The farce ends

On the rooftop, Hajime Kashimo landed steadily, holding the metal staff cursed tool that had been burned to a crisp and rendered completely useless.

A low-grade cursed tool like this could never withstand vast amounts of electric charge like the one he had used in the Culling Game. After just a single lightning strike, this "Lightning Rod" was already ruined...

"Didn't kill that guy. What a shame."

Kashimo shook out his hand. At last, his cursed energy was running low. That last strike had been a miracle built entirely on sheer accumulated output, with no technique or efficiency to speak of-only raw power.

Yet even that hadn't let him kill Thousand Fangs in a single blow. A ranged attack of that level simply wasn't enough. Even with electric charge built up inside his opponent, he couldn't trigger a guaranteed-hit lightning critical strike.

But at least the story was back on track.

That was a silver lining, if nothing else...

"Next is the casualty report."

Inside the first-floor conference room at Jujutsu High, where cursed energy kept sound from escaping, Assistant Supervisor Ijichi adjusted his rectangular glasses and began summarizing the attack based on the information available.

"One Grade 2 Sorcerer, two assistant supervisors, and two guards from the cursed-object storehouse."

"They were all sorcerers on standby at Jujutsu High, and none of them were with Principal Yaga or Mr. Gojo."

"We'll need to wait for Ms. Shoko's report for the details, but judging by the traces left at the scene, the attackers were most likely the special grade cursed spirits Mr. Nanami and Mr. Gojo previously reported..."

Ijichi's words weighed heavily on everyone present. Every jujutsu sorcerer was a precious resource to Jujutsu Society. Even when it came to assistant supervisors, whose duties were limited to lowering curtains and running errands to relay information, none of them wanted to see casualties.

"Should we tell the students? And the other sorcerers out in the field?"

Almost the instant Utahime made her suggestion, Principal Yaga and Principal Gakuganji both rejected it outright.

Had this simply been an attack by special grade cursed spirits, there would have been no problem sharing the news.

In fact, it would have made the students and other sorcerers realize that intelligent special grade cursed spirits had now become a major threat.

But the problem was...

Curse users had been involved in this incident.

It had been an organized, premeditated, carefully planned attack.

Curse users and special grade cursed spirits had worked together. The two sides had actually joined forces without showing any hostility toward each other.

Together with the theft of special grade cursed objects, these two revelations were far too grave and shocking for the students and sorcerers outside the school.

Some things had already happened, and the best way to handle them was simply to report them to the higher-ups and ensure those below never knew what had occurred...

That was how absurdly the world worked.

"So why can cursed spirits and outsiders just walk through Lord Tengen's barrier whenever they want? That's ridiculous!"

Utahime turned her gaze toward Satoru Gojo as she complained.

As a teacher from Kyoto, she felt Tokyo Jujutsu High certainly had to take some responsibility for this attack.

"One of the special grade cursed spirits involved in the attack was rather unusual."

"The special grade cursed spirit that fought Todo and Itadori seemed closer to a [nature spirit] in its makeup. Its presence was very unusual. Combined with its ability to control plants, it makes sense that it could sneak in unnoticed."

"After all, Tengen's barrier is meant to conceal Jujutsu High's existence, not defend it. Once someone pinpoints its location and gets close, the barrier is pretty weak by special grade standards..."

The conference room gradually fell quiet after Satoru Gojo finished his explanation.

Yaga, Gakuganji, Mei Mei...

Everyone was considering what the cursed spirits and curse users had hoped to achieve with this attack, and each person's thoughts and conclusions differed greatly.

But whatever the case, at least the students from Tokyo and Kyoto were safe. That was the best news they could ask for.

As for the Goodwill Event, though...

"So what exactly happened? I feel like I missed a lot."

In the recovery room, Kugisaki and Itadori leaned against Megumi Fushiguro's bedside as they chatted. They ate the pizza they had brought for him while discussing everything they had encountered during the Goodwill Event, utterly ignoring the helpless, speechless look on the face of the room's occupant.

"Hey, you two. Could you bring something easier for an injured person to digest next time?"

"And leave a slice for Yunyi. Don't eat it all."

Megumi Fushiguro glanced at Hajime Kashimo, who stood by the window, but Kashimo merely waved a hand to indicate they needn't worry about him.

The situation had been urgent at the time, so Kashimo's treatment of Fushiguro had only addressed his surface injuries.

With the subsequent battle against Hanami on top of that, Kashimo had genuinely worried that Fushiguro might die from the severity of his wounds.

What pleased him, however, was that thanks to their earlier training and guidance, this life's Megumi Fushiguro hadn't suffered near-fatal injuries as he had before.

In the battle against Hanami, his practiced use of [Well's Unknown Abyss] and his other shikigami had left him with only nonfatal blows to his body, nothing serious.

His stay in the recovery room was partly to heal the earlier wound Thousand Fangs had punched through his abdomen, and partly to check whether any hidden toxins had coated Thousand Fangs' claws.

"A weak jujutsu sorcerer can't even stay true to his own ideals."

"I'm going to get stronger, until I surpass you."

The conversation came to an end when Megumi Fushiguro solemnly issued his challenge to Itadori.

But that wasn't because Itadori felt uncomfortable. It was because a hulking, muscle-bound man suddenly appeared directly opposite Fushiguro...

"My God, now that's a good friend of my best friend!"

Aoi Todo nodded in approval at Fushiguro's newfound resolve, moved to tears.

Apparently, even a boring guy had a little something that shone...

"So why did the Individual Battle turn into a baseball game?"

With the blast of a whistle, the first "friendly" baseball game between Tokyo and Kyoto Jujutsu High officially began.

Since they already had enough players, and Kashimo knew nothing about modern sports, he simply sat in the stands with Satoru Gojo.

Gojo would originally have been joking and fooling around with the students, but now he sat quietly and obediently beside Kashimo.

"How strong was that guy?"

Satoru Gojo asked as if talking to himself. He kept his head facing forward, never turning to look at Kashimo.

Kashimo did the same...

"His destructive power and firepower were first-rate, but his defense was surprisingly lousy."

Kashimo knew whom Satoru Gojo meant.

The battle at the training grounds had caused such a commotion, not to mention the overwhelming surge of cursed energy Jogo had released while fleeing...

Even if Satoru Gojo deliberately ignored it, there was no way his Six Eyes could have missed that information.

"Hahaha! Right? That's what I thought too!"

Satoru Gojo laughed aloud, a rare occurrence. Beneath that hearty laughter, Kashimo keenly detected a trace of loneliness...

It seemed his arrival had indirectly changed something in the heart of the strongest sorcerer of this era...