Chapter 152 — The New Classmate, Marururia
With Kaguya's explanations, Kaon gradually gained a deeper understanding of the jujutsu world.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was the next day.
Early in the morning, the three first-years arrived at the training field, waiting for Itadori to assign them their first official mission.
"This is my first jujutsu mission… I'm really looking forward to it."
Dressed in the classic black Jujutsu High uniform, Kaon's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
She had assumed there would be a period of classroom training after enrolling—but instead, they were being sent straight into the field.
Perhaps this was simply how jujutsu sorcerers were trained.
"For a first-year's initial mission, it'll most likely be curse extermination,"
Kaguya said calmly.
"Exorcising curses, huh?" Kaon rubbed her chin.
"You don't see many curses overseas. Even when you do, they're usually very weak. But here… it feels like there are a lot more."
Since arriving in Japan, she had clearly sensed that the number of curses here far exceeded that of other countries.
She'd even encountered several weak curses just walking down the street.
This place really did feel like the birthplace of curses.
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"Ever since a major upheaval in the jujutsu world eighteen years ago, the number of curses dropped dramatically," Kaguya explained.
"My father said it was because the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna, absorbed the cursed energy of tens of millions of non-sorcerers."
"But in recent years, cursed energy has started reappearing in those people again. Combined with Kamui's emergence, the number of curses has begun increasing once more."
Hearing this, Gojo Kamui spoke flatly:
"I'll eliminate them."
"Huh?" Kaon blinked.
"What does the birth of curses have to do with Kamui?"
She knew curses were born from the negative emotions of non-sorcerers—people unable to control their cursed energy.
Kaguya nodded and explained:
"The strength of the jujutsu world has been steadily rising. With Kamui's appearance, the balance has been severely disrupted. When that happens, the opposing forces of the world grow stronger as well."
"It's an unspoken rule of the jujutsu world."
"Just like Kamui's father—he once broke the balance too. And eighteen years ago, that imbalance gave rise to someone like Ryomen Sukuna."
"Was Ryomen Sukuna really that strong?"
Kaon froze for a moment.
Wasn't Gojo Kamui's father supposed to be the strongest sorcerer?
If he was the strongest, shouldn't he have been able to deal with any threat?
"Extremely strong," Kaguya replied seriously.
"He was known as the strongest sorcerer in history. My father said that battle decided the future of the entire jujutsu world—maybe even humanity itself."
"But that war involved too many secrets. Even my father never explained the full details, so we don't actually know how Sukuna was defeated."
Kaguya scratched his head, clearly curious himself.
The battle had nearly erased all of Shinjuku.
Even now, traces of that conflict could still be found—deliberately preserved scars in the city, standing as a silent warning to the jujutsu world.
After the Shinjuku battle all those years ago, Gojo Satoru and the others made a decisive choice: every piece of related footage was confiscated, and all non-sorcerers who knew the truth were subjected to large-scale memory erasure.
If other nations learned that the jujutsu world harbored so many terrifying beings, it would only invite unnecessary trouble.
For the rest of the world, it was enough to know that Gojo Satoru existed.
Any more than that, and the jujutsu world would inevitably be placed under scrutiny.
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"You're all here already? Sorry, sorry—something came up and delayed me a bit."
Itadori Yuji appeared, scratching his head apologetically.
Being late on the very first day really was awkward.
"It's fine, Itadori-sensei! Can we get our mission now?"
Zen'in Kaon said eagerly.
At this moment, all she wanted was to finally see what a powerful curse looked like—how strong it really was, and whether she could defeat one.
"Don't rush. Let me introduce a new student first."
Itadori stepped aside, revealing a small figure behind him.
She looked barely one and a half meters tall. Her long golden hair was tied into a ponytail that reached her waist. Her pale cheeks bore red markings, and a diamond-shaped sticker rested on her forehead. A pair of bright sapphire-blue eyes stared directly at them.
"Hello. My name is Marururia. I'm a first-year this year. You can call me Ria."
The blonde girl introduced herself calmly.
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"Sensei… are you sure she's old enough to enroll?"
The usually quiet Gojo Kamui couldn't help speaking up.
He had no interest in bringing a kid along on missions—it would only slow him down.
"According to your standards… I'm already seventeen," Ria replied.
By human age conversion, she was the equivalent of a seventeen-year-old.
"The same age as me?"
Kaon's eyes widened. "I never would've guessed! Nice to meet you, Ria. I'm Zen'in Kaon—just call me Kaon."
She stared at the petite blonde in fascination.
Cute. Way too cute.
Blonde hair, blue eyes, and that slightly aloof expression—she desperately wanted to pinch her cheeks.
"Nice to meet you," Ria replied with a faint smile.
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"All right, a brief explanation," Itadori said.
"Ria's identity is special. She's here as an observer from a treaty nation and will be spending the next few years with you."
"She'll accompany you on missions as an observer, so your responsibility is to ensure her safety."
The three of them froze.
Observer? Treaty nation?
This was completely new territory.
Kaon and Okkotsu Kaguya didn't think much of it, but Kamui had already mentally labeled Ria as dead weight.
Still, with his strength, protecting one extra person wasn't an issue.
After all, no enemy here would be a problem for him.
"Now for your mission," Itadori continued.
"According to reports, Shinjuku has recently seen frequent cases of people going missing. Preliminary analysis suggests a curse user is responsible."
"Your task is to investigate the truth and capture the culprit. Remember—take them alive."
Once the briefing was done, the four of them set off for Shinjuku.
"Shinjuku, huh?" Kaguya said.
"Then we'll get to see the remnants of that battle. Kaon and Ria, you probably haven't seen them before, right?"
"Perfect timing—you can take a look."
Kaon's eyes lit up.
"The battlefield where the jujutsu world fought the strongest curse user in history… what does it look like?"
It would be a good chance to see just how vast the gap was between herself and true legends.
Ria, on the other hand, remained expressionless.
She wasn't here for sightseeing.
She had a mission.
Whether humans could truly coexist with the Simurian refugees—that was something she had to determine.
The future of fifty thousand lives depended on it.
Her objective was simple:
understand humanity.
Understand sorcerers—humans who wielded the same kind of power as her people.
"Um… earlier, Itadori-sensei mentioned curse users," Ria asked curiously.
"What's the difference between a curse user and a jujutsu sorcerer?"
If she wanted to understand humans, this seemed like the best place to start.
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