Empty

The interrogation results passed through one level after another until they reached the higher-ups.

"Can we really trust what those two curse users said? Couldn't it just be someone who looks like him, or some kind of transformation technique?

"I don't think it's very likely to be the real Suguru Geto," Gojo Shiqing analyzed as he paced around the room.

The newcomer nominated by the Gojo Clan was relatively young among the group of old men.

Out of trust in his clan head, he dismissed the possibility that Suguru Geto was still alive.

Zenin Bing sat in a wheelchair, apparently still suffering from serious injuries sustained last time. "Anything is possible. We can't rule anything out. Whether he's an impostor or the real thing, we should investigate."

This old man was also nearing retirement. With his shikigami destroyed, his grip on power was no longer secure.

The only reason he had yet to step down was that the Zenin Clan lacked a worthy successor. No one could take over his position.

"I don't think that's necessary," Kamo Yi objected.

"Oh? Do you have another view?" Gojo Shiqing asked.

Kamo Yi took a sip of tea before saying, "A view? No. But after Suguru Geto died, the cursed spirits controlled by his Cursed Spirit Manipulation went berserk. That couldn't have been faked.

"That only happens when the user of Cursed Spirit Manipulation dies.

"If Suguru Geto had faked his death, the cursed spirits' rampage wouldn't have been so genuine.

"I'm sure I don't need to explain the nature of cursed spirits."

Zenin Bing slowly turned his neck. "Since we disagree, let's vote."

Before the other two could express their opinions, the door was suddenly pushed open.

Zenin Bing glared at the staff member who had barged in, his anger flaring. "You fool! Have you forgotten every rule you were taught?"

The man hurriedly bowed. "I'm sorry, my lords. But this is so urgent that I had no choice."

Gojo Shiqing asked, "What is it?"

"The staff cleaning up the Goodwill Event grounds just found the missing Mother Soul Offering deep in the forest.

"They also discovered dried blood on it.

"We had the blood tested immediately, and the results were a close match to... to Suguru Geto's biological sample."

Having finished his report, the man stepped aside.

Gojo Shiqing and Zenin Bing exchanged a look and spoke in unison. "He's alive?!"

Jujutsu High

Late that night, Satoru Gojo sat alone in his office, leafing through a file containing information on Suguru Geto.

Knock, knock.

The sudden knocking pulled Satoru Gojo out of his memories. "Come in."

The door opened, and the visitor walked up to Satoru Gojo. "Lord Gojo, here are the documents you requested."

Those old fossils can barely walk, but they sure work fast, Satoru Gojo thought.

He reached out, took the documents, and opened them.

The Soul Repository's personnel movement records showed no irregularities upon review. The reason for the Soul Offering's disappearance remained unknown.

No wonder they were fast. They didn't investigate a damn thing.

Satoru Gojo set down the documents and waved the man out.

The courier bowed and withdrew.

Satoru Gojo leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.

One incident had followed another lately, and none of them offered any leads.

While Satoru Gojo was thinking, someone knocked on the door again.

He opened his eyes. "Come in."

It was another courier from the higher-ups, but this time was different.

The man held out a document and spoke before Satoru Gojo could take it. "Lord Gojo, the Mother Soul Offering has been found. There was dried blood on it, and testing confirmed a match with Suguru Geto's biological sample."

Satoru Gojo shot to his feet, took the document, and examined it carefully.

After reading it, Satoru Gojo instead grew calm. "You can go."

"Yes, sir."

Satoru Gojo gathered the documents and teleported to the infirmary.

The infirmary

Shoko turned and picked up a scalpel, preparing to dissect the shriveled corpse of a jujutsu sorcerer.

Satoru Gojo suddenly appeared beside Shoko, startling her.

Shoko glanced at Satoru Gojo, then lowered her scalpel with a resigned sigh. "Don't do that next time. You can use the door."

"Shoko, Geto might still be alive," Satoru Gojo said, catching her scalpel hand.

"Huh?" Shoko Ieiri thought she had misheard him.

Satoru Gojo handed Shoko Ieiri the sample test results.

After reading them, Shoko Ieiri paused for two seconds before saying, "I'll go take a look with you."

Shoko Ieiri wheeled the body she had been about to dissect into the morgue and placed it in cold storage.

She walked out of the morgue and removed her dissection gown. "Let's go."

Satoru Gojo took Shoko Ieiri's hand, and they vanished in an instant.

Satoru Gojo brought Shoko Ieiri to a mountain owned by the Gojo Clan.

"Clan head." The two guards stationed at the mountain immediately dropped to one knee when they saw Satoru Gojo.

"Rise." With that, Satoru Gojo started up the mountain.

Satoru Gojo and Shoko Ieiri walked along the path.

With her hands behind her back, Shoko Ieiri asked Satoru Gojo, "Are we really going to dig it up and look?"

"I won't be at ease until I see it. It's Geto, after all." Satoru Gojo stopped in front of a gravestone.

Here lies my dear friend, Suguru Geto.

Satoru Gojo walked around the gravestone and stood over the buried coffin.

Limitless spread downward, pushing the layers of soil above the coffin outward and exposing the black coffin beneath.

Satoru Gojo extended his hand and activated Blue, instantly pulling the lid away.

Satoru Gojo stared wide-eyed into the empty coffin. Apart from a white quilt, Suguru Geto's body was nowhere to be found.

Shoko came over and peered inside as well. "It's true. Geto isn't dead."

"Impossible," Satoru Gojo murmured. He had personally carried Geto and laid him in the coffin.

Shoko Ieiri was just as baffled.

Could Suguru Geto have grasped Reverse Cursed Technique on the verge of death? No, that was impossible. By the time he was buried, his body had already shown every sign expected of a corpse.

"Could someone be controlling Geto's body?" Shoko Ieiri offered her own guess.

Satoru Gojo put the coffin lid back.

"We've confirmed it. Let's return to Jujutsu High first." Satoru Gojo was frighteningly calm now.

Shoko Ieiri placed her hand on Satoru Gojo's arm, and the two vanished again.

The stars gave way to the sun.

Chiyo Shin sat in a lounge chair at the training grounds, eating chips and reading a book his senior Ieiri had given him.

Meanwhile, Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, Nobara Kugisaki, and Junpei Yoshino were engaged in a four-way battle.

Megumi Fushiguro dominated the field, keeping the other three on the defensive.

The other three watched for openings, hoping to land a heavy blow on Megumi Fushiguro.

As Chiyo Shin was engrossed in his reading, his phone rang. He sat up and saw that it was Ijichi calling. "Hello, Mr. Ijichi. What is it?"

Ijichi was driving Satoru Gojo out on a mission. "Chiyo, an assistant manager named Akari Nitta will come to see you shortly. She'll be handling your missions for the next few days."

"Oh, all right. Got it. I'll let everyone know."

As he listened, Chiyo Shin rose from his lounge chair and headed toward Megumi Fushiguro and the others.

"All right, that's everything." The call ended.

Chiyo Shin slipped his phone into his pocket. Just as he was about to interrupt Megumi Fushiguro and the others' sparring, a voice came from behind him.

"Are you Chiyo Shin?"

Chiyo Shin turned to see a girl with blond hair standing there.

"And you are?"

"Mr. Ijichi should have told you about me. I'm assistant manager Akari Nitta." Akari Nitta extended her hand after introducing herself.

Chiyo Shin reached out as well, giving her hand a brief shake. "Hello, I'm Chiyo Shin. Mr. Ijichi just told me about you. You got here fast. Don't tell me we already have a mission today?"

"That's right. There's a mission today," Akari Nitta confirmed.

"Huh?" Chiyo Shin hadn't expected there to actually be one. He had only asked offhandedly.