"To be honest, I think this mission is a little too difficult for you, but Master Tengen specifically requested you."
Masamichi Yaga, who was walking ahead, spoke slowly.
At the mention of Master Tengen, Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto grew serious.
And after hearing that name, you had already guessed that it was time for that incident to begin.
Up ahead, Masamichi Yaga continued.
"There are two requests. The Star Plasma Vessel is someone physically compatible with Master Tengen. You need to protect that girl, and erase her."
"Huh? We're protecting and erasing the same person?"
Satoru Gojo sought confirmation from Masamichi Yaga with a look that said, "Have you lost your mind?"
"That's right."
Masamichi Yaga answered solemnly, then opened the classroom door and walked inside.
"He's finally started talking nonsense. Is it dementia after all?"
In response to Satoru Gojo's teasing, Suguru Geto, who followed him in, offered his reasoning.
"Well, it is spring now. He's been made the next principal, so he's excited."
You followed them in as well. Rather than join them in teasing Masamichi Yaga, you offered a serious analysis.
"I think our teacher means that protecting and erasing her won't happen at the same time. So what he just said probably means we protect the girl first, then erase her, right?"
Hearing your remarks, Suguru Geto grew serious too. He sat down in the classroom and asked Masamichi Yaga a question.
"All right, jokes aside, is it time to initialize Master Tengen's Cursed Technique?"
"I'm the one who gets to decide whether those remarks you just made were jokes."
Clearly, besides discussing business, he also cared quite a bit about the teasing the two had directed at him.
But just then, an ill-timed voice rang out. Satoru Gojo asked, looking puzzled.
"So, what's that?"
Silence fell over the classroom for a moment, and everyone turned to look at Satoru Gojo in unison. The atmosphere practically said, "You should know this, shouldn't you?"
But because this was an extremely important mission, Masamichi Yaga still patiently explained it to Satoru Gojo.
"Master Tengen possesses the Cursed Technique 'Immortality,' but that doesn't mean she doesn't age. If she simply grew old, that wouldn't be a problem. In reality, however, once her aging accumulates to a certain point, her Cursed Technique will attempt to remodel her body."
"Remodel?"
"In essence, it's 'Evolution.' At that point, Master Tengen will transcend humanity and become a being of a higher dimension."
Despite Masamichi Yaga's solemn explanation, Satoru Gojo remained thoroughly puzzled.
"Wow, evolution. How cool is that? Isn't that a good thing?"
"But once she reaches that stage, Master Tengen will lose her personality. Master Tengen will no longer be Master Tengen. The barriers at the Jujutsu High campuses and Jujutsu Society's various bases, as well as the Barrier Techniques of the vast majority of Assistant Supervisors, are all strengthened through Master Tengen's power. Without her help, even defending ourselves and carrying out missions would be beyond us."
Suguru Geto explained seriously, and you spoke up at an appropriate moment.
"So we can't rule out the possibility of Master Tengen becoming an enemy of humanity either, right?"
"That's right. That is why, once every five hundred years, Master Tengen merges with the Star Plasma Vessel to rewrite her body's information. Once her body is renewed, her Cursed Technique's effects are reset and initialized as well, preventing evolution."
Hearing this, Satoru Gojo spoke in complete seriousness, looking as though he understood the situation.
"I get it. Evolving into MetalGreymon would be fine, but there's a risk of accidentally evolving into SkullGreymon instead, so she just resets to Koromon and starts over, right?"
"That's a very strange analogy. Well, let's leave it at that."
With the explanation finished and Satoru Gojo now understanding the situation, Masamichi Yaga folded his arms across his chest and continued outlining the mission.
"The location of the Star Plasma Vessel girl has been leaked. Those who currently want to kill her can broadly be divided into two factions: the Curse User group 'Q,' which intends to make Master Tengen lose control and use that to overthrow the current Jujutsu world, and the religious group that worships Master Tengen as its object of faith, the 'Time Vessel Association.'"
Hearing this information raised a question in your mind. The mission details Masamichi Yaga had just disclosed seemed somewhat different from what you had found while searching afterward during your previous simulation.
Toji, the culprit you knew had ultimately killed the Star Plasma Vessel, was not among them.
You felt that, since Masamichi Yaga had included you in the mission, he should have no reason to conceal information like this.
Then was the only possibility that they had yet to obtain that information?
Since you had not personally experienced this incident during your previous simulation, however, you were not entirely certain.
But you had no intention of exposing the simulations. After a little thought, you asked a question.
"I understand 'Q,' but how is the Time Vessel Association going to get involved? Do they have Curse Users of their own?"
"They'll probably hire Curse Users to work for them. They may not have any Jujutsu Sorcerers among their followers, but their financial resources are quite staggering."
Hearing Masamichi Yaga's answer, you nodded slightly in acceptance.
After all, unlike legitimate Jujutsu Sorcerers, who could earn money by completing missions and exorcising Cursed Spirits, Curse Users without a steady income would indeed find it impossible to refuse such lucrative commissions.
And if you remembered correctly, you had learned while at the Zenin Clan during your first simulation that Toji Zenin's greatest hobby was gambling. It was no wonder he would accept a commission like this.
"Master Tengen will merge with the Star Plasma Vessel on the night of the full moon in two days. Until then, you must protect the girl and deliver her to Master Tengen. If you fail, the consequences could even affect ordinary society. Make sure you take this seriously."
Masamichi Yaga gave these instructions earnestly.
After Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto acknowledged the instructions and left, Masamichi Yaga asked you alone to stay behind. He explained seriously.
"The truth is, Master Tengen didn't request you."
But you were not particularly surprised to hear this. You merely chuckled and answered self-deprecatingly.
"I guessed as much at the time. After all, how could someone at my level compare with Satoru and Geto?"
"It's more that I wouldn't feel at ease with just those two. Shoko's combat strength isn't enough to handle a mission of this level, but you should be fine. And you can use Reverse Cursed Technique too. I can only rest easy with you keeping an eye on them."
Masamichi Yaga said this as he patted your shoulder.
Before you continue