Okkotsu Yuta

Besides physical training and the like, Shen Yuanyi also trained his own technique every day. After all these years, he had become quite proficient in the normal use of his technique, and under Gojo Satoru's guidance, he had also begun to grasp Cursed Technique Reversal.

If Wheel of Time: Spin accelerated the time of a certain object, then its reversal, Wheel of Time: Reverse, was naturally the opposite: time reversal!

A Jujutsu Sorcerer's Cursed Energy was extracted from negative emotions. If that Cursed Energy was regarded as negative energy, it could generally only be used in battle. But if a Jujutsu Sorcerer multiplied their Cursed Energy by itself, then just as a negative times a negative became a positive, they would obtain positive energy.

This stable positive energy could be used to heal the human body, though the specifics varied from person to person, and it was extremely rare. At present, the strongest user of Reverse Cursed Technique was probably Tokyo Jujutsu High's resident physician—Ieiri Shoko.

And if this "positive energy" was infused into a Jujutsu Sorcerer's Innate Technique, it could reverse the technique. This was Cursed Technique Reversal.

Naturally, Gojo Satoru could do this too, although his Reverse Cursed Technique could only heal himself. Shen Yuanyi was also very invested in this area. As a veteran gamer, he knew all too well how important healing abilities were.

And he had indeed succeeded in refining positive Cursed Energy. However, perhaps due to his lack of proficiency, he could not maintain it for long. He was still far from being able to casually regenerate severed limbs or organs.

Still, it was useful in the end. It allowed Shen Yuanyi to initially achieve Cursed Technique Reversal. Even if he could only sustain it for a short time, that was enough for him to infuse it into his technique.

Shen Yuanyi was still practicing this and had not truly mastered it to the point of using it at will. Depending on the extent of its use, his Cursed Technique Reversal consumed varying amounts of Cursed Energy—at its highest, far more than the normal forward application. With his current rudimentary use, he had managed to achieve a certain degree of partial offset between it and his technique's normal application.

In other words, when Shen Yuanyi accelerated himself with his technique to recreate Flash, the effect of Reverse meant he no longer had to worry as much about the possible impact on his body.

That state was called the Timeless State, meaning that at such extreme speed, time itself lost all meaning. Of course, Shen Yuanyi could only barely achieve it when going all out.

Incidentally, Gojo Satoru had come up with the name. Shen Yuanyi had originally thought of a much longer one, but Gojo Satoru loudly shot it down.

In that state, Shen Yuanyi had once tested it with Gojo Satoru's assistance. He could land countless attacks, like a raging storm, on an enemy simultaneously in a single instant. Or he could decide the battle with a single blow—a divine strike that surpassed any reaction speed!

As for why he had not used it during the previous mission, that was obviously because that Cursed Spirit had been too weak! It had not even withstood his two serious punches. What right did it have to face his ultimate move?

For now, Shen Yuanyi's usual means of attack still involved using Annihilation, then looking for opportunities to accelerate his Cursed Energy arrows. Under Maki's training, he was also considering getting a bladed Cursed Tool for close-range combat.

Just think about it: if an enemy managed to break through his ranged assault, they would still have to face high-speed slashes at close range. Even if the enemy was powerful enough that his blade was destroyed, he could then transform and use his fists to unleash Black Flash, crushing them completely!

"What are you grinning about?"

Shen Yuanyi, who had been cackling to himself, staggered when Maki walked over and slapped him. Panda leaned in from behind and said mysteriously, "I heard a new First-year is going to enroll!"

Shen Yuanyi's eyes lit up at that. With Yaga Masamichi, the principal and his "biological father," around, Panda's information seemed highly credible. That meant they would soon have another new classmate, bringing the First-year class up to five students. And after Gojo Satoru appeared, the news received further confirmation from him.

"It'll be the day after tomorrow, so everyone, get ready to welcome the new student!"

Maki pointed at Gojo Satoru expressionlessly. "Why is he more excited than we are?"

Shen Yuanyi leaned against the back of his chair, rocking back and forth slightly to keep his balance. The slightly wavy hair on his head swayed with him. A few days ago, he had gotten another haircut and dyed it a grayish color. When he came back, Maki's first response had been to mock his "What kind of hairstyle is that?" After he had talked back a little, the embarrassed and enraged Maki had chased him around.

Hearing Maki's words, Shen Yuanyi waved a hand. "Huh? You're not used to it yet? Gojo-sensei's always like this~"

A day later, the four of them headed to the classroom together, preparing to meet this new classmate. Along the way, Panda shared some information he had dug up from somewhere. "I heard that before this new student transferred here, he stuffed four classmates from his class into lockers."

Maki asked from the side, "Did he kill them?" Inumaki Toge also spoke up curiously. "Tuna mayo?"

Panda shook his head. "No. I heard they were seriously injured."

"Whatever. If he's too arrogant, we'll just teach him a lesson." Maki walked ahead without looking back.

"Maki's so scary." Panda pinched his voice as he echoed Shen Yuanyi, "Yeah, yeah, so scary~"

Veins bulged on Maki's forehead as her face darkened, and they continued toward the classroom amid their horseplay. Not long after they sat down, Gojo Satoru arrived. He practically spun into the classroom, using exaggerated gestures, expressions, and tone as he announced, "Next up, let's introduce the transfer student! Come on, everyone, get hyped!"

What greeted him was utter silence. Gojo Satoru froze, then said weakly, "At least try to be a little more excited."

Maki's Cursed Tool rested against the side of her desk. She sat sideways with one leg crossed over the other. "I heard he's difficult to get along with. Who wants to create an atmosphere for someone like that?"

"Salmon."

Inumaki Toge and Panda both agreed with Maki. As for Shen Yuanyi, he was feeling a little sleepy. Staying up too late last night watching anime and playing games had left him low on energy.

Besides, he was wondering whether there had originally been other students in this year's class. Why did he remember there only being Maki and the other two? Wait! He seemed to recall a name being mentioned. Could it be this transfer student?

"Forget it."

Gojo Satoru was not discouraged by his failure to liven up the atmosphere. He immediately called loudly toward the door, "Come in!"

At the same time, outside the door.

A black-haired boy dressed in white stood outside nervously. The atmosphere inside seemed so quiet that it was unsettling...

Hearing Gojo Satoru's call, he grasped the doorknob and paused. Then he took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and walked in with his head slightly lowered.

The instant the new classmate appeared, Shen Yuanyi, who had been drowsy just moments ago, was immediately wide awake. What an intense cursed presence!

Maki's originally indifferent expression changed as well. Panda and Inumaki Toge were both startled. Every step the boy in white took into the room felt as though it were landing directly on their hearts.

The dense cursed presence was nearly tangible. Within the profound darkness behind him, a terrifying existence could vaguely be seen, and the oppressive feeling it brought was enough to suffocate them.

Maki reached for the Naginata beside her and took it in hand. Panda put on his gloves, while Inumaki Toge beside him pulled down his collar, ready to use Cursed Speech at any moment.

The poor boy in white had only just reached the podium and raised his head when a sharp blade sliced past his cheek and buried itself deep in the blackboard behind him.

"My name is Okkotsu..."

Terrified stiff, the student looked at the "Four Great Evils" before him and stammered, unable to continue. Maki gripped the hilt of her weapon, her gaze full of scrutiny. "You... you're cursed! Someone like you can become a student here? What the hell..."

Panda put on a deliberately fierce expression, while Shen Yuanyi, standing slightly farther back, felt that something was off. The curse on this boy was simply too immense. The stronger one's senses, the more clearly one could detect that lethal sense of threat.

"Something's wrong..."

He quietly backed away several steps. Only then did Gojo Satoru, standing leisurely by the door, speak. "Every year in Japan, more than ten thousand people are reported dead or missing under unclear circumstances. Many of them are caused by curses born from humanity's negative emotions."

"Some are also the work of Curse Users. And only curses can deal with curses. This is Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu High School, where we learn about curses in order to exorcise them."

The boy in white looked troubled. "Why didn't you tell me beforehand...?"

The others all turned back to look at Gojo Satoru in utter speechlessness. Their understanding of just how unreliable he was had been refreshed yet again.

Gojo Satoru offered an utterly insincere apology, then seemed to recall something. "You'd better stay away from him..."

At that moment, it felt as though some ferocious beast were breathing right behind them. Their hairs stood on end, and a thin sheen of cold sweat instantly spread across their backs.

The four turned around to see the blackboard behind their new classmate stained the color of ink, then begin to ripple like water.

Two pale, grotesque arms, far too large to belong to a human, reached out one after the other. One hand casually gripped Maki's Naginata, startling her into immediately abandoning her weapon and retreating several steps with the other three.

Then, a somewhat strange voice that sounded like a little girl's rang out. "Don't..."

Panic appeared on the new student's face, but not fear of that presence—rather, fear that it would hurt someone else.

He raised a hand, trying to stop the owner of those arms. "Rika... don't!"

Before he could finish, the little girl-like voice suddenly boomed, completing its earlier words: "...hurt Yuta!"

Its other free hand immediately came down toward them. Maki felt an overwhelming pressure bearing down on her, nearly rendering her unable to move.

Gritting her teeth, Maki said to Shen Yuanyi beside her, "Yuanyi, you first—" But when she glanced over, she suddenly saw that Shen Yuanyi, who had been standing right next to her, had vanished. Her words died in her throat.

When she looked up again, Shen Yuanyi was already standing at the doorway, looking over with a grin that was clearly reveling in their misfortune.

Shen Yuanyi had already been on edge. The instant those two arms appeared, he decisively chose to make a break for it. Was this a joke? The thing gave him the feeling that the Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit from the hospital last time had been nothing more than a baby.

So Shen Yuanyi decisively slipped away. Though Gojo-sensei was often unreliable, he surely would not be unreliable in a situation like this, right? Even if that Cursed Spirit launched a lethal attack, he would step in, wouldn't he? Besides, that grab really did not have much force behind it. Was that because the person was restraining it?

And indeed, that was how things turned out. Maki, Panda, and Toge merely got beaten up before the terrifying presence, whose full form they had never seen, vanished behind that person again.

Only then did Gojo Satoru step forward and give everyone a detailed introduction to their new classmate. In short, Rika had been his childhood sweetheart; they had promised to marry and be together when they grew up. She died before his eyes in an unexpected car accident, then became a Vengeful Cursed Spirit and cursed him.

"And that's that! This is Okkotsu Yuta, cursed by Rika, the one who loved him most!"

After grandly introducing the new student named Okkotsu Yuta, Gojo Satoru added, "If anyone attacks Yuta, Rika's curse may activate—or it may not. Either way, everyone should be extra careful~"

The three who had already been beaten up could not help complaining, "Couldn't you have said that earlier?"

It was also Okkotsu Yuta's first time witnessing Gojo Satoru's usual style. Then he heard Gojo Satoru introduce them one by one. "This is Zenin Maki, a Cursed Tool User. She excels at using specialized weapons for exorcising curses."

"This is Inumaki Toge, a descendant of a Cursed Speech User. Normally, he only speaks in single words taken from rice ball fillings, so make sure you communicate with him properly." With a bump on his head, Inumaki Toge greeted him. "Kelp."

He seems like a strange person. Okkotsu Yuta watched as Gojo Satoru pointed at the gray-haired boy with curly hair who had fled early on and avoided being touched by Rika. With his gentle smile, Gojo Satoru introduced, "This is Shen Yuanyi."

Gojo Satoru paused as though he did not know what else to say, then moved on to the next person.

"Gojo-sensei, why did you skip me? Say a little more!" Shen Yuanyi's smile vanished. The cool introduction he had wanted was gone.

Gojo Satoru turned a deaf ear and pointed at the most conspicuous Panda. "This is Panda." Panda added, "I'm Panda. Nice to meet you."

Then Gojo Satoru rubbed his chin. "That's about it."

Poor Yuta could only complain silently in his heart. That's a panda, isn't it?! A panda that walks upright and talks! Why didn't you explain the thing I most wanted to know?

Gojo Satoru clapped his hands. "Great, there are five First-years now. It's really lively. I'll split you into groups for this afternoon's jujutsu training."

"Toge and Panda will be one group. Maki and Yuta will be another."

Shen Yuanyi raised his hand. "Gojo-sensei, what about me?"

Gojo Satoru smiled brightly. "You have a solo mission~"