Do you have 600 billion?

The domain began to dissolve.

The deep purple canopy shattered inward from its edges.

A few seconds later, Wangchuan's feet touched the ground.

Wangchuan stood where he was and looked down at his right hand.

Just then, that familiar voice rang out in his sea of consciousness.

[Tso Lan template integration: 33% → 35%]

[Name: Wangchuan]

[Template: Moon Demon (35%)]

[Race: Human/Demon (switchable)]

[Demon coins: 0]

[Jujutsu rating (strength rating): Special Grade · Anomalous-an existence beyond Jujutsu Society's current rating system.]

Wangchuan stared at the line of golden text appearing in his sea of consciousness, stunned for a second.

Then his lips slowly spread into a distinct curve of satisfaction and delight.

"...Thirty-five."

He withdrew his hand, slipped it back into his pocket, and turned to look at the black sedan Hōzō had flattened, then at the hole in the wall on the mall's second floor.

"...Two percent."

"Last time I fought that Special Grade, it went up one percent."

"This time, it went straight up by two."

He muttered to himself, unable to hide the happiness in his voice.

"That's worth twenty billion yen."

He paused, then added in an even quieter voice, as though tallying his accounts.

"This job Mei Mei referred me to didn't just bring in one and a half billion yen..."

"There was an unexpected bonus, too."

Wangchuan couldn't suppress the curve of his lips.

"Heeheehee."

Then a voice came from above.

Unhurried and warm, it held a hint of a smile, like an old friend exchanging greetings.

"As expected of the man Jujutsu Society calls its strongest bounty hunter."

"You exorcised Hōzō so quickly."

Hearing the voice, Wangchuan slowly raised his head.

A figure stood at the edge of the mall's seventh floor.

His monk's robes fluttered slightly in the wind, his long black hair tied in a bun. With his hands tucked into his sleeves, he looked down at Wangchuan in the middle of the parking lot.

Suguru Geto.

Wangchuan remained where he was, his hands still in his pockets.

As he looked at the figure upstairs, his smile faded a little, but it didn't turn into wariness or hostility.

Instead, his expression became something subtler, with an appraising air.

"Heh..."

"The leader of the Time Vessel Association, out on a mall rooftop enjoying the breeze in the middle of the night instead of preaching?"

His voice was lazy and faintly teasing, as though he were really chatting with an acquaintance he didn't know particularly well.

"You're certainly in the mood, Master Geto."

Suguru Geto dropped from the edge of the seventh floor.

His movement was light, the hem of his robes flipping in the air as though supported by the wind, and he landed soundlessly on the second-floor corridor where Wangchuan stood.

They were about seven or eight paces apart, with a few collapsed shelves and shattered glass scattered between them.

Once Suguru Geto stood still, he raised a hand to straighten his sleeves, as relaxed as if he were strolling through his own courtyard.

Wangchuan watched him descend from above without moving.

"Nice moves, Master Geto."

"Nothing compared to yours." Suguru Geto smiled faintly, his tone gentle.

"Breaking a domain in one second. Apart from Gojo, I've never seen anyone else do it."

"His domain was just too fragile." Wangchuan shrugged.

"Just like his body. Looked intimidating, but one squeeze and it shattered."

Suguru Geto didn't respond to that.

His gaze lingered on Wangchuan for a while, as though examining something rather uncommon.

Two seconds passed before he spoke. "Mr. Wangchuan, I actually heard about you quite some time ago."

"Oh?"

"Really?"

Suguru Geto continued.

"I've always been very curious about you."

"So when I passed by today and saw the mall covered by a Curtain, I stopped in for a look."

"Stopped in?" Wangchuan repeated the words.

Suguru Geto didn't deny it.

The curve of his lips deepened slightly, serving as tacit acknowledgment.

He tilted his head, looked Wangchuan over again, and said, "You're not quite like him."

"Like-like who?"

"Gojo." Suguru Geto's tone was even.

"I thought that since you got along so well with Gojo, you would be a lot like him."

"But now that we've met, that doesn't seem to be the case."

Wangchuan fell silent for a moment, as though those words had piqued his interest. "How am I different?"

Suguru Geto was quiet for a while.

He seemed to be carefully choosing his words, but in the end, he merely shook his head and smiled gently.

"I can't quite say."

"It's just... a feeling."

"You don't have that... how should I put it? That air of carrying everything on your shoulders, as though the weight of the whole world rests on his back alone."

Wangchuan didn't reply.

He looked at Suguru Geto's gentle, smiling face, which always seemed to have something separating it from him.

Only after a while did he speak, bringing the conversation back to business.

"So... what exactly did you come looking for me for?"

Suguru Geto looked at him openly. "I'd like you to join the Time Vessel Association."

Wangchuan raised an eyebrow.

Even though he had already vaguely suspected it, hearing the other man say it so directly still struck him as somewhat interesting.

"...Inviting me to join your crew?"

"You could put it that way."

"Are you serious?"

"Very serious." Suguru Geto's tone didn't change at all, remaining gentle and calm.

"I've observed how you operate. You belong to no faction in Jujutsu Society, you aren't constrained by Jujutsu Headquarters' rules and regulations, and you act solely according to your own wishes."

"I consider someone like that worth talking to."

After hearing him out, Wangchuan neither nodded nor shook his head.

He merely looked at Suguru Geto for two seconds, then asked the first thing that came to mind:

"How much can you pay?"

"Hm?!"

Suguru Geto froze for a moment.

He had imagined many possibilities.

He had imagined Wangchuan might discuss the question of Jujutsu Sorcerers' position with him, or question the Time Vessel Association's ideals.

He had even imagined that Wangchuan might refuse outright or attack him.

But he truly hadn't expected those to be the first words out of Wangchuan's mouth.

Does he really love money that much?!

"...Money?" Suguru Geto repeated the word, an extremely rare blankness flashing across his expression.

"Yeah." Wangchuan spread his hands as though it were only natural.

"I'm a bounty hunter. I get paid to do things."

"If you're inviting me to join, you at least have to tell me what the compensation is like, right?"

Suguru Geto regained his composure and considered it for a moment. "...The Time Vessel Association does have considerable financial reserves. If you're willing to join, we can offer generous compensation."

"Can you give me six hundred billion yen in cash?"

"...How much?"

"Six hundred billion," Wangchuan repeated, his expression too serious for a joke.

"Yen. In cash."

Suguru Geto fell silent.

His lips moved slightly, as though he were rapidly calculating the Time Vessel Association's available funds in his head.

Then he had to admit that it was a sum he couldn't produce under any circumstances.

Even if he liquidated all the Time Vessel Association's assets, he would still fall short of six hundred billion in cash.

"...That amount would indeed be somewhat difficult."

A rare trace of discomfort entered Suguru Geto's voice. "After all... that's cash, not assets."

"That's a real shame." Wangchuan shook his head, genuine regret in his voice. "I still need to make money."

Suguru Geto looked at him in silence for several seconds.

The black Curtain around them was slowly beginning to dissipate from its edges.

Suguru Geto wasn't angry.

Even his expression barely changed, except that something more complicated entered his gentle smile.

It was as though disappointment and relief had mingled together, or perhaps he had expected this outcome all along.

"...That's a real shame."

He repeated Wangchuan's words, genuine regret in his voice. "I hope you'll have changed your mind the next time we meet."

With that, he turned, the hem of his monk's robes brushing lightly over the floor, and took two steps toward the mall's shattered floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Hey."

Suguru Geto paused.

Wangchuan's voice came from behind him, quiet but clear in the empty mall:

"You used to be very gentle."

Suguru Geto didn't turn around.

"Whether toward people or toward Jujutsu Sorcerers."

At those words.

He stood there for two or three seconds, then turned his head slightly.

It was only the tiniest turn, revealing just a hint of his jawline.

He looked in Wangchuan's direction, paused for an instant, then turned away completely.

Then he vanished.

Wangchuan stood where he was, hands in his pockets, looking at the empty window.

Wangchuan was silent for a while, then let out a soft breath.

"...Forget it."

He turned and walked toward the stairs with his hands in his pockets.

"Tonight's job was worth it."

Muttering to himself, he pushed open the ground-floor doors and walked outside.

Ijichi was sitting on a fire hydrant. Seeing him emerge, he instinctively glanced at his watch, then his expression stiffened slightly.

"...Nine minutes."

"Hm?"

"Four minutes slower than last time."