Early Bonus!
Very long chapter.
Next Target, 600PS!
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When ordinary people are exposed to Cursed Spirits for extended periods, their bodies can't withstand the overwhelming, corrosive effects of Cursed Energy.
They will continuously suffer from the erosion caused by this negative aura.
In the short term, the effects are relatively mild—perhaps falling sick, catching a bad cold, or experiencing chronic fatigue.
But over a long period, the body will undergo severe, irreversible deterioration. Take Kiyotsugu Togawa, for example. On the surface, he merely looked slightly exhausted and pale. But in reality, his life force had already been drained—he was like a literal oil lamp right on the verge of burning out.
Even if he managed to survive the immediate aftermath, he probably wouldn't live for more than another year or two.
"..."
He's going to die soon?
Hearing Kai's blunt diagnosis, Sakiko Togawa stared blankly ahead, her mind reeling.
Hearing that her own father was going to die so soon, it was impossible for Sakiko's heart not to experience at least a slight tremor of genuine emotion.
At the end of the day, he was still her father...
However, he had disappointed her entirely too many times. She didn't even have any tears left to shed for him.
"Perhaps... this is exactly what fate had in store for him."
Finally, after letting out a heavy, weary sigh, Sakiko simply shook her head and didn't say another word on the matter.
"KAI-KUN, I WANT TO GO HOME. I WANT TO GO BACK TO OUR HOME."
Sakiko suddenly looked up at him. The gaze she directed at Kai carried an unprecedented level of fragility.
"Alright."
He nodded.
He effortlessly grabbed Kiyotsugu Togawa off the ground, tossing him over his shoulder. With his other hand, he firmly grasped Sakiko's hand and led her straight out of the dilapidated mansion.
Sakiko obediently leaned against Kai's side, not uttering a single word the entire way back.
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"Hmm?"
The very second they stepped out of the mansion's rusted gates...
Sensing something unusual, Kai suddenly stopped and tilted his head up, staring intently at the night sky.
"What is it?"
Noticing his sudden pause, Sakiko curiously followed his gaze, looking up at the sky as well. But she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.
She could only look back at Kai in pure confusion.
"It's nothing."
Kai smiled and shook his head dismissively.
Given that it was the dead of night, an ordinary person's vision obviously wouldn't be able to detect it. But with his significantly enhanced perception, Kai could clearly see that for a brief, fleeting moment, the entire sky above them had grown noticeably darker.
It was exactly as if a massive, pitch-black dome had suddenly dropped down to cover the area, only to vanish just as quickly.
That... was a 'Curtain', wasn't it?
It was a specific barrier technique utilized exclusively by the Jujutsu society. It was designed to temporarily isolate a designated area, rendering it completely invisible and inaccessible to ordinary civilians. Jujutsu Sorcerers primarily used them to avoid causing mass panic or accidentally catching innocent bystanders in the crossfire during their violent battles against Cursed Spirits.
There was nothing particularly extraordinary about the barrier itself. In Kai's eyes, aside from keeping civilians out or slightly suppressing extremely low-level sorcerers, a Curtain didn't have much practical combat utility.
However, the very existence of this barrier proved one crucial point—there were indeed other Jujutsu Sorcerers active in this world.
Or, to put it more accurately... this multiverse anime reality officially included the brutal world of Jujutsu Kaisen.
Well now, this changes things. This is going to be interesting.
"I just noticed something slightly interesting, but it's really no big deal. Let's go. Let's head home!"
However, Kai didn't voice his realization. Since Sakiko wasn't a Jujutsu Sorcerer, explaining the complex and dangerous politics of Jujutsu society would be pointless—and would only cause her unnecessary anxiety.
So, he simply smiled and brushed it off.
"Mhm!"
Sakiko likely sensed that Kai was actively keeping something from her.
However, she truly didn't care. As long as Kai stood beside her, that alone was more than enough.
She offered a soft hum of agreement and obediently followed close to his side.
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Not long after Kai and Sakiko left the area, several distinct figures simultaneously arrived at the scene.
Among them stood a striking girl, effortlessly resting a massive Naginata over her shoulder, radiating fierce, unshakable confidence.
Walking beside her was a quiet young man, the lower half of his face hidden behind the high, zipped collar of his uniform.
Trailing behind the pair was a massive, literal panda standing over two meters tall. Any ordinary civilian who stumbled across him would be terrified out of their wits—he looked nothing like the cute, clumsy pandas you'd see in a zoo.
"Ugh! I seriously don't understand why they had to drag us all the way out here in the middle of the night just to exorcise some random Cursed Spirit."
Bringing up the rear, Panda let out a massive yawn, his face etched with impatience and exhaustion.
Maki Zen'in's expression remained unfazed. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and replied in a cold, matter-of-fact tone.
"It's understandable. The Cursed Spirits manifesting lately have become increasingly erratic and abnormal. Even Gojo-sensei barely has any free time to actually stay at Jujutsu High these days."
"That's a fair point."
Panda couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"Everything was normal before, but for some inexplicable reason, all the newly manifested Cursed Spirits can now be seen by ordinary civilians. Under direct orders from Jujutsu High, and to prevent the situation from escalating into mass panic, we have no choice but to aggressively exorcise every single one we encounter."
"Sigh… At this rate, our downtime's going to shrink to nothing."
Panda let out another weary, heartfelt sigh.
"If you want to rest that badly, you can rest for all eternity once you're dead."
"Only through constant, relentless combat can I actually grow stronger."
Unlike Panda, Maki Zen'in's gaze burned with unwavering hunger for strength. As long as she could grow stronger, nothing else mattered...
As for why the Cursed Spirits were suddenly mutating, or what kind of devastating impact they might have on ordinary human society... Maki honestly didn't care in the slightest. Those were massive, geopolitical headaches for the corrupt higher-ups of the Jujutsu society to stress over. She certainly wasn't going to waste her energy caring about it.
"You really do have endless energy, no matter the time of day, Maki! Isn't that right, Toge?"
Seeing Maki so motivated, Panda felt even more helpless.
He turned to look at Toge Inumaki walking beside him.
"Salmon!"
Toge nodded in agreement.
Due to the destructive nature of his innate Cursed Speech technique, Toge was unable to converse normally with others. Instead, he communicated using a limited vocabulary of rice ball ingredients to safely express his thoughts.
For example, "Salmon" specifically meant he agreed.
Grasping her Naginata tightly, Maki Zen'in took the lead and marched straight toward the dilapidated mansion.
However, upon noticing something unusual, she abruptly came to a halt.
"Hmm??"
Trailing closely behind her, Panda and Toge clearly noticed the anomaly as well. They immediately stopped walking, their gazes turning sharp and serious as they scanned the area.
"What is this? Did someone else already exorcise the Cursed Spirit here?"
"That's impossible. Jujutsu High assigned this exorcism mission to us the moment it appeared. There's no way another official sorcerer could've beaten us here."
Maki instantly shot down the theory.
She tightly furrowed her brows in deep analysis.
"Unless… it was the work of a Curse User. Or perhaps… a completely unregistered sorcerer!"
So-called Curse Users were essentially rogue sorcerers who openly disregarded the laws and regulations of Jujutsu society, acting solely on their own twisted desires. As long as the price was right, they were willing to commit any atrocity.
As for wild, unregistered Jujutsu Sorcerers… their existence wasn't unheard of either. After all, there was no universal rule stating that sorcerers could only be born from established bloodlines—it was simply far more likely.
It was entirely possible for an ordinary, non-sorcerer family to suddenly have a child born with Cursed Energy.
While the statistical probability was extremely low, history had proven time and again that such spontaneous awakenings did occur.
"Well, well, well… now this is getting interesting. If it really is a wild, unregistered sorcerer running around, Gojo-sensei's going to be thrilled."
After all, Satoru Gojo had been unusually active lately, aggressively scouting and recruiting untamed talent into Jujutsu High.
"Salmon! Salmon!"
Toge nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
They all knew exactly how Satoru Gojo operated.
He was undeniably irresponsible and incredibly annoying—but there was no denying just how overwhelming his power was.
"Whatever, let's just drop it!"
Maki didn't waste any more time stressing over the mystery.
She conducted a brief, efficient sweep of the surrounding area. Aside from the massive craters and lingering Cursed Energy left behind by Kai's explosive battle, there was nothing else to be found. The Cursed Spirit had been eradicated.
"Judging by the residual energy, there was definitely more than one Cursed Spirit active here. But it doesn't matter. Since the target has already been fully exorcised, we can pack up and head back. Tracking down rogue sorcerers isn't our job. We'll just submit our report to the higher-ups and let them deal with the headache!"
A completely wild, unregistered sorcerer was definitely an anomaly that required intense monitoring.
At the bare minimum, the higher-ups would demand to know the individual's identity and precisely what kind of innate technique they possessed.
Even if the sorcerer aggressively refused to join Jujutsu High, they still needed to be closely monitored to ensure they didn't inevitably cross the line and become a dangerous Curse User.
Of course.
None of those bureaucratic nightmares had anything to do with them. There were specialized—and incredibly annoying—personnel dedicated to handling those issues.
"Thank God, we can finally go back and sleep!"
Panda instantly relaxed, his massive shoulders slumping.
Even though he literally hadn't lifted a single finger the entire time, and they had even been chauffeured directly to the mission site by an auxiliary manager...
He still felt overwhelmingly exhausted, as if he had just fought a massive battle.
"I can't take it anymore. I need to get back and immediately pass out for twelve hours."
"Salmon! Salmon!"
"..." Watching her two unmotivated teammates, Maki helplessly shook her head.
She didn't bother reprimanding them. She simply secured her Naginata and followed them back to the waiting car.
However, just before stepping into the vehicle, she cast one final, analytical glance back at the ravaged battlefield. Deep down, she felt a surge of undeniable curiosity about this mysterious, unregistered sorcerer.
Judging by the sheer scale of the destruction left behind, the individual's combat capabilities couldn't possibly be weak.
She just honestly wondered exactly what Grade this unknown sorcerer had already reached.
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Meanwhile, Kai had long since left the area.
It didn't take them long to arrive back at his apartment.
Kiyotsugu Togawa still hadn't regained consciousness. As his daughter, Sakiko obviously couldn't just ignore him, so she briefly tended to him, ensuring he was stabilized on the floor of his own trashed apartment.
"Yawn~"
Over in Kai's apartment, he had just finished briefly washing up and was yawning, fully prepared to finally get some sleep.
Suddenly, he heard the distinct sound of his front door unlocking.
Soon after.
Accompanied by the soft, rustling sound of fabric, Sakiko Togawa slipped into his bedroom and gently climbed into bed, pressing her body tightly against his side.
"Hmm?"
Kai had originally assumed Sakiko would simply sleep over in her own apartment tonight to keep an eye on her father.
"Kai-kun..."
Murmuring his name, Sakiko snuggled even closer into Kai's embrace and slowly fluttered her eyes closed.
He had assumed she might initiate something further.
But within minutes, Sakiko's breathing gradually slowed and evened out. She had passed out.
It made perfect sense.
She'd just finished an incredibly grueling shift after school, only to be immediately thrust into the night's traumatic, emotionally draining events. It wasn't just physical exhaustion—her mental and emotional reserves had been completely depleted.
Basically, the moment her head hit the pillow, she was out cold.
"You're really putting my self-control to the ultimate test here!"
Seeing Sakiko sleeping so peacefully, Kai couldn't help but chuckle softly.
He gently pulled her slightly closer. The sweet, comforting scent of the young girl washed over him, causing Kai's own tense nerves to gradually relax. He didn't actually force himself upon her—he wasn't the type of scumbag who disregarded his partner's physical condition purely for his own momentary, selfish gratification.
She already belonged to him anyway. Claiming his prize was merely a matter of time.
Furthermore, before rushing over tonight, he had already eaten his fill, thoroughly satisfied by Shizuka Hiratsuka and Sonoko Machida.
Speaking of which.
He actually had Shizuka Hiratsuka's homeroom class tomorrow morning. He was genuinely curious to see exactly how Shizuka was going to act when she had to face him in a professional setting.
With that amused, anticipatory thought, Kai slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
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The next morning.
By the time Kai finally woke up, Sakiko had already prepared a full, hot breakfast.
"Are you awake? Go wash up and come eat!"
Hearing the movement from the bedroom, Sakiko, who was currently plating the food, called out over her shoulder without turning around.
She was still wearing Kai's massively oversized t-shirt, the thin fabric clinging perfectly to her body, highlighting her stunning figure.
"I don't really want to eat breakfast right now... I'd much rather eat you."
Kai smiled wickedly. He walked over, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and resting his chin comfortably on her shoulder.
"Stop messing around. You still have to go to school soon."
Sakiko blushed fiercely, but she made zero effort to push him away or stop his wandering hands.
She simply whispered softly.
"Wait until you come back this afternoon... okay?"
That soft, compliant response was the final sign of Sakiko's complete surrender.
"You aren't going to your part-time job today?"
"Mhm! I think I really need to take a break for the next couple of days. I'm not going to work!"
Even the most hardened, robotic worker needed time to rest and recharge!
"Alright then. I'll make sure to come back early today."
'This sweet, delicious little cake is finally going to be devoured.'
Sensing Kai's barely concealed eagerness, Sakiko shot him an exasperated yet affectionate glare. Even so, she couldn't hide the bright, joyful smile spreading across her face.
During breakfast.
By unspoken mutual agreement, neither of them brought up Kiyotsugu Togawa's condition.
Through the walls, Kai could easily sense that Kiyotsugu still hadn't regained consciousness. It made perfect sense—having that much of one's core life force drained by a Cursed Spirit would naturally force the body into a prolonged, comatose state to try and recover!
...
Once he arrived at school.
Kai first offered Megumi Kato a warm, affectionate greeting before smoothly taking his usual seat beside Yui Yuigahama.
"You smell amazing today. Did you switch to a new perfume, Yui?"
As a seasoned, top-tier playboy, playing favorites and neglecting one girl for another was a mistake Kai would never make.
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