chapter 14, Route's

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Hearing Hikari's preference, Haibara raced off. He turned and ran, his laughter echoing behind him as he went to search for Riko and Sumiko.

Geto watched with concern and wondered aloud, "What's wrong with everyone around me?" He was worried about himself, feeling surrounded by weirdos like Gojo and Hikari.

Meanwhile, Yuki laughed, shaking her head. "Oh, you do have good taste in women," she chuckled. "That's quite something." Her laughter lightened the mood, and even Geto managed a small smile, shaking his head.

After Haibara left, Yuji sat between Geto and Hikari. "His frankness is cute," Yuji said with a smile. Then he turned to Geto, "Aren't you going to answer my question?"

Geto glanced at Yuji and then at Yuki. "Same for you," he said to Yuki. "You haven't introduced yourself and you're sitting here like we're friends. Let me ask you, who are you?"

"Yuki grinned mischievously. " Special grade Sorcerer, Yuki Tatsukumo. Ring any bells?"

A little surprised, Geto asked, "Are you that Yuki that everyone talks about?"

To this, Yuki looked happy and asked, "I like the sound of that! What, what, what do they say?"

Before Geto could reply, Hikari chimed in, "That you are a special grade but never had taken any mission."

Geto continued, "And you are a good-for-nothing that always wanders aboard."

As the two spoke and lightly roasted Yuki, she listened with amusement, but her expression suddenly turned distant. Leaning back in her chair, she muttered, "I hate Jujutsu high."

To her childish behavior, both Geto and Hikari spoke simultaneously, "She's pouting."

Hearing that, Yuki reverted to her serious demeanor and said, "Just joking, but it's true that I don't get along with Jujutsu High's politics. What they are doing is just treating symptoms.

And I want is to treat the curse."

"Treat the curse?" Geto asked, puzzled by Yuki's wording, though Hikari seemed to understand where the route of the conversation was going.

After Yuki confirmed that both Hikari and Geto were listening intently, she continued, her voice carrying a quiet determination. "Instead of merely hunting cursed spirits, I want to create a world where they aren't born in the first place."

"Hah," Noting Geto's surprise, Yumi sensed an opportunity to delve deeper into her vision and share her knowledge with future generations. "Let me explain a bit more," she said, her voice firm yet inviting, as she continued to articulate her thoughts to Geto and Hikari, seeking allies for the future.

She asked a question to both of us: "What are curse spirits, to begin with?" To which Geto curiously replied, "They are creatures that take shape when curse energy leaks from humans' negative emotions, building up like sediment." He responded as if explaining to a teacher.

Hearing Geto, she smiled and said, "Excellent." She continued, "Now, this means there are two ways to create a world where cursed spirits aren't born."

Smiling, she continued, "First, eliminate curse energy from mankind. Second, make it possible for all humanity to control curse energy." At her words, Geto gave her a look that said, "Are you for real?"

"I thought number one had a great chance of working; there was a model case for it too," Yuki said.

A bewildered Geto asked, "Model cases?"

Hikari interrupted, "Toji Zenin, the one Gojo fought."

To Hikari's interruption, Yuki smiled and said, "For a first-year, you have quite a lot of knowledge." She nodded appreciatively at Hikari before continuing her speech. "I've seen plenty of cases where a heavenly pact reduced a person's curse energy to the level of a normal person. These individuals can blend in with society without their curse energy causing problems. However, you could search the entire world and only find one case where the curse energy dropped to zero."

Her gaze grew more intense as she went on. "Toji Zenin is that unique case, the one Gojo fought. His curse energy didn't just lessen; it vanished completely. It's a rare phenomenon, one that holds a lot of promise for our goal. But the truth is, replicating such an outcome on a global scale is incredibly challenging. We need to explore every possibility if we want to create a world where cursed spirits aren't born."

With a brief moment of silence, she continued, "That's not the only intriguing part of him. Even though Toji Zenin had zero curse energy, he was able to perceive curse energy with his five senses. By completely casting aside cursed energy, his body drew a hard line and actually gave him resistance to curses. He truly was a superhuman."

She paused, letting her words sink in. "Think about it: despite having no curse energy himself, Toji could still sense and interact with it in ways that didn't make sense. His physical abilities were enhanced to an extraordinary level, allowing him to fight cursed spirits effectively. This unique adaptation made him a powerful opponent, even to those with significant curse energy."

"I wanted to try studying him, but he turned me down. It's a shame losing him, and there aren't many people with heavenly pacts," Yuki said, her tone tinged with regret.

With a lighter mood, she added, "So, I am currently favoring route number two: making it possible for all humanity to control curse energy."

"Did you know?" Yuki asked, her toned curious. "Cursed spirits aren't born from sorcerers. Of course, that excludes the cases where jujutsu sorcerers turn themselves into curses after death."

"Compared to non-jujutsu sorcerers, jujutsu sorcerers leak only a small amount of cursed energy. There is some variation based on the sorcerer's capacity and the amount of cursed energy their techniques use, but the main reason is their flow."

"Jujutsu sorcerers circulate cursed energy through their own bodies well. To put it in simple terms, if all mankind were jujutsu sorcerers, curses wouldn't be born."

After hearing everything Yuki said, whether it was a joke or not, Geto—who had never experienced the death of Riko in this world—spoke up. "Then... we could solve it by simply killing all the non-sorcerers." His exclamation sent a chill down my spine. I thought, 'When and how did he unlock this racist side of his?'

To that, Yuki called him "Geto-kun!" With a brief second, she laughed it off, saying, "That's impossible, even though it may seem like the easiest route."

"Killing and torturing them to force them to evolve and adapt to the jujutsu world, just like birds growing wings," she continued.

She implied that this way would cause commotion, fear, and danger, which would only increase the negative cursed energy, giving birth to many cursed spirits and evolving them further.

Sighing, I suggested, "Then we can go with both Suguru and Yuki-nesan's second route. Like those hunters and monsters, we can also make curses public."

To this, both looked surprised, leaving Hikari, who had just called Yuki-nesan aside. She said, "That will also cause uneasy worries among the public."

Before she finished, I spoke up, "That's true, but just like hunters, we can reassure them without detailing the dangers of cursed spirits too much. We can gather more students or those who want to become heroes for justice by giving them a chance. Dying while taking this route is another matter. By doing this, we can get more hands and be able to control curses to a greater degree."

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