Chingetsu wore a faint, ambiguous smile.
Worried about you, my ass. I'm worried about those Jujutsu Sorcerers in the clan. If any of them were blind enough to provoke a killing machine like you, there probably wouldn't even be scraps left.
Satoru Gojo rolled his eyes, unable to stop himself from grumbling inwardly.
When it came to his older cousin, Satoru Gojo could be called the person who knew best how terrifying he was. Although the clan saw Gojo Chingetsu as a useless person who did not even possess cursed energy, Satoru Gojo, who possessed the "Six Eyes," had recognized his extraordinary nature long ago.
Or rather, his terrifying nature!
Gojo Chingetsu, his older cousin, showed no signs of cursed energy circulating through his body, yet he harbored a terrifying power.
Satoru Gojo had once felt that power. Even he, whom the clan called a once-in-a-thousand-years genius, had felt his hair stand on end in its presence.
Satoru Gojo had not understood why his older cousin refused to reveal his talent within the clan.
Only after he began learning some of the Gojo Clan's secrets did he realize that the clan was not as glorious as it appeared.
Gojo Chingetsu had made the right choice.
If those higher-ups in the clan discovered Gojo Chingetsu's value, they would probably devour him, bones and all, before he even grew up.
Satoru Gojo smiled self-mockingly and instinctively touched the sunglasses on his nose. Even he, Satoru Gojo, was no exception.
If his "Six Eyes" could be transplanted, those old fellows in the clan would not have remained so indifferent. Those rotten old fellows were like venomous snakes in the shadows, grinding their teeth and thirsting for blood. One moment of carelessness, and they would bite. The Gojo Clan was like a quagmire.
Chingetsu had simply extricated himself earlier and more decisively. Chingetsu noticed Satoru Gojo's silence.
In a sense, Satoru Gojo's personality was very much like his. Both of them harbored suppressed madness deep in their bones. Satoru Gojo merely concealed it well beneath his flippant, devil-may-care personality.
So even when Satoru Gojo sometimes faced unfair treatment, he would endure it. But he, Gojo Chingetsu...
Chingetsu studied the reflection in his glass. Killer Queen's spectral figure flashed past.
Chapter 7: The terror lurking within Chingetsu (bonus chapter for flowers)
There it is. That feeling.
The instant Killer Queen appeared, Satoru Gojo's long, slender leg stopped bouncing. Beneath his sunglasses, his eyes shone brilliantly like sapphire fragments.
Although it lasted only an instant, Satoru Gojo's "Six Eyes" still keenly caught that power. This was the power that had always lain dormant within Chingetsu.
Chingetsu, you've grown stronger again.
Satoru Gojo felt sincerely happy for Chingetsu.
He and Gojo Chingetsu were both relatives and close friends. Chingetsu was one of the few people he admired from the bottom of his heart.
In the brief instant that Killer Queen's presence leaked out, he sensed that his older cousin's current strength was probably no less than his own.
No, that's not right! A fraction.
Given Gojo Chingetsu's low-key nature, when he reveals his strength, what he lets others see is probably only the tip of the iceberg. You're getting harder and harder to figure out, Chingetsu.
Satoru Gojo rose and walked to the bar. With practiced ease, he took out the jar of sugar cubes from behind it, picked out a cube, and put it in his mouth.
"Sorry, I've had a lot on my mind lately. You don't mind if I take some sugar home, do you?"
Although he phrased it as a request, Satoru Gojo had already closed the sugar jar and hidden it somewhere on his person. "Hey, you! Show a little restraint. The owner is still right here!"
Chingetsu rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"What happened, Chingetsu? You're looking a little sour!"
Satoru Gojo showed no awareness of having been caught. The same carefree smile remained on his face. "Right, there's something else."
Satoru Gojo's expression grew somewhat serious. A new curse.
A Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer was already a reasonably capable fighter. When someone like that died, there was a very high chance of giving rise to one.
"If the Jujutsu Sorcerer you killed harbored intense resentment and unwillingness before dying, those odds would be even higher. It might even give rise to a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit."
"Oh." Satoru Gojo.
Chingetsu responded noncommittally, then fixed his gaze on Satoru Gojo's sunglasses, as though trying to see him clearly behind them. After a moment, Chingetsu set down his drink and spoke calmly.
"Satoru Gojo, aren't you curious? Aren't you going to ask why I killed that Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer?" "I trust you. We're best friends."
Satoru Gojo's answer was brief, forceful, and utterly unhesitating.
He did not have many friends, but once he accepted someone, he would not readily doubt them.
In other words, Satoru Gojo was fiercely protective of his own and, to some extent, rather stubborn. "You're going to suffer badly for that sooner or later."
Chingetsu turned his head away.
"Satoru Gojo, remember this. Sometimes, kindness needs an edge. Blind kindness will only hurt you and the people you cherish."
Remembering how the story would develop, Chingetsu felt he needed to warn Satoru Gojo, whether as a friend or to overthrow certain existences that displeased him. The atmosphere grew somewhat heavy.
Satoru Gojo fell silent for a moment.
"Chingetsu, enough about me. After what just happened, you don't look nervous at all! I mean that business about Jujutsu Sorcerers potentially giving rise to new cursed spirits."
"If someone gets information about you from the cursed spirit born from that Jujutsu Sorcerer, you probably won't be able to sit around drinking so leisurely anymore."
What do I have to be nervous about?
It's just a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit. It's not as though I haven't killed one before. Still, Satoru Gojo's concerns were not unfounded.
If someone followed the clues here, his previously peaceful, orderly life might really be disrupted by them.
Trouble coming to his door was never pleasant. He recalled the gaunt man's unwilling wails as the flames consumed him.
Under those circumstances, the likelihood of a dead Jujutsu Sorcerer giving birth to a new curse would certainly increase greatly. "What a pain. I thought I could get a good night's sleep."
Chingetsu stretched lazily and set down his half-finished special cocktail.
"Satoru Gojo, come along with me again. If you stay here, the sugar cubes in my bar probably won't last until sunrise tomorrow."
Chingetsu's intention was clear. He wanted to keep an eye on this "sugar thief."
Given how little ceremony Satoru Gojo stood on with him, if he left Satoru Gojo alone in his bar... Thinking about it, even someone as unflappable as Chingetsu could not help feeling relieved at the wisdom of his decision. Before long, two tall, well-proportioned figures appeared on the roof of the abandoned residence.
Chingetsu said, "You called it, Satoru Gojo. This strange feeling... A new curse really is about to be born here." Satoru Gojo said, "Chingetsu, did you bring me because you were worried about your bar?"
Heh. So you do have some self-awareness. You understood what I meant.
Chingetsu said, "Judging by its presence, it should be Grade 1, but it still falls a little short of that..."
Satoru Gojo said, "Chingetsu, answer me! We're brothers! It really hurts that you don't trust me like this."
Satoru Gojo kept prattling behind Chingetsu.
Chapter 8: Just what I'd expect from you, Satoru Gojo
Crack, crack!
Crisp sounds came from Chingetsu's hands.
Chingetsu flexed his knuckles, turned, and gave Satoru Gojo a look that said, Keep running your mouth and you're dead. One look confirmed it: this was someone he could not afford to provoke.
Satoru Gojo instinctively shut his mouth and put on an expression that said, I'm hurt, but I'll behave. This guy, Satoru Gojo...
What happened to that aloof protagonist persona you had as a kid?
Why are you all hot air now, like those flying figures plastered over the walls of Dunhuang?
Chingetsu shook his head, cast aside the stray thoughts, and looked toward the place where he had fought the gaunt man earlier. On the previously empty ground, a mass of green mist was slowly gathering, giving off an evil, ominous presence.
Although he did not possess an ability as downright unfair as the "Six Eyes," Chingetsu's eyesight had also been enhanced to a level ordinary people could scarcely reach.
Through the deep darkness, Chingetsu could see something writhing within the egg formed by the green mist. "Well, well, this feels nasty. Chingetsu, do you see it? Looks like something's about to come out." Satoru Gojo, who came and went like a ghost, was now crouched before the green mist egg, watching its changes with keen interest.
"Hmm, this is my first time seeing a Jujutsu Sorcerer turn into a curse after death, too. This presence is more muddled and evil than that of a naturally born cursed spirit."
Chingetsu had appeared beside Satoru Gojo at some point and stared thoughtfully at the mist egg.
As though Satoru Gojo and Chingetsu's arrival had disturbed the creature inside, after a series of eerie chewing sounds, the mist egg actually cracked like an eggshell.
An evil, chaotic presence washed over them. A monster with a human head and a snake's body floated above the eggshell, radiating an ominous aura. On closer inspection, its human head actually bore some resemblance to the gaunt man who had died at Chingetsu's hands.
"A Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit. Looks like we got here in time. If we'd let this thing gestate a little longer, it probably would have become a genuine Grade 1 Cursed Spirit."
"Chingetsu, we're really lucky. If this thing had finished evolving, things would've gotten troublesome." Satoru Gojo stood and rolled his shoulders, his tone faintly teasing.
Although he spoke of how troublesome it would be, Satoru Gojo's expression showed no trace of panic. Instead, he seemed eager to give it a try.
A Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit made a fine practice target.
Although he had only just enrolled at Jujutsu High, with his innate "Six Eyes" and his clan's Limitless, Satoru Gojo was more than capable of handling a Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit.
If only Chingetsu could come to Jujutsu High, too.
As that thought flashed through Satoru Gojo's mind, the human-headed snake cursed spirit that had hatched from the mist egg shot straight toward his chest like a sharp sword.
"Fire, it hurts..." "Fire, it hurts so much..."
The human-headed snake uttered hoarse murmurs like a broken bellows. Its target was clear: Satoru Gojo, who stood closest to it.
The Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, the human-headed snake, attacked without warning, its hurtling body whipping up gusts of wind.
Before you continue