"All right! Senior Kamiyado, let's go, to Sugisawa Hospital!"
Itadori had tidied himself up and dashed out like a gust of wind, shouting with boundless energy at Kamiyado, who was already sitting in the living room waiting for him.
Kamiyado stood up and gave a calm nod.
With that, Itadori—proudly holding the title of the "Tiger of West Junior High" and capable of covering fifty meters in three seconds—zoomed straight out the door.
Kamiyado paused for a second, quietly pulled the forgotten apartment door shut, and followed after him.
Anxiety burning in his chest, Itadori ran flat out, purely because—he was only two minutes away from the agreed meeting time!
He was a good boy who refused to be late!
It wasn't until the hospital gates came into view that the urgency in his chest finally subsided, and he let out a light sigh of relief.
Then, a sudden thought struck him.
With him running so fast, didn't Senior Kamiyado risk getting left behind?!
Oh no! He hadn't even thought about waiting for anyone, ah wah wah wah!
Was it really okay to leave an elderly senior wandering aimlessly and getting lost in Sendai...?
Itadori turned his head to look back.
Sure enough, the easily recognizable figure hadn't kept up at all.
Having spent a good while calming down in his inner world, Sukuna had once again borrowed Itadori's eyes to observe the outside world. Sensing his thoughts, Sukuna let out a cold, merciless scoff: "Idiot..."
Itadori: "...You, you, you! You're insulting me again! Have some respect for your elders!"
Right at that moment, a clear, serene voice sounded right in front of him: "Why'd you stop?"
Itadori snapped his head back, only to see the person he thought he had lost behind had somehow already walked ahead of him, looking at him now with a hint of question in his eyes.
Yuji was dumbfounded: "Huh?! Senior Kamiyado, when did you get ahead of me?! I didn't notice you at all!"
As soon as those words left his mouth, though it wasn't very obvious, Itadori still sensed a wave of speechlessness emanating from Kamiyado.
"I was walking right behind you. When you stopped, I didn't. When you turned around, I just brushed past your shoulder and stepped ahead... Any other questions?"
Itadori: "...Fine, I admit I'm an idiot, please stop scolding me."
He felt that Kamiyado's deadpan, earnest explanation possessed far more destructive power than Lord Sukuna's icy critiques—it practically shattered his still-immature little heart.
"Let's go, moving right now, let's go!" Itadori stiffened his face and took a few large strides to march back to the front.
Kamiyado lagged three steps behind, silently trailing him.
When they reached the hospital entrance, two unexpected yet entirely predictable figures suddenly popped out.
To be more precise, the black-haired handsome youth with a bandage tied around his head and a band-aid plastered on his cheek was being dragged out by his utterly preposterous teacher, Gojo.
Gojo Satoru balanced on one foot, raised his thigh high, and struck a textbook ballet pose: "Tada-da-da-da! Surprise~!"
Megumi covered his face and let out an exasperated, teeth-gritting growl: "Would you please stop playing around, this is genuinely so humiliating..."
Itadori and Kamiyado: ...
Receiving the bizarre looks of various hospital staff members, Itadori walked right past Gojo Satoru without batting an eye, putting on a look of "I don't know this man," while conveniently rescuing classmate Fushiguro Megumi.
The two whispered to each other.
Itadori: "You look pretty energetic, Fushiguro!"
Fushiguro Megumi: "Why don't you look at the bandage on my head and say that again?"
Itadori: "Haha ah... By the way, is Teacher Gojo always this carefree?"
Fushiguro Megumi's face darkened, though he quickly took on a somewhat inexplicable look of schadenfreude: "Yep! You'll be experiencing it firsthand yourself soon enough."
Meanwhile, Kamiyado gave Gojo Satoru a calm look and also caught up with the pace of the two kids.
Leaving the deeply playful Gojo Cat standing there like a statue that had crumbled into pieces.
After the three of them went to the front desk to confirm the paperwork, the staff asked the family members to go up and oversee the process of the remains being placed into the hearse, just to prevent any disputes later on.
Itadori agreed, took Megumi and Kamiyado into the elevator, and pressed the floor button.
Since the three of them were standing side by side, with Itadori right in the middle, and there was no one else in the elevator...
When a voice dripping with grievance suddenly rang out from behind him, it nearly scared Itadori's soul right out of his body.
"I'm telling you guys~~! You're really no fun at all!"
In an instant, the entire elevator was filled with Itadori's shocked shriek: "Teacher Gojo?! When did you even get in here, hey?! That was way too sudden..." People could die of fright like this, you know!
Though... it seemed he was the only one who had been scared.
Looking at the other two, they were each more composed than the last.
Megumi was already used to it, and Kamiyado had "seen" him there all along.
Making Itadori look like a frightened kid.
Gojo Satoru suddenly leaned forward, getting close to Itadori and looking at him with a playful smile: "Mmm~~ I take it back, you actually are pretty fun!"
Itadori: "...Please keep that kind of fun far away from me, thank you."
The trio reverted to a quartet as they stepped out of the elevator, watching hospital staff wheel Itadori's grandfather out of the morgue, down the stairs, and into the hearse.
Once inside the vehicle, Itadori's mood suddenly plummeted.
This shift was glaringly obvious to the other three.
The corners of Gojo Satoru's previously smiling mouth flattened a bit, while Fushiguro Megumi pinched his fingertips, his mouth moving as if he wanted to ask something, but stopping short.
It was Kamiyado, whose expression had remained unchanged the entire time, who spoke up first: "Birth, old age, sickness, and death are the norm in life; don't be too sad."
Itadori gave a bitter smile and spoke in a low voice: "It's not because of that, though..."
"My grandpa was stubborn, had a fiery temper, didn't have a single friend around him, and lived a pretty miserable life..."
"He was my only family left in this world, so of course I'm sad, but it's not enough to break me."
"I just... feel like too many things have happened these past twelve hours."
Curses, Ryomen Sukuna, jujutsu, Jujutsu Sorcerers, Cursed Spirits... Stuff that was enough to shatter an ordinary person's worldview was being shoved into his perception all at once, making him feel like he was living in a dream.
If there wasn't genuinely another soul residing inside his body, he would probably assume he'd stumbled onto some movie set and was shooting a scene on the street.
The pink-haired youth rested his chin in one hand and looked out the window: "I feel like I've been sucked into a really troublesome vortex, unable to break free, a bit lost, and I don't know where to walk next..."
Kamiyado spoke up abruptly: "If you're scared, you can continue living as an ordinary person. I'll protect you until Sukuna is transferred out of your body."
At those words, four resolute instances of "No" echoed around them.
Everyone except Kamiyado froze for a moment, and Gojo Satoru was no exception.
Gojo and Megumi were stunned that, despite being so lost, the boy still chose to step one foot into this grinding vortex.
A moment ago, Itadori himself had also muttered a "No."
As for Itadori, he froze because Sukuna, who had been on standby inside him all this time, had also muttered a deep "No."
He mumbled inwardly: "Why not?"
Even though he felt it wouldn't work either, he was somewhat curious about their reasons for saying no.
Sukuna, who had popped up for a second, silently went back offline and stopped paying attention to him.
It was Gojo Satoru who lowered his voice first and slowly began to explain: "No matter what your life was like before, Itadori, the moment you decided to swallow 'Sukuna's Finger,' your world underwent a world-shaking transformation."
"As long as you continue to live in this world with the identity of 'Sukuna's Vessel,' what you'll face isn't just curses, but threats from humans as well."
"You will be hunted by the entire Jujutsu society."
Itadori pouted, somewhat uncomprehendingly: "But... Ryomen Sukuna isn't some merciless source of all evil like the rumors say."
Gojo Satoru didn't interrupt. After patiently letting him finish, he suddenly reached up, pulled down his blindfold, and looked at him with those blindingly gorgeous pale blue eyes.
"Then what kind of person do you think would look at known facts and change their inherent views?"
Without waiting for Itadori to answer, Gojo calmly answered himself: "A sensible person."
"And as it happens, the higher-ups of Jujutsu society are a bunch of stubborn, corrupt geezers. Self-righteous, they'll recklessly trample on anyone's life just for the sake of so-called face and status."
"Even if... you twisted their heads off to use as soccer balls, they'd probably still pat themselves on the back for their own justice."
Gojo leaned back against the seat, closing his eyes as if recalling some unpleasant memory.
Itadori's face fell: "How could that be..."
Megumi picked up the thread: "After all, we're the only ones who know the historical truth of a thousand years ago and are willing to believe Senior Kamiyado... At least for now, it's just us."
Itadori thought about it for a moment and tentatively suggested: "Then can't we just tell more people?"
Gojo seemed to recover, answering with a low chuckle: "Useless... No matter how many people believe you, or believe us, those idiots will only cling stubbornly to their own views."
He sat up straight again, looking at the pink-haired boy with a serious expression.
"Therefore, Itadori Yuji, you must possess the power to protect yourself. No matter which faction tries to meddle, you must have the strength to safely withstand it and survive."
"For that reason, I imagine you can no longer live an ordinary life in peace either; a mission is already resting on your shoulders."
The topic had grown somewhat heavy, and the atmosphere inside the car was stifling.
After finishing those words, Gojo put his blindfold back on, returning to his frivolous, devil-may-care demeanor.
"Of course, before you fully grow up, me, little Megumi, and Kamiyado-kun will all protect you~!"
Itadori clenched his fists, thinking to himself: Doesn't that just make me a burden to these people...
As if keenly perceiving his thoughts, Gojo gently shook his fingertips and offered some warm reassurance.
"Wrong... You don't need to feel like you're dragging us down."
"We have our own selfish motives too, and things we need you to do, so we're just getting what we each want out of this. Right, Kamiyado-kun~!"
Kamiyado gave a quiet nod.
Gojo secretly gave a thumbs-up to Kamiyado-kun, who had played along, and continued: "I want to use you as a springboard to change the face of this Jujutsu society, while Kamiyado-kun wants to use you to fully resurrect Ryomen Sukuna."
He reached out and flicked Itadori on the forehead, smiling gently.
"We—are comrades fighting side by side!"
Itadori drifted off in thought for a long time, his expression gradually turning resolute.
At that moment, he recalled what his grandfather had said to him on his deathbed.
"You're strong, go help people."
He threw a forceful punch and answered with boundless energy: "All right! Teacher Gojo, what do I need to do next?"
He wore the air of someone ready to charge into fire and tread upon blades.
Fushiguro Megumi couldn't bear to watch, lowering his head to play with his own fingers.
Gojo suddenly wore a mysterious smile: "In that case, I'll just spell it out for you~!"
"Itadori Yuji, congratulations, you've been sentenced to death by Jujutsu society!"
Ba-dum, ba-dum, crash!
Itadori instantly shattered.
Itadori: My career has ended before it even began; you might as well just cremate me alongside my grandpa, it'd save everyone the trouble.
Fortunately, Gojo's next sentence successfully rescued a fifteen-sixteen-year-old soul that was currently dissipating.
"Naturally, I couldn't allow such an unreasonable outcome, so I secured a precious execution suspension for you!"
Itadori: With a thirty-seven-degree mouth like yours, how can you spit such vicious words?
His hanging heart had finally gone completely cold. Self-isolating Yuji was currently logging in.
Lacking any cooperation, Gojo could only hype himself up: "So what should we do then~ That's right, this is where you take center stage!"
"Our Jujutsu society will do everything in our power to hunt down 'Sukuna's Finger' for you to swallow. Once you've finally eaten all twenty fingers, *whack*, we'll execute you!"
Half-dead Yuji tremblingly raised a hand: "Aren't you guys terrified of the King of Curses? Why wait until I've eaten all the fingers to kill me? Aren't you afraid I'll get super-duper strong and refuse to let you kill me?"
Gojo curved the corners of his lips: "That brings us to my reason for securing your suspended sentence."
"Admittedly, everyone who's heard the rumors is terrified of Ryomen Sukuna, and the higher-ups are probably scared out of their minds. But they have no way of turning down a method to completely eliminate this King of Curses."
"Sukuna's vessel is exceptionally rare. It's precisely for this reason that you got a suspended sentence—you're simply a once-in-a-millennium genius, Itadori!"
Itadori slowly retracted his hand and asked weakly: "What's so genius about that..."