Jujutsu Kaisen: I Have A Gardevoir

Sendai.

The largest economic and cultural center of the Tōhoku region on Japan's Honshu island, and the capital of Miyagi Prefecture. It was established as a city in 1889, making it 98 years old up to this point in the current world line.

Calling it the "largest" is actually just "choosing a general from among dwarfs."

Because the Tōhoku region is outside Japan's three major metropolitan areas, those outside the big circles must also survive, thus forming one small circle after another, each with its own little core.

Don't we, in the great "flower-growing nation" (China), also have the so-called "Akarin province," whose domestic and international presence is vanishingly small?

Including Akira himself, the vast majority of Chinese people who know of "Sendai" do so because of one man.

A great figure whose name will go down in history:

Zhou Shuren, pen name Lu Xun.

A renowned writer, thinker, revolutionary, educator, and democratic warrior, an important participant in the New Culture Movement, and one of the founders of modern Chinese literature.

He is also an unavoidable figure in Chinese language textbooks, a frequent guest in "read and recite the entire text" assignments, and a factory producing famous quotes.

In the world of literature, Lu Xun not only has a towering reputation in China, but also internationally, especially among the three East Asian countries, where he is hailed as the writer who occupies the largest territory on the 20th-century East Asian cultural map.

Every time Lu Xun published an article, it would first cause a sensation in China, and then Korea and Japan would also be swept up, even to the extent of a "Lu fandom" phenomenon more exaggerated than in China.

After Lu Xun's death, many literary figures in both Japan and Korea wrote articles to mourn him, which shows his influence and charisma.

And Sendai is where this great figure studied abroad in his youth.

The saying that "studying medicine cannot save the Chinese people," which Lu Xun never actually said but was misattributed to him through repeated misinformation, has its starting point here:

The Sendai Medical Academy.

Later, it merged with several other specialized schools to form Tōhoku University, a top-ranking Japanese university.

Because so much time has passed, most of the old school buildings no longer exist. However, the classroom where slides were shown—the very place that led Lu Xun to abandon medicine for literature—the anatomy laboratory where Professor Fujino dissected human bodies, and some of the slides Lu Xun viewed back then are still preserved.

The only regret is that the film of the Russo-Japanese War that ignited Mr. Lu Xun's anger no longer survives.

Besides the school, there are two places dedicated to commemorating Lu Xun.

One is at the Sendai City Museum, where there is a monument established by Guo Moruo for Lu Xun, as well as pine and cypress trees planted by Lu Xun's wife, Xu Guangping.

The other is the former residence where Lu Xun lived during his studies abroad, preserved by the Sendai government to this day.

Don't be surprised. Lu Xun was not only a literary giant in China, but also held great international literary acclaim. In East Asia, he's considered extremely influential, known as "the writer who occupies the largest territory on the twentieth-century East Asian cultural map."

Every time Lu Xun wrote, the impact was first felt in China and then rippled out to Korea and Japan, causing commotions there as well. After his passing, writers in both Japan and Korea wrote articles in tribute. This demonstrates the wide scope of his influence.

"... He felt deep anguish over his homeland's crisis and regarded saving the nation's soul as a pressing duty, thus turning his aspirations toward literature. Sendai is the place where his life took this critical turn. From then on, he produced many works and commentaries, bringing the dawn of new Chinese literature..."

In the blazing midday sun, Akira stood alone beneath a five-meter-tall monument, quietly reading the inscription in a low voice.

The monument was styled after ancient Chinese stone steles, dignified and solemn.

Surrounding shrubs were lush, and the osmanthus trees that Mr. Lu Xun loved emitted a faint fragrance. The cypress trees planted by Xu Guangping and the wintersweet planted by Zhou Haiying had both grown tall, casting a unique shade.

As Akira walked by, the irritability caused by the weather unconsciously subsided, and he found himself strangely at peace.

In schooldays, he had studied and memorized these texts countless times, yet had difficulty understanding their deeper meaning. His focus often fell on absurd points like: "When Mr. Lu Xun wrote it, it's considered an ancient variant character; if we write it, it's a typo." Should one laugh or cry at that notion?

Many people have said that when you grow up and re-read Lu Xun's works, you'll taste a different flavor.

Akira can't say he deeply understands this either.

After all, he never re-read them. Wasn't memorizing them in school already tedious and annoying enough?

Yet these things that he had consciously or unconsciously buried in the depths of his memory—those sentences he least wanted to see in reading comprehension exams—now, upon setting foot on this land, surged up from beneath the surface like earth dragons overturning soil, continually emerging:

—"I open the history and check it: this history has no years recorded. On every slanting page are written the words 'benevolence, righteousness, and morality.' I toss and turn, unable to sleep, and look closely for half the night. Only then do I see from between the lines that the whole book is filled with two words: 'cannibalism'!"

—"When the brave become angry, they draw their blades against the stronger; when the cowardly become angry, they draw their blades against the weaker. In a hopelessly incorrigible nation, there must be many 'heroes' who only glare at children."

—"A true warrior dares to look directly at the bleakness of life and confront the dripping blood. What kind of mourners and blissful people are these?"

Although these lines were written decades ago, they fit this very moment perfectly, without any sense of discord.

Open the history of jujutsu (Cursed Techniques), and there's no need for any embellishment—everywhere are the words "cannibalism."

Within this decayed and ancient jujutsu world, indeed there are many "heroes" who do not dare to draw their blades against stronger foes, but only vent their rage on the weak, glaring at children. Children who grow up under those glares, in turn glare at the next generation of children.

Weren't Akira, Maki, and Mai all born into such a quagmire?

Among them, only Maki dared to face the bleakness of life and dared to confront the dripping blood.

Mai could not. Akira also could not.

The former is a coward. The latter, at best, is not exactly a coward but still falls short.

Akira had thought that was enough. But after encountering these two Special Grades, Suguru Geto and Yuki Tsukumo, he realized the gap.

Setting aside right or wrong, they—together with Satoru Gojo—never limited themselves to "ensuring their own goodness." Nor, like Maki, did they merely rebel against their personal destiny. They rebelled against the very "cannibalism" itself.

Cursed Spirits devour humans, and worse than Cursed Spirits are humans who devour humans.

Akira recalled an anecdote related to Lu Xun:

Back then, when Qian Xuantong invited Lu Xun to come forward, Lu Xun had doubts and said:

"If there were an iron house without windows, indestructible, filled with many people who are sound asleep, all soon to suffocate. They will die in their slumber, not feeling the sorrow of approaching death. Now, if you raise a clamor and wake a few who are more conscious, making these unfortunate few suffer the incurable torment of dying awake, do you think you are doing them any good?"

Qian Xuantong replied: "You cannot say that once more people awaken, there is absolutely no hope of breaking the iron house."

Lu Xun was deeply moved and fought with his pen until he passed away.

Perhaps this is what a true warrior is.

Someone once said that lower-level practitioners compete in techniques, mid-level practitioners compete in internal strength, and top-level masters compete in vision and breadth of mind.

To be called Special Grade isn't just about Special Grade techniques or Special Grade Cursed Energy—it's also about having a Special Grade spirit and capacity.

Otherwise, how are you any different from human scum like Naoya Zen'in?

In Lu Xun's era, the world was like an iron house about to be burned down. Everywhere was darkness, no way out, no direction in sight.

Even so, he never gave up. Using his pen as a spark, his words as kindling, transforming himself into a lighthouse that cast a ray of light in the darkness.

Compared to his era, though today's jujutsu world is rotten and unbearable, it is not pitch-black to the point where one can't see their hand.

There are still those seeking change, still those willing to burn themselves as lighthouses, illuminating the darkness.

And Akira holds just such a spark in his hand, one that can set the prairie ablaze—a spark capable of spreading.

With only three Pokémon he managed to push Suguru Geto this far. What if he hatches and raises all nine eggs, plus the Swablu, making ten in total? What kind of scene would that be?

On that basis, if the number of Pokémon continues to rise, and he can give trustworthy Jujutsu Sorcerers their own Pokémon partners...

Perhaps it's possible to usher in an entirely new era.

Maybe this is just daydreaming. After all, the system's mechanism remains unexplained, and the acquisition speed of Pokémon is not particularly fast.

But one must have dreams. When Lu Xun abandoned medicine for literature, did he know he would certainly succeed?

When Yuki Tsukumo, Satoru Gojo, and Suguru Geto fought for their obsessions, did they know they would certainly succeed?

Moreover, for Akira at present, even if he fails, he won't be left with nothing.

"When impoverished, keep oneself upright; when successful, help the world." (A paraphrase of a classical Chinese ideal.)

"We should all become strong, and then do something for this world."

In his mind, a faint voice echoed.

Akira walked out of the museum, out from beneath the shade cast by the trees planted by those who came before. He tilted his head back at a forty-five-degree angle, gazing at the scorching sun in the sky that compelled people to retreat.

Within his body, amid the Cursed Energy formed from resentment at having no talent and anger at life's circumstances, a brand-new seed was quietly sprouting.

"My heart is bright."