“Mahito was killed by Gojo Satoru.”
The words from ‘Geto Suguru’ fell like a single drop of water onto a calm lake, sending ripples spreading outward.
“That damn Gojo—why was he there?!”
Jogo, the Special Grade cursed spirit with a volcanic crater crowning his head, glared with his single central eye bulging wide in fury.
The temperature around him steadily rose in tandem with his agitated emotions.
Yes.
Why had Gojo Satoru been there?
‘Geto’ unconsciously rubbed his chin, sinking into thought.
As far as he knew, the ones assigned to investigate this incident were merely one Grade 1 sorcerer, Sukuna’s vessel, and an utterly unremarkable Grade 3 sorcerer.
Gojo, meanwhile, should have been out of the area handling other assignments.
Logically, there was no way he could have suddenly appeared there.
Could it be that the human Mahito had been grooming had confessed everything?
No.
Setting aside how long the process of interrogation, intelligence gathering, report submission, problem identification, and follow-up investigation would take, that human simply didn’t know anything to begin with.
He had just been strung along by Mahito, nothing more.
Furthermore, after learning of Mahito’s death, ‘Geto’ had quietly visited the area to investigate.
The cursed energy residuals in that vicinity had already been thoroughly cleansed.
There was no useful intelligence to be found.
However, he did uncover one new point of suspicion—
The area showed almost no traces of battle whatsoever.
By “traces of battle,” he meant the damage to surrounding buildings or the environment that typically occurred during combat.
Unlike cursed energy residuals, these things could not possibly be repaired or cleaned up in a short span of time.
Mahito, as a Special Grade cursed spirit, had only recently been born.
His abilities were still developing.
Against Gojo Satoru, he would have had absolutely no chance of victory.
On that point, ‘Geto’ had no doubt.
But…
not even traces of destruction to the surrounding buildings?
If his memory hadn’t failed him, neither Mahito nor Gojo Satoru fought in a style particularly known for caring about avoiding collateral damage to the environment.
Of course, if Gojo had deployed his Domain the very instant the battle began and eradicated Mahito within it, that would indeed leave the surrounding buildings and environment untouched.
But that possibility was very low.
Absolute power had given Gojo absolute confidence—or rather, arrogance.
As such, he would never act so cautiously.
So, what was the explanation?
Gojo Satoru, who shouldn’t have been there.
And a battle scene that was utterly inconsistent with Gojo’s style, practically devoid of any trace of combat…
“…Perhaps it wasn’t Gojo Satoru.”
‘Geto’ suddenly spoke, drawing everyone’s attention instantly.
“What do you mean?
Are you saying the one who killed Mahito wasn’t Gojo?!”
“Impossible!
Other than Gojo, the rest of the jujutsu world’s lot are nothing but worthless trash!”
Jogo’s first reaction was disbelief.
As a Special Grade cursed spirit born from humanity’s negative emotions toward volcanoes, he had been among the pinnacle of cursed spirits since birth.
And Mahito, a cursed spirit born from humanity’s fear of “humans” as a collective, had likewise stood at the apex of cursed spirit hierarchy from the very beginning.
“Don’t underestimate the sorcerers.
Besides, this is merely a conjecture of mine,” ‘Geto’ said.
Even as he spoke, he was constructing an image in his mind—Mahito, and Gojo Satoru.
And between them, a pitch-black silhouette slowly rose.
An unknown, mysterious existence.
Someone who had annihilated Mahito in an instant using some unidentified method…
after which Gojo had helped cover up the traces.
Could it be a hidden trump card that Gojo had been keeping up his sleeve?
The strongest sorcerer in the jujutsu world—that insufferably arrogant Gojo Satoru—would he really keep a hidden trump card for himself?
‘Geto’ couldn’t rule out that possibility.
On the other side, the Special Grade cursed spirit Hanami spoke.
With branches protruding from its eye sockets and a visage both ferocious and hideous, it possessed a gentle, feminine voice.
“The question now is—what do we do next?
Do we proceed according to the original plan?”
Hanami had raised a crucial point.
In their original plan, Mahito and the Sukuna finger he carried on his person had both been vital components.
Not only that, but it was precisely because Mahito existed that they had been able to persuade that person to help them gather intelligence on the jujutsu world and coordinate their various machinations.
But now, Mahito was dead.
After a long silence, ‘Geto’ finally spoke.
“…Next, we shall—”
….
The interrogation of Yoshino Junpei had progressed splendidly. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Or rather, there was practically no progression at all—it had essentially been complete from the very start.
After Nagi told Junpei about the night she had nearly been killed by Mahito, he finally awakened to the truth.
He was deeply shaken by how readily he had once fraternized with Mahito, and expressed endless gratitude to Gojo Satoru for saving his mother.
And so, he confessed everything he had experienced during this period without holding anything back.
His cursed energy had only awakened recently.
His presence in the same theater hall as the victims was purely an unadulterated coincidence.
The entire murder case had absolutely nothing to do with him.
However, it was precisely because of that incident that he had come to know the true mastermind behind the case—Mahito, who had already been killed by Gojo.
He had been frequently bullied at school and had few real friends.
Not wanting to worry Nagi, he had never told her about his situation, simply shouldering everything alone in silence.
And on the day of the movie theater incident, he had run into Mahito by chance and witnessed with his own eyes as Mahito used his cursed technique to transform the victims into monsters.
Yet faced with such an eerie, abnormal event, he had been blinded by an impulse deep within.
He had actively pursued Mahito and struck up a conversation.
And for reasons unknown, Mahito hadn’t simply killed him on the spot.
The two had thus naturally begun to converse.
It was during this time that Mahito had taught him the basics of wielding cursed energy and helped him manifest his own technique.
As for why he had nearly attacked his teacher that day—it was because the teacher, wholly ignorant of the truth, had mistaken the very people bullying him at school for his friends.
He had even found it strange that Junpei showed no concern for them.
This had driven Junpei into a rage, and under that impulse, he had acted as he did.
“…Learning to use cursed techniques from a cursed spirit.
What kind of horror-comedy is this?”
Even the famously steady Nanami Kento couldn’t help but make a dry remark after hearing Junpei’s account.
Though, to be fair, there didn’t seem to be any rule in the jujutsu world explicitly forbidding the study of cursed techniques under a cursed spirit.
As for the final issues—the bullying and the attempted assault on a teacher—Nanami was not inclined to pass judgment, nor did he have any intention of doing so.
At the very least, in terms of results, Junpei’s actions had been stopped by Yuji and Ritsuka.
No one had been hurt.
No one had died.
“So, what do you intend to do?”
Nanami looked at Gojo.
Though Gojo didn’t technically have the authority to handle such matters, if Gojo wanted something done, no one could stop him.
Looking at the mother and son huddled together, a grin of keen interest spread across Gojo’s face.
“Isn’t it obvious?”