Mashiro stood at Shibuya Crossing when her stomach suddenly gave a little rumble.
"Grrr-"
Despite all her big talk earlier, reality had caught up with her.
She felt around in her tracksuit pockets. They were completely empty. Forget money-she didn't even have a tissue.
"Start with a sword, loot all your gear?" Mashiro's mouth twitched. "Isn't this starting difficulty a little ridiculous?"
She looked out at the bustling streets. Pedestrians passed right by her, none of them wondering why a child was still hanging around Shibuya this late at night, even with a floating Dharma Wheel above her head.
"What a cold, heartless city. But ordinary people don't seem to see the Dharma Wheel. Thank goodness for that." Mashiro sighed and began considering her next move.
"First, I need money." She counted on her fingers. "Then I need identification. Finally, I need somewhere to live."
In theory, she could go to Jujutsu High. With her knowledge of the plot, giving them a few bits of information would easily get her a position there.
The problem was that she didn't know how strong she was right now, and she had no way to explain where her information came from.
"Hello, my name is Kujo Mashiro. I know everything that happens in the future, but right now I'm too weak to beat even a grade 3 cursed spirit. Please take me in."
If she actually said that, they would probably just kick her out as a lunatic. Even if Satoru Gojo was interested, those higher-ups would definitely take her away to dissect her for research.
"No. I need at least some ability to protect myself first."
Mashiro clenched her fists, feeling out the state of her body.
Her cursed energy reserves were empty, and her adaptation ability still needed combat to activate.
But as she grew stronger, her original abilities would gradually be unlocked again.
Besides, her body wasn't exactly weak. It was Mahoraga's body, after all, so its combat instincts should still be intact.
"So I need to find a cursed spirit and fight it. I should still have some basic fighting power, but better safe than sorry. Let's find a weak one."
She looked around. Shibuya's concentration of cursed energy wasn't low. As a commercial district with enormous foot traffic, it accumulated negative emotions. It was only natural for cursed spirits to spawn here.
Most of the cursed spirits were fly heads, not even strong enough to count as grade 4. Ordinary people couldn't see them, and they weren't much of a threat.
But surely she couldn't fight a fly head? That would be beneath her.
"What is this? Little Mahoraga's debut fight is against a fly head?" Mashiro gave a self-deprecating laugh. "If word gets out, Sukuna will laugh for a year."
She took a deep breath and concentrated.
Although she had zero cursed energy, she hadn't completely lost her perception. It was like a nearsighted person taking off their glasses: everything was blurry, but she could still make out the shapes.
Mashiro closed her eyes. The world around her drained of color, becoming a wash of gray and white dotted with faint specks. Those were traces of cursed residue left by cursed spirits.
"Found one."
She opened her eyes and looked toward a convenience store on the street corner. There was a faint cluster of cursed energy there, probably just barely grade 4.
"That one."
Mashiro pulled her oversized tracksuit tighter and carefully secured the Sword of Extermination at her waist. She couldn't just draw a sword in a crowded place.
The automatic doors chimed as she entered the convenience store.
The clerk was a young man in his twenties, looking down at his phone. He raised his head at the sound and paused when he saw a little girl.
"Hey, kid. Shouldn't you be home by now?"
"I'll leave in a minute." Mashiro smiled, her voice soft. "I'm buying a bottle of water."
She walked toward the shelves, but her gaze stayed fixed behind the refrigerated case, where a cursed spirit was crouching.
It was about half a meter tall, with a body like a lump of sludge and three unevenly placed eyes. It clung to the back of the case, making creaking, crunching noises.
It was gnawing on the negative emotions seeping out of the refrigerated case.
Those were probably left by corporate drones picking out coffee in the middle of the night.
There was no time to mourn the corporate drones. She had to enter combat mode first.
"I need to make it attack me first so I can test my durability and adaptation."
She walked up to the refrigerated case, pretending to choose a drink while actually watching the cursed spirit.
The cursed spirit noticed her. Its three eyes turned toward her, and it made a gurgling sound.
It was sensitive to the presence of living people, especially negative emotions like fear and unease.
And Mashiro was admittedly a little nervous.
Come on, bite me, she silently urged. Just don't kill me...
But death is cool... No, this isn't the time for memes.
The cursed spirit blinked, unable to understand what the little girl in front of it was dawdling over.
It darted out from behind the refrigerated case, its body stretching into a whip of sludge that lashed toward Mashiro's face!
!
Her body moved first.
Before Mashiro's brain could react, her body had already responded.
Her right foot slid half a step back, her center of gravity lowered, and her left hand instinctively rose in front of her face as she assumed a defensive stance.
Her combat instincts had kicked in.
Smack!
The cursed spirit struck her left arm.
It didn't hurt. It only felt like a light snap from a rubber band.
Mashiro nodded silently, getting a rough idea of her body's durability.
The next second, she felt the ability within her awaken. The Dharma Wheel above her head clicked and began turning slowly. The part of her body that had been struck-her muscles, her skin, even the flow of cursed energy-was comprehending and adapting to the attack.
The cursed spirit's second attack followed immediately.
This time, it lunged straight at her, spreading its sludgy body wide to swallow her whole.
Although it was a little disgusting, Mashiro didn't dodge.
She glanced around. No one was nearby. Drawing the Sword of Extermination, she thrust it into the center of the cursed spirit's three eyes!
Squelch!
The tip sank into the sludge with a sickening sound.
The cursed spirit let out a piercing shriek, its body writhing violently as it tried to break free. But Mashiro angled the blade downward, driving the Sword of Extermination clean through it.
She felt the blade heating up. The cursed spirit's cursed energy flowed along it into her body. The Sword of Extermination was absorbing cursed energy and feeding it back to her.
It was only a tiny trickle, but cursed energy was flowing inside her again.
Mashiro's eyes lit up. "The Sword of Extermination can absorb cursed energy and replenish its wielder!"
The cursed spirit gradually stopped moving. Its body began to crumble from the point where the blade had pierced it, turning into black ash like burned paper.
"Ghk... ghk..."
With one final shriek, the cursed spirit vanished completely, and the convenience store fell quiet again.
Mashiro stood where she was, breathing lightly. This was her first fight in this world. Her body wasn't tired, but her heart was beating a little fast.
Looking at the spot where the cursed spirit had disappeared, Mashiro broke into an excited grin. "That was fun. I'll probably remember you for the rest of my life."
Nice! Nothing like some post-fight trash talk.
Mashiro took a moment to settle down, then lowered her gaze to her hand. A faint trace of cursed energy flowed through her palm.
More importantly, she could feel the change in her body.
She could now tell that if her left shoulder took the same attack again, the damage would be reduced by at least thirty percent.
That was the effect of adaptation, even in its weakened state.
How powerful would the original ability be?
"So my progression path is to get beaten up, adapt, and become stronger," Mashiro muttered. "What kind of masochist build is this?"
But it was viable. The thought of eventually becoming special grade and fighting Sukuna in the Culling Game made her heart race.
Delivering her victory speech to the strongest in history and the strongest of the modern age, etching the greatest battle record into Tokyo!
It was fantasy time.
"Kid, are you okay?" The clerk's voice came from behind her, shattering Mashiro's grandiose fantasy.
Mashiro turned and saw the clerk looking at her in confusion. As far as he could see, she had merely waved her hand at empty air, then stood there spacing out.
"I'm fine." Mashiro smiled and took the cheapest bottle of water from the shelf. "How much is this?"
"One hundred and twenty yen."
Mashiro: "..."
Crap. She'd forgotten she had no money.
Silence abruptly settled over them.
The clerk looked at her. She looked at the clerk.
"Um..." Mashiro tried to get by on cuteness. "I forgot my wallet..."
Five minutes later, Mashiro was kicked out of the convenience store.
The clerk had been kind enough not to call the police. He had only asked her to leave.
After all, a little girl out alone late at night looked every bit like a troubled runaway.
Mashiro stood outside the convenience store, clutching the bottle of water. The clerk had given it to her in the end, probably because he felt sorry for her.
"I don't even start with a hundred and twenty yen..." Mashiro unscrewed the cap and took a gulp. "This is way too realistic."
But she felt much better. Now that she had cursed energy, she could finally call herself a jujutsu sorcerer.
She had also earned herself a ticket to the final battle.
Looking at the Sword of Extermination at her waist, Mashiro thought for a moment. "From now on, I'll call you Murasame. Consider it compensation for my regret over not ending up in a gal game."
Before you continue