Chapter 36: Hello, Classmate.

"Why won't you ever listen?"

Mirai slowly walked towards the group, smiling as he looked down at Shunta, who was groveling on the ground.

"I-I-I'm sorry!"

Tears streamed down Shunta's face in an instant.

Mirai squatted down slowly, a curious tone in his voice: "Don't you enjoy the thrill of torture?"

"I even generously gave you twenty hours a day to indulge, and I provided food and lodging for you."

"This place is basically heaven for you."

"I truly don't understand why you keep trying to escape."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

Shunta's body trembled as he kept his head down, repeatedly muttering apologies.

"Juju, from now on, the work at the bathhouse will be yours."

At those words, Juju, who was standing beside Mirai, nodded and immediately turned to leave for the bathhouse.

"Well, now it's done. Even your favorite job has been taken."

Mirai sighed, shaking his head.

"Please! Master, Master!"

"Give me one more chance, and I swear I'll work diligently!"

Shunta's eyes filled with malice as he watched Juju's retreating figure.

"Master, that guy can't possibly be faster at dissecting than I am!"

"I'll work twenty-three hours a day from now on, and I promise I won't make any more mistakes!"

Shunta lifted his head, begging desperately, forcing a tearful smile through his fear.

"Hmm…"

Mirai slowly extended his hand toward Shunta's chest, laughing softly: "Working twenty-three hours a day..."

"Isn't that a bit too much?"

Shunta could only stare as Mirai's translucent hand passed through his chest, not daring to move an inch.

Tears poured down his face like a flood, his voice trembling with urgency.

"No, not at all!"

"If Master isn't satisfied, I can work twenty-four hours a day!"

His tears fell through Mirai's forearm, landing silently on the ground.

In the quiet basement, Shunta's racing heartbeat echoed loudly.

As Shunta stared into Mirai's cold, blood-red eyes, his fingers twitched slightly.

—Whoosh!

A cursed tool, which had been silently hovering in the air, shot straight towards Mirai's head.

—Clang!

With a flash, one of Tobi's spiritual blades cut down Shunta's last hope.

"You—"

—Bang!

Before Shunta could finish his sentence, the hatred in his eyes was swallowed by a deep, endless darkness.

Pulling out a white handkerchief from Kamui Space to wipe away the blood, Mirai murmured softly, "If it weren't for Zetsu's interest in your body, I would've considered trying out the pleasure of killing a human myself."

As the dull thud of Shunta's crushed heart echoed in the room, Ruzo, who was watching, swallowed nervously, his face drenched in cold sweat.

When Mirai's blood-red gaze swept towards him, Ruzo's legs buckled, and he fell to his knees with a loud thud.

Glancing at Ruzo, who was clad in the red-clouded black robe, Mirai casually asked, "Is Zetsu's cursed tool finished?"

"Y-Yes," Ruzo stammered, still kneeling. "It can withstand second-grade cursed spirits or sorcerers' attacks, and it can hold out for quite some time even against first-grade ones."

"As you instructed, I added the stealth feature to suppress cursed energy."

As he spoke, Ruzo cautiously watched Mirai's reaction. It was because of this stealth feature that Ruzo had been able to extinguish the candles in their previous battle.

However, he hadn't anticipated that the one-armed sorcerer would attack with an area-of-effect curse.

"Good. Clean up your uniform later and spare yourself a limb. We'll call it even."

"Thank you, Master! Thank you!"

Ruzo breathed a massive sigh of relief.

"I'll work hard from now on, and I'll always be diligent!"

"Get lost."

Ruzo joyfully got to his feet, only to immediately drop back down again.

Seeing Mirai's indifferent gaze, Ruzo sheepishly explained, "I, uh, knelt too hard earlier… I think my kneecap is broken…"

After saying that, he began crawling away into the darkness like a cursed spirit.

Turning his attention to the last person cowering in the corner, Mirai narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Go back. This is your last chance."

"If there's a next time, you might as well move into the bathhouse permanently."

The figure hesitated for a moment before retreating into the shadows, the chains on his ankles rattling softly as he vanished.

…

Seven days later.

At Jujutsu High, in the classroom.

Panda glanced at the cursed spirit beside him, who was goofing off. Curious, he asked, "Zetsu, where's Teacher Mirai?"

"He's been back at Jujutsu High for days now, but it seems like you haven't had any classes with him yet."

Zetsu, who had been playing around with Maki, paused and waved dismissively, looking exasperated.

"Ever since that kid came back, he's been holed up in his room reading. He's more like a student than I am."

Maki rolled her eyes, mocking, "Teacher Mirai is so strong, and yet he still studies. Meanwhile, you're just a fourth-grade cursed spirit, constantly goofing off and boasting."

"So what if I'm fourth-grade?!"

"Does being fourth-grade make me any less worthy of eating your rice?!"

Zetsu's temper flared as he jumped up, shouting angrily at Maki.

Pointing at Yuta, who was quietly watching the exchange, Zetsu grumbled, "Yuta's only fourth-grade right now too, and you're not giving him any grief!"

Maki shrugged. "Didn't you hear what Gojo-sensei said?"

"Yuta's cursed energy is just recovering after lifting his curse. In a few months, he'll be back to special grade."

"You? Can you even compare yourself to him?"

Zetsu's grin twisted into an angry sneer. "Hmph, just you wait, niece Maki! Within a year, I'll be special grade. Then I'll show you who's the real king around here."

Maki adjusted her glasses, her tone playful. "Don't get ahead of yourself."

"If you keep messing around like this, you might become Jujutsu High's first-ever repeat student~"

Because Zetsu was a cursed spirit, Jujutsu High hadn't officially granted him a sorcerer's certification.

Still, the minimum requirement for advancing in grade or graduating from the first year was to defeat a third-grade cursed spirit alone.

Obviously, even with such a simple requirement, Maki didn't think Zetsu had what it took.

"Repeat a grade? You're underestimating me."

Zetsu snorted, his expression defiant.

"If I wanted to, I could easily jump grades and become your senior."

"Uh?"

Though it sounded like bluster, Yuta was taken in by Zetsu's confident demeanor.

"Is that really possible? Can students at Jujutsu High skip grades and graduate early?"

Yuta thought about asking Gojo-sensei not to have him evaluated as special grade so soon. He didn't want to graduate yet and be separated from Maki and Toge.

"Don't listen to his nonsense. In all my years, I've never seen anyone skip grades or graduate early," Panda declared confidently, giving Yuta a firm pat on the back.

"Even Gojo-sensei, as strong as he is, stayed at Jujutsu High for the full three years."

"No, no, no!" Zetsu wagged his finger, flashing a smug grin at everyone. "In this world, it's all about who you know."

"Just wait. I'll talk to Mirai when I get back, and jumping grades will be a piece of cake."

Everyone stared at Zetsu's smug face, unsure whether to laugh or feel sorry for him.

"He's a lost cause. Might as well prepare yourself for repeating a grade," Maki said, crossing her legs, completely sure of herself.

"Just get ready to call me senior."

"Repeating? Not a chance!"

Zetsu responded with unwavering confidence.

…

Half a year later.

"Hello, I'm Yuji Itadori, the new first-year student at Jujutsu High."

Zetsu stared blankly at the pink-haired boy standing across from him, lost in deep thought.

[A/N: The next chapter will kick off Itadori's main storyline.]

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