Utahime and Mei Mei

Inside the office, the higher-ups stared intently at the large screen.

Under the perception of the Six Eyes, Gojo Sawa and his two companions quickly located the grade 2 cursed spirit hiding within the competition venue.

Gojo Satoru then casually exorcised it with a single Cursed Technique: Blue, without breaking a sweat.

Yuki Tsukumo watched with interest. "That technique is quite intriguing—is it an extension of the Limitless?"

The Gojo Clan members brimmed with pride, eagerly explaining the principle behind Blue.

It wasn't that they were showing off—someone had asked, and they were simply upholding the fine tradition of exchanging knowledge by patiently elaborating.

Really, they weren't showing off!

"Since the grade 2 cursed spirit has been exorcised, the match is decided!"

Yoshinobu Gakuganji tapped his cane twice against the floor, and the broadcast immediately sounded the match-ending whistle.

The few remaining Kyoto Jujutsu High students were still locked in a struggle with a grade 3 cursed spirit; they all froze at the sound.

A grade 2 cursed spirit exorcised that quickly?

Was it one of their classmates? Or those three from Tokyo Jujutsu High?

When they returned to the starting point, they were shocked to find over twenty classmates being carried off on stretchers into the treatment room.

"The winner: Tokyo Jujutsu High!"

Yoshinobu Gakuganji's aged voice rasped like a duck's squawk.

But the moment he finished speaking, he froze. "Where are Gojo Sawa and the others?"

The Kyoto students exchanged bewildered glances. "No idea—we never saw them from start to finish!"

The Gojo Clan higher-ups panicked. "How are both young masters missing?"

"Did the cameras catch anything?"

"The last footage shows the three of them exorcising the grade 2 cursed spirit!"

"Tsukumo!"

Yoshinobu Gakuganji turned to Yuki Tsukumo, who shrugged. "I'll take a look. With their strength, nothing serious should have happened."

Beep, beep, beep...

Just then, Masamichi Yaga's phone rang.

He glanced at the message on the screen and let out a long sigh.

"Principal Gakuganji, the three of them have already returned to Tokyo Jujutsu High!"

He raised his phone to show everyone: in the photo, the three were grinning goofily at the camera with their arms around each other's shoulders, the background unmistakably Tokyo Jujutsu High.

"...Those three rascals, they really are rebellious!"

Yuki Tsukumo covered her face.

"This isn't rebellion—it's a blatant disregard for rules! The legitimate heirs of the Gojo Clan..."

Zenin Ogi launched into another round of nagging.

Inside a bizarre haunted mansion.

Utahime, dressed in a shrine maiden's outfit, clutched a flashlight and trembled as she searched the surroundings.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Aaaaaahhh..."

Utahime nearly scared herself half to death.

Turning around, she saw it was her companion, Mei Mei.

At this time, Mei Mei hadn't yet tied her hair into the front braid style; instead, she wore a simple ponytail, with two strands of hair hanging down on either side of her forehead like dragon whiskers.

Her fitted waistband and black dress accentuated her impressive figure, and her white hair made it hard not to suspect a connection to the Gojo Clan. She was pinching her chin in thought, her purple-polished nails catching the light.

"Mei Mei, weren't you on the first floor?"

Mei Mei pointed at a discarded soda can, a chair, and a shattered vase. "This is the first floor!"

Only then did Utahime notice the marks Mei Mei had left on the walls.

"We've been walking for nearly thirty minutes, yet we still haven't left this hallway. Could this be a Circular Barrier?"

Mei Mei analyzed, "Not quite. Even the walls can't be broken. The cursed spirit haunting this mansion must be using its barrier to stitch the hallway together based on our movements. After we finish one section, the next section gets spliced onto the front, creating an endless loop."

A flash of insight struck Utahime. "Then, if we both run in opposite directions at the same time, the cursed spirit can't stitch both directions at once. One of us is bound to escape the barrier!"

"Whether it's breaking the barrier from the outside or calling for backup, this might be the best plan."

"Let's do it!"

"Ready, go!"

They both charged off in opposite directions, sprinting with all their might.

Yet Utahime suddenly noticed the floor beneath her feet cracking apart inch by inch, the entire corridor gradually being destroyed, before she flew into the sky against gravity.

"Huh?"

Boom—

Under the deafening noise, sunlight streamed in. The former old mansion had been reduced to rubble.

Utahime poked her head out from the wreckage, looked up, and saw that infuriating face.

"Gojo Satoru!!!"

Gojo Satoru stood atop a tree, taking off his sunglasses to reveal a smug grin. "I came to save you, Utahime. Are you crying?"

At that, Utahime instantly broke down, like a cat puffing up its fur. "I'm not crying!"

Mei Mei smiled and stepped forward. "Thank you so much!"

Gojo Satoru waved his hand to say it was nothing, and he figured that with Mei Mei's strength, handling this mission was only a matter of time anyway.

Even with a deadweight tagging along.

Noticing Gojo Satoru's disdainful expression, Utahime roared as she stood up, pointing her index finger furiously at him.

"You bastard Gojo! I didn't need you to save me!"

Boom!!!

Suddenly, a massive cursed spirit burst out of the ground behind Utahime.

But before it could even appear for a second, a giant worm cursed spirit lunged and swallowed it whole.

Suguru Geto, controlling the Sandworm cursed spirit, slowly emerged from the shadows, grinning. "Satoru, bullying the weak isn't a good look."

Gojo Satoru looked utterly unbothered. "What idiot would bully the strong?"

"That's not necessarily true."

Gojo Sawa descended from the sky, wearing sunglasses identical to Gojo Satoru's and sporting the same smug grin. As expected of blood brothers.

"Isn't Utahime-senpai a perfect example? A Grade 2 taking on a Grade 1 mission—pretty overconfident, huh?"

"You... you Gojo Clan guys are all bastards!"

Utahime was grinding her teeth in rage.

Not far away, Ieiri Shoko waved at them. "Utahime-senpai, are you all okay?"

"Shoko~ Sho~ko~"

Utahime looked like she'd found a savior. She quickly ran down the stairs and threw her arms around Ieiri Shoko.

"Shoko, promise me you'll never turn into those three scumbags!"

Ieiri Shoko gave a helpless smile. "Don't worry, I won't become a scumbag like them."

"Geto! The path Utahime walked is collapsing!"

"Shut up!"

By now, both of their tones had shifted.

Gojo Sawa subtly twitched his fingers, and the stairs instantly collapsed.

Suguru Geto sat on the Flying Manta Ray, a vein bulging on his forehead. "Sawa, don't play dumb with me. I saw that!"

"Ehehe~"

"Anyway, you've been out of contact for two days on this mission!"

"Two days?"

Gojo Sawa spread his hands. "That's right. Clearly, this cursed spirit's barrier was a time-distortion type. Rare, but it happens occasionally."

Mei Mei nodded. "Seems that way. So in other words, I actually worked for two days. I'll have to demand the appropriate extra compensation!"

Utahime looked incredulous. "That's extortion, isn't it? It has to be, right?"

Mei Mei gave a faint smile. "Back to the point. Did you all set up a Curtain?"

"Huh?"

Everyone froze, and a sense of dread crept up on them.