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"The plan was a success. He really did escape."

The Prophecy Cursed Technique was considered heretical in Jujutsu Society, but even so, everyone understood just how powerful it was. After Kamiki Yūhaku reached the outside world, he was discovered by Jujutsu High. He became a Special Grade Prophet after entering the school, and with his own powerful Cursed Energy, he was practically unstoppable.

Only the people within the Kamiki Clan searched for the traitors like mad.

"Then what happened to the Kamiki Clan that made it..." get wiped out?

"I don't know." Ishii Ryū set his white cane beside him. "I only remember that day, when we were caught for letting Yūhaku go. But the clan head didn't punish us. He only told us he'd found a way to coexist with Yūhaku."

"As long as Yūhaku came back and made a new Binding Vow with them, it would override the original one. Yūhaku would return to the main family and could even become the next clan head."

"Seriously? You believed that?" Satoru Gojo sighed.

"We were too naive back then. After all, we were all children." Ishii Ryū didn't argue, but his voice was full of guilt. "We found him and told him the 'good news,' hoping we could meet. Of course, we weren't that foolish. We actually arranged to meet outside."

"But the people from the Kamiki Clan were following us..."

At that point, Ishii Ryū could barely continue.

Thirty years had passed, and he had been blind for thirty years, yet that image still lingered in his mind, refusing to fade.

"Yūhaku's Cursed Energy suddenly disappeared. While we were wondering what was happening, Yūhaku shouted for us to run, saying something was wrong. Then, then..."

"As Yukimi was pulling me away, I saw an arrow pierce Yūhaku's body. Yukimi pushed us away and told us to run, then went back to help Yūhaku. Yukimi was already a semi-grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer at the time. We thought that, no matter what, the Kamiki Clan wouldn't abandon him, so we let him go."

"Later, we were caught by other Jujutsu Sorcerers and heard that the Kamiki Clan was gone. But Yūhaku and Yukimi never came back."

"That happened to be when Cursed Spirits were breaking out. Our surnames were changed, and we were sent to support the Jujutsu Sorcerers fighting the Cursed Spirits. Shen and Yan Ya died on the battlefield, and I was forced to retire after being badly injured."

Satoru Gojo listened, then spoke after a moment. "Why did you only ask whether the person named Kamiki Yūhaku was still in Jujutsu Society? Why didn't you ask about Kamiki Yukimi?"

"Because if Yūhaku wasn't dead, he would never let Yukimi die."

As Ishii Ryū spoke, tears streamed down his face. "As long as Yūhaku is alive, Yukimi must still be alive too."

They got in the car and left the slum. Kiyotaka Ijichi was still doubling as their driver, and as he drove back, he considered the possibility that Principal Yaga would take his anger out on him when they returned.

Principal Yaga was a reasonable man. Surely he wouldn't make things difficult for him?

"Gojo-sensei, did that Special Grade Cursed Spirit who can see the future die there?"

"Most likely." Satoru Gojo sighed helplessly. "I never expected him to be killed after being set up by his own family. What a pointless death."

Yuji Itadori lowered his head. "But, Gojo-sensei, you didn't tell him the person he was looking for was already dead, or that he's a Special Grade Cursed Spirit now. You didn't tell him that the person named Yukimi wasn't actually on the list of survivors, either."

"There was no need to tell him." Satoru Gojo spoke quite casually.

Still, he had taken note of something Ishii Ryū had said.

When it happened, something had gone wrong with Kamiki Yūhaku's Cursed Energy. His Cursed Energy had disappeared, leaving him unable to fight back. Kamiki Yūhaku was a Special Grade Prophet not only because of his Prophecy Cursed Technique; he also had far more Cursed Energy than a normal person. That was why, after Kamiki Yūhaku left that specially constructed Forbidden Ground, it had been difficult for the Kamiki Clan to capture him again.

Whether or not his Cursed Energy had only disappeared briefly, it shouldn't have happened at all.

"Ijichi, take Yuji back to Jujutsu High. I have something to do."

"Huh? But!" Before Kiyotaka Ijichi could react, Satoru Gojo had vanished from the car. Yuji Itadori blinked and met Ijichi's gaze in the rearview mirror.

Kiyotaka Ijichi gave an awkward laugh. "I'll take you back to Jujutsu High."

"Are you afraid of me?" Yuji Itadori looked at him in confusion. "I can understand being afraid of Gojo-sensei, but why are you afraid of me?"

"Um, about what happened before, I'm sorry." Kiyotaka Ijichi apologized quietly as he drove. "If I hadn't taken you all on that mission, maybe you wouldn't have..."

"Okay, I forgive you."

"Huh?"

"That's that." Yuji Itadori smiled and patted the back of Kiyotaka Ijichi's seat. "Don't worry about it, don't worry about it. Dr. Shoko told me about it before, so I know you didn't have a choice either, Mr. Ijichi. Besides, I was already sentenced to death."

Kiyotaka Ijichi's eyes filled with tears as he drove. "Sob, Miss Shoko, thank you."

Meanwhile, Satoru Gojo stood in midair above the Kamiki Clan's Former Residence. He descended from the sky, then put his hands in his pockets and walked forward.

The last time he had come here, Kamiki Yūhaku had been with him. At the time, he had thought Kamiki Yūhaku had returned because he was still attached to the Kamiki Clan. But now, it seemed that, far from feeling any attachment, it was a wonder Kamiki Yūhaku hadn't torn the place up by the roots.

Kamiki Yūhaku must have had another reason for coming here.

Stepping over the weeds and heading inside, Satoru Gojo casually surveyed his surroundings with his Six Eyes. There was no Cursed Residue here, which meant no Cursed Spirits had been born nearby.

But honestly, he hadn't paid it much attention last time. This time, he couldn't ignore it.

Wasn't it a little too clean here?

The Kamiki Clan had been wiped out overnight, and so many people had died. How could not even one or two Cursed Spirits have been born? Even if Jujutsu Society had taken measures back then, it shouldn't have been this clean. Thinking of that, Satoru Gojo rubbed his chin. A moment later, he raised his head and looked at a spot not far away.

There seemed to be no trace of Cursed Energy there.

Walking through the weeds, Satoru Gojo reached the spot in an instant.

Once he arrived, the strange feeling grew even more apparent. He could clearly feel his Cursed Energy being suppressed, and the farther in he went, the stronger the suppression became. To his Six Eyes, an invisible wall of air was blocking all the Cursed Energy from entering this area.

It was like a specially constructed confinement room.

At that thought, Satoru Gojo suddenly realized this might be the Forbidden Ground Ishii Ryū had mentioned, the place where a large number of cursed talismans and Sealed Objects had been used to suppress Kamiki Yūhaku.

Could Kamiki Yūhaku have come here last time for this very place?

With his hands in his pockets, Satoru Gojo walked forward and soon reached the center of the area. His Cursed Energy was suppressed to its limit, and there was hardly a sound around him.

"There should be more to it than this," Satoru Gojo said. A moment later, he turned around. In a corner not far behind him, a small mass of curse was curled up, seemingly on the brink of death because of the surrounding installations.

It didn't react at all when Satoru Gojo walked over.

"What a bother. My Reverse Cursed Technique can't heal other people, much less Cursed Spirits." Satoru Gojo opened his hand. "No choice, then. I'll break a little piece of this seal for you. After that, recover on your own."

The installations here naturally couldn't hold Satoru Gojo down. Even while suppressed, he was still the strongest.

And so a piece of the seal in the Cursed Spirit's corner was broken. Through the gap, Cursed Energy from outside quickly poured in, steadily healing the Cursed Spirit, which could barely move. Soon, before Satoru Gojo's eyes, it began to recover bit by bit.

Just then, Satoru Gojo held out his arm, and a Cursed Tool fell to the ground. He turned to look to the side. Kamiki Yūhaku stood there, his dark green eyes devoid of emotion.

"Oh, Gojo, what are you doing here?"

"You say that so casually, but you didn't hold back at all when you attacked me with a Cursed Tool."

"You have Limitless, Gojo. I couldn't have hit you anyway." Kamiki Yūhaku walked toward him. "So, Gojo, why are you here?"

"Because I found something interesting, of course." Satoru Gojo looked at the Cursed Spirit, which was still recovering. "Like a Cursed Spirit sealed here."

Kamiki Yūhaku showed no sign of being pleased or displeased. He merely watched the Cursed Spirit, his expression calm. "Since when have you been interested in Cursed Spirits, Gojo?"

"I've always been interested in Cursed Spirits."

"Really?" Kamiki Yūhaku smiled. "But that's nothing interesting."

Satoru Gojo didn't mind at all. "You're not me. How do you know I'm not interested?"

Hearing Satoru Gojo's response, Kamiki Yūhaku said nothing more. He simply leaned calmly against a piece of wood nearby, watching the Cursed Spirit recover bit by bit.

The black Cursed Spirit was like dust sprinkled with water, turning from light, floating particles into a pool of mud. The mud twisted and rolled across the ground, swelling until it gradually took the shape of a Cursed Spirit. A huge mouth split open atop its head.

The next moment, the ravings of a low-grade Cursed Spirit rang out.

"Go to hell!"

"Why me? I'm not your mother!"

"If only you'd died when you were born! I gave you your life, so can't you die for me?"

"Die, die, die!"

"It's your fault I ended up like this!"

A woman's voice filled the entire space with abuse. Even Satoru Gojo hadn't expected the Cursed Spirit to say such things once it recovered.

"This curse was born from a woman's intense negative emotions before she died." Kamiki Yūhaku looked at the Cursed Spirit, which was still ranting. "She developed such intense negative emotions because the son she gave birth to and placed such high hopes on was a taboo in the clan, a being who should never have existed."

"In the end, she even had to die for the little monster she'd given birth to. She was filled with grief and indignation."