Chapter 151 : Okkotsu and Jiang Lai
Okkotsu Yuta and Little Sheep Jiang Lai's gazes crossed for an instant across the distance.
Then, the black-haired youth carrying the sword bag had his attention called back by his classmates beside him, and he continued turning his head to chat with Panda and the others nearby.
Okkotsu Yuta's unexpected return to school made the second-year students very surprised and delighted. They had once been classmates with Okkotsu Yuta, and they had good relationships with each other.
On the first-year side, only Fushiguro Megumi knew Okkotsu Yuta. Because Okkotsu Yuta had a relatively serious personality and was very powerful, he was a senior that Fushiguro Megumi greatly respected.
Under the curious gazes of his classmates Itadori and Kugisaki, Fushiguro Megumi naturally took on the responsibility of introduction.
He said: "Okkotsu-senpai's full name is Okkotsu Yuta, one of the four Special Grade jujutsu sorcerers in the jujutsu world, very strong."
"He and Gojo-sensei are distant relatives. He once bore the Special Grade vengeful cursed spirit Rika, and came as a transfer student in the same class as Maki-senpai and the others."
"Later Rika was unbound from her curse. Not long after, Okkotsu-senpai went abroad, and only now has he returned."
The second playthrough of the new series didn't have major events like the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, but in this world where cursed spirit strength had increased levels, there were still many trials for the young men and women to experience at that time.
Finally, with Gojo Satoru's assistance, Okkotsu Yuta was able to let go, and Rika was also successfully unbound and became a Buddha.
Jiang Lai still remembered the manga he had read and the content Gojo Satoru had occasionally mentioned, knowing these things in his heart.
Beside him, Kugisaki Nobara let out a surprised exclamation: "Special Grade?! Our senior is that amazing?!"
That a senior who wasn't much older than them was actually a famous Special Grade jujutsu sorcerer couldn't help but make people marvel.
Itadori Yuji blinked his eyes and also sighed: "Senpai is so strong. In that case, even if Gojo-sensei isn't here, perhaps senpai could also kill me in time when Sukuna comes out."
"Hey hey, Itadori, why are you starting to think about that again?"
Kugisaki Nobara hooked one arm around the pink-haired youth's neck, forcefully grabbing half his cheek: "Don't think about dying together with that Sukuna guy all the time. Didn't we all work hard to find the possibility of separation? Huh?"
"Ow ow ow, Kugisaki let go, my face is going to be pulled off..." Itadori Yuji struggled incoherently, his face wearing a soft smile.
"I know I know, I just said it casually. After all, that Sukuna guy is still too dangerous. If he separates and hurts others... I don't want him to hurt everyone and make more mistakes."
"The mistakes Sukuna made aren't your mistakes." Fushiguro Megumi frowned slightly, his blue-green eyes glancing over: "You don't need to take on his sins and carry them on your own back."
"Brother Fushiguro just said that Okkotsu-senpai once also bore a Special Grade cursed spirit and endured power that was hard to control, but now everything has settled."
Little Sheep Jiang Lai blinked lightly and smiled broadly: "So, Brother Itadori will also have his own life."
"Ah..." Itadori Yuji smiled with pressed lips, his smile carrying youthful shyness. His orange-gold eyes were bright and sparkling, and a thousand words ultimately turned into a low murmur: "Thank you, everyone."
He thought, perhaps he could also look forward to paths other than mutual destruction.
When that time came, he would no longer exist as Ryomen Sukuna's vessel, but simply as himself, living as Itadori Yuji himself.
Today's afternoon was the second-years' practical training class, with the first-years responsible for observation and writing observation notes.
The supervising teacher was Nanami Kento, who had returned to school.
Itadori Yuji and Kugisaki Nobara were both excited, because supposedly Okkotsu-senpai, who had returned to school in the morning, would also participate in this practical training class. They were all looking forward to seeing the Special Grade jujutsu sorcerer senior.
Fushiguro Megumi's expression still looked calm as usual, but his tightly gripped ballpoint pen betrayed some emotion in his heart. He was also equally looking forward to meeting again with the respected Okkotsu-senpai in his heart.
The familiar second-years Zenin Maki, Zenin Mai, Inumaki Toge, and Panda had already started warming up. Okkotsu Yuta hadn't come yet because he had been called away by Principal Yaga earlier.
Nanami Kento looked at his watch and said: "Let's wait a bit more for Okkotsu."
"How long is the principal going to keep talking with him? He won't keep him all afternoon, will he?" Zenin Maki, with her high ponytail, was waving the wooden stick in one hand while speaking casually.
"Probably not. The principal said it was just a simple chat. Okkotsu himself said he'd come train with us in the afternoon." Zenin Mai answered her sister, a light smile on her face.
In the new series, Mai had left the Zenin family with her sister when she was very young, growing up at Jujutsu High as companions. The two had a good relationship, and Mai's personality wasn't as cold and sharp-tongued as in the original.
"It's been so long since we trained with Okkotsu. I wonder how long we can last later." Panda was moving his body nearby, his ears twitching: "Having been abroad for so long, he's probably even more amazing now."
Inumaki Toge nodded: "Salmon." As a cursed speech user, he couldn't speak casually in daily life and could only convey meaning through his unique expressions.
Little Sheep Jiang Lai sat on the steps, carrying a pen and paper for observational learning like Fushiguro, Itadori, and Kugisaki.
While listening to Maki and the others talk, he didn't pay attention for a moment, and the pen on his clipboard was blown and rolled away by the wind.
The ballpoint pen didn't roll far, but Jiang Lai, currently in a youth's body, didn't have long enough arms and needed to lean forward to pick it up.
Just as he was leaning to the side, a white figure came from behind. Someone stepped forward first, bending down to help him pick up the pen.
"Here."
The newcomer with black semi-long hair had a calm voice. He carried a sword bag on his back, his eyelids half-lowered, with shallow dark circles under his eyes. It was Okkotsu Yuta!
Jiang Lai recognized him immediately, a smile appearing on his face as he reached out to take the ballpoint pen: "Thank you, big brother."
Okkotsu Yuta's gaze fell on Little Sheep Jiang Lai, his eyes seeming to look through the surface to see what was inside. After pausing for several seconds, he also smiled: "Mm, you're welcome."
"Yuta, you finally came." Panda waved his paws enthusiastically: "We're already prepared. Do you need some time to warm up?"
Nanami Kento adjusted his glasses and also nodded: "There's plenty of time this afternoon, we can set aside more preparation time."
"It's fine, no need." Okkotsu Yuta smiled with curved eyebrows, answering gently: "I'm late and have already delayed everyone's time. No need for extra preparation, let's start directly."
He took off the diagonally carried sword bag and drew a long sword from it.
This long sword looked unremarkable, but when held in Okkotsu Yuta's hand, cursed energy flowed into it and a certain cold aura rose.
Facing this power, the second-years instinctively straightened their backs, preparing for battle.
Nanami Kento glanced at Okkotsu Yuta, picked up his timer and record book, and said: "It seems Okkotsu is ready. In that case, let's begin. Given Okkotsu's strength exceeds the others, this practical training will be in one-versus-many mode."
That "one" naturally referred to Special Grade jujutsu sorcerer Okkotsu Yuta.
Normally, student practical training was usually one-on-one. One-versus-many situations were very rare. But at this moment, no one objected to this.
Even Itadori Yuji and Kugisaki Nobara, who were seeing Okkotsu Yuta for the first time, instinctively held their breath, gripping their ballpoint pens tightly and staring at the center of the field.
Little Sheep Jiang Lai could feel the seemingly endless, vast cursed energy on Okkotsu Yuta. He pressed his pen cap against his cheek, sighing inwardly:
Really incredibly powerful, this Okkotsu, truly worthy of being the rumored prodigy second only to Satoru.
Okkotsu Yuta usually had a very good personality, was gentle and valued his companions, but when he entered battle mode, his expressionless face would give people a suffocating sense of oppression.
Zenin Maki raised the weapon in her hand, and the others also assumed starting stance postures.
Okkotsu Yuta held his sword horizontally in front of him. He didn't draw the long sword from its sheath, and even used cursed energy to attach and secure it, keeping the sheath firmly covering the blade.
Although Okkotsu Yuta had mastered the reverse cursed technique for output and could immediately heal injured classmates, when possible, he didn't intend to actually hurt his companions.
So he merely took the long sword from the sword bag but didn't draw it from its sheath. Training should stop at the appropriate point.
Okkotsu Yuta stepped forward, finally smiled, and said politely: "I'm going to attack. Please give me your guidance, everyone."
The end of this practical training was unsurprising. Okkotsu Yuta won the entire match. He smoothly used his sheath to break through his classmates' techniques one by one, finally throwing everyone out of the designated area.
After it ended, he showed a somewhat embarrassed smile: "Sorry, everyone. I might have been a bit heavy-handed."
Panda, collapsed on the ground, waved his paws: "You were already very merciful, Yuta. As expected, we still have a gap compared to a Special Grade jujutsu sorcerer."
Nearby, Nanami Kento closed the record book in his hand and said: "I've recorded the situations during the battle just now. I'll distribute individual strengths and weaknesses later, and you can do targeted training afterward."
"Okay..." the second-years sitting collapsed on the ground answered weakly.
Nearby, Fushiguro, Itadori, and Kugisaki were also writing their observation notes frantically, looking quite busy too.
Okkotsu Yuta put his long sword back in the sword bag and said: "I have to go out on a mission later, but it's nearby, so I'll be back tonight."
Nanami Kento nodded: "Alright, handle your own affairs as you see fit."
Okkotsu Yuta smiled, then blinked slowly and said: "However, this time I might need to bring one more person out. Is that okay, Nanami-senpai?"
Nanami Kento looked up, somewhat surprised: "If it's you, naturally there's no problem. But the first and second-years still have practical training and observation reports to write later. Who do you want to bring out?"
"It's fine, it won't delay the first and second-years." Okkotsu Yuta turned his face toward Little Sheep Jiang Lai sitting on the steps.
He smiled and said: "Before I came back, Gojo-sensei specifically instructed me to take extra care in training the little kid he newly took in. This short mission, I'll bring him out for some practice. How about it?"