Kento Nanami

At the same time.

Once the horrifying scene inside the movie theater was discovered, the information soon reached the relevant department at Jujutsu High.

"Itadori, Araki, I'm leaving this one to you."

"But since I have to go out on some business, I found someone very reliable to lead you."

Araki Itsuki yawned and asked in confusion, "Fushiguro and Kugisaki have been training lately, so I get why you'd call Itadori, but why drag me into this?"

Yuji Itadori immediately protested, "Hey, hey, hey! You're the one with nothing to do all day, Araki. Besides, this is a great chance to train."

Araki Itsuki rolled his eyes at the oblivious Yuji Itadori. You have no idea how exhausting all this running around is.

Satoru Gojo nodded as well. "Exactly. You're special grade, Araki. You need to work hard like Yuta Okkotsu."

Araki Itsuki hurriedly waved his hands.

"Oh, no, no. My goal in life is to follow the example of my teacher, Satoru Gojo, and my senior, Yuki Tsukumo-just laze around and wander wherever I like."

The door swung open, revealing a man in a gray suit, with flaxen hair and a spotted tie.

It was the adult among adults, Kento Nanami.

He adjusted his glasses, then turned to leave the instant he saw Araki Itsuki.

"If a special grade is here, you don't need me."

Satoru Gojo hurriedly stopped him and enthusiastically slung an arm around his shoulders. "Former office worker, jujutsu sorcerer, Kento Nanami."

"Don't introduce me like that."

Yuji Itadori was surprised by Kento Nanami's stiff manner and immaculate suit.

Satoru Gojo explained, "Jujutsu sorcerers are all weirdos, but he used to work for a company, so he's very serious. He's also a grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer."

"I could tolerate hearing that from anyone but you."

At the mention of office work, Yuji Itadori asked curiously, "Why did you choose to work for a company instead of becoming a jujutsu sorcerer in the first place?"

Kento Nanami uncrossed his arms and greeted them with a serious expression. "First, we should introduce ourselves."

"Nice to meet you, Itadori, Araki."

"Hello. Nice to meet you."

Once the greetings were over, Kento Nanami began answering Yuji Itadori's question.

"While studying at Jujutsu High, I learned one thing."

Seeing Kento Nanami's face suddenly darken with agitation, Araki Itsuki wisely covered his ears.

"Being a jujutsu sorcerer is shit!"

Yuji Itadori froze. "?"

"Then I went to work at an ordinary company and learned another truth."

"Work is shit, too!"

"Since they're both shit, I chose the shit I preferred. That's why I came back."

Watching Yuji Itadori and Satoru Gojo whispering together, Kento Nanami said calmly, "Itadori, please don't assume I share Mr. Gojo's views."

"I trust him and rely on him, but I don't respect him!"

"Though I'm dissatisfied with the higher-ups as well, I'm someone who follows the rules. Mr. Gojo's thinking is dangerous."

At that point, Kento Nanami glanced at Araki Itsuki and said bluntly:

"Araki is even more dangerous!"

"If Satoru Gojo slaughtered the higher-ups, I'd believe he did it to bring about change. Araki would probably do it just for fun!"

Araki Itsuki helplessly spread his hands. "I'm a good guy with a blade."

Nanami then turned his gaze back to Yuji Itadori. "I don't acknowledge you, either. Please prove your worth instead of being a bomb carrying Ryomen Sukuna."

Yuji Itadori recalled his own helplessness and weakness. "I'll get stronger. If I don't, I won't even get to choose how I die. Just give me a little more time."

Satoru Gojo smiled with relief, looking at his student in satisfaction.

Afterward, the three of them went to the movie theater.

"Can you see it? This is cursed energy residue."

Araki Itsuki and Yuji Itadori merely stared at each other in silence.

Kento Nanami sighed, finally understanding why Satoru Gojo had asked him to come even with a special grade like Araki Itsuki present.

He adjusted his glasses and explained to Yuji Itadori, "That's because you haven't tried to see it. We usually take being able to visually identify curses for granted."

"Using a cursed technique leaves traces. Those are cursed residue."

"But cursed residue is fainter than the traces of cursed spirits. You need to look closely and focus to make it out."

Following Kento Nanami's instructions, Yuji Itadori stared intently ahead.

"Oh! I see it! I see it!"

"Of course, you'll only be ready to handle things on your own when you can sense its presence before seeing it."

Yuji Itadori said, "Couldn't you praise me a little more? Praise helps people improve."

Kento Nanami looked at Araki Itsuki. "What about you?"

Araki Itsuki shook his head. "I don't need to."

Only then did Kento Nanami continue forward, explaining calmly, "I neither praise nor disparage. My principles are to stick to the facts and hold myself to strict standards."

"All right, let's give it our best!"

Kento Nanami replied without a flicker of emotion, "No. If we can deal with it casually, let's take it easy."

"Though there was a time when I mistakenly believed society worked that way, too. No need to dwell on that. Let's keep following the trail."

Was this a middle-aged man's tale of his passionate youth?

Araki Itsuki nodded to himself. "Truly the adult among adults."

The three followed the cursed residue until they reached a tall building.

A hunched, curled-up transfigured human wearing a watch appeared. "Poo-poo lunchbox~"

Yuji Itadori's expression turned serious. He was just about to attack when Kento Nanami stopped him.

"I'll handle this one. You take the other."

A cheap-looking cursed spirit with its palms pressed together and upright teeth was hiding behind the building. "G-g-g-great laundry detergent."

"If you think you can't win, call me or Araki immediately."

Yuji Itadori looked awkward. "Aren't you underestimating me a little too much?"

"This isn't about underestimating you. I'm an adult, and you're a child. It's my professional duty to prioritize your safety."

Araki Itsuki immediately asked in confusion, "By age, I'm a child, too. Why aren't you protecting me, Mr. Nanami?"

"Because if you can't beat it, neither can I."

Araki Itsuki had no response.

Yuji Itadori, meanwhile, protested indignantly, "Don't treat me like a child. I'd rather you underestimated me."

Kento Nanami slowly undid the buttons of his well-fitted suit. "You've faced death several times already, but that doesn't mean you've grown up."

"Finding more and more hair on your pillow. Having your favorite sandwich bread disappear from the convenience store shelves."

"It's the accumulation of those little disappointments that makes you an adult."

Having explained his perspective, he adjusted his glasses and charged at the transfigured human. Araki Itsuki did not stop him.

They weren't cursed spirits, but these people had already died when they were transfigured.

Kento Nanami explained as he fought.

"Regardless of who my opponent is, my cursed technique can forcibly create a weak point on their body."

"Seven to three."

"I divide the target's length according to that ratio. As long as I strike the dividing point, I can land a critical hit. Even against an enemy stronger than me, I can inflict some damage."

"If my opponent has weak cursed energy, even this blunt blade can cut them in two."

Yuji Itadori was puzzled. "Is it really okay to reveal something that important?"

Araki Itsuki explained, "That's called Cursed Technique Disclosure. By revealing your hand to your opponent, you impose a binding vow that can greatly enhance your technique's effect."

"It's fine if the technique is one you can afford to reveal, if the opponent isn't a concern, or if you can defeat them by feeding them false information."

"Simply put, a binding vow means giving up something to gain something else. It's a kind of conversion."

At that point, Araki Itsuki warned Yuji Itadori, "If you haven't imposed any binding vows and switch to Ryomen Sukuna whenever you feel like it, you'll put yourself in danger, too."

"Every gift fate offers has already had its price marked in secret."

Yuji Itadori nodded solemnly, showing that he had taken Araki Itsuki's words to heart.

Then something occurred to him, and he asked Araki Itsuki curiously, "You're so strong, Araki. What price did you pay?"

Araki Itsuki sighed helplessly. "The price is that I can't experience growing from a total noob like you."

Yuji Itadori thought, Would it kill you to be polite?

Meanwhile.

Kento Nanami flashed past, severing the transfigured human's limbs with nothing but the blunt blade in his hand.

Yuji Itadori was still marveling at Kento Nanami's strength when he heard Araki Itsuki's reminder.

"Hurry up and finish it. I have things to do."

At those words, Yuji Itadori immediately bent down and gathered his strength. Dense cursed energy began coating his fist.

"Divergent Fist!"

Although he had only landed one punch, the transfigured human took damage twice, the blows pounding tears out of its eyes.

Kento Nanami adjusted his glasses and quickly analyzed Yuji Itadori's Divergent Fist.

"Because he possesses superhuman physical strength, even though the initial hit contains little cursed energy, it still has 1.2 times the power of an ordinary sorcerer's strike."

"The real cursed energy attack arrives after a delay, causing the enemy who takes that blow more pain than they expect."

"And there's still room for improvement. If he could combine one hundred percent of his physical ability with one hundred percent of his cursed energy..."

"He has a promising future..."

Araki Itsuki was less optimistic about the move. He asked Yuji Itadori curiously, "Didn't Todo point out its weakness?"

Since the two had met early, and Todo wanted a satisfying fight with his best friend at the Goodwill Event, he occasionally came over to spar with Yuji Itadori.

Yuji Itadori was a quick learner, so he improved rapidly under Todo's beatings. He was stronger than he had been at this point in the original story.

Yuji Itadori awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Todo pointed out my problem. This move won't work against powerful enemies or special grades."

"But I haven't learned Black Flash yet."

"All right."

While the two chatted, Kento Nanami suddenly noticed the ticking watch on the wrist of the transfigured human lying on the ground.

He jolted in shock. "No way."

"How is that possible?!"

An ominous feeling rose in his heart. He took out his phone and snapped a picture, which showed up clearly on the screen.

Cursed spirits could not be captured on camera.

"Itadori!!!"

"Don't kill it yet!"

Yuji Itadori stopped. Araki Itsuki patted his shoulder in consolation. "Don't take it too hard."

Kento Nanami showed Yuji Itadori the picture on his phone and slowly said:

"What we were fighting just now... was human!"