In 1996, Kyoto, Japan, a pickup truck slowly drove along a country road.
The driver hummed a tune, enjoying the brief tranquility of being away from the Zen'in Family.
In the cargo bed, a small head peeked out from under a black plastic sheet, quietly observing the surroundings.
"It's around here."
With that, the black plastic sheet was carefully lifted, and a child who looked to be only six or seven stood up, clutching a bag almost as big as himself, his gaze nervously fixed on the river under a narrow bridge not far ahead.
"3, 2, 1, jump."
Before the truck reached the bridge, the child hurled the bag out, then seized the moment to jump into the river himself.
"Pfft, cough, cough, good thing I learned to swim in college."
The child, named Eichi, was a transmigrator.
However, what frustrated him was that he had transmigrated into the Zen'in Family in Jujutsu Kaisen.
There were many hellish beginnings in Jujutsu Kaisen, and Eichi's was one of them, being reborn into the Zen'in Family without awakening a Technique.
Such people in the Zen'in Family had only two outcomes.
One was to become a servant with a status even lower than cattle, living a numb life.
The second was to rise up in rebellion, and then either the rebel or the Zen'in Family would disappear.
Situations like Toji Fushiguro and Maki Zen'in were extremely rare in the history of the Zen'in Family. If Naobito Zen'in hadn't been the most enlightened head in its history, the Zen'in Family would probably have been wiped out by Toji, and Maki wouldn't have even had a chance.
While Toji might not have been able to single-handedly destroy the Zen'in Family in a direct confrontation, his combat intelligence was exceptionally high.
First, assassinate Naobito, Ogi, and a few others. The rest would not be a threat.
The Zen'in Family driver who had been moving slowly just now was doing so for this very reason.
Who would want to return early to be a subservient figure when they could stay out a little longer?
However, this also gave Eichi a chance to escape.
After climbing ashore, Eichi found the bag he had thrown, changed into a clean set of clothes, and headed toward the suburban train station.
What remained of the large bag, after removing clothes and the thin blanket used for cushioning, was only a small shoulder bag.
It wasn't that he didn't want to take more, but his current body was too young, and bringing too much would severely hinder his movement.
Eichi needed to find a place to hide for the night, then take a train to Osaka tomorrow morning, and later find an opportunity to go to Tokyo.
The Zen'in Family's foundation in Kyoto was too deep, there were informants from the clan almost everywhere.
A year ago, his first attempt to escape resulted in him being caught and brought back in less than three days.
The reason was that the shop where he bought food was a Zen'in Family enterprise. After the owner reported him, two people quickly tracked his route and brought him back.
At that moment, Eichi deeply regretted not having learned anti-forensics in his previous life.
But the problem was, which college student would learn anti-forensics for no reason?
So he was kicked half to death by the people who came to catch him and taken back to the Zen'in Family.
If he hadn't just turned six at the time, still with the possibility of awakening a Technique, he probably would have died under the Zen'in Family's house rules.
Those of Zen'in are Jujutsu Sorcerers, those who are not Jujutsu Sorcerers are not human.
This was the philosophy the Zen'in Family had always believed in. Under this philosophy, for ordinary clan members without Techniques and power, the Zen'in Family was a true den of devils.
If he had been exposed to such a philosophy from a young age, Eichi might have become numb like others, but having grown up under an idealistic, revolutionary education in his previous life, he truly couldn't accept it. He ran away immediately after his mother committed suicide.
The experience of being beaten half to death after his failure did not make him afraid, it strengthened his resolve to escape.
In an abandoned shack not far from the train station, Eichi looked with satisfaction at the small house where he planned to stay for a night.
The house hadn't been abandoned for long. If cleaned properly, it could even be lived in long term.
More importantly, the train station was not far away, and next to it was an old residential area with shops and other facilities.
However, to be safe, it was better not to get close to the residential area.
Yet life is always full of surprises. Just as Eichi was curled up in a corner, preparing to sleep, a shocking sound came from outside the door.
"Is this it, Dairou?"
The sudden voice startled him.
"Yes, according to the Technique's feedback, that brat should be inside."
Dairou outside the house held a yukata, and the Cursed Energy emanating from it pointed to Eichi's hiding spot.
"How is this possible? They caught up so quickly?"
What Eichi didn't know was that his previous escape had already agitated the Zen'in Family's nerves. If he hadn't been a child, he might have disappeared from this world last time.
Having passed the age of six without awakening a Technique, his value in the Zen'in Family was very low, especially since this was not his first escape.
Therefore, the Zen'in Family had already decided to deal with Eichi as quickly as possible to uphold family law.
"Is that the yukata I wore during my daytime family lessons and chores?"
This is bad. Is it a Technique that can find the user through an item?
Although he had not awakened as a Jujutsu Sorcerer and could not see the effects of Cursed Energy, he knew a little about the bizarre Technique abilities of Jujutsu Sorcerers.
Technique, the peculiar power mastered by Jujutsu Sorcerers in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen.
A Jujutsu Sorcerer's Technique is basically innate and almost impossible to comprehend through acquired training or other means.
Therefore, it is called an Innate Technique.
However, almost impossible does not mean completely impossible. There are ways to acquire acquired Techniques in this world, such as Yuji Itadori.
Of course, some people do not have Techniques but rely on Cursed Energy and learned skills to exorcise Cursed Spirits.
A representative figure is Kusakabe of Shinkage-ryu.
Additionally, Barrier Techniques and some Shikigami-manipulating Techniques can also be acquired.
In this world, possessing an Innate Technique does not mean one can use it. One also needs a brain capable of using the Technique.
In the original work, Yoshino Junpei possessed both a Technique and Cursed Energy, but he did not have the brain structure to use the Technique.
Therefore, Junpei could not use his Technique until Mahito used Idle Transfiguration to alter his brain structure.
Cursed Energy is derived from a Jujutsu Sorcerer's own negative emotions. Sorcerers need to constantly train to extract and accumulate Cursed Energy from negative emotions, and to maintain stable output during combat.
Perhaps this is why Jujutsu Sorcerers in this world are relatively insane.
Even the power they use is so negative. It is not surprising that people go mad.
"Damn it, with such a useful ability, go be a policeman. Why be a dog for the Zen'in Family?"
Eichi said angrily.
With a push of his hands, he quickly got up, grabbed the small bag next to him, and ran toward the window.
"You brat, still trying to run? Because of you useless trash, I have to work overtime again."
Seeing Eichi running toward the back of the house through the front window, Yota said angrily.
There was a saying: when the strong are angry, they brandish their swords at the stronger; when the weak are angry, they brandish their swords at the weaker.
Yota was such a person, and not only Yota, but Naoya and others who later bullied Maki and Mai were all such people.
Under the influence of the Zen'in Family's twisted philosophy, everyone was assigned their own class, and Eichi, orphaned and without an awakened Technique, was undoubtedly at the very bottom.
As Yota broke through the door, Eichi kicked a box in the corner toward his face.
"You bastard."
"Ah, I'll kill you."
The box contained the dust and gravel Eichi had swept up while cleaning the room earlier. Since there was no trash can, he had put it in the box. Now it unexpectedly served a good purpose.
While Yota and Dairou were blinded by the sand and gravel, Eichi quickly climbed out the back window and ran toward the bridge that crossed the train tracks.
Running over this bridge would lead to a densely populated residential area. Then he could use the people there to block Yota and Dairou. After that, he would take it one step at a time. If he couldn't shake off his pursuers, there would be no after that, he would surely be thrown into a pile of Cursed Spirits as a warning to others.
Discarding the distracting thoughts in his mind, Eichi ran at full speed, with Yota and Dairou rapidly closing in behind him.
Just as he was about to descend the bridge, three figures came into view.
"Are there reinforcements?"
Eichi panicked. Two behind him, and three in front. He felt doomed.
Gritting his teeth, he looked ahead with determination, intending to make a final stand. It was then that he saw clearly the appearance of the three in front.
A white-haired child with sky-blue eyes like the sky, and two burly men with amiable expressions, like bodyguards.
"Gojo Satoru?"
Just as Eichi was surprised, a strange force enveloped all six people present.
[The Host has entered the Lostbelt.]
[Strongest Lostbelt System activated.]
[Detecting Lostbelt information, error. Error. Error.]
[Restarting information detection.]
(To be continued.)
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