The Jujutsu Higher-Ups' Plan and Cooperation with the Government / The Japanese Government's Announcement-Cursed Spirits and Sorcerers Go Public!

Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka, Nagasaki, Fukushima, Sendai, Hokkaido...

Very soon, sorcerers in nearly every city across Japan witnessed the barrier spreading.

An unknown barrier had enveloped all of Japan in a short time!

The entire Jujutsu World immediately fell into chaos. The higher-ups urgently convened a meeting to discuss a solution.

The final decision was to dispatch a group of elite sorcerers to attempt to destroy the massive unknown barrier that had suddenly appeared, while another group would seek the opinion of Tengen, the Jujutsu World's foremost barrier master.

Unfortunately, neither side achieved satisfactory results.

The sorcerers sent to destroy the barrier discovered that the unknown barrier spreading across Japan's skies could not be touched at all. It neither prevented people from entering or leaving nor seemed to have any effect on sorcerers.

The sorcerers who consulted Tengen received only one answer: there was nothing Tengen could do. Even Tengen could not think of a good solution to the barrier that had suddenly covered Japan.

Since it could not be resolved in the short term, and the unknown barrier did not appear to affect those within it, the Jujutsu World could only arrange for a group of sorcerers to monitor the situation constantly before ultimately letting the matter rest.

Tokyo, inside a villa.

"So, this was your plan?"

Since the plan had already begun and its successful implementation had been confirmed, Makima told An Xiu about it.

"You used the two greatest barrier masters in the Jujutsu World to design a barrier that would allow ordinary people across an entire country to see Cursed Spirits, letting them witness Cursed Spirits in large numbers and exposing their existence to the public!"

"This would be like someone living in an ordinary world suddenly learning that ghosts and monsters truly existed. It would inevitably cause widespread panic in a short period, sending negative emotions soaring and spawning vast numbers of Cursed Spirits."

"Still, wasn't there really no need to do this? There were clearly simpler methods."

An Xiu said this as he stroked his chin.

There was more than one relatively mild way to generate massive amounts of negative human emotion. Especially for Makima, she had countless ways to fulfill An Xiu's original request: controlling national leaders to increase legal working hours, raise taxes, abolish holidays, increase prices, and so on. But why had she chosen the comparatively troublesome method of revealing Cursed Spirits and causing panic by letting ordinary people witness them?

"If I had to give an answer, it would probably be because I thought such a world might be more interesting to Master."

Makima leaned against An Xiu's body, thought for a moment, and answered.

"This world no longer holds any danger for us. So compared to a world that never changes, I believe Master would rather see a brand-new world."

"That is why I chose this method—to let ordinary people learn of Cursed Spirits."

"The next step will be to change how the Jujutsu World and sorcerers exist in this world, as well as their image, and turn sorcery into a profession active in the public eye."

"That does sound a little like the heroes in One-Punch Man."

Hearing Makima's explanation, An Xiu admitted that it had piqued his interest.

Before this, the Jujutsu World and sorcerers had mainly operated in secret. Ordinary people knew absolutely nothing of Cursed Spirits or sorcerers.

But judging from Makima's words, after exposing Cursed Spirits, she intended to bring sorcerers into the public eye as well, turning them into an openly recognized professional group with special powers?

Generally speaking, in most worlds, a minority group publicly known to possess special powers only had two possible endings. One was being dragged off for dissection and research; the other was receiving extremely high social status.

With Makima around, the first possibility clearly would not happen. That left only the latter.

"The barrier will need some time before it takes effect. In around seven days, ordinary people within it will gradually gain the ability to see Cursed Spirits."

"In at most half a month, every ordinary person within the barrier will be able to see Cursed Spirits directly, just like Windows. Depending on their constitution, they will permanently gain spiritual sight as time passes."

"That will be when this world begins to change. For now, it only needs a little insignificant time to ferment."

The Jujutsu World's Plan and Cooperation with the Government

Half a month had passed since the unknown barrier appeared above Japan.

At first, during the first week, ordinary people could neither see nor sense the barrier. Japan remained peaceful, and aside from the sorcerers dispatched by the Jujutsu World to continuously monitor and study the barrier's effects, ordinary people's lives did not change at all.

Because, when the barrier had been established, Makima had added a great number of additional conditions to it—making it ineffective against sorcerers while delaying its effects on ordinary people for seven days. In exchange, the barrier could not be influenced by anyone other than Makima herself. Thus, the sorcerers could only allow it to hang over Japan, completely helpless.

Everything seemed no different from before until, one week later, the internet began filling with news and posts from ordinary people claiming to have seen ghosts and monsters.

At first, this did not attract much attention. But the trend intensified until it swept through all of Japan at a speed that caught everyone off guard.

"Help! Ghosts really exist in this world!"

"It's true! I saw a giant octopus covered in eyes in the lake behind our village. At first, no one else in the village could see it, but somehow everyone suddenly could later on."

"I used to not see anything wrong with the paranormal videos others posted, but when I watched the same video a week ago, I suddenly saw ghosts!"

"The old people in my family weren't lying. There really are man-eating monsters in the mountains west of here."

A huge number of ordinary people gained spiritual sight, and their numbers continued to grow. In the end, Japan's entire online environment fell into chaos in a short time.

Countless people emphatically claimed online that they had seen ghosts, monsters, and other supernatural beings. Some even searched through all kinds of news from years ago and ultimately spotted Cursed Spirits captured in footage from the scenes of many murders and accidents.

Even the Japanese government could not stop this situation. Or rather, government officials had also gained the ability to see Cursed Spirits and were equally thrown into chaos.

"That is the situation. Due to the unknown barrier, there are simply too many ordinary people gaining spiritual sight. Since there were no preparations for anything like this before, knowledge of curses has spread widely and uncontrollably."

"The impact of this matter has been too severe. Large numbers of cities across Japan are now seeing public marches and demonstrations demanding that the government reveal the truth."

"Lady Makima, acting as a high-ranking member of the Jujutsu World, immediately contacted senior officials in the Japanese government and discussed how to suppress this trend and prevent its continued expansion. However, the results have not been optimistic."

Director's Council, inside the high-level conference room.

The high-ranking members attending remotely through shikigami listened as a staff member in the center of the conference room reported on the situation. In addition, most Grade 1 sorcerers in the Jujutsu World, along with Gojo Satoru, Gakuganji Yaga, Gakuganji Yoshinobu, and other faculty members from the schools, were present.

It could be said that the barrier incident had affected the entire Jujutsu World so greatly that not a single sorcerer could remain uninvolved. Even the two Special Grade sorcerers outside Japan, Tsukumo Yuki and Okkotsu Yuta, were on their way back to Japan.

"There are two ways to handle this incident. The first is to cooperate with government personnel and hire a large number of experts from human society to guide public opinion on a massive scale, preventing curses from further entering the ordinary public's field of vision. Then, we would destroy the barrier covering Japan as quickly as possible and gradually suppress this incident with time."

"The second is to acknowledge that the situation has already spiraled out of control. In that case, we may as well reveal the truth and cooperate with the government to educate the public about curses, minimizing the spread of negative emotions and preventing the birth of even more Cursed Spirits."

Gojo Satoru sat in a chair with one leg crossed over the other and spoke bluntly. "Does the first method even count as a method anymore? We still can't have any effective impact on that damn barrier. Unless we find and kill the person who activated it, continuing to prevent ordinary people from coming into contact with curses under these circumstances is nothing but wishful thinking. It's stupid beyond belief."

Compared with the enormous population of ordinary people, the number of Cursed Spirits born from negative emotions was not large, but it was certainly not small either. The reason their existence had remained hidden before was that ordinary people could not perceive Cursed Spirits at all. By the time they could, it usually meant they had come into close contact with one, and without rescue, death was not far away.

But in this modern age of advanced networks, vast numbers of ordinary people had suddenly gained spiritual sight. Even if only a small portion of them could see Cursed Spirits, spreading word of their existence was far easier than before.

Simply comparing the completely different perspectives from before and after gaining spiritual sight was enough to make people clearly realize that the world had changed, shattering their previous worldview.

They said there were two solutions, but given the current circumstances, there was actually only one.

Cooperate with the Japanese government, reveal the existence of curses, and educate the public about them to prevent panic from spreading further.

Compared to the completely unknown, knowing of curses and how they were born could instead curb some fear. After all, people always feared what they did not understand at all. Once they gained some understanding, their fear would diminish to a certain extent.

Not only Gojo Satoru, but most of the intelligent sorcerers and higher-ups present understood this. Thus, the decision on which solution to adopt was quickly reached.

"Reveal the existence of curses, bring information related to curses into the ordinary public's field of view, and cooperate with the Japanese government to explore further methods of curbing negative emotions in society."

"The above plan will be implemented by Lady Makima, Tokyo's chief sorcerer representative and a high-ranking member of the Director's Council."

"The remaining sorcerers will remain on standby in their assigned areas, preparing in advance for the large number of Cursed Spirits that may emerge next."

After the specific implementation plan was announced, the meeting gradually came to an end.

However, most of the sorcerers leaving the Director's Council wore complicated expressions.

The world was changing too quickly. Curses that had once been unknown were about to enter the public eye, and the Jujutsu World, which had always remained hidden in the shadows, would now have to contact and cooperate with the official institutions of human society.

No one knew what effects this move would have in the future, or whether the form in which the Jujutsu World existed would change because of it.

Japan's Official Announcement: Cursed Spirits and Sorcerers Revealed!

"Protest! The government must tell the public the truth about this world!"

"Why do ghosts and monsters that once existed only in fictional stories actually exist? Was the science we believed in before all fake?!"

"Why has the world suddenly undergone such enormous changes? What exactly has the government been hiding from us ordinary citizens?!"

As time passed, people across Japan grew increasingly terrified of Cursed Spirits, supernatural creatures that truly existed. They desperately wanted to know what these monsters were and why they had suddenly appeared in their lives.

The once bustling and lively streets began to grow deserted. In this atmosphere of panic, most people who lacked a sense of security chose to stockpile supplies and shut themselves indoors. Everyday goods vanished from every supermarket shelf.

At the same time, criticism of the government online intensified. Most Japanese citizens believed that the government had hidden the truth from them, allowing them to unknowingly live in a dangerous world filled with monsters.

Under these circumstances, the Japanese government finally responded.

The various monsters being witnessed and circulated online were creatures known as Cursed Spirits.

Cursed Spirits could use a variety of methods to harm or even kill humans, and human eyes could not perceive their existence.

To help the public better understand Cursed Spirits, Japan's Cabinet specially held a nationwide press conference, where professionals would explain their existence to the people.

At the press conference, Japan's current Prime Minister, the Minister of State, appeared personally before the cameras alongside several other ministers to demonstrate the importance attached to the matter.

And under the support of Japan's many senior officials, the person attending the press conference as a representative of the Jujutsu World's higher-ups was Makima.

Through questions from reporters, Makima explained the existence of ordinary curses and Cursed Spirits in detail to the people of Japan before the cameras, clarifying the methods and principles behind their birth.

"Cursed Spirits are born from the power generated by human negative emotions. This power is called cursed energy."

"Various negative human emotions, such as fear, disgust, and hatred, can give rise to Cursed Spirits over time."

"The danger posed by Cursed Spirits is beyond doubt, but there is no need to fear them excessively. Cursed Spirits can be eliminated. In the past, when ordinary people could not perceive them, Cursed Spirits born from negative emotions were secretly dealt with by sorcerers."

"Just as Cursed Spirits are born from cursed energy generated by human negative emotions, a very small number of humans possess the talent to control cursed energy. Those who become sorcerers by using cursed energy can slay Cursed Spirits and exorcise them."

For this press conference, which would fully reveal curses to the public, not only the Japanese government but also the Jujutsu World had made considerable preparations. Makima had already drafted answers in her mind for every possible question, so the conference concluded smoothly.

As the Jujutsu World formally came into contact and cooperated with the Japanese government, publicly revealing the existence of Cursed Spirits, cursed energy, and sorcerers, curses officially became part of ordinary people's lives from that moment onward.

"My God, human negative emotions can actually produce cursed energy, and cursed energy can give birth to terrifying Cursed Spirits!"

"With official confirmation, it's basically certain that supernatural creatures like Cursed Spirits really exist."

"So there really are such terrifying monsters in the world we live in. I won't be able to sleep at night now."

"Don't forget about sorcerers. If they can even eliminate supernatural creatures like Cursed Spirits, then sorcerers who wield cursed energy can practically be considered superpowered people, right?"

"Definitely. I just wonder how strong sorcerers actually are compared to ordinary humans."

"Speaking of which, Miss Makima, who explained the existence of Cursed Spirits at the press conference, is so beautiful."

"I suggest the person above rein in those thoughts. If the Prime Minister and ministers treated her with that much respect, she's definitely a sorcerer. And probably one with extremely high status at that."

"True. Ordinary people like us shouldn't dream of reaching someone like that."

After the press conference held by the Japanese government, the panic that had pervaded society was finally curbed somewhat.

Although ordinary people could not help thinking about and fearing Cursed Spirits now that their existence had been confirmed, it was at least far better than the previous completely uncontrolled situation.

Especially because Makima had not only introduced Cursed Spirits during that press conference but had also revealed the existence of sorcerers.

Most people now placed enormous expectations on sorcerers, while also developing immense interest in this real profession that existed in reality and wielded supernatural power.

Topics related to sorcerers—their strength, living habits, how to become one, and more—received unprecedented attention.

After all, they were superpowered people who truly existed in reality!

Meanwhile, at Tokyo Jujutsu High School.

"Lady Makima is incredible."

Watching the news on television, Miwa Kasumi could not help sighing in admiration.

Although she was a student of Kyoto Jujutsu High School, Miwa Kasumi and Nishimiya Momo had not returned to Kyoto because they had been assigned as Makima's guards. Instead, they remained in Tokyo.

Furthermore, with the existence of Cursed Spirits and sorcerers now public and the Jujutsu World in the midst of transformation, Makima had dispatched them to Tokyo Jujutsu High School to stand by so that no manpower would be wasted.

Hearing Miwa Kasumi's words, everyone else in the classroom nodded.

"She appeared in front of hundreds of millions of people across the country. If it were me, I'd probably have been so nervous my legs went weak."

Kugisaki Nobara sat nearby, resting her cheek on one hand as she spoke.

"Now that curses and sorcerers have been completely exposed, it'll probably become much harder to deal with curses in secret in the future, right?"

Given the current popularity of Cursed Spirits and sorcerers in Japan, if they accidentally displayed their power outside, they would probably be surrounded by onlookers within minutes. If someone took photos of them, secretly carrying out missions in the future would become almost impossible.

"That makes sense. Looks like we'll need to keep a low profile whenever we go out on missions from now on."

Itadori Yuji stood by the window and earnestly agreed. Unfortunately, the moment he finished speaking, Gojo Satoru, standing at the back of the classroom, refuted him.

"Keep a low profile? I think what happens next will probably be the exact opposite."

"For quite a long time to come, sorcerers will probably need to be very high-profile."