Getting to know each other

Suguru Geto reached toward the ruins, loosely curling his fingers.

Two traces of cursed energy, as feeble as candles guttering in the wind, rose as wisps of dim black mist and returned to his body-the two special grade cursed spirits that had yet to dissipate completely.

They could still be saved...

He closed his eyes, sensing the life remaining in the cursed spirits' cores, and felt a flicker of relief.

Finding another two special grade cursed spirits would hardly be easy, after all, and the "Wednesday Special Program" did not offer useful information every time.

Then, with Dio supporting him, he slowly stood.

One behind the other, they stepped over rubble and broken bricks, carefully searching the ruins.

Before long, they found the unconscious Larue in the shadow of a shattered load-bearing wall.

Another three hundred meters or so farther on, they dragged Toshihisa Negi from beneath a half-collapsed wall. He had been sent flying a considerable distance and was barely conscious.

Dio used Reverse Cursed Technique again to heal them.

Two minutes later, Larue opened his eyes first.

He coughed violently several times, spitting out a little dust. His green eyes briefly lost focus in the warm sunset light, then quickly regained their sharpness.

Hearing the movement, Toshihisa Negi gave a muffled groan and woke from his brief stupor, warily scanning his surroundings.

The two pushed themselves into sitting positions almost simultaneously.

"Hey-you're both awake?"

Looking toward the voice, they saw Dio and Suguru Geto standing side by side. The latter's robes were torn and his breathing ragged, while the former was entirely unscathed, his bearing relaxed.

The outcome was plain to see.

Lord Geto had lost.

Larue and Riku exchanged a glance, silently accepting that fact.

They neither questioned nor commented, merely rising from the ground and brushing the dust from their clothes before standing off to one side, arms at their sides, awaiting further instructions.

"Mr. Dio, I intend to return to our base first. Would you like to come see the Time Vessel Association's headquarters?"

Suguru Geto turned toward the new leader beside him, his voice having regained its usual composure.

"Thirty-three of our forty-six companions are there."

"Sure," Dio readily agreed. "It'll be a good chance to announce that you have a new boss. And tell me about Jujutsu Society along the way-I'm quite interested in those special grades."

The group walked to an inconspicuous parking spot several hundred meters away, where a black minivan sat quietly in the shadows, its windows covered in dark privacy film.

Larue took the driver's seat, while Riku opened the front passenger door and climbed in without being told.

Suguru Geto opened the rear door and stepped aside to let Dio enter first.

They settled into the spacious rear seats, the leather cushions sinking slightly beneath them. The soft click of the closing door shut out the warm breeze and chirping insects.

The engine started with a low rumble, and the vehicle glided smoothly into the night.

Light from the streetlamps swept through the windows in successive bands, casting shifting patches of light and shadow over Suguru Geto's composed profile.

"Then let's start with the 'strongest of the modern age'-Satoru Gojo."

There was a distinct note of nostalgia in his voice.

"His technique, Limitless, can interfere with matter on the atomic level, allowing him to manipulate space and even bring cosmic energy into reality.

"Its basic manifestation is an 'infinite series converging on himself'-anything trying to approach him slows infinitely toward zero, never actually reaching him.

"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue creates attraction by defining a negatively infinite distance, while Cursed Technique Reversal: Red creates repulsion by defining a positively infinite distance.

"And superimposing the two produces Hollow Purple... which generates an imaginary mass capable of destroying everything."

Suguru Geto held something back.

He did not mention the most crucial element, "Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void"-Satoru Gojo's true trump card, which dragged opponents into an "infinite" torrent of information and utterly broke them on a mental level.

It was both protection for his best friend and a cautious line of defense against his new ally.

"That sounds like quite a useful ability," Dio said, stroking his chin with interest and making no attempt to conceal his desire. "I'll copy it for myself when the time comes."

"Mr. Dio, I suggest you prepare yourself beforehand." Suguru Geto turned toward him, his expression serious. "Even if you possess Limitless, you may not be able to use it."

"Oh? How so?"

"It's like a classic rule in many stories-only a sorcerer with the Six Eyes can truly wield this technique.

"It requires extraordinarily precise cursed energy control. Without the special abilities those eyes grant, even someone who inherits the technique cannot operate it."

"What exactly can these Six Eyes do, then?" Dio asked at the right moment. "You mentioned they could see atoms earlier. They must be some remarkable kind of magical eyes?"

"At the most basic level, they provide wide-ranging, 360-degree vision with no blind spots, allowing the user to see through obstructions within a radius of at least a kilometer.

"In addition, the Six Eyes can directly identify sorcerers, analyze the structure of cursed techniques, track and even predict cursed energy trajectories, and enable microscopic-level cursed energy manipulation... They could be called 'all-seeing eyes.'"

Hearing this, Dio leaned forward slightly.

"So theoretically, as long as someone achieves the same precision in cursed energy control, they should be able to use Limitless without the Six Eyes, right?"

Suguru Geto shook his head gently. "That's true in principle.

"Over the Gojo Clan's thousand-year history, many sorcerers have inherited the technique without awakening the Six Eyes-but not one of them has successfully used Limitless."

"...Then we'll see when the time comes," Dio said with a confident smile.

"Cursed energy control is something you can train, after all.

"I believe that even if I can't get a handle on it at first, I'll eventually adapt.

"What about the other two special grades' techniques?"

"Yuki Tsukumo spends most of her time wandering overseas, and her whereabouts are unpredictable.

"To be honest, I haven't spoken with her much, and I don't know much about what her technique does."

Suguru Geto leaned back against his seat, his voice carrying a wistful note of recollection.

"The last time we met, she brought up the idea of 'killing all non-sorcerers to achieve Cursed Energy Optimization.'"

"That... sounds like a nasty woman?"

"I wouldn't go that far... She's more the carefree, free-spirited type.

"She simply proposed the idea, then ran off and left me to think it through.

"Like a gardener who casually drops a seed before turning away. She doesn't seem to truly care what flower it might bloom into or what fruit it might bear."

Geto shifted slightly in his seat.

"As for the last one, Yuta Okkotsu-I've heard that his childhood sweetheart became an unprecedentedly powerful cursed spirit after her death, placing a curse on him in the name of love that automatically protects him.

"As for the boy himself... judging by our limited information, he seems to be a thoroughly unremarkable sorcerer."

"Oh, a classic setup. A bit like a 'jinchuriki'?"

"You can think of it that way. In any case, that broadly covers the four special grade sorcerers."

Suguru Geto nodded slightly.

"As for the sixteen special grade cursed spirits known worldwide... two are in the European Union, one in India, four in Zhengguo, and one in the United States.

"The remaining eight are all in Japan, including the two I control, Akurou-ou Dake and Oeyama Gedoumaru, who have been sealed by Jujutsu Society, and four unknown beings sighted intermittently.

"To be honest, it wouldn't be surprising if more special grade cursed spirits were lurking in some obscure corners."

"By the way, why choose to seal special grade cursed spirits instead of exorcising them completely?"

"After an exorcism, a new special grade cursed spirit will be reborn to replace it within a hundred years and wreak havoc again.

"Seals often last longer, and the sealed spirits can also serve as bargaining chips in dealings with sorcerers like me.

"In terms of 'cost-effectiveness,' it's the more practical choice."

"I see." Dio looked thoughtful. "These things sound more and more like 'tailed beasts'-they can reside within people, be sealed away, and come back to life after being destroyed."

"Perhaps Kishimoto is a jujutsu sorcerer himself," Suguru Geto joked, barely believing his own words. "And he used cursed spirits as a reference when drawing Naruto."

The vehicle traveled steadily through the night.

Dio leaned against his seat, lightly tapping his fingertips on his knee, the shifting lights outside reflected in his eyes.

As they grew more familiar with one another, their new boss gradually revealed an unexpectedly talkative side.

With an astonishing thirst for knowledge, he "bombarded" the other three in turn, tirelessly asking all sorts of basic questions.

The orthodox method of refining cursed energy, the art of cursed energy reinforcement, the concept of expanding a cursed technique's targets, the fundamentals of barrier techniques, the theory of the cycle between cursed spirits and humans, legends of great cursed spirits...

Like a dry sponge, Dio greedily absorbed any useful information.

He even learned Simple Domain after watching Geto demonstrate it just once, prompting the latter to declare that it defied all reason.

Hearing the commotion, Larue glanced back from the driver's seat. At the sight of the barrier shell surrounding Dio, the corner of his mouth twitched.

"Lord Dio, the speed at which you learn would make most jujutsu sorcerers question their entire lives."

"I'm simply rather good at 'understanding.'

"This is only a simple task on the level of 'absorbing the necessary knowledge and producing the necessary result.'"

Dio dispelled his Simple Domain, his tone as casual as if he were discussing what to eat tomorrow.

"And to return the favor, I can teach you Reverse Cursed Technique when we have some free time."

Silence briefly filled the vehicle.

Suguru Geto and Toshihisa Negi exchanged a complicated look.

Larue, still driving, simply pretended he did not exist.

Half an hour later, the vehicle slowly stopped before an elegant, traditional Japanese building.

A woman with short, orange-red hair had been waiting for some time on the stone steps outside the main hall.

She wore a well-tailored, deep purple dress with a plain white shawl, her posture poised and composed.

Once the vehicle had stopped, she took two steps forward to greet them and bowed slightly.

"Lord Geto, Lord Dio, I am Manami Sugata. All the officers have arrived. Please proceed to the meeting room."

"This is a rare occasion," Suguru Geto said with a soft sigh. "I don't know how long it's been since we all gathered."

Geto and Manami walked on the left, with Larue and Riku accompanying them on the right, as the group escorted Dio into the spacious meeting room.