Meeting Suguru Geto

By the time Aikawa Kaze and Panda finished their mission, their relationship had visibly grown closer.

After promising to meet up again, neither felt particularly reluctant to part. They decided to eat in the park before heading back.

Fortunately, Panda was a VIP customer and had booked a private room at a popular restaurant in advance. Otherwise, explaining why someone refused to take off his mascot costume even while eating would have been rather difficult.

However, when they stepped into their reserved room, they were surprised to find someone already seated inside.

"Hello, Aikawa Kaze. My name is Suguru Geto."

The man in the seat was a suspicious-looking fellow with his hair in a bun, odd bangs, and Buddhist robes.

He waved at Aikawa Kaze in greeting. Before either of them could react, he vanished from his seat and appeared before them a moment later, taking Aikawa Kaze's hand.

"The news was rather unexpected, so I looked into it and took a little longer than intended. I hope you don't mind."

Suguru Geto had received some information earlier. Deeply intrigued, he had not only watched the Queen of Curses, Rika, unleash her power, but also witnessed someone's spectacular Heroic Spirit Summoning.

-it was power capable of destroying even a special grade cursed object.

Even Suguru Geto, a special grade jujutsu sorcerer himself, could not help feeling awestruck before that dazzling radiance.

When he first saw the special grade vengeful cursed spirit Rika, Suguru Geto had wanted to make her his own. Only then would his almost impossible dream have a chance of coming true.

Yet before he could resolve to obtain Rika, he witnessed Aikawa Kaze's spectacular performance.

As Satoru Gojo's close friend and former partner, Suguru Geto naturally knew that the Jujutsu Higher-Ups had once tried to have Satoru Gojo destroy Ryomen Sukuna's fingers, only for him to fail.

He was certain that, although Satoru could be willful at times, he understood the bigger picture and would not have held back then.

Even so, Satoru Gojo, hailed as the Strongest in Jujutsu Society, had failed-yet Aikawa Kaze had succeeded!

Suguru Geto suddenly had a powerful premonition.

Originally, his plan had only a thirty percent chance of success, perhaps even twenty. Obtaining the Queen of Curses would raise it to ninety-nine percent.

But now, if he could secure Aikawa Kaze's wholehearted help... he would surely succeed!

Suguru Geto could not subjugate a cursed spirit that already had a master. To obtain Rika, he would have to kill Yuta Okkotsu.

If there were no other options, he might indeed do so. Necessary sacrifices were indispensable to realizing his righteous cause, after all. But if a better choice existed, he would naturally abandon that idea.

He regarded jujutsu sorcerers as family and understood the injustices and suffering they endured. If there was any alternative, Suguru Geto did not want to kill a precious comrade-especially since Yuta Okkotsu was a young jujutsu sorcerer he wanted to protect.

Suguru Geto shifted his attention from Yuta Okkotsu to Aikawa Kaze.

He even suspected that Satoru Gojo had deliberately leaked all that information to him.

Cursed Spirit Manipulation could control cursed spirits, but not humans. To obtain Aikawa Kaze's help, he would have to persuade the boy to genuinely accept his ideals.

"You're-"

As Principal Yaga's child, "born" at Jujutsu High, Panda naturally recognized Suguru Geto.

The moment he realized who this man was, every hair on his body stood on end.

The man's words had also contained a great deal of information, leaving Panda thoroughly rattled.

"Hello, Mr. Geto. I'm Aikawa Kaze."

Aikawa Kaze nodded calmly. He had expected to meet him sooner or later, since this was part of his deal with Satoru Gojo.

Still, he had not expected Satoru Gojo to move so quickly, almost as if he could not wait.

"Sorry, Panda. Could you let Mr. Geto and me use this room?" Aikawa Kaze looked at Panda apologetically. "Sorry for the trouble, but you'll have to find somewhere else to eat."

"That's not the issue here!"

Panda retorted in exasperation, stepping in front of Aikawa Kaze with his guard fully raised.

"Don't be fooled by his kindly face and all those smiles. He's a special grade curse user!"

"Yes, I know."

Aikawa Kaze patted Panda's back and found that his fur had stiffened considerably, losing its earlier softness.

"But I want to talk to him too. You can ask Gojo Sensei about the details."

"..."

Panda paused, realizing what he meant.

Clearly, Suguru Geto had come for Aikawa Kaze, and they certainly could not defeat a special grade curse user.

Then contacting Gojo Sensei for help is crucial-but can Kaze hold out until he arrives?

How long can talking buy him? If a fight breaks out, he might be killed in an instant!

And there are so many ordinary people here... I have to find a way to evacuate everyone immediately!

"Don't worry. It'll be fine." Aikawa Kaze smiled at Suguru Geto. "I think Mr. Geto here wants my help with something! So he won't refuse such a small request."

"By all means."

Suguru Geto nodded with a gentle smile.

"I only want to have a chat with Aikawa-oh dear, how hurtful, Panda. We're old friends, after all. Do you distrust me that much?"

"It's all right, Panda. Even if you can't trust him, you can trust my judgment."

"...I'll be right back."

Panda hesitated between fighting to the death and heading straight out to seek help. But when he saw Aikawa Kaze's confident gaze, he chose to trust his judgment.

After all, both Maki and Yuta had said Aikawa Kaze was strong. He was only still a grade 4 sorcerer because the higher-ups were giving him trouble.

Panda hurried out to call for help and began evacuating the crowd. Suguru Geto seemed rather pleased by this.

"I wasn't planning to do anything today, but having fewer monkeys stinking up the place is a welcome bonus."

"But now I've lost my feast."

Aikawa Kaze was not particularly pleased. He did not think Suguru Geto would cause a major disturbance in such a busy area. There was no point.

Still, Panda had probably been so worried about him that his nerves had short-circuited his brain.

"Never mind. There's no point dwelling on that. Why don't we discuss what you came to see me for, Mr. Geto?"

"To ask for your help, of course," Suguru Geto said without hesitation. "You possess extraordinary power, and I believe great power should be used for a great purpose."

Aikawa Kaze said nothing, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He simply watched Suguru Geto's performance in silence.

"Do you have any questions about the world as it is? Jujutsu sorcerers work behind the scenes to preserve order in ordinary society-in other words, the strong must accommodate the weak. Don't you find that contradictory?"

"Please stop for a moment. There's a fundamental premise we need to establish first."

Aikawa Kaze had no intention of letting him launch into a lengthy speech. He really was hungry.

"Although I've heard you two were once considered equals, in my view, Gojo Sensei is the strongest in Jujutsu Society. I'd like to hear your opinion on that."

"..."

Suguru Geto fell silent for a moment.

In his younger, more reckless days, he would naturally have declared without hesitation that he and Satoru were both the strongest. But now, having matured considerably, he recognized the gap between them.

"Satoru Gojo is indeed the Strongest in Jujutsu Society. However, if you're willing to help me..."

"Do you believe it's wrong for the strong to accommodate the weak?" Aikawa Kaze looked at Suguru Geto and asked in return, "Do you believe the weak should accommodate the strong in this world?"

"Of course! It's about time humanity reconsidered its survival strategy..."

Suguru Geto nodded without hesitation. He was about to continue expounding his views, only to stop halfway through his sentence.

This time, Aikawa Kaze had not interrupted him. He simply waited quietly for him to speak. Yet Suguru Geto could not continue, because something had suddenly dawned on him.

Taken together with the earlier question-who was stronger, Suguru Geto or Satoru Gojo?

They were both special grade sorcerers. Suguru Geto's special grade designation was well deserved, but Satoru Gojo was classified as special grade only because no higher classification existed.

Compared with other people, Suguru Geto was strong. Before Satoru Gojo, however, he was weak.

If the weak ought to accommodate the strong, should Suguru Geto not bow to Satoru Gojo and act according to his will?

"It seems you've realized it. Strictly speaking, everything you're doing now is actually founded on [the strong accommodating the weak]."

Aikawa Kaze's words shattered the smile on Suguru Geto's face as he ruthlessly voiced the truth they both knew.

"After all, Gojo Sensei can't bring himself to hurt you! At least until you cross his bottom line, he's been protecting you and trying to bring you back."

Suguru Geto: "..."

Suguru Geto could not refute it. When he betrayed the school, Satoru Gojo had been ordered by the higher-ups to hunt him down and kill him. If Satoru had not shown mercy and let him go, he would already be dead.

Overwhelming shame briefly gave him the urge to turn around and leave.

It was not as though he could not resort to sophistry. He had meant the relative strength of the two groups, "Jujutsu sorcerers" and "ordinary people," arguing that ordinary people should obey jujutsu sorcerers. But... sophistry was still sophistry.

Suguru Geto himself knew that every group needed someone in charge, and by the reasoning he had just offered... there were clearly far too many holes.

Without any preparation, he could not persuade someone else with ideals he himself had begun to doubt.

At a loss for words, Suguru Geto thought he might need to organize his thoughts and persuade Aikawa Kaze with a more refined argument the next time they met.

But Aikawa Kaze shook his head.

"Please don't be in such a hurry to leave, Mr. Geto. Two heads are better than one. Rather than agonizing over this alone, why don't we discuss it?"

Aikawa Kaze stood and poured two cups of tea, then pushed one toward Suguru Geto.

Although no food had been served, the room already had tea, so they would not have to talk with dry throats.

Aikawa Kaze's gaze toward Suguru Geto was exceptionally friendly and sincere.

Of course, this was not merely because of his fondness for a popular Jujutsu Kaisen character from his previous life. More importantly, the man controlled considerable money, connections, and religious devotion beyond the Jujutsu Higher-Ups' reach...

How could I not seize this opportunity?

Fail to take what heaven offers, and you'll suffer for it.

Naturally, he would not waste such an excellent opportunity.

"At the very least, I wholeheartedly agree with the statement [it's about time humanity reconsidered its survival strategy]."