Shin turned around, rolled his eyes at Satoru, and said speechlessly, "Gojo-sensei, why are you so slow? If you had arrived a few minutes earlier, that Cursed Spirit wouldn't have escaped."
"Just as I told Yoshino Junpei, I was in a meeting. As soon as it finished, I rushed over here. Who would have thought you'd let the Cursed Spirit get away? Remember to do extra training when we get back."
Shin glanced at the bag of sweets Satoru was holding. The resentment radiating from him was almost enough to catalyze a Grade 3 Cursed Spirit, but what could he do to Satoru? So, he decided it was best to look away.
"Where did Yoshino Junpei go? My phone is still with him."
Satoru stepped aside, revealing Yoshino Junpei standing not far behind. He leaned over and whispered into Shin's ear, "This boy also has the talent to become a Jujutsu Sorcerer. He possesses Cursed Energy and a Cursed Technique, but unfortunately, he lacks the necessary neural pathways to manifest it. You can ask him if he has any intention of becoming a Jujutsu Sorcerer and bring another person into our first-year class."
"Gojo-sensei, even if he agrees, his family might not necessarily approve. I'll give it a try."
Shin walked up, took the phone Yoshino Junpei handed to him, and said, "Thanks."
Yoshino Junpei hurriedly waved his hands and said, "It's nothing, really. I didn't do anything. But you, facing that kind of murderous monster must be dangerous."
"No, it's actually fine. It isn't very strong right now. By the way, Junpei, may I call you that? Would you be willing to become a Jujutsu Sorcerer?"
Junpei widened his eyes, not understanding what Shin meant. He tentatively asked, "Can I... really do it too?"
Boys of this age often fantasize about having abilities beyond the ordinary. For Junpei, who was bullied at school, this desire was even stronger. Now that Shin had come to tell him that he was different from others, a sense of joy couldn't help but well up in his heart.
Shin reached out and lifted the hair covering the forehead injury caused by a cigarette butt.
Junpei subconsciously wanted to pull away, but Shin immediately retracted his hand and said, "Sorry. Let's treat your wound first, then I'll explain the dangers of being a Jujutsu Sorcerer. The treatment process might be a bit painful."
Hearing this, Junpei's eyes instantly welled up with tears. He choked out, "Can it be healed... these... scars..."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but recall the scene where those people pinned him to the ground, fed him cockroaches, and burned his forehead with cigarette butts. He crouched down and covered his face, sobbing bitterly.
Satoru walked closer, nudged Shin with his shoulder, and asked, "What are you going to do? If I'm not mistaken, this is school bullying, right?"
Shin said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "If he joins Tokyo Jujutsu High, we'll handle it using Tokyo Jujutsu High's methods. If he doesn't join, then it'll be a bother for Gojo-sensei to use the Gojo clan's connections to send those scum to a juvenile detention center. It would be best if they never came out once they're in."
"Oh my. Shin, you sound a bit like a Curse User now. But I like it."
After Junpei finished crying, Shin explained the treatment plan: cut away the damaged skin and use a potion to regrow new skin.
Junpei instinctively felt distrust, because deep down he still believed that human nature was inherently evil. He was afraid that Shin was just playing a trick on him.
However, this doubt vanished without a trace after Shin expressionlessly cut off his own palm and then drank a bottle of potion to rapidly regrow it.
He lifted the hair covering the scar. Satoru assisted from the side, using Cursed Energy to form a blade as sharp as a razor, and cut away that patch of skin.
The intense pain from having his skin cut away made Junpei want to scream, but before he could, a bottle of potion was poured onto the wound, and the pain vanished almost instantly.
Junpei tremblingly touched his forehead, the previous indentations had now become smooth and flawless.
"Why did you treat me? There was no reason to..."
Shin shrugged and said, "Because I'm just that kind of meddlesome person. The other business is done, so now let's talk about the matter of becoming a Jujutsu Sorcerer."
...
"So you're saying that being a Jujutsu Sorcerer is a very dangerous profession?"
His mother, Nagi's, gentle smiling face instantly appeared in Junpei's mind.
"If I die, Mom will surely be very sad."
"If you don't agree, it doesn't matter. We have professionals who will wipe away your extra memories."
As the three of them stood by the roadside talking, a woman with shoulder-length black hair, who looked somewhat similar to Junpei, called out to Junpei from not far away.
"Mom?"
Nagi approached the three of them, glanced at Satoru and Shin, and asked, "Are you friends of Junpei? He usually doesn't like to talk, I originally thought he didn't have many friends. Now it seems I was wrong. If you two don't mind, would you like to come over for a meal?"
Junpei pulled Nagi aside and asked, "Mom, why did you come here?"
Nagi replied, "Because I saw what time it was and you weren't home yet, so I thought I'd come to the movie theater you often visit to look for you. I didn't expect you to really be here. By the way, is your white-haired friend visually impaired? Why is he wearing a blindfold?"
Junpei blinked and glanced at Satoru, then bit the bullet and said, "It's not that. He just likes doing it, ahahaha..."
Junpei laughed very awkwardly, leaving Nagi feeling a bit confused.
—
Meanwhile, on the other side, Mahito dragged his battered body back to that dilapidated apartment. He used all his remaining strength to knock on the door before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.
When Mahito woke up again, he had already been moved into Dagon's Domain and placed on a beach chair. Hanami and Jogo were both beside him, looking at him anxiously.
Mahito's soul was so weak that he couldn't even maintain his complete humanoid form. Currently, he only had one arm and half a face. The rest of his body consisted entirely of clumps of Cursed Energy and hideous scars.
Kenjaku's face was dark with anger. Mahito was an important part of his plan to attack Tokyo Jujutsu High. With Mahito in this state, let alone attacking Tokyo Jujutsu High, he couldn't even take care of himself.
If it weren't for the fact that Mahito's Cursed Technique was still too immature, he would have wanted to absorb him using Cursed Spirit Manipulation right then and there.
Furthermore, Jogo hadn't fully recovered either, and he was already considering abandoning this plan.