Hidden mission

Meanwhile, over at Kyoto Jujutsu High's rest area.

Unlike the cheerful atmosphere at Tokyo Jujutsu High, the mood here was noticeably subdued.

Inside the lounge, Principal Gakuganji sat in the center, his back hunched.

"Principal Gakuganji, you didn't gather us just to discuss tactics, did you? Is there a mission for us?" Noritoshi Kamo, standing beside him, spoke first.

Principal Gakuganji's cloudy eyes shifted before he nodded.

"That's right. I didn't call you here just to discuss tactics." His raspy voice sounded like sandpaper scraping against the ground, making his listeners' skin crawl.

"There's something I need to make clear to you before the competition begins."

"You all saw it just now, didn't you? That thing inside Yuta Okkotsu."

"Do you mean that big white monster, Principal?" Momo Nishimiya replied.

"Yes. The special grade vengeful cursed spirit, Rika Orimoto. Something like that should never exist in this world. I need you to kill Yuta Okkotsu." Gakuganji's eyes suddenly turned ice-cold, and his voice grew low.

"-?"

Shock appeared on everyone's faces. Clearly, none of them had expected the principal to suddenly summon them to ask them to kill a student from the opposing school.

"But..." Kasumi Miwa murmured instinctively.

"There's no need to feel burdened. Someone possessed by a monster of that caliber can no longer be called human. The higher-ups won't hold you accountable for his death. It will be treated as an accident. There's no need for mercy or hesitation. Go ahead and do it."

"I hate this..." Clearly, as one of the few normal people at Jujutsu High, Miwa the Great was deeply opposed to indiscriminately killing innocent people like this.

"But is a monster like that really something we can handle? I heard he was only put under Satoru Gojo's supervision and eventually enrolled at Tokyo Jujutsu High because Jujutsu Society couldn't execute him." Mai Zenin also voiced her doubts. A special grade imaginary vengeful cursed spirit-to be honest, she felt that even all of them bundled together wouldn't make a single mouthful for Rika.

"The higher-ups have already considered that. According to information from our informants, Yuta Okkotsu can now restrict Rika's manifestation of his own accord. This rule was devised specifically for him. Without Rika Orimoto, Yuta Okkotsu is nothing more than an ordinary person with cursed energy. Killing him is entirely feasible," Gakuganji answered her question.

Hearing this, Mai Zenin clicked her tongue in annoyance, thinking to herself.

If it's so easy, why don't you do it yourself? All you ever do is use us as cannon fodder.

"Kamo, tell me what you must keep in mind when killing an enemy jujutsu sorcerer." Principal Gakuganji called on Noritoshi Kamo to answer his question.

Unlike the others, Noritoshi Kamo showed no displeasure whatsoever, standing in stark contrast to them, as though he had prepared for this long ago. As the next head of the Kamo Clan, he had been turning himself into exactly what the Jujutsu Higher-Ups liked best in order to achieve his goal.

He assumed the humble posture of a junior facing an elder and spoke unhurriedly:

"Yes. To prevent a jujutsu sorcerer from becoming a cursed spirit after death, they must be killed with cursed energy."

"Correct. As long as you kill him with cursed energy, there won't be any problems. Yuta Okkotsu himself is still the dominant one. Once he dies, no matter how powerful Rika Orimoto is, she won't be able to bring him back to life." Gakuganji nodded in satisfaction.

"Boring. I have no interest in doing that."

A voice abruptly cut in.

Aoi Todo, who had remained silent until then, suddenly interrupted.

With a crash, Aoi Todo raised his foot and kicked the door clean off.

"Yuta Okkotsu is someone I've acknowledged. I'm not using dirty tricks like that against him." As he spoke, he turned to leave.

"Come back, Todo. The principal is still speaking." Noritoshi Kamo immediately snapped at him, trying to stop him from leaving.

But Aoi Todo paid no attention to Noritoshi Kamo's attempt to stop him and instead said coldly:

"Takada-chan is appearing as a guest on today's Walking Show. Do I need another reason?"

"You can just watch a recording. Get back here, Todo." Noritoshi Kamo offered him a solution.

But Aoi Todo's eyes widened, his expression turning vicious.

"A recording? What do you take me for? I'm watching both the premiere and the recording-are you looking down on me?" Aoi Todo roared in his wild voice, glaring fixedly at Noritoshi Kamo.

Everyone was stunned on the spot by his fierce glare and outrageous declaration.

"Aren't you missing the point?" Mai's lips twitched uncontrollably, with only one thought in her head-What the hell is wrong with this guy?

"Listen up, all of you. That includes you, old man. I lost faith in you people with your utterly boring tastes in women long ago. As for that strategy of yours, play around with it yourselves. But if you dare order me around, believe me, I'll slaughter every last one of you." He raised a hand and slowly drew his thumb across his throat.

After viciously delivering those words, Aoi Todo left without looking back.

"I've told you the mission. Whether you do it is up to you."

After explaining the mission, Principal Gakuganji also turned and left, leaving the bewildered Kyoto Jujutsu High students behind as the atmosphere fell into an eerie silence once more.

After a long silence, Kasumi Miwa said shakily:

"Then what do we do? The way Todo was acting... it doesn't look like he'll cooperate with us. And now the principal's gone too, so what are we supposed to do? I don't want Todo to kill me."

"Isn't that a good thing? If he wants to go solo, let him. Let him beat everyone from Tokyo Jujutsu High. While he's making a scene over there, we can focus on the competition." Momo Nishimiya sat off to the side, hugging her broom, clearly uninterested in the so-called mission.

"But doesn't our mission also include killing Yuta Okkotsu?" Mai added lazily, her fingers leisurely turning her holster clasp.

"Are we really going to kill him?" Kasumi Miwa felt like crying, but no tears came. She really didn't want to do this.

"But didn't Todo say he wouldn't kill Yuta Okkotsu?"

"Then we need someone who can both keep an eye on Todo and kill Yuta Okkotsu. Any volunteers? I'll say it now: I don't want to." Mechamaru opened his mouth, an electronic, mechanical voice emerging from the puppet's mouth.

"Neither do I," everyone said in unison.

"If we're going to complete the mission, why don't we split into pairs? We have just enough people..." Kasumi Miwa suggested. She still really wanted to compete properly.

But Noritoshi Kamo had a different view. As he understood it, to become the clan head, missions from the Jujutsu Higher-Ups always had to take top priority.

"The very existence of a freak like Yuta Okkotsu among Jujutsu High's jujutsu sorcerers is a serious incident. I believe it takes far greater priority than the Goodwill Event itself. As the next heir to the Kamo Clan, I cannot ignore it. All of us must surround and attack Yuta Okkotsu together." Without realizing it, a hint of command had crept into his tone.

"Wait, what if the cursed speech user, Inumaki, is there too? What if we gather together and get wiped out by his cursed speech?" Momo Nishimiya voiced her concern.

"There's no need to worry about that. As long as we're prepared, cursed speech is nothing to fear. I have a way," Noritoshi Kamo said calmly.

"Then leave Maki to me." Mai quickly spoke up to pick Maki as her opponent, her tone urgent. Of everything in the Goodwill Event, this was the part she looked forward to most.