What came next

"This... Mr. Dio, I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean.

Wouldn't allowing such crucial information to spread give potential enemies and those sitting on the fence advance warning as well, allowing them to prepare or even collude in secret?

Perhaps you could explain yourself more clearly."

Masamichi Yaga spoke with a frown.

"Mr. Yaga, the more enemies reveal themselves, the sooner they do so, and the more they gather in one place, the easier it will be for us to cut through the tangle and clear them all out at once.

The worst situation has never been enemies who are powerful or numerous. It is enemies lurking in the shadows, their identities unclear and their loyalties wavering, clinging like a festering sore that leaves us with nowhere to strike and exhausts us with endless trouble."

Dio explained calmly, offering a vivid analogy.

"Rats and cockroaches are both exceptionally good at hiding. Under normal circumstances, driving them out of an old building with a complex layout and a long history, or exterminating them completely, is an almost impossible task.

But when an 'earthquake' strikes, or a 'flood' sweeps through, even those hiding in the deepest recesses will be forced to scurry out of their dark corners and expose themselves in broad daylight.

Our job isn't to search every corner with a broom in hand. It is to control the scale of the 'earthquake' and the course of the 'flood,' make them show themselves, then concentrate our strength and sweep them away in a single strike."

"But this 'earthquake' you speak of... just how large will it be?"

Masamichi Yaga's tone was grave.

"Although violent 'tremors' can effectively drive out 'pests,' they may also have unpredictable consequences for the building itself, and even harm the majority of its ordinary 'residents.'

Overcorrection has always been a pitfall we must guard against during reform."

Dio nodded in agreement. "That is why we must carefully manage every stage, conducting precise tests, providing early warnings, and guiding people to safety.

That is precisely the task I will entrust to you, and to everyone willing to share this responsibility.

Once an 'earthquake warning' has been issued in advance, the very few 'residents' who remain in an unsafe building for whatever reason may indeed deserve their fate.

But if sacrifice is inevitable on the road to our goal, all I ask is that no one claim to speak for them without their knowledge."

He elaborated to prevent any possible misunderstanding, while also offering a pointed reminder to the elderly figure who had remained silently hunched in the shadows behind the crowd-Yoshinobu Gakuganji.

"If some people choose, of their own will and judgment, to sacrifice themselves for a cause, I cannot stop their resolve, nor will I ever deny their choices or their worth.

If they have truly done so already, I will accept it and remember them.

But whenever possible, I will naturally reject any unnecessary sacrifice without hesitation!

Our goal is to build a world where more people can survive and live better lives, not to climb a staircase of piled bones to a throne of power and might!

The judgment and choices this demands are a heavy responsibility that you and I must shoulder together."

Dio said no more. He turned to Naobito Zenin, Naoya, and Noritoshi Kamo, who had stood quietly waiting nearby throughout, each wearing a different expression, and briefly cupped his hands in salute.

"Gentlemen, thank you for bearing witness today.

We still have many matters to attend to and arrangements to make. We will meet again in three days."

"You're far too kind, Lord Dio!"

Naoya Zenin reacted fastest, bowing deeply almost the instant Dio finished speaking. His tone was so respectful it bordered on flattery, utterly unlike his usual haughty, supercilious manner.

"Please rest assured! Every member of the Zenin Clan will arrive on time. We would never dare show the slightest disrespect!"

"We will obey your command, Director." Naobito Zenin and Noritoshi Kamo bowed as well, their solemn bearing fully acknowledging the position and authority of this new ruler who had seized power with lightning speed.

Noritoshi Kamo then straightened, maintaining the composed demeanor characteristic of a great clan's heir, and added evenly, "Director, my father and mother will also come to pay their respects in person three days from now, as a demonstration of the Kamo Clan's full support for the new order."

With even the Kamo Clan, a central pillar of the old Jujutsu Headquarters and the bedrock of the conservative faction, taking such a clear stance, the success of this reform was no longer in doubt.

Only after the three figures had vanished completely at the far end of the corridor did the onlooking Sorcerers and staff, who had held their breath without daring to make a sound throughout, begin to disperse slowly and quietly, as though released from a paralysis spell, exchanging complicated looks and hushed remarks.

Only then did the atmosphere among those who remained, taut as a bowstring ever since they had stepped through the gates of Jujutsu Headquarters, finally ease a little.

Kento Nanami removed his goggles. A rare expression of relief appeared on his usually calm, self-possessed face.

He was the first to break the silence, his gaze seeming to drift somewhere far away.

"Back then... when I was still uncertain about my future and didn't know whether I should leave Jujutsu Society for good, I once asked Mei Mei whether she could recommend somewhere pleasant where an ordinary person could live in peace.

This was what she told me: 'If you want to become someone new, head north. If you want to return to who you used to be, go south.'"

Nanami drew his gaze back and looked down at his palms, still bearing the thin calluses left by years of gripping his short-bladed Cursed Tool.

"At the time, pessimistic as I was, I believed I had no power to change this rotten system. I even thought struggling was pointless...

Yet in the end, I still chose the 'Southern Country'-I chose to return to the ranks of Jujutsu Sorcerers and gamble on a 'future' that might not even exist."

He clenched his fists, a slight tremor entering his voice.

"Now it seems... for once, I made the right bet."

"Congratulations-"

Suguru Geto had just begun to speak with a gentle smile when Larue suddenly leaned closer, grinning. Wearing a mischievous look of shared male understanding, he lightly nudged Geto's arm with his elbow.

"Speaking of which, Geto, dear," Larue lowered his voice, though it was still perfectly audible to those nearby, his tone brimming with teasing. "Well...

Isn't it about time you gave the rest of us a definite answer about you and Miss Manami?

It's been so long. Surely there's some 'good news' by now?"

Suguru Geto paused, then smiled openly. "Ah, you caught on. We've decided to hold the wedding next week."

"Wow!"

Those present let out good-natured exclamations and cheers in unison-all except a certain white-haired man who seemed to have been kept in the dark.

"Whoa! To whom?!" Satoru Gojo had the strongest reaction.

He shot toward Suguru Geto, his sunglasses nearly slipping down his nose, his face alive with curiosity and excitement.

"That orange-haired woman who looks so gentle and refined? Manami Sugata?"

"Yes, Manami. Haven't you met her several times?" Suguru Geto looked at his best friend's exaggerated shock with amusement. "She's here today too, helping keep order outside."

He suddenly noticed something amiss and narrowed his eyes.

"Wait, hold on-why are you reacting so strongly, and why specifically ask 'to whom'... who else did you have in mind?"

Satoru Gojo rubbed his chin, adopting a sly expression that said he had seen through everything long ago. He lowered his voice to a "whisper" only the few people nearby could hear.

"The way those two girls, Mimiko and Nanako, look at you... isn't entirely how someone looks at an adoptive father, you know?"

Suguru Geto immediately raised a hand to stop him from spouting any more nonsense, his expression serious.

"Stop right there. Don't joke about that.

I would never, under any circumstances, make a move on a minor, and I truly think of them as my daughters!

Manami is different."

"Congratulations, Geto!" Satoru Gojo changed his expression in an instant, laughing as he thumped Suguru Geto's shoulder hard enough to practically pound him into the ground, his joy plain to see.