A Night Visit to the Time Vessel Association

The very night Riko Amanai was discovered missing, Jujutsu Headquarters immediately contacted Masamichi Yaga and ordered him to direct the students of Tokyo Jujutsu High to join the search for her.

Jujutsu Headquarters had already warned Masamichi Yaga that, with Lord Tengen's assimilation drawing near, he needed to prepare to take over protection duties for the Star Plasma Vessel.

He had never imagined that, instead of protecting her, his next assignment would be to find the missing Star Plasma Vessel.

Even under these circumstances, however, someone still needed to deal with sudden cursed spirit incidents.

Masamichi Yaga therefore figured that Satoru Gojo's Six Eyes and Suguru Geto's Cursed Spirit Manipulation would be particularly useful in finding leads on Riko Amanai's whereabouts.

So he assigned the first-years-Nanami, Yu Haibara, and Tan Man-to handle the cursed spirit incidents separately.

This was also part of Tan Man's plan, since he had arranged those low-level cursed spirit incidents in advance for precisely this moment.

After easily exorcising the cursed spirits, Tan Man contacted Masamichi Yaga directly and explained that he could use his connections with the Zenin Clan to mobilize his forces in the area and help search for the Star Plasma Vessel.

With the search making little progress, Masamichi Yaga naturally had no reason to reject Tan Man's proposal, allowing Tan Man to begin his own operation without arousing suspicion.

In reality, Tan Man went with Toji to the Time Vessel Association's location to meet the person who wanted to hire Toji.

There was a reason Tan Man had not chosen to meet them first before joining up with the Jujutsu High personnel.

He wanted to give news of Riko Amanai's disappearance time to spread.

That way, he could negotiate with the Time Vessel Association after its members learned that Riko Amanai was missing.

Only then would they understand that Riko Amanai, his bargaining chip, was in his hands, sparing him some of the need to demonstrate his strength.

Tan Man rode in Toji's car to the Time Vessel Association's base and had to admit that the organization had some resources.

The moment he stepped into the building, Tan Man could tell that a considerable sum had gone into the premises and their decor.

Despite the late hour, the place was still brightly lit, and prayers from its followers could be heard from time to time. The Time Vessel Association's brainwashing methods left Tan Man rather surprised.

Apparently noticing that Tan Man and Toji looked like lost lambs, a young female receptionist approached them.

"Are you gentlemen interested in joining our faith?" the receptionist asked them warmly.

Tan Man wasted no words. He took out Toji's phone, showed her the text message, and spoke calmly.

"Take us to see him."

After reading the message, the receptionist immediately led them into a luxurious reception room.

However, the person who came to meet them was neither the leader of the Time Vessel Association nor the person who had actually issued the commission.

It was merely an executive representing the Time Vessel Association-the same man who had appeared in the original story.

With an amiable expression, the man explained to Tan Man, "Yes, we were the ones who issued the commission. But now that the Star Plasma Vessel has gone missing, our arrangement will have to be..."

But Tan Man had no interest in wrangling with him and did not want to waste much time on something so inconsequential.

"Get lost. I don't have time to talk to some lackey. Bring out someone who can make decisions, or rather, bring me the person who issued the commission."

Clearly displeased with Tan Man's commanding tone, the executive retorted.

"Get your facts straight. Haven't I already made myself clear? The Star Plasma Vessel is missing. Not only do the mission details need to change, we aren't even sure whether we still want to proceed with the commission. What's with that attitude?"

After all, he was only a minor executive and knew nothing of the stakes truly involved.

The room the three of them occupied was used by the Time Vessel Association to receive special guests, and it was secluded enough to be difficult for outsiders to discover.

With nothing left to worry about, Tan Man struck. A flick of his fingertips sent fine threads formed from Black Flame slicing the executive's body apart. As Black Flame and spikes erupted, he burned down to a blackened skeleton in an instant.

The Time Vessel Association was fairly wealthy. Its decor used high-quality marble with very little wood, so Tan Man's attack did not set the entire room ablaze.

Toji was examining a statue that gleamed with a golden sheen, wondering whether it was solid gold. He sensed Tan Man's actions but was not particularly surprised; he was already used to them.

Still, Toji casually asked, "Did you only come here to kill people? If you're looking for someone, isn't that a little quick to start killing?"

"Nobody here matters. The only one who matters is the person I'm looking for."

As Tan Man spoke, he calmly crushed the charred skeleton beneath his foot and turned his gaze toward a surveillance camera mounted on the ceiling.

It was already 2006, so naturally the room was equipped with surveillance equipment. It might not have been particularly advanced, but it could at least perform its basic functions.

Only a short while later, a slightly overweight middle-aged man in a white robe emerged through a concealed door.

He introduced himself to Tan Man and Toji as the leader of the Time Vessel Association and claimed that he was also the one who had issued the order commissioning Toji to kill the Star Plasma Vessel.

But one glance was enough for Tan Man to know that this man was lying too. His smooth, unmarked forehead made it all the more apparent that he was not the person Tan Man sought.

Toji seemed to pick up on Tan Man's expression and asked, "Well? Even the leader isn't the one you're looking for?"

"Right. It's not him. Get rid of him."

The moment Tan Man reached the words "get rid of," Toji had already moved.

In less than a second, he cleanly snapped the man's neck, making certain he was dead.