"My family," Suguru Geto said, gesturing to everyone sitting or standing around the sofa, "we now have a new leader-Dio, who also possesses Cursed Spirit Manipulation."
"Hello, everyone," Dio greeted them.
"Hey there. I'm Miguel."
The Black man in a soft white hat and sunglasses stepped forward to shake his hand, quietly testing his grip. His expression shifted slightly, and by the time he let go, he was thoroughly convinced.
"These are my adopted daughters, Nanako and Mimiko."
Geto pointed to the two girls sitting quietly nearby and introduced them to Dio.
"They're rather attached to me. With other people... they can be a little rude."
"He's handsome too," Mimiko murmured to Nanako beside her, tilting her head slightly.
Nanako couldn't care less about that.
Her eyes widened as she demanded, "Did Lord Geto really lose?"
"Hahaha, yes."
Suguru Geto laughed openly, as though a heavy burden had been lifted from him. Even his voice sounded lighter.
"I sent out both my special grade cursed spirits, but couldn't leave so much as a scratch on him-a crushing defeat."
"Lord Geto seems... happy?" Mimiko blinked and asked softly, "You lost, but you're so happy. That's strange."
Suguru Geto turned to everyone present and explained calmly:
"It's time I told you all.
For other sorcerers, exorcising a cursed spirit is the end of it. But with Cursed Spirit Manipulation, there's much more to consider-this cursed technique doesn't truly exorcise cursed spirits. It simply stockpiles the curses inside me.
Right now, there are only a few thousand cursed spirits, and I can still keep them under control. But there are far more than a million cursed spirits in the world.
So I've always worried that, a hundred years from now, these accumulated curses might spiral out of control and cause an even greater disaster."
He paused, his gaze settling on Dio.
"From that perspective, between one person with Cursed Spirit Manipulation and two...
Having someone to share that burden truly makes a fundamental difference."
With that, Suguru Geto turned to Miguel, who had just tested Dio's strength, and exaggerated Dio's power through some judicious omissions:
"Miguel, even if you'd joined us in the fight, you could only have bought us ten minutes at most.
In today's battle, Mr. Dio only used shikigami. He didn't even use his own cursed technique."
"What?!" Miguel was stunned.
Losing a contest of grip strength was one thing; there was always someone stronger. But defeating Geto without using a cursed technique... even Satoru Gojo might not be able to do that.
The cursed tool he carried, the Black Rope, was a treasure that the sorcerers back home had spent decades weaving.
It bore an exceedingly rare curse, one that disrupted and interfered with an opponent's cursed technique.
That formidable ability put it on par with a special grade cursed tool, but its drawback was that every strike burned away part of the Black Rope, until not a thread remained.
Until the Black Rope was completely consumed, Miguel was invincible. He was even confident he could take on Satoru Gojo alone for ten minutes without losing.
And Suguru Geto's implication placed Dio on Satoru Gojo's level-perhaps he wasn't quite there yet, but sooner or later, he would catch up.
"No way!" Nanako couldn't help raising her voice. "I thought it was an evenly matched fight, where you lost by a hair and came to respect each other..."
"A new... 'strongest'?" Mimiko tightened her grip on the cursed doll in her arms.
"It was quite a surprise. Originally, I wanted to recruit Mr. Dio, but he outclassed me and beat me, so I ended up joining him instead."
Suguru Geto spoke evenly.
"Also... I originally wanted to end the age of monkeys and build a paradise for jujutsu sorcerers. But Mr. Dio believes there's no need."
"Huh?!"
"Quiet," Dio spoke again, his voice soft but clear. "Please lend me your ears."
At the same time, Suguru Geto gently pressed both hands downward, and the room fell silent.
"You've all grown accustomed to the conveniences of modern life, haven't you?
High-speed trains, airplanes, trendy snacks, video games, social media...
If we lost more than ninety-nine percent of the population, how would modern society keep functioning?"
Dio swept his gaze over them.
"That's right. Every convenience you enjoy would cease to exist.
Technology would be lost, civilization would regress-are we to willingly return to a feudal society?
Therefore, effective immediately, the impractical policy of 'optimizing cursed energy' by slaughtering all non-sorcerers is officially terminated."
"The crêpes on Takeshita Street..." Nanako immediately thought of food.
"That's true... But policies don't really matter to us. We only believed in the future Lord Geto envisioned," Mimiko replied softly.
"Well, I make mistakes sometimes too." Suguru Geto waved a hand with a smile.
"That's all right. Recognizing your mistakes and correcting them is good too." Manami gently tugged at the hem of his robes.
"Exactly." Miguel folded his arms and nodded. "Once you realize you're wrong, correcting it immediately is the cheapest option, no matter how much it costs."
At that, Suguru Geto turned and rested a hand on Miguel's broad shoulder.
"Miguel, so you already thought there was something wrong with my policy-why didn't you ever say so?"
"Uh..." Miguel was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Lord Dio, what will our new policy be?" Having experienced Dio's strength firsthand, Larue had readily accepted being under his command.
"Capture every high-level cursed spirit in the world through Cursed Spirit Manipulation and become 'living pillars' that safeguard this world-dominate this age through the binding power of curses, and become its saviors."
Dio spoke calmly.
"As Geto said earlier, I also possess Cursed Spirit Manipulation. He and I will accomplish this together.
The rest of you need only assist in locating and capturing cursed spirits.
Apart from those whose heinous crimes make them deserving of death, we will... spare the other non-sorcerers for now.
After all, they labor to keep modern society running. Those of us who merely enjoy the fruits of their work have no right to take their lives at will.
I believe that once we change our approach, Jujutsu Society will reassess us as well.
Perhaps before long, you will no longer have to operate with warrants hanging over your heads."
"Speaking of that," Suguru Geto suddenly said, "I have a suggestion."
"Go ahead."
"Why don't we... first kill off all those old bastards who put us on the wanted list?"
"What heinous crimes have they committed?"
"Do you even need to ask?"
A trace of coldness flickered in Suguru Geto's eyes.
"They repeatedly pass along incorrect or false intelligence, sending people to their deaths-my junior, Yu Haibara, died because of that.
They also work the young sorcerers at Jujutsu High like beasts of burden...
During my last days at Jujutsu High, Satoru barely slept at all. He kept himself going with Reverse Cursed Technique as the missions came one after another.
They have plenty of sorcerers in their service, yet they sit back and reap the benefits purely because of their bloodlines-why don't they send those people out too?"
Dio nodded slightly.
"I see. They certainly sound like targets worth eliminating.
Even if the younger generation might eventually become as corrupt as they are, it would at least give us a few decades of fresh air.
But I won't take your word alone-after some time, I'll go see for myself and learn the truth firsthand."
"Everyone should rest today. Starting tomorrow, we'll fly around the world to capture special grade cursed spirits," Dio announced at last. "Geto and I will be the main combat force. The rest of you will gather intelligence and provide support."
"If we're going abroad, you'll have to take me, won't you?" Larue volunteered. "I'm from the European Union, after all. I speak English and German, so I can interpret."
"In that case, I'm indispensable too," Miguel added. "None of you speak French, do you? Besides, I have some connections in both Europe and Africa, and I know quite a few local curse users."
"Please leave Lord Geto's daily needs to me." Manami smiled and turned to the twins. "Nanako, Mimiko, I'm afraid you'll have to stay behind and look after the house this time."
"There's really no need for that..." Suguru Geto murmured awkwardly.
"No, no way!"
"Manami, that's so sneaky! We're coming too!"
"Haha, you're certainly popular." Dio patted Geto's shoulder. "Actually, everyone can come along, you know?"
Before you continue