Well, now that Gojo's demonstration of his new technique was over, it was finally Suguru Geto's turn.
While Geto estimated that he could probably handle things like Deep Black or Bright White with his Domain Expansion, it was plain to see that the current Satoru Gojo would likely take him down before he could even deploy it. Consequently, the sense of crisis Geto felt was quite significant.
And so, the result of the diligent effort he had put into his training was...
"Utahime-senpai, I don't really use this, so wouldn't it be fine to just give it back to the children?"
"Is that so? Well, even if it's for jujutsu studies, it's worth seeing all kinds of techniques. We'll just keep watching for today."
"I see. Then I won't hold back. Cursed Technique Reversal: Spirit Creation Art."
That was it. Having decided that he lacked the necessary toughness to rival Gojo and Naoya, Geto had desperately deciphered Shoko's abstract and sensory advice, finally mastering the Reverse Cursed Technique.
The resulting Cursed Technique Reversal was this. By multiplying negative cursed energy with negative cursed energy to create positive cursed energy, he could fuse cursed spirits together to create a Spirit. It was a somewhat fantastical technique.
As for the first test subject of this Cursed Technique Reversal...
"What is that, Suguru? Navi? Should we go ahead and dye your uniform green?"
"No, this is just what happened when I fused two of them... I'm not sure if it was influenced by my own image of a fairy or if it's just the default specification..."
"Ahaha! It's cute, Geto! Pfft!"
"Utahime-senpai is absolutely cracking up. Good for you, Geto. The debut was a huge success, wasn't it?"
"Well, it was popular with Mimiko and Nanako, too... I figured this is how people would react..."
"Hey, ladies! You've gone and made Suguru cry!"
"Ugh, so annoying."
Just as their banter suggested, what Geto had summoned was a small, palm-sized spiritual entity made of positive cursed energy, looking like a glowing orb of light with fairy-like wings.
According to the technique's name, these were called Spirits. These spiritual bodies were the literal opposite of cursed spirits and were generally beneficial to humans. In the case of this individual created from Fly Heads, the only effect was a slight improvement in mood when it possessed someone. However, what would happen if the base was a higher-grade cursed spirit?
That was the purpose of Geto going out of his way to use the school grounds after classes for a trial run. Since they didn't know what might happen, he wanted to experiment in an open area.
"That's the situation, Satoru. If things get dangerous, help me dispose of it."
"Sure, sure. I think it'll be fine, but leave it to me. With how I am now, I don't feel like I'd lose to anyone except you. So, are we starting with the low-grade ones?"
"Yeah. I plan to test them in order: Grade 4, 3, 2, 1, and then Special Grade."
"Seriously? You're going all the way to Special Grade. What Special Grades do you have on hand again?"
"The Special Grade Imaginary Vengeful Spirit Kuchisake-onna, the Specific Disease Cursed Spirit Smallpox Hag, the Special Grade Imaginary Vengeful Spirit Keshin Tamamo-no-Mae, and the Special Grade Imaginary Vengeful Spirit Toilet Hanako-san... I think that's it. This time, I'm planning to fuse Kuchisake-onna and Toilet Hanako-san. Their characters overlap a bit anyway."
"True. Well then, Grade 4 first?"
"Yeah. Here goes... Spirit Creation Art!"
With those words, Geto fused a fish-like curse swimming through the air with an anemone-like curse. The two mixing curses turned into a white Cursed Spirit Orb in Geto's palm, and the ritual was completed when he swallowed it. When Geto summoned the result once more, there stood a golden telescope goldfish swimming through the air while shining brilliantly.
"Hmm. Does it retain some elements of the original curses?"
"In an aquatic life sense? Does that thing have any abilities?"
"No, the originals were Grade 4, so not really. However, since it's scattering positive cursed energy into the surroundings, it might act as a ward against curses. Just like the one based on the Fly Heads, it feels good to touch."
"For real? Can I touch it too? Oh, yeah, it definitely has a relaxing effect... Utahime, why don't you take this? You're always irritable when you're on your period."
"I'll kill you."
"You have my permission to kill him for that one, Utahime-senpai."
"Look how easily she gets angry. Come on, Suguru. Let's give it to Utahime."
"No, that was definitely Satoru's fault, wasn't it? But it's true that if it's useful for something, keeping it around might be a good idea. If the next Grade 3 one goes well, I'll have her try it out. Senpai, I'll need a review from you."
"Don't use me for human experimentation!"
"Now, don't be like that. I'm sure it'll be fine."
Despite her protests against the two jerks trying to foist the Spirit on her, Utahime Iori would later take a great liking to the Grade 3 Spirit Geto created and would end up volunteering as a test subject.
Moving on, the Grade 2 Spirit—the result of combining two reptile-like curses—took the form of an auspicious-looking Minogame turtle. The Grade 1 Spirit was the result of fusing two curses that seemed to have no connection: one with a technique to loop indoor spaces like a barrier and another with a technique to scatter poison. The result was a brown, mascot-like character resembling Morizo with a technique to deploy a barrier with a detoxification effect. It was a limited but fairly useful ability. After seeing these fascinating changes, it was finally time for the experiment using Special Grades.
Even Gojo stopped messing around and deployed Bright White to prepare for any emergency. In the midst of that, the two Special Grades in Geto's palm were converted into a Spirit Orb. Geto swallowed it and immediately summoned the Special Grade Spirit.
Kuchisake-onna and Toilet Hanako-san. The Spirit born from the fusion of those two possessed the bobbed hair characteristic of Hanako-san and the large, slit mouth of Kuchisake-onna, wearing the red clothing common to both.
[ILLUSTRATION DISPLAY]
However, even though she was dressed in red, her appearance was undeniably that of a young girl in a kimono in a pure Japanese style—a look that was entirely different from both Toilet Hanako-san and Kuchisake-onna.
"Suguru, are you okay?"
"Yeah. I have her under control. From my experience, I didn't feel any hindrance in controlling them at all, from the Special Grade down to the Fly Heads. Perhaps it's because the technique is predicated on curses I've already consumed. Also... I can generally grasp the specs of the Spirits I create, and it seems that if I make a powerful Spirit by fusing Special Grades, I can even learn their names. This girl is the Special Grade Imaginary Spirit Zashiki-warashi, apparently."
"Ah, now that you mention it, she really is a Zashiki-warashi. She has an interesting technique, too."
"Yeah. It seems to be a technique for the Seizure and Distribution of Luck... but it's too conceptual to test easily."
"Then why not make Utahime lucky while you're at it?"
"Gojo, you really, seriously underestimate me too much."
"Haha, well, maybe I'll take a bit of Satoru's luck and give it to Utahime-san."
"Are you serious, Suguru?"
"Alright, Geto! In that case, bring it on! Snatch away a generous amount!"
After that exchange, Geto instructed the Zashiki-warashi to take thirty percent of Satoru Gojo's luck and attach it to Utahime Iori. Sadly, the effect wasn't apparent at all on the spot, leading to the disappointing conclusion that the Spirit's ability was hard to understand.
...Or so it should have been.
By the time the night was over, the gravity of the situation became clear. Gojo suffered a string of minor misfortunes: he stubbed his pinky toe on corners of pillars and cabinets several times, slipped and fell on his butt in the bathroom, had a thousand-yen bill swallowed by a vending machine, and found that the set meal he actually wanted to eat was sold out. To top it off, when he tried to go to sleep in his dorm, the leg of his bed snapped, resulting in the worst possible sleeping experience.
On the flip side, Utahime casually entered a prize sticker contest found on a can of shochu highball she had for a nightcap. She later won premium excite seat tickets for a game at Seibu Dome that included buffet service. Furthermore, the Lions, the team Utahime supported, went on to win the national championship that year. It remained unclear exactly how much of this was the Zashiki-warashi's power.
However, once the effectiveness of this ability was confirmed, Masamichi Yaga himself gave an order. He instructed that his own luck be seized and granted to Kento Nanami, who was currently busy with the endless search for the Lord of Sendai. Thus, the Sendai group was granted a little bit of luck.
It goes without saying that Yaga subsequently suffered through a series of everyday misfortunes, just as Gojo had.
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