The aftermath

Jujutsu High was not so easy to infiltrate.

There were many shrines and Buddhist temples on its grounds, but most were there to mislead intruders.

Under Tengen's barrier technique, their locations changed randomly every day.

Of those thousand-plus doors, only one led to the cursed object storehouse where all of Ryomen Sukuna's fingers and the other dangerous items were kept.

And only Tengen himself knew which door provided access that day.

Thus, even if someone managed to sneak into Jujutsu High, those one-in-a-thousand odds were enough to deter them.

But as a jujutsu sorcerer who had survived for a thousand years, Tengen's cursed technique granted immortality, not eternal youth.

Aside from maintaining the barriers, he hardly ever interfered with the outside world.

So, to the brain who had spent a thousand years active in the world, laying plans and schemes...

An old relic who stayed at home like that posed no obstacle whatsoever. He might as well have been a tree.

The brain had already tampered with the fingers Jujutsu High had recovered earlier.

He had used Mahito's cursed energy to make cursed talismans, then affixed them inside the seals on Ryomen Sukuna's fingers, so they had gone unnoticed.

That way, Mahito could locate the door by sensing his own cursed energy.

As for the jujutsu sorcerers and guards at the entrance, they were nothing but pushovers to Mahito, utterly incapable of stopping him.

The brain could also have curse users observe the Curtain test, allowing him to target Satoru Gojo and Araki Itsuki more effectively afterward.

"I heard we weren't the only ones attacked?"

Araki Itsuki, Fushiguro, and the others had gathered to chat.

The students of Jujutsu High frequently went out on missions, so they rarely got to see one another.

Walking at the front, Araki Itsuki nodded.

"Three Grade 2 jujutsu sorcerers and one Semi-Grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer died, along with some assistant supervisors and guards."

"They were all jujutsu sorcerers who split off from Mr. Satoru Gojo and Principal Masamichi Yaga after the special grade cursed spirit invaded, waiting for a chance to act."

"But most importantly, Ryomen Sukuna's fingers and some special grade cursed objects were taken."

After hearing that, Maki asked in confusion, "Why didn't the higher-ups tell us about this?"

"Probably because they were afraid the curse users out there would go wild if they heard. Those are special grade cursed objects, after all."

Fushiguro asked another question. "Come to think of it, both cursed spirits and curse users got in. Why didn't Tengen's Barrier give us any warning?"

Araki Itsuki glanced at everyone and reminded them, "Remember the special grade cursed spirit you fought?

"Its name is Hanami, a cursed spirit born from humanity's fear and hatred of forests.

"Though it's a cursed spirit, its aura is almost indistinguishable from that of a nature spirit.

"A special grade cursed spirit like that can easily slip into plants and sneak in. After all, Jujutsu High's barrier doesn't affect plants."

"And another thing."

Araki Itsuki reminded everyone:

"That special grade cursed spirit isn't as simple as you think. When it fought you last time, it deliberately held back for fear of setting off the land mine that is Itadori."

Yuji Itadori froze at those words.

"Me?"

"More precisely, Ryomen Sukuna inside you."

Maki looked puzzled. "Then couldn't it have separated Itadori from us and killed the rest of us?"

"Who knows? Maybe someone else among us is one of Ryomen Sukuna's land mines, too."

Araki Itsuki stretched, regarding Yuji Itadori with an ambiguous smile.

Ryomen Sukuna's distinctive mouth appeared on Itadori's right cheek, but vanished again without saying anything.

Yuji Itadori shook his head and continued walking.

"These cursed spirits, and that one covered in stitches from before... who knows what they're plotting for us?"

"They took Ryomen Sukuna's fingers. Something about that just feels wrong."

"We need to work harder, too."

Araki Itsuki smiled and said confidently, "No need to worry."

"In the face of overwhelming power, none of it matters."

Panda sighed. "Araki, you're even better at showing off than Mr. Gojo."

"Haha."

Seeing the passion and fighting spirit in Yuji Itadori's eyes, as well as his firm conviction to protect lives, Fushiguro nodded earnestly.

"Let's work hard together!"

Araki Itsuki waved a hand casually and teased them.

"Actually, you don't need to put yourselves under so much pressure."

"If hard work did the trick, what would we need geniuses for?"

Yuji Itadori and the others were instantly deflated, while Kugisaki puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

"Damn it, Araki is so irritating!"

"Exactly!"

Watching Yuji Itadori laugh and joke around Araki Itsuki, Fushiguro suddenly asked:

"Itadori, you've... gotten stronger, haven't you?"

"Didn't you say back then that the truths we each firmly believe in are all right?

"I think that's true, too. But looking at it another way, we're both wrong."

Kugisaki immediately reminded him, "Hey, hey, some questions just don't have answers. You'll go bald if you think too much."

Fushiguro agreed with Kugisaki. "Right. There's no answer. What matters afterward is whether you can accept yourself."

"If you can't believe in yourself, how can you accept yourself?"

"A weak jujutsu sorcerer can't stand by his own convictions."

Looking at the powerful Yuji Itadori and Araki Itsuki, Fushiguro declared firmly, "I'll get stronger, too. I'll surpass you soon!"

Araki Itsuki was another matter. He had never entertained that idea.

Yuji Itadori laughed happily, delighted to improve alongside his friends.

"Haha, you're the same as ever."

Kugisaki quickly waved to remind them she was there.

"Hey, you two jerks, don't leave me out! Araki is one thing, but I refuse to lose to either of you."

"Anyway, what are we doing now?"

"Going to see Mr. Gojo and the others. The event got interrupted last time, so we're going to discuss whether to continue."

Soon, everyone had gathered with Kamo Noritoshi and the other Kyoto students, sitting around the room in small groups.

After explaining what had happened, Satoru Gojo asked for their opinions.

"To sum it up, a lot happened, and people died. So, should we still hold the Goodwill Event?"

"Of course we should continue."

Everyone looked toward Araki Itsuki, who had spoken from the sofa.

"This might sound bad, but we have no personal ties to those who died.

"Even mourning the dead is for their friends and family. It's not something we should interfere with."

"Second, as the only Special Grade here, I don't want to see you all get killed, so I need to put you through some proper training."

A teasing expression appeared on Araki Itsuki's face. At the sight of it, Miwa felt her newly healed arm start going numb again.

"Besides, strength comes from accumulated training. To make sure you learn enough from defeat and gain plenty of combat experience..."

"I'm willing to sacrifice my own time and energy to help you grow."

"Well? Say, 'Thank you, big brother Araki!'"

Fushiguro looked thoroughly exasperated. If you want an excuse to beat us up, just say so!

"And most importantly..."

At this point, Araki Itsuki turned to glance at Satoru Gojo.

"If you aren't strong enough, then the day Mr. Gojo gets hacked to death, you won't even have time to mourn him."

Hearing Araki Itsuki talk about him that way, Satoru Gojo immediately laughed.

Does he even understand what the Six Eyes are? What Limitless is?

"Araki, you really don't have much faith in me, do you?"

"I'm just using you as an example to motivate everyone, Mr. Gojo. Of course I believe in our strongest, most handsome Mr. Satoru Gojo."

"Haha, I am the strongest."

Todo clapped to draw everyone's attention and voiced his agreement.

"I think we should continue, too. The unspent passion of our student days will leave us with lifelong regrets."

"Oh, come on! How old are you, anyway?"

The others nodded in agreement as well.

"I don't mind."

"We'll win anyway."

"Agreed!"

"Salmon."

Seeing that everyone agreed, Satoru Gojo announced that the competition would continue.

Araki Itsuki immediately stood up and politely asked the Kyoto students:

"For the individual matches coming up, would you prefer one-on-one fights or a group brawl?"

"One-on-one means I take on your whole group alone. A group brawl means all of you get surrounded by me."

Looking at the brazen Araki Itsuki, Mai instinctively wanted to take two steps back and hide behind Todo.

But when she turned her head, Todo had already quietly maneuvered her in front of him as a shield.

"Damn it!"

"Todo, don't you know being strong is your only good quality?"

"Get up there!"

Todo hurriedly shook his head. He wanted to challenge Yuta Okkotsu, but he absolutely did not want to challenge Satoru Gojo.

The same logic applied to Araki Itsuki.

In response to Mai's complaints, Todo declared:

"I don't understand, imnida!"

Watching Kyoto Jujutsu High descend into chaos, Satoru Gojo hurriedly explained:

"We aren't holding individual matches this year. I hate doing things by the book."

Kamo, Nishimiya, and the others breathed a sigh of relief, while Kugisaki and Maki sighed in disappointment.

"Itadori, you draw this year's event."

Yuji Itadori caught the wooden box Satoru Gojo tossed him and drew a slip of paper in front of everyone. It still said baseball.

"Baseball?!"

"Yaga, what's going on?!"

"I don't know! Satoru, don't run!!!"

And so, everyone began a baseball game to decide the winner.

As the third baseman, Noritoshi Kamo stood beside the catcher, Yuji Itadori, and asked curiously:

"Itadori, why did you become a jujutsu sorcerer?"

Yuji Itadori thought for a moment before answering:

"If you mean what prompted it, I guess I just went with the flow. I'm really afraid of being lonely, so I want to help more people."

"Then, when I die, lots of people will be there to see me off. I want to die surrounded by people."

Hearing this, Noritoshi Kamo recalled what his mother had told him when she left him as a child.

"Noritoshi, you have talent. You can help more people.

"The more people you help, the more recognition you'll receive. Then lots of people will come to help you."

"You need to become an outstanding jujutsu sorcerer. Then you can come and bring Mommy home."

Noritoshi Kamo swung the baseball bat hard, as if making up his mind, or answering Itadori.

"That's a good reason."

At that moment, Todo came over to Yuji Itadori.

"Catcher? That's the perfect position for you, Itadori."

"But I want a one-on-one showdown with you as the pitcher!"

The moment he finished speaking, a blindingly fast baseball from Araki Itsuki smashed into Todo's face, knocking him to the ground.

Yuji Itadori hurriedly caught his best friend.

"Todo! Stay with me!"

Araki Itsuki chuckled. "Relax. I know what I'm doing."

Mai clapped and cheered. "Nice pitch!"

Nishimiya, Kamo, and the others nodded repeatedly. "Nice pitch, nice pitch."

Fushiguro and Kugisaki chimed in, "Nice pitch!"

Hearing everyone's cheers, Yuji Itadori looked utterly exasperated.

"Todo... just how much do people hate you?!"

Off the field.

Masamichi Yaga sat beside Yoshinobu Gakuganji.

"Do you still hate Itadori?"

Seeing Araki Itsuki look over from the game, Yoshinobu Gakuganji immediately bristled:

"Since when have I ever hated that boy?!"

"Don't go slandering me with baseless accusations!"

Masamichi Yaga nearly spat out the water in his mouth when he heard that and hurriedly set his cup on the floor.

"Huh?"

"Didn't you say before that the kid shouldn't be allowed to exist in this world?

That the kid was only still alive because of Satoru Gojo's selfish whims, and that we couldn't twist the rules of the group for one individual?!"

Yoshinobu Gakuganji repeatedly rapped his cane against the floor to express his anger:

"How could you think that way?!

That boy Itadori has saved so many lives, yet you suspect that letting him live will lead to an even greater disaster.

Your way of thinking is utterly rotten!!!"

"Defeating that Special Grade last time was largely thanks to that boy Itadori and Todo, too.

They're such outstanding boys, and you still don't trust them?!

Do you actually want to impose restrictions on them?!"

Faced with Yoshinobu Gakuganji turning the accusations back on him, Masamichi Yaga seriously wondered whether the old man had taken the wrong medication.

Otherwise, how could he say such bizarre things?!

Yet Yoshinobu Gakuganji cast a guilty glance at Araki Itsuki out on the field, worried that he might overhear, then stood up and left.

Before leaving, he still made sure to lecture Masamichi Yaga:

"Where leaves dance, fire burns on!"

"I often tell my fellow experts that old men like us must burn ourselves up to nurture these young people's growth and future, serving as their staunchest support!"

"Hmph! I, Gakuganji, am ashamed to associate with a hidebound, feudal-minded fool like you!"

Masamichi Yaga stared slack-jawed as Yoshinobu Gakuganji left, wondering whether something was wrong with his ears.

"Wait, how the hell did I become the bad guy?!"