Tengen

Chinatsu panted softly after landing a Black Flash by chance. She carefully felt the subtle changes in the cursed energy inside her, then let out a heavy breath and relaxed her whole body.

"I actually pulled it off. Sometimes you really do have to push yourself..." Chinatsu stretched her limbs and murmured lazily.

No one in Jujutsu Society could unleash Black Flash at will, and there was an enormous gap between Jujutsu Sorcerers who had landed one and those who never had.

After landing Black Flash, Chinatsu could clearly feel her cursed energy flowing more freely. It was as though she had entered an unstoppable mode. If the cursed spirit hadn't died in one hit, she might have gotten lucky and landed another Black Flash after a few more punches.

Soon, Chinatsu turned her attention to the scabbed-over finger on the ground beside her feet. She bent down, picked it up, and held it high, staring intently at it.

Her eyes, blue as the sky stretching into the distance, seemed intent on piercing through the finger to see Sukuna's soul dwelling within.

The guy who had spent a thousand years zoning out inside that finger snapped out of his daze under her gaze. He raised his head, puzzled by that strange scrutiny.

By then, however, Chinatsu had already stuffed it into her pocket. She paid him no further attention and set off back to Jujutsu High.

Meanwhile, Satoru Gojo had also just finished a mission. On his way back, he had spotted an arcade and excitedly rushed inside to play. Suddenly, his nose tickled, and after an enormous sneeze, an involuntary shudder ran through him.

"Satoru, did you catch a cold?" Suguru Geto asked with concern, looking at his shivering friend in confusion.

Satoru Gojo wrapped his hands around his upper arms and lowered his head, a peculiar expression on his face.

Was it just a cold?

No, this felt more like a bad omen.

A few seconds later, the phone in Satoru Gojo's pocket went, "Ding! Ding! Ding!" He involuntarily gulped, then slowly reached into his pocket and pulled it out.

The screen lit up, and he opened the message.

When he saw the message from Chinatsu on the screen, even the hand holding his phone gave an involuntary tremble. His expression turned bleak.

"Satoru! What's wrong?!"

Suguru Geto jumped in alarm. He even thought Satoru Gojo had suffered a mental attack, though as far as Satoru Gojo was concerned, that wasn't far off.

Trembling, he turned the phone screen toward Suguru Geto and said with a bitter smile, "Black Flash. My sister's cheating again..."

After that, Satoru Gojo was in no mood to keep playing at the arcade. Once again, he threw himself into working twice as hard.

He had no intention of letting Chinatsu leave him behind. Besides, his goal wasn't merely to keep up with her. He wanted to surpass his older sister and become strong enough to plant a hand on her head, grin cheekily, and make her call him her big brother.

Of course, Chinatsu wasn't going to give him that chance.

Trying to reverse our places as older sister and younger brother... Dream on!

Time flew by, and at last, during a mission, Satoru Gojo triggered Black Flash against a cursed spirit at the very pinnacle of grade one.

According to Suguru Geto's recollection, he had simply stood nearby and watched. Satoru Gojo not only refrained from using ranged attacks, but even lowered his maximum output. He coated both hands in Blue, clenched them into fists, and treated the cursed spirit like a punching bag.

Through the tireless efforts of both Satoru Gojo and the cursed spirit, a black, lightning-like flash finally erupted. The cursed spirit that had been beaten like a punching bag was at last exorcised in tears, dissolving into nothingness.

Now the two siblings were back on the same track. But just as Satoru Gojo wiped off his sweat and prepared to brag to his sister, he discovered that Chinatsu was earnestly seeking guidance from Shoko.

Although Shoko's explanation of Reverse Cursed Technique was abstract, Chinatsu took advantage of the "120%" unstoppable state she entered after landing Black Flash and practiced specifically while in that state.

Over time, Chinatsu managed to get the faintest sense of how to cross that threshold... probably.

Maybe I need to push myself a little harder.

The outrageous thought of stabbing herself actually flashed through Chinatsu's mind, but a moment later, she shook her head and banished the idea.

Suddenly, the phone in her pocket began vibrating. Chinatsu pulled it out in puzzlement and checked it, only to find that Yaga was calling.

"Hello~ What's up?"

"There's a mission. Are Satoru and Geto with you? If they are, bring them along. We'll discuss the details in the classroom."

"Roger~"

Chinatsu's flippant tone made Yaga's brow furrow. He had been about to say something else, but she hung up on him before he could.

Chinatsu briefly relayed Yaga's words to Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto, who were right beside her. The two exchanged a look, shrugged, and headed to the Jujutsu High classroom with her.

Their homeroom teacher, Masamichi Yaga, stood behind the lectern in front of the blackboard. Chinatsu and the others took their usual seats as though attending an ordinary class and waited for him to speak.

"Geto, Satoru, Chinatsu. A heavy responsibility has fallen to you. Master Tengen has specifically requested you for this mission."

At Yaga's words, Satoru Gojo remained unmoved, Suguru Geto looked puzzled, and Chinatsu's expression grew grave.

Was it finally... about to happen?

Tengen, who had existed for a thousand years, was a Jujutsu Sorcerer possessing the [Immortality Technique]. Her mastery of Barrier Technique was exceptional. She was responsible for setting up and strengthening most of the barriers used throughout Jujutsu Society, making her an immensely important figure.

However, her cursed technique granted only "immortality," not "eternal youth." Her body continued to age, and once it reached the limits of humanity, the technique would forcibly make her evolve into a higher-dimensional existence.

That was hardly a good thing, because even Tengen did not know what she would become after evolving, or whether she would lose her sanity and turn into a threat to the world.

To prevent that from happening, every five hundred years, she needed to merge with a young human who was highly compatible with her, allowing the information of their youthful body to overwrite that of her aging one.

Such young humans were known as "star plasma vessels."

Looking at the three rather unreliable people before him, Yaga couldn't help raising a hand to his forehead. Still, there was nothing he could do. These three youngsters were already among the very strongest in Jujutsu Society.

"In short, Master Tengen's assimilation with the star plasma vessel will take place during the full moon two days from now. You must protect the girl who is the star plasma vessel and deliver her to Master Tengen. Failure is not an option. Understood?!"

Yaga's stern words were met with a chorus of listless "Yeah~" from the seats below. His face twitched slightly. His heart felt hollow, and he had absolutely no confidence in them...