Second-Year Senior, the Impending Exchange Meet

Inside Tokyo Jujutsu High, the three first-years sat on the steps, and the atmosphere was terrifyingly heavy.

Kugisaki curled her lip. "What the hell? He was already dead, yet he still told us to live long lives."

"Is this your first time experiencing a companion's death?"

Lin Mu nodded slightly. There was not the slightest ripple in his heart, because he knew Itadori had not died. He was probably in Sukuna's innate domain right now, negotiating terms with Sukuna while beating the hell out of him.

And the contents of those terms were extremely important. His appearance here should not have changed them.

If he remembered correctly, Sukuna's terms should have been these two: first, as long as Sukuna said "Enchain," Itadori had to unconditionally surrender his body for one minute; second, Itadori would forget this agreement.

Although Itadori knew he could not make a deal with Sukuna, Sukuna still exploited the wording and forced him into a binding vow.

In return, Sukuna would restore Itadori's body.

Fushiguro, who did not show much emotion, picked up the conversation. "Among people our age, it's my first time."

"You look pretty calm."

Kugisaki said indifferently, "Of course. I barely knew him. Who would be sad over the death of a guy like that?"

The atmosphere between the three turned cold once more, leaving only Kugisaki's muffled sobs.

Lin Mu wanted to sympathize with them too, but since he knew the outcome, he simply could not bring himself to feel sad.

What concerned him more was what he should do next.

For a period after Itadori's revival, in order to keep those higher-ups from learning that Itadori was alive, Satoru Gojo did not let him appear in public.

Instead, he personally trained him for a while. During that time, he even let Itadori observe a battle between special grades and witness Jogo's domain: Coffin of the Iron Mountain.

In the end, he entrusted him to Kento Nanami, who would lead Itadori in handling a series of cursed spirit incidents.

Lin Mu hoped he could act together with Itadori. Such a wealth of experiences would surely raise his inheritance progress by quite a bit.

After his battle with Sukuna, Lin Mu's inheritance progress had reached 19%. As long as he worked a little harder, breaking through 20% would not be a problem.

Unfortunately, this was not something he could decide.

If he remained at Tokyo Jujutsu High, he could only train day and night with the second-year upperclassmen and prepare for the upcoming Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event.

Though training would also help improve Lin Mu's strength, it was still far inferior to exorcising cursed spirits.

"Hey, Fushiguro, why does your face look even more sour than usual?" Maki Zenin's arrival broke the stifling atmosphere among the three.

"What are those expressions? Are you holding a wake or something?" Maki teased, still unaware that one of the first-years had actually died.

After Panda and Inumaki desperately tried to warn her, Maki became so embarrassed that her toes practically dug out a three-bedroom apartment.

But Lin Mu and the other two did not pay much attention to it, and Fushiguro took the chance to introduce both sides to each other.

The introductions were a little unnecessary for Lin Mu, though. After all, he knew far more about the three upperclassmen than Fushiguro did at this point.

Maki Zenin's cursed energy was so meager that she could not even see cursed spirits without special cursed tools, but she was highly skilled in using every kind of cursed tool. There was practically nothing she could not use.

Panda was one of the cursed corpses created by the principal. His body also housed the souls of an older brother and older sister, and switching souls could greatly increase his strength.

Inumaki used the ancient technique of Cursed Speech, fighting by forcibly making his spoken words come true. Therefore, in his everyday life, he always communicated using the names of sushi ingredients to avoid causing accidents.

Cursed Speech was powerful, but certain commands could not be used casually. Against a powerful enemy, it could even backfire on the user.

As Fushiguro finished the introductions, Lin Mu also reviewed the detailed information on the three upperclassmen in his mind.

After a brief exchange, Maki finally brought up the Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event.

"Do you want to participate?"

Fushiguro and Kugisaki rose to their feet, their eyes filled with determination. "Of course!"

More than at any other time, they now yearned to become stronger!

Only by becoming strong themselves could they prevent their companions from falling before their eyes again!

Their current goal was to catch up to Lin Mu—to at least reach a level close to his.

Lin Mu's past performances had been deeply etched into their hearts. If they did not work harder, he would leave them far behind.

But they would soon discover that Lin Mu was a monster who could not be surpassed at all!

Seeing the looks in Fushiguro and Kugisaki's eyes—three parts jealousy, three parts admiration, and four parts refusal to concede—Lin Mu could foresee that if he kept staying with them, the days ahead would definitely not be easy.

With the Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event drawing near, Maki and the other upperclassmen led Lin Mu's group into training that day.

On the training field at Tokyo Jujutsu High, the first-year and second-year sorcerers were warming up before training.

Maki looked at the listless Lin Mu in the center of the field, her eyes full of curiosity.

"Fushiguro, that first-year is called Lin Mu, right?"

Fushiguro nodded.

Maki smiled. "He's pretty handsome. What is he good at?"

"So I can make a suitable training plan for him."

"As an upperclassman, I've got to properly show off the dignity of a senior."

Fushiguro was speechless. She had never shown this much concern for a junior like him before. As for whether she had some ulterior motive, Fushiguro had no idea.

But one thing was certain: no one here was qualified to teach Lin Mu!

"Zenin-senpai, you should forget it."

Maki's face turned serious. "What? Are you saying your big sister here doesn't have enough charm?"

Fushiguro sighed helplessly. "That's not it. Zenin-senpai, you're just not strong enough!"

Maki was struck dumb as if by lightning!

As a senior, she actually lacked the strength to teach a brat who had only recently become a jujutsu sorcerer?

"Hey, hey, Fushiguro. I only said the wrong thing before. Besides, I didn't know someone from your first year had died at the time. There's no need to hold a grudge until now, right?"

"No matter how strong he is, how strong can he possibly be? You don't have to put me down like this."

"I've always liked cute juniors like you, you know."

Fushiguro rubbed his forehead helplessly. "No, I'm telling the truth. Lin Mu is really as strong as a monster."

At that, Maki realized that Fushiguro was not deliberately putting her down. Lin Mu really was that strong—strong enough to make even the always-proud Fushiguro completely convinced!

Still, Maki did not take it too seriously. She only assumed that Lin Mu was a little stronger than Fushiguro and the others.

As a second-year, she had far more combat experience and worldly experience than him. Naturally, her strength was above his as well.

Besides, she had even seen Yuta Okkotsu, the genius who had been rated Special Grade the moment he became a jujutsu sorcerer. How could she be intimidated by Fushiguro's few words?

So what if you were strong, Lin Mu? Could you possibly be stronger than Okkotsu had been when he carried the Special Grade cursed spirit, the Queen of Curses, with him?

While assessing Lin Mu's strength, Maki walked toward him.

"Hey, Lin Mu, right? Let's spar."