Chapter Thirty: King of Curses? Are You Sure?
『 ＲＹＯＮ 』
Enjoy~~
Time stopped.
In the moment when Itadori Yuji swallowed the cursed object, it felt as if the world itself held its breath. Ren, watching from the edge of the rooftop, felt his heart drop straight into his stomach.
"Did he really swallow it? Did he actually eat that dry, disgusting thing?" Ren thought, a mix of shock and revulsion twisting in his mind. "What kind of iron stomach is that…"
Suddenly, an aura of cursed energy erupted—so dense and malevolent that the air itself became heavy. The massive curse holding Yuji froze, then, without any warning, exploded from the inside, scattering like scraps of purple smoke.
Yuji was standing there.
But he was no longer Yuji.
His shirt tore apart as black, ominous markings spread across his body and face. He opened his eyes, now glowing a blood-red hue completely unlike Yuji's usual innocent gaze.
Ren watched the scene with an outward calm, while his mind boiled.
"So… this is the power of just one finger…" Ren clenched his fist. "I failed again. I couldn't change the fate of Tanjiro's family in my previous life, and now I failed to stop Yuji from becoming the vessel of the King of Curses. What's the point of knowing the future if the scenario insists on enforcing itself?"
Ren coated his body in a thick layer of cursed energy as a precaution and prepared for the worst.
"Yuji"—or rather, Sukuna—raised his hand toward the moon and took a deep breath, as if savoring the air for the first time in a thousand years.
"Ah… the light…" Sukuna said in a deep, terrifying voice that echoed in the bones. "I can feel the body… flesh and blood… this is wonderful!"
Sukuna leapt onto the edge of the rooftop, shouting in manic delight.
"Where are they?! Where are the humans?! Where are the women and children?! I'll turn this era into a pool of blood…!"
Suddenly, Sukuna stopped.
He slowly turned his head, his red eyes settling on Ren, who stood calmly and indifferently just a few steps away.
"Oh?" Sukuna smiled, revealing sharp fangs. "What's this? We have a guest?"
Sukuna stepped down from the ledge and walked toward Ren, examining him with a piercing gaze that caused Rina (the system) to flash red warning alerts inside Ren's mind.
"You're not an ordinary sorcerer, are you?" Sukuna said, tilting his head. "Your cursed energy… it's strange. Dense, yet restrained."
The King of Curses narrowed his eyes.
"No… it's not just restraint. There's something deeper. There's a seal on your soul and your cursed technique… a very ancient seal."
Ren froze internally.
"A seal?"
Sukuna continued with a malicious grin, as if he had found an amusing puzzle.
"It seems someone was very afraid of your potential, brat, so they bound you while you were still in the cradle. Your memories are blurry, aren't they? You don't remember who did it, do you?"
Sukuna's words struck a sensitive nerve. Ren—and his counterpart—had no clear memories from before the age of three. He had always assumed it was just normal childhood amnesia. But for the King of Curses to notice a seal…
"You're awfully talkative for someone who just woke up," Ren interrupted coldly, shoving his hand into his pocket with feigned boredom. "Did you miss social etiquette lessons in the Heian era? It's rude to analyze people without their permission."
Sukuna laughed.
"Rude… I like that. But you're weak right now because of those seals. Perhaps I should kill you and put you out of your misery?"
"Get lost," Ren said sharply.
"…What?"
"I said get lost. This body isn't yours."
At that moment, Yuji grabbed his own neck, and the markings began to fade.
"Ghh… what are you doing to my body…?" Yuji's normal voice returned as he slapped his own face, trying to drive the intruder out. "Get out of my head!"
Ren looked at him and smirked.
"Welcome back, reckless one. So? How was the finger? Did it taste like chicken?"
Yuji stared at him in confusion and horror.
"Ren? What happened? Did I… really eat it?"
"Yes. And now you're sharing an apartment with a thousand-year-old demon. Congratulations."
Before Yuji could process the disaster, a small explosion echoed, followed by a familiar, overly cheerful voice.
"Yahooo! What's going on here?"
Gojo Satoru descended from the sky, holding an elegant paper bag in one hand, with a battered, bloodstained Megumi leaning against his shoulder with the other.
"Megumi! You look awful!" Gojo said with a wide grin completely unsuited to the situation, before tossing Megumi—gently (or not so gently)—next to Ren.
"Sensei…" Megumi groaned in pain. "You're late."
"Sorry, sorry!" Gojo waved his hand. "I was busy."
Gojo looked around, then his blindfolded gaze settled on Yuji.
"Oh? And this kid is…?"
Ren hesitated. The situation was awkward. He glanced at the lost-looking Yuji, then at Gojo's smile.
"Gojo-sensei…" Ren said, scratching his neck awkwardly. "This is Itadori Yuji. And, well… he swallowed the cursed object."
Silence fell for a second.
Gojo's smile vanished.
"…Really?"
"Really," Ren confirmed.
"Like, really really?" Gojo stepped closer and examined Yuji.
"Y-Yes…" Yuji answered nervously.
"Amazing!" Gojo laughed. "Did you fuse with it? Do you feel anything strange?"
"I feel like it's annoying, and there's noise in my head," Yuji answered honestly.
"Can you switch with it?" Gojo asked curiously.
"Switch? I think I can…"
Gojo began stretching in place.
"Alright then! Give us ten seconds. Switch for just ten seconds, then switch back."
"But…" Yuji hesitated, looking at Megumi and Ren. "Wouldn't that be dangerous for you?"
Gojo smiled with absolute confidence.
"Don't worry. I'm the strongest."
Gojo tossed the paper bag to Ren.
"Ren-chan! Catch this! It's Kikufuku from Sendai! It's super delicious—the cream inside is amazing! Don't let it drop no matter what happens. It's more valuable than your life!"
Ren caught the bag with a blank expression.
"Did you seriously go buy sweets while we were fighting monsters?"
"Of course! Long trips require sugar!"
At that moment, Yuji switched. The markings reappeared, and that terrifying cursed energy exploded once more.
"You blindfolded bastard!" Sukuna roared as he lunged toward Gojo at incredible speed.
BOOM!
Part of the rooftop shattered—but Gojo wasn't there. He was literally sitting on top of Sukuna.
"Slow," Gojo whispered.
The fight—or rather, the demonstration—began. Sukuna attacked with all his might, destroying everything he touched, but Gojo danced around him, delivering punches and kicks as if playing with a child, all while explaining things to Megumi and Ren.
"See? He's only using cursed energy to reinforce his body for now," Gojo said, dodging a blow that would've torn off his head.
"Ren, do you see? This is real speed!"
Ren, shielding the paper bag with his body from the flying debris, sighed.
"Yes, yes, you're amazing. Can we finish already? Dust's going to get into the sweets."
Exactly ten seconds later, Sukuna stopped moving, and the markings began to fade.
"Damn you…" were Sukuna's last words before Yuji returned, blinking innocently.
"Oh? Is it over?" Yuji asked.
Ren walked over with a mischievous smile.
"Well done, hero. You survived immediate execution by Gojo-sensei. Now all that's left is the decision of the higher-ups."
"The higher-ups?" Yuji asked nervously.
"Don't worry about that for now," Ren said, placing a hand on Yuji's shoulder. "You need some rest."
Ren focused his cursed energy into his fingertips and, with a fast, precise motion, tapped a specific nerve point on Yuji's neck, reinforcing it with a small pulse of cursed energy to instantly shock the nervous system.
"Sleep."
Yuji's eyes widened for a moment, then rolled back as he collapsed unconscious into Ren's arms.
"Oh!" Gojo clapped in admiration. "A mini version of my technique? Not as refined, but effective! Who taught you pressure points like that?"
"Trial and error on the servants of the Zenin household," Ren lied smoothly as he handed Yuji to Gojo. "Now, can we talk about the mission?"
"Of course!" Gojo slung Yuji over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "But first, let's eat Kikufuku on the train!"
"You don't take anything seriously, do you?" Megumi said in pain as he tried to stand. "We almost died."
"But you didn't!" Gojo opened the box and forcibly stuffed a piece into Megumi's mouth. "Come on, sugar heals wounds! Ren, open up!"
"No! I hate overly sweet desserts!" Ren tried to protest, but Gojo's speed was unstoppable. Ren found himself chewing a cream-filled mochi against his will.
"…Mmm. It's actually good," Ren muttered in defeat. "Damn you."
…
[Two days later – Jujutsu High]
The training yard was quiet, except for the sound of bodies colliding and heavy breathing.
Ren and Megumi were in the middle of a sparring match. Ren, as usual, wore the crimson necklace that restricted his energy and weighed a ton, making his movements slower and heavier, but he made up for it with pure combat skill.
"You rely too much on your techniques!" Megumi shouted, throwing a low kick and following it up by summoning a frog to pull Ren.
"And you rely too much on your pets!" Ren shot back, planting his feet to resist the pull, grabbing the frog's tongue and using it to throw Megumi off balance.
They both stopped suddenly when they sensed two people approaching.
From the long wooden corridor appeared Gojo Satoru, wearing his black uniform and sunglasses, and beside him… Itadori Yuji, wearing the school uniform with a distinctive red hood.
Ren sighed and wiped sweat from his brow.
"So he's here… nothing's changed…"
"What do you mean?" Megumi asked, looking at Yuji's outfit. "D-Did they accept him?"
"Looks like it," Ren said, watching Yuji look around in awe like a tourist. "Gojo likes collecting 'special students.' A vessel for the King of Curses definitely qualifies."
Gojo approached them and spoke cheerfully.
"Hey guys! Look who joined us! Your new classmate!"
"Yo! Fushiguro! Ren!" Yuji waved excitedly, a wide grin on his face. "Look! They even made me a custom uniform! I've got a hood!"
Megumi stared at him coldly.
"You're… still alive?"
"So harsh!" Yuji laughed. "Yeah. I made a certain 'deal.' I'll eat all twenty fingers, then they'll kill me. So I've got plenty of time with you guys!"
"They're going to kill you… and you're smiling?" Ren shook his head helplessly. "You're either the bravest person I know, or the dumbest."
"A bit of both!" Gojo cut in, slinging an arm around Yuji. "The important thing is, you're three now! The first-year trio is almost complete… oh, wait, a girl will be joining later."
"A girl?" Yuji's eyes sparkled. "Is she cute?"
"She's… violent," Ren muttered at the same time, remembering Nobara Kugisaki.
"Well then, since you're all together," Gojo clapped his hands. "How about a little orientation? Yuji doesn't know anything about jujutsu yet."
"I know a bit!" Yuji protested. "I've got Sukuna inside me!"
Suddenly, a mouth and an eye appeared on Yuji's cheek.
"Brat… don't talk about me like we're friends."
Megumi jumped into a fighting stance, while Ren looked bored.
"Oh, hi Sukuna. Comfortable in there?"
"You again…" Sukuna muttered. "That seal on you disgusts and intrigues me. One day, I'll tear it apart and see what's underneath."
Yuji slapped his own cheek hard to shut Sukuna up.
"Sorry! He pops out sometimes!"
"That's disgusting and fascinating at the same time," Ren said. "Anyway, Gojo-sensei, are we going on a mission? Or are you taking us out to eat again?"
Gojo grinned widely.
"Why not both? I heard there's a café with excellent parfaits near a haunted graveyard!"
"A graveyard and a café?" Yuji shouted excitedly. "I'm in!"
"I'm going back to my room…" Megumi tried to escape.
Ren grabbed Megumi by the collar from behind.
"Nope, my friend. If we suffer, we suffer together. Let's go eat parfaits with ghosts."
The four of them walked under the sunlight, forming a strange, mismatched group: a vessel for the King of Curses, a gloomy clan heir, the strongest sorcerer in the world, and the boy named Ren, hiding secrets from other worlds behind his sarcastic smile.
Ren thought as he looked at them,
"Well… maybe these three years won't be boring or miserable after all…"
---
End of Chapter Thirty.
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