After Satoru Gojo chased him off the winding mountain road, Ijichi had no choice but to drive off alone to meet Masamichi Yaga.
Once he arrived and braced himself, Ijichi pushed the door open and entered.
Seeing Ijichi but no Satoru Gojo, Masamichi Yaga seemed to have expected this, but asked anyway, "Where's Satoru?"
Ijichi had plenty of experience handling situations like this and already had an answer ready. "He still has something to take care of. He should... should be here soon."
Masamichi Yaga was long used to Satoru Gojo's antics. He said nothing more and gestured for Ijichi to sit.
Another thirty minutes or so passed.
The room was silent.
Ijichi grew restless. Why isn't he here yet?
Though Masamichi Yaga knew what Satoru Gojo was like, he was still exasperated. "You said Satoru would be here shortly, but this is taking far too long!"
Ring, ring.
Ijichi's phone rang. He took it out and saw that it was Satoru Gojo. After signaling to Masamichi Yaga, he stepped outside to answer, cupping a hand over the receiver as he whispered, "Please hurry over. Principal Yaga seems a little angry."
"He's angry? It's fine. He won't hit you.
"Anyway, I have a serious problem for you to handle. You have to get it done. If you don't, I'll reward you with a full-power round of slaps."
Ijichi shuddered at the words "full-power slaps." "What is it?"
"Do this... then this... Got it?"
Even if Ijichi didn't understand, he had to pretend he did now. "I'll do my best."
He slipped his phone into his pocket, pushed the door open again, and got straight to the point. "Principal Yaga, that call was from Satoru Gojo. He asked me to tell you..."
Inside Dagon's domain.
Hanami returned to the cursed spirits' hideout ahead of Kenjaku and told them everything that had happened to Jogo.
Dagon was the first to lose control upon hearing that Jogo had been exorcised. The warm, sunny beach was now battered by raging waves, and Dagon kept shouting Jogo's name from the water.
Mahito put down his book upon hearing the news, only to pick it up again a moment later.
Click.
Kenjaku opened the door and walked in.
Hanami, Dagon, and Mahito all turned their gazes toward him.
Ignoring the cursed spirits' stares, he said, "You can't even handle this?"
"Jogo!" The moment Dagon saw Kenjaku, he lost control and sent a towering wave crashing toward him.
Kenjaku casually pulled out a cursed spirit to block it.
Mahito looked at Kenjaku, weighed the pros and cons, then told Hanami, "Hanami, go stop Dagon. This has nothing to do with Geto."
Though reluctant, Hanami obeyed Mahito's order.
Hanami rushed into the sea, hauled Dagon out, and enclosed him in wood.
Kenjaku walked over to Mahito's lounge chair. "Leader of the cursed spirits, you and I both expected Jogo's fate. We should each take half the blame.
"But the result wasn't all bad. Jogo's death showed you exactly what kind of beings Satoru Gojo and Chiyo Shin are.
"If you still want the plan to succeed, we must carry it out only after establishing an overwhelming advantage on our side.
"Do you agree, Mahito, leader of the cursed spirits?"
"No objections."
"Then we'll carry out the plan in Shibuya on October 31. I'll contact you about the details. That's all. I'll be leaving now."
After watching Kenjaku leave, Hanami released Dagon. "ΦΨδΥ"
"I'll be careful." Mahito stared at the doorway, his thoughts unreadable.
Tokyo Jujutsu High.
You win some, you lose some. By the time Chiyo Shin returned to Jujutsu High, everyone had already finished the shabu-shabu.
How could Chiyo Shin let it go when he hadn't gotten any? He pleaded and pestered them.
At last, he managed to trade some pointers on Domain Expansion for a bag of chips from Megumi Fushiguro.
Chiyo Shin explained as he ate the chips. "Domain Expansion is actually pretty simple. Gojo covered it in class before Itadori joined us.
"Megumi, you just need to look at domains from a different perspective.
"Uh, it's too late today. Tomorrow morning, I'll show you what my domain looks like and how I activate it, so you can experience it yourself.
"Then expanding your own domain will come naturally."
"All right."
Six the next morning.
After waiting all night, Megumi Fushiguro dragged Chiyo Shin out of his room.
Following a dose of Megumi Fushiguro's great wake-up technique, Chiyo Shin was positively radiant.
The two headed to the sports field together.
"All right, student Megumi. Professor Chiyo will now begin today's lesson on domains. Are you ready?"
Megumi Fushiguro nodded.
"Megumi, put your hand on my shoulder and pay close attention to what you feel."
Megumi Fushiguro placed his hand on Chiyo Shin's shoulder.
"Then let's begin the lesson."
Chiyo Shin pressed his palms together. "Domain Expansion: Lin You Zhen Dang Ping."
At that moment, Megumi Fushiguro could sense the flow of Chiyo Shin's cursed energy and the construction of his cursed technique with exceptional clarity.
"What do you think, Megumi? Isn't my domain pretty?"
Megumi Fushiguro looked around. "Not bad."
"Hehe. So, did you learn anything?"
"I'm starting to get an idea."
Chiyo Shin yawned and lay back in midair. "Then keep exploring. I'm going to take another nap. Oh, and remember training starts after eight. If we're late, we'll both be in serious trouble today."
Watching Chiyo Shin fall asleep the instant he finished speaking, Megumi Fushiguro's brow twitched. Honestly, he sometimes envied how well this guy slept.
Leaving Chiyo Shin alone, Megumi Fushiguro explored his domain.
A group of six arrived outside the gates of Tokyo Jujutsu High.
"Finally here." Momo Nishimiya held her broom, panting slightly.
Aoi Todo folded his arms. "Tokyo's second-year, Okkotsu, can't compete this year, and their third-years are still on leave. They're so short on people that they have to fill the gaps with first-years. This Goodwill Event is going to be so boring."
Wanting to warn Aoi Todo against underestimating their opponents, Noritoshi Kamo said, "Todo, I heard there's a Special Grade sorcerer among this year's first-years, just like Okkotsu. I think his name is Chiyo Shin."
Aoi Todo looked unconcerned, but he kept that in mind. "Hah. Even Special Grades aren't all equal. I'll have to find this Chiyo Shin and size him up myself before I know whether he's on Okkotsu's level."
Kasumi Miwa still had to report to the principal for duty, so she timidly reminded them, "Um, shouldn't we go in first? It's not very polite to stand outside their school gates."
Mechamaru said to Kasumi Miwa, "Miwa, let's go in first."
"Oh, sure." Kasumi Miwa answered and followed Mechamaru into the school.
Aoi Todo strode through the gates right behind them. "I'm going to find Chiyo Shin."
"Todo, I'll go with you." Mai Zenin joined Aoi Todo.
Aoi Todo replied, "Suit yourself."
"Come on, let's go. I haven't eaten yet." Momo Nishimiya mounted her broom and flew ahead.
On a campus path.
"By the way, why do we have to buy drinks?" Yuji Itadori scratched his head in confusion. He had just finished his cursed energy training that day.
Nobara Kugisaki pointed at the three of them and snapped, "Obviously, it's because all three of you were late today.
"I'm not even going to bother with Chiyo. He's always late. Itadori doesn't count either, since it's his first day and he didn't know the time. But Fushiguro, what's your excuse?"
Megumi Fushiguro gazed up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle. He had gained so many insights inside Shin's domain that he couldn't resist experimenting and lost track of time. This was his first time being late.
After walking a short distance, the four reached the vending machine.
Nobara Kugisaki selected a drink, inserted her coins, and crouched down. "Can't the school install a few more vending machines?"
Chiyo Shin crouched down as well, squeezed Nobara Kugisaki aside, and took three drinks from the machine. "There aren't that many people at the school. What do we need so many vending machines for?"
Nobara Kugisaki whipped out her hammer, a vein bulging on her forehead. "Chiyo!"
While Chiyo Shin and Nobara Kugisaki squabbled, Megumi Fushiguro suddenly turned to look to the side. "Zenin?"
Before you continue