"Now!!"
Hurtling through the air, Naoya grinned viciously and lunged at Lu Yun.
But Naoya Zenin had not expected Lu Yun, whose reactions he thought were sluggish, to suddenly turn his head, his gaze beneath the Spider-Man mask locking precisely onto Naoya's current position.
This bastard!!!
Beads of sweat poured down his cheeks as Naoya Zenin finally realized, to his horror, that Lu Yun had been able to track his position all along.
Unable to stop his attack, Naoya clenched his teeth, twisted in midair, and forced himself to kick at Lu Yun.
Please, let this kick land!
Unfortunately, Naoya was destined to be disappointed.
Lu Yun leaned back slightly, easily avoiding the strike Naoya had pinned all his hopes on. He raised a fist charged with cursed energy and placed it directly in Naoya Zenin's path.
"Checkmate!"
As Lu Yun confidently spoke, gravity began pulling Naoya's body downward.
His sweeping kick had left Naoya Zenin's crotch completely exposed. And, as luck would have it, Lu Yun's slowly rising fist reached the space between Naoya's legs at that exact moment.
Squish.
There was what sounded like flesh being crushed, and Lu Yun felt his fist strike something soft.
Looking up, he saw Naoya Zenin's eyes bulging as though he were enduring some excruciating agony. Lu Yun's fist had struck that spot dead center.
"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to."
Realizing what had happened, Lu Yun withdrew his fist with an embarrassed expression.
"I only meant to stop short, but the momentum carried it right into you..."
Naoya Zenin immediately hopped aside. Pain no man could bear made him suck in a sharp breath before he collapsed to the ground, his face contorted.
Although Lu Yun had not used his full strength, his cursed-energy-wrapped fist still packed considerable force, especially when it struck such a vulnerable spot.
As fellow men, all three witnesses felt a phantom ache between their own legs and looked at Naoya with sympathy.
After finally recovering a little from the agonizing pain, Naoya Zenin shakily got to his feet, his legs pressed tightly together. A shrill voice burst from deep in his throat:
"You'll pay for this, Failure-Man! The next time we meet, you're dead!"
Only after delivering his threat did Naoya Zenin reactivate his cursed technique and flee before their eyes, keeping his legs together in an utterly humiliating retreat.
Poor little bro Naoya-no, little sis Naoya. Even without Megumi Fushiguro, he probably couldn't inherit the position of clan head now.
[Successfully defeated Special Grade 1 Sorcerer Naoya Zenin. Reward obtained: "Minor increase in physical speed."]
No ability this time? Could it be that only defeating special grade opponents grants extra rewards?
Receiving another reward for his victory, Lu Yun felt considerably lighter on his feet.
Noticing the strange looks Itadori and Choso were giving him, Lu Yun scratched his head sheepishly.
"I really didn't mean to."
Lu Yun stepped toward them, and Itadori and Choso instinctively took two steps back.
"What should we do, Yuji? Run?"
Since Lu Yun had easily "dealt with" Naoya Zenin, who had put both brothers on high alert, he was clearly not someone they could handle. Choso therefore left the decision to Itadori.
Recalling what Lu Yun had said earlier, Yuji Itadori did not think he was a bad person, even if he was a little strange.
"I don't think we need to. He doesn't seem hostile. Maybe we can convince him to join us."
Seeing that neither of them was running, Lu Yun raised a hand in greeting.
"Hey, Tiger of West Junior High! I've heard so much about you. I finally get to meet you in person."
The familiar nickname caught Itadori by surprise.
"Uh, Mr. Failure-Man, you know me?"
"A little."
Lu Yun formed an OK sign with his raised hand, except he left a small gap between the thumb and index finger that should have touched.
"Just call me Lu Yun. To be honest, I'm here to join your Jujutsu High faction."
Not expecting Lu Yun to bring it up first, Itadori was taken aback.
"Uh, huh?"
"What? Am I not welcome?"
Seeing his bewildered expression, Lu Yun pretended to be angry.
"Of course you are! We'd absolutely welcome someone as strong as you, Lu Yun."
Yuji Itadori hurried to explain.
He did not know whether letting Lu Yun, whose background was a complete mystery, join their group just like that was the right decision, but it was far better than making an enemy of him outright.
Whatever Lu Yun's after, we should keep him with us for now.
"Haha, I'm just messing with you. Relax, I'm not a bad guy."
Throwing an arm around Itadori, Lu Yun laughed and repeatedly clapped him on the shoulder.
"I'll be counting on you guys from now on."
"Cough, cough. We should be saying that."
Itadori responded, a little winded by Lu Yun's pats.
Mr. Lu Yun really is strong.
"Hey, you! Isn't it about time you let go of Yuji?"
With Itadori coughing nonstop, Choso could no longer stand by. He grabbed Lu Yun and pulled him away.
"Oh, big bro's here too! I almost forgot about you. Come here."
After Choso pulled him off Itadori, Lu Yun promptly latched onto him instead.
"I'm not your big brother!"
Looking thoroughly disgusted, Choso pushed at Lu Yun, but he could not match his strength and ended up caught in his embrace anyway.
"Haha, you really are friendly, Lu Yun."
Seeing Choso's helpless state, Itadori smiled for the first time in ages.
How long has it been since Yuji smiled? He's seemed so down ever since Shibuya.
His younger brother's smile made Choso forget to resist for a moment. This seemed to be the first time he had ever seen Itadori so relaxed.
"Sorry, I got a little carried away. This is my first time meeting you in person."
After fooling around for a while, Lu Yun finally released Choso.
He could not help it. This was his first time being transported to another world, and seeing anime characters standing right in front of him inevitably made him excited.
"It's fine. We're happy to have you with us too, Lu Yun."
Itadori waved a hand to show he did not mind.
"But why did you call Choso big bro? Are you one of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings too?"
"That's impossible!"
Before Lu Yun could speak, Choso rejected the idea.
He had not sensed even the slightest blood connection with Lu Yun. Aside from Eso and Kechizu, who had been exorcised, all the other Death Painting Wombs were still hidden in Tengen's Tombs of the Star Corridor.
Still, Choso was also curious about why Lu Yun had called him that.
Lu Yun gave a mysterious smile.
"Choso's your big brother, Itadori. I just went along with it."
"That much is true."
Choso nodded in agreement.
Could Choso really be related to me?
Not only did Choso claim it himself, but Lu Yun, who had known his junior high nickname the moment they met, said the same thing. Yuji Itadori could not help beginning to wonder.
But as far as he remembered, his grandfather had never mentioned it, and no one like that had ever been part of his life.
Seeing that Itadori still looked puzzled, Lu Yun slapped his thighs with both hands, brimming with confidence.
"Don't underestimate my intelligence network!"
Before you continue