What were they trying to do?

July 19, morning.

Kyoto Prefectural Jujutsu High, principal's office.

Yoshinobu Gakuganji sat behind his desk, holding the telephone receiver, his brow furrowing ever more tightly.

The voice on the other end continued speaking, neither fast nor slow, its wording official and distant.

The vertical crease between Gakuganji's brows deepened, like a mark carved into wood over and over with a blunt knife.

"...I understand."

He hung up, the receiver making a soft, dull sound as he set it back on its cradle.

He fell silent for a few seconds.

He slowly exhaled, that breath carrying a complicated feeling that was hard to identify as either exhaustion or irritation.

It emerged slowly through his nose, his voice extremely low, as though he were talking to himself or cursing at thin air.

"...What are those people playing at?"

He reached for the observation report submitted by Window on his desk.

Turning to the second page, he let his gaze linger on the line reading, "Cursed energy fluctuations occasionally surge to Special Grade levels."

"The observations show clear indications of the presence of a Special Grade Cursed Object..."

He read it quietly, then slapped the report heavily back onto the desk. "I already said that sending Wangchuan to handle it would be more appropriate."

He leaned back in his chair, his gaze settling on the yellowed landscape scroll on the opposite wall, and slowly tapped the armrest twice.

"And now look..."

"They're sending three youngsters?"

He shook his head, the corners of his mouth pressing down into a sharp curve.

After a moment of silence, he seemed to reach an understanding.

His cloudy yet still sharp eyes narrowed slightly. Then he picked up the telephone and dialed an internal number.

When the call connected, he spoke briefly.

"Utahime? It's me."

"The higher-ups have assigned a mission. There's a cursed womb that needs dealing with in the abandoned Shinto shrine area on Mount Yoshida."

"They've specifically assigned Momo Nishimiya, Kasumi Miwa, and Mai Zenin to carry it out."

Utahime's voice came over the phone, clearly puzzled and displeased.

"...Two first-years and a second-year? That cursed womb's grade..."

"I know."

Gakuganji interrupted her, his tone steady but carrying a decisiveness that brooked no argument.

"That's why you're to bring Aoi Todo along as well."

Utahime went silent for a moment. Then, as though she had understood something, her voice sank.

"...Principal, do the higher-ups have something else in mind?"

"You don't need to concern yourself with what they have in mind."

Gakuganji lowered his voice slightly, carrying the precise grasp of certain delicate balances that he had developed over decades in Jujutsu Society.

"Just consider this my personal addition to the mission arrangements."

"Bring Aoi Todo. Have him take the lead."

"...Understood."

"Good."

Gakuganji hung up, replaced the receiver, and leaned back in his chair.

Watching the branches of the old pine outside sway gently in the wind, he murmured under his breath.

"Those people at the top... have they lost their minds?"

"Provoking Satoru Gojo wasn't enough."

"Now they want to provoke someone with even fewer limits than Satoru Gojo."

He picked up the cup of thoroughly cold tea beside him, took a sip, then set it down heavily.

"If something really does happen, let's see how you clean up the mess."

Two in the afternoon.

The stone steps of Mount Yoshida.

Four figures walked up the stone steps, their footsteps sounding unevenly against the paving stones.

Aoi Todo walked at the front.

His hands were in his pockets, his strides long and steady.

He had taken off his dark uniform jacket and slung it over his shoulder, revealing a black undershirt slightly damp with sweat, the contours of his muscles carrying a thin, oily sheen in the afternoon sunlight.

Half a step behind him, Momo Nishimiya carried a broom taller than she was over her shoulder, her steps light and her mouth just as busy.

"Hey, hey, hey, Mai!"

Her voice held that particular girlish blend of excitement and gossip, bubbling out like a shaken bottle of soda that had just been opened.

"Did you really see Ms. Utahime Iori with that guy? What was his name again?"

"Wangchuan." Kasumi Miwa hurried a couple of steps forward from the back of the group to catch up.

Her tone was full of enthusiasm.

"One of Jujutsu High's Special Grades, and a really famous bounty hunter in Jujutsu Society! I heard he's as strong as Satoru Gojo."

Kasumi Miwa's eyes sparkled, her hands clutching the front of her clothes, her cheeks flushed from the climb and excitement.

"And I heard he's pretty handsome, too!"

"Hey, aren't you focusing on the wrong thing?"

Momo Nishimiya rolled her eyes at her, but could not help pressing Mai with another question herself.

"So is it actually true? Is Ms. Utahime really with him..."

"It's true."

Mai Zenin walked toward the rear of the middle of the group, her tone lazy and dismissive, as though she did not particularly want to continue the topic.

Today, she wore a short-sleeved top and dark shorts that allowed easy movement, the holster on the outside of her thigh swaying gently as she walked.

"Otherwise, how do you think Todo and I got these lumps on our heads?"

She raised a hand and pointed at the red bump on her temple that had yet to fully subside.

"Where do you think they came from?"

Momo Nishimiya leaned closer for a look and laughed.

Then she turned to look at Aoi Todo and discovered a bump of the same size toward the back of the side of his large head.

It was simply covered by his thick hair, making it hard to notice without a close look.

"Wow, even you got hit, Todo?"

Aoi Todo did not turn around, but his voice came from up ahead with an easygoing lack of concern.

"Don't worry about it, Mai."

He climbed another two steps, then suddenly turned around, a brilliant grin spreading across his rugged face, revealing white teeth that gleamed in the afternoon sunlight.

"But I'm actually pretty happy!"

"Happy about what?" Momo Nishimiya asked, tilting her head.

"Because when we finish the mission and head back to Jujutsu High, we might run into him!"

Aoi Todo turned back and kept walking, his voice drifting back from ahead, growing increasingly excited.

"I've wanted to fight Wangchuan for ages!"

"They say his cursed technique is very similar to Satoru Gojo's Limitless, and no one's ever managed to hit his body!"

He abruptly stopped and turned to face the three of them, his hands on his hips and his chin slightly raised.

His expression mixed a challenger's fighting spirit with a pure, burning desire to face the strong.

"I want to know."

"Whether I'm worthy."

The mountain path fell quiet for two seconds.

Then Momo Nishimiya and Kasumi Miwa simultaneously wore expressions that said this man really was a battle maniac.

Mai Zenin lowered her head instead, gave a very soft sigh, and rubbed the bump on her temple with her fingers.

"...Deal with the cursed womb in front of us first."

"The abandoned Shinto shrine is less than a kilometer ahead."

Aoi Todo grinned, turned around, and continued taking long strides.

"Just you watch!"

The four figures climbed up the stone steps.