casting delay. It only required completing the action of "clapping" to activate the forced swapping technique.
Aoi Todo and Hanami swapped positions.
Hanami didn't even have time to react. The world before its eyes turned upside down—it was thrown directly from the center of the sea of trees to Yuji Itadori's side.
"You—!"
Hanami's voice carried shock and anger.
I'll just sneak attack it to death!
The corners of Yuji's mouth curled up. The blood orbs floating beside him flew toward Hanami along with his movements. However, this time the goal wasn't to attack—but to stick to Hanami's body from all directions like iron filings attracted to a magnet.
Chest, abdomen, back, shoulders, limbs... Every single blood orb accurately adhered to Hanami's body surface.
Toge Inumaki's Cursed Speech was still in effect.
Yuji unhurriedly placed his palm on Hanami's chest.
Reverse Cursed Technique. A master skill that only a very few people in this world could grasp. Its function was to convert cursed energy—which originally represented negative energy—into positive energy and output it.
Hanami's defense was extremely strong. Significantly stronger than Mahito, whom Yuji had encountered previously. For him now, he would probably need to land eight or even more Black Flashes to kill it.
However, besides physical attacks, there was another way to quickly exorcise a curse.
A curse's body is composed of cursed energy. Once it comes into contact with positive energy like the Reverse Cursed Technique, its body will disintegrate.
However, outputting the Reverse Cursed Technique externally required a certain amount of time. In a head-on confrontation, he would hardly have any chance to grasp it.
"Beep beep beep, beep beep beep—"
During the journey here earlier, Yuji had received a call from Panda.
"Itadori, are you okay?"
"Panda-senpai? I'm fine."
"I'm with Kugisaki and Inumaki right now. Besides that, there are two people from the Kyoto school. Inumaki was originally arranged by us to go deep into the forest to exorcise curses, but he came back halfway—saying he saw a completely white Special Grade curse from afar."
"...I know. How's your situation?" Yuji replied.
"Kugisaki and I are both injured, but Inumaki is in good condition."
"Okay, then..."
Yuji placed his palm on Hanami's chest.
The pale white exoskeleton was rough yet hard—feeling like touching the bark of a millennium-old tree.
"I once thought about a question. I was wondering—is everyone in this world worth saving?"
"When Junpei was bullied, I wanted to save him. When Nanami-san was heavily injured by Mahito, I wanted to save him. When Maki-senpai was looked down upon by the Zenin Clan, I also wanted to help her."
Yuji was confident in exorcising Hanami. He spoke calmly.
"Before my grandfather died, he told me that because I'm strong, I should save others. Save as many as I can. Back then, I always kept those words in my heart."
"So sometimes I would also think—can't curses be saved too?"
"But Mahito made me realize that curses are not worth saving."
"You are born from humanity's negative emotions. Fear, anger, sorrow, resentment. Your very existence is the materialization of human suffering. You don't need to eat. You don't need to breathe. You don't need anything humans rely on to survive. The only thing you need is human suffering."
"So you are the complete opposite of humans."
Therefore, Yuji later figured it out. He couldn't make curses good—he could only try to stop curses from being born.
Yuji Itadori was an extremely kind and soft-hearted person. In his past life, he was unwilling to kill humans. He was the same now. Only when he had to kill would he resort to such extreme methods. But—
"For you guys, I won't have any pity."
After Yuji finished speaking, he poured the positive energy in his body from his palm into Hanami's body. To humans, it was a panacea that cured all pain. But to curses born from death and suffering, it was a natural enemy more fatal than any deadly poison.
At the same time—
"Supernova."
Countless tiny blood beads shot out from the blood orbs—but they didn't scatter outward. They were all driven into Hanami's body.
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!!!
Muffled explosions came from within Hanami's body. The blood beads pierced its body, leaving countless tiny bullet holes on its surface. Body fluids and wood chips gushed out from every bullet hole. Hanami's body instantly turned into a sieve.
Not done yet.
"Reverse Cursed Technique: Maximum Output."
SQUISH—!
Half of Hanami's body began to swell like a water balloon.
The Reverse Cursed Technique energy poured wildly into its body with Yuji's palm as the center. The violent energy completely destroyed the cells in Hanami's body. In less than a second, the energy exceeded the limit its shell could contain—
BOOM—!!!
Half of Hanami's body exploded violently. From its entire right arm to half of its torso—even its head wasn't spared, half of it sheared off by the violent energy—
Thud—
The curse fell to the ground at the sound.
Hanami's right half of its torso had completely disappeared. The cut was neat. However, the vitality of a curse is much more tenacious than a human's—so it didn't die completely.
Yuji looked down at Hanami from above. The latter looked at him with its only remaining half-eye covered by branches.
"...You're right... We... are the opposite of... humans..."
"But... so... what?"
"We are born from... humanity's fear... We ourselves... are a part of nature..."
"Just like... forests will burn... the earth will shake... rivers will dry up..."
"We... are just fulfilling... our... mission..."
"...?"
Yuji was puzzled.
"Is your mission to kill humans?"
"...Humans... aren't they... creatures that constantly hurt each other?"
Hanami asked in return.
"You humans... for land... for resources... for faith... for those illusory reasons... how many of your own kind have you killed?"
"We curses... are born from humanity's negative emotions... us killing humans... is just... fulfilling the mission... given to us... by humans..."
"If one day... humans no longer hate each other... no longer hurt each other... no longer create suffering..."
"We... will naturally... disappear..."
"But until then... we will continue to exist..."
Hanami's voice was extremely weak—as if it would completely breathe its last in the next second.
"I'm not the only curse... doing this..."
Hanami paused. The corners of its mouth suddenly curled into a smile.
"My companion... will finish what's next... You will eventually die... Yuji Itadori..."
The moment Hanami's voice fell, the three people present felt a strong fluctuation of cursed energy coming from not far away!
Yuji's pupils shrank violently.
He and the other two quickly turned around, looking in the direction the cursed energy came from.
No.
Did Kenjaku send other cursed spirits? In the exchange event of his past life, the only cursed spirit he'd seen was Hanami. Until Gojo-sensei broke the Curtain, he didn't see a second Special Grade curse.
Mahito should be depressed right now, so it wasn't him. Dagon or Jogo?
This cursed energy...
"Another one is coming." Aoi Todo's expression was grave.
"Salmon."
Toge Inumaki also looked up. The white-haired boy pulled down his collar, ready to use Cursed Speech at any moment.
The three assumed fighting stances.
At this moment! A figure rushed out from the woods!
Blonde hair plastered messily to his face. Black haori hanging in tatters on his body, revealing the bruised and battered skin underneath. A trail of un-wiped blood hung from the corner of his mouth. He looked as miserable as a drowned rat pulled from the water.
But his eyes were different! The narrow eyes burned with almost maddening anger—like a beast pushed to the brink. Even though he was covered in injuries, he still bared his fangs to let out a final roar at the hunter!
Naoya Zenin!
The genius of the Zenin Clan! The rising star! The next head of the Zenin Clan! User of Projection Sorcery! The legendary massage master! Top ten Grade 1 jujutsu sorcerers of 2008! Toji Fushiguro's most steadfast supporter! The man who dreamed of standing shoulder to shoulder with Satoru Gojo!
"..."
Damn. Who pulled this guy out.
Yuji's expression went from grave to confused, from confused to sudden realization, and from sudden realization to a look somewhere between "Who the fuck did I think it was" and "You again."
He opened his palm. The blood orb dispersed with a splat.
"...Naoya Zenin. This guy hasn't been carried away yet?"
The corners of Aoi Todo's mouth twitched twice.
"Bonito flakes..."
Toge Inumaki silently pulled his collar back up.
The three looked at the blonde man not far away—covered in injuries, clearly panting heavily, yet still putting on an "I can fight ten of you" stance.
Aoi Todo suddenly felt a bit of pity.
Not pity for Naoya Zenin. But pity for the moment he got serious just now.
"Yuji Itadori—!"
Naoya Zenin shouted hysterically.
"I was far from using my full strength! You despicable coward! You actually dared to trick me!"
"..."
Yuji's expression was complicated.
He had indeed held back when he hit Naoya Zenin just now. Naoya Zenin was the legitimate son of the Zenin Clan. If he really beat Naoya to death here, what awaited him would be the crazy revenge of the entire Zenin Clan.
Currently, the Zenin Clan hadn't fallen into chaos like during the Culling Game. The clan head, Naobito Zenin, was still alive. Under that old man's control, although the Zenin Clan was full of internal conflicts, it could at least maintain superficial stability.
Naoya, giving face to his father, naturally wouldn't dare to act recklessly.
The bad things this guy did truly didn't warrant death. At most, he liked to bully others—so Yuji spared his life. When there was a chance in the future, he would kill Naoya Zenin then.
Although Yuji held back, Naoya's strength was indeed not bad. To be able to stand up after taking two Black Flashes head-on.
But Yuji clearly underestimated one thing: Naoya Zenin's pride.
For this young master of the Zenin Clan—who grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth—being knocked out in two punches by a freshman who'd been enrolled for less than a week was something more unbearable than killing him. So the first thing he did after waking up wasn't going to the infirmary for treatment, but dragging his battered body, following the residual cursed energy Yuji left behind, and chasing him all the way here.
He wanted to prove—prove that Yuji only won by "tricking" him. Prove that he was the strong one who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Toji Fushiguro.
"I don't accept this!"
"Those two punches of yours weren't a head-on victory at all! You relied on tricks! You relied on sneak attacks!"
"Um... Naoya-senpai."
Yuji scratched his head.
"Why don't you go back and rest first? Your injuries haven't healed. If you keep this up, you'll have lingering effects."
"Cut the crap!" Naoya Zenin roared. "I don't need your pity! I want to fight you again! Fair and square! No tricks allowed!"
"..."
"Hey, you called Naoya—you can't even beat me, and you want to fight my brother?"
Aoi Todo rolled his eyes at Naoya.
"You?! You gorilla-looking guy, I've disliked you for a long time!"
"Watch me take you all down at once!"
Naoya said, about to charge at the three.
Seeing him like this, Yuji felt incredibly helpless.
But at this moment, a wicked idea suddenly popped into the pink-haired boy's mind.
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly. Then he leaned close to Toge Inumaki's ear and whispered a few words.
"..."
Toge Inumaki's eyes widened more and more. Hearing this, he turned to look at Yuji, then shook his head.
"...Bonito flakes. Mentaiko."
"Please, Inumaki-senpai. This is the most convenient way. We can't just knock him out, right? If we do, we'll have another burden to carry."
Yuji put his hands together, pleading.
A hint of hesitation showed in Toge Inumaki's eyes—but he finally nodded. "Salmon."
"Todo, quickly cover your ears! I don't want to be affected by this Cursed Speech."
Yuji quickly reminded. Todo obediently covered his ears.
Toge Inumaki pulled open his collar, looked at Naoya Zenin charging toward them, and took a deep breath—
"Pee your pants—!!!"
When these three words clearly reached Naoya Zenin's ears, the blonde playboy finally woke up to reality.
Naoya's pupils shrank violently.
"?!"
He quickly stopped in his tracks, then subconsciously clamped his legs together.
"Wait, stop—!"
Feeling his uncontrollable bladder, fear entered his voice for the first time.
"Yamero—!"
The effect of Cursed Speech began to take hold.
Naoya Zenin's body trembled uncontrollably. His face turned bright red.
He ultimately couldn't resist the mandatory effect of Cursed Speech. A stream of warm liquid flowed down his inner thigh, wetting his pants, and forming a small puddle on the cobblestones of the riverbank.
The air froze instantly.
"..."
Yuji puffed his cheeks, holding it in.
Aoi Todo couldn't hold it in.
"Pfft—"
The 1.9-meter-tall burly man clutched his stomach and squatted on the ground.
"Hahahahahaha—! You... you actually—hahahahaha—!"
"..."
Naoya Zenin stood in place. Neither sad nor happy. Just a sense of bewilderment.
But it wasn't because he wasn't angry—it was because he had surpassed the limit of anger, entering a brand new realm called "social death."
His lips trembled. His fists clenched.
"Yuji—Itadori—!!!"
"You guys wait for me! I will be back!!!"
Naoya Zenin's roar echoed in the forest. Projection Sorcery activated rapidly! His figure turned into an afterimage, disappearing deep into the forest at a speed even faster than when he arrived!
Leaving only that small reflecting puddle on the ground to prove he had indeed been there.
Yuji finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Pfft—hahahahaha! Inumaki-senpai, you're too ruthless."
"Salmon salmon (I figured it out)!"
Toge Inumaki put his hands on his hips, puffing out his chest proudly.
"Tuna mayo (For this kind of person who cares so much about face, you have to use strong medicine)!"
"I've been at Jujutsu High for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen an attack method more cruel than Black Flash."
Aoi Todo commented.
"Who told him to be a scumbag."
Yuji shrugged with a relaxed expression, then glanced at Hanami—which had completely lost its life and was lying to the side.
It's over.
"Scumbags have to get their comeuppance. When he was bullying Maki-senpai, did he ever think he would end up like this?"
"Alright, let's go. This curse seems to be dead. There might be other curse users hiding nearby. Let's go meet up with the other students first."
Aoi Todo suggested.
"Salmon salmon."
"Okay, let's go."
Yuji nodded. The setting sun sank below the ridge line. The three walked toward the sunlight above their heads—
However, before they could take a few steps.
A hoarse voice suddenly came from behind Yuji.
"Hanami, you've worked hard. Leave the rest to me."
"...?"
Yuji's steps froze. He turned his head and found a short, volcano-headed cursed spirit crouching beside Hanami, its palm slowly rubbing its companion's remaining half-chest.
Jogo turned its head, stood up, and its single eye swept over the three people present.
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