There was no hiding the fact that Satoru Gojo and his student Sherlock had landed Black Flashes while fighting each other from the Old Orange-Peels at the top of Jujutsu Headquarters, especially since Gojo had also wrecked the dormitory building.
Early the next morning, all the intelligence on this teacher-student brawl at Jujutsu High was laid before the Old Orange-Peels.
As they read the intelligence in their hands, their expressions were quite a sight: disgust tinged with disbelief, and disbelief laced with calculation.
Jujutsu sorcerers were under tremendous pressure as a group, so whatever hobbies they developed could be considered understandable.
But this was their first time seeing someone like Sherlock, who cared so much about those "unclean people." In the Old Orange-Peels' eyes, even landing a Black Flash because of those "unclean people" was nothing short of inconceivable.
The Old Orange-Peels were old fossils precisely because they clung to their rules of power politics and propriety, unwilling to let go, and practically every step Sherlock took hit a sore spot they least wanted touched.
Even if Sherlock's cursed technique held considerable strategic significance, his bizarre personality meant that their impression of him could already be described as infinitely close to their impression of Satoru Gojo.
More importantly, although none of the higher-ups said it outright, almost every one of them felt an indescribable distaste for Sherlock.
Yes, Sherlock's personality could drive even that little menace Satoru Gojo insane. Though the Old Orange-Peels at Jujutsu Headquarters coveted his cursed technique, they ultimately failed to settle on a plan to recruit him.
In fact, not only did they fail to settle on a recruitment plan, they also bound Sherlock and Satoru Gojo firmly together.
They had ample justification, too. Tokyo Jujutsu High currently had only one teacher and one student anyway, so why not have the teacher take his student on missions? Besides, summer, the peak season for cursed spirits, was approaching, and Sherlock's cursed technique could improve Gojo's efficiency on missions.
It sounded perfectly proper, but in reality, it was an overt scheme that could both kill a man and crush his spirit.
With Sherlock bound to Gojo on missions, Gojo's assignments would be extraordinarily difficult, and one careless moment could see a Grade 2 Sorcerer like Sherlock killed by the fallout from Gojo's battles.
Even if Gojo kept Sherlock out of the mission sites and stationed him outside as an assistant manager, Sherlock's Grade 2 missions mixed in among their assignments would gradually wear down Gojo's interest.
Given Gojo's personality, he would most likely wipe out the Grade 2 Cursed Spirits with a casual wave of his hand.
That way, the young man named Sherlock would never get to grow, and with his personality added to the mix, a rift would sooner or later form between him and Gojo.
When that happened, whether Jujutsu Headquarters chose to win him over or destroy him, either outcome would come naturally.
And so a mission notice binding Gojo and Sherlock together was issued to Tokyo Jujutsu High by the Old Orange-Peels at Jujutsu Headquarters.
When Masamichi Yaga received the order, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. Swearing up a storm, he was ready to storm straight into Jujutsu Headquarters and protest.
It was not that Yaga had seen through the Old Orange-Peels' filthy intentions, but that he knew what kind of goddamn trouble could result from putting Sherlock, that little menace, together with Gojo, that Dickhead Cat.
That would be a hell of a lot more destructive than Gojo and Suguru Geto together!
In less than two short months, Yaga had already bailed Gojo out of a police station once, cleaned up another mess for the teacher-student pair, and even had to apologize to a film distributor on behalf of Sherlock, his student's student!
And now they wanted to bind Sherlock and Gojo together?
Yaga could practically see his future routine: running to a police station or some other godforsaken place every few days to retrieve his student and his student's student.
He could deal with everything else, but he could not bear having his reputation in education ruined like that!
Unfortunately, Yaga's grand campaign to save his reputation in education ended before it even began. The reason was simple: as he headed out, he had the rotten luck to run into Gojo!
Compared with the straightforward Yaga, who had little sensitivity to power politics, Gojo was not yet the man he would become when the later story began, able to tell at a glance exactly what those Old Orange-Peels were thinking. Still, he smelled a conspiracy in this unusual order.
After considering it for a while, Gojo quickly understood what the Old Orange-Peels were plotting. With a cold laugh, he said to Yaga,
"Yaga, don't bother. It's no use. Those Old Orange-Peels won't agree to separate Sherlock and me."
With that, Gojo pulled Yaga back to the principal's office and explained his suspicions.
After hearing Gojo's suspicions, Yaga was left speechless, and nothing but speechless. Just as Gojo himself had said, the way those Old Orange-Peels' minds worked was completely fucking different from normal people's!
Gojo would impatiently dispose of Sherlock's Grade 2 missions with a casual flick of his hand? Wasn't that bullshit?
The most likely scenario was that Gojo would dump his own missions on Sherlock and stand on the sidelines watching the show, holding the sweets he had bought. Unless Sherlock could no longer hold out, Gojo would absolutely not lift a finger!
What? Sherlock's missions?
Couldn't Sherlock just find a spare moment between completing Gojo's missions to handle those himself? His cursed technique was so convenient, after all!
After holding it in for a long time, Yaga finally could not hold it in any longer. He sighed helplessly and spoke to Gojo with a grave expression.
"Satoru, I hope you remember that you're no longer a student at Jujutsu High who can do whatever he pleases. You're a teacher now, and you need to shoulder a teacher's responsibilities. Sherlock's personality might be a little outrageous, but I still don't want to see anything happen to him!"
Yaga all but pointed straight at Gojo's nose and told him not to dump his own missions on Sherlock.
Unfortunately, the Dickhead Cat opposite him did not take in a single word. He pulled a lollipop from his pocket and popped it straight into his mouth, then rested his hands behind his head and looked casually at Yaga, who sat behind the principal's desk.
"Relax, Yaga. I'm the strongest, the greatest teacher, Teacher Gojo! I absolutely won't let anything happen to my student."
At that point, Gojo seemed to remember something. With an obnoxious air, he leaned toward Yaga, pulled a little booklet straight out of his clothes, and slapped it down in front of him.
"Besides, Yaga, I don't think you're qualified to talk about 'a teacher's responsibilities,' are you?"
Gojo's words made Yaga freeze, and his expression instinctively dimmed for a moment. But the very next second, Gojo's verbal provocation sent his blood pressure soaring again.
"After all, Yaga, you don't have a teaching license, do you? I do! Look, Yaga, a Special Grade teaching license~~~ Ow!"
After having the Dickhead Cat flaunt it right in his face, Yaga unsurprisingly brought his Armament Haki iron fist of guidance (jealousy) down on Gojo's head...