Chapter 2: World
Jujutsu Kaisen is a world filled with curses and death.
Negative emotions from humans generate cursed energy, which condenses into curses. These curses cause societal harm and human fatalities, prompting the emergence of groups of sorcerers who use cursed energy to combat them.
In Japan, more than 10,000 unnatural deaths and disappearances occur annually, most of them caused by curses born from negative human emotions.
In this world, almost all humans possess the ability to produce cursed energy.
However, most ordinary people cannot see curses. Their cursed energy continuously leaks out of their bodies, and such individuals are referred to as "non-sorcerers."
There is also a minority of people who are gifted with the ability to see curses. Their cursed energy flows within their bodies without leaking out. As long as they live, they won't create curses from their energy. These individuals are called "sorcerers."
Humans, cursed energy, and curses form a strange, dynamic balance:
The overall strength of sorcerers and curses tends to remain equal.
...
When Minamoto Sōjun was six years old, he awakened a technique, marking him as someone with the potential to become a sorcerer.
His physical development began to normalize.
The pain caused by rapid growth and the discomfort that affected even his soul started to diminish, eventually fading away.
Truly, only those who have experienced illness can appreciate the bliss of normalcy.
However, some effects lingered.
His appearance no longer matched his actual age, with a disparity of about six or seven years. Returning to kindergarten or elementary school would seem inappropriate.
His parents hired a tutor to homeschool him. Sōjun didn't resist this arrangement. In fact, revisiting foundational knowledge brought him a unique sense of enjoyment.
With his body now normal, he became eager to explore everything.
...
"I want to learn martial arts!" Sōjun told Mrs. Minamoto.
From the other end of the phone came a familiar female voice: "Sort it out yourself. If you need an adult, ask the nanny. Dad and I are busy. Talk later, mua~! Be good!"
Her voice was gentle, but it lasted less than a minute.
Every call went like this, and Sōjun was used to it.
He calmly put down the phone.
He knew his parents were sorcerers. They were also aware that he had awakened his technique, and neither side bothered hiding anything.
Mr. and Mrs. Minamoto were often away.
At first, Sōjun thought they were busy with exorcism missions, only to later realize how naive he had been—they were simply traveling abroad for leisure.
What is the essence of cursed energy?
It is negative emotion!
Constant exposure to it? How could one not go mad? Sorcerers are just a group of lunatics.
Growing up safely thus far wasn't easy.
Sōjun often found it hard to fit into his warm little three-person family due to not being "mad enough." From a young age, he became a "left-behind child."
It was... complicated.
Rather than dwell on it, he expressed his desire to the nanny, who promptly took him out.
The world is dangerous. Sōjun could see things ordinary people couldn't, but he wasn't reckless.
For example, he dared to handle a Flyhead curse.
But now?
Glancing across the street at a curse lying beneath the traffic light, Sōjun averted his gaze, knowing that once spotted, he might become the next plaything.
When the light turned green, he walked past it with the nanny.
As they passed the curse, Sōjun didn't flinch. He brushed close to it, feeling a chill like standing before an open fridge.
The two crossed paths without incident.
Success!
He had tried this many times, moving from weaker curses like Flyheads to stronger ones.
He confirmed that as long as he acted as if he couldn't see them, most curses would ignore him—unless he made eye contact or the curse was intelligent enough to see through his act.
Satisfied, Sōjun nodded, scraped his foot on the ground, and jumped onto a nearby railing?!
"Careful!"
The nanny cried out, instinctively spreading her arms to protect him like a mother bird shielding her chick.
Sōjun spread his arms and walked the railing like a balance beam. After a few wobbly steps, he frowned and jumped down.
Previously, he had been over 40 years old. Now, he was six. Adding the two and dividing by two roughly equaled his current mental age. Sometimes, he felt like a six-year-old; other times, like a forty-year-old. His behavior occasionally reflected this confusion.
Integration would take time, and he needed patience.
...
How did things come to this?
Sōjun sat in a waiting area, holding a small pinwheel the nanny had just bought for him.
After registering him for a martial arts class, the nanny led him to a training room.
He was met with a group of little kids.
Sōjun was speechless.
Fortunately, the coach noticed them and approached them:
"You shouldn't be here."
Sōjun was delighted.
Then the coach continued, "You should be in the advanced class."
Huh?
Following the coach to another training room, he found older kids instead.
Fine.
"Ha! Heh!"
The children's youthful voices echoed through the room.
Under the coach's guidance, Sōjun changed into a training uniform and joined the group.
The coach taught Kyokushin Karate, a practical style emphasizing full-contact combat without protective gear. Apart from restricting head strikes and groin attacks, all techniques were fair game.
The coach demonstrated a few moves. He seemed skilled and more than capable of teaching Sōjun.
Sōjun obediently followed his instructions.
"You're talented. Want to be my apprentice?" the coach asked after watching Sōjun practice for a while.
"I need to ask my mom," Sōjun replied, feigning innocence.
"I'll contact your parents later."
Energized, the coach taught with renewed enthusiasm.
...
Sōjun's days followed a routine:
He woke at 6:30 a.m., studied with his tutor in the morning, trained in karate in the afternoon, and reflected on his experiments at night.
Between his tutor, training, and occasional run-ins with minor curses, life was fulfilling.
The world might be chaotic and dangerous, but Sōjun believed in the tall ones to hold the sky. After all, he had inherited his parents' "remarkable" attitude.
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