Future Yuji Itadori Joins the Chat Group

The instant he saw the other person's face, the high school student named Ito Shota revealed a terrified expression.

That was because he knew of Yuji Itadori. Back when he was in middle school, he had personally witnessed Yuji Itadori in action.

It had been a similar scene at the time, with several high school students bullying younger students.

In the end, Yuji Itadori, who was only a middle school student back then, beat them to a pulp. It was precisely because of incidents like that that Yuji Itadori earned the beloved title Tiger of West Middle.

The instant he saw him, Ito Shota had already lost his nerve.

Moreover, the scars on Yuji Itadori's face made him appear even more intimidating.

Completely abandoning his two underlings, he prepared to flee.

However, the instant he turned around, Yuji Itadori's hand was already resting on his shoulder.

The immense strength made it utterly impossible for Ito Shota to break free.

"No!!!"

After kneeling for several minutes, sobbing like a child, and apologizing to Yoshino Junpei, Yuji Itadori allowed the students to leave.

Presumably, after today, these people would never engage in school bullying again.

Yuji Itadori watched their staggering, fleeing figures and merely shook his head. He then extended a hand toward Yoshino Junpei, who still had not quite recovered:

"Are you all right, Yoshino? They should—"

Yuji Itadori looked at him as memories of the past continuously surged into his mind.

He recalled every moment he had once spent with Yoshino Junpei.

The two of them had talked about movies together, gone back to his home together, eaten the food his mother had prepared, and chatted in a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere.

Sixty-eight years had passed, yet Yuji Itadori still clearly remembered what had happened that day.

And he could never forget the tragedy that followed.

Since he had come to this world, Yuji Itadori would change everything.

"I'm fine… Thank you very much—huh? You know… you know my name?"

Yoshino Junpei was somewhat surprised and tried to remember whether the people who had bullied him earlier had mentioned his name.

"I've heard about you before."

"Heard bad things… about me?"

Hearing those words, Yoshino Junpei froze for a moment, but quickly lowered his head.

If someone had heard his name before, it definitely could not have been for anything good.

After all, Yoshino Junpei was well aware that he was infamous for being withdrawn and introverted.

The other person had probably only heard of him because of that.

"I heard that Yoshino-kun really likes movies. Didn't you even start some kind of Movie Appreciation Club before?"

Of course, Yuji Itadori would not reveal his true purpose. He had already prepared this answer in his mind.

"You… you know about that?!"

Yoshino Junpei stared at Yuji Itadori in utter astonishment.

"That's because I also really like watching movies."

Yuji Itadori replied.

Back then, it had also been through the topic of movies that he had quickly grown closer to Yoshino Junpei.

However, in a sense, he had been 'forced' to watch a whole pile of movies. At the time, Yaga Masamichi had made him watch them to train his control over cursed energy.

"Huh? You really like watching movies too?"

"Have you seen the recently released Earthworm Man 3?"

"I haven't seen it yet, but out of the Earthworm Man series, the second movie is my favorite."

"Huh?! You like the second one too?!"

When he heard that the other person shared the same interest as him, a delighted smile instantly appeared on Yoshino Junpei's face.

"Earthworm Man 2 is completely different from the other two!"

Yoshino Junpei immediately began talking nonstop, even forgetting the pain in his body.

However, Yoshino Junpei soon realized that he had gotten carried away:

"Sorry, sorry. I suddenly said so much just because you also like that movie. I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for. When you meet someone who shares the same interests, of course you'll have a lot you want to talk about! I'd also really like to talk about movies with you!"

Yuji Itadori smiled and patted Yoshino Junpei on the shoulder.

"Um, you helped me just now because you knew me, right…? Thank you so much."

"No. Even if I didn't know you, I still would've helped you."

"Huh? Why?"

"You don't need a reason to help someone who needs help."

Yuji Itadori said.

Looking at the serious expression on Yuji Itadori's face, Yoshino Junpei was stunned.

This was the first time he had ever seen someone treat him so kindly.

He was completely different from everyone else.

After coming back to his senses, Yoshino Junpei hurriedly continued:

"Um, sorry. I've been talking about myself this whole time and still haven't asked your name."

"Yuji Itadori. You can just call me Itadori."

"Itadori… you're not from our school, are you?"

"I'm not."

"Then how did you get in?"

"I was just… taking a walk because I had nothing else to do, and I wandered in here."

"You wandered into a school while taking a walk…? What school do you attend?"

"I haven't attended school in a very long time."

"You don't attend school anymore…? Actually, I don't really want to go to school either."

Yoshino Junpei lowered his head, and his voice became despondent.

He had constantly been bullied at school, and the activity room of the Movie Appreciation Club he had once created out of passion had also been taken over by other people. Yoshino Junpei was not happy at school at all.

"Then you don't have to go if you don't want to."

"But my mother would be disappointed—"

"No. To your mother, your happiness is more important than anything else. Besides…"

Yuji Itadori paused for a moment.

"After today, no one at this school will bully you again, whether they're students or teachers. And it won't just be you. Similar incidents of bullying won't happen again in the future."

"How could that be possible…"

To Yoshino Junpei, those words sounded like a fantasy.

Judging from the behavior of those bullies, Yuji Itadori did not seem to be an ordinary person.

But ultimately, he was only one person. It was impossible for him to possess that much influence.

'He's probably only trying to comfort me…'

"What are you two doing!!!"

At that moment, a shrill voice rang out beside them. A greasy, obese middle-aged man arrived in front of them and shouted sternly.

He was Yoshino Junpei's homeroom teacher.

However, he had not appeared because he was worried about Yoshino Junpei. On the contrary, he had come merely to flaunt the tiny bit of authority he possessed as a teacher.

Earlier, the homeroom teacher had clearly witnessed Yoshino Junpei being bullied from beginning to end, yet he had turned a blind eye to it.

He did not like Yoshino Junpei, and the families of those bullies were all quite wealthy and powerful, not people he could afford to offend.

That was why the homeroom teacher allowed Yoshino Junpei to be bullied. Once it was over, he would scold the latter in his capacity as a teacher and make outrageous remarks such as, 'Why would they bully you if you hadn't done something?'

The homeroom teacher had just heard that several students had been beaten, so he immediately came over to inspect the situation. If the bullies' parents learned of this matter, he would be in trouble.

Therefore, he needed to make an example of someone right now.

The homeroom teacher looked at Yuji Itadori with a disdainful expression:

"Where did this delinquent come from? You're not a student at our school, so who let you in?! You're the one who beat Ito and the others just now, aren't you?"

In the homeroom teacher's eyes, Yuji Itadori was a delinquent Yoshino Junpei had called over to help him.

With Yoshino Junpei's personality, there was no way he could possibly make a friend.

He must have paid to hire this delinquent.

'After being bullied for so long, has this brat finally reached his limit?'

'Tch, all he does is cause trouble for me.'

"That's not true, Sensei! This has nothing to do with him!"

Yoshino Junpei immediately defended Yuji Itadori, not wanting to cause trouble for Itadori.

"Tch, Yoshino, you—"

Before the homeroom teacher could finish speaking, however, his phone rang.

He took out his phone, and after seeing the caller's number, his expression instantly changed. An incomparably ingratiating look appeared on his face, and his voice became equally fawning.

"Principal! What can I do for you?"

However, after answering the call, the smile on the homeroom teacher's face gradually froze.

He seemed to have heard something extraordinary, and his gaze continually shifted between Yuji Itadori and Yoshino Junpei, leaving Yoshino Junpei utterly bewildered.

"U-understood…"

The homeroom teacher lowered his phone. His face had turned somewhat pale as he looked toward Yuji Itadori.

"Y-you… Just who are you…? Why…"

"I'm only an ordinary person. However, as a teacher, you should behave like one."

Yuji Itadori spoke in a calm tone.

"Y-you're right…"

The homeroom teacher forced a smile onto his face and actually spoke to Yuji Itadori with a trace of reverence in his voice.

This left Yoshino Junpei utterly astonished.

"Um, Yoshino-kun, regarding what Ito-kun and the others did… it was my failure as a teacher… I'll… I'll deal with this matter properly afterward… I definitely won't allow something like this to happen again! Um… I'll be leaving now! The principal needs to speak with me…"

The homeroom teacher immediately hurried away as if fleeing, his complexion growing increasingly pale.

'Since when did Yoshino have a friend like this?!'

'Why didn't I know anything about him?!'

Just now, the homeroom teacher had received a call from the principal and been harshly berated over his complicity in the bullying of Yoshino Junpei.

If that were all, it would have been manageable…

But the principal had said that the matter had personally been brought up by someone even higher in authority…

It was someone at the ministerial level.

The principal had also said that Yoshino Junpei had an extremely formidable friend, which was why the minister knew about this matter.

Although he had not said who that person was, the instant the homeroom teacher saw Yuji Itadori standing beside Yoshino Junpei, he concluded that Yuji Itadori was the person the principal had mentioned.

He was clearly only a young man, yet the way he looked at him carried an aloofness as though he were gazing down from above… He was definitely no ordinary person!

"I'm finished… If they hold me accountable, I'll be in serious trouble… And the higher-ups are going to send people to investigate afterward…"

The homeroom teacher's voice trembled, his eyes filled with despair. His potbellied body could barely maintain its balance.

Meanwhile, after watching the homeroom teacher flee, Yoshino Junpei remained utterly bewildered.

"Itadori… what did you do?"

"I just contacted my former Sensei. He knows a few people, so I asked him to speak with the relevant authorities and make sure something like this never happens again."

Yuji Itadori had previously used the Chat Group to ask Young Itadori to contact Satoru Gojo and have him help deal with such matters.

In the past, the school had only begun investigating the bullying after Yoshino Junpei's death.

Yuji Itadori knew that this matter had to be resolved at its source.

Otherwise, Yoshino Junpei would not be the only one. There might be other people in various places suffering from bullying.

After Young Itadori relayed his words to Satoru Gojo, the latter was also very willing to help.

Although the Jujutsu World was unknown to ordinary citizens, the highest authorities at the national level knew of its existence and had secretly maintained a cooperative relationship with it since long, long ago—because only Jujutsu Sorcerers could handle the series of supernatural incidents caused by Cursed Spirits and prevent widespread panic.

Therefore, the people of the Jujutsu World possessed an enormous amount of authority.

The former Jujutsu Headquarters had been purged, so that authority had naturally been transferred into Satoru Gojo's hands.

However, Yuji Itadori had not expected the homeroom teacher to react like that upon seeing him. He had merely asked Satoru Gojo to contact the relevant organizations and help investigate and deal with bullying incidents in various schools.

Most likely, Satoru Gojo had embellished the story somehow.

The image of Satoru Gojo wearing an insufferably smug expression involuntarily surfaced in Yuji Itadori's mind.

However, that was precisely Satoru Gojo's way of doing things.

"Itadori… you said you haven't attended school in a long time, right?"

"Yeah. It's been quite a while."

"Then how are you still in contact with your Sensei?"

"Because my Sensei guided me onto the right path. Besides…"

Yuji Itadori raised his head and looked toward the sky.

"The genuine bonds formed between people won't be washed away by time."

Yoshino Junpei fell silent upon hearing Yuji Itadori's words, seemingly lost in thought. Several seconds later, he appeared to make up his mind and asked:

"Um, Itadori, do you want to go watch a movie this afternoon? Earthworm Man 3 premieres today!"

"This afternoon won't work. I have something I need to do."

Yuji Itadori narrowed his eyes slightly.

'Exorcise Mahito.'

That was what Yuji Itadori had to do.

"I see…"

"But I should be free tonight."

Yuji Itadori said with a smile. He had also noticed that, without realizing it, he had begun smiling more often.

"You probably don't have anything to do tonight, right? Then let's watch it tonight!"

"Yeah! I don't have anything to do tonight! I'll go buy the tickets later!"

Light instantly burst from Yoshino Junpei's formerly numb eyes.

"I'll buy them. Let's meet at the Movie Theater tonight."

"Then after the movie, do you want to come to my house for dinner? I'll tell my mother and ask her to buy some extra ingredients!"

"Sure."

Yuji Itadori nodded.

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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.

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