Money-grubber

"But a bet's a bet."

"From today on, you, Yagami Jue, are under my protection."

"Anyone who lays a finger on you, I'll kill."

At those words.

Yagami Jue's taut nerves finally relaxed.

He grinned and raised his middle finger.

"Cut the crap."

"Pay up."

"Pay up?" Satoru Gojo froze, then clutched his chest theatrically, looking wounded.

"Aw, and here I thought you'd ask for some peerless divine weapon. Turns out you're just a money-grubber."

"Your punch nearly smashed through my Limitless. Isn't that enough of an achievement?"

Yagami Jue rolled his eyes, unwilling to entertain his theatrics.

"Quit bullshitting me."

"You just said you'd protect me. Well, there's a five-hundred-million-yen bounty on my head on the black market."

"If you're so fucking amazing, go kill whoever posted it and bring me the money."

"Otherwise, why the hell should I believe you?"

Satoru Gojo didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Yagami Jue's brazen extortion.

This kid's mind really did work differently.

"Five hundred million? That's a little steep." Satoru Gojo rubbed his chin, his smile undiminished.

"But since I promised, I'll keep my word as your teacher."

"It's about time those old fossils brought their secret stashes out into the sunlight."

"But before that..." Satoru Gojo's tone shifted, his gaze landing on the ruined school building nearby.

"You need to help me bring Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro back to Jujutsu High."

"Especially Itadori. He swallowed Sukuna's Finger, so he's a dangerous one now."

Yagami Jue frowned slightly.

Was the original plot's pull still this strong?

Although he'd crushed two fingers, Itadori must have swallowed another of Sukuna's Fingers to save someone.

"Fine, we can take them," Yagami Jue said coldly.

"But let me make one thing clear first."

"Don't expect me to babysit them."

"If either of them drags me down, I'll beat the shit out of them too."

"Don't worry, don't worry. They can take a beating." Satoru Gojo waved a hand with a grin.

... Half an hour later.

Inside a black minivan outside Sugisawa High School.

Yagami Jue sat in the front passenger seat, resting with his eyes closed.

In the back, Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro sat stiffly like two schoolchildren who'd been caught misbehaving, barely daring to breathe.

Especially Itadori.

He stole a glance at the back of Yagami Jue's head and swallowed.

The fight on the school grounds earlier had shattered his entire worldview.

He'd punched that insufferably arrogant white-haired teacher straight into the ground.

Was that even something a fucking human could do?!

"Um... Yagami..." Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Yuji Itadori asked quietly.

"How... how exactly do you train?"

"Do you do a hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, and a ten-kilometer run every day?"

Yagami Jue's eyes snapped open, and he shot him a cold glance through the rearview mirror.

"Shut up, moron."

"Keep talking, and I'll stuff you into the exhaust pipe."

Terrified, Yuji Itadori hastily covered his mouth and shook his head frantically.

Megumi Fushiguro, meanwhile, watched Yagami Jue with a grave expression.

He knew just how difficult life in Jujutsu Society was for someone without cursed energy.

Yet through sheer physical strength, Yagami Jue had reached heights even he couldn't hope to attain.

This guy... is a complete lunatic. Megumi Fushiguro silently made up his mind.

Never get on his bad side!

... A few days later.

Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu High School.

Below the first-year dormitory building.

Satoru Gojo stood in the clearing with Yagami Jue, Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, and Nobara Kugisaki, who had just arrived.

"All right, all right, everyone's here." Satoru Gojo clapped his hands to get their attention.

"As of today, our first-year class is officially complete!"

"Let's celebrate with a feast! I want sushi in Ginza!"

Nobara Kugisaki, a fiery country girl with short orange hair, lit up the instant she heard "Ginza."

"Really?! I want the most expensive kind!"

Yuji Itadori excitedly threw both hands up too. "Yes! Sushi!"

Watching the two act like they'd never seen the world, Megumi Fushiguro sighed helplessly.

As for Yagami Jue.

He leaned against a tree with both hands in his pockets, his face full of impatience.

After spending the past few days in his dorm, he felt as though his bones were starting to rust.

No money to make, no monsters to fight.

Days this boring were worse than death.

"Hey, white-hair." Yagami Jue coldly interrupted Satoru Gojo's enthusiasm.

"Where's the five hundred million you promised?"

"Didn't you say you'd get the money from the higher-ups? Where is it?"

The smile on Satoru Gojo's face stiffened.

He gave two dry coughs to cover his embarrassment.

"Well, those old men at the top are real cheapskates. Five hundred million isn't a small sum, and the paperwork takes time."

"But don't worry. I've already had a 'friendly' discussion with them. You'll definitely get the money."

"A friendly discussion?" Yagami Jue sneered. "You beat them into agreeing, didn't you?"

"Hahaha, don't sweat the details." Satoru Gojo laughed it off.

"To make it up to you, today's sushi is on me! Eat all you want!"

"Who gives a shit about your lousy sushi?" Yagami Jue rolled his eyes and turned to leave.

"I've got something to do. Go eat without me."

"Huh? You're not coming, Yagami?" Yuji Itadori froze.

"I've got no interest in a meal only broke losers would go to." Yagami Jue waved without looking back.

Watching Yagami Jue walk away, Nobara Kugisaki curled her lip in displeasure.

"Who the hell is that guy? Why's he so arrogant?"

"So he's a little good-looking. What's he so full of himself for?"

Megumi Fushiguro lowered his voice and offered a well-meaning warning. "Nobara, you'd better not mess with him."

"He could turn you into a meat paste with one punch."

Nobara Kugisaki: "???"

... After leaving Jujutsu High.

Yagami Jue headed straight for Tokyo's underground black market.

He'd already slaughtered his way through Sendai City's black market. Once the bounty was withdrawn, those assassins no longer dared to bother him.

He urgently needed new jobs to make money.

He needed to save up to open the second gate of the Eight Gates Formation-the Gate of Healing!

That would cost a full hundred million yen!

Tokyo's underground black market was much larger than Sendai City's, hidden inside an abandoned underground air-raid shelter in Shinjuku Ward.

"Well, if it isn't the 'Zero-Cursed-Energy God of Slaughter' everyone's been talking about lately."

The black-market bar's owner, a one-eyed old man, gave a knowing smile when he saw Yagami Jue walk in.

"What? Sendai City wasn't enough for you, so you've come to Tokyo to steal our livelihoods?"

Yagami Jue walked up to the bar and tapped the counter.

"Cut the crap. Give me the most dangerous job with the highest bounty."

Unfazed, the one-eyed old man pulled a black file envelope from beneath the counter and slid it over.

"Perfect timing. I've got an extremely troublesome job right here."

"This one's so nasty even a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer wouldn't touch it."

Yagami Jue opened the envelope and took a look.

Mission location: An abandoned upscale office building in Roppongi.

Target: Exorcise a gestating special grade cursed spirit.

Bounty: 150 million yen!

"A hundred and fifty million..." A glint of fervor flashed in Yagami Jue's eyes.

Once I finish this job, I'll be able to open the second gate and still have fifty million left over!

"I'll take it." Yagami Jue put away the envelope, turned, and left the bar.

Behind him came the one-eyed old man's quiet sigh.

"Young people these days really don't value their lives..."

Night fell.