Let the Existence of Heroic Spirits Resound Across the World

After exorcising the cursed spirit, Maki and Yuta were both badly injured. Even with Shoko Ieiri's treatment, they still needed time to recuperate.

Since they were first-years who received relatively few missions to begin with, they settled into a routine of training and recovering at school.

Apart from expending some cursed energy and stamina, Aikawa Kaze had emerged almost unscathed. His only wound was the cut he had made on his own hand with the Jewel Sword.

Such a minor wound healed within a few breaths under Reverse Cursed Technique. Aside from Ieiri Sensei's unnerving stare, Aikawa Kaze thought everything had gone quite well.

That look, as though she wanted to dissect him, was a little more than he could handle. He began wondering whether he should learn Reverse Cursed Technique himself.

Otherwise, he probably wouldn't want her treating his minor ailments and injuries in the future.

Of course, Aikawa Kaze strongly suspected that Shoko Ieiri had only agreed to treat such a trivial injury because they needed someone to write the mission report, and an injured hand would make that inconvenient.

Aikawa Kaze had no objection.

For one thing, he couldn't in good conscience leave the work to his two previously gravely injured companions. For another, as a Chinese rabbit who had padded countless essays, papers, and reports in his previous life, wasn't this child's play?

After learning that jujutsu sorcerers had to write a report after every mission, Aikawa Kaze had researched the requirements ahead of time and put together a template.

First came the six essential elements of writing: when, where, who, why, what happened, and how it ended.

Once those were briefly listed, all he had to do was expand the sentences and fill in the blanks.

For instance, he could paste the assistant supervisor's preliminary observations into the first and second paragraphs as background, then add descriptions of the cursed spirit's appearance and abilities to the account of the mission. (Note: keep three or four stock phrases ready to rotate through.)

Finally, he would add a mission summary, reflections on possible improvements, and an outlook for the future. (Note: prepare three or four templates to rotate through here as well.)

In the information age, whatever those old fossils thought, Aikawa Kaze would naturally do things his own way.

He had already prepared the templates on his laptop. Thanks to the mighty internet, whenever he ran out of words, he could search supernatural tales for a passage describing a fight or someone's thoughts without any trouble.

Working on a computer also made copying and pasting convenient. With speech-to-text thrown in, he finished a seemingly serious report that was actually mostly improvised filler in less than fifteen minutes.

Thank you, technology! Voice typing is fantastic!

The assistant supervisor who received the report was deeply moved. This was the first jujutsu sorcerer he had met who was so cooperative and efficient about completing a report.

Although the report was digital, assistant supervisors were ordinary people who could see cursed spirits but couldn't use cursed techniques. They saw absolutely nothing wrong with printing something using modern technology.

The higher-ups preferred handwritten reports and disliked printed ones, but looking at this efficiency and speed... surely his attitude was still commendable? At least, they couldn't immediately find any obvious fault with it.

Especially since Aikawa Kaze had completely ignored the fact that his "injury" was already healed and deliberately wrapped his hand in bandages, explaining that he had submitted a printed digital report because writing by hand was inconvenient. That was a plausible excuse.

The higher-ups didn't pursue the matter, but...

"Where is Sukuna's Finger? How could a special grade cursed object simply disappear? Why didn't your report explain this clearly?"

"Sukuna's Finger? What's that? I have no idea."

Summoned for questioning by the higher-ups, Aikawa Kaze asked those questions with an innocent expression.

"Come to think of it, weren't we told there was only an ordinary grade 2 cursed spirit there? Why would there be a special grade cursed object?"

"Ahem. It was merely an error in Window's assessment. However, the assistant supervisor present clearly saw that the cursed spirit was carrying a special grade cursed object-one of Ryomen Sukuna's fingers. Now it has disappeared. How do you explain that?"

"Sorry, I don't know. I didn't see it!" Aikawa Kaze smiled politely. "After all, I never saw any special grade cursed object! If the assistant supervisors saw it, perhaps you could have them look for it? It might be lying in a hole somewhere."

"Don't change the subject! Concealing a special grade cursed object is a grave crime-"

"Huh? If their assessment was wrong, doesn't that mean Window's eyesight isn't very good? Perhaps they saw things wrong again?"

"Shut up, Aikawa Kaze! Don't make us do this the hard way!"

An old conservative's furious voice rang out through the projection screen.

"That special grade cursed object was clearly on the cursed spirit! Hand it over voluntarily now, and we can still spare your life."

"What a headache~ I already told you I didn't see it. The way you gentlemen are behaving, it almost seems as though you're so certain it was there because you planted it yourselves!"

"You!!!"

"Oh, right. I think I do remember something."

A shadow seemed to fall over Aikawa Kaze's pleasantly warm smile. He tilted his head and spoke at an unhurried pace.

"If you insist that the special grade cursed object was on that cursed spirit, perhaps I reduced it to ashes along with the spirit?"

"Don't be ridiculous! That was Ryomen Sukuna's finger, something no one in Jujutsu Society has been able to destroy for centuries! Not even Satoru Gojo can do it, and you think you can?"

The higher-ups refused to believe that possibility, even though it was the truth.

The assistant supervisor's report also stated that he had personally witnessed the cursed spirit and Sukuna's Finger being annihilated by the radiance. Yet they stubbornly insisted that Aikawa Kaze must have pulled some trick and hidden it.

Although the destructive power he had displayed had reached the level of a special grade sorcerer, they certainly didn't believe Aikawa Kaze could accomplish something that even the strongest bearer of the Six Eyes couldn't.

"Hmm~~~ Put that way, you do have a point. After all, I'm so weak that I can't compare to Gojo Sensei at all. It's understandable that people find me hard to believe."

Unbothered by the old conservatives' blustering, Aikawa Kaze extended a hand.

An intricately patterned Holy Sword of intertwined blue and gold appeared in his grasp.

"So, to prove myself, why don't you esteemed old conservatives... ah, sorry. A slip of the tongue. I accidentally told the truth."

Under their murderous gazes, Aikawa Kaze put on an utterly insincere expression of apology.

"How about this? You take one of my attacks and experience personally whether it can destroy a special grade cursed object. What do you say?"

Originally, Aikawa Kaze had preferred to keep a low profile and play weak until he could catch his enemies off guard.

Unfortunately, he had underestimated just how cowardly and rotten these people were. They had chosen to kill him outright despite the enormous benefits he offered.

Playing weak to catch your enemies off guard only worked if you didn't get eaten while playing weak. Now that they were sharpening their knives and coming for him, he naturally had to fight back.

If cooperation and coexistence were impossible, he might as well be even more brazen!

He hadn't actually developed his strength yet, which was precisely why he needed to appear powerful and make them wary.

Since acting weak wouldn't make them leave him alone anyway, he might as well follow Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto's example from back then.

"Mind you, I mean personally! No sacrificial substitutes, and I refuse to dispose of anyone's trash for them."

Having resolved to bluff, Aikawa Kaze remained perfectly courteous, but his words were far less pleasant.

"Please rest assured, gentlemen. Although I'm still a novice and might accidentally unleash my ultimate attack somewhere I shouldn't, I'll do my best to aim it at you."

"..."

That's a threat! That's definitely a threat!

He's just an ordinary jujutsu sorcerer! Does he really think he's Satoru Gojo?!

Veins bulged on the higher-ups' foreheads as each silently cursed him, but they held themselves back.

After all, even if Aikawa Kaze wasn't as powerful as Satoru Gojo, the strength he had demonstrated was hardly insignificant.

They recalled the elementary school that had now been completely reduced to ashes. In terms of destructive power alone, he unquestionably qualified as special grade.

What was more, his cursed technique could grant him different abilities.

With Satoru Gojo's protection, his own special grade strength, and his ties to the Overseas Country... he was genuinely difficult to deal with.

At the very least, their actions had to appear beyond reproach.

With that in mind, the Jujutsu Higher-Ups glanced at Satoru Gojo, who stood to one side enjoying his student's confrontation with them, and forced themselves to produce strained smiles.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You really surprised me! Kaze-chan~ That was quite a show for your teacher!"

"Thank you for the compliment. I'll keep improving."

Aikawa Kaze accepted the praise without hesitation. He had earned it.

"Well, it looks like you know exactly what you'll be facing in the future."

"Yes. At least I should get some peace for a while."

The higher-ups he had infuriated would undoubtedly make another move. However, immediately after the elementary school incident, they wouldn't act so frequently that they risked exposing themselves.

He had to make the most of this time, grow stronger, and prepare for the next attack.

"So I'll need your help, Gojo Sensei," Aikawa Kaze asked earnestly. "Please teach me how to become stronger!"

"I don't dislike students with ambition!"

Satoru Gojo nodded in satisfaction, then poked Aikawa Kaze's solemn face.

"Speaking of which, your whole persona has already fallen apart. You don't need to keep pretending to be so serious, do you?"

"That's very rude, Gojo Sensei."

Aikawa Kaze objected to Satoru Gojo's choice of words.

"As a polite, humble, and sincere ordinary person, I've always been perfectly respectable."

"..."

Suddenly, I feel like I don't recognize those words anymore.

Seeing Aikawa Kaze return to looking like an obviously "well-behaved and polite" boy, Satoru Gojo clicked his tongue in boredom.

He found the wild Kaze-chan more interesting than this obedient version. His current behavior was far too fake.

Satoru Gojo naturally couldn't understand that this was a Chinese rabbit's instinctive response to a teacher.

Of course, he also didn't know that, thanks to his own unreliability and "failure as a teacher," he would eventually lose that respectful treatment.

When that day came, perhaps Satoru Gojo would actually miss the considerate, well-behaved Aikawa Kaze he once knew.

"So, Gojo Sensei, I really did destroy Sukuna's Finger, right?"

"Of course. These Six Eyes of mine saw it perfectly clearly-weren't you so confident just now? Why are you doubting your abilities all of a sudden?"

"No, I'm only curious," Aikawa Kaze said gently. "After all, those old conservatives kept insisting I'd pulled some trick. I almost thought you hadn't testified on my behalf!"

"..."

"I knew Gojo Sensei couldn't possibly be such an irresponsible teacher that he'd deliberately withhold his testimony just to see how his student performed! That couldn't possibly be true, right?"

"..."

"Come to think of it, Gojo Sensei, your title of 'The Strongest' seems rather inflated. Otherwise, why wouldn't anyone believe your 'testimony'? What a shame!"

"..."

For the first time in ages, Satoru Gojo felt what he had once experienced as a student at Jujutsu High, when his best friend Suguru Geto would needle him with sarcastic remarks.

Listening to those gentle words with their hidden barbs, he actually felt a little nostalgic.

Sure enough, Kaze would probably get along well with Geto, wouldn't he?

Too bad their previous meeting gave them no chance to have a proper conversation. Otherwise, perhaps Geto might have changed his mind.

Satoru Gojo had tried talking to his best friend many times without success, until their only option had been to part ways. Even now, he still considered Suguru Geto his most important friend.

At least until the moment things became truly irreversible, he still hadn't given up on bringing him back.

That settles it!

"Kaze-chan, your teacher has a super, super, super important mission for you!"

"What a coincidence, Gojo Sensei. There's something I'd like your help with, too."

Aikawa Kaze met Satoru Gojo's gaze. Although the bandages prevented him from fully seeing his expression, he could sense his seriousness.

"Sure! If my adorable student asks, I'll definitely help."

"No problem on my end either. Naturally, I'll complete a mission from such an outstanding, incredibly powerful, and reliable teacher."

The two swiftly formed an alliance. Nothing more needed to be said.

Aikawa Kaze didn't know why Satoru Gojo was so confident that he and Suguru Geto would get along, nor did he understand why Satoru Gojo wanted him to try bringing Suguru Geto back. Still, he was undoubtedly happy to accept the mission.

After all, his goal was so ambitious that it required enormous manpower, money, and influence. The promotional advantages of the Time Vessel Association under Suguru Geto's control were particularly tempting.

As for his own requests, they weren't difficult for Satoru Gojo.

"Collecting Holy Relics left behind by past heroes should be easy enough. I'll have my people keep an eye out."

It was only a matter of throwing money around. With his wealth and connections, Satoru Gojo saw no difficulty in it. The other request, however, caught his attention.

"You want to spread information about heroic spirits? That's a bold idea. If those old conservatives found out, they'd probably wake up screaming."

After all, Aikawa Kaze didn't merely want to spread it within Jujutsu Society, but throughout the entire world, including the world of ordinary people.

What he intended to do was create something from nothing, and the first step was to make everyone "believe."

He needed the people of Jujutsu Society to believe in the existence of "positive energy" and "heroic spirits," and ordinary people to consciously or unconsciously direct the positive energy they emitted toward those "heroic spirits."

The power of faith was terrifying.

Ordinary people's negative emotions formed cursed spirits that wandered everywhere, while their positive emotions had previously been absorbed directly by this world's will.

Now, the world consciousness had stated that it would no longer absorb them. But without a specific target, even if "some kind of being" formed, it would probably wander around like a cursed spirit.

Thinking about it that way, ordinary people needed a stronger understanding of "heroic spirits" just as much as Jujutsu Society did.

"I'm not planning to directly reveal Jujutsu Society's existence. That would be too big a leap. I just need to give people a general understanding through other means."

Aikawa Kaze took out the outline and first three chapters of a novel he had prepared beforehand.

"Ultimately, naming heroic spirits and the Throne of Heroes is like naming cursed spirits. They're names humans devised based on their imagination and understanding. Incidentally, the inspiration for heroic spirits and the Throne of Heroes comes from the Norse mythology story of the hall where Odin receives the dead."

Aikawa Kaze deliberately spoke vaguely of names given by "humans" and offered Norse mythology as an example. The sharp-witted Satoru Gojo immediately understood what he meant.

When he took the manuscript and read it, it was exactly as he had expected.

These were the first three chapters of a light novel of the kind popular in Japan. Broadly speaking, it was a story about several people summoning historical heroes to fight over the Holy Grail.

Although it was only the beginning, it had already established the setting and general direction of the story. Together with the outline and character profiles, it clearly conveyed the author's intentions.

"With the Gojo Clan's connections, making this novel a household name shouldn't be difficult. After that, we can adapt it into anime, films, live-action productions, and games... every possible medium to deepen people's understanding of heroic spirits and the Throne of Heroes."

The Six Eyes gave Satoru Gojo an astonishing ability to process information. It took him very little time to finish the opening of this novel series titled Fate/stay night.

He had to admit that it had caught his interest. He was eager to know what happened next.

"Is this all? Where's the rest?"

"There isn't any. I haven't written it."

"Huh? You want this to become a massive hit with so little material?"

Satoru Gojo stared at Aikawa Kaze in disbelief.

The story is excellent, and the idea is great, but this tiny amount barely whets the appetite. There's not enough to read!

Readers won't like an author who delivers so little, no matter how good the promotion is!

"Huh? Gojo Sensei, what are you talking about?"

Even more astonished than Satoru Gojo, Aikawa Kaze spoke in disbelief.

"How could I possibly have time to keep writing this? Haven't I already given you the opening, the outline, and the basic character profiles? With those in hand, surely the Gojo Clan can easily find an author to continue it?"

Aikawa Kaze had no interest in becoming a plagiarist of works from his previous life. He sought the power to change the world and determine his own destiny. All of this was merely groundwork for his plans, so naturally, he chose to have someone else write it.

He didn't need a work identical to the Nasuverse he remembered. He only needed everyone to know the concept of "heroic spirits." A different work would actually make him happier-there would be more content to enjoy!

"Oh, right. We absolutely have to allow fan works for this series, so more suckers... ah, no, more fellow fans can help us spread its fame."

After all, profit didn't matter. Aikawa Kaze only wanted this setting to become universally known.

Even if modern people were almost incapable of truly believing a story was real, as long as they liked the story or accepted the premise of "heroic spirits," he would gain something.

Perhaps, once the name of heroic spirits resounded across the world, everyone's belief might even give rise to something like "imaginary heroic spirits"?

If it succeeded, perhaps he really could summon "Satoru Gojo" in the future.

Hmm. In that case, should I pluck a couple of his hairs now so I can use them as a Holy Relic later?