"My name is Wenren Seiya. I transferred to Jujutsu High with this idiot here," Seiya said, jerking his head toward Itadori. "As for why you think I'm good at handling these things, it's because I deal with this kind of situation often."
"No way? You often run into perverted scammers like that? Is life in the big city really that chaotic?" Nobara looked alarmed, thinking that running into that kind of situation was normal in Tokyo.
"No, what I mean is that due to my 'profession,' I've studied the law," Seiya clarified. "After all, to be a competent delinquent, you have to know how to hit someone to injure them without crippling them, and cripple them without killing them, so you don't end up in juvie. You also need to know the exact degree of injury that prevents you from getting arrested, how to define your actions as 'self-defense,' and..."
Before Seiya could finish his sentence, Itadori clapped a hand over his mouth. Fushiguro and Nobara, who had just heard the explanation, stood in the breeze, their faces a picture of disbelief.
These days, the scariest thing isn't running into a delinquent, but one who's more educated than you!
Gojo and Fushiguro, who had seen Seiya fight, were somewhat used to his eccentricities, but Nobara, who had just met him, couldn't reconcile the seemingly well-mannered Seiya with the self-proclaimed legal expert delinquent!
First Mission: Cursed Tools and Realities
After picking up Nobara at the station, Gojo didn't immediately rush the students back to school. Instead, he took them to an office building in the middle of Tokyo.
"According to the report submitted by the local supervisor, several low-grade Curses have appeared in this office building," Gojo announced. "Your mission this time is to exorcise the Curses in this building. This will serve as a practical combat test before you fully matriculate."
As he spoke, Gojo handed Itadori a short-bladed Cursed Tool called 'Tozama' (Butchering Demon). He then handed Seiya a longsword named 'Shinyuu' (Divine Blessing).
"Tozama and Shinyuu are both Grade 2 Cursed Tools, consider them welcome gifts from your teacher. Some Curses have special properties, so Sorcerers usually carry a Cursed Tool with them, regardless of their specialization, just in case."
Seiya swung the longsword, feeling the power of the 'Cursed Tool,' and his face showed satisfaction. Although it was only a Grade 2 Cursed Tool, it was the best-quality longsword he had acquired so far. Say what you will, but the eldest son of the Gojo Clan was indeed wealthy; while a Grade 2 Cursed Tool wasn't worth five hundred million yen like the Special Grade Playful Cloud, it certainly wasn't cheap.
With a proper weapon in hand, Seiya was eager to test it on a Curse. Just as he drew his sword and stepped toward the office building, Gojo placed a hand on both Seiya's and Fushiguro's shoulders.
"Seiya and Megumi, you two won't be participating in this practical test. This assessment is specially prepared for Yuji and Nobara. Compared to them, you two already have sufficient real combat experience, and your mindsets and abilities have been assessed, so no further testing is necessary."
While Itadori remained neutral, Nobara was visibly annoyed by Gojo's words.
"Gojo-sensei, I may be a new student at Jujutsu High, but I'm not new to exorcising Curses. I'm a Grade 3 Sorcerer! I'm not some inexperienced rookie."
"No, no, Nobara, you still don't understand. Actually, for this practical assessment, I'm more worried about you than Yuji. Curses are born from human emotions, and the more densely populated a city is, the more the Curses' strength and danger level increase proportionally. You have experience with Curses in your remote countryside, but how does Tokyo's population density compare to your hometown?"
Nobara couldn't rebut Gojo's point. Frustrated, she turned to the seemingly clueless Itadori. "Then what about him? He's also from somewhere else, isn't he? He looks like he has no experience exorcising Curses! Why do you have more faith in him than me?" Nobara was angry at being belittled, especially when the person being rated higher was the seemingly simple-minded Itadori.
"Yuji may not have much combat experience with Curses, but he has already witnessed the most dangerous and powerful Curse there is."
Feeling slighted, Nobara chose to split up from Itadori after entering the building. She even challenged him, betting that she would finish exorcising her Curses first.
It wasn't until late evening that the two emerged from the office building, bringing a small boy with them. The dissipated Cursed Energy confirmed that the malevolent Curses inside had been successfully exorcised. However, Nobara's somewhat dejected expression revealed that she had likely lost the internal competition to Itadori.
At the same time, she finally understood why Gojo had warned them that Tokyo's Curses were far more dangerous than those in the countryside. Even though they were low-grade Curses, the ones they encountered were intelligent enough to take a human hostage to threaten them. If even a low-grade Curse possessed such cunning, the difficulty of dealing with more powerful Curses was unimaginable.
Team Allocation
Sorcerers receive compensation for exorcising Curses and resolving Cursed incidents. After dealing with the Curses in the office building, the group discussed their payment and eventually decided to use it to treat themselves to a high-end sushi restaurant. Nobara initially objected, feeling it was unfair that the three who didn't work (Seiya, Fushiguro, and Gojo) were also benefiting from her and Itadori's labor, but since Itadori, who had saved her, didn't mind the arrangement, Nobara eventually relented.
Over sushi, Gojo announced the operational arrangements for the group. Following tradition, Jujutsu High students generally operate in small teams until graduation. The standard team size is three members.
"Therefore, Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, and Nobara Kugisaki will be operating as a three-person team from now on to handle Cursed incidents and exorcise Curses."
"Then what about Seiya?" Itadori asked, voicing the question. "Isn't he a freshman at Jujutsu High, just like us?"
Seiya, too, looked at Gojo, inwardly surprised. Was he being booted from the main cast? How was he supposed to play the game now?
"Currently, both our first-years and second-years at Tokyo Jujutsu High have four students. Besides Maki Zenin, Panda, and Toge Inumaki, whom you met last time, the second-year class has one other student who is so powerful that they have been granted special permission to operate solo."
Gojo turned his head toward Seiya as he delivered the last sentence, the implication of his words becoming perfectly clear.