The dark side

If he could help it, Toji Fushiguro did not want his son to awaken a Cursed Technique and step into the foul world of Jujutsu Society.

But if his son did awaken one, he hoped it would be powerful, because only then would he have the strength to secure a stable foothold in Jujutsu Society.

Yet when Toji Fushiguro discovered that his son had awakened the Zenin Clan's supreme Cursed Technique, the Ten Shadows Technique, even someone as unflappable as him froze for a moment.

He rarely won the lottery, but when it came to competing over sons, his victory was overwhelming...

For a moment, he even reached toward the phone in his pocket, wanting to call Naobito Zenin and share the news with that thoroughly frustrated man.

In the end, though, he did not. Megumi Fushiguro was still young. It was far too early to let him enter the foul, corrupt world of Jujutsu Society.

Keep something up his sleeve. Play it safe.

A faint smile appeared on Toji Fushiguro's face. He could already imagine the look on Naobito Zenin's face when Megumi Fushiguro stood before him one day, having mastered the Ten Shadows Technique.

Then Toji Fushiguro explained the existence of Jujutsu Sorcerers and Cursed Spirits to Megumi Fushiguro. Tsumiki Fushiguro overheard their conversation partway through, but Toji Fushiguro did not mind. He waved her over to listen as well.

They were family living under the same roof. Keeping this hidden would be difficult, so he might as well explain everything and avoid misunderstandings in the future.

After hearing about the many facets of Jujutsu Society, both Megumi Fushiguro and Tsumiki Fushiguro looked shocked.

Especially Megumi Fushiguro.

He desperately wanted to dismiss his dad's wildly imaginative nonsense, but he found he had no way to refute it.

He could see Cursed Spirits.

He could vaguely sense Jujutsu.

Tsumiki Fushiguro did not doubt her father's words. She raised a hand to cover her mouth and murmured in surprise, "I never knew the world had a side like this..."

Still astonished, she blinked in confusion, then voiced her curiosity to Toji Fushiguro.

"Then... Dad, what are you in Jujutsu Society? You must be really strong, right?" Tsumiki Fushiguro asked innocently.

That question stumped Toji Fushiguro. He had come within a hair's breadth of saying "Killer," but held himself back in the end.

Megumi Fushiguro, five years old.

Tsumiki, six years old.

That little brat was one thing, but Toji Fushiguro did not particularly want to imprint the word "Killer" on his innocent, kindhearted daughter, who had no talent for Jujutsu.

After a moment's thought, Chinatsu and Satoru Gojo surfaced in his mind.

He placed a hand on each child's head, gently ruffling one and roughly scrubbing the other.

"Of course I'm strong. In all of Jujutsu Society, you could count the people stronger than me on two hands!"

Tsumiki had already learned from Toji how cruel Jujutsu Society was. Now that she knew her father was powerful and his life would not be in danger, a radiant smile spread across her face.

Megumi Fushiguro, on the other hand, could not help giving his dad a dead-eyed, skeptical look at that confident declaration.

"You're really that strong? I thought you'd just been scraping by all this time. When you didn't come home for ages a while back, I thought your enemies were chasing-"

Before Megumi Fushiguro could finish, a stern-faced Toji Fushiguro delivered a Fist of Love, letting the boy's skull experience his father's terrifying strength firsthand.

No more than ten people were stronger than him?

In truth, even that was an overestimate...

After learning how powerful his dad was, Megumi Fushiguro began his journey of training as a Jujutsu Sorcerer at home.

Time flew by, and Chinatsu and the others advanced smoothly into their third year at Jujutsu High. At their level, though, they were students in name only, and Masamichi Yaga placed no restrictions on their freedom.

Satoru Gojo spent his days roaming the streets, sometimes taking on Jujutsu missions alone, sometimes going with Suguru Geto, and sometimes lying in bed and slacking off for an entire day.

Between Jujutsu missions, Suguru Geto became a Cursed Technique instructor at Jujutsu High. His skill with the Three-Section Staff won over quite a few younger students, providing Jujutsu Society with a number of future Jujutsu Sorcerers who excelled at Cursed Technique.

Shoko Ieiri spent much of her time away from Jujutsu High. With her Reverse Cursed Technique, she had already become a capable battlefield healer in her third year. As long as someone still had a breath left, she could guarantee their survival, even if preventing permanent disability was another matter.

Among their classmates, only Chinatsu continued taking Jujutsu missions at a high rate. Completing those missions did little to improve her strength, but growing stronger was not her only reason for acting.

During her missions, she documented examples of Jujutsu Society's corruption and darker side, gathering a foundation for her future efforts to overthrow and reform it.

During one such mission, Chinatsu happened to notice waves of Cursed Energy from Cursed Spirits drifting above a distant village in a remote mountain region.

Her preliminary assessment was that the Cursed Spirits in the village were not particularly strong, but there was more than one. They were not lying low, either-they were actively causing harm.

As she approached, Chinatsu used her Six Eyes to observe them from afar and confirmed that the Cursed Spirits in the village were indeed weak. Once she arrived, fists wrapped in Cursed Energy would be enough to exorcise them.

But...

When Chinatsu reached her destination and saw what was happening in the village, one of the reasons behind Suguru Geto's mental collapse in the original story instantly surfaced in her mind.

Two girls in tattered clothes were being forcibly dragged along by their wrists by tall adults. The girls wept and struggled to break free of the adults' grip, only to be dragged even harder.

Quite a few other villagers surrounded them. None offered the girls any help or even a token show of sympathy. There was nothing but a stream of curses brimming with malice.

"Monsters! Two monsters!!!"

"My grandson was nearly killed by you monsters! We can't let these monsters keep hurting the innocent people in our village!"

"You're born monsters, just like your parents! We should've killed you when you were still babies!"

Listening to the curses and the girls' sobs, Chinatsu could not help experiencing the emotions that had surged through Suguru Geto when he broke down back then.

"This really is... utterly awful."