5 Chapter 05

When Nobara came up with a plan to split them up, Yuji didn't hold back. He remembered that none of the curses in the building were capable of posing any danger to them, so he saw no need to delay any longer than necessary.

Walking down a corridor, Itadori looked around with interest, the grip on the knife in his hand always firm so that he was ready to strike back at any moment.

As his first field test, Gojo had given him a knife imbued with cursed energy, since curses couldn't be destroyed with his punches alone.

While using a knife wasn't something he was used to doing, he still preferred it to just fighting physically.

With his supernatural physique, and eventually his ability to imbue cursed energy into objects, he saw himself improving his combat skills astronomically.

The real Yuji would have preferred to fight with his fists rather than weapons, but Mark, now Yuji Itadori, liked the idea of a balance between the two.

After all, in a fist fight, a weapon would make all the difference.

He wouldn't have to rely solely on his fists, nor would he have to rely solely on a weapon.

!

Opening his eyes wide as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, Itadori immediately lunged forward in time to escape a sneak attack.

"That was close."

Turning around, his vision landed on what looked like a curse that vaguely resembled a grasshopper, the pincers in place of its hands looking as sharp as real blades.

'This will be a good way to try and awaken my cursed energy manipulation.'

Raising his blade, Itadori braced himself as the curse began to rush towards him.

Killing curses was a topic that Itadori had stopped to discuss in his mind.

How should he feel about doing so? After all, some of them were sentient enough that they didn't differ that much from ordinary humans.

It was a solid attack on their morals, because after all, they were just beings created by humans' own fears and negative emotions. None of them had asked to be born this way.

Blocking an attempt to pierce him, Itadori grabbed the curse's arm and threw it away with ease.

But as much as Itadori tried to convince himself of these words, as if he were trying to make himself a good Samaritan, he couldn't care less about this kind of thing.

His character was good, he knew he was a good man who didn't mind helping out as long as he had time.

But his morals were like those of any other person who understood how bad the world he lived in was.

If a serial killer or a rapist were sentenced to death, Itadori was like millions of other people who would simply turn on the television and say: "Well, that's great. They won't hurt anyone anymore."

Itadori was the kind of person who, if he had the means to defend himself and others during a robbery, wouldn't think twice about doing so, regardless of whether or not the bandit had a family to return to.

He was someone who wouldn't hesitate to eliminate something that was threatening his life.

Dodging a lunge, Itadori advanced towards the curse and stabbed its head, the blade piercing the creature's skull with ease before it collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

"Damn..."

Placing his foot on the creature's head, Itadori sighed with disappointment.

"She was very weak."

!

Feeling a strong presence behind him, Itadori was surprised to turn around to see a corridor infested with curses, the grip on his blade increasing as he braced himself with a small smile appearing on his lips.

"It looks like it's only just begun."

.

Walking down the corridor after eliminating dozens of curses, Itadori looked around as he noticed the faint residue of cursed energy throughout the corridor.

After concentrating for a while, he was finally able to do it, using this new skill to hunt down the remaining curses.

This didn't give him a greater compression of the cursed energy, but it would be useful in the future when he met Mahito.

If possible, he wanted to eliminate that curse on their first date.

"I'm unarmed! Let the boy go!"

Hearing a muffled voice on the other side of a wall, Itadori quickly recognized it as Nobara.

"Oh, I almost forgot about the boy taken hostage."

With his eyes narrowing, Itadori materialized to discern the cursed energy of the curse on the other side, his vision slowly forming a large energy signature on the other side of the wall.

"I found it!"

Boom!

Stabbing the wall with his blade, Itadori destroyed the wall separating him from the curse, his blade piercing the creature's skull before it could react.

With the curse falling lifeless to the ground, Itadori crouched down next to the frightened little boy who had been held hostage.

"It's all right now, kid. No monster is going to hurt you."

"Damn it, how the hell did you walk through that wall like it was nothing?"

Nobara, although she didn't show it, felt relieved by Itadori's arrival. Having a boy die on her first day would have been a huge blow to her confidence.

"I ate my vegetables when I was younger."

Taking the child in his arms, Itadori approached Nobara with a mocking smile.

"Maybe we shouldn't have split up after all."

Nobara frowned as she listened to him. "What? Do you think I didn't cope well on my own?"

"..."

"I think so."

"Shut up, you idiot!" With a sigh, Nobara crossed his arms as he approached.

"Damn it, I'm grateful to you anyway."

Ruffling the little boy's hair, Nobara cracked a small smile.

"Even if I were able to survive, I wouldn't have such a bright future."

"Thank you!"

Turning to Itadori, Nobara smiled gratefully.

Thump!

"..."

'Damn, I don't think all that food was good for me.'