The Gathering Storm

"I won't bother with threats. Just tell me honestly why you came to steal this sword, who sent you, and if what you tell me is valuable enough, it's not impossible that I'll let you go..."

Standing inside the heavily damaged, nearly unrecognizable school building, Shen Yuanyi spoke to the Curse User lying on the floor without his limbs. Taking Gen Naine's ability to handle things into consideration, Shen Yuanyi had brought the Curse User into the building earlier, leaving the girl and dog outside.

Seeing the other man's utterly disbelieving and disdainful expression, Shen Yuanyi sighed. "Do you know the saying, 'Refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit'?"

The Curse User looked confused. What language had that damn brat just spoken? Shen Yuanyi knew he had not understood it anyway. He was merely amusing himself.

Raising Dojigiri's blade, Shen Yuanyi continued to himself, "Uh... put another way, it's probably 'Don't refuse kindness when it's offered'?"

He gestured, then swung down. Amid the Curse User's terrified screams, Shen Yuanyi took out his phone. The man looked at the screen, at the inside of his nearly exposed skull... Seeing that horrifying sight, terror gripped his heart, and he began trembling so badly that he could no longer form complete sentences.

Compared to such a sight, the pain hardly seemed worth mentioning. Shen Yuanyi adjusted the phone slightly so that he could see more clearly. To the Curse User now, Shen Yuanyi's voice sounded like the whisper of a demon from hell.

"Did trash like you ever imagine that one day this would happen to you? I told you to cooperate earlier. Everyone knows I won't let you go, but there are always things in this world more terrifying than death. Do you really want to try them?"

Looking at the Curse User, whose mind was beginning to unravel, Shen Yuanyi waved a hand and used Cursed Technique Reversal on him. He limited the target to the man's head. The damaged area was not large, so the process went rather smoothly.

Shen Yuanyi slapped him twice, then showed him his fully restored head. The Curse User stared at himself on the screen in disbelief. A thought slowly emerged from his chaotic mind: Reverse Cursed Technique!

How else could his split-open skull have returned to normal? That meant this brat had the ability to restore his limbs as well. The Curse User's resolve began to crumble. Even if the other party had no intention of sparing him, Reverse Cursed Technique meant he would only suffer more torture until he reached his mental limit, and he... definitely would not be able to endure it.

The brat was right. Some things were more terrifying than death!

Just as Shen Yuanyi was preparing to try another method, the Curse User on the ground finally broke down and spoke in a trembling voice. "I'll talk."

"Lord Geto sent me to bring this sword back."

Shen Yuanyi froze for a moment. Geto Suguru. He knew of the man, not only from memories of his past life, but also from the Jujutsu World's records. More importantly, Geto had once been deeply connected to Jujutsu High.

However, he had supposedly formed some sort of religious organization and had not appeared in public for a long time. Yet now he had sent one of his subordinates to seize Dojigiri. Even if Dojigiri might be a Special Grade Cursed Tool, why had he not come to take it himself so easily?

"Why didn't your Lord Geto come himself?"

The Curse User swallowed as he looked at the blade pressed against his forehead. "Lord Geto seems to have been busy with something else recently. Someone else relayed this mission to me."

Before long, Shen Yuanyi had pried the entire story out of the Curse User, whose psychological defenses had completely collapsed. At first, he had controlled a shikigami and sent it into the Gen Family's ancestral residence to steal Dojigiri. Unexpectedly, Gen Naine discovered it. In a strange twist of fate, she had even wounded his shikigami with Dojigiri.

Frightened, and believing there were Jujutsu Sorcerers lying in wait, he had fled like a startled bird. The inexplicable disappearance of his shikigami afterward had made him even more hesitant, but he could not abandon the mission due to Lord Geto's orders.

Then Shen Yuanyi's arrival had undoubtedly made things even more difficult. The Curse User had waited for an opportunity, finally seizing Gen Naine as a hostage after the two became trapped in the curse's Innate Domain and escaped. He had planned to exchange her for Dojigiri before fleeing with the help of his shikigami.

Unfortunately, it had all been pointless. Given the gap between Shen Yuanyi and Gen Naine, even if he had killed Gen Naine immediately, Shen Yuanyi could have dealt with him in an instant and then used Cursed Technique Reversal to save her.

"This sword..."

Shen Yuanyi examined Dojigiri in his hand. It really was quite useful. Nothing he had cut with it earlier had given him even the slightest feeling of resistance. Whether it was hard earth and stone, walls, or a cursed spirit's body reinforced by Cursed Energy, it had all been as effortless as a hot knife through butter.

"Hah... sir! I've already told you everything I know! Please, spare me!"

The Curse User's weak voice pulled Shen Yuanyi from his thoughts. He raised his blade, ready to end the man with a single strike, but then reconsidered. It would be better to inform Gojo-sensei and leave the man for him to handle. Perhaps they could dig up more information. After all, Shen Yuanyi was no professional—he only knew how to use the most primitive fear to force someone to talk.

Shen Yuanyi immediately put on a friendly smile. "Of course. But first, you need to meet someone."

"Who?"

"Gojo Satoru!"

Not long after Shen Yuanyi dragged the Curse User outside to wait, a figure suddenly appeared in his field of vision. A dark blue uniform, eyes covered in bandages, a tall figure topped with white hair.

It was Gojo Satoru, the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer of the modern era. The Curse User nearly despaired as he lay there. Gojo Satoru was hardly synonymous with kindness.

To Jujutsu Sorcerers, he might represent reliability and security, an anchor holding everything steady. But to Curse Users and cursed spirits, Gojo Satoru was a merciless natural disaster!

"Is this him?"

After greeting the somewhat stunned Gen Naine, Gojo Satoru turned and looked over the grotesquely mutilated Curse User on the ground. Then he tilted his head at Shen Yuanyi. "Yuanyi, aren't you a little too hardcore? Why not just kill him?"

Shen Yuanyi was speechless at Gojo Satoru's disgusted look. "He took a hostage when he had the chance. What else was I supposed to do? Besides, I had information to ask him! Here... this is the sword."

Gojo Satoru took Dojigiri and stared at it for a moment before removing his bandages, revealing those famous Six Eyes. After examining it, he said to Shen Yuanyi, "That's right. It isn't merely a Cursed Tool. It also possesses some characteristics of a Cursed Object. It might truly be capable of bringing about Shuten Doji's revival."

"Legend says the Gen Family's ancestors used it to kill Shuten Doji. Perhaps the Gen Family's bloodline and this Cursed Tool have some sort of connection to it."

Once the cleanup personnel arrived, the Curse User was restrained and taken away. The curtain Shen Yuanyi had set up beforehand meant no ordinary people had noticed the abnormalities, but the cursed spirit had caused extensive damage. They would probably need to use official resources to temporarily relocate the students from this school.

Shen Yuanyi had already told Gojo Satoru the details, and then the three got into the car Ijichi was driving, preparing to return to Jujutsu High.

"W-What? But I haven't told my family yet!"

Gen Naine cried out upon being brought into the car. Gojo Satoru, seated in the front passenger seat, turned around with a smile. "It's fine. It's already too late, so I'll have someone notify your parents. Besides, very dangerous people have set their sights on this sword, and there's a good chance you'll become a target as well. You need to stay at Jujutsu High for now."

"What about my parents and grandfather?" Gen Naine asked anxiously. Gojo Satoru replied as casually as ever, "Don't worry. I'll send people to protect them too. And while many ordinary methods are useless against curses, it's different when it comes to Curse Users."

"If... my guess is correct, you're more likely to be in danger than your family."

Only then did Gen Naine relax somewhat and stop protesting. After they returned to Jujutsu High, Gojo Satoru arranged accommodations for her. There were plenty of empty dorm rooms in the school. Soon, only Shen Yuanyi and Gojo Satoru remained.

"This sword is rather special. It seems extraordinarily sharp, capable of cutting through ordinary Cursed Energy defenses as if they weren't there. But can it really revive Shuten Doji? And how would that work?"

Gojo Satoru put both hands in his pockets. "No idea. Maybe someone has to swallow it, or perhaps the vessel is only one part of the sword. But that isn't what matters. What matters is his objective."

Shen Yuanyi considered it before asking, "Geto Suguru? His technique controls cursed spirits, right? Does he want to revive Shuten Doji, then subdue and control it?"

Gojo Satoru looked out into the night. "Most likely. And judging from what you said, this definitely isn't his only target. He must be plotting to obtain something even more powerful. I'm afraid..."

Smack!

Gojo Satoru slapped Shen Yuanyi on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Yuanyi. Haven't you already discovered the warning signs before this crisis could erupt? We'll definitely stop this conspiracy."

"...I'll head back and sleep first. Sensei, if you get any information out of that Curse User, remember to let me know."

"Oh, right. What do we do with this sword?"

Gojo Satoru shrugged. "You carry it for now. We can't have that girl carrying it, can we? She might get attacked."

Shen Yuanyi's face darkened. "Wouldn't I get attacked if I carry it too?"

Gojo Satoru, already walking away, replied without looking back, "Think of it as fishing. Yuanyi, you can handle it, right?" Then, as though he knew what Shen Yuanyi was about to say, he added, "If I carry it, no one will dare stick their heads out."

Left with no choice, Shen Yuanyi carried Dojigiri back to his dorm. Too lazy to play games, he washed up quickly and went to sleep. When he woke again, it was Panda's voice that roused him.

As Shen Yuanyi got up and began getting ready, Panda chattered away. "Yuanyi, is that girl a new classmate? Gojo-sensei only said she'd follow us for some basic training before leaving."

After heading out with Dojigiri and Panda, Shen Yuanyi gave Panda a rough explanation while taking out his phone to see whether Gojo Satoru had sent any messages.

He soon saw the latest message from two hours earlier, detailing the progress they had made. Combined with the information from this side, Geto Suguru's targets indeed did not consist solely of Dojigiri. According to their analysis, several Cursed Objects suspected to be ancient relics were also among his targets.

Among the more famous ones were two swords associated with oni and gods, whose legends were also connected to Dojigiri. They were a pair of "brother swords," named Higechir and Hizakiri. Due to the supernatural legends associated with them, they were also known as Onikiri and Kumo-kiri. Both had once shared an owner with Dojigiri: Minamoto no Yorimitsu, ancestor of the Settsu Gen Clan.

"So things with Cursed Object characteristics might recreate those 'great yokai,' or rather, Imaginary Vengeful Spirits."

"Forget it. We'll deal with whatever comes our way. It would be great if we could find those Curse Users directly and eliminate the problem at its source."

Lost in thought, Shen Yuanyi arrived at the Training Ground with Panda. Okkotsu Yuta and Inumaki Toge were already there, warming up, while Maki was teaching Gen Naine some basic combat techniques off to the side.

"Yuanyi!"

"Salmon!"

After greeting the two, Shen Yuanyi asked, "You finished your mission too?" Okkotsu Yuta smiled. "Yeah, we just wrapped it up. We came back to rest for a while and wait for the next suitable mission."

Panda added from the side, "The two of them went on a mission together, but they ran into a Semi-Grade 1 cursed spirit. Good thing they managed to exorcise it."

Shen Yuanyi paused, then praised them. "Nice. But was the mission intelligence wrong? How did you run into a cursed spirit stronger than the reports said?"

Okkotsu Yuta smiled faintly. "Maybe the intelligence was wrong. Still, with Inumaki-senpai's cooperation, we exorcised it. Gojo-sensei also brought people to investigate afterward."

I'll ask Gojo-sensei later. With that thought, Shen Yuanyi temporarily put the matter aside and looked toward the two sparring nearby.

"Yuanyi, will she be our new classmate?" Okkotsu Yuta asked curiously as he looked at Gen Naine.

Shen Yuanyi thought for a moment. "Probably not... It's still a long time until then. Gojo-sensei probably intends for her to enroll next year. She'll most likely be in the same year as Megumi." And the future Itadori Yuji and Nobara Kugisaki.

Having already learned a little about Megumi Fushiguro from Shen Yuanyi, the others relaxed at his words. "So we're already certain to have a junior and a junior girl next year. Hopefully there'll be more people in the next class."

The group chatted and laughed until Maki roared from the other side, "Are you coming or not?" Only then did they noisily head over. After taking turns greeting Gen Naine, everyone began their usual training.

"Uh, Yuanyi, where did that sword come from? I feel like it's dangerous."

Okkotsu, whose senses were rather sharp, asked from across from him. Hearing his concern, Shen Yuanyi sighed. "It's a Cursed Tool involved in this mission. It's troublesome, but it's fine. Don't worry."

Okkotsu Yuta nodded. Since Shen Yuanyi said it was fine, he trusted him greatly. He then focused on sparring with Shen Yuanyi.

Inside a palace-like building, a black-haired man dressed in robes looked at two ancient swords laid out before him. He sighed. "These two are only ordinary Cursed Tools. Where is Dojigiri? Has Hisao not returned yet?"

A fashionable pink-haired woman standing before him replied, "Not yet, and we can no longer contact him. According to our intelligence, the Gen Family is now heavily guarded, with several Jujutsu Sorcerers protecting them. Their family produced a Jujutsu Sorcerer through atavistic inheritance. I'm afraid... Hisao has already failed and been captured."

The black-haired man, once a Special Grade Sorcerer and now the infamous Curse User Geto Suguru, murmured, "It appears that legendary Dojigiri has fallen into Jujutsu High's hands as well. So be it... Those things were only extras anyway. Our greatest target has always been that Special Grade Vengeful Spirit—Orimoto Rika!"

"Gojo, we'll meet again very soon. I will fulfill my ideal."