Over the past few days, Suguru Geto intermittently dreamt of that world, and the imagery grew increasingly clear.
What remained the same was a world without Ze Zenin's existence, where he and Gojo had not merely had some trivial quarrel.
Instead, they had parted ways due to irreconcilable differences in their ideals. As for what the exact reason was, he still had not dreamt of it yet.
He only remembered that on that day, he and Gojo confronted each other amidst a crowd. Watching Satoru Gojo standing at the bottom of the sloped road, he said faintly:
"Are you the strongest because you're Satoru Gojo? Or are you Satoru Gojo because you're the strongest?"
Satoru Gojo formed the hand sign for Hollow Purple, and at that moment, he felt the intent to kill Suguru Geto...
In the dream, Suguru Geto did not hesitate at all as he turned and left. Without looking back, he continued in a faint tone, "If you want to kill me, then kill me. There's meaning to doing it this way."
Whether Satoru Gojo was mindful of the safety of the crowd, couldn't bear to strike down his best friend, or ultimately lowered his hand.
From then on, the two of them practically never met again.
What Suguru Geto would never know was that it was he who left Satoru Geto behind.
And even twelve years later, Satoru Gojo still wanted to catch up to the Suguru Geto who had left him behind.
Suguru Geto started awake with a jolt. He did not know why, but these dreams felt as though they had truly happened.
He got out of bed and pulled open the curtains. Sunlight streamed into the room, striking the framed photo on the desk.
It was just a dream...
Suguru Geto muttered to himself as he gazed at the photo, then tidied himself up a bit and headed out.
He boarded a tram. Standing inside the carriage, he thought of the words the mysterious figure had said a few nights ago, and fell into deep contemplation-
The relationship between Cursed Spirits, Jujutsu Sorcerers, and Non-Sorcerers.
Jujutsu Sorcerers exorcised Cursed Spirits, Non-Sorcerers produced Cursed Spirits, Cursed Spirits killed Jujutsu Sorcerers...
Suddenly, a mad idea surfaced in Suguru Geto's mind...
Did Non-Sorcerers indirectly cause the deaths of Jujutsu Sorcerers?
This thought flashed through Suguru Geto's mind and vanished. He shook his head violently to hurriedly banish the thought from his mind.
Jujutsu Sorcerers existed to protect Non-Sorcerers...
Yet was a perspective like this truly correct?
Suguru Geto kept thinking, then stepped off the tram and arrived at his destination.
Suguru Geto quickly exorcised the target Cursed Spirit, then transformed it into a small sphere. Hesitating, Suguru Geto looked at it, and then from the pocket of his clothes... he drew out a jar of honey.
He smeared the honey over the sphere, and then swallowed it down in one gulp.
"As expected, it's useless. Is this the price my Cursed Technique must bear?"
Suguru Geto smiled with a sense of release, thinking of a remark Ze Zenin had once made.
"The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility, and the greater the burden carried behind it..."
In his memory, Ze Zenin leaned against a wall, watching Satoru Gojo complain about how his Six Eyes fried his brain with pain.
He stretched his body, but truly felt that things were becoming increasingly strange. That voice from the night before-was it really just a dream? Or was someone observing him from the shadows?
A day later, inside Tokyo Jujutsu High.
"Suguru-senpai!" Yu Haibara greeted Suguru Geto brightly. "Thank you for your hard work!"
Suguru Geto looked at Yu Haibara, and his complicated mood at the moment improved quite a bit. He managed a strained smile. "Do you want to drink something?"
"I couldn't possibly... I want a cola!"
Suguru Geto sat together with Yu Haibara and chatted. Haibara said, "I have a mission tomorrow that requires me to travel far away. Senpai, do you want any local specialties?"
"Specialties?" Suguru Geto pondered for a moment. "Gojo likes sweet things, Ze likes savory things, and the two of them are pretty much like me..."
"Just get something that's neither sweet nor savory."
"Understood!"
Suguru Geto couldn't help but pose a question to Yu Haibara. "Do you find the line of work of being a Jujutsu Sorcerer exhausting?"
Yu Haibara answered without a moment's hesitation, "I find it very fulfilling!"
His cheerful smile successfully infected Suguru Geto. "Being able to help others within my capacity has always been my dream!"
"Helping others? Right." Suguru Geto muttered to himself.
"Not bad, Haibara."
At that moment, Ze Zenin walked over and looked at Yu Haibara, which inevitably made him think of Itadori.
"Hello, Zenin-senpai!"
"You too, Haibara. You've been full of drive lately-keep it up."
Ze Zenin gave Yu Haibara a faint smile, then said to Suguru Geto, "As for tomorrow's mission, Geto and Haibara should go together."
"Eh?"
Geto stared blankly at Ze Zenin. "I remember this is just a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit mission..."
"Precisely because it's a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit, that's why you need to be the one to absorb it..."
Ze Zenin said in a tone that allowed for no argument, "How is it? After smearing it with honey, does the taste of the Cursed Spirit get a lot better?"
Suguru Geto's old face flushed red. "Ze, stop making fun of me."
At that moment, sounds similar to high heels stepping on the ground drifted over once more.
A tall woman with long blonde hair suddenly appeared behind the three of them.
She looked at Ze Zenin. "You're the divine child of the Zenin Clan, right?"
"What kind of women do you like?"
Yuki Tsukumo offered a charming smile, and then she looked toward Suguru Geto. "And what about you, Geto? What kind of women do you like?"
Before Ze Zenin and Suguru Geto could reply, Yu Haibara answered first, "I like girls with a big appetite!"
"Who are you?"
Suguru Geto did not answer Yuki Tsukumo, simply asking in a faint tone.
"The first Special Grade Sorcerer-Yuki Tsukumo."
Ze Zenin cast a casual glance at Yuki, then leaned back into his chair. "Did you come here specifically looking for us?"
~How truly uninteresting, the divine child of the Zenin Clan!~
Yuki Tsukumo glanced at Ze Zenin, speaking with a tone of disappointment.
"Spit it out. What are you here for?" Ze Zenin continued, speaking without a trace of emotion.
"..."
Yuki Tsukumo did not speak, instead casting a glance at Yu Haibara.
Yu Haibara tactfully stood up at once, saying to Suguru Geto, "Senpai, we'll meet at the Jujutsu High gates at nine tomorrow!"
"Alright." Suguru Geto watched Yu Haibara leave, then shifted his gaze back to Yuki Tsukumo.
"Ah-la-la~" Yuki Tsukumo sat down right between the two of them. "I just want to know, how do you two view the future of Jujutsu Society?"
"The future of Jujutsu Society?" Suguru Geto looked at Yuki Tsukumo and asked in puzzlement.
"Naturally."
Yuki Tsukumo suddenly dropped her playful expression, speaking with a solemn look:
"Obsolete Higher-Ups, endless Cursed Spirits. Rather than constantly exorcising them day after day, I think it's better to resolve the problem at its root."
"Pfft..."
Ze Zenin suddenly let out a scoff, saying, "You wouldn't happen to mean stripping humanity of Cursed Energy or making every human a Jujutsu Sorcerer, would you?"
"Eh? How did you know? Could it be that you also..."
"No, I'm not interested."
"What a thoroughly uninteresting man!"
"Every human becoming a sorcerer or being stripped of Cursed Energy..." Suguru Geto muttered. "If that happens, will there no longer be Cursed Spirits?"
Watching Suguru Geto's expression, Ze Zenin felt his heart sink. He originally hadn't wanted it to turn out like this.
Ze Zenin said to Yuki Tsukumo, "Actually, there is another method..."
"Oh?"
"That is to make the information regarding Cursed Spirits and Jujutsu Sorcerers public, then select Jujutsu Sorcerers from among all of humanity, establish large-scale Jujutsu Sorcerer schools across the country and even the entire world, send those people in for systematic study, raise the welfare of Jujutsu Sorcerers, and utilize the law of survival to continuously weed out the Non-Sorcerer population. Only then would it better conform to reality."
Ze Zenin rubbed his chin as he spoke with deep deliberation. He had thought about this long ago.
Either utilize a large barrier to strip all of humanity of their Cursed Energy, or use the logic of survival of the fittest to continuously eliminate Non-Sorcerers.
Though they certainly wouldn't live to see the realization of this plan in their own generation...
"Yet can we live long enough to see the realization of this plan?" Yuki Tsukumo could not help finding it amusing. "And do you think the Higher-Ups would agree?"
"That is why I will choose to inherit the position of the Zenin Clan Head. I shall stand above the heavens...
"Within the scope of my ability, I will personally bring an end to this rotten era."
"This is my dream!" (Kizaru)
Ze Zenin brushed his hair back with his hand, looking calmly at Yuki Tsukumo with a steady expression.
"To put it simply, the entire body of Higher-Ups requires a revolution."
Ze Zenin continued speaking, "Even killing those old fogies would only treat the symptoms and not the root cause. In the future, I will definitely cultivate a batch of my own people to enter the Higher-Ups..."
"It is time for the rule of corrupt clans and bloodline systems to end with our generation."
"Is that so? Very well, then." Yuki Tsukumo was not frightened by Ze Zenin's words, merely smiling.
"Accompany me for a walk."
She stood up, and together with Ze Zenin and Suguru Geto, walked toward a tunnel within Jujutsu High.
Yuki Tsukumo put on her helmet, sat astride her motorcycle, and waved to the two of them.
"Then from now on, as fellow Special Grades, let's get along well. Remember to say hello to Satoru Gojo for me."
Ze Zenin watched Yuki Tsukumo ride off into the distance, wondering what she was thinking in her heart.
As for Suguru Geto, he gazed at Ze Zenin's back. This was the first time he had ever learned of his best friend's dream.
So this was Ze's dream-to make all information public, select Jujutsu Sorcerers from among humanity, and thereby forge a world without Cursed Spirits...
"Yet can it truly succeed?"
Before you continue