Three days later.
The news of Itadori Yuji's death had already spread throughout Jujutsu High. Whether they were the upperclassmen still outside or the ones on campus, they had all heard about it.
During these few days, the school was busy handling the aftermath of Itadori Yuji's death. Gojo Satoru was the main person in charge, since he was the one who brought Itadori to the school. Now that something had happened, it was naturally his responsibility to clean up.
Fushiguro Megumi and Kugisaki Nobara had been in low spirits for the past few days, but with Hayashi's efforts to cheer them up, their mood had gradually improved.
During this period, there hadn't been much going on. The school hadn't assigned any missions, and Hayashi's pockets were running low. He decided to check out the nearby cities to see if there were any opportunities to make money.
With that in mind, Hayashi submitted a request to the school, which Gojo Satoru approved.
"I mean, why are you going out by yourself at a time like this? Wouldn't it be better to just stay at school?" Kugisaki Nobara couldn't understand Hayashi's thinking. The weather was getting hotter, and he wanted to go out now, without even saying what he was going to do. Only Gojo-sensei seemed to know.
"Ah, I'm just going to wander around and maybe earn a little extra cash. Isn't that great?" Hayashi waved his hand, looking up at the blinding sun as he said, "Gojo-sensei's been so busy lately, I don't want to add to his troubles."
"You're clearly adding to Gojo-sensei's troubles! What if you run into danger while you're out? Don't think you're all that just because you got lucky and beat a special-grade curse!" Nobara was getting annoyed, remembering how Hayashi had stolen the spotlight.
"Alright, alright, I won't say more. I'm leaving now." Hayashi made a silly face and turned to head back to his dorm.
"You—ugh!" Nobara stood up quickly, but in the blink of an eye, Hayashi had vanished. "Huh? Where did he go?"
"Don't worry about him. He's not like Itadori," Fushiguro Megumi said as he walked out with his hands in his pockets, the sunlight casting a sharp light on his face. "We've got our own things to do. We need to focus on getting stronger."
"Yeah, yeah, you guys better work on getting stronger, or I'll leave you both in the dust." Hayashi came out of his dorm with a large backpack slung over his shoulder. The bag looked like the kind used by soldiers, capable of holding a lot.
"Are you going on a trip?" Nobara asked, looking at him in disbelief. "At a time like this, can't you show a little urgency? And why have you been vanishing and reappearing so suddenly lately?"
Nobara had noticed something strange. Recently, Hayashi had been acting weird, always appearing and disappearing without a trace, almost like he could teleport.
But she knew that was pretty much impossible. Hayashi couldn't teleport. If he could, why didn't he use it to help when Itadori got into trouble?
Don't tell her he was too injured to help. When she saw him at the hospital, Hayashi looked as lively as ever, showing no signs of any serious injuries.
"Haha, I won't say more. If you need anything, just give me a call. I'm heading out." Hayashi chuckled. There was no way he was going to tell Nobara that he had gotten stronger.
"Go, go, get out of here!" Nobara waved him off.
"But it seems like you don't really want me to leave, do you?" Hayashi grinned. "Maybe you're worried that without me, there'll be no one to cook you delicious food?"
"Get lost! Who needs your food? I can buy my own!" Nobara said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Don't pretend! It wouldn't hurt to admit it once in a while. I mean, seriously, out here in the middle of nowhere, who's going to deliver food to you?" Hayashi laughed. This girl was really stubborn.
"Hayashi, if you don't shut up, you won't be leaving at all," Nobara said, giving him a honeyed smile.
Hayashi suddenly felt a chill down his spine and hurried away.
After Hayashi left, Nobara muttered to herself, "I guess it's time to start a diet."
Fushiguro glanced at Nobara, knowing what she meant.
As Hayashi was leaving the school gates, he saw a tall woman with a ponytail and glasses walking toward him.
For a moment, he couldn't remember her name, but he knew she was from the Zenin clan.
Behind her were two other figures, one tall and one short. One was a large, muscular panda, and the other was a man with a high collar that covered his mouth.
"Hello, seniors!" Hayashi greeted them politely, surprised to see them return today.
"Hello!"
"Salmon."
"You're a first-year, right? Heading out somewhere with that backpack?" The ponytailed girl stopped, looking at this unfamiliar freshman.
"Yeah, I'm Hayashi. I'm heading out for some personal business. Nothing major."
The three of them could tell that Hayashi didn't want to explain in detail, so they didn't ask further. After greeting him, they parted ways.
"That freshman's strange," the ponytailed girl said, glancing back at Hayashi as he walked away.
"Definitely. No cursed energy on him at all. Is he hiding it?" Panda nodded in agreement.
"Salmon."
"No one can hide their cursed energy that well. It's like he doesn't have any at all," the girl thought aloud. "Could it be related to his technique?"
Hayashi continued on foot into the city, his destination being Shibuya, one of Tokyo's 23 wards, known for its vibrant streets and towering buildings.
Originally, Hayashi had planned to visit the various sorcerer offices. Outside of Jujutsu High, there were many private offices that also handled cursed spirits and cursed objects.
But these private offices were often understaffed. Powerful sorcerers wouldn't want to stay in these small offices, and the weaker sorcerers didn't seem to take them seriously either.
As a result, these private offices had become rather irrelevant, nowhere near as important as Jujutsu High.
In this world, there was both good and evil. While many sorcerer offices operated in the open, there were also sinister offices hidden in the shadows, filled with dark sorcerers and even curses.
At his current level, Hayashi wasn't in contact with those kinds of people. He didn't even know where they were. His goal today was simply to make some money.
Looking at the bustling streets and towering buildings of Shibuya, Hayashi's desire grew stronger as he started searching for these so-called offices.
But after wandering around for half the day, he hadn't found anything. In a place as busy as Shibuya, where would he find those kinds of offices?
Feeling a bit frustrated, Hayashi realized the heat was getting to him. He didn't feel like searching anymore.
"Maybe I'll just work part-time at a restaurant for now," Hayashi thought. At least working at a restaurant meant he'd get free food.
By evening, Hayashi found a Chinese restaurant. After cooking a few dishes, the owner was so impressed that he immediately offered Hayashi a high salary, along with free meals and accommodation.
Naturally, Hayashi was happy to stay. The salary here was much higher than what other restaurants offered, so why not?
Still, wasn't he technically underage to be working?