Utahime and Mei Mei stayed where they were to wait for their Assistant Supervisor, while the four from Tokyo Jujutsu High returned to school aboard their open-top aircraft: Rainbow Dragon.
In the Gymnasium, Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo were playing basketball, while Sakurada Niji and Shoko amused themselves by trying on Satoru Gojo's Sunglasses and discovered something unusual about them.
These Sunglasses don't let any light through... I can't see a thing with them on!
Satoru Gojo suddenly asked, "Is a Curtain really that necessary? Who cares if ordinary people see us? They can't see cursed spirits or jujutsu anyway."
Suguru Geto replied, "Of course it is. To suppress the creation of cursed spirits, we need ordinary people to remain calm. Take today's mission, for example. Without a Curtain, ordinary people would've seen a house suddenly torn into rubble by an invisible vortex. To them, that's even more terrifying than being able to see it."
After playing with Satoru Gojo's Sunglasses for a while, Shoko put them back on him as he sat on the floor with his head tilted back.
"Well~ you've got a point," Satoru Gojo said indifferently.
"The cursed energy produced by negative emotions can't stay inside non-sorcerers, so it turns into cursed spirits. But I've heard cursed spirits and jujutsu sorcerers are really rare overseas~ Is that because people overseas don't have negative emotions?"
Sakurada Niji joined the conversation, casually bringing up the situation overseas in an attempt to steer their thinking.
Suguru Geto lowered his head thoughtfully, seemingly already considering it, but Satoru Gojo looked indifferent and didn't pursue the matter.
Looking at it this way, Satoru really doesn't seem to care much...
Clatter- The Gymnasium doors suddenly opened, and Masamichi Yaga stood outside, looking at the four of them.
"You're all here. Good. We have a new mission. Come with me."
The four followed Masamichi Yaga toward the classroom.
In the hallway, Masamichi Yaga spoke to the four behind him.
"To be honest, this mission carries a heavy responsibility. Lord Tengen specifically requested Satoru and Geto, but I'm assigning all four of you to it. That should give us a better margin of safety."
Oh~ Tengen didn't include me~ Maybe it's because I'm too inconspicuous~
"This mission has two objectives. You are to act as bodyguards for the girl, the star plasma vessel, Riko Amanai. Then-eliminate her."
"Protect and eliminate a little girl?" Satoru Gojo couldn't believe it. He thought something must have gone wrong with his teacher's brain.
"Mr. Yaga, are you sure you didn't misread it?" Sakurada Niji asked.
"That's correct," Masamichi Yaga answered Satoru Gojo seriously.
Shoko, who was at the back of the group, looked a little surprised when she heard the mission, but said nothing.
"Have you finally gone senile~?" Satoru Gojo covered his mouth, trying to keep Masamichi Yaga from hearing him laugh.
Suguru Geto followed up immediately. "It is spring, after all. He's gotten carried away because he's going to be the next principal."
Suguru Geto cracked a joke.
Then he said, "Joking aside."
"I'm the one who decides whether that counts as a joke." Masamichi Yaga had clearly heard Suguru Geto's "joke."
Suguru Geto changed the subject with a perfectly serious expression.
He asked, "Does Lord Tengen's cursed technique need to be reset?"
"Huh? What does that mean?" Satoru Gojo asked.
The others were a little surprised that Satoru Gojo knew nothing about something like this.
"What's with those looks?!" Satoru Gojo slammed the door.
Masamichi Yaga had no choice but to explain it to him separately.
"Lord Tengen possesses the cursed technique Immortality, but that doesn't mean he doesn't age. Aging alone wouldn't be a problem, but once it accumulates past a certain point, the technique attempts to reconstruct his body."
"Evolution."
"He ceases to be human and becomes a higher form of life."
"Isn't that a good thing? Sounds awesome~" Satoru Gojo didn't understand.
Suguru Geto explained, "According to Lord Tengen, once he reaches that stage, what we call his 'will' will no longer exist. At that point, Lord Tengen will no longer be Lord Tengen. The evolution can't be controlled, and no one knows what he'll become afterward. In the worst-case scenario, Lord Tengen could become our enemy."
"Jujutsu strongholds all across Japan, including our school, and the Assistant Supervisors' barrier techniques all have their strength enhanced by Lord Tengen. Without his power, security would become a problem, and we wouldn't be able to complete our missions. The worst-case scenario is that Lord Tengen becomes humanity's enemy."
Suguru Geto continued, "That's why, every five hundred years, he assimilates a star plasma vessel-a suitable human individual-to overwrite his body's information. Once his body is renewed, the technique's effects reset too, and he stops evolving."
"I see. Evolving into WarGreymon would be great, but turning into SkullGreymon would be bad~ So he has to turn into Koromon and start over."
After thinking for a moment, Satoru Gojo reached a conclusion using an analogy of his own.
"I think Satoru's explanation is easier to understand." Sakurada Niji wholeheartedly agreed with Satoru Gojo's vivid comparison.
"Well~ his explanation is simpler~ Though only someone like Satoru wouldn't know this stuff in the first place," Shoko quipped.
Masamichi Yaga returned to the mission.
"Information about the star plasma vessel girl has leaked. Broadly speaking, the people who want her dead fall into two camps."
Masamichi Yaga turned the laptop in front of him around and opened the mission briefing.
"Q, a group of curse users who want Lord Tengen to lose control so they can overthrow the current Jujutsu Society."
"And the Time Vessel Association, a religious group that worships Lord Tengen."
"Lord Tengen will assimilate the star plasma vessel during the full moon two days from now."
"Until then, you are to protect the girl and bring her to Lord Tengen. Failure will affect the lives of ordinary people, so take this seriously!"
The four rode Rainbow Dragon to the mission site, stopping near the building where Riko Amanai was staying. Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto jumped straight down, while Sakurada Niji created an Air Staircase and led Shoko off the "aircraft."
Walking ahead of them, Satoru Gojo tipped his head back to drink from a can he'd just bought. His head and body seemed to move independently, and his gait hardly looked human.
Meanwhile, the usually dependable Suguru Geto walked hunched over with his hands in his pockets, looking like a high school gangster. It was a very strange sight.
Sakurada Niji and Shoko quietly put some distance between themselves and the pair.
"Shoko, don't you think this is funny?"
Watching the two up ahead reenact the iconic "Hua brothers" scene, Sakurada Niji covered his mouth and nearly hurt himself holding back his laughter.
"They just look kind of stupid. Aren't they always like this? I thought you'd gotten used to it."
Shoko looked thoroughly unfazed, perhaps because she'd never expected much from the two of them in the first place.
Satoru Gojo suddenly turned around.
"Hey~ what's with you two?! Why are you staying so far away?"
Sakurada Niji and Shoko glanced at the pair, who were now behaving normally, and had no choice but to catch up.
"Say, why do the people from the Time Vessel Association want to kill that girl too?" Satoru Gojo suddenly asked.
"Because they worship a pure Lord Tengen. They can't tolerate the star plasma vessel-an impurity-being mixed into him," Suguru Geto explained.
"Then what if the star plasma vessel doesn't want to assimilate with Tengen?" Sakurada Niji asked.
"Then she doesn't have to~" Satoru Gojo suddenly broke the silence.
"...That could mean going to war with Lord Tengen," Suguru Geto said.
"What? Scared~?" Satoru Gojo smiled faintly, revealing his Six Eyes behind his Sunglasses.
"Well~ we should respect the wishes of the person involved~" Sakurada Niji said.
"Ugh... what a headache..." Shoko pressed a hand to her forehead.
The group soon arrived at the building where Riko Amanai was staying.
The four split into three groups. Satoru Gojo stayed outside to observe and provide support, Suguru Geto entered the building alone, and Sakurada Niji waited farther away with Shoko.
Before long, Sakurada Niji saw an explosion erupt on an upper floor of the distant building. An indistinct figure fell from high above, only to be caught by Suguru Geto, who was riding a pink Manta Ray.
Satoru Gojo engaged Bain, a combatant from Q.
Toji is on a tall building near here, but I can't find him at all. I'll go find Geto first.
"Let's go, Shoko. The fight will be over soon. Riko Amanai might be hurt, so let's head over to Geto first."
"Okay~"
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