"Ming-kun, I made this bento for you," a young girl said shyly, looking at the boy sitting by the classroom window.
"No need, thank you," the boy rejected her coldly, standing up and walking out of the classroom.
"It's okay, Riko," another young girl consoled her.
"Did you hear? Ming-kun's parents are both dead," a young boy whispered as they watched him disappear.
Ming heard the remark but didn't care. Although his parents in this world had died, they were essentially strangers to him. He didn't feel much; the grief he felt initially was merely the residual emotions of the body's original owner.
Through the events of the past few days, he had completely understood this world. This was the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, a series he had watched in his previous life. It was a world teeming with Curses, incredibly dangerous, and heavily reliant on innate talent. He had also discovered that his Sharingan wasn't so much a bloodline trait as it was an Innate Technique. His Cursed Energy processed through a technique in his brain before connecting to his eyes. This allowed him to deactivate the Sharingan at will, unlike Satoru Gojo, whose Six Eyes were always active.
The reason Ming was so certain this was the Jujutsu Kaisen world was because a group of people had come to his home a few days prior. Thanks to the Sharingan, he detected their Cursed Energy in advance and feigned injury, pretending to faint. They rescued him, and from their conversations, he gathered crucial information.
They were discussing the pride of the Gojo Clan—Satoru Gojo. Even at a young age, he had a bounty of 100 million yen, which had recently increased.
This news was invaluable. Not only did it confirm the world, but it also helped him establish the timeline. The main plot was still a long way off. While he knew the future story, he wasn't as familiar with past events, but this was a good enough starting point.
After being sent to the hospital, he accepted the reality of this world. He inherited his deceased parents' estate. Normally, due to his age, he would have been sent to an orphanage, but he insisted on living alone. In a world where so many people died every year, no one pressed the issue. He also changed his surname to Uchiha.
"What a filthy world," Ming muttered, looking at the beautiful school campus. In various corners, things invisible to ordinary people lurked—revolting Cursed Spirits that made him want to vomit.
Walking to a convenience store, he spotted a Cursed Spirit in an alley. With a wave of his hand, an invisible blade of Cursed Energy slashed through it. Although these minor spirits posed no threat to him, they were eyesores. Through constant practice and feedback from his technique, Ming had mastered several ways to use his Sharingan.
"Perhaps the one who truly becomes the strongest won't be you," Ming thought privately.
Time flew by. Four years later, a young man dressed in black stood beside a fox-like Cursed Spirit. The fox's eyes possessed the same pupils as the boy.
"Let's go, Kurama."
The youth was, of course, Ming. The fox was a Cursed Spirit he had encountered while exorcising others and had placed under his control using the visual prowess of his Sharingan.
Hearing Ming's voice, the fox trotted to his side.
The Three-Tomoe in Ming's eyes spun rapidly, connecting to form a design resembling a shuriken. The space around the boy and the fox distorted, and they vanished instantly.
"You're back, Ming," a middle-aged man in a suit said as Ming suddenly appeared before him.
"Yeah, Uncle Asano. It was only a Grade 2 after all," Ming said flatly. The man's eye twitched. Grade 2? "Only"?
"Alright, Ming. You know Jujutsu Sorcerers are rare, which is why I had to trouble you," Asano said. He knew Ming's "salted fish" (lazy) personality and that a Grade 2 was indeed a bit beneath his skill level.
"Fine. Just transfer the fee to my account later," Ming said before his figure blurred and vanished again.
"That kid is getting stronger by the day," Asano remarked.
"Yeah, I wonder how he compares to that one from the Gojo Clan," another suited man added.
"Who knows? Geniuses like that aren't for people like us to speculate about," Asano replied.
Back at home, Ming stared at the ceiling. "A truly interesting world. I wonder what the next Ocular Technique my eyes will breed. Last time it was Kamui; what about this time?"
Ming had only learned the full extent of his abilities upon awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan. At first, he had Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi, but the ultimate technique hadn't fully manifested yet. However, his eyes signaled that more power was waiting to be awakened.
"Actually, it seems I have two Innate Techniques," Ming mused, before shaking his head. "No, accurately speaking, it's still just one."
His body was unusual. His Cursed Energy reserves were massive—surpassing even the future "Pure Love Warrior" (Yuta Okkotsu)—and they were still growing. His recovery speed for both energy and physical stamina was staggering. This was essentially a Sage Body. Because of it, he suffered no loss of vision when using the Mangekyo.
"It seems that in the future, I can awaken that terrifying ocular power," Ming thought as he drifted off to sleep.
In the following days, Ming continued his life as an ordinary student, occasionally taking jobs to exorcise Cursed Spirits for extra cash. He had sold his parents' old house to buy a larger, more comfortable one. Having been from China in his past life, he had high standards for his living environment.
He also researched the global landscape. To his surprise, the world map was mostly the same as his previous life, except for the absence of a conventional China. In its place was a "Land of Sages"—a place so mysterious that if it were included in the normal power rankings, Satoru Gojo might not be called the strongest.