In a dim underground basement, inside a small dark room, Itadori Yuji was tied up with rope and thrown onto a couch.
Though he struggled constantly to break free, he still couldn't undo the knots—clearly the work of a veteran driver's exclusive rope-tying skills.
"Mm… mmph…"
Paimon looked away, unable to watch.
"This is too cruel… way too cruel…"
Gojo said,
"Itadori, you're strong in close combat, but when it comes to cursed energy, your control over the details is terrible.
Your fundamental knowledge is also severely lacking.
So, starting now, you're going to learn how to control your cursed energy. Once you've got that down, we'll move on to the next step."
"Mm… mmph…"
Paimon chimed in,
"He says you're right. He wants to learn the basics. He wants to go to school."
Gojo chuckled.
"Come on, Itadori, don't force yourself. I heard you hate sitting in class the most.
Word has it that your trio even skipped class once—and from what I heard, it was you and Nobara who dragged Megumi into it."
"Mm—mm!!"
Paimon translated,
"Yuji says, No way! I love class! I love learning the basics!"
Gojo pretended to be surprised.
"Well, isn't that great? Because what I'm going to teach you next… is the basics. The most basic of basics."
"Mmm? MM!!"
"You sneaky bastard, you tricked me!?"
Gojo glanced over at Paimon.
"Don't look at me! That's what Yuji said—I'm just the translator!"
Zephyr cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Alright, let's untie him."
"Oh~?"
Once the ropes were off, Itadori was on the verge of tears.
"Phew… freedom at last! Thank you, Big Sis!"
Zephyr said,
"Take out your artifacts, Itadori."
"Eh?"
Itadori, eyes teary, asked,
"Big Sis… don't tell me you're gonna take them away? My Pressure Band… If I lose my artifacts, I'll definitely die under Gojo-sensei's training!"
"Just take them out first."
"B-but… I don't know how to take them out…"
Paimon sighed,
"Yuji, you're so dumb."
Zephyr said,
"It's simple. Just imagine you're having surgery—it'll be over in an instant."
"B-Big Sis, you're joking, right?"
"Picture it like a game—you're using your mouse to remove the equipment from inside your body."
"Hmm… okay, I'll give it a try."
Itadori Yuji closed his eyes, and before long, the artifacts slowly floated out from his body.
"Ah! It really worked! That's amazing!"
Gojo adjusted his blindfold and said,
"Eh? Lumine, when did you give Yuji a full set of artifacts? Weren't you saying only you could use them?"
"I thought so too at first, but later I found out that sorcerers can actually use them as well."
"I see… then why'd you give Yuji a set in particular? Pfft—don't tell me… do you like him?"
"…What?"
Lumine and Paimon both froze.
"Eh?!"
Itadori suddenly looked a bit flustered.
Zephyr's face twitched.
"Wanna see if I smack you?"
"Waaah! So scary! I was just joking!"
"Big Sis~"
Itadori gave her a pitiful look.
"If you keep making that face, I swear the next world I visit will be One Piece, and I'll find a way to change your gender!"
Gulp.
Itadori swallowed hard, eyes filled with terror.
"Big Sis! I'm sorry! I was wrong! I won't do it again! Please forgive me!!"
Gojo held his stomach, laughing hysterically.
Zephyr sighed.
"Well, since you asked, I might as well be honest. Itadori Yuji—your body is actually quite… special."
"My body is special?"
Itadori scratched his head.
"Uh… yeah, I mean, I've always been super strong and fast since I was a kid."
"That's not what I mean. Your body is especially suited to be a vessel for cursed spirits."
"Huh?"
"What?!"
Their reactions were very different—Itadori was just confused, with no idea what a "vessel" meant. Gojo, on the other hand, was genuinely shocked.
"In the original timeline, you all encountered danger. You swallowed one of Sukuna's fingers and defeated the cursed spirit, saving Fushiguro Megumi.
Normally, when someone consumes a cursed object, their body is taken over—the person is basically dead.
"But you were different. You swallowed Sukuna's finger, yet you still retained full control over your body.
Even Sukuna couldn't overpower your will and take full control."
"Wait, what…"
Itadori was dumbfounded. There's something like that?
"But—having Sukuna inside you isn't a good thing.
He won't help you when it matters. Instead, he'll mock you, mess with you, and even sabotage you.
All just to wait for a moment of weakness—so he can kill you from within and fully take over your body."
Itadori Yuji shivered instinctively.
"But, occasionally, Sukuna can be somewhat useful. Let's put it this way: ever since you encountered him, 90% of what's happened has been bad, but there's still that remaining 10% of benefit.
So, I took away Sukuna's fingers from you—but as compensation, I gave you a set of artifacts."
"Eh?! So that's the reason!"
Itadori looked really disappointed.
"I thought it was because I had great talent, and Big Sis admired me enough to give me a set of artifacts… but it turns out that's why. Boohoo…"
Zephyr's face darkened and she kicked him.
"Can you talk like a normal person?"
Paimon crossed her arms.
"Exactly! Can't you act more like a man?"
Zephyr pinched Paimon's cheek.
"You've got a lot of nerve saying that. Yuji turning out like this is mostly your fault."
Originally, Yuji was just a bit cutesy—not feminine at all. But because Paimon kept bullying him, he became like this!
Gojo tugged at his blindfold.
"So that's how it is. Yuji's special constitution—was that also something the future version of me told you about? That's amazing. The perks of reincarnation are really convenient!"
"Big Sis, then why did you ask me to take the artifacts out just now?"
"I'm worried I might not be able to join the tournament, and I'm afraid you guys will lose. So I'm getting you a power-up in advance."
The set of artifacts Zephyr gave Itadori before was just a basic three-star set with no upgrades.
But now, she wasn't sure she'd even be around for the tournament, since once the main story quest ended, she'd be leaving this world.
And according to the original plot, the tournament was still a month and a half away—there was a real chance she wouldn't make it.
Judging from their current abilities, their school was definitely going to lose to Kyoto.
Because right now, Itadori Yuji was much weaker than his original storyline self.
Not in terms of raw power—but mentally.
This version of Yuji was basically a softie, nothing like the version who had already endured countless hardships in the original story.
So now, she was going to give him a serious upgrade—as compensation for taking back the Sukuna fingers that rightfully belonged to her.
Zephyr took out the five artifacts and instantly leveled them all to max—level 12.
//END
(T/N: Want a bonus chap? You know what to do!)
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