The Inner Side

Under the moonlight, Hoshimi Shrine's inner side exuded an eerie, deathly sense of decay.

In the center of the bluestone steps leading to the main hall was a clearly sunken footprint.

It was the partial imprint of an adult man's dress shoe. Its edges were exceptionally crisp, without the slightest scorch mark left by cursed energy friction.

There was not even a trace of cursed residue. It was so clean that it looked as though the earth itself had naturally sunk inward.

"Ah, what a perfect 'proof of innocence' left behind by an uninvited guest."

With both hands in his pockets, Satoru Gojo lazily lowered his head to study the footprint, an amused curve lingering on his lips.

Ieiri Shoko, however, paid no attention to the strange mark. Her gaze passed over the desolate stone lanterns covered in moss and settled on the slightly open crack of the old wooden door to the inner main hall.

There, two little heads poked out from the shadows one above the other, timidly watching the four uninvited Jujutsu High visitors who had suddenly barged in.

They were the same two little girls Shoko had casually treated to local sweets in the bustling city earlier.

Shoko paused slightly, then asked in a puzzled whisper,

"The rumored Special Grade cursed object finger was forcibly taken just now. Why don't these two children seem particularly frightened? They even dared to stay in the innermost main hall?"

Suguru Geto brushed back his hair. "Because there's a second barrier inside."

A barrier inside a barrier? What was this, nesting dolls?

Lu Ping rubbed his temples, which ached from the continuous fighting. He did not want to think anymore. "The outer barrier was infiltrated without being destroyed, while the inner barrier couldn't be infiltrated. Why?"

"Who cares? We'll find out if we walk over and try."

Ignoring the discussion behind him, Satoru Gojo headed straight toward the main hall. A blatantly fake smile hung on his face as he waved while walking.

Starting from the vermilion torii at the entrance, just as he crossed half the approach to the shrine, something abruptly changed.

"Duang~"

Satoru Gojo slammed face-first into an invisible transparent wall with an unmistakable sound.

"So that's it. This is an ancient Barrier Technique. Its selection criterion isn't the usual 'cursed energy screening,' but an 'identity restriction'—"

"In other words, anyone other than those two little brats will be refused entry."

Suguru Geto stepped forward as well and pressed a hand against the space ahead. Ripples spread through the air, but it still stood firmly in his way.

"Although I don't know what method the person who took Sukuna's Finger used, they probably couldn't enter this inner barrier directly."

"Besides, that guy's goal had been exceptionally clear from the start. He took Sukuna's finger and left; he had no intention of wasting time on irrelevant civilians."

"Otherwise, if he had delayed even half a minute in front of the second barrier, Geto and I would have already trapped him at the exit of the inner shrine."

Satoru Gojo turned to look at a small, decrepit shrine standing in the middle of the approach. It was empty now, and the dense cursed energy fluctuations lingering inside undoubtedly came from the Sukuna’s Finger, a Special Grade cursed object that had been housed there for years.

Ieiri Shoko and Lu Ping followed behind them, slowly making their way to the small shrine.

Perhaps recognizing Ieiri Shoko's familiar face and gentle smile, the two little girls hesitated behind the door for a moment before finally pushing it open and walking out.

The curly-haired blonde girl in front was still young, but her eyes held a sharpness and wariness far beyond her age. She straightened her chest and introduced herself first in a clear voice.

"Hello, big sister... My name is Suzune Dairenji. She's Ren Hoshimi."

At her introduction, the black-haired girl hiding behind her slightly shrank her shoulders.

This little girl named Ren Hoshimi was a full half-head taller than Suzune Dairenji. She looked thin and frail, and even the cuffs of her old shrine maiden outfit were frayed and faded.

Her delicate little face was pale and sickly, filled with shyness. She lightly clutched Suzune Dairenji's hem and, like a startled fawn, did not dare meet the outsiders' eyes.

"Dairenji and Hoshimi... Those are truly ancient surnames." Suguru Geto murmured thoughtfully from the side.

Satoru Gojo had already deftly pulled out his flip phone. His long fingers flew over the buttons as he blindly typed a location message to Jujutsu High's assistant supervisor.

While notifying the relevant personnel to come immediately and handle the cursed residue left at the scene, he strode over to the two girls and crouched before them.

Even crouching, his tall frame carried an overwhelming sense of oppression. With a slight sweep of his eyes behind the sunglasses, he saw two utterly different yet equally astonishing potentials for jujutsu within the girls.

Satoru Gojo raised an eyebrow and asked in a casual tone that sounded almost like he was luring children away. "Hey, brats, where's the current person in charge of this shrine? Something this serious happened, and they're letting two little runts like you stand out front?"

At his words, Suzune Dairenji's lively eyes instantly dimmed. Biting her lip, she said softly, "Grandpa... the head priest of Hoshimi Shrine passed away from illness a week ago. Now, it's just the two of us here."

At that answer, the three from Jujutsu High all fell silent.

Satoru Gojo looked deeply at them, his Six Eyes clearly reflecting the nearly overflowing sorcerer talent within the two girls.

If these orphans raised by the shrine were left in this desolate shrine now deprived of protection, sooner or later they would be devoured whole by black-market curse users or wild cursed spirits.

He immediately said, "Then come back to Tokyo Jujutsu High with us. That place is a boring cage too, but at least there are people strong enough to train you into sorcerers who can stand on your own."

Before Suzune Dairenji could reply, Ren Hoshimi, who had been cowering in the back, shook her head wildly like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Her pale little hand clenched Suzune Dairenji's clothes tighter. Though her voice was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz, it carried an unusual stubbornness.

"I won't leave... I want to protect Grandpa's shrine. This is Ren's home."

Suzune Dairenji also spread her arms to shield Ren Hoshimi, raising her chin stubbornly at Satoru Gojo.

"If Ren doesn't want to go, neither will I! We can take care of ourselves, and... and my cursed technique is useful too!"

Seeing the two little ones assume a stance as though they were ready to fight for their lives at any moment, Satoru Gojo clicked his tongue in boredom, stood, and shrugged.

"Tch. What ungrateful little brats. Fine, do whatever you want. I don't have a hobby of forcing people to become sorcerers."

The training plan was temporarily scrapped.

Ieiri Shoko sighed helplessly from the side, then stepped forward and gently ruffled Suzune Dairenji's slightly fluffy blonde curls.

She casually took out her wallet and waved it at Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo.

"Since they don't plan on leaving, they should at least stay in contact. You wait here for the assistant supervisor. I'll take these two children to a nearby mall to buy two phones and set up Jujutsu High emergency contact numbers for them."

Half an hour later, the four from Jujutsu High boarded the train home after completing the initial handover at the scene.

It was already late at night. The swaying carriage was empty, while the cold white fluorescent lights emitted a faint hum.

Satoru Gojo rested his head against the train window, watching Tokyo's nightscape race backward outside. Then he suddenly turned his head and joked,

"Come to think of it, Lu Ping, that curly-haired blonde brat, Suzune Dairenji, has cursed energy flowing through her body in a way that's a little like yours. Her spiritual energy is extremely sensitive when it comes to corroding and enhancing external objects. If I'm not mistaken, that kid will probably awaken some kind of shikigami-user technique that manipulates external things in the future. Heh, heh. You'll have a little junior sister then."

Lu Ping sat calmly on the bench. The Three Corpses within him were slowly digesting the lingering anxiety from earlier, and he merely smiled noncommittally.

By the time the four finally crossed the quiet mountain path and returned to Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College, immersed in the night, it was already past three in the morning.

The continuous vicious battles and intense mental strain had left everyone exhausted. After exchanging a few brief words, they each returned to their dorms.

Lu Ping pushed open the door to his sparsely furnished single room and locked it behind him.

He did not turn on the lights, allowing only the cool moonlight to spill through the window lattice onto the wooden floor, drawing out a long, somewhat twisted black shadow.

Just as he was about to sit cross-legged and regulate the Three Corpses' cursed energy, which had grown restless after absorbing too many chaotic emotions, the phone in his pocket suddenly began vibrating violently and urgently.

Lu Ping frowned slightly, took out his phone, and pressed the button to light the screen.

In the cold blue screenlight, a message from [Naobito Zenin] came into view.

The message was exceedingly brief, without any unnecessary greeting or nonsense.

[Return to the Zenin Clan immediately.]