Special training

As his words fell, the air in the office suddenly tightened.

"The higher-ups have always wanted to deal with the threat inside Itadori. You all know that."

"They originally planned to act after the Juvenile Detention Center incident. They called it a secret execution, but I stopped them."

Satoru Gojo spoke without a trace of his usual teasing.

"I've kept pushing back on the grounds that Itadori is my student, but their patience clearly isn't holding up. Now they've switched to a different term: confinement."

Rihito's heart sank.

Confinement?

Looks like the original plot has changed again.

After the Juvenile Detention Center incident, Itadori had supposedly been secretly executed, but that had been a cover story to fool his friends. The purpose had been to let him quietly undergo special training and build up his strength before the Goodwill Event.

But this time, Satoru Gojo had said they had "switched to a different term." That meant the higher-ups were seriously considering it, rather than merely putting up a smokescreen.

Rihito remembered that the "execution" after the Juvenile Detention Center incident had only been on paper in the original story. Itadori had actually been alive and well.

But judging by Satoru Gojo's tone, this "confinement" was no longer a disguise to accommodate his training.

The higher-ups really wanted to lock Itadori up and treat him as nothing more than a vessel for Sukuna.

"Where's Itadori now?" Kugisaki asked in a very low voice.

"Still with me for now." Satoru Gojo leaned back in his chair.

"Your teacher might usually be pretty easygoing, but I still have a little clout when it comes to things like this."

"So don't worry. Yuji won't be in danger."

Kugisaki's shoulders visibly relaxed, and at some point, Fushiguro had unclenched his hands too.

Rihito said nothing.

He knew Satoru Gojo wouldn't let anything happen to Itadori, but the higher-ups were rapidly losing patience with him.

If the plot continued veering in this direction, Itadori's situation would only grow more dangerous.

Watching the three of them react, Satoru Gojo's signature smile returned.

"So, the second thing is that all your training sessions are getting ramped up."

He extended an index finger, pointing first at Rihito, then at Kugisaki, before drawing a circle in the air that encompassed all three of them.

"Things will be a little tough before the Goodwill Event, so brace yourselves."

"A little tough? More like downright lethal, right?"

Looking at Satoru Gojo's smile, Rihito was speechless.

Kugisaki folded her arms across her chest. She had already shaken off her earlier gloom, replacing it with a look that said, "Bring it on."

Fushiguro said nothing, but he stood a little straighter than when he had come in, his body no longer tense.

"What exactly will we be doing?" Rihito asked.

Satoru Gojo held up a finger and tapped the air.

"First, you'll keep rotating through individual training with Maki, Panda, and the others. Basic hand-to-hand combat and cursed energy control can't stop."

"Second, I'll personally lead you through a few tactical teamwork sessions."

He paused and tilted his head, his smile widening a little more.

"After all, winning the Goodwill Event isn't just about who hits hardest. Those Kyoto folks might rub me the wrong way, but they do know a thing or two about teamwork."

"Third," Satoru Gojo raised a third finger, his tone turning serious for a rare moment, "I'll arrange extra training tailored to the characteristics of each of your cursed techniques."

"First up, Kugisaki." Satoru Gojo turned his chair and pointed at her.

"The power of your Straw Doll Technique depends on how strongly the medium is connected to the target. The question is, how much time do you have to prepare a medium beforehand in an actual fight?"

Kugisaki lowered her arms and fell silent for a second.

"...Not much."

"Right. So your training focus is simple: learn to acquire a medium on the fly during combat, instead of scrambling around picking things up after the fight starts."

Kugisaki's mouth twitched. "Easy for you to say."

"Well, your teacher happens to be good at making difficult things easy." Satoru Gojo grinned, then turned to Fushiguro.

"Fushiguro."

Fushiguro looked up at him.

"You know the potential of the Ten Shadows Technique."

Fushiguro didn't answer, but his darkening expression said it all.

"I'll arrange a special opponent for you. He'll be training with you for a while."

"You should be able to learn a few things from him that you couldn't figure out on your own."

Fushiguro's brow shifted slightly. "A special opponent?"

"Secret." Satoru Gojo pressed a finger to his lips and gave him a rather punchable smile. "You'll find out when you meet him."

Fushiguro didn't press him. He simply nodded in silence.

Finally, Satoru Gojo turned to Rihito.

"Rihito."

Rihito looked up.

"Your Zero Coffin is a pretty good cursed technique on its own."

"But I heard you used a new move in Scorpion Village. Quite powerful, but the preparation takes too long."

Rihito was silent for a second.

Apparently, even though Gojo didn't know exactly what had happened in Scorpion Village, he still knew most of what mattered.

"If it takes too long to unleash, it can get you killed in a real fight."

Satoru Gojo's tone was unusually serious.

"So your training has one core goal: shorten its activation time until it's usable."

Rihito nodded.

"All right, that's everything I needed to say."

Satoru Gojo clapped his hands, rose from his swivel chair, and walked over to push the half-open window the rest of the way open.

The early autumn breeze poured in, rustling the scattered papers on the desk.

"There are less than two months until the Goodwill Event. You three had better not embarrass your teacher."

Kugisaki stood and brushed nonexistent dust off her pants.

"You make it sound like we've ever made you proud."

"Ouch, that really hurts." Satoru Gojo clutched his chest, but his smile didn't fade in the slightest.

Rihito didn't join in the banter.

He remained silent, as though turning something over in his mind.

Only after Kugisaki and Fushiguro had left the office did he rise from his stool.

"Gojo, can Jujutsu High's barrier keep out special grade cursed spirits during the Goodwill Event?"

Satoru Gojo tilted his head, shifting the lollipop stick from the left corner of his mouth to the right.

"Well, in theory, it can't keep all of them out. But cursed spirits have no rea-

"-son to come running into a place packed with jujutsu sorcerers."

"What if they do?"

Satoru Gojo paused. "Let's hear it."

Rihito met the gaze behind the blindfold.

"I've seen more than one person Mahito has transfigured. He likes making his move during chaos. He likes watching people get caught off guard."

"During the Goodwill Event, most of our fighting strength will be concentrated at the venue. Jujutsu High itself will be empty."

"And... Sukuna's Finger is still at Jujutsu High."

Satoru Gojo tapped the desk twice.

He didn't ask why Rihito knew about Sukuna's Finger. He merely fell silent for two seconds before speaking.

"Rihito."

"Yeah?"

"You've been thinking about these things more than I expected."

Rihito didn't answer.

"All right." Satoru Gojo stood, crunching through his lollipop. "Your teacher will keep that in mind."

Rihito nodded, then turned to leave.

At the doorway, his steps paused.

"Gojo."

"Hmm?"

"If you need any help with Itadori, call us anytime."

Satoru Gojo stood by the window with his back to him.

Backlit by the sun, his figure didn't look as flippant as usual. The breeze stirred his white hair.

"...Got it."

Rihito said nothing more. He opened the door and walked out.

Kugisaki and Fushiguro were already waiting for him in the hallway.

Kugisaki leaned against the wall, twirling a nail between her fingers. After two turns, she nearly dropped it, then fumbled to catch it and pretended nothing had happened.

Fushiguro stood by the window, his gaze resting somewhere toward the distant sports field.

When Rihito emerged, Kugisaki tucked the nail at her waist.

"So?"

Rihito looked at her, then at Fushiguro.

"Training! Starting tomorrow, no slacking off for anyone."

Kugisaki laughed.

"You make it sound like we've ever slacked off."

The three of them headed down the hallway.

Their footsteps sounded against the wooden floor in three uneven rhythms, just as they had on the way in.

The sunlight over the sports field was brighter than before, bathing all of Jujutsu High in a clean, pale gold.

A breeze blew in from the distant woods, carrying the crisp dryness and faint chill unique to early autumn.

At the end of the hallway, Kugisaki stepped into the sunlight and looked back.

"Hurry up, you two. Let's get some food first. We need full stomachs if we're going to beat up those Kyoto jerks."

With that, she turned and walked away, the sunlight stretching her shadow long behind her.

Rihito and Fushiguro exchanged a glance.

"Let's go," Fushiguro said.

"Yeah."

The two followed her, walking together into the sun-drenched open space at the end of the hallway.