One day ago.
Kenjaku's hideout. Inside a dimly lit Japanese-style room.
The sliding paper door was half-open, letting twilight seep in from outside. A low tea table sat in the center of the room, scattered with a dozen playing cards. Three cups of tea placed aside had gone cold.
Kenjaku, wearing a kasaya, sat cross-legged in the middle. Jogo and Hanami sat on either side of him.
"A single 3."
Kenjaku pulled the 3 of Clubs from his hand and placed it on the table.
"King."
Hanami hesitated for a moment before playing a card.
"2."
The impatient Jogo had no intention of playing mind games. It pulled out the 2 of Diamonds and slapped it onto the table.
"Little Joker."
Kenjaku unhurriedly pulled out a card with an upside-down black joker on it and placed it down.
"Tch, you bastard!"
Jogo was annoyed.
Kenjaku looked up at Jogo's face—veins popping from losing five consecutive games—and the curve of his mouth widened.
"Anxious?"
"None of your business if I'm anxious or not!" Jogo's voice was hoarse and irritable. "Play your card!"
Kenjaku tilted his teacup to his lips and took a sip of cold tea.
"I came to you this time to talk about serious business."
He continued: "The abilities Yuji Itadori has displayed far exceed my expectations... even though I don't know how many times I've said this."
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Jogo asked impatiently.
"I mean—" Kenjaku shrugged. "There's something I need to remind you about."
Jogo and Hanami both turned to look at him.
"Because Yuji Itadori and Ryomen Sukuna share the same physical body, Yuji Itadori is currently like a vessel steeped in Sukuna's fingers."
"As time passes, it's highly likely that Sukuna's 'Shrine' will be etched into his brain. I only know there's such a probability—but I'm not sure exactly how much time it will take."
The room fell quiet. The evening sun seeped in through the door.
"Based on Yuji Itadori's performance right after incarnation," Kenjaku continued, "he was able to use 'Dismantle' the moment he swallowed Sukuna's finger. Although that was borrowing Sukuna's cursed energy, we can't rule out the possibility that he's already mastered 'Shrine' but hasn't realized it yet."
He raised his hand, holding up one finger.
"Currently, there are two possibilities. First—he can use Sukuna's innate technique independently, without relying on Sukuna."
He held up a second finger.
"Second—he can only use it by relying on Sukuna's cursed energy. But even so, as long as Sukuna's fingers are in his body, he could master 'Shrine' at any moment."
He lowered his hand, picked up his teacup, and took another sip of cold tea.
"Regardless of which one it is, it proves one thing: in the coming time—perhaps even during the exchange event—it's highly likely that Yuji Itadori will display two different innate techniques."
"His original innate technique, Blood Manipulation. And Sukuna's 'Shrine.'"
"If that's really the case, his threat level will rise to another tier."
BANG—!
Jogo slapped the table, impatient. "Your nagging is annoying. Are you going to play a card or not?"
"Don't be so anxious. Three of a kind with a single."
Kenjaku picked out four cards and placed them on the table.
Hanami shook its head. "Pass."
Jogo directly slapped four 9s onto the table.
"Bomb!"
"...Jogo, you're really impatient. Playing cards requires strategy. You can't just play whatever you have. You'll suffer for it."
Kenjaku shook his head.
However, the one he was most worried about wasn't Jogo—but Hanami. After all, Jogo was very strong.
"Hanami, if you encounter Yuji Itadori and other Grade 1 sorcerers at the exchange event, focus on stalling. Don't fight them head-on."
Kenjaku reminded.
"Otherwise, you might die there."
Hearing this, Hanami nodded. "I understand."
"..."
Satoru Gojo is the Big Joker.
Kenjaku leaned on the tea table, resting his cheek on his hand, tilting his head to look at the grinning joker on the table.
He'd originally thought the Little Joker would be Yuta Okkotsu. That Yuji Itadori would at best be a King—maybe even less.
I really didn't expect this.
But looking at it now, Yuji Itadori had taken Yuta Okkotsu's place and become this Little Joker.
"In the future, Yuji Itadori is highly likely to become a trump card for Jujutsu High—and even the jujutsu world. He might even grow into a Special Grade jujutsu sorcerer in a short time."
However...
Kenjaku closed his eyes. Then smiled.
Although things have become much, much more troublesome—on second thought, this is also quite interesting.
My son has the makings of a great emperor.
On the riverbank, the sunlight was perfect. The water sparkled.
Junpei Yoshino looked at the blue-haired girl in front of him—soaked to the bone, holding a broken sword, seaweed hanging from her hair. He remained silent for two seconds.
"Uh..."
He'd only been enrolled for a day. After all, he was just an ordinary high school student. He didn't know how to fight.
"Are you okay?"
Junpei wanted to step forward, but Kasumi Miwa frantically stopped him.
"Wait, wait! We're enemies, right?!" Kasumi waved her hands hastily. "I won't let you get close! I'm going to defeat you!"
"...But you seem to be injured. And your sword is broken."
"None—none of your business! A broken sword can still cut people, okay! Don't underestimate me!"
"I'm not underestimating you..."
"Cut the crap! Take this!"
Kasumi raised her broken sword and charged at Junpei. She was a trained jujutsu sorcerer, after all. Her charging pace was faster than a national-level sprinter.
"Ah, wait!"
Junpei was startled and quickly tried to summon his shikigami for defense.
...But it seemed the cobblestones on the riverbank were slippery. Kasumi had barely taken two steps when her foot slipped and her body lurched forward.
SPLASH—!
She fell face-first into the riverbed. The broken sword traced an arc in the air and finally stuck into the sand beside Junpei.
"..."
"Um... are you okay?"
Junpei sweatdropped.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!!!"
"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!!!"
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
The sound of fists colliding exploded like rapid-fire cannons. Every clash was accompanied by an invisible shockwave, shaking the surrounding trees so violently they leaned from side to side.
Yuji and Aoi Todo's punching speed was so fast only afterimages remained. Every collision between their fists was accompanied by a thunderous boom, making the ground tremble with each impact.
"Not bad! Even in a weakened state, you can fight to this level! As expected of my best friend!"
"You're not bad either, Todo!"
Assuming modern firearms could touch curses, a standard Special Grade curse would require at least carpet bombing with cluster munitions to deal with.
When two Grade 1 sorcerers with the strength to defeat Special Grade curses fought—wherever their clash passed, not a blade of grass would grow.
This formed a sharp contrast with the "History's Strongest Grade 4 Sorcerer vs. Modern Strongest Grade 3 Sorcerer" duel at the bottom of a certain cliff.
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