To 'Help' You

Tan Man's provocation had thoroughly ignited Satoru Gojo's anger.

By this point, even Yu Haibara and Kento Nanami, who were peeking through the crack in the door, could clearly feel the terrifying tension in the hallway, ready to erupt at any moment.

For an instant, the same thought flashed through both their minds: If those two really start fighting, would escaping through the window be safer?

In fact, anyone sharp enough, like Kento Nanami, could already roughly infer the outcome of the incident involving Suguru Geto from Satoru Gojo's earlier conversation with Masamichi Yaga.

Even without the information Satoru Gojo had given Masamichi Yaga-that he had found a large pool of Suguru Geto's blood when he returned-Gojo's current state alone made it clear that the situation did not look promising.

It was not that Kento Nanami did not care whether Suguru Geto, his upperclassman, lived or died. He simply understood the gap between himself and Satoru Gojo.

He did not believe that his involvement would somehow locate someone even Satoru Gojo could not find.

And Kento Nanami knew perfectly well that the same went for his companion, Yu Haibara.

Kento Nanami felt that, at a time like this, anyone who could truly help Satoru Gojo would at least have to be on the level of Masamichi Yaga or Tan Man.

But Kento Nanami also understood that, even with such bleak prospects, people still wanted to cling to hope. Even knowing how slim that hope was, they would not want to give up until they saw a body.

Nevertheless, Masamichi Yaga made up his mind. Even if Jujutsu Headquarters held him accountable, he could not ignore Suguru Geto's fate, despite still having no leads on the Star Plasma Vessel.

Masamichi Yaga stopped the situation from spiraling out of control by shouting a stern reprimand.

"Enough! Stop screwing around at a time like this! For the rest of today, Geto takes priority. We're putting the Star Plasma Vessel matter on hold."

Even so, unlike Tan Man, who had completely calmed down, Satoru Gojo was still furious. The anger directed at Tan Man in his eyes had not diminished in the slightest, and even his cursed energy was roiling restlessly.

Seeing this, Masamichi Yaga delivered a hard smack to the back of Satoru Gojo's head, though it merely struck his Limitless.

"Are you an idiot? If things really are that bad, who here do you think can help you the most? Do you think it's me?" Masamichi Yaga scolded, exasperated with him.

"Huh?" Satoru Gojo pointed at Tan Man with a look of disgust. "What? You want me to beg him?"

That was Satoru Gojo for you. He was clearly the most desperate person there, yet he was also the one putting on this attitude.

If not for Limitless, Masamichi Yaga would have dearly loved to snap the finger Satoru Gojo had stuck out.

Seeing this, Tan Man waved a hand and volunteered, "You can tell me the details, Mr. Yaga. I'll do my best to see if I can help."

Satoru Gojo understood what was at stake. He knew that, as a member of the Zenin Clan and the only person who had ever defeated him, Tan Man would be an enormous help if he was willing to lend a hand.

And with Suguru Geto's condition unknown, they had to act without wasting a second. Yet Satoru Gojo still instinctively resented Tan Man and resisted accepting his help, muttering under his breath.

"Tch. It's not like you're stronger than me..."

As Satoru Gojo said this, he caught Masamichi Yaga's murderous glare, followed by an impatient demand.

"All right, hurry up and tell us everything you know. How else are we supposed to do anything?"

Only then did Satoru Gojo, with extreme reluctance, give Tan Man a detailed account of what had happened that night.

Listening to Satoru Gojo's account, Kento Nanami and Yu Haibara finally realized that the enemy they might face this time had managed to severely injure even someone as strong as Suguru Geto. That alone spoke volumes about their strength.

Only now did Tan Man learn the more specific details.

To be honest, Tan Man was not surprised that Suguru Geto had been unable to defeat Kenjaku. After all, battles between jujutsu sorcerers were on entirely different levels depending on whether they possessed a domain.

Not to mention that Kenjaku was a powerful sorcerer with an open domain. An ordinary sorcerer who encountered him would only meet their end.

In his heart, Tan Man had already more or less assumed Suguru Geto was dead, though there was still no conclusive evidence.

Tan Man frowned in thought, then asked Satoru Gojo with a grave expression.

"There's no question about the effectiveness of your Six Eyes, Gojo. Would it be fair to assume that this opponent has an ability capable of masking their presence from your Six Eyes?"

"..." Satoru Gojo remained silent for a long time, carefully reviewing his memories of the previous night. He had indeed failed to detect that enemy, both before taking the injured away and after returning from dropping them off.

Tan Man continued, "If they can do that, then they're incredibly dangerous. They can evade even a thorough search with your Six Eyes, Gojo..."

"..." Hearing Tan Man's words, Satoru Gojo fell silent again.

When he first arrived at the scene, the cursed residue had led him to believe the culprit had already left, so his search of the rubble had been rather cursory.

After all, by any reasonable assumption, why would a culprit powerful enough to cause such destruction be buried beneath the rubble themselves?

As a result, Satoru Gojo could not be certain whether the enemy had been hiding beneath the rubble at that very moment, concealed by the dense cursed residue.

For a moment, even Satoru Gojo felt a twinge of shame as he realized that his own carelessness might have forced Suguru Geto to face an enemy of that caliber alone.

When Satoru Gojo did not answer, Tan Man asked him seriously.

"My assessment is correct, isn't it, Gojo?"

Satoru Gojo noticed everyone looking at him. After a moment of silence, he finally answered.

"...Yes."

Tan Man offered Satoru Gojo some reassurance. "Although I don't know who attacked Suguru Geto, I have a feeling we'll definitely get to see our upperclassman 'Geto' again."

At that very moment, elsewhere and unbeknownst to Tan Man, another person he had never expected became involved in the incident.