Inverted Spear of Heaven...

"Ring, ring, ring..."

As Tsukasa Hatayama smiled helplessly, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang. He took it out and saw that it was his teacher, Yaga, calling from distant Yiyu.

"Sir?"

"Tsukasa, did you finish the mission?" Masamichi Yaga's tired voice came through the phone.

"I did, but I ran into a troublesome Curse User on my way out." As soon as Tsukasa finished speaking, he hurriedly held the phone far away.

The next second, Masamichi Yaga's booming voice rang out. "A Curse User? Did Shigeru Sonoda from the Time Vessel Association hire another Curse User?"

Tsukasa brought the phone back to his ear, his red eyes flickering slightly. "Sonoda didn't hire him. We spoke before fighting, and he revealed that he once occupied Kenjaku's body."

"Occupied Kenjaku's body?" Masamichi Yaga's voice rose in disbelief. "That's quite a claim. Give me a moment to process it."

Tsukasa found a stone step and sat down. Resting his cheek on his hand, he stared blankly at the scarred, devastated ground, his red eyes gradually losing focus.

A long while passed.

Once Masamichi Yaga recovered, he asked gravely, "What happened to that Curse User? Did he hurt you?"

Tsukasa gradually came back to his senses. He carefully recalled the process of beating Kenjaku up and said, "I wasn't hurt. He fought very cautiously. Even when he was on the back foot, he didn't take the initiative to attack."

"He seemed to be holding back his trump card, afraid I'd counter it. If I'm not mistaken, that trump card should be a domain."

"As for what happened to him, he used his Cursed Technique to escape."

As Tsukasa spoke, he swiftly moved the phone away from his ear again. Sure enough, the shocked booming voice rang out a second later.

"You're saying his trump card was a domain? Thank goodness he was wary of you. Otherwise, I'd have come back to Tokyo only to bury my own student."

Tsukasa said confidently, "Sir, it's not as serious as you're making it sound. Even if he opened a sure-hit, sure-kill domain, I'm confident I could hold my own."

"I know. But if you encounter something like this again, get away first. As long as you're alive, you can always fight another day."

Masamichi Yaga offered his earnest advice. Of his three beloved students, Tsukasa was his favorite, followed by Suguru Geto, then Satoru Gojo.

Warmth flowed through Tsukasa's heart. "I know, sir. Now let's talk about this body-stealing Curse User."

"If my guess is right, he should be from the same era as Tengen. His Cursed Technique almost certainly lets him stay alive by transplanting his brain into other people."

"After switching brains, he can use both his own Cursed Technique and the original body's."

"It seems that whenever he changes bodies, he preserves their Cursed Techniques through some unknown method."

"Wait. Give me another moment. That's a lot to take in." Unable to accept it all, Masamichi Yaga interrupted, his breathing uneven.

After another long while, Masamichi Yaga returned to his usual unsmiling demeanor.

"Do you have any evidence for these claims? Reckless speculation could throw Jujutsu Society into turmoil."

Tsukasa had no choice but to invoke the library again, explaining slowly, "Tengen's Ancient Treatise recorded a Curse User named Kenjaku. To put it simply, his Cursed Technique involves switching brains."

"I didn't believe it when I first read it. But then I saw the stitched scar on his forehead myself, and he casually mentioned occupying Kenjaku's body."

"Everything defied common sense, but it left me no choice but to believe it. If you think my theory is wrong, you can have the Higher-Ups ask Tengen."

"Or... perhaps the Higher-Ups already know someone like him exists in Jujutsu Society. They might even have some secret dealings with him."

Masamichi Yaga fell silent. After a long while, he said, "I won't ask the Higher-Ups. I'd rather trust my student than them."

"I'll inform the students at both schools and the Three Great Families so they can stay on guard. Head back to school now. I'm worried something else might happen."

"All right. Stay safe, sir."

Tsukasa ended the call with that thoughtful remark and stood up, feeling relieved. He had given the necessary warnings and done everything he could.

Before long, Kenjaku would surely become a public enemy, hunted by everyone. And the Kamo Clan, one of the Three Great Families, would almost certainly turn over every stone to find him.

Hundreds of years ago, he had committed atrocities under Kenjaku's name that outraged gods and men alike. Now that the truth was out, nothing short of killing him would ease their hatred.

Beneath the deepening night, Tsukasa left with Kitetsu in hand. He would leave the wreckage on the ground for the Assistant Supervisor to handle.

Nine that evening.

A bright crescent moon shone overhead. In the brightly lit courtyard of Jujutsu High's dormitories, the first- and second-years gathered on the lawn for a nighttime camping session.

Although they called it camping, there was nothing lively about it. The death of the "Star Plasma Vessel" had made the atmosphere heavy and oppressive.

Yu Haibara looked worriedly at Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo. His upperclassmen were staring listlessly at the snacks and desserts before them.

Feeling miserable himself, he tried to comfort them. "Geto, Gojo, you have to pull yourselves together. Miss Amanai wouldn't want to look down from heaven and see you so dispirited and defeated."

"We're dispirited?"

Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto were taken aback. Since when had they been dispirited? They had merely been wondering whether Amanai had reached Great Britain yet.

The two exchanged knowing smiles without explaining much. Since their underclassman thought that was the case, they would let him believe it.

The fewer people knew Amanai was alive, the better it would be for Riko Amanai across the sea. That would spare her unnecessary trouble.

They put away their listless expressions, relaxed, and began eating the camping snacks their underclassmen had prepared, enjoying this hard-earned moment of peace.

"By the way, Satoru, you still have Toji Fushiguro's Inverted Spear of Heaven, right?" Suguru Geto asked with a smile as he ate popcorn.

"What are you planning?" Satoru Gojo warily shifted the stone stool beneath him. "The Inverted Spear of Heaven is in my room. I'm taking it back to my clan tomorrow to have it destroyed."

Suguru Geto shook his head regretfully. "Doesn't it seem like a waste to destroy such a powerful Cursed Tool? Why not give it to me?"

Satoru Gojo's expression darkened. He turned his face away, pretending not to hear. He disliked thinking things through, but that didn't mean he was an idiot.

The Inverted Spear of Heaven's ability to forcibly cancel Cursed Techniques directly countered Limitless. Giving it to Geto would mean handing him the school's second-place spot on a silver platter, wouldn't it?

Even if he were willing to give it away, once the old men of the Gojo family found out, they would risk their lives to snatch it back from Geto.

After all, this Special Grade Cursed Tool threatened Limitless's standing. Those old men would never rest easy unless it was destroyed.

Suguru Geto refused to give up. "I'll trade you the Special Grade Cursed Tool Playful Cloud. If that's not enough, I'll throw in the Special Grade Cursed Tool Soul Liberation Blade."

He had looted them anyway. Giving them away was no big deal.

If he obtained the Inverted Spear of Heaven, his strength would take a qualitative leap. More importantly, he would no longer have to fear Limitless's power to stop things.

Satoru Gojo said with a headache, "Geto, stop. I'll give you the Special Grade Cursed Tool Chain of a Thousand Miles, so quit coveting the Inverted Spear of Heaven."

With that, he tugged up his pajama pants and dashed back to his room. When he returned, he held the Chain of a Thousand Miles and the Inverted Spear of Heaven.

"Here."

Satoru Gojo held the Chain of a Thousand Miles out to Suguru Geto. Geto, however, stared longingly at the Inverted Spear of Heaven in his other hand.

Suguru Geto pursed his lips and reluctantly accepted the Chain of a Thousand Miles. But to keep Satoru from losing out, he took the Soul Liberation Blade from the Inventory Curse Worm's mouth and offered it in exchange.

Overall, it was a terrible loss. The Soul Liberation Blade could ignore hardness and cut directly at the soul, while the Chain of a Thousand Miles... the less said, the better. Its effect was hardly useful.

"Haibara, Nanami, you can play with this for the night." Satoru Gojo weighed the Soul Liberation Blade in his hand, then tossed it toward Yu Haibara and Kento Nanami without much interest.

Delighted, the two gathered around the Soul-Splitting Katana to examine it.

But since he had already brought the Inverted Spear of Heaven out, Satoru Gojo thoughtfully offered it to Suguru Geto so he could have a little fun handling it.

Suguru Geto accepted it like a priceless treasure, excitedly stabbing at the air with the Inverted Spear of Heaven. Still unsatisfied, he got up and used it to cut weeds and tree branches.

Satoru Gojo's mouth twitched at the sight, and he sighed through his handsome, boyish face.

Just then, Tsukasa Hatayama and Shoko Ieiri came over from the distant grill, carrying the cooked meat.

Ignoring the heat, Satoru Gojo grabbed a piece. As he ate, he asked Tsukasa, who had just sat down, through a mouthful of food, "Tsukasa, do you have a way to destroy the Inverted Spear of Heaven?"

Tsukasa took a small sip of his cold coffee and offered a pointed reminder. "Why destroy it? If you keep it, it might come in handy someday."

Satoru Gojo shook his head and shrugged dismissively. "The Inverted Spear of Heaven counters Limitless's Inviolability too well. I won't sleep easy while it exists."

"Now that I've mastered Reverse Cursed Technique, my strength has taken a qualitative leap. Apart from you, nobody in Jujutsu Society can hurt me."

"Since I'm already this strong, why would I keep the Inverted Spear of Heaven? I might as well find a chance to seal it away or destroy it."

Seeing that Satoru was determined, Tsukasa stopped trying to persuade him. If Satoru was sealed inside the Prison Realm in the future, he could simply cut it open with Kitetsu.

Kitetsu could ignore barriers, after all. As for the Culling Game, which was constructed from barriers... a single Heavenly Devour strike from Kitetsu would wipe it out.

Or he could cut through it with his Mystic Eyes... all in all, he was like an overpowered game exploit, capable of breaking the rules at will.

"What are you thinking about? I've called you so many times, and you haven't answered." Before he could think any further, Satoru Gojo nudged Tsukasa's foot with his own.

Tsukasa gradually came back to his senses. He shook his head at Satoru Gojo and changed the subject. "If you can't destroy the Inverted Spear of Heaven, I can help."

"How?"

Satoru Gojo grew interested. Small and seemingly easy to snap though the Inverted Spear of Heaven was, it was so hard that even Purple couldn't damage it.

Was he going to use those eyes of death?

At that thought, Satoru Gojo called loudly to Suguru Geto, who was cutting branches. "Geto, stop chopping! Bring the Inverted Spear of Heaven over here!"

"Got it."

Having had his fill of fun, Suguru Geto returned, drenched in sweat, and handed the Inverted Spear of Heaven back to his best friend.

Satoru Gojo eagerly placed it in Tsukasa's hand and urged him curiously, "There, I've given it to you. Go on, destroy it right here so I can see."

Tsukasa set down his coffee cup and said meaningfully, "Before I destroy it, you have to agree to one thing. If you agree, I'll help."

"Tell me what it is first."

Satoru Gojo didn't impulsively agree. Instead, he eyed Tsukasa warily, watching the faintly sly smile on his lips.

Tsukasa remained perfectly composed. "I want to run a little experiment with Dark Manipulation. If it succeeds, my Cursed Technique will undergo a complete transformation."

Suguru Geto froze while wiping away his sweat. Then an unbelievable possibility occurred to him.

His eyes locked onto his best friend as he exclaimed, "Don't tell me this experiment involves using Dark Extraction to extract the Inverted Spear of Heaven's forced cancellation effect!"

The moment those words left his mouth-

Silence fell over the gathering. All four men and the one woman stared at Tsukasa in shock.