"Lynn! Gojo-Sensei! You're here!"
When Lynn followed Gojo-Sensei to the dormitory, Itadori, who had been left behind for extra tutoring, had already arrived at the dorm area.
Like a cheerful Golden Retriever, he waved his arms and ran toward the two of them, reporting good news.
"I passed Principal Yaga's test. He said to let me study the knowledge of cursed energy first to build up experience."
"No problem! Feel free to ask me anything you want to learn anytime!"
Gojo-Sensei gave a thumbs-up: "The genius Gojo-Sensei Satoru offers one-on-one private tutoring! I guarantee you'll be satisfied with the results!"
Itadori's eyes lit up: "Then I'll be counting on you, Gojo-Sensei!"
Megumi: "..."
Hearing the noise outside the dorm, Megumi, who pushed the door open, fell silent for a moment and chose to ignore it.
Gojo-Sensei's teaching style could only be understood by those who understood it; there was no need to explain too much to those who didn't—it was simply too complicated.
"Megumi, you're just in time."
Gojo-Sensei greeted Megumi: "Pack up quickly and let's go pick someone up."
Itadori tilted his head: "Pick someone up?"
Megumi replied: "This year's new students. You and Lynn are special cases who joined mid-term. Besides you two, there is one other new student this year."
Itadori looked thoughtful: "So how many people are in our entire grade?"
Megumi: "Four."
Itadori was shocked: "So few?!"
Only four people in an entire grade. That meant only twelve students across all three grades combined. That was far too few.
"It's not that everyone awakens a Cursed Technique; very few people are like you with such a strong physique. Having four new students this year is actually considered quite a lot."
Megumi seemed to have guessed Itadori's thoughts and added after explaining: "Although Jujutsu High is a place to train students, it's actually also a combat organization."
"Including current students, everyone might receive a mission to exorcise Cursed Spirit. Therefore, they are quite strict about recruiting new students; bringing in useless people will get people killed."
"Oh, I see."
Itadori nodded thoughtfully.
He recalled the private tutoring he just received from Principal Yaga, who had said something similar.
Given the premise that possessing a Cursed Technique depends on luck, coupled with the high requirement for mental fortitude, having fewer new students made sense.
...
After packing their luggage, Lynn and the others boarded the special Jujutsu High vehicle and headed toward the station.
Taking advantage of the time on the road, Lynn simply closed his eyes and pretended to rest, his consciousness entering the Mist Space.
After a while, Chef Lynn received a summons and was the first to arrive in the Mist Space for a meeting.
"Good evening, Cursed Technique Me."
"Good evening."
Jujutsu Lynn raised his palm: "I just set my first Binding Vow and need someone to help test its effect."
"No problem."
Chef Lynn raised his hand and clapped.
The next moment, the Current Propulsion, strengthened by the Binding Vow, was shared and transferred onto Chef Lynn.
Jujutsu Lynn: "How is it? Does the Current Propulsion you received require an Effect Introduction, or did you directly receive the strengthened version?"
Chef Lynn felt it carefully: "Current Propulsion didn't change much, but the Binding Vow you set was transferred through the sharing. If I complete the Effect Introduction according to the Vow's condition, I can also receive the strengthening."
Jujutsu Lynn frowned: "I thought I could exploit a bug and let you guys get the strengthened version without paying the price. Looks like there aren't that many loopholes to exploit."
Chef Lynn: "As expected."
Jujutsu Lynn's attempt to exploit bugs with Binding Vows was something they had known about for days.
To be precise, they often tested similar bug-exploiting operations through the Mist Space.
But currently, there weren't many loopholes to exploit; they could only work together to accumulate strength.
Chef Lynn: "By the way, what is that glowing orb behind your head?"
Jujutsu Lynn: "Glowing orb?"
Prompted by Chef Lynn, Jujutsu Lynn finally noticed a glowing orb floating behind him.
He reached out and summoned the orb in front of him. He touched it, and the orb exploded with a 'bang'.
As the smoke cleared, as if a Tokusatsu hero was making an entrance, a Sukuna suddenly appeared in the center of the plaza.
"Hm?"
Sukuna showed a look of confusion on his face.
From his perspective, he was being suppressed by Lynn and confined within the Innate Domain.
But just then, a gravitational pull came.
When he came to his senses again, he found himself on the plaza covered in the mist.
"Little brat, was that you?"
Glancing around, Sukuna looked toward the two Lynns dressed differently before him.
"Not only can you transform freely, but you've also split your soul into different fragments. You certainly hold many secrets."
"Holy crap! Sukuna!"
Chef Lynn was extremely shocked.
"What Sukuna?"
The smoke at the edge of the plaza receded to both sides, and DanMachi Lynn slowly walked out of the passage, looking ahead.
"Holy crap! Sukuna!"
"Another one?"
A hint of confusion appeared on Sukuna's face.
What was this guy's deal? Was he cutting his soul into twenty fragments and throwing them out like him?
But that wasn't right; the other party clearly had a physical body. Could he have shattered his soul while still possessing a body?
Besides, they were this close; why hadn't these soul fragments merged into one?
One doubt after another arose in his mind, and for the first time in a long while, Sukuna felt curiosity towards someone.
But just then, the the mist beside him suddenly coalesced into a giant hand and descended toward where he stood.
"Hmph, do you think an attack like that works on me?"
Sukuna's figure flickered, instantly creating distance. He brought his hands together in front of his chest, and vast Cursed Energy emerged from him.
After being suppressed yesterday, he immediately reviewed the battle, analyzing the reasons for his defeat.
In Sukuna's view, the only reason he lost was because he was caught off guard by the first encounter.
This time, being prepared, he wouldn't give Lynn time to transform into his eight-armed form and would unleash his ultimate move immediately.
"Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine!"
Boom—!
Mighty Cursed Energy soared into the sky. Centered on Sukuna's location, the surrounding scenery instantly transformed.
The marble floor was covered by a blood red lake, and a shrine built from stark white bones rose from the ground.
At the front of the shrine, Sukuna wore a mocking smile and declared his victory: "Brat! I win this time!"
DanMachi Lynn stared at the shrine, examining it: "The Jujutsu version of me, what's his situation?"
Jujutsu Lynn reached out and patted the other: "It's probably because I consumed Sukuna's finger and established a connection with his soul. That white sphere just now was the connection channel; I activated it and summoned his soul fragment over."
DanMachi Lynn gained shared memories: "I see, no wonder he's so arrogant."
"Arrogant? You two are the arrogant ones."
Sukuna snorted coldly: "It seems you still don't understand what a Domain represents. I'll start with you first."
With a thought from Sukuna, hundreds of slashes instantly materialized.
A series of flesh-tearing sounds erupted, and the next second, Sukuna exploded into the mist of blood with a bang, scattering into the air.
"Huh? How did you kill him?"
Chef Lynn raised an eyebrow: "It's rare to have a toy; I wanted to play with him a bit longer."
DanMachi Lynn: "He was about to attack me; I couldn't just stand there and do nothing, could I?"
Chef Lynn: "It doesn't matter anyway; he couldn't hurt you."
The Mist Space was the meeting place for the Lynns.
In this strange space, they possessed nearly invincible power. No matter what kind of attack they suffered, they wouldn't be injured, and they held absolute control over this space.
When Sukuna performed his Domain Expansion just now, DanMachi Lynn's first thought was to ban his access rights, but Chef Lynn stopped him.
If not for that, forget unleashing a Domain, it would have been a feat for Sukuna to move a single finger.
Buzz~! Buzz~! Buzz~!
"Hmm? What's your status?"
DanMachi Lynn looked toward Jujutsu Lynn not far away.
It was as if he was having a breakthrough on the spot; his aura suddenly surged significantly in that instant.
The the mist in the air lightly stirred, sweeping away the blood the mist Sukuna had turned into, restoring the plaza to its original state.
"I think I really ate Sukuna."
Jujutsu Lynn sorted out his thoughts and replied.
His previous strengthening after consuming the finger was because he suppressed Sukuna's soul and gained that portion of Cursed Energy.
If one day he couldn't suppress Sukuna's soul, ownership of that power would be reclaimed.
But now, he didn't have that worry.
By summoning Sukuna's soul to the Mist Space via the light sphere and killing him, Sukuna's finger lost its master.
It was similar to how Kibutsuji Muzan controlled external objects within his body through the power of flesh and blood in the original story.
Lynn used a similar method to decompose and absorb the masterless Sukuna finger, integrating it into his body.
The Cursed Energy originally belonging to Sukuna was also digested along with the finger, becoming Lynn's Cursed Energy.
"Holy crap! There's this move too!"
Chef Lynn was greatly shocked after listening.
The cold Sukuna fragment transformed into warm power and joined the Lynn family.
"So, we don't need to worry about abilities like possession. If we encounter a similar situation, we can summon the enemy's soul into the Mist Plaza and take care of it," DanMachi Lynn analyzed.
The power of the Mist Plaza was absolute.
Backing them was the Mist Plaza; forget Sukuna, even a god could be dealt with.
DanMachi Lynn: "This is an unexpected surprise. Although testing the Binding Vow's bug failed, we essentially gained another path to becoming stronger."
DanMachi Lynn looked at Jujutsu Lynn: "Figure out a way to get all of Sukuna's other fingers and eat them. If I can gain all of Sukuna's power, I can walk around Orario unimpeded."
Jujutsu Lynn: "No problem."
Consuming Sukuna's fingers to freely siphon his power was the best option for him at the moment.
After discussing the plan with DanMachi Lynn and the others, Jujutsu Lynn exited the Mist Space, his consciousness returning to reality.
...