Satoru Gojo and his student Sherlock both knew one thing.
Whether it was Sherlock shooting his mouth off in front of the higher-ups or Satoru Gojo refusing to show those higher-ups the slightest respect, either incident alone was enough to send that bunch, who saw power as everything, into a meltdown.
And once those higher-ups had their meltdown, they would eventually find some way to get revenge.
That was also the main reason Satoru Gojo was so intense about Sherlock's training, and why Sherlock, despite his laid-back nature, offered no resistance at all.
What neither of them had expected, however, was that those higher-ups' patience would far exceed their imagination.
Nearly half a month had passed since Sherlock openly threatened those higher-ups to their faces, and that half month had been perfectly peaceful.
Apart from the occasional routine assignment to exorcise cursed spirits, those higher-ups seemed to have forgotten their "utter humiliation." Things were so quiet that even Sherlock had nearly forgotten how he had disgusted them before.
For half a month straight, Satoru Gojo drilled Sherlock so hard that he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. The quality of his sleep was a first across both his lifetimes combined.
Only when the weather gradually grew hotter and midsummer seemed to be beginning to rear its head did those old higher-ups finally make their move.
Before the midsummer outbreak of cursed spirits, those old higher-ups assigned Satoru Gojo a business trip abroad, specifically requesting him through an official secondment.
Truthfully, Satoru Gojo could not refuse an assignment like that. Or rather, any jujutsu sorcerer still operating within the higher-ups' system would find it difficult to refuse such an assignment. Most importantly, it also involved outside parties.
Even though Satoru Gojo knew perfectly well that the assignment was a pretext to get him out of Tokyo, there was little he could do. The only solution he could think of was to have Sherlock leave a beacon on him.
Although he did not know whether Sherlock's cursed technique could manage international teleportation, it was at least some comfort.
Of course, most importantly, this time Satoru Gojo explicitly told Sherlock that if an assignment really felt wrong, he should refuse it outright if he could, and if he could not, he should simply run.
Only after giving him a whole assortment of instructions did he board a plane and leave Japan the next day.
And on the second day after Satoru Gojo left, the higher-ups likewise issued an assignment specifically requesting Sherlock, sending a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer like him to investigate the Time Vessel Association!
What was the Time Vessel Association? The base of Suguru Geto, a former Jujutsu High student and current Special Grade Curse User. The higher-ups were actually sending Sherlock, a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer, to investigate a Special Grade Curse User?
Leaving aside whether this was reasonable at all, practically anyone could see the little scheme behind it.
Sending Sherlock to investigate Suguru Geto was simply a way to make trouble for Sherlock while also testing Suguru Geto's attitude. But regardless of his attitude, the higher-ups stood to gain everything and lose nothing.
If Suguru Geto killed Sherlock, Satoru Gojo's student, it would deepen the rift between Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto, ensure that Satoru Gojo would never have any private contact with Suguru Geto again, and even avenge Sherlock's earlier insolence toward the higher-ups in the bargain.
If Suguru Geto did not kill Sherlock and merely taught him a lesson, that was fine too. The higher-ups would then have grounds to suspect Satoru Gojo of colluding with the Special Grade Curse User Suguru Geto, allowing them to take back some power from the strongest.
Most importantly, if Sherlock, Satoru Gojo's first student, got beaten up, Satoru Gojo would face a trolley problem when he returned: his former best friend on one side, and his current student on the other.
Whichever side Satoru Gojo favored, one of them would end up estranged from him. Even if he treated both sides equally, one of them might still be dissatisfied.
It would spite Satoru Gojo while also teaching that arrogant brat Sherlock a lesson, and might even drive a wedge between Sherlock and Satoru Gojo.
Even if Sherlock saw through the higher-ups' intentions and simply chose to defect, that was fine too.
As long as Sherlock dared defect to Suguru Geto's side, Satoru Gojo's first assignment upon returning would undoubtedly be to execute the traitor Sherlock as quickly as possible.
It was an utterly blatant, overt scheme. Whatever Sherlock did, whatever he chose, he would eventually give them something to use against him, and the higher-ups would profit. The only question was how much.
Naturally, Sherlock saw every last one of the higher-ups' nasty little intentions clearly, and casually forwarded the assignment details to Satoru Gojo.
Sherlock had only just finished messaging Satoru Gojo when Masamichi Yaga came straight to his door.
Holding the assignment the higher-ups had issued to Sherlock, he repeatedly hinted, his face dark, that Sherlock could refuse this assignment. As the principal of Tokyo Jujutsu High, he could help Sherlock negotiate with the higher-ups.
Honestly, if even a straightforward man like Masamichi Yaga could see through those higher-ups' little scheme, it meant they had never intended to hide it.
But to Masamichi Yaga's surprise, Sherlock showed not the slightest inclination to refuse. He even happily accepted the assignment to investigate the Time Vessel Association.
After saying goodbye to Masamichi Yaga, Sherlock cheerfully ran back to his dorm, gathered his ice pick and everything else, packed a small backpack, and set off in high spirits.
Watching Sherlock look as though he were heading out on a picnic, Masamichi Yaga instinctively had a bad feeling.
In fact, Masamichi Yaga's instincts were right. Sherlock had no intention of completing the assignment properly. After all, it was no different from the Juvenile Detention Center assignment. The trio back then had still been young and cared at least a little about saving face.
But the great Sherlock did not care about any of that!
After being put through Satoru Gojo's training for a full half month, Sherlock desperately needed a break.
Those higher-ups had already openly handed Sherlock an opportunity to travel on public funds. With skin as thick as his, it would be a cold day in hell before he let it slip.
What? You said the assignment was to investigate the Time Vessel Association? How did it turn into a publicly funded vacation?
Wasn't that obvious? He, Sherlock, was an upstanding young man who swore off gambling and drugs, a model student, and an absolute minor to boot. What the hell did he know about the Time Vessel Association?
Besides, your assignment said "investigate," but you never specified how I should investigate, so I could only "investigate" in my own way.
As for what my own method of "investigation" was, that was none of your business. Whether I could actually "investigate" anything was none of your business either. In any case, I investigated.
After all, he, Sherlock, was just a minor who knew nothing and only wanted to snuggle up to his teachers. What did he know?
Whatever the case, he, Sherlock, had "investigated" very "hard," hadn't he?