"Gojo-Sensei, can you explain the situation?"
"Oh, what are you referring to?"
"I mean this rope around my body, of course."
"Oh, that."
Gojo suddenly realized: "Ah, when you were sleeping earlier, a mass of abnormal Cursed Energy suddenly appeared on your body. I was worried Sukuna would break out, so I tied you up."
"Then you truly are a genius."
In a black car of an unknown brand, Lynn expressionlessly examined the rope around him.
Never mind where the other party got this rope, could this kind of thing really restrain a Jujutsu Sorcerer?
He exerted a slight force with his arm, and the rope binding him instantly snapped, sliding off his side with a clatter.
"Oh, I noticed something earlier. As expected, Lynn, you are the same type of Jujutsu Sorcerer as Itadori," Gojo exclaimed in admiration.
The rope he used to bind Lynn was a special rope used by the school to transport heavy goods.
Being able to break free without using Cursed Energy meant his physical fitness was already at a monstrous level; he was practically a small Tyrannosaurus Rex wearing human skin.
Without using Cursed Energy to trade punches with Lynn, just his physical fitness alone could kick him like a soccer ball.
"Lynn, are you alright?"
Itadori poked his head in from outside the car.
Due to the sudden situation, he and Megumi had gotten out to stand by. Only Lynn and Gojo were sitting in the car.
Lynn: "I'm fine, just had some breakthrough in strength. You guys are making a fuss over nothing."
"I think it was quite necessary."
Megumi's voice also came from outside the car.
Recalling the ominous Cursed Energy emanating from Lynn not long ago, Megumi still felt lingering fear.
"That Cursed Energy should be related to Sukuna, right? What exactly happened just now?"
"I ate Sukuna."
"I know, I'm asking why the Cursed Energy went berserk. Is it Sukuna's consciousness again..."
"No, Megumi, wait a moment."
Megumi's inquiry was interrupted.
Compared to Megumi, who hadn't realized the problem yet, the more experienced Gojo had grasped the truth.
"Lynn, when you say 'ate,' you don't mean you actually ate Sukuna's soul, do you?"
"Oh, you can understand it that way."
In reality, he hadn't eaten Sukuna's soul.
After summoning Sukuna's soul to the Mist Plaza through the light sphere, the other party's soul was directly crushed by DanMachi Lynn.
Sukuna's finger was also easily controlled and completely absorbed and digested by Lynn because it had lost its core.
Eating the soul and shattering the soul resulted in similar outcomes, but there was still a certain difference in reality.
If Lynn had eaten Sukuna's soul, he would have simultaneously gained the other's memories and combat experience.
But by shattering the soul, he couldn't obtain those; all he got was the Cursed Energy and the Dismantle.
To use the Domain Expansion like Sukuna, he still needed to systematically learn about Barrier techniques; he couldn't ascend in one step.
However, Lynn wouldn't explain this difference to Gojo, as it involved the Mist Space.
What he could show the other was the new technique gained after digesting Sukuna's finger.
Crack—!
A crisp cracking sound occurred. A two-meter-tall boulder by the roadside split into two and fell to both sides.
"He actually mastered Sukuna's technique!"
Megumi, who had come to the roadside after listening to Lynn's brief explanation, widened his eyes in great shock.
As a descendant of the Zenin Family, one of the Jujutsu world's Three Great Clans, Megumi clearly understood what a technique represented.
It was an innate talent, theoretically impossible to acquire postnatally.
Yet, Lynn's performance broke this common sense; he acquired a second technique through postnatal means.
Unlike Yuta Okkotsu's Copy Technique, this was the genuine acquisition of a second technique.
"Oh, this is truly remarkable," Gojo mused, stroking his chin: "So, Lynn, are you a mini-Sukuna now?"
Lynn: "If you can give me a few more fingers to strengthen my power, Sukuna will be Mini Lynn."
Gojo: "I don't have any Sukuna fingers on me."
Lynn: "You can have some."
Recovering the unsealed Sukuna fingers was part of the Jujutsu High's duty.
From the original story, we know that Tokyo Jujutsu High's warehouse contains a total of six fingers.
With Gojo's identity and authority, if the other party had that thought, he could completely retrieve the fingers.
"Gojo-Sensei, if I become stronger, you can rest and slack off."
"Hmm... That actually sounds pretty good."
Gojo admitted he was a little tempted.
Being able to slack off was secondary; the main thing was his goal.
Because of the incident with Suguru Geto, Gojo had been searching for potential talents to cultivate, hoping to use them to reform the Jujutsu world.
In the past two years, with Kento Nanami and Okkotsu Yuta, his plan was already more than half complete.
If Lynn could also be cultivated, it would be equivalent to gaining another Special Grade Sorcerer.
Gojo Satoru, Okkotsu Yuta, and Yukimura Lynn.
A combined force of three Special Grade Sorcerers would make even those stubborn old fossils yield.
However, ...
"I need some time for observation."
Gojo held up one finger: "After we return, I will conduct some tests on you and observe you for a month."
"If your condition remains unchanged within a month, I will retrieve a Sukuna's Finger for you."
"No problem."
Lynn readily agreed.
A month wasn't long; he could wait.
"Um... excuse me for interrupting."
Just then, Itadori's voice came from the side.
"Gojo-Sensei, are we late?"
"Huh?"
Gojo froze.
Thinking about it, they were actually on a mission when they came out this time.
"Itadori, what time is it now?"
"Two forty-two."
"Oh, then this is a bit troublesome."
Gojo scratched his head.
It seemed he had spent too much time on Lynn.
...
"Too slow!"
A dissatisfied complaint echoed on the street, causing passersby to turn their heads and stare.
Under the sunlight, a girl in a blue-black school uniform stood by the roadside, dragging a suitcase, her face full of resentment.
"Why is the welcoming party late! They're an official organization, how can they be so unreliable!"
"Oh my, that's a long story."
Gojo showed an awkward smile, clasping his hands together in front of him and shaking them slightly. "How about this, I'll treat you to a free big meal as an apology and a welcome party."
"...Fine."
Kugisaki Nobara's resentment level - 1.
She risked death coming from the countryside to Tokyo, all for the sake of enjoying life in a big city and finding someone.
If someone was willing to treat her, waiting a little longer was nothing.
"Ah, right, right, all four first-years have arrived. Let's do a self-introduction."
Gojo's voice came again. He glanced around and raised his hand to point at Itadori Yuji, who was standing slightly to his left. "Itadori, why don't you start and set an example for them."
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
Itadori, the social butterfly, accepted the task without hesitation and waved enthusiastically. "Hello! My name is Itadori Yuji, from Sendai! My current goal is to help others. I enrolled one day before you!"
"Yukimura Lynn, also from Sendai."
"Fushiguro Megumi."
"..."
Why are the self-introductions getting shorter and shorter!
Kugisaki Nobara put one hand on her hip and scanned the three classmates in front of her.
Itadori, looks a bit rustic, pass!
Megumi, just stating his name and acting cool, pass!
Lynn, he actually looks quite good, but there's an inexplicable dangerous aura coming from him, pass!
"Sigh, what a terrible start."
"Sighing while looking at someone else's face is even worse, you know."
Itadori complained mercilessly.
However, as a social expert, he could sense that Kugisaki's nature wasn't bad.
Not dwelling too much on her reaction, Itadori looked expectantly towards Gojo next to him.
"Gojo-Sensei, Gojo-Sensei! Where are we going to eat the big meal next!"
"Oh... eating isn't urgent right now."
Gojo waved his hand. "Besides the gathering, there's another task for today's meeting."
Itadori: "Another task?"
Gojo held up a finger. "You can think of it as a small entrance exam. Before leaving, I received news that there are Cursed Spirit haunting an abandoned building nearby. Your mission, Itadori, along with Kugisaki's, is to find and eliminate that Cursed Spirit."
"No problem."
Itadori clenched his fist.
Because his experience differed from the original story, this test was his first real encounter with Cursed Spirit.
The thought of an actual fight coming up made Itadori inexplicably look forward to it.
"Wait a minute, I have a question."
Kugisaki Nobara raised her hand and pointed at Lynn and Megumi standing beside them.
"Don't these two need to take the test?"
"They don't need to."
Gojo waved his hand. "I understand Megumi's strength well enough. As for Lynn... if he gets serious, he could probably instantly defeat you in one move."
"Huh? Really?"
"Of course, it's true."
"...Alright then. The monsters in the big city are really numerous. Met two right after arriving."
Kugisaki accepted the reality.
She believed what Gojo said; after all, he was the legendary Special Grade Sorcerer.
If even the current strongest said so, stubbornly questioning Lynn would be courting death.
She glanced curiously at Lynn, then grabbed the handle of her suitcase.
"Let's go, let's finish this quickly. After the test, I want to go eat the big meal."
...
At the same time.
In another corner of Tokyo, a one-eyed monster wearing a yellow-brown coat and having a head shaped like a mushroom walked into a sushi restaurant.
There weren't too many customers on a weekend; most were family gatherings, and various conversations echoed in the corner.
But whether it was the customers eating their meals or the servers attending to them, no one noticed the monster entering the shop; they continued doing what they were doing.
Jogo, too, adapted to this situation, hands in his pockets, and walked toward the window side of the sushi restaurant.
"Are you the one who sent the message asking to meet me?"
"That's right, it's me."
Sitting on a chair in the sushi restaurant, the man draped in a monk's robe with a stitched line on his forehead revealed a faint smile.
"Nice to meet you, Jogo."
"You can call me... Suguru Geto."
...