Legend

That's our Deer God for you. He bounced back from that enormous gap in cursed techniques so easily. Looks like Hajime Kashimo still has plenty Lu Yun could learn from.

"Did you find Sukuna or not?"

After learning he had only been asleep for six days, Hajime Kashimo hadn't held out much hope. He merely asked out of habit, as though going through the motions.

"Sukuna? Yeah, I found him."

"So you didn't find him after all. I knew it. Huh?! What did you say?!!"

The unexpected answer reached his ears, and Hajime Kashimo's casual attitude abruptly changed, as though taking a sharp 360-degree turn.

Suspecting he hadn't heard him clearly, Lu Yun coughed twice to clear his throat, then spoke again:

"I said, I found Sukuna."

"Attaboy! I knew I was right about you. Where's Sukuna?!"

Hajime Kashimo immediately grew excited, never having expected Lu Yun to find Sukuna so quickly.

But Lu Yun didn't immediately reveal Sukuna's whereabouts. The composure he had forced himself to put on in front of Okkotsu vanished, and his expression darkened again:

"Hajime Kashimo, aren't you afraid of dying?"

"Dying?"

Hajime Kashimo was somewhat surprised. Ever since they had met, Lu Yun had always struck him as an eccentric, carefree guy. This was the first time he had seen such an expression on his face.

Had Lu Yun suffered some sort of blow while he was asleep?

Hajime Kashimo had neither the inclination to concern himself with Lu Yun's feelings nor any intention of comforting him. He simply said his piece:

"Who cares about something like that?"

Hajime Kashimo had already tasted death four hundred years ago. What bored him far more than that was the absence of any strong opponent who could match him.

"Rather than live a dull, uneventful life, I'd rather fight someone as strong as Sukuna. Once I've given it everything I've got and conveyed all that I am to my opponent, what would there be to regret, even if I died?"

"Instead of agonizing over that, why don't you hurry up and tell me where Sukuna is? If you don't want to live anymore, I wouldn't mind taking over this body."

"Rather than live a dull, ordinary life, you'd choose to become a legend?"

Lu Yun muttered to himself.

Hajime Kashimo's words reminded him of the choice David, the protagonist of the anime Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, had made.

Despite witnessing the dangers of cybernetic modification firsthand, David had continued augmenting himself. To protect the person he loved, he had chosen to burn himself out in Night City's brutal battles, ultimately losing his life and becoming a legend.

As he recalled working from nine in the morning to nine at night, six days a week, before his transmigration, a light gradually returned to Lu Yun's dim eyes.

"Yeah. That's how it should be."

A quiet, uneventful life was certainly nice, but that was a loser's way of thinking.

Since he had come to the world of jujutsu, he would become a legend in it, even if it cost him his life.

"Deer God, you're right. Let's see whether this Sukuna really is that hard to beat."

Lu Yun raised his head, his expression returning to its usual carefree look.

"Hmph, that's more like it. Now hurry up and tell me where Sukuna is."

Seeing Lu Yun recover, Hajime Kashimo grunted in satisfaction, then promptly asked about Sukuna's whereabouts again.

Lu Yun lifted his chin slightly and said with a straight face:

"There. The pink-haired guy lying on the ground."

"Huh?"

Throughout his conversation with Hajime Kashimo, Lu Yun hadn't stopped walking. He had followed Okkotsu all the way to where Itadori and the other man lay sprawled.

"Are you sure you haven't made a mistake? That weakling lying on the ground is Sukuna??"

As though he had heard some outrageous joke, Hajime Kashimo asked again to make sure.

"That's right, it's him. Hold on, little deer, what's that supposed to mean? How dare you look down on our Tiger Emperor! Just wait till our Tiger Emperor's had sixty-eight years to cook. He'll steamroll right past you."

Hearing Itadori disparaged, Lu Yun, a veteran troll, instinctively snapped back.

"Huh? What are you even talking about?"

His mouth moved far faster than his brain. By the time Lu Yun realized what he was doing, he had already finished trolling, leaving him no choice but to awkwardly force a change of subject:

"Uh, my mouth glitched. He's actually Ryomen Sukuna's vessel. The King of Curses is inside him."

Fortunately, Hajime Kashimo paid no mind to any of that and urged him:

"Then hurry up and bring Sukuna out. Let me duel him."

"Uh, but Sukuna isn't at full strength yet. Itadori's consciousness will suppress his output, too. Little deer, are you really planning to take advantage of him like that?"

Lu Yun questioned Hajime Kashimo with feigned disapproval.

"What?! Then what do you suggest?"

Sure enough, hearing that immediately killed Hajime Kashimo's desire to fight.

He hadn't undergone incarnation and come back to life just to challenge some half-baked opponent. If he was going to fight, he would naturally do it when his opponent was at his strongest.

"Don't rush. You'll definitely get your chance later, little deer. Just wait for now. Don't worry, it won't take long."

Lu Yun reassured him.

"Hmph. How boring."

With a cold snort, Hajime Kashimo fell silent again.

Only then did Lu Yun look ahead at Okkotsu, who was preparing to have a heart-to-heart with Yuji Itadori-quite literally.

Shnk. The long blade pierced his heart.

"Oh dear, this really is a headache. Although my binding vow with the higher-ups has been fulfilled, there's no one to help report that I've killed my junior, Itadori."

"Eh, it's fine. Don't bother with those higher-ups. Those old fossils are nothing but parasites in Jujutsu Society."

"Haha, Mr. Lu Yun, you sound exactly like Mr. Gojo."

"Really? Hahaha, looks like I've got quite a lot in common with the Modern Strongest. We're both handsome and strong. Maybe I should start calling myself the Modern Strongest, too."

"You really do love to joke, Mr. Lu Yun."

Voices kept drifting into his ears, and faint firelight flickered before his eyes, but Yuji Itadori's head felt heavy and muddled. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't open his eyes.

Huh? What's going on? My chest kind of hurts, too.

"All right, Mr. Lu Yun, this is our temporary base."

Someone carefully set his body down, and the jostling finally stopped.

"Okkotsu, you're back. Hm? Who's he?"

A figure with spiky black hair emerged from the shadows, his eyes fixed warily on the unfamiliar man who had arrived with Okkotsu.

That's Fushiguro's voice.

Hearing his companion's familiar voice, Yuji Itadori's eyelids trembled violently, and his urge to open his eyes grew stronger.

"You're here too, Fushiguro. Perfect. Let me introduce you. This is..."

Before Okkotsu could finish, Lu Yun instantly appeared behind Fushiguro and brought his hand down in a chopping strike.

Thud. A body crumpled to the floor.

"Ah, Mr. Lu Yun, what are you doing?"

"Uh, just giving Fushiguro's skills a little test. Don't mind me."

Okkotsu remarked helplessly:

"What a strange hobby."

Darkness swallowed his vision again, and Yuji Itadori's consciousness slipped back into sleep.

[Successfully defeated key story character Megumi Fushiguro. Reward obtained: "Slight improvement in cursed energy control." Ability obtained: "Lightning Phantom."]