"Yo! Your technique is pretty interesting."
Itachi turned around, and his three-tomoe Sharingan instantly shifted into the Mangekyo Sharingan, locking tightly onto the newcomer.
"Kakashi-senpai?"
The white-haired man carefully looked Itachi over.
Itachi wore a red hooded robe on his upper body, the hem falling to his knees, with open-toed short boots on his feet. His strange blood-red eyes bore a shuriken-like pattern, and his long hair was tied behind his head.
A teasing smile appeared on Gojo's face.
"You actually look pretty cool, huh? And by the way, my name is Gojo Satoru."
"So, are you a jujutsu sorcerer too? Or... a curse user?"
When Gojo said the words "curse user," his tone carried a faint threat, as if the moment Itachi admitted to being one, he would kill him on the spot.
"...Neither."
Itachi shook his head.
"I... am a ninja."
"A ninja? Those old relics still exist? And besides, a ninja probably wouldn't have cursed energy as strong as yours."
Cursed energy? So the power that appeared inside my body is called cursed energy in this world?
Itachi was slightly confused. And what exactly were jujutsu sorcerers and curse users? His memories did not seem to contain any knowledge about that.
"What is cursed energy? And those monsters from earlier, you saw them too, didn't you?"
Putting aside his thoughts, Itachi decided to ask the white-haired man in front of him.
"Oh? You can exorcise a Grade 2 cursed spirit, yet you don't even know what cursed energy is?"
Gojo found the man before him even more interesting now.
"Cursed energy is the power used to activate cursed techniques. It comes from the negative emotions of the user. Traditional jujutsu sorcerers usually begin training from a young age, learning how to draw cursed energy from all kinds of negative emotions and store it for use in battle.
"As for cursed techniques, those are innate abilities. They can't be learned later in life. You can develop them in all sorts of ways, but at their core, they're still the same technique.
"Besides that, cursed techniques can be inherited. After being passed down over generations, many techniques gradually formed family-based factions, and the three strongest of them are the Big Three Sorcerer Families: Zenin, Kamo, and Gojo."
"Got the general idea now?" Gojo gave Itachi a brief explanation.
"I see. I understand the general idea now."
After hearing Gojo's explanation, Itachi finally understood that the power inside his body was cursed energy. The power system of this world felt strangely similar to the ninja world.
"So, do you want to come back to Jujutsu High with me?"
Gojo invited him.
"Jujutsu High?"
"Yeah. It's a place that trains jujutsu sorcerers and sends them out on missions to exorcise cursed spirits."
After a brief moment of thought, Itachi decided to go and see this Jujutsu High Gojo had mentioned. He wanted to understand the truth of this world.
"That's fine," Itachi answered calmly.
"Then let's go. Anyway, you already wiped out the cursed spirit for me."
Gojo turned around and waved, signaling for Itachi to follow.
"Oh, right. I still don't know your name."
"Itachi. Uchiha Itachi."
"Uchiha... never heard of that clan before."
Sensing the immense cursed energy within Itachi, along with those strange eyes... is that an innate technique? Who would've thought that coming out for a mission this time would let me run into someone this interesting? And he's strong too!
...
On the ride back, the midday sun shone brightly overhead. Leaning against the car window, Itachi let the cool breeze stir his black hair as he observed the pedestrians along the roadside.
Some of them had grotesque-looking cursed spirits clinging to their bodies.
One resembled a newborn baby. Its skin was deathly pale, its four eyes were pitch black without visible pupils, and its hands were wrapped around a woman's neck from behind, its mouth opening and closing as if it were crying.
Another looked like a giant maggot, but with a human face growing from its head, its long body tightly coiled around a man's waist.
"So those are cursed spirits too..."
Itachi muttered to himself.
"We're almost there, so while we still have some time, I'll explain Jujutsu High to you a bit more."
"Jujutsu High, also known as Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School, is one of only two jujutsu education institutions in all of Japan. On the surface, it's a private religious school.
"A lot of jujutsu sorcerers start here, and even after graduation, they continue their activities from this place. It's not just for education, missions are carried out here, support is provided here, and it's one of the central strongholds of the jujutsu world."
Itachi quietly listened to Gojo's explanation, and before long, the two of them arrived at Jujutsu High.
Itachi looked around. With its abundance of trees and the fresh air carrying the scent of soil mixed with flowers and grass, the place eased his mind a little.
Gojo continued leading the way.
"Oh, and one more thing, you'll still have to meet with the principal next. There's a chance you might get rejected, you know~"
"Hm?"
Itachi looked at Gojo in confusion and asked, "Will I need to demonstrate my strength?"
"No, no, no. It's more like a personality test. Things like why you want to join Jujutsu High, why you want to become a jujutsu sorcerer, that kind of stuff~"
"...I see."
Gojo glanced at the man in front of him. Seeing that Itachi had no more questions, he pushed open the wooden doors and led him into a spacious room.
The floor inside was spotless, and candles set within the pillars cast a warm glow. A rugged-looking middle-aged man with spiky black hair and sunglasses was sitting there, sewing a doll with needle and thread.
Without turning around, he continued stitching as he spoke.
"So this is the person you took a liking to, Gojo?"
"Yep. Met him during this mission. He's the one who exorcised the cursed spirit. He's really strong."
Gojo wore a broad grin, clearly very satisfied with Itachi.
"Hello. My name is Uchiha Itachi. I wish to join Jujutsu High."
Itachi gave a slight nod in greeting and stated his purpose without any attempt to hide it.
"Mm."
The man looked at the doll he had just finished, then put away the needle and thread. Rising to his feet, he turned toward Itachi and spoke.
"You were able to exorcise a Grade 2 cursed spirit with ease, and you have Gojo's recommendation, so I doubt there's any need to test your ability."
"I only have one question. If you and your companions were to face a life-or-death crisis, would you abandon your companions to complete the mission, or would you fight to the death to protect them and give up the mission?" the man asked.
"I would not abandon my companions, but neither would I abandon the mission."
Itachi's expression remained calm, but his gaze was unwavering.
The man said nothing. He stared at Itachi with a blank expression for a moment.
"Not a bad answer."
The principal then broke into a smile and said, "You pass. Welcome to Jujutsu High."
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