"Wait, little brother! I'm your oni-chan!"
Not far from the Tokyo Jujutsu High dormitories.
The Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, led by Choso, were chasing after the athletic Itadori Yuji, trying to catch him.
The Cursed Womb: Death Paintings were Special Grade cursed objects created by Kenjaku. Unlike Special Grade cursed tools, which were merely inanimate objects, they contained the souls of the fetuses themselves.
Although numbers four through nine had been stillborn for various reasons, their souls had still been preserved within the cursed objects.
This was a field where Eichi, who possessed the Holy Grail, could truly shine, since it involved souls.
Because of the way they had been created, the higher the number from one to nine, the more incomplete the soul of the corresponding Cursed Womb: Death Painting was.
Number Four was still acceptable. Although its soul was very weak, it was at least complete. By Number Nine, it had faded to little more than a fragment of a soul.
Under the Holy Grail's continuous nourishment and restoration of their souls, as well as Choso's active provision of blood from the same lineage and Cursed Energy to replenish their vitality,
Cursed Womb: Death Painting Numbers Four through Nine gradually recovered to the point where they could be incarnated.
"Who's your little brother? Aren't you from over a hundred years ago? How could you possibly be my oni-chan?!"
Still wearing his pajamas, Yuji shouted as he ran.
Who could understand the shock of waking up in the morning only to find himself surrounded by eight strange individuals, led by someone claiming to be his oni-chan?
Fortunately, the first thing they said wasn't, "You're awake. The surgery was a success."
Even so, Yuji couldn't understand why nine people had suddenly appeared and insisted that he call them older brothers.
In the end, it turned into a massive family reunion scene, with nine people surrounding one.
"So energetic first thing in the morning. He truly is my brother."
Todo, shirtless and showing off his exaggerated muscles, smiled as he watched Yuji's "morning exercise."
"Seriously, it's so noisy this early in the morning. Disturbing a lady's sleep is extremely rude."
Dressed in her uniform, Kugisaki Nobara walked over to Fushiguro Megumi and Todo with a resentful expression. Then she spotted the source of the commotion.
"What kind of act is this supposed to be now?"
Nobara's eye twitched as she watched the ten people playing an extreme version of hide-and-seek.
"Choso and the others want their youngest brother to return to the family and have a reunion."
Megumi explained expressionlessly, as though nothing absurd that happened at Tokyo Jujutsu High could shake him anymore.
"Brother? Family reunion?"
Nobara was full of questions, and even Todo looked over in confusion.
"I know about this!"
Satoru, who had been watching the commotion from the rooftop for quite a while, immediately poked his head out when he heard an interesting topic.
"Wait, why are you on the dorm roof? Are you some kind of cat that likes climbing high places?!"
Nobara complained.
"Don't worry about that. Aren't you curious about Yuji's situation?"
"I am."
Nobara nodded immediately.
"Eichi said that Yuji's mother was involved in the creation of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, which makes Choso and the others his brothers."
"Huh?" x2
Aside from Megumi, who had spent a long time around Eichi and had already formed some guesses about Yuji's background, the other two exclaimed in surprise.
Their brains nearly short-circuited from trying to process it.
"Could it be that my brother's mother is actually a man?"
Todo suddenly stroked his chin and proposed a possibility.
"According to your explanation, was Yuji adopted by them?"
Nobara still felt like something didn't add up.
"No. When I traveled overseas with Master, I once saw a pregnant father in Britain. My brother's situation might be similar."
Father? Pregnant?
This time, not only Nobara, but even Satoru and Megumi felt smoke rising from their heads.
"It was about three years ago, I think. Master and I saw a local news report in Britain about a woman who had been taking male hormones and later underwent gender reassignment surgery.
"However, she still wanted to have her own child. Before the operation, she obtained sperm from an anonymous donor and inseminated herself.
"The report ended by mentioning that around three thousand people undergo gender reassignment surgery in Britain every year, and that the country's first pregnant man had actually come from the United States..."
Todo recounted everything he had seen in that Western world, which seemed several versions ahead of everyone else.
The three of them, despite being a little crazy but possessing relatively normal moral standards, fell silent.
"Yuji's situation is rather special. His mother is someone capable of achieving immortality by switching bodies. More than a hundred years ago, while occupying Kamo Noritoshi's body, he created the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings. About a decade ago, after taking over Itadori Kaori's body, he gave birth to Yuji."
Just as everyone finally understood the relationship between Yuji and Choso, a new development unfolded in the field.
Choso and the others had surrounded Yuji.
"Little brother, have you forgotten the wonderful memories the four of us shared together?"
As Choso spoke, scenes of Yuji, Eso, Kechizu, and himself spending happy times together in the forest gradually appeared.
Choso, the eldest brother, sat at a wooden table dressed in refined and mature clothing. Kechizu, wearing a white shirt and sleeveless jacket, sat elegantly beside him, while Eso wore a loose top and overalls.
Yuji, having personally prepared a large plate of pasta, twirled some around a fork and gently fed it to Eso.
"Ah~"
"Oni-chan, you too."
Yuji twirled another forkful of pasta and, with an adoring expression, fed it to his eldest brother, Choso.
"Wait, when did we ever go on a picnic together?! Why don't I remember any of this?!"
Yuji suddenly shattered the scene.
"I won't lose when it comes to memories with my brother either."
"Todo?"
"It was one afternoon on a rooftop."
Todo lightly brushed back his hair, a nostalgic expression appearing on his face.
As he spoke, another scene slowly unfolded.
It was an afternoon on a rooftop. The two of them chatted and laughed together while discussing the latest manga issue.
The scene then shifted to a corridor. Todo suddenly resolved to confess his feelings, and despite his brother Yuji's attempts to stop him, he carried through with it.
When the confession ended in failure, Yuji not only refrained from mocking him, but also accompanied him as usual to eat ramen.
"Wait, wait, wait, we didn't even attend the same middle school!"
Yuji was completely bewildered. Why did all of these people have so many memories involving him that he knew nothing about?
"We're brothers by blood. When it comes to memories, we won't lose to you."
As Choso spoke again, another stretch of wonderful memories shared among the ten brothers unfolded.
"I didn't realize Yuji's past was so eventful. He must've had it rough."
Nobara was somewhat moved as she listened.
Megumi: "..."
(To be continued.)