Sukuna seemed angry.
Yuji Itadori sighed, looking down at the clean back of his hand, feeling like he was babysitting a child.
Although whenever he remembered Sukuna saying, "Please refer to me as Ryomen," he couldn't help but want to laugh.
Sukuna: [...]
Itadori: "Pfft... I'm sorry..."
Sukuna gritted his teeth: [...You're still laughing... Why didn't you tell me earlier?]
That was a Second Year student, a senior he would be interacting with for several years.
He could already imagine the wonderful scene of the other person looking at him and bursting into laughter every time they met in the future.
His dignity... He had lost all his dignity!
Sukuna was crying a river internally.
"Sorry, I didn't realize you didn't know about this."
Itadori tried hard to recall, finally remembering that most of what he knew about Sukuna was told to him by Gojo-sensei on the first day, when he was locked in the secret room sealed with numerous talismans. Gojo-sensei had said Sukuna wouldn't wake up then.
Thus, their understanding began to diverge slightly from that moment on.
Sukuna: ...I'm... so mad!
...Not far away, Maki Zen'in's voice drifted over.
"Itadori, what are you standing around for? Hurry up and come over!"
"Coming, coming."
Itadori quickly ran over.
Then he and Sukuna watched Maki's expression—
go from serious... to stunned,
then she turned around and covered her mouth—
her shoulders trembling.
Sukuna: ...—God, please strike everyone here with lightning and give them amnesia!
"Ahem, alright, Itadori."
Maki composed herself, striving to maintain her dignity as a senior.
She twirled the training spear she had been carrying, holding it one-handed behind her, and gestured to Itadori with her other hand, signaling him to come at her.
"I heard that blindfolded idiot say your close combat ability is strong. Let's test it out now."
"If you can't satisfy me," she said, curving her lips into a half-tease, half-threat, "you'll have to watch out later."
"Uh..."
Itadori hesitated for a moment and subconsciously looked at Fushiguro.
He was a little worried about accidentally injuring his senior.
Fushiguro cleared his throat and whispered, "Don't worry, Zen'in-senpai is very powerful. Her use of Cursed Tools is top-tier among students. You should..."
Itadori's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Okay!"
He immediately assumed a fighting stance, pushed off the ground, and charged toward Maki.
Fushiguro: ...You should use about eighty percent of your strength... It's too late.
Fushiguro didn't finish the second half of his sentence, watching helplessly as Itadori vanished from his spot in an instant.
Maki, who had adopted a defensive stance, only felt her vision blur. The next second, Itadori's fist was right in front of her eyes.
So fast!
She immediately grabbed both ends of the spear with both hands and blocked the blow, forcibly receiving the attack.
Bang!—
A huge sound erupted. Maki felt an incredibly powerful force travel from the spear shaft up her arms, sending her flying backward.
She slid back a full five meters, only managing to stop when her back slammed into a tree.
Her hands holding the spear were numb and aching; she could barely grip the shaft.
It even made her momentarily think of that Third Year monster, Aoi Todo.
His strength is... quite high.
Maki felt the uncontrollable trembling of her hands and curled her lips slightly.
This is what I expected. He truly is the person Satoru specifically asked us to look after—even without accounting for the Sukuna inside him, his own strength is sufficient.
Furthermore, I heard Itadori can't even use Cursed Energy yet. To reach this level with only physical strength truly makes him worth refining.
Hiss—
Sounds of people gasping echoed around. Maki looked up and froze for a moment.
Where Itadori had struck the spear in her hand, the faint shape of a fist had appeared.
Although it was only a training spear and didn't contain Cursed Energy, the shaft was made of hundred-refined steel.
She imagined the effect of that punch landing directly on her body and couldn't help but feel a chill.
This guy, he's seriously inhuman... "No, not bad."
Maki stuck the now-useless spear into the ground and flexed her numb hands.
A stiff smile pulled at the corner of her mouth.
"You've passed the close combat portion. Next, you'll train your Cursed Energy."
She turned her head and looked at Panda.
"Panda, give it to him."
Panda muttered, "See? I told you we should have just given it to him. Satoru wouldn't lie to us."
"Huh? What's wrong with testing him first!" Maki's irritated voice rang out.
Panda's round body walked up to Itadori. Under Itadori's somewhat bewildered gaze, Panda pulled out a... small backpack from his own body and handed it to Itadori.
"Here, Yuji, this is for you."
Itadori took it, and his eyes immediately grew even more confused.
It was a cute, ugly stuffed doll, sewn with two backpack straps to resemble a backpack. However, there was no zipper to open it. Itadori flipped it over and over, then looked at Panda again in confusion.
Panda opened his mouth to explain, "This was made by Masamichi, whom Satoru asked... oh, that's Principal Yaga. It's used to help you train Cursed Energy control."
The Principal, huh... Sure enough, it looked similar at first glance, just as bizarre as his other strange dolls.
"How do I train with this..."
Smack—!!
A loud noise rang out, and Itadori instantly took a solid punch right to the face.
The force was so great that everyone around gasped.
Even Sukuna inside him couldn't help but hiss for him.
It looked so painful... The doll, which had been motionless in Itadori's hands, suddenly opened its eyes and slammed a powerful punch into his face.
The boy painfully released his grip to cover his face. The doll fell to the ground, still eager to strike a second time.
"What... what is this thing?"
Itadori was in so much pain that tears welled up. If not for his special constitution, his nose would likely have been broken.
Panda quickly bent down and picked up the doll from the ground. The moment he touched it, the agitated doll slowed its movements, closed its eyes, and returned to its calm state.
"This is a Training Cursed Corpse Doll. If you continuously input Cursed Energy, you can make it fall asleep."
"But once you stop inputting Cursed Energy, it will wake up and attack the person closest to it."
"Satoru said he wants you to carry it all day long, except when sleeping, to train your Cursed Energy output control, which is why it was made into a backpack."
"Keep going! We believe you can do it!"
Panda cheered for Itadori.
A backpack?
This thing... he has to carry it all day long??
Itadori's face was filled with horror, and his entire body screamed refusal.
Won't he get beaten to death?!
He reluctantly turned his head, looking rejectingly at the doll being handed back to him.
Then he remembered this was ordered by his dearest Gojo-sensei, and he ultimately accepted it with a pained expression.
He tried inputting Cursed Energy into it. Sure enough, the doll didn't wake up and punch him, which made him slightly relieved.
Alright, then... training with this... Seriously, will he even live to see tomorrow's sun?
"Huh?"
Sukuna suddenly spoke.
"This ugly doll is actually a tiger? It suits you quite well!"
Itadori: "...Don't think I didn't catch the mockery in your tone."
"...Pffthahaha, congratulations, Torako. You'll be carrying this thing from now on. How wonderful!~"
Sukuna's voice was full of schadenfreude.
Itadori suppressed it again and again but finally couldn't hold back.
"So what's so funny for you? When you switch places with me, won't you be carrying it too..."
Sukuna: ...The smile gradually faded into silence.
He thought about that scenario and instantly couldn't laugh anymore... Satoru Gojo, come out here! I'm going to beat you until you cry!