The wind through the woods carried the dry heat of late summer, gently stirring the curtains along the meeting room windows.
Yoshinobu Gakuganji closed the door behind him. His cane struck the wooden floor with a dull thud, his face as dark as a rain-laden cloud.
Standing in the room were Kyoto Jujutsu High's core students: Aoi Todo, Mai Zenin, Kasumi Miwa, and the others.
Seeing the principal's demeanor, everyone fell silent and held their breath, waiting for him to continue.
"The higher-ups just sent a secret order."
Gakuganji kept his voice low, his tone brooking no argument:
"Once the team battle begins, find an opportunity to eliminate Yuji Itadori.
There will be no repercussions afterward. It will simply be treated as an accident."
After he finished, the room remained silent for two seconds.
Kasumi Miwa instinctively tightened her grip on the hem of her clothes. Mai Zenin raised an eyebrow slightly but said nothing.
Aoi Todo, however, immediately frowned and took half a step forward, making no attempt to hide his displeasure:
"Boring. If you want to do it, do it yourselves!"
"Todo, come back. The principal hasn't finished," Noritoshi Kamo said gravely.
"Takada will be appearing as a guest on the Strolling Program at eleven. Do I need to say more?"
Then he ignored Noritoshi Kamo and headed for the door.
His hand had just touched the handle when a deafening crash erupted.
Someone kicked the door open from outside. The tremendous force slammed it hard against the wall, sending dust cascading down.
Backlit by the light outside, a figure dressed in black slowly walked in.
The young man had one hand in his uniform trouser pocket. Not a trace of cursed energy leaked from him, yet everyone in the room instinctively stiffened.
It was Guyue Qingxiao.
He