Satoru Gojo

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Mei Mei looked down at the little boy sitting on the ground.

He was exhausted, and the residue of cursed energy around him had not fully dispersed. Unbelievable as it was, the cursed spirit really did seem to have been exorcised by him.

Still, Mei Mei wanted to confirm it herself.

A child this young destroying a Grade 1 cursed spirit, one approaching Special Grade, was far beyond common sense. The cursed energy outburst that had drawn her here had been terrifying, too.

The young, good-looking boy said nothing. He only watched her.

Mei Mei pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed. She had very little experience dealing with children this small, especially children who were still wary of her.

She adjusted her expression and gave him a gentle, friendly smile. Then she crouched in front of him.

"Don't be scared. I'm a jujutsu sorcerer. I deal with monsters like these. You can think of me as the police for this kind of thing. Now, can you tell me what happened here?"

"Jujutsu sorcerer..."

The phrase struck Ren like a bell.

He searched his memory with sudden intensity. Then, in a flash, he remembered.

Jujutsu sorcerers.

That was what people in Jujutsu Kaisen were called. In that world, human negative emotions gave birth to curses and created cursed spirits. People born with cursed techniques, and able to control their own cursed energy, were called jujutsu sorcerers. They were the ones responsible for exorcising cursed spirits.

Images from the anime flashed through Ren's mind.

He had not known the series in great depth in his previous life. He had only watched the anime online, and even then he had not finished everything before he died. Still, characters and plot points surfaced one after another.

'Right. Mei Mei. The beautiful white-haired woman from the series. No wonder she looked familiar. So that means... I was reborn into Jujutsu Kaisen.'

His "psychic power" was actually cursed energy.

Did that mean he was unusually talented?

Ren had known a little about Jujutsu Kaisen when it became popular in his previous world, but he rarely read manga. His knowledge came mostly from the anime, and only part of it at that.

His thoughts collided in a mess.

Mei Mei watched him remain silent until her smile nearly stiffened. Just as she was about to try a different approach, the boy finally spoke.

"Ren Kamishiro. My name is Ren Kamishiro. A huge monster ate Miss Koharu, so I killed it."

Mei Mei followed the direction he pointed and saw Koharu Anzu lying on the ground. She walked over to check the woman, then said, "She's only unconscious. She doesn't have any major injuries, and the curse didn't corrode her too deeply. She'll need a long rest, that's all."

Ren let out a breath.

Mei Mei looked back at him, curiosity and interest filling her eyes. She walked over, lifted him easily, and held him at her side.

"For now, I'll believe you. Since you dealt with the big one, and I've cleared out the smaller ones, let's get out of here first. Did you see any other survivors?"

Ren told her about the two children hiding in the cabinet.

Mei Mei held him in one hand and lifted the unconscious Koharu Anzu with the other. Carrying them as if they weighed nothing, she walked out of the warped space.

They passed through the curtain-like barrier. If Ren remembered correctly, it was called a curtain, a barrier jujutsu sorcerers used to isolate an area while they worked.

Mei Mei placed them in a black car, then turned and entered the curtain again. Before long, she came back out with two frightened but mostly stable children.

After that, she called Ren aside.

He had rested for a little while and felt much better. Mei Mei looked at him with open curiosity.

"Someone will be here soon to handle the aftermath. Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

Ren thought for a moment, then gave her a selective version of events.

Now that he knew this was the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, he had a new goal.

He needed to find a way to enroll in Jujutsu High.

He had no clan, and being a jujutsu sorcerer was a profession with its own traditions and inheritance. No matter how much talent he had, teaching himself in isolation would only take him so far.

More importantly, Jujutsu High had the strongest sorcerer of the modern era.

Satoru Gojo.

'Get into Jujutsu High. Get guidance from Gojo. Get stronger.'

With that plan in mind, Ren did not refuse Mei Mei's request. She had graduated from Jujutsu High herself, and she was Gojo's senior.

As long as he roughly described what happened, Ren was sure he could draw attention. Maybe he would not be considered the absolute best, but he was clearly talented enough to matter.

The vast world had finally revealed one corner of itself to him.

Ren had the qualifications to step into it. Why would he refuse?

As expected, after listening to his uneven, halting account, Mei Mei looked somewhere between shocked and impressed. She patted the top of his head.

"There are some snacks in the car. The police and medical staff will arrive soon, so wait there for now."

Ren returned to the car and shared snacks with Kumiko, who had escaped danger and was now hungry enough to eat. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mei Mei standing nearby on the phone.

...

"Satoru, you absolutely won't guess what happened. Inside that half-formed cursed spirit's innate domain, a child exorcised the cursed spirit."

Mei Mei's smile was strange. After the person on the other end finished speaking, she continued, "Yes. His cursed technique probably awakened. He seems to have figured out some basic cursed energy control on his own, and the amount of cursed energy he has is frightening..."

"All right. Come over as soon as you're done with your side."

Before long, police cars and ambulances arrived with sirens wailing.

Koharu Anzu and the two children were taken away. The officers spoke with Mei Mei, then headed toward the orphanage now that the curtain was gone.

Mei Mei got back into the car.

Ren glanced at her, then looked out the window. She did not speak either, and the two of them settled into a strangely comfortable silence.

Then someone appeared in Ren's line of sight as if out of nowhere.

His eyes widened slightly.

He studied the newcomer.

White hair, also swept upward. A tall body dressed in the same style of black uniform as Mei Mei. A sharp, handsome face, with bandages wrapped over his eyes.

Satoru Gojo.

The strongest sorcerer in the jujutsu world. One of Jujutsu Kaisen's central figures.

As Gojo walked straight toward them, Mei Mei opened the car door and got out. Then she motioned for Ren to follow.

Gojo stopped in front of him with both hands in his pockets. He bent slightly and examined Ren.

Ren looked at the face hidden behind the bandages. He knew those eyes were not blocked by something as simple as cloth.

Gojo straightened and rubbed his chin.

"Interesting. His name is Ren Kamishiro, right? He really does have a huge amount of cursed energy. He even figured out how to suppress it and use it in a few simple ways without anyone teaching him. Not bad. Not bad at all."

Then he asked, "Can I see your cursed technique?"

Ren showed just the right amount of confusion. "What's a cursed technique? Do you mean my superpower?"

Gojo smiled and snapped his fingers.

"Exactly. Reach for that thing you were born with and show me."

Gojo lifted a hand and removed the bandages, revealing a pair of breathtaking blue eyes.

The Six Eyes.

A legend in the jujutsu world, able to read the flow and operation of cursed energy, even information about cursed techniques.

Under those blue eyes, Ren took a breath and activated his superpower.

No.

His cursed technique.

Everything around him seemed to slow.

Ren lifted his head. As expected, Gojo was still watching him. A trace of surprise appeared in the man's eyes.

Ren walked a circle around them, and Gojo's gaze followed him the entire time.

It was the first time Ren had ever seen anyone keep up with him in that state.

Mei Mei, standing nearby, was slower. After Ren ended the demonstration, she asked curiously, "Well? Satoru, is his technique accelerating his movements? I couldn't really see him just now."

Gojo closed his eyes in thought.

"No. It isn't just acceleration. I can't say with one hundred percent certainty yet, but..."

His smile widened.

"Very interesting."

Mei Mei grew even more curious. There were not many things that could make Gojo this interested. Add the boy's enormous cursed energy and unknown cursed technique, and perhaps...

Could another Special Grade appear in the future?

Gojo's expression shifted into a brilliant smile. He crouched in front of Ren and spoke in a cheerful, tempting tone.

"Ren, your cursed technique has awakened. You're not an ordinary person anymore. You, me, and this big sister here are all the same kind of people. We have a school for people like you."

"There are lots of fun things there, and we can teach you how to use your 'superpower.' So? Want to join us?"

Mei Mei pressed a hand to her forehead. "Satoru, could you stop sounding like a suspicious man trying to kidnap a child? Also, Jujutsu High doesn't take students this young."

Gojo rubbed his chin.

"He has already awakened his technique. Leaving him outside isn't a good idea. If a curse user targets him, things could get ugly. We need a plan..."

Then he brightened.

"Got it."

"Either way, let's get him out of the orphanage first. If curse users find him there, the whole orphanage could get dragged into it."

Gojo looked at Ren's small face and frowned. He knew the boy understood him.

Sure enough, Ren asked, troubled, "Then what should I do?"

Gojo laughed brightly and waved a hand. "Relax, relax. As long as you understand, that's enough. I'll have someone handle the adoption paperwork later. The Gojo clan can raise one kid without even noticing the cost."

He tied the bandages back over his eyes.

"We can't guard this place forever, and it isn't safe for you. For now, I'll take you somewhere else."

When Ren nodded, Gojo suddenly bent down with a wicked expression.

"Actually, we're bad guys and we're about to sell you."

Ren did not panic in the slightest. He only looked at Gojo with faint disdain, almost contempt.

Gojo was not embarrassed at all. He burst out laughing instead.

Mei Mei kept smiling nearby.

Satoru was still that slightly awful person. In a certain sense, he was like a child himself.

Gojo put a hand at the back of Ren's neck. Without any visible gripping motion, he lifted the boy securely off the ground.

"We'll be going, then!"

That was addressed to Mei Mei.

As her voice followed with, "Don't forget my payment," Ren's vision shifted in an instant.

Before he could make sense of the change, he was somewhere unfamiliar.

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