Day 3 of the mission.
2:00 p.m.
Everyone was still in high spirits as they walked out of the aquarium. Riko Amanai pulled out her itinerary and enthusiastically crossed out the last item—"whale watching."
Now then… where to next?
They'd already been to the beach, gone boating, and visited the aquarium—everything on the "recommended by friends" list was checked off.
She suddenly felt a little aimless.
Looking up at Misato Kuroi, then at Sōjun Minamoto and the others…
Maybe this was enough?
Sōjun took out his phone and gave it a casual wave. "The bounty's been lifted."
It had been canceled back at 11 a.m. It should've been good news, but it left the group in uneasy silence. Over three hours had passed since then. All that was left now was to escort Riko Amanai safely back to Jujutsu High.
"Let's head back," Sōjun said again.
It was time to face reality—whether that meant assimilation or whatever else awaited.
"Let's go. Thank you all for humoring me these past couple of days and putting up with my nonsense. I really had fun!"
...
At the base of Mt. Enzan.
The group returned around 4 p.m.
It was still cold in March, the breeze carrying a bite of lingering winter. Off in the distance, the sky had dimmed into a hazy yellow—sunset blending into the rising full moon.
Tomorrow promised to be clear.
This time, the path into Jujutsu High was different from before.
They arrived at a vermillion torii gate, the entrance to a winding mountain path stretching deep into Mt. Enzan, its end hidden from sight. A series of red torii gates lined the trail. No signs were needed—just follow the path forward, and it would lead to the main hall at the summit.
The group walked in silence, step after step up the stairs, crossing under the final torii gate and officially entering the Jujutsu High barrier, arriving at the worship hall.
"We're inside the Jujutsu High barrier now," Suguru Geto explained, breaking the tense quiet.
"Whew! That's a relief!" Riko clenched her fist and smiled.
"…"
"Don't ever drag me into something like this again. I'm not babysitting any more brats," Satoru Gojo muttered, glancing to the side.
"Huh?!" Riko puffed up, hands on her hips.
Sōjun shoved Gojo aside on instinct, but it was too late—a blade drove clean through his body, barely missing any vital organs.
The attacker was too fast.
No way…
They were inside the Jujutsu High barrier!
Everyone stared at the intruder in shock.
The man wore a carefree smirk, but a vertical scar running from his lip down added an edge of menace to his face.
These people relied too much on cursed energy—and trusted Jujutsu High far too much.
Sōjun reacted first, pushing Gojo aside and shielding Riko and Kuroi behind him. Geto summoned a worm-type cursed spirit.
"Have we met before?" Gojo asked, sweat trickling down his temple, yet a wild grin tugging at his lips. He lowered his sunglasses, eyes flicking up to scan the man, bits of memory stirring.
"No need to worry. I'm just as bad at remembering men's names." The man's grin deepened, his expression unreadable, somewhere between amused and indifferent.
...
Toji Fushiguro. Known as the Sorcerer Killer. He possessed a rare Heavenly Restriction—one in a million.
A natural, binding vow. Zero innate cursed energy. In exchange, all physical limits were removed, granting him monstrous strength and unmatched athletic ability.
Because of that, he could slip through Jujutsu High's barrier without setting off any alarms.
"I've been waiting a long time for this," Toji said. A long, worm-like cursed spirit clung to his shoulder—its head a grotesquely large human face.
He couldn't see curses. But with his sharpened senses, he didn't need to—he could feel their presence. With the help of cursed tools and overwhelming physical power, he tamed cursed spirits through brute force.
His first strike had landed clean. Toji stepped back half a pace.
He tossed the long blade aside. The cursed spirit on his shoulder opened its mouth and spat out a hilt. Toji caught it and drew a new sword.
A storage-type cursed spirit?
"Over a decade ago, that Six Eyes brat from the Gojo clan set off a chain reaction in the jujutsu world. I dropped by to see what the fuss was about. That was the only time in my life someone sensed me standing behind them."
He shot a glance at Sōjun before turning his attention back to Gojo.
"That's why I had to weaken you—dull your senses."
He was the mastermind behind this entire mission.
First, he put out a massive bounty to draw in waves of curse users, exhausting and distracting Gojo and the others. Then, just as the mission was ending, he canceled it—making them relax. He arrived at Jujutsu High ahead of them, unleashed a swarm of cursed spirits to keep the remaining staff busy, and lay in wait at the gate.
Only when they returned and fully let their guard down did he strike.
It worked perfectly—his strongest opponent was already half-crippled.
Geto stepped forward, ready to fight alongside Gojo, but Gojo stopped him. "I'm fine. You guys go on ahead to Tengen-sama."
"But—"
Toji didn't give them time. In a flash, he was in front of the worm spirit, slicing it in two. His body passed clean through the cursed spirit, blood and viscera spraying around him—then it vanished, curse dispelled.
Geto felt it—its soul had been obliterated in that instant.
A Special Grade cursed tool—one capable of striking souls. The Split Soul Katana?
Weapons with such power and unique effects were rare and well-documented. Anyone who had studied them would recognize them instantly.
Toji shoved the katana back into the cursed spirit's mouth and drew another weapon—a strange, broken blade.
The Inverted Spear of Heaven. Capable of forcibly canceling active techniques.
He quickly assessed the situation.
The Star Plasma Vessel was under the protection of that strange sorcerer—hard to approach. The maid was just a regular person. The kid with the cursed spirits could be annoying, but wasn't a real threat. Only Gojo…
He had to go first.
"Leave this to me. You go," Gojo said again to Geto.
Sōjun had already begun to retreat, shielding Riko and the others. He understood Gojo perfectly. Forget the mission, forget the injuries. Against an opponent like this, all that mattered was the fight—to kill or be killed.
So long as that craving was satisfied, nothing else mattered.
Sōjun's blood was pounding too, but he stayed rational. "Let's go."
Geto hesitated, glancing back and forth—but in the end, followed them out.
…
Satoru Gojo formed a spiraling orb of light in his palm and hurled it toward Toji Fushiguro.
Toji dodged with ease, using only his physical strength to hover midair for a moment before landing atop a nearby rooftop.
"Fine. I'll kill you first, then go after the others."
"Oh yeah?" Gojo's grin twisted with menace, though his heart sank.
He's fast. And weird. There's not a trace of cursed energy in him—Six Eyes can't even read his movements.
"I know all about your techniques," Toji said, effortlessly dodging the attack. "The Gojo Clan—one of the Three Great Clans. But really, do any of these so-called great clans still bother refining their inherited techniques?"
He moved in, suddenly appearing right in front of Gojo. His elbow came crashing down.
Gojo barely managed to raise his arms to block. The blow hit with such force that his knees bent under the pressure.
"Come on, isn't it time you showed me something new?"
Gojo straightened up, wiping blood from his forehead. "So, you made all these secret preparations just to stand here and talk tough?"
"So what? As long as I kill you, that's enough." Toji scoffed. "Only weaklings care about what others think."
"You're not wrong." Gojo's grin returned as he watched Toji dart across the rooftops and leap into the forest beyond.
Too fast.
No cursed energy, no trace to sense—but maybe… If he could track the residual cursed energy from that storage-type cursed spirit…
"No choice, then…"
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue."
Gojo clapped his hands together, condensing a glowing blue sphere between his palms. His gaze scanned the forest, sharp and focused.
There!
He pointed. A crushing force erupted forward. Stones and splintered trees exploded outward, and the dense forest was blasted into a massive crater.
With the cover blown, the view opened wide—yet Toji was nowhere to be seen.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzzbuzzbuzzbuzzbuzz...
A low drone filled the air. Swarms of Fly Heads surged toward Gojo from all directions.
He even accounted for this? Using the Fly Heads to mask the cursed energy trail from the storage spirit—now he couldn't locate him at all.
Gojo scanned the area, tense. No sign of the enemy.
Wait…!!
Don't tell me—his target is Riko?!
What—?
Suddenly, it felt like electricity surged across Gojo's skin, needles stabbing into every nerve. Danger.
He spun around.
[Blue] responded immediately—but was instantly neutralized.
A strange, jagged blade had forcibly canceled the technique.
Then—
The broken blade drove straight through his throat.
Splurt.
Gojo grabbed the blade with both hands.
Shhhk.
The blade was pulled out.
Splurt.
It pierced through his chest.
Splurt. Shhhk. Splurt.
Then his abdomen. His thigh.
Shhhk.
Toji shoved Gojo back with one hand, casually flicking the blood from the blade. It splattered across the gravel.
"Not bad. Starting to feel right again."
He glanced toward the depths of Jujutsu High.
Gojo lay motionless at his feet, blood pooling beneath him.