Megumi's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. He stared at Shin as if he had grown a second head.
"When exactly did you learn how to use a Domain Expansion?" Megumi demanded.
"Right after taking out that Kamaitachi," Shin replied casually. "If we hadn't been in such a massive rush to secure Sukuna's fingers, I probably could have wiped the Kamaitachi out instantly with my Domain."
Meanwhile, Yuji looked completely lost.
"What exactly is a Domain Expansion?" Yuji asked, scratching his head. "Is it really that impressive?"
Megumi sighed and slipped into his usual lecturing tone.
"Domain Expansion is the absolute pinnacle of Jujutsu sorcery," Megumi explained patiently. "A sorcerer consumes a massive amount of Cursed Energy to construct a physical barrier, trapping their target inside their Innate Domain. The barrier is entirely imbued with their Cursed Technique."
He paused, ensuring Yuji was following along.
"Furthermore, a sorcerer receives a massive buff to all their stats while inside their own Domain. The most dangerous aspect, however, is the guaranteed hit. If the opponent has no way to counter the Domain, the caster is practically invincible."
Yuji's eyes immediately turned into sparkling stars.
"That is so cool!" Yuji cheered. "Can I learn how to do that in the future too?"
A heavy, awkward silence fell over the other three.
Because Gojo had already analyzed Yuji with his Six Eyes, everyone present knew the harsh truth. Yuji did not possess an Innate Cursed Technique. Therefore, he lacked the absolute baseline requirement to ever construct a Domain Expansion.
Finally, Shin broke the silence. He patted Yuji on the shoulder with an encouraging smile.
"You definitely can," Shin lied smoothly. "Even though you don't have a Cursed Technique right now, who knows what could happen? Maybe you will awaken one in the future!"
Megumi shot Shin a withering look. A Cursed Technique was called "Innate" precisely because it was carved into a sorcerer's body from birth.
There were rare cases where a person possessed an Innate Technique but lacked the necessary brain structure to channel Cursed Energy, requiring external tampering to awaken their power. But the reverse was impossible. A person born with Cursed Energy but no Innate Technique could never organically develop one. The only exception was if their body was completely hijacked by an incarnated cursed object.
Megumi assumed Shin was just telling a white lie to comfort the pink-haired boy, so he simply sighed and kept his mouth shut.
Gojo's phone suddenly chimed with a text message. He read the screen and grinned.
"The final first-year student is arriving today," Gojo announced. "Let us go meet her at the station!"
A short while later, the four of them were standing on the sidewalk outside Tokyo Station. They drew heavy, judgmental stares from almost every passerby.
From an outsider's perspective, the group looked incredibly suspicious.
There was a towering, silver-haired man wearing a black blindfold, radiating intense chuunibyou energy. Beside him stood a gloomy teenager with spiky black hair, projecting a massive "stay away" aura. Next to him was a muscular, pink-haired teenager who looked exactly like a dim-witted enforcer for a yakuza syndicate.
The fourth member was a handsome teenager who actually looked like a normal person, but he was wearing the exact same all-black uniform as the others. Pedestrians naturally assumed he was the newest recruit to their strange street gang.
Basically, everyone gave the Tokyo Jujutsu High crew a wide berth. The only exceptions were a few brave schoolgirls who stopped to ask Shin for photos.
As Shin was happily posing for a selfie, a mother walked past holding the hand of her young son.
"Mom," the little boy asked innocently. "Are they cosplaying characters from Jujutsu Kaisen? Their costumes are so accurate!"
Shin instantly whipped his head around, his eyes wide. But the sidewalk behind him was empty.
Did I just hallucinate that? Shin thought, a cold sweat breaking out on the back of his neck.
Before he could dwell on the terrifying meta-commentary, Gojo spotted their target. A spirited girl with dyed orange hair and sharp orange eyes was aggressively arguing with a sleazy-looking, middle-aged man.
"What do you mean by that?" the girl demanded loudly. "Are you saying I am not pretty enough to be a model?"
The man, who claimed to be a street talent scout, frantically wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"No, no, that is not what I meant at all!" he stammered awkwardly. "I just feel like your specific vibe isn't quite suitable for our agency..."
Nobara Kugisaki looked ready to grab the man by his collar, but Gojo called out to her from across the street.
"Hey! Over here! Over here!"
Hearing her teacher's voice, Nobara abandoned the terrified scout and marched over to the Jujutsu High group.
"Alright, everyone," Gojo introduced. "Her name is Nobara Kugisaki. She is the fourth and final student of this year's freshman class. Introduce yourselves!"
"My name is Yuji Itadori," Yuji smiled brightly. "Nice to meet you! We are going to be classmates from now on!"
Ugh, Nobara thought, judging him instantly. A total country bumpkin. He looks incredibly stupid. I bet he ate his own boogers when he was a kid.
"Megumi Fushiguro," the dark-haired boy stated flatly.
Trying to act deep by just dropping a name, Nobara scoffed internally. I bet he is an exhaustingly gloomy person to be around.
"My name is Kagura Shin," Shin smiled politely. "I am a big fan of anything interesting or fun. If you ever have any cool ideas, feel free to invite me along!"
What is with this guy? Nobara narrowed her eyes. What kind of look is that? He is acting like he can see right through my personality and knows everything about me.
Having silently, harshly judged all three of her new peers, she placed a hand on her hip and introduced herself.
"Just like the blindfolded guy said, my name is Nobara Kugisaki," she declared confidently. "Cheer up, boys. The radiant rose of Jujutsu High has finally arrived!"
Gojo clapped his hands together.
"Anyway, that is the whole gang! Originally, you were supposed to have a practical entrance exam today, Nobara. But Shin got a little bored last week and already exorcised the target curse."
Gojo threw his arms out expansively.
"So, that means we get to spend tonight eating, drinking, and having fun! What do you guys want to eat? It is entirely my treat!"
Shin's eyes immediately lit up at the prospect of free food.
After a brief debate on the sidewalk, the group decided to head back to the Jujutsu High campus for a picnic. Specifically, they decided to host the picnic inside Shin's Innate Domain.
Because Shin's Domain relied entirely on Minecraft terrain generation, it could replicate almost any picnic environment imaginable. Whether they wanted a dense forest, a frozen tundra, a sprawling meadow, a sunny beach, or a magnificent subterranean cavern, Shin only needed a few minutes to build it.
Ultimately, the group voted for an underground cavern. Gojo bought a massive haul of premium groceries and invited Principal Masamichi Yaga and Shoko Ieiri to join the welcoming party. The second-year students were currently away on a mission and could not attend.
Shin dismantled the original aquatic boss arena and completely rebuilt the Domain's framework. Using Glow Berries, Moss Blocks, Dripleaves, and Pointed Dripstone, he constructed a breathtaking landscape that perfectly blended a massive underground cavern with a vibrant, illuminated Lush Cave.
When Shin finally pulled the faculty and students into the Domain, Shoko let out a soft gasp of awe.
"Wow," Shoko breathed, looking around the glowing cavern. "I never expected Shin's Innate Domain to have such a beautiful view. But is it really safe to keep a Domain Expansion open for this long? Won't he burn out?"
Principal Yaga immediately turned to glare at Gojo.
"This is highly unprofessional," Yaga scolded. "Gojo, you need to set a proper example. If you keep treating advanced combat techniques like party tricks, the students are going to learn terrible habits from you!"
Although Yuji had just received Megumi's lecture about how dangerous Domains were, he still lacked a practical understanding of the concept. He casually reached up, plucked a glowing yellow berry from a hanging vine, and popped it into his mouth.
"An Innate Domain doesn't actually seem that dangerous," Yuji mumbled around a mouthful of fruit. "Is Shin's Domain just not the offensive type? Because honestly, this berry is incredibly sweet!"
Yuji reached up and plucked three more Glow Berries from the ceiling. Instantly, the ambient lighting in their section of the cavern noticeably dimmed.
"Thump!"
Yaga delivered a swift, brutal karate chop to the top of Yuji's head. He then dragged the groaning teenager toward the barbecue pit, forcing him to work the grill as punishment for eating the lighting fixtures.
Chuckling, Shin expended a tiny fraction of his Cursed Energy to respawn the Glow Berries, restoring the cavern's warm light. He then pulled a massive pile of fresh Watermelon Slices, Apples, and Sweet Berries from his inventory and piled them onto a picnic blanket.
"Everyone, please feel free to explore the cavern," Shin announced happily. "It is just one massive, open cave system, so do not worry about getting lost!"