Intelligence

Mashiro thought for a moment after hearing what he said.

"It might be different. The one aimed at you will be stronger, while the one aimed at me... they might not have time to prepare it. But if all they want is to hold me up, that should be doable."

Mashiro tapped her fingers against her knee. "Besides, they probably know by now that I can learn other Cursed Techniques, so they'll keep whatever they set up to stop me simple and limited."

Satoru Gojo lowered his sunglasses and looked at Mashiro.

"How far does your perception reach now?"

Mashiro thought for a moment. "It used to be around three hundred meters. Since these wings appeared, it's gone up to about four hundred and fifty."

She reached up and touched the wings on her head. "Fluctuations in cursed energy, traces of cursed residue, and so on. I can pick up much more information now than before."

"I still can't distinguish every detail precisely, but I can catch the general strength and direction."

"So you started sensing something last night?"

"Yeah. Some very faint flows of cursed energy, all converging near Jujutsu High," Mashiro said after a brief silence.

That wasn't entirely a lie. She really had sensed some unusual flows of cursed energy.

Of course, she also knew something was bound to happen at the Goodwill Event. That explanation was already convincing enough for Satoru Gojo.

Satoru Gojo thought for about ten seconds.

"What do they gain from stealing the fingers? More cursed energy?"

"Mahito said they wanted to bring Sukuna over to their side." Mashiro shook her head. "The fingers are a welcoming gift for Sukuna, or tools for creating more threats. Toss just one into a crowd, and they could trigger a cursed spirit rampage."

Satoru Gojo nodded. Her analysis was more or less in line with his own thoughts.

"Besides putting up barriers against you and me and stealing the fingers, do they have any other objectives?"

"Going after the students," Mashiro said. "The Goodwill Event brings together some of the best students in Jujutsu Society. If they can wipe them all out in one go, it would be an irreplaceable loss for Jujutsu Society."

"Or at least cause enough casualties to keep us scrambling. If even one student dies, the Goodwill Event is a failure."

Satoru Gojo put his sunglasses back on, stood up, and slipped both hands into his pockets.

"It's too late tonight. I'll see Yaga first thing tomorrow and add another layer of security to the sealed storehouse. I'll have Window test the barrier's stability ahead of time under heavy traffic. We'll set up extra observation posts around the event grounds. Any abnormalities get reported straight to you and me."

He looked down at Mashiro. "Anything else you want to say?"

Mashiro stood up too and brushed the dust off her pants.

"If the barrier trapping me is broken, I'll head straight to the students. But before that, I have an idea."

"Go on."

"If they plant fingers inside the grounds to lure the students away, that means Hanami or Mahito will slip in amid the chaos."

"I fought Hanami last time, and my flames worked on them. So if the special grade that comes tomorrow is Hanami, I can hold them off on my own."

Mashiro paused. "But the students need to evacuate quickly. A fight between special grades is too dangerous for them."

Satoru Gojo looked at her. The silver-haired girl's wings covered her eyes, hiding her expression, but she spoke about holding off a special grade alone as casually as discussing what to eat for dinner.

"You're saying you'll fight the special grade while the students evacuate?"

"Yes."

"You fought Hanami with me last time. Don't underestimate a special grade."

"I'm not. Hanami isn't particularly strong on offense," Mashiro said. "And I have much more cursed energy now than I did then. They can't kill me, and I can keep them from doing anything at all."

Satoru Gojo stared at her for a moment, then smiled.

"You've already run through the whole thing in your head once?"

"Twice."

"All right." Satoru Gojo stretched. "Then if there's an attack tomorrow, I'll handle the curtain and the threats outside. You hold off the invading special grade."

"We'll have the second-years lead the students out. As for the fingers, I'll have Yaga guard the sealed storehouse himself. Ijichi will handle all communications."

Mashiro nodded. Those arrangements were about the best they could make at this point.

Telling more people would very likely let the information reach the other side. Though she still thought Kenjaku would be able to steal the items and escape, since people ranging from the Higher-Ups to the students were colluding with him.

After thinking it over, Mashiro decided not to bring up the informant.

She would rescue Mechamaru after Mahito healed him with Idle Transfiguration, then toss him in prison for a while.

Frustratingly, Mashiro still couldn't analyze and use Idle Transfiguration.

Idle Transfiguration had no effect on her, so it didn't even trigger adaptation. The Reverse Technique worked, but she hadn't had time to adapt to it either.

Mashiro sighed. Just stabilizing her own soul had overloaded the wheel and sent it spinning out of control.

Before she knew it, the second-years had finished training. Maki dragged her wooden sword toward the changing room.

Panda followed behind her, imitating her sword swings, only for Maki to smack him with a backhand without even turning around. Inumaki silently trailed behind them.

Satoru Gojo watched them, his hands in his pockets, and his tone suddenly softened.

"Mashiro."

"Hm?"

"Every time you give me information, there's one question I keep asking myself."

"What?"

"Do you really know everything, or are your guesses just more accurate than anyone else's?" Satoru Gojo wasn't looking at her. His gaze remained on the training ground. "If you're guessing, your intuition is a little too good."

"If you know... then you're probably keeping a lot more from me than I think."

A breeze blew in from the woods and brushed against her wings, making the silvery-white feathers tremble.

After a moment of silence, she said, "Would you believe me if I said my eyes could see the future?"

Satoru Gojo turned to her. His Six Eyes looked through his sunglasses and her wings, meeting those crimson eyes.

"I would," Satoru Gojo said, then lowered his sunglasses. "Whatever you're keeping from me, you'll never be an enemy."

"But will there ever be a day when you're willing to tell me?"

Mashiro looked at Satoru Gojo. His expression was serious.

"We'll talk about it when the time comes," she said, briefly closing her eyes.

"Then that's a promise." Satoru Gojo grinned. "I've got it recorded."

"Your phone's been in your pocket this whole time."

"Oops, you caught me." Satoru Gojo showed not the slightest embarrassment at being exposed. He turned toward the office building, and after a few steps, waved without looking back.

"Get here early tomorrow. I'll talk to Yaga. Don't worry about what those old geezers think. Just like Yuji, you're under my protection."

Mashiro stood where she was, watching his white hair disappear around the corner of the corridor, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.

"What do you mean, under your protection? I'll still have to save you later."

She sat on the stone steps for a little longer, then took out her phone.

Itadori's LINE avatar was still lit up.

"Mashiro": The Goodwill Event's tomorrow. Ready?

"Yuji": No problem! Gojo-sensei came to see me today and said I was in great shape (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

"Yuji": Oh, Mashiro, are you coming to watch my entrance tomorrow?

"Mashiro": I'm supervising. I'll be there the whole time.

"Yuji": Awesome! Then I'll make a super cool entrance. Just you wait and see, sis! ٩(๑❛︶❛๑)۶

"Mashiro": Okay, okay. Get to bed early.

"Yuji": Roger! (¦3[▓▓]

She slipped her phone into her pocket, stood up from the stone steps, and headed home to sleep.