Since Satoru Gojo was at Tokyo Jujutsu High, his classmates Suguru Geto and Shoko were naturally there as well.
In Tokyo Jujutsu High's second-year classroom, Shoko had grown bored after waiting so long for Masamichi Yaga and Satoru Gojo. She slumped over her desk and complained.
"Gojo's taking forever. What are they even doing?"
In the seat beside her, Suguru Geto was much the same, propping his chin on one hand as he waited in boredom.
"They..."
But before Suguru Geto could finish, the tremendous commotion from Satoru Gojo and Tan Man's battle instantly caught their attention.
Both immediately sprang to their feet and hurried to the classroom window.
They stared in shock at the pitch-black sun and the terrifying downpour of black flames.
"What is that?" Shoko's eyes widened. She had no idea what was happening in the distance.
Suguru Geto sometimes released weak cursed spirits to roam around Jujutsu High, using them to keep track of Masamichi Yaga's whereabouts along the way.
Now, through one cursed spirit closer to Tan Man and Satoru Gojo's battlefield, he could feel the terror of that fight even more keenly.
Suguru Geto frowned. "That's Satoru's cursed energy. It looks like he's fighting something."
"With a spectacle this big, could it be something like a special grade cursed spirit?" Shoko wondered aloud.
Suguru Geto still felt that something was wrong. He jumped straight out the window and summoned a flying cursed spirit, which carried him swiftly toward the battlefield.
His reason for not bringing Shoko was obvious: this clearly wasn't a fight she should get involved in.
Though Suguru Geto was a little worried, he simply couldn't imagine Satoru Gojo being seriously injured, so bringing Shoko along to treat him immediately never crossed his mind.
Before he knew who Satoru Gojo was fighting, Suguru Geto had intended to jump in at once and help him deal with his formidable opponent.
But when Suguru Geto spotted Yaga standing outside the black flames, looking remarkably calm, he hesitated briefly and stopped instead.
As he drew closer, he also realized how terrifying those black flames were. Forcing his way through wouldn't be easy.
With a head full of questions, Suguru Geto urgently asked Masamichi Yaga.
"Sir, what exactly is going on? What's Satoru fighting? Why is it causing such a huge commotion? Is it a special grade cursed spirit? But why aren't you helping him? Or stopping him?"
Suguru Geto rattled off a string of questions. He truly couldn't make sense of the situation.
"..."
Masamichi Yaga was silent for a moment before finally explaining.
"Well, strictly speaking, Satoru isn't fighting an enemy. He's just conducting an entrance test for a new student in my place..."
"Huh?" Suguru Geto's composure instantly cracked.
Upon hearing Masamichi Yaga's explanation, Suguru Geto looked as though he'd just heard a painfully unfunny joke. He repeated it to himself.
"He isn't fighting an enemy, and he's conducting an entrance test for a new student in your place. Are you sure you're not joking?"
Feeling Satoru Gojo's turbulent cursed energy, Suguru Geto continued.
"Who could possibly require Satoru to fight with this much power? He's never even used this level of strength against me!"
Masamichi Yaga gazed at the wildly roiling black flames and asked Suguru Geto a question in return.
"You've been together at Jujutsu High for a year now. Has Satoru Gojo ever told you that someone beat him when he was little?"
"When he was little? That guy could actually lose to someone as a kid? With Limitless and the six eyes together, how could anyone have beaten him even then...?"
Suguru Geto frowned slightly, unsure why Masamichi Yaga was bringing this up now.
But the next moment, Geto connected it to the battle unfolding before him. He turned toward the surging cursed energy, then immediately questioned Masamichi Yaga again.
"Wait, are you saying the person fighting Satoru Gojo right now is the same one who beat him back then?"
Suguru Geto felt he had grasped the key point in Masamichi Yaga's words.
Masamichi Yaga confirmed Suguru Geto's guess.
"That's right. The person fighting Satoru Gojo right now is the new student seeking admission today. He's also the only person who defeated and seriously injured Satoru Gojo nine years ago: Tan Man Zenin, the son of Naobito, head of the Zenin Clan."
"Tan Man... Zenin?"
Suguru Geto murmured the name. It still sounded quite unfamiliar to him.
"It's perfectly normal that you've never heard his name and don't know about this. Even though some word of what happened nine years ago leaked out, very few people casually bring it up. After all, strictly speaking, it was a scandal for the Gojo Clan-or the only shame of the Gojo Clan's six eyes."
"Seriously? It was that big a deal? Is there really a way to defeat Limitless and the six eyes?"
Masamichi Yaga wasn't a member of the Three Great Families, after all, and hadn't witnessed the incident himself, so he couldn't give Suguru Geto a definite answer. His gaze simply drifted involuntarily toward the sea of black flames.
Then Suguru Geto realized something else.
"Wait, an entrance test? Why is Tan Man Zenin enrolling now?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. When Tan Man Zenin defeated Satoru Gojo, he was a full two years younger than him, and he'd only awakened his cursed technique that same year. So, to be precise, even if he enrolls, he'll actually be your junior."
Suguru Geto pressed a hand to his face and finally couldn't help laughing.
He probably hadn't heard this many "jokes" in a row on any single day since he was born.
For the first time, Suguru Geto learned that the insufferably arrogant Satoru Gojo had a past like this.
It also made Suguru Geto a little more curious about Tan Man. As he watched the battlefield, he asked Masamichi Yaga.
"So, like Satoru Gojo, did he inherit some special power from the Zenin Clan, one of the Three Great Families? Something that can rival the six eyes?"
Masamichi Yaga handed Suguru Geto the record containing Tan Man's information.
"'Eight Hot Hells'? What kind of cursed technique is that?"
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