Today, 4:19 AM.
“The situation is much more… severe than I anticipated,” Kenjaku chuckled, resting his cheek against his hand as he lounged in a beach chair.
On this tropical island born from an Innate Domain, the Disaster Curses and Kenjaku were holding another meeting.
The reason?
Intel relayed from one of Kenjaku’s pawns planted within the Big Three Families.
—[Satoru Gojo has suddenly appeared and attacked the Jujutsu Headquarters’ higher-ups!!]
“What does that mean? Is Gojo becoming a curse user? Is there a chance we can recruit him?” Jogo asked, his brain perpetually running on a high-temperature overload causing him to ask a question that thoroughly exposed his intellect.
Right now, Jogo was full of confidence and had a very unrealistic view of his own strength.
But because Kenjaku kept talking about how strong Satoru Gojo was, Jogo started to take it seriously.
When he heard the news, he actually thought they might be able to get Gojo on their side.
But every time Jogo tries to think things through, Kenjaku just laughs.
“No. Gojo isn’t declaring war on the Jujutsu world. Instead, he’s using the most direct and brutal way to take full control. He doesn’t even care about the hidden risks that come with such a violent move.”
Kenjaku took a sip of his cold juice and set it on the table beside his chair.
“This is also… strange.”
“In just one night, Satoru Gojo did two things he never should have done.”
Kenjaku held up one finger.
“First, Gojo shouldn’t even know we exist. Still, he hid for hours, waiting for us to show up. He also shouldn’t know that ‘I’—Suguru Geto—am still alive. He didn’t destroy the mindless, low-level cursed spirit I sent right away, maybe because he didn’t want to alert the enemy. But as soon as that curse was about to leave, he showed himself and exorcised it.”
Kenjaku chuckled.
“So, we can guess he wasn’t sure the curse was being controlled. But he knew someone nearby could control a low-level curse. None of you Special Grades can control a mindless cursed spirit from far away. Only I can.”
“To keep a cursed spirit that might belong to me from escaping with whatever intel it had gathered, he threw away hours of careful stealth just to eliminate it.”
Jogo tried to think, his mind working overtime.
Hanami stayed quiet.
Only Mahito looked thoughtful.
“Second,” Kenjaku said, raising another finger.
“Gojo never should have attacked the Jujutsu Headquarters. He had no reason to do it now. For the past eleven years—since I became a curse user—he’s always wanted to change the Jujutsu world by teaching the next generation.”
“What could make him suddenly throw away a plan he’s followed for eleven years??”
Jogo tried to answer, “Uh… maybe he lost his mind? Or got blackout drunk and snapped?”
Kenjaku looked at him with no emotion.
It was the same look a teacher gives to students in the back row who stopped caring long ago.
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle—
The volcano on Jogo’s head started to bubble.
‘What’s with that look?
We’re supposed to be partners, not students in your class!’
Kenjaku ignored Jogo’s angry glare.
Let’s not bother the students who actually want to learn.
Mahito, the top student among the Cursed Spirits, spoke up to answer:
“Satoru Gojo has a short-term plan that needs the whole Jujutsu world, and it’s not just about fighting power. He needs people, resources, and since the Jujutsu world is special in human society, Gojo can use his authority to get support from the government. As for his real goal…”
Mahito blinked playfully.
“Based on his first strange move, he’s probably coming after us. Am I right, Geto-sensei~?”
Kenjaku stood up, laughing softly.
“Correct.”
“Since our opponent is speeding things up, we can’t just stick to our old plan. Jogo, take Hanami and Dagon to the edge of Tokyo Jujutsu High and wait there.”
“Whatever Gojo is planning, it’s happening too fast. There’s no way he told everyone ahead of time. He’ll need time to explain and organize things, and that’s your chance to act.”
“Wait for my signal. Use Hanami’s ability to hide your presence and sneak into Tokyo Jujutsu High.”
Kyoto Jujutsu High.
12:47 PM.
The Lecture Hall.
Watching the principals of the Tokyo and Kyoto branches, Masamichi Yaga and Yoshinobu Gakuganji, leave the lecture hall together, the remaining sorcerers were left in a state of awkward silence.
Among the Kamo Clan members, one person discreetly sent out a text message.
[Students, teachers, and principals of Jujutsu High, along with select Grade 1 and Grade 2 sorcerers, plus the heads of the Kamo and Zen’in clans. The aforementioned personnel have departed, suspected to be answering a summons from Satoru Gojo.]
The perimeter of the Tokyo Jujutsu High barrier.
12:48 PM.
One of the twin cursed spirits Jogo held in his hand suddenly dissolved into ash.
Jogo looked up, his singular eye fixed on the campus.
“Let’s move, just like Geto said.”
Hanami spoke in that bizarre, incomprehensible dialect—yet the true meaning of the words resonated directly in the listeners’ minds, ringing out in the voice of a gentle, mature woman.
“I will conceal our presence.”
Spiraling roots extended outward, surrounding them as they advanced.
The three Special Grade curses blatantly stepped through the barrier.
The Jujutsu High barrier did not react in the slightest.
Jogo was used to this.
It was Hanami’s unique trait.
In the words of Mahito, who read far too many human books, Hanami was basically a ‘Fairy Genus Cursed Spirit’—capable of perfectly mimicking the natural presence of the environment.
“Maintain stealth,” Jogo said, pulling out a tool-type cursed spirit Kenjaku had provided.
“We need to move fast. Find the location of the Cursed Warehouse as quickly as possible.”
“And then… we take Sukuna’s vessel!!”