"Hahahaha! Seems like we picked the wrong spot! There aren't nearly enough people here! Hic~!"
Kikuri Hiroi let out a drunken hiccup as she spoke.
The overwhelming stench of alcohol clung to her entire being, radiating an aura of utter dishevelment.
The woman appeared to be in her twenties, and her features weren't unattractive, but the overpowering alcoholic odor surrounding her was like that of a decade-old drunkard—so pungent it could be detected from afar, deterring anyone from approaching.
To put it bluntly, she reeked as if she'd just crawled out of a cesspit, repelling everyone in sight.
"No! This place is perfect! Way better than going downtown!"
Hitori Gotoh's perspective was entirely different, her face streaked with tears of relief.
"If we went to a place like that, I'd definitely be killed!"
"Hahaha, who'd kill you?"
Kikuri burst into laughter at her words, clutching her stomach as if she couldn't contain herself.
"By the atmosphere of normies! I'm serious!"
Hitori hugged herself tightly, trembling at the mere thought of such a scenario—like an innocent bystander accidentally caught in a crime scene.
When this older sister had first dragged her out for street performances, she'd assumed they'd be heading to the heart of the city. If they'd actually gone to such a place, she would've surely twisted and deformed into a slug-like mollusk, then crumbled like ashes in the desert, scattered by the slightest breeze.
Fortunately, they'd ended up here instead. While the Daikubo area was still fairly bustling, the incident two months ago had left it stagnant, nowhere near as lively as before. The foot traffic was decent but far from overwhelming.
Come to think of it, hadn't Nijika and the others mentioned being caught up in whatever happened here back then?
Though whenever they brought it up, they'd always become evasive, and Hitori never dared to press further—so she had no idea what had actually occurred.
"Oh! Someone's coming! Quick, quick! Hitori, get ready to play!"
"So soon? Wait, give me a second to prepare—at least hand me a cardboard box!"
Flustered, Hitori slung her guitar over her shoulder, frantically scanning left and right for something to hide behind.
But of course, Kikuri had picked the perfect spot—wide open, right at a busy intersection with absolutely no cover in sight!
Before she could even process it, the deep thrum of a bass guitar erupted beside her. Kikuri had already launched into her performance, the amplified bass notes booming like war drums, instantly igniting her enthusiasm.
Hitori was ignited too.
But unlike Kikuri's fiery passion, she was literally burning up—flames of panic licking at her entire body until she crumbled into ashes.
A single gust of wind, and she'd scatter into the sky.
"Damn it, I was so scared I completely missed the beat!"
Hitori's face twisted in despair, on the verge of tears.
Passersby in the corridor occasionally cast glances her way, though their eyes held no real interest in her performance. Yet, being the focus of countless stares tormented her. Her heart pounded like a drum, and waves of fear surged over her, making it impossible to concentrate on playing.
"Sensei, this is...!"
Megumi stared in shock at Hitori Gotoh, who stood awkwardly in the open space, utterly lost.
"Yeah..."
Roy couldn't help but let out a heavy murmur.
"This kid... is amazing!"
What?
Amazing?
Who was he talking about?
Hitori, who had shut her eyes in fright, cautiously opened them upon hearing those words.
She turned toward the source of the voice and locked eyes with two boys—one with black hair, the other with white.
Their gazes were filled with awe.
Especially the white-haired boy. It was as if her performance had moved him deeply, his eyes brimming with approval.
What kind of look was that?
It was the kind of look that screamed, "I want to cheer for you at the top of my lungs!"
"Could it be... I'm actually amazing?"
Hitori felt as though she had ascended to heaven, as if angels were whispering in her ear—You can do it. You're incredible. You can do it.
"Ooooh! I can do this!"
As if injected with adrenaline, Hitori suddenly flipped a switch inside herself. Her entire body felt charged with energy, as though she were about to transform into a Super Saiyan.
In an instant, the strumming of her guitar became soul-stirring, stirring the emotions of the passersby. One after another, their gazes turned toward her.
Roy and Megumi, standing not far away, had no idea what kind of mental journey Hitori had just undergone.
The two were quietly whispering to each other.
"It's a curse! She nearly manifested a curse all by herself just now!"
"This kid is a genius. If she became a jujutsu sorcerer, she'd be a legend in the jujutsu world!"
Megumi's eyes were filled with astonishment as he stared at Hitori.
Even Roy's gaze was full of approval.
The two had clearly seen the cursed energy—saturated with negative emotions—emanating from Hitori, gradually taking the form of a slug-like curse.
Just as it was about to fully manifest, something inside her must have shifted, because the curse suddenly vanished as if purified.
What terrifying potential!
"Her cursed energy reserves must be enormous, and her output efficiency is incredible!"
"She might even have a natural talent for Reverse Cursed Technique!"
They whispered among themselves, occasionally casting admiring glances at Hitori.
In the world of jujutsu, cursed energy is tied to negative emotions.
Of course, this doesn't mean that stronger negative emotions equate to more cursed energy.
In reality, the total amount of cursed energy a person has is fixed—largely innate, determined at birth. The difference between individuals is staggering: some possess oceans of cursed energy, while others have barely a puddle.
However, the stronger the negative emotions, the more cursed energy one can channel in a given moment. In other words, it's a matter of output efficiency—the more intense the negativity, the greater the output.
But everyone's total cursed energy is finite.
For a sorcerer with a large reserve of cursed energy, the more they output, the stronger their attacks will naturally be. However, if their total cursed energy is limited, outputting too much would be counterproductive, as their energy would quickly deplete.
Moreover, efficiency in utilizing cursed energy must also be considered—whether every ounce of cursed energy can be used without waste. Thus, the effectiveness varies from person to person.
Therefore, every sorcerer must maintain an appropriate level of negative emotions during battle.
This relates to the efficiency of cursed energy output and sustainability, among other things—it's fundamental knowledge of utmost importance.
But without a doubt, those with greater cursed energy reserves and stronger output are inherently more powerful as sorcerers.
Hitori Gotoh belongs to this category.
Unconsciously, as if responding to the admiration of the two, Hitori's presence grew increasingly intense. The sound of her guitar was so powerful that it instantly captured the attention of every passerby.
Even her fellow performers cast astonished glances her way.
What?
You ask Roy and Megumi how Hitori's guitar playing was?
They admitted they were tone-deaf and couldn't tell good guitar playing from bad.
Their understanding of music was limited to "sounds good" or "sounds bad."
"Hmm?"
As the performance neared its end, Roy suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise, his face showing a hint of unexpected realization.
Megumi noticed the change in his expression and turned to look at him.
"What is it, sensei?"
"Seems we have an uninvited guest. How surprising—apparently my reputation isn't as intimidating as Gojo Satoru's yet… No matter, I'll handle it."
With that, Roy slipped away unnoticed, vanishing from the open space.
An uninvited guest?
Megumi tensed up.
Could there be someone with ill intentions approaching?
Were they targeting Yuji and the others?
Megumi immediately turned and hurried in the direction Yuji and Nobara had gone earlier.
"Um… excuse me, please wait a moment!"
Just then, a voice so nervous it nearly cracked called out from behind.
Megumi paused mid-step. Though he doubted it concerned him, he still glanced back.
There stood the pink-haired girl who had been playing the guitar earlier, clutching two shoddily printed tickets—likely from some third-rate factory—as she timidly approached.
...
"So easy!"
In a narrow alleyway, Yuji looked at the cursed dagger in his hand and grinned in satisfaction.
Before him lay a lizard-like cursed spirit with a gaping hole in its abdomen—no more than a Grade 3 in strength. Once he found it, dispatching it was effortless.
Could it be that he was actually pretty strong?
"Sensei said he wanted to test our abilities, but he never even showed up!"
Yuji scanned the surroundings but saw no sign of the so-called teacher who was supposed to evaluate them, grumbling under his breath.
He really couldn't tell whether this teacher was reliable or not.
"Well, since there's still time, might as well look around some more!"
He'd heard there were a lot of cursed spirits in this area lately.
Though they were all weak Grade 3 spirits—hardly a threat to sorcerers like them—for ordinary people, encountering one would be nothing short of a disaster.
"Every cursed spirit we eliminate means one less disaster!"
With this thought in mind, Yuji continued to move through the alleyways.
Above his head, a black bird followed closely behind him, almost as if it were keeping watch.
It was Roy's familiar.
Through this familiar, Roy was keeping tabs on both Yuji and Nobara, while also clearly observing their battles.
"Young man over there!"
Yuji suddenly stopped in his tracks.
At the corner of the alley ahead, an elderly man was kneeling on the ground, clutching his lower back with a pained expression. Upon spotting Yuji, his eyes lit up with relief.
"Could you help me up? I threw out my back and it hurts so much I can't stand. If you'd be kind enough to take me to the hospital, I'll make sure your school gives you an award!"
The old man's face was full of urgency.
Secretly, however, his hand—hidden from Yuji's view—gripped a dagger tucked in his clothes.
'With that dumb look on his face, he'll definitely fall for it. Once he gets close, I'll strike and disable him! But I can't let him notice anything off before then. I have to be careful—no cursed energy...'