I Have a Plan

According to the materials compiled by Ijichi, the Q Organization had two high-level Curse Users.

One, codenamed Kekun, was highly likely to be the one carrying out long-range curse killings.

The other was known as their strongest combatant, Bayer—the very person Satoru Gojo had put in a Knot Binding ten years ago.

An overwhelming gap in strength between enemies and allies actually made casualties less likely. That had been the case when Kento Nanami and Akesato easily suppressed the Tokyo base, and it had likewise been the case when Satoru Gojo crushed the Q Organization ten years ago.

They captured the Q Organization's elite alive without much effort. After that, it was no longer Satoru Gojo's business; "professionals" would handle it through "professional" procedures.

And here, "professional" meant that after being imprisoned for ten years, they could have their sentences reduced for good behavior or meritorious service—meaning they were released before those ten years were even up.

Akesato was dumbfounded when he saw that. Someone skilled enough to curse-kill people so expertly could not possibly have few lives on their hands. And the other one, since he bore the title of "strongest," had surely been stained with plenty of blood.

Just ten years? Were they fucking kidding him? Even Satoru Gojo's awful jokes were ten times better than this.

Yet reality was this absurd. Akesato looked at the murder charge section of the case file—no concrete evidence found.

Well, obviously. What concrete evidence would a jujutsu sorcerer leave behind when killing someone?

If I had Gardevoir kill someone with Psychic, there wouldn't be evidence either. Measuring jujutsu sorcerers by ordinary law was absurdity opening the door for absurdity.

Anyone with eyes could see there was something fishy about raising the matter high only to let it fall lightly.

"I originally wanted to save certain people some face, but it seems I was naïve. Tch. It would've been better if Teacher Gojo had killed them outright instead of capturing them alive."

"Don't say things like that so casually. It's dangerous. Mr. Ijichi, the student doesn't know better. Please don't take it seriously."

The clock hand passed five. The disciplined Kento Nanami returned, taking the file from Akesato's hand while nodding a greeting to Ijichi.

Ijichi's duty was that of an Assistant Supervisor. In addition to assisting, he also supervised—monitoring jujutsu sorcerers' words and conduct, then reporting them to the higher-ups.

Satoru Gojo had been entirely right in calling him a punching bag caught in the middle. Of course, that also had something to do with Ijichi's good-natured personality. With a kind expression, he said, "I only came to deliver the materials at Mr. Gojo's request. I didn't hear anything."

Nanami gave a slight nod at that. He sat down and carefully reviewed the files before saying, "I see. It's only natural that you would think that way."

The intelligence showed that Kekun and Bayer, having finally been released, not only failed to repent but instead gathered another group and plotted revenge.

Naturally, they had been unable to defeat Satoru Gojo ten years ago, and ten years later it was even more impossible. So they adopted a strategy of taking out their hatred on those close to him and making a roundabout approach. Rather than directly seeking trouble with Satoru Gojo, they targeted the people he cared about.

The people Satoru Gojo cared most about were his students, so they went after the students.

Thus, the third-years, who had fully entered social-practice mode, suffered the consequences. They were attacked during an off-site mission. As a result, not only did the interns fail their assignment, they were badly injured as well.

"However, judging what should have been done then based on the outcome now is inadvisable. But rejecting an option wholesale just because there is a possibility of failure is equally inadvisable—especially when lives are at stake. That will make you stray further and further from the fundamentals of being human."

Akesato knew perfectly well that Satoru Gojo could not be blamed for this. But it was like when I debated for ages over buying Sauce-Aroma Technology, decided not to, and then watched it hit the daily limit the next day. You could not help thinking, if only things had gone differently.

Kento Nanami could calmly accept reality. In that regard, Akesato knew he was inferior. Even though he had lived longer across two lifetimes, he still had many shortcomings.

After thinking it over, Akesato said, "Looking backward is inadvisable. Then what about now, when the Curse Users' crimes have been confirmed?"

Kento Nanami answered without hesitation, "Jujutsu sorcerers are shit. Curse Users who have abandoned the fundamentals of being human are worse than shit. I will take responsibility for dealing with them."

"'I,' not 'we'?" Akesato narrowed his eyes.

Kento Nanami's expression did not change. "That's right. I'm not saying I'll exclude you from the mission. It's just that killing people is something you should not be doing so early."

"Because I'm a minor, and you're an adult?" Akesato asked.

"That's right. I have an obligation to prioritize looking after you," Kento Nanami replied. "If adults leave everything to minors, then what is the point of adults?"

The corners of Akesato's lips rose. As expected of a quote-making machine, but—

"What if I said that this time, a minor could do something an adult couldn't?"

"Oh?"

Nanami raised an eyebrow. There was confusion on his face, but no contempt or distrust.

That was probably a shared trait among those connected to Tokyo High School—they protected minors from an adult's standpoint, yet never underestimated them.

Akesato did not answer the question. Instead, he asked Ijichi, "If I'm not mistaken, Teacher Gojo had already taken action before assigning this mission to Mr. Nanami and me. It's just that the results—"

"Were very bad." Ijichi did not hide it and told the truth. "Mr. Gojo once discovered a possible hideout, but every time he went there, he came up empty-handed. Our investigation was not as thorough then as it is now."

Akesato gave another cold snort. It was obvious there was a mole among the higher-ups. Not only were they tipping the enemy off, they were concealing critical information.

That was the drawback of being famous. And Satoru Gojo's constant "invincibility" had unconsciously made him careless. Before he had fully investigated the matter, he charged right in. After all, none of them could beat him. He had not expected the enemy to learn their lesson and simply refuse to face him head-on.

"Looks like that Q Organization intends to carry out the strategy of picking the softest persimmon to squeeze to the very end. In that case, we'll send them a soft persimmon to squeeze. By conventional analysis, a first-year freshman who has just enrolled should be much easier to handle than seasoned third-years."

"You mean—?" Ijichi's eyelid twitched.

"I'll be the bait." Akesato stated it plainly. "If the enemy truly wants revenge on Teacher Gojo, they won't overlook our movements. If the Q Organization's resurgence is really as I suspect, then my information and Mr. Nanami's should already have reached Kekun and Bayer by now. Mr. Ijichi, let me confirm something. My achievements have never been reported to the higher-ups, have they?"

"That's right. Mr. Gojo said that producing so many achievements right after enrolling would easily scare those old men with weak hearts."

Ijichi admitted it. Given the number of Cursed Spirits Akesato had exorcised, he should have been promoted long ago if no one had been holding him down.

Akesato had no objections to the arrangement itself. His strength would not change because of his rating, and he did not care about fame or status. He was not short on money, either. On the contrary, this arrangement gave him more room to act:

"A Grade 4 Jujutsu Sorcerer—even if Satoru Gojo favors him, how strong could he be?

A minor not born into a prestigious family, personally selected by the strongest Family Head among the Three Great Families—would he become arrogant and complacent because of that? Would he think he could solve everything, that he was the future of the Jujutsu world?

Could someone like that get along with the steady Mr. Nanami? Would he think all adults were too useless?"

A cold gleam flashed in Akesato's eyes. For a moment, the entire room turned chillingly oppressive, making Ijichi swallow involuntarily.

PS: Time to start causing trouble. Bring on the monthly votes, follows, and tips.