Chapter 12

I'll speed up a few things that don't differ much from the anime

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The last month had passed quickly.

Busy with his training and his studies of the Jujutsu world, Itadori barely saw the days go by.

Fortunately, all his efforts turned out not to be in vain when he saw a significant improvement in himself.

His control over his own cursed energy had improved to the point where he no longer needed to worry about its expenditure in a fight, and thanks to combat training with Gojo himself, he felt confident of defeating most curses with minimal expenditure of cursed energy.

As well as refining his control, he had learned some useful tricks, such as imbuing cursed energy into melee weapons, although he couldn't say that he had mastered this technique. He was able to do it, but his control when imbuing something was chaotic, which made it unfeasible for prolonged fights.

He knew he had improved, at least much more than the original Yuji, but he still had a long way to go.

At least he felt confident about facing Mahito. If he and Nanami faced him together, they could definitely put an end to the curse.

Mahito's death was essential, since the curse had truly frightening potential. Although Itadori found it a little annoying to be unable to extract anything from him before killing him, he wouldn't think twice about doing so.

"In addition to the victims, there was another boy, but it's unlikely that he's the culprit."

Climbing the stairs to the terrace, Nanami adjusted the glasses on his face, Itadori listening with a doubtful expression.

"I wouldn't rule it out, but I don't think it's the work of a shaman either."

Arriving at the terrace, the two wizards immediately went on alert as two curses awaited them at the top.

"Bento!!!"

The creature growled, and Nanami immediately drew his blunt blade.

"I'll deal with that one." Declaring with little interest, Nanami stepped forward while giving Yuji one last look. "If you have any problems, call me."

But ignoring his words, Itadori just shrugged with a sigh, his attention turning to the second curse that was threatening to advance towards him.

'Problem?

Pulling out his knife, a thin layer of cursed energy covered his blade, a cut splitting the curse in half before it could even move to escape.

'That's a bit insulting.

!

"You move well for someone your age."

Blinking as the sound of something breaking rang out across the terrace, Itadori turned to see Nanami staring at him with the curse already dead right behind him.

"It's impressive."

Itadori rolled his eyes with a small smile, and putting the knife away, he moved to Nanami's side.

.

Killing people, for Itadori, was still a dark path in his eyes. He hadn't done it in his old life, and now it was a very uncomfortable idea.

The fact that he was so "comfortable" with the idea of killing curses was due to the fact that they were curses. Even among the sentient curses, there were very few of them who didn't want to harm humans.

But the subject was still a little different when it came to humans. Like anyone outraged by the state of the world, he could still wish for the death of a rapist or serial killer, and even get his hands dirty if he had the chance.

But when it wasn't a case like that? What if someone was suffering enough that only death could free them? Was Itadori able to free them from their torment without feeling dejected afterwards?

To be honest, no.

Even without the memories of Itadori, Mark was a morally good person, someone capable of feeling resentment towards others. 

So being forced to kill those humans transfigured by Mahito still made him very angry about the curse.

Most of them were completely ordinary people, it wasn't as if they were convicted criminals.

But as much as he felt bad for them, he didn't hesitate to kill them to put them out of their misery.

Itadori liked to believe that he could be indifferent to other people's situations, but that was a lie. He certainly didn't see himself as a hero, but he wouldn't hesitate to help someone in trouble.

Perhaps, in the end, the main difference between him and Itadori was maturity.

"You look thoughtful, Itadori." 

Sitting on the sofa in the living room, Nanami suddenly commented when he noticed Itadori in silence. He knew that the idea of killing humans, however much they had become "monsters", was a delicate subject for someone so young.

Itadori, putting his own thoughts aside, just sighed as he turned to Nanami. "I was just wondering what we should do about all this."

Nanami blinked, curious about the boy's answer. "And what do you think we should do?"

Itadori gave a small smile and stood up, turning to Nanami.

"I think we should kill the person responsible for all this as soon as possible."

Nanami smiled.

.

Junpei...

Until a few hours ago, he had completely forgotten about its existence.

And as the original Itadori, he would also have to deal with the boy.

To be honest, Itadori felt bad for the boy. Surely, he would be able to change his mother's fate, as long as he took the opportunity to get Sukuna's finger back.

But as for Junpei's fate, that would depend solely on the boy. If he decided to continue trusting Mahito, Itadori wouldn't think twice about capturing him.

He wouldn't allow Mahito to transfigure him, after all, Itadori wouldn't wish that on even his worst enemy, but he wouldn't hesitate to take him down if necessary.

"..."

Walking through the residential area, Itadori soon spotted Junpei together with an overweight man.

He vaguely remembered the conversation between the boy and what was supposed to be his teacher, and immediately moved when Junpei threatened to attack.

"Hey!"

Appearing behind the teacher, Junpei was surprised by the presence of the new figure, the teacher turning to see the person responsible for interrupting him.

"What?- Uh?!"

But before the teacher could question him, Itadori's hand landed on his head, the man being dragged away at high speed by his skull.

"Help!"

He tried to shout for help, but Itadori was too fast for anyone to do anything.

Junpei blinked in confusion, but before he could think about what had just happened, he was surprised again when Itadori came walking towards him.

'That's fast!

"Sorry about that, that idiot would get in the way." Itadori stopped in front of Junpei.

"Uh, but why did you do that?" Clearly confused, the boy asked.

"I just needed to talk to you. How about we go somewhere else? From the look on your face earlier, I'm sure you don't want to see that man again."

"..."