Frieren: — Chapter 79 - Itadori: Pachinko, Hell Yeah!

Pachinko.

Japan's most iconic vertical pinball machine, found on every street corner across the country, hailed as the "National Game."

Some consider it a despicable form of gambling. Others see it as harmless entertainment. But one thing is beyond doubt,

[Minors are not permitted inside these establishments]

"Yeah!"

Haibara shouted his reply from beside him, because the shop was simply too loud to communicate any other way.

"Hey hey hey! Don't tell me this still isn't enough for you! You really are an outrageously greedy sweets fiend!" He laughed wide and wild, wearing an expression that said, So you're playing at this level, huh?

"What does sweets have to do with anything?! I never thought I'd end up in a place like this! Stop talking about breaking the law like it's just grabbing dessert!" Okkotsu fired back.

"What?"

This time, Haibara was genuinely stunned.

The grin dropped off his face. His expression went blank.

"You... don't tell me you weren't here to have fun?"

"Of course not! Didn't I say when we first met that I was here on a mission!?" Okkotsu was half-furious.

"Ha?! I definitely took that as small talk!"

Haibara was even angrier than Okkotsu.

"Wait! Hold on! Are you telling me you haven't enjoyed yourself all day? That you've been focused on the mission this entire time?!...Fuck!"

The sudden outburst startled Okkotsu.

Haibara was raking his fingers through his own hair, his face twisted with frustration.

"Damn it! That bastard Gojo!"

Here's what had actually happened.

Just as Gojo had laughingly told Okkotsu that Haibara is a talented Jujutsu Sorcerer,planting a seed of expectation, Gojo had also given Haibara a heads-up in advance.

[Ah? Okkotsu?]

[Hahaha, you'll definitely like him! Just like you, he's a pretty wild kid~~]

Hearing that, Haibara had naturally assumed Okkotsu was cut from the same cloth, a rebellious type, fed up with the current Jujutsu Society, ready to raise hell.

So he'd dragged Okkotsu around all day. And because Okkotsu was too timid to interrupt, too meek to push back, Haibara had assumed the guy was enjoying every second of it just as much as he was.

Fuck. Didn't this make it look like he'd been the only one having a good time?

...Whatever.

"We've come this far. No backing down now."

The irritation drained from his face, replaced by something calmer.

"Anyway. Since it's come to this, just play one round."

"Huh?"

"What's with the 'huh'?! I spent the whole day with you in the spirit of cultivating a fellow enthusiast—there's no way I can let it end like this! Come on! One game!"

He grabbed Okkotsu and hauled him inside.

The noise hit like a wall.

DING-DING-DING, CLANG-CLANG-CLANG~~

Steel balls hammering metal, machines roaring, electronic sound effects all blurring into one chaotic mass. Red and gold lights strobed across his vision. The noise wasn't just loud, it was physical, wrapping around him like something solid.

"Hey hey hey! This guy hit it again!"

"No way!?"

"Bro, please! Tell me how you do it!"

"With a face that handsome and luck that good? That's just cheating!"

"Hahaha, feel free to keep going!"

Someone in the corner of the parlor had hit a jackpot. Quite the commotion. But just like at the barbershop earlier, the crowd had packed in too thick to make out who it was.

Haibara glanced over once, then looked away, unconcerned, and turned his full attention back to lecturing Okkotsu.

"Since you're not a player, I'll train you into one! Let's become the delinquent twin stars of Jujutsu High and take down every last one of those old fossils!"

"Absolutely not!"

Haibara clamped a hand around Okkotsu's forearm and practically dragged him into the seat in front of the machine. Okkotsu struggled, but somewhere between the resistance and the realization, he had to admit that Gojo-sensei had been right about at least one thing: Haibara-senpai was genuinely strong. His body was trained. Okkotsu was completely outmatched on raw physicality alone.

"Ugh!..."

Just as Okkotsu was about to be forced to pull the lever,his first pachinko game, his second crime,

"Hey. I don't think that's a good idea."

SLAP!

Someone grabbed Haibara's hand. The grip on Okkotsu's arm released instantly.

They both turned.

Fluffy, spiky pink hair, pure black from root to tip with a clean dividing line, like two colors that had agreed on a border and never crossed it. It was a flashy look, the kind you'd expect on someone with attitude. But the face underneath was open and honest, and what came out of his mouth matched it.

"I mean, I think pachinko is super fun too... but if someone doesn't want to play, you can't just force them."

"Ha? Who are you?"

Haibara raised an eyebrow.

(This guy...)

His gaze dropped to the hand locked around his wrist.

(He's strong.)

Haibara was surprised. Genuinely surprised. He hadn't used Cursed Energy, but in terms of pure physical strength, he was confident. Trained. Solid.

And yet.

(Can't move.)

(What's the deal with this guy?)

The pink-haired boy answered naturally, eyes bright.

"Oh."

"I'm Itadori Yuji."

.........................

........

"An unexpected development."

"What development?"

Somewhere in Tokyo, inside a barrier that no ordinary person could detect, that was where Kenjaku had made himself comfortable.

Same as always. Sunshine. Sandy beach. Open ocean.

Dagon was still splashing around in the waves. Hanami and Jogo were killing time under a beach umbrella. Only Mahito was off to the side, tinkering with something.

His ability, [Idle Transfiguration], needed to evolve. And though Kenjaku was arguably the most formidable Jujutsu instructor of the past thousand years, defeating Himmel and Gojo Satoru demanded that he swallow his pride, grudgingly, through gritted teeth, and teach the Cursed Spirits he genuinely looked down on a considerable amount. Mahito's case was different, though. He still needed to continuously toy with human souls in order to grasp his own, to understand himself the way a man understands his reflection in a mirror.

Kenjaku had been resting with his eyes half-closed. Then they opened.

Hanami and Jogo both noticed.

"Hmm." He stroked his chin. "It seems a chess piece I planted has run into someone they shouldn't have, sooner than I anticipated."

Itadori Yuji.

The boy who had countless ties to him.

If Geto Suguru was Kenjaku's [Plan A],

And Okkotsu Yuta was Kenjaku's [Plan B],

Then Itadori Yuji was the thread woven through both plans. A crucial figure. One who could, in the right circumstances, stand alone as [Plan C].

[Plan B] and [Plan C] had just collided. Was that good news for him, or...

"Well. Never mind. I'll play it by ear~"

Kenjaku laid back down.

He understood the situation clearly. The reason he'd survived his encounter with Himmel was precisely because even the Hero Himmel and Gojo Satoru couldn't figure out what he was actually after. A pure-hearted Hero, one raised to face the [Absolute Evil] of a Demon King, how could he ever conceive that his enemy was simply a humble, good-natured gentleman who just wanted to see a super-giant Cursed Spirit?

Still...

"Anyway. Let's put you to work, Jogo."

He called the name. Jogo's expression turned puzzled.

Kenjaku smiled.

"Let's go do something a little dangerous."

"Ha?"

"Simply put—I want you to probe Okkotsu Yuta's current condition."

BOOM!

A tongue of flame scorched past Kenjaku's face.

"Why would I do something like that." Jogo clicked his tongue.

"Haha, because only you are suited for it." Kenjaku was entirely unbothered. "Okkotsu Yuta is a critical piece of our plan, but Himmel won't let him come to harm. I can find a way to separate them, but I still need someone with the combat strength to stall Himmel."

"You bastard..." Jogo's glare was hot enough to match the flame.

Kenjaku didn't even try to hide his wariness of Himmel. And yet here he was, dumping the dangerous work onto someone else.

"You can't handle him yourself, so you're passing him off to me? You scumbag. You think we're just here to do your dirty work? A completely one-sided arrangement like this?"

Jogo didn't actually care about the strongest human. Right now, he had absolute confidence in himself. He was saying it to give Kenjaku grief.

Before Kenjaku could answer,

"Ah, I'll come along too~"

A laugh rolled in from the direction of the ocean. Easy, unforced, like everything was funny.

A young man with long blue hair walked over, suture lines tracing every visible inch of him, moving with a loose and unhurried ease.

"You?" Jogo's expression soured. "You haven't fully matured yet. It's too dangerous."

"Hahaha, it's fine, it's fine~ We've got intel on that person, don't we?~ And besides—"

He swept the long hair back from his face. His eyes narrowed. A sly grin spread across his lips, the kind of grin you'd see on a TV drama villain, the sort where every rotten thought the character is having is written plainly across his face.

"Gojo Satoru is one thing."

"But Himmel?" He tilted his head. "I can probably handle him pretty easily~"

➤ Next: My Passion Has Completely Cooled Down!!!