The TV was showing a news report about an explosion caused by a gas leak at a residence in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Masamichi Yaga listened to the news as he looked at the four students kneeling in front of him.
My fists are getting tight!
"One of you said you'd put up the Curtain yourself, then left the assistant supervisor behind and ran off, didn't you?"
"And in the end... you completely forgot about the whole thing! You admitted it yourself, didn't you?"
Then Gojo Sawa, Suguru Geto, and Ieiri Shoko all pointed at Gojo Satoru at the same time.
Gojo Satoru looked awkward, raised his hand, and shouted, "Sensei! Can we not figure out who did it?"
"So it was you!"
Thud!!!
One punch later, a huge, smoking bump had appeared on Gojo Satoru's head.
Inside the gym, Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto were playing one-on-one basketball.
Ieiri Shoko had put on Gojo Satoru's sunglasses, curious to see what was so special about them.
Then she reached over and took the sunglasses off Gojo Sawa, who was sitting nearby and eating dessert.
"Ah, there's nothing special about them! I thought they'd be like Cyclops's glasses in X-Men!"
Gojo Sawa took the sunglasses off Shoko's face and put them back on. "They're just ordinary sunglasses, used to suppress my vision. The Six Eyes' all-around perception means I take in too much useless information. It'd fry my brain!"
Ieiri Shoko returned Gojo Satoru's sunglasses to him, then sat back down beside Sawa.
"Fry your brain? Then learn Reverse Cursed Technique from me! Even if it gets fried, I can fix it!"
Gojo Sawa looked at her strangely. "Why do you think anyone could learn from the way you teach?"
Just then, Gojo Satoru called out from the court, "What confuses me even more than Shoko's teaching is, why do we have to put up a Curtain?"
Suguru Geto caught the ball. "Because Cursed Spirits are born from ordinary people's Cursed Energy. To keep their numbers in check, we have to maintain stability in people's hearts!"
Gojo Satoru looked disgusted. "It's such a pain having to worry about ordinary people!"
Suguru Geto retorted, "Satoru, the weak need their living space protected. That's how society should work. Jujutsu Sorcerers exist to protect non-sorcerers!"
"Huh?"
Gojo Satoru snatched the basketball from Suguru Geto's hands.
"Putting so-called principles in front of strength as a restriction is the argument of the weak!"
Gojo Satoru made a retching motion.
Suguru Geto's gaze turned cold. "Power without restraint only causes destruction!"
As the atmosphere grew more and more tense, the two of them turned to look at Gojo Sawa at the same time.
"Sawa (big bro), what do you think?"
Gojo Sawa, who was eating dessert, froze, then shrugged.
"I don't really have an opinion. I only have one rule in life."
"What?"
The two asked curiously.
Gojo Sawa grinned. "I don't eat beef!"
"..."
The two clearly didn't get the joke.
Gojo Sawa continued, "It's actually pretty easy to understand: do as you please, without overstepping the bounds!"
"As for your two opinions—Jujutsu Sorcerers should protect non-sorcerers, and Jujutsu Sorcerers don't need to protect non-sorcerers—I think they're both pretty stupid~"
"Huh?" ×2
Gojo Sawa's words immediately turned their attention toward him.
Gojo Sawa set down the dessert he hadn't finished. "You two little brats, wanna fight?"
Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto looked at each other and grinned.
Realizing a huge brawl was about to break out, Shoko's legs turned into turbocharged engines, and she zipped away.
Cursed Spirit Manipulation: Ghost Eye!
Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!
Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto fixed him with dangerous looks, but Gojo Sawa only smiled calmly and spread his arms.
The fight was about to begin!
Whoosh—
The gym door suddenly swung open.
The three who'd been at each other's throats a moment ago were now leisurely doing old folks' exercises.
Masamichi Yaga looked at the bizarre scene, feeling that something was off.
"What were you doing just now? Where's Shoko?"
"No idea!"
"She might've gone to the bathroom!"
Masamichi Yaga pinched the bridge of his nose. "Forget it. The higher-ups have assigned you three a new mission!"
"Huh?"
The three turned away with exasperated looks.
"What are those expressions? Do you think missions are boring?"
"Not at all~"
The three denied it in unison.
Seeing their expressions, Masamichi Yaga didn't press them. He simply said, "To be honest, I don't want you to take part in this mission!"
"But unfortunately, Lord Tengen specifically requested you for it. There's nothing I can do!"
"The mission has two parts. The Star Plasma Vessel, who is compatible with Lord Tengen's body—you need to protect her, then kill her at a specific time!"
Gojo Satoru froze. "Protect her and then kill her? Are they crazy?"
Gojo Sawa knew exactly what was going on, but didn't mind playing dumb. "I heard Teacher Yaga's about to be promoted to principal. Maybe he got so excited he lost his mind!"
Suguru Geto frowned. "Then how do we treat him? Take him to the hospital?"
Gojo Sawa shook his head. "That'd only treat the symptoms, not the cause!"
Gojo Satoru suddenly understood. "Why don't my brother and I use our family's connections to get Teacher Yaga's promotion canceled?"
Masamichi Yaga: "..."
"Next time you plot something, remember to do it where I can't hear you. And you could stand to lower your voices!"
Ignoring the three's banter, Masamichi Yaga continued, "This mission concerns Lord Tengen's initial transformation."
"As everyone knows, Lord Tengen's technique is the Immortal Technique. But it doesn't stop him from aging. Once he grows old enough, his technique will automatically cause his body to evolve into a higher form of existence."
"Isn't that a good thing? Evolution! It sounds so cool. Is it Super Evolution or Armor Evolution?"
"Satoru, watch less Digimon!"
"Evolution sounds great, but we don't know which direction Lord Tengen's evolution will take. If it goes wrong, the most terrifying Cursed Spirit in history could be born!"
Masamichi Yaga's tone was serious. "That's why Lord Tengen needs to merge with the Star Plasma Vessel, restoring his body to youth. That will delay the technique's effects for five hundred years!"
Gojo Sawa raised his hand. "What happens to the Star Plasma Vessel after the merger?"
Masamichi Yaga paused. "Well... supposedly, she'll become completely one with Lord Tengen, indistinguishable from him, and exist in the form of another kind of spirit."
"Do you believe that, Sensei?"
"..."
By this point, the three had clearly understood.
What they called merging would be more accurately described as devouring.
Existing in another form?
With Tengen's memories spanning more than a thousand years, the Star Plasma Vessel's memories of barely a decade would be like a pebble dropped into the sea.
Apart from making a few ripples, nothing would remain.
Suguru Geto's expression was blank. "That's murder, isn't it?"
A trace of disgust crossed Gojo Satoru's face. "Merging? What a sanctimonious way to put it!"
Masamichi Yaga sighed. "If you really don't want to take part, given who you are, you might be able to get the mission overturned if you report it."
"No."
Gojo Sawa slowly stood and stretched. "Would the higher-ups really feel safe leaving something this important to other people? Besides..."
Gojo Sawa smiled.
"This is the Star Plasma Vessel's final journey, after all. Wouldn't it be better for her to travel with three handsome young men who are easy on the eyes than with a bunch of stuffy old men?"
Hearing that, Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto both lifted their chins, striking the same pose as Peter Ho.
"Absolutely! Absolutely!"
Before you continue