An hour later, Sherlock was crouching obediently on the training field with two black eyes and enough bumps on his head to make him look like he’d lost a fight with a staircase.
There were even tears of grievance in his eyes.
On the other side of the field, Masamichi Yaga was bowing repeatedly to the production staff, apologizing and trying to explain the ridiculous misunderstanding while cleaning up yet another disaster caused by his student and his student’s student.
The two performers looked more amused than angry.
Once they finally understood what had happened, their disappointment was obvious, but they still walked over to Sherlock and took a photo with him as consolation for the reckless kid who had gone through so much trouble trying to attend their event.
As for Gojo Satoru?
The sheltered Six Eyes heir had gone bright red the moment he understood the situation.
After beating Sherlock thoroughly enough to satisfy his embarrassment, he immediately fled.
According to Gojo, there was “something important” he needed to handle at the Gojo estate.
Obviously, none of this could have happened without someone from the clan getting involved.
The proud and supposedly dignified bearer of the Six Eyes had nearly been accidentally launched into the entertainment industry because of one of his own relatives.
Gojo couldn’t let that slide.
Even after taking his frustration out on the shameless brat responsible for buying all those collector’s editions in the first place, he was still furious.
As for the production company?
What could they do?
The impossibly handsome white-haired man had clearly turned out to be someone they really shouldn’t provoke.
And Sherlock, the actual person who had wanted the invitation, was too young to participate anyway.
So there was nothing left to do but accept Yaga’s repeated apologies and leave.
Sherlock’s dream had been shattered once again.
Worse, he couldn’t even retreat to the infirmary and ask Shoko to treat the collection of injuries Gojo had left on his head.
Before Sherlock could escape the training field, Yaga caught him.
And so the poor boy was dragged straight into the principal’s office for another lecture.
Across two lifetimes, Sherlock had been scolded by plenty of teachers.
But this was the first time he’d ever been personally lectured by a principal.
As for the genius Gojo clansman responsible for the misunderstanding…
Well.
Gojo returned home with his face still burning from embarrassment and beat the poor idiot senseless.
Strangely enough, something unexpected happened afterward.
No one was quite sure what Gojo said during that conversation, but by the time it ended, that same young clan member had somehow become one of the strongest supporters of Gojo within the entire family.
Even Gojo seemed confused by the result.
His expression suggested that he’d bitten into something terrible and couldn’t figure out why everyone else was calling it delicious.
The beginning had been a mistake.
The entire process had been a mistake.
Yet somehow, the ending wasn’t actually that bad.
It just felt deeply wrong.
If things had stopped there, the whole incident would’ve eventually faded into another embarrassing story.
Unfortunately…
Shoko had taken a photograph.
That same evening, the picture appeared on a private forum used by people in the jujutsu world.
And the title looked like something ripped directly from the worst clickbait site imaginable.
SHOCKING!
THE STRONGEST SORCERER OF THE MODERN ERA, SIX EYES HEIR AND GOD-TIER BEAUTY GOJO SATORU IS MAKING HIS ENTERTAINMENT DEBUT?!
Within half an hour, the post exploded.
It shot straight to the top of the forum.
There was a photo.
There were witnesses.
There was just enough evidence to make the whole thing believable.
Some particularly dedicated degenerates even managed to identify the two women in the background from nothing more than their blurred silhouettes.
The moment their identities were posted, the thread went completely out of control.
Gojo becoming some kind of model or celebrity wasn’t unimaginable.
With his face, people would’ve accepted that.
What no one had expected was the particular industry the post seemed to imply.
That was what made it irresistible.
Gojo’s former classmates started calling.
Members of families connected to the Gojo clan began asking questions.
People who didn’t have Gojo’s personal number started contacting the clan directly.
Even the higher-ups demanded an explanation.
By the time Gojo realized something had gone terribly wrong, it was already too late.
Fortunately, the angle of the photograph made one thing easy to determine.
Who had taken it.
“SHOKOOOOOOOOO!” A roar unlike anything the Gojo estate had heard in its entire history thundered across the compound.
Meanwhile…
Somewhere else in Tokyo, Suguru Geto had finally finished an exhausting day.
He had only recently taken control of the Star Religious Group and was now juggling far too many responsibilities at once.
Managing the organization.
Expanding its influence.
Looking after two children.
And maintaining everything expected of a Special Grade curse user operating outside jujutsu society.
By the time evening arrived, Suguru finally had a chance to relax.
After showering, he poured himself a cup of hot tea and settled onto the sofa.
He opened the jujutsu forum, intending to see what sort of nonsense the higher-ups had gotten themselves into today.
The first thing he saw was Gojo Satoru’s face on the front page.
“PFFT!” Tea sprayed across the table.
Suguru stared at the screen.
Then he immediately opened the thread.
He read the first post.
Then the second.
Then the comments.
Carefully.
Very carefully.
When he reached the section where users had identified the two women and explained exactly what kind of “debut” Gojo had supposedly been preparing for…
Suguru lost control again.
“PFFT!” More tea went everywhere.
He hurriedly wiped down the table before sinking back into the sofa in his dark robes.
For several seconds, Suguru simply stared into space.
His expression became stranger by the moment.
Eventually, he looked through the window at the night outside.
“Satoru…” His voice was solemn.
“Have you really gotten that lonely?” Silence.
Then Suguru broke first.
A laugh escaped him.
Then another.
Soon he was openly laughing.
Because as Gojo’s former best friend, Suguru knew exactly what kind of person that white-haired idiot really was.
Gojo acted shameless.
He flirted with boundaries.
He enjoyed making people uncomfortable.
But when it came to anything genuinely personal?
The man was far more reserved than anyone would’ve guessed.
So there was absolutely no chance Gojo had arranged this himself.
Which meant something much more entertaining had happened behind the scenes.
And if there was a story behind it…
Suguru wanted the full version.
There was a reason he and Gojo had once gotten along so well.
Suguru Geto was hardly innocent himself.
The instant he realized there was probably an incredible story hiding behind the post, the newly appointed leader of the Star Religious Group immediately contacted one of his older acquaintances.
Mei Mei.
A little money changed hands.
In return, Suguru received a much more complete account of what had happened.
Along with all publicly available information on the boy named Sherlock.
By the time Suguru finished reading the whole story, he was laughing again.
Really laughing.
Not the polite smile he wore for followers.
Not the cold amusement he showed enemies.
A genuine, unrestrained laugh.
It was probably the first time he’d laughed that freely since leaving Jujutsu High.
When Suguru had originally heard that Gojo stayed behind and became a teacher, he’d thought the idea sounded absurd.
Gojo Satoru?
Teaching children?
That alone had seemed like a recipe for disaster.
But somehow…
Gojo’s very first student had already turned into his natural predator.
This was the first time Suguru had ever seen Satoru’s reputation suffer this kind of catastrophic damage.
As his former best friend, Suguru immediately felt a moral obligation to make things worse.
He opened the forum again, fully intending to spread a few carefully chosen rumors and throw more fuel onto the fire.
Unfortunately…
The thread was gone.
Deleted.
Suguru stared at the empty page.
“Boring.” He set his phone aside and leaned back against the sofa.
For a while, he simply stared at the ceiling.
Then a faint smile appeared.
“Sherlock, huh?” His eyes narrowed slightly with amusement.
“I’m actually looking forward to meeting you.” “Satoru’s first student…” Suguru chuckled.
“You must be an interesting kid.”