Goodwill Event

At the mountain gate of Jujutsu High in the outskirts of Tokyo.

Cicadas droned through the dense forest, and the hot, humid breeze left people feeling restless and irritable.

Beside the stone steps, Shiyue Shuo squatted on the ground in boredom, holding a dead blade of grass as he lazily teased the ants below.

"Shiyue, slacking off again?"

Mai Zenin's voice stabbed over like a needle.

Shiyue Shuo raised his head slightly. First, he saw a pair of long legs wrapped in black thigh-high stockings; higher up was Mai Zenin's face, written all over with displeasure.

"Senpai, don't be so worked up. Tokyo Jujutsu High hasn't even arrived yet. I'm conserving my energy."

Shiyue Shuo tossed aside the dead grass and gave a perfunctory wave.

"Conserving energy? You? What use is conserving stamina when you have so little cursed energy?" Mai sneered, spinning her custom revolver rapidly around her hand. "I really don't understand what Principal Gakuganji was thinking, giving someone like you a spot. You're just going to embarrass us."

Shiyue Shuo stood up, dusted off his backside, and smiled at her. "Maybe he thought I was handsome enough to lower the enemy's guard."

"Trash," Mai muttered, turning away.

Shiyue Shuo shrugged, utterly unconcerned.

On the surface, Shiyue Shuo really was useless. He possessed neither an outstanding cursed technique nor a powerful body, and he certainly could not casually land a Black Flash like Yuji Itadori.

Before transmigrating, he had merely been an ordinary office worker. He had accidentally fallen into the water while visiting a park one weekend, and when he opened his eyes again, he had arrived in the world of jujutsu.

The original owner had been a transfer student at Kyoto Jujutsu High, with a rare Heavenly Restriction: his cursed energy could be stored indefinitely and its fluctuations were extremely faint, but it could only be released all at once through the Flame Wave technique. The price was that, apart from the cursed energy he had stored, his own cursed energy was extremely low.

With his transmigration, the Heavenly Restriction had changed as well, becoming the [Twelve Talismans]. Twelve abilities were locked to the twelve two-hour periods of each day, and only the corresponding talisman ability could be used during each period. The cost of the restriction remained the same: exceptionally low cursed energy.

"Luckily, activating the talismans doesn't require cursed energy."

As he thought that, he lowered his gaze to the mechanical watch on his wrist.

9:48 a.m.

"Yo! Friends from Kyoto School, long time no see!"

Satoru Gojo's unmistakably frivolous voice rang out from nearby, followed by a huge wooden box being pushed over.

Standing at the very back of the crowd, Shiyue Shuo watched Yuji Itadori leap out of the box. Shocked cries and curses erupted all around. The Tokyo School students found it utterly embarrassing and covered their faces in protest.

"So this is Tiger. Doesn't look like anything special..." Shiyue Shuo narrowed his eyes as he studied Yuji.

Perhaps because his own cursed energy was too low, Shiyue Shuo could not sense anything unusual about Yuji. But he knew full well how powerful Sukuna was within him.

"Hey, Shuo, what are you looking at?" Aoi Todo somehow appeared beside him, his face full of "passion" leaning in close. "You interested in Itadori?"

Shiyue Shuo's heart skipped a beat.

"No, no, no. I'm not interested in men." Shiyue Shuo hurriedly waved his hands in denial. "I was just thinking, if that box were a little bigger, maybe it could fit a poster of your idol, Senpai."

Todo froze for a moment, then burst into laughter and heavily slapped Shiyue Shuo's shoulder. "You've got potential! Your strength may be lacking, but your taste is excellent! After the Goodwill Event, I'll take you to Takada-chan's handshake event!"

The blows left Shiyue Shuo's blood churning. Todo was absurdly strong; those few slaps nearly shook his bones apart.

"Honestly, Gojo-sensei is still as reckless as ever."

Megumi Fushiguro stood nearby, watching Yuji clown around. He sighed helplessly, his tone filled with exhaustion.

"Come on, Megumi, don't be so cold! This is an emotional reunion that transcends life and death!" Gojo laughed. Even through his blindfold, his unserious gaze could practically be felt.

Watching the main cast mess around, Shiyue Shuo endured the tightness in his chest from Todo's slaps and quietly took two steps back, doing his best to fade from their sight.

"All right, enough catching up."

Masamichi Yaga's deep voice rang out. "Now that everyone is here, it begins in half an hour. Dismissed for now."

A whistle sounded.

In the lounge, Noritoshi Kamo bowed slightly and turned toward the Kyoto School students. His eyes instantly turned cold. "Let's go. Don't forget our primary objective."

As Mai passed Shiyue Shuo, she gave a disdainful snort. "Hey, Shiyue. Once we enter, you'd better find somewhere to hide. If someone takes you out along the way, I'm not collecting your corpse."

"Don't worry, Senpai. I'm still pretty good at staying alive." Shiyue Shuo replied with a false smile.

Honestly, being underestimated like this felt pretty great. Among jujutsu sorcerers, his cursed energy disability was undoubtedly his best camouflage.

After leaving the lounge, the students from both schools instantly scattered and rushed into the dense forest.

Shiyue Shuo trailed at the back of the group, moving somewhat clumsily. He looked just like an ordinary high school student who had barely passed his physical fitness tests.

"Split up," Noritoshi Kamo ordered.

With several swishes, Kyoto School's main fighters swiftly vanished into the shadows between the trees.

After running several hundred meters, Shiyue Shuo leaned against a massive tree and caught his breath. Once he confirmed no one was around, he checked his watch again.

"10:30. Half an hour until the talisman switches."

"Shadowy Snake makes me omnipresent."

The instant the incantation left his lips, there was no cursed energy fluctuation whatsoever. Within Shiyue Shuo's mind, the talisman engraved with a green snake began to glow dark green. His body twisted strangely amid the tree shadows, then vanished completely, as though the world itself had erased him.

The Snake Talisman's power: it allowed its holder to conceal their body completely.

In this world of jujutsu, the talismans had been strengthened to a certain extent. What had once been limited invisibility was no longer merely a visual trick; now, he vanished completely on a physical level, in presence, and even in the sense of his existence.

He strolled leisurely through the woods.

Nobara Kugisaki raced past less than three meters from his side. A straw doll and nails were clutched in her hand, and her vigilant eyes swept the surroundings, yet she did not notice Shiyue Shuo standing right beside her.

"This is certainly interesting. It'd be even better if I could use Chicken at the same time."

Shiyue Shuo paid no attention to the others battling fiercely. His goal was clear, and he headed straight for a concealed rift on the north side of the arena.

It was a blind spot in the surveillance coverage of the entire venue.

Within the forest, a mechanical eyeball hung upside down from a branch, slowly turning. Shiyue Shuo walked directly beneath it and made a face at the lens, but Kokichi Muta, on the other side of the monitor, saw only an empty stretch of woodland.

The time reached eleven o'clock.

"Click."

Shiyue Shuo's figure reappeared in the forest. He felt the ethereal power within him slowly fading, replaced by abundant life energy.

He looked around and confirmed that no one else was nearby.

"Noble Horse keeps me far from harm."

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