"Success! I finally did it!"

  During lunch break, the excited cheers of Mai rang through the service club room.

  "I finally sensed cursed energy!"

  That's right, after so much effort, Mai had finally mao extract a small amount of cursed energy. Now, it was just a matter of accumuting more over time.

  "..."

  Ryuji gnced over at her but didn't say anything. He wasn't oo heap praise on minor achievements, especially sidering how long it had taken her.

  Saki, however, couldn't help but snicker.

  "Tch, what's there to be so excited about? Miko and Hana mastered this a while ago."

  "That's different!" Mai immediately shot back, unwilling to accept being pared.

  "You don't uand how hard it is until you've do yourself!"

  "Pfft."

  Saki rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed. "As if I care."

  To be fair, both Mai and Saki had been a little envious of Miko and Hana's progress. Even Yukino had once felt the same way, though things had ged for her.

  Yukino g Ryuji, a small smile f on her lips. She was no longer envious, not anymore. Whether she had cursed energy or not didn't matter, her life with Ryuji was already perfect, and there was nothing more she needed.

  "Ryuji!" Saki, now the ter of attention, grabbed his arm with a bit of pyful frustration.

  Her expression said it all: "When is it my turn?"

  "Don't worry," Ryuji said, waving his hand casually.

  "I've already figured out which cursed teique could give ordinary people like you the ce to bee sorcerers."

  Sio Suguru was no longer around, it was only a matter of time before the four disaster-level curse spirits appeared. Ryuji just o locate Mahito and trigger his Idle Transfiguration teique.

  If it didn't work the first time, he'd try again. If it failed ten times, he'd try twenty. He was determio make it work.

  "Ah… achoo!"

  Meanwhile, far away on a beach, Mahito suddenly sneezed.

  "What's wrong? Catg a cold?" a woman with long, pink hair asked with a smile, her voice gentle despite the grotesque scar running across her forehead that ruined her otherwise beautiful face.

  "Idiot, curse spirits don't catch colds," Jogo grumbled, gring at Mahito. But even he was curious as to why Mahito sneezed.

  Hanami stood off to the side, quietly , while Dagon floated serenely over the sea, enjoying the o's presehe pce he felt most at home, being a curse spirit born from humanity's fear of the o.

  "It's nothing," Mahito said, grinning mischievously. "I just felt like someone was talking about me. But who cares?"

  He waved it off. He was, after all, a special-grade curse spirit, born from humanity's fear of each other. In terms of potential, Mahito erhaps the most powerful among the four disaster curses.

  Unfortunately, potential alone doesn't guararength. For now, Mahito still had room to grow.

  "It's good you're alright," the pink-haired woman said, her eyes narrowing slightly. Despite her calm demeanor, there was something eerie about her.

  She wasn't a curse spirit herself, but her power was undeniable. Jogo remained cautious, squinting at her with his rge, single eye.

  "So, when do we begin this pn of yours?"

  Not too long ago, the woman had approached them with an offer to cooperate. After a brief skirmish, the curses agreed to work with her, though not without suspi. Jogo, especially, was wary, but for the sake of achieving their goal of curse domination, temporary alliances with humaolerable.

  "Soon," the woman said with a cryptic smile. "I just need a new body first."

  Her name was Kenjaku, the mastermind behind tless spiracies over the turies. Using the Brain hopping teique, she could s bodies and live indefinitely.

  Currently, she was inhabiting the body of Itadori Kaori, Yuji's mother, and reparing to initiate a pn that would reshape the world. It was no ce that Yuji Itadori, the future vessel for Ryomen Sukuna, was born as a result of her maations.

  Kenjaku, with all her schemes and her ability to impnt her brain into others, had already decided her arget: Geto Suguru's body. The pn was to use Suguru's body to trol cursed spirits, and more specifically, to obtain Mahito's Idle Transfiguration teique.

  "Once I have Geto Suguru's body, the real fun will begin," Kenjaku said, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.

  But there was still one signifit obstacle: Gojo Satoru.

  "Aren't you worried about Gojo Satoru?" Jogo asked, his voice low and menag.

  They had all learned about the human world's most powerful sorcerer, and even for a curse, Gojo was a threat.

  "Yes, he's troublesome," Kenjaku admitted with a sly smile. "This geion's Six Eyes user is far strohan the previous one. If I were to fight him head-on, I'd likely die."

  "Hmph! Stro sorcerer, my foot. I'll deal with him wheime es," Jogo boasted, full of fidence.

  Kenjaku didn't argue, her smile widening. "Let him try," she thought. "If he's foolish enough to challenge Gojo, he'll learn the hard way."

  As far as she was ed, the curses were mere pawns in her grand scheme. All she truly cared about was Mahito's teique, which would pave the way for her ultimate pn.

  "Well, I'll be off to retrieve that body now," Kenjaku said, leaving the beach without another word.

  ---

  Back at the school, Ryuji sat with the girls, who were all staring at him expetly after his earlier ent.

  "Are you sure it'll work?" Saki asked, looking hopeful but still a bit skeptical.

  "Of course," Ryuji said fidently. "It might take some time to locate the right target, but I'll ha."

  "That's enough for me," Saki replied, smiling. "Take your time. If it's too dangerous, don't push yourself."

  The irls nodded in agreement. For them, Ryuji's safety was the top priority. Being a sorcerer was a distant sed.

  "Hahaha!" Ryuji ughed, clearly amused by their . "You all worry too much. Didn't I tell you? I'm the stro!"

  His fidence was iious, and the girls couldn't help but smile back, reassured by his words.

  "Speaking of which…" Mai suddenly raised her hand, her voice small and a little hesitant. "I finally densed cursed energy. How about a little praise, huh?"

  The room went silent for a moment before everyone burst into ughter, lightening the mood even further.

  "Yeah, yeah, gratutions," Ryuji said, though his tone was a bit dismissive.

  "How perfunctory!" Mai puffed her cheeks, clearly displeased with his ck of enthusiasm.

  "e here," Ryuji said, waving her over.

  Despite her annoyance, Mai immediately walked up to him, eager for snition.

  Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Ryuji gently grabbed her face.

  "Let's not fet, you were the first oaught how to el cursed energy, and you were the slowest to get it. Don't ging about it just yet."

  "W-Wha…?!"

  Although Ryuji wasn't using much force, Mai whimpered pitifully, pretending to be hurt. Once he let go, she stared at him with mock rese.

  Deep down, though, she had to admit that Ryuji had a point. Maybe her talent wasn't quite on par with the others, and that realization stung.

  Seeing her dejected expression, Ryuji softened. He didn't want to crush her spirits.

  "But hey, all that aside, I'm proud of you for stig with it and finally succeeding."

  Hearing Ryuji's geone, Mai's face turned bright red.

  "W-Well, it wasn't that hard…" she muttered, suddenly flustered and uo meet his eyes.

  "Just you wait," she added, trying to sound more fident. "I'll surpass both Miko and Hana soon enough!"

  Ryuji smirked, finding her determination cute.

  "You'd better hurry, then," Saki chimed in with a smirk. "If you're not careful, I'll catch up and leave you in the dust."

  "Why you—! You wanna go?" Mai snapped, immediately on edge.

  "Bring it," Saki replied, equally fired up.

  ***

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