Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu High School.
Masamichi Yaga, the principal of Jujutsu High, sat in his office, answering one phone call after another. Some callers asked about the livestream, while others requested manpower.
Yaga was swamped. His throat was so dry that he downed several cups of water in succession, single-handedly emptying the water cooler's entire jug.
His office, the water cooler, the restroom.
Yaga kept shuttling between those three places. He had no choice. Without water, his throat grew too dry to speak, and without trips to the restroom, his bladder-which he couldn't reinforce with cursed energy-simply wouldn't hold out.
The chaos sweeping the country had already put him under immense pressure. Naoya Zenin's livestream publicizing the Jujutsu Society had only piled on more, leaving him almost no time to rest.
He merely raised a hand to scratch his head, and a handful of hair came away. A few stark white strands stood out among the mass of black hair. The sight drew a deep sigh from him.
Just as he sighed, the phone on his desk rang again. Yaga reluctantly reached out to answer it, but instead of a voice, all he heard from the other end was a harsh, grating racket.
"Is this... signal interference?"
The words had barely left his mouth when he suddenly sensed an unfamiliar, powerful surge of cursed energy approaching from afar at an astonishing speed.
He hurried out of Jujutsu High, and his gaze met that of Hajime Kashimo, who had raced straight toward him.
Kashimo lifted his chin slightly, looking down at Yaga as he rushed out of Jujutsu High. After studying him for a long moment, he opened his mouth.
"You're Satoru Gojo?"
"..."
The corner of Yaga's mouth twitched. Being mistaken for Satoru Gojo was so absurd that he had