I Play Ninjutsu in Jujutsu Kaisen! Chapter 27

The doctor waved and left.

"Thank you, doctor."

Natsu Hiraku looked at the Tibetan Mastiff in the cage, which was licking its mouth after finishing its meal. He reached out his right hand to pat its head and said with a smile, "Hmph, this might be fate. Lucky you ran into me today. How about it? Want to come with me? The training might be tough, but you'll have food and shelter. Just bark once and I'll..."

Before he could finish, the Tibetan Mastiff stared at Natsu Hiraku and barked once, then gently rubbed its head against his outstretched hand. It didn't understand what he was saying, but as long as it got food, that was enough. It didn't want to go hungry anymore.

"What a good boy."

Natsu Hiraku rubbed its head firmly again and called out to the doctor, who was playing on his phone, "I'll buy this cage, and a few cans of goat milk powder too."

"Got it."

Two minutes later.

Natsu Hiraku walked out of the pet hospital carrying the cage in his right hand and a bag in his left, which held the goat milk powder.

Raising it from a pup was fine—it would just make it more loyal. Next step was to go back and perform the Blood Pact. This little guy probably wouldn't resist.

Not gonna lie, it looked pretty cute all bare like this, just a bit skinny.

"Come on, let's go home together, little guy. From now on, you're a member of Jujutsu High, so train hard."

With that, Natsu Hiraku hailed a taxi and said to the driver, "Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School."

"You got it! Buckle up, we're off!"

Even though it was morning rush hour, the driver's hardcore lane-squeezing skills got them to Jujutsu High in half an hour.

Natsu Hiraku had been on edge the whole ride—every time, they barely missed a collision or a scrape. He'd said a few times that there was no rush, to take it slow in the morning traffic. But the driver confidently replied:

"Trust my skills. I used to be a god of the road."

Damn it, the shaking made his dog throw up the goat milk it had just drunk this morning. Now it was lying limp in the cage.

Watching the departing car, he glanced at the still-comatose Tibetan Mastiff, opened the cage, and lifted it out. "Since you're out cold, I'll give you a gift, little dog."

With that, he bit his index finger. Red blood seeped from the wound. He drew a circle on the dog's forehead, carefully wrote his name inside it, and then began forming hand seals.

He said, "Boar, Dog, Rooster, Monkey, Ram, Summoning Technique!"

The blood characters on the Tibetan Mastiff's forehead slowly faded, merging into its body. Their spiritual levels connected, and he could clearly feel its dizziness and blurred vision. His own cursed energy could flow into its body with a single thought. Maybe because it was right next to him, the summoning didn't succeed.

"The Blood Pact worked, huh. I'll go inside the school and try summoning it again."

Natsu Hiraku gently stroked the Tibetan Mastiff's head, then carried the cage and goat milk powder into Jujutsu High.

It was already 7:30. Everyone was up and doing their morning run on the training grounds. When they saw Natsu Hiraku with the cage in his right hand and the bag in his left, they waved in greeting.

Panda: "Hiraku-kun! Wanna come run with us?!"

Yuta Okkotsu: "Good morning, Hiraku."

Toge Inumaki: "Salmon!"

Megumi Fushiguro: "Good morning, Hiraku-nii. I'll beat you in tomorrow's duel! But the wolves and dogs are gone."

Maki Zenin: "Natsu Hiraku, what's wrong with you this morning? Lost your mind?"

Natsu Hiraku replied to each in turn: "Not now, Panda, I've got something to do. I'll come by later."

"Good morning, Yuta."

"Inumaki, still full of energy as always!"

"I won't go easy on you tomorrow, Megumi."

"Maki, don't say that. I'm just a little too excited this morning. It's been a while since I've been back, you know?"

"No, I don't know at all, and I don't want to." Maki Zenin retorted.

"Later, I've got something to do back in my room. I'll come run with you guys in a bit, and I'll introduce a new member too." With that, Natsu Hiraku ran off toward the dorms.

Watching him leave, everyone kept wondering what this "new member" meant. Teacher Gojo hadn't said they were getting another student!

"Click—"

Natsu Hiraku got back to his room, locked the door, and set the goat milk and dog cage on the floor.

The Tibetan Mastiff had woken up, but since it couldn't see, it was howling wildly.

Through their spiritual connection, Natsu Hiraku's words echoed directly in its mind.

'Stop barking. I'm taking you home.'

Hearing its master's voice, the Tibetan Mastiff stopped barking and obediently lay still. It didn't know where the voice came from, but it knew to just listen.

It had seen other dogs wag their tails and get tasty treats before, but every time it wanted to go up, it didn't dare.

'Good boy. From today, your name is Shura.'

After calming the Tibetan Mastiff, Natsu Hiraku bit his right thumb, formed hand seals quickly, and shouted, "Summoning Technique!"

"Whoosh, thud—"

As the white smoke cleared, Shura, who had been lying outside the school gate, now appeared in the room. Confused by the sudden change of scenery, it still walked over to its master and rubbed against his leg, letting out a low whine: "Owww~"

"Alright, alright, here's your goat milk."

Knowing what it said, Natsu Hiraku was overjoyed. He grabbed the bag of Goat Milk Powder, boiled some warm water, and mixed it up for the pup.

Shura eyed the delicious food in front of him, licked his lips, let out a happy bark at Natsu Hiraku, and then started lapping it up eagerly.

"Eat slowly. There's more if you're hungry. When you're old enough for meat, I'll start training you, Shura."

Natsu Hiraku ruffled his head, feeling great. There was still over a month until the Friendly Match, so he needed to step up his training.

"Oh, that's interesting."

Just now, Natsu Hiraku had tried transferring 100 cursed energy to Shura. He'd wanted to give more, but considering how small the pup was, he worried it might be too much. Honestly, even 100 felt like a lot, but the little guy took it all without issue.

Shura sensed the sudden surge of power inside him, clenched his paw, and seemed to feel the boost. Then, almost instinctively, he swiped at the floor.

"Rip--"

A clean scratch mark appeared on the once-smooth floor.

"Oh, you used it right away?"

Natsu Hiraku found this more and more intriguing. Animals seemed to have a better grasp of this than humans. Back when he'd first controlled his own cursed energy, it only happened when he was pushed to the brink in a fight, his body acting on instinct.

Shura had done it in just five seconds, and the first four were just curiosity.

"Interesting. Let me pull that cursed energy back for now. Go get familiar with the brothers and sisters outside."

With that, Natsu Hiraku withdrew the cursed energy from Shura. He'd save the other tests for later tonight. Maybe... he could try some other tricks too. He also felt like the pup could handle even more cursed energy.

Though still young and malnourished from hunger, Shura's broad frame told Natsu Hiraku this one would grow into something big.

At the very least, he'd make a solid meat shield. No doubt about it. As long as he could take more hits than Natsu Hiraku himself, that was enough. When trouble came, the dog took the beating; when things were calm, he'd step up. The tactics were crystal clear.

As for why he didn't pick a flying mount—what eagle could take a beating like this dog? If he later drew the Flying Thunder God Technique or evolved his Sharingan into a Mangekyo to awaken space-time ninjutsu, he wouldn't need one anyway.

He'd just put a mark on the dog, let it run first to draw attention, then teleport in. More importantly, he didn't know how to train an eagle, and he wasn't sure how big one could even get.

Whatever. He'd already made the Blood Pact. No point dwelling on it now. Time to focus on training the dog.

"Come on, Shura. Let's go meet everyone."

Natsu Hiraku opened the door and headed toward the training ground with the dog.

Everyone was sweating it out on the field, while Panda sat on the sidelines cheering loudly: "Keep it up, Yuta! You're two laps behind! Catch up with everyone!"

"I'm trying my best!"

Yuta Okkotsu shouted back, gritted his teeth, and sprinted—only to slow back down after half a lap.

Maki Zenin, already three laps ahead, urged him on: "Hurry up, I'm lapping you for the third time. Even that scrawny Natsu Hiraku is tougher than you."

"I'm really trying..."

"Hey! Maki, what's that supposed to mean? Talk straight—I'll run you into the ground today."

Natsu Hiraku, who'd just arrived, overheard Maki Zenin implying he was weak. No way he'd let that slide. He handed the dog to Panda, rolled up his sleeves, and asked, "Panda, watch him for me. How many laps has Maki done?"

"Ten already. Don't push yourself if you can't keep up. Just admit defeat. Maki won't stop until she hits twenty."

Panda took the dog, noticed it wasn't baring its teeth at him, and gently patted its head. "Why's this dog so skinny? Where's its fur?"

"Found him today," Natsu Hiraku said as he warmed up. "His fur fell out from malnutrition. I'll start training him in a few days. Panda, when you've got time, teach him how to take a hit."

"Huh? Take a hit? What the hell?"

Panda was baffled and about to ask more when Natsu Hiraku shouted, "Don't underestimate me!" and took off.

Looking at the confused little dog, Panda could only stroke its head and console it: "Little guy, your good days are over."

Shura just replied with a single: "Woof~"

"Hope you understood that..."

The day's training passed quickly, and everyone got to know Shura, sympathizing with his story. After getting ten million yen from Principal Yaga, Natsu Hiraku went out in the afternoon to buy groceries, spending fifty thousand yen before coming back satisfied.

By the time dinner was ready, it was evening, and Principal Yaga shamelessly showed up to mooch a meal.

Yaga Masamichi grabbed two bottles of beer, handing one to Gojo Satoru, and they chatted and ate together. Everyone was in high spirits, swapping stories about recent fun moments.

Toge Inumaki could only listen...

Normally, Panda would translate, but he was too busy eating nonstop.

After everyone ate their fill, they cleaned up the leftovers, wiped the table down, and headed back.

Natsu Hiraku didn't return to his room. Instead, he took the well-fed Shura outside for some experiments. The house was too small to risk wrecking.

They reached the Back Mountain.

Natsu Hiraku immediately transferred 150 cursed energy to Shura and said, "Like this morning, swipe your paw at that tree in front of you."

"Woof~?"

Shura felt the sudden power surge inside him, confused. It had appeared this morning, then vanished. Would it disappear again?

Sensing Shura's doubt, Natsu Hiraku continued, "I gave you that power. Don't worry. Just like this morning, scratch the tree in front of you."

Shura nodded in response: "Woof~ (Got it.)"

"Good! Then..." Natsu Hiraku ran his right hand through his hair, then sharply pointed at the tree ahead of Shura, shouting loudly, "Shura, use Rampaging Claws!"

"Owww~"

Shura let out a soft, adorable yelp, then dashed toward a tree five meters away, swiping his claws straight at it.

A clear scratch mark appeared.

Natsu Hiraku, watching it all clearly through his Sharingan, nodded in satisfaction. "Looks like we can start training now. Don't forget that feel—keep using Rampaging Claws on the tree in a row!"

"Owww~"

Though Shura had no idea why he was doing this, he knew that obeying meant treats, and his master wouldn't abandon him.

"Good, keep it up! Don't worry about wasting your cursed energy—just burn through it!"

Natsu Hiraku shouted encouragement from the side.

An hour later.

Natsu Hiraku's voice was hoarse, his lips cracked from all the talking. He slumped by the tree, exhausted. "Feels like I've been hollowed out..."

"Woof~"

Shura lay flat on the ground too, having swung his claws and scratched at the tree for a whole hour. So tired... I don't want to move...

Sensing he had only 50 cursed energy left, Natsu Hiraku remembered he had a spar with Megumi Fushiguro tomorrow. He slowly got up and said, "Ah, that's enough for today. If I keep going, my body really will be drained."

He looked at Shura sprawled on the ground, scooped him into his arms, and headed back to his room. "Tired's fine—we'll pick it up tomorrow. Double the training, double the results. I'll turn you into the best dog out there."

"Woof~"

Shura barely got out a whine of "I don't wanna move" before Natsu Hiraku covered his mouth. "No, Shura, you can't think like that. How could you let such lazy thoughts creep in? Your future is to take hits and draw fire for your dad here. I won't let you sink into this."

"Woof~"