Chapter 82 (Patreon)

Tokyo.

After returning, Satoru Gojo brought Yuji Itadori to Tokyo Jujutsu High.

There, Yuji would take the entrance exam personally administered by the principal.

As for the rest, Gojo only needed to walk him through the admission procedures.

Morioka Station.

“It actually took four hours just to get to Morioka…”

Nobara Kugisaki stood on the platform with her luggage, looking thoroughly annoyed.

“Finally. I’m done with that crappy countryside. I’ll be in Tokyo by this afternoon.”

As she thought that, Nobara suddenly remembered something.

Tap, tap, tap.

She took out her phone and quickly typed a message.

At the same time, Ragnar Kagenou’s phone vibrated.

He picked it up and glanced at the screen.

“Oh? Nobara’s coming soon.”

Then he reached over and lightly tapped Gojo on the shoulder.

Gojo turned his head. “Hm? What’s up?”

Ragnar showed him the phone.

“One of the new first-years is coming to Tokyo tomorrow. Take Yuji and Megumi with you to pick her up.”

Gojo tilted his head. “And you?”

“Me?” Ragnar leaned back lazily. “I’ll be enjoying my day off.”

Gojo smiled.

It was not a trustworthy smile.

The next day.

At the station.

“So why am I here too?”

Ragnar leaned against the roadside railing, holding a canned drink in one hand as he let out a tired sigh.

Gojo stood beside him with his usual carefree expression.

“What’s the problem? You weren’t doing anything anyway.”

He tossed another can of soda over.

Ragnar caught it without even looking.

“I just think you showing up by yourself would have been more than enough for this.”

“That’s cold. We’re teachers, you know? We should welcome our students properly.”

“You just wanted more people around because this sounded amusing.”

“Correct.”

Ragnar looked at him.

Gojo gave him a thumbs-up.

Just as the two were talking, a small commotion rose from across the street.

Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro had somehow ended up crowding close together from both sides, whispering about something in low voices.

Gojo lifted one hand and waved toward the girl across the street.

“Hey! Over here, over here!”

Nobara Kugisaki looked over.

The moment she noticed Ragnar, her eyes brightened.

She walked over quickly.

“Ragnar-sensei! Great, I knew you’d come.”

Ragnar raised one hand, stopping her before she could continue.

“Alright, alright. Save the excitement. Introduce yourself to your classmates first.”

The smile on Nobara’s face vanished instantly.

She turned toward Yuji and Megumi with a look that could only be described as complete disappointment.

Yuji and Megumi spoke at the same time.

“That changed fast.”

Nobara placed one hand on her hip.

“Nobara Kugisaki. Be grateful, boys. The only girl in your year has arrived.”

Megumi looked at her and immediately formed his first impression.

Troublesome.

Yuji, on the other hand, did not seem bothered by Nobara’s attitude at all.

“I’m Yuji Itadori! I’m from Sendai!”

Megumi followed with the bare minimum.

“Megumi Fushiguro.”

And then he stopped talking.

Nobara stared at the two of them in silence.

A countryside idiot and a gloomy guy with a bad attitude.

That was her first impression.

Then she sighed deeply.

Ragnar clapped his hands once.

“Wow. This is terrible. You three really don’t click, huh?”

Megumi said flatly, “I don’t really care.”

Yuji smiled. “I think we’ll get along.”

Nobara answered immediately, “I can’t stand this.”

The three had introduced themselves.

Technically.

But judging by the atmosphere, it was hard to say they had gotten any closer.

Gojo watched them for a moment, then touched his chin.

“This won’t do.”

Ragnar glanced at him. “Don’t.”

Gojo smiled brightly.

“They need to get used to each other. So, how about a little tour around Tokyo?”

Ragnar looked at that smile and immediately knew he was planning something annoying.

Roppongi.

Yuji and Nobara arrived full of excitement.

Then they realized they had been tricked.

What waited for them was not sightseeing.

It was an abandoned building with a Cursed Spirit inside.

Gojo’s idea was simple: have Yuji and Nobara exorcise the curse together.

As for Megumi, since he was already a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer, he was told to stay outside and watch.

…

Boom!

A Cursed Spirit was sent flying out of the building.

In the end, Yuji and Nobara’s performance was barely acceptable.

Of course, Yuji was still Sukuna’s vessel, so his case was different from an ordinary beginner’s.

One month after Yuji Itadori enrolled.

At a juvenile detention center.

“Did you see that? There’s something in the sky…”

“Huh? Where? I don’t see anything.”

“Right there. In the sky. Doesn’t it look like an egg?”

Tokyo Jujutsu High.

Kiyotaka Ijichi stood before the three first-years with a grave expression.

“Three hours ago, a Cursed Womb was confirmed by a Window.”

His tone was far more serious than usual.

“By the time ninety percent of the civilians had been evacuated, personnel had already been sent to seal off the area.”

Ijichi paused, then continued.

“If the Cursed Womb completes its transformation, there is a high chance it will become a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.”

Nobara and Megumi’s expressions immediately grew tense.

Only Yuji looked confused.

At that point, someone had to explain the basics of Cursed Spirits to him.

Ijichi adjusted his glasses.

“Ordinarily, a mission is assigned to jujutsu sorcerers whose grade matches the danger level.”

Megumi frowned.

“Then Gojo-sensei or Ragnar-sensei should be handling this.”

Yuji scratched the back of his head.

“Where are they?”

Ijichi’s expression became awkward.

“Gojo-san is away on business. As for Ragnar-san…”

He pushed his glasses up.

“No one knows where he is.”

A brief silence followed.

Then Ijichi spoke in a low voice.

“When facing a Special Grade Cursed Spirit, there are only two options.”

“Run.”

“Or die.”

Ijichi did not actually expect the three of them to exorcise a Special Grade.

At most, he hoped they could rescue a few more survivors before the situation became impossible.

Just as the three were about to enter the detention center, a woman suddenly cried out.

“My son! Is Tadashi okay?!”

Seeing the desperate mother, Yuji’s expression changed at once.

“Megumi. Nobara. We have to save them.”

Nobara’s grip tightened around her hammer.

“Obviously.”

Megumi, however, was not as quick to answer.

He understood what kind of place this was.

Anyone who ended up inside a juvenile detention center was not necessarily innocent.

But even so, the mission had already begun.

After the three entered, Ijichi prepared to lower the curtain.

Just then, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Ijichi stiffened.

This area should have been sealed off. Ordinary people should not have been able to approach.

He turned around, ready to reprimand whoever it was.

Then he froze.

“R-Ragnar-san?!”

Ragnar Kagenou stood behind him as if he had simply wandered over.

“How are you here?! No, wait, that’s not the important part. There’s something in the sky—”

Ragnar raised a hand, cutting him off.

“I know.”

He looked up.

“That Cursed Womb will become a Special Grade once it finishes gestating.”

Ijichi’s face tightened.

“Then why don’t we—”

“It’s fine.”

Ragnar’s voice was calm.

“I’m here.”

Ijichi stopped.

Ragnar continued lightly.

“A newly born Special Grade won’t cause much trouble with me nearby.”

Then he looked toward the detention center.

“Let’s see how far those three can go.”

Ijichi hesitated.

“But this is…”

He wanted to argue.

However, the moment he looked at Ragnar, the words caught in his throat.

He still remembered what he had seen a year ago.

That overwhelming strength.

That terrifying gap.

A newly hatched Special Grade Cursed Spirit was not something that could threaten Ragnar Kagenou.

Ragnar glanced at him.

“Don’t put up the curtain.”

Ijichi blinked. “Why?”

“It’s too dark. I can’t see.”

Ijichi stared at him.

That was the reason?

Ragnar took a sip from his drink and added casually,

“Let them train properly. Not every jujutsu sorcerer gets to practice against a Special Grade.”

Ijichi sighed in defeat.

“…Understood.”

He stopped the curtain from forming.

Among the three students, the one Ragnar worried about least was Yuji Itadori.

After all, Yuji was Sukuna’s vessel.

No matter how badly he was injured, there was still a chance to recover.

Even death was not necessarily the end for him.