Overwhelming force

Madara Uchiha tightened his grip on the tanto, its blade giving off a faint halo of cursed energy in the darkness.

He did not attack immediately. Instead, he first tested the weapon's heft-a standard-issue cursed tool, decent in quality, but unable to hold much cursed energy.

"If I really were a Grade 3 Jujutsu Sorcerer," he murmured, his voice clearly audible in the deathly darkness, "I'd probably have died here already, wouldn't I?"

His Sharingan turned slowly in the darkness, catching every trace of flowing cursed energy.

The "woman" in the white bridal kimono was still huddled behind the Shintai, but her posture had changed-she was no longer curled up, but on all fours like a spider, her enormous, fang-filled mouth stretching wide in a silent roar.

The doll in her arms had scarlet eyes, and its button-stitched smile stretched wider, almost tearing its head in half.

On the walls and ceiling, the densely packed red eyes stared unblinkingly at Madara, like countless miniature red lights.

The cursed energy permeating the air was so thick it could almost be wrung out, every breath carrying rot and malice.

Madara remembered Principal Yaga's instructions: investigate first, confirm the situation, and immediately retreat and contact the Assistant Supervisor if the curse's grade exceeded Grade 3.

He glanced around.

"I was supposed to notify the Assistant Supervisor first..." He paused, spinning the tanto in his hand. "Forget it. Doesn't matter."

Madara had never intended to hide his strength. Never.

He had chosen to keep a low profile and start with the basics only because he wanted to get along peacefully with everyone at Jujutsu High, and because he understood the importance of a solid foundation.

Although he had gained Madara Uchiha's abilities, without solid fundamentals, he would be no different from a glass cannon-no matter how powerful, he would shatter at a touch.

But now, a week had passed.

He had mastered basic bodily reinforcement with cursed energy, Madara Uchiha's combat memories had become instinct, and he was growing increasingly proficient with the Sharingan.

There was no need to keep playing weak while waiting for strong prey.

Besides, these "things" before him had already crossed his bottom line.

Although Madara could not see the cursed spirits' exact forms-he lacked the Six Eyes' ability to see through things-he could see cursed energy.

In the Sharingan's vision, those twisted, filthy flows of energy, brimming with malice, surged like a black tide.

They poured from the "woman," spilled from inside the doll, and seeped from the eyes on the walls, weaving into a vast net that trapped him in its center.

"I won't run or hide," Madara said, raising the tanto and pointing its tip at that enormous, fang-filled mouth. "But I can't say the same for you."

He grinned, his smile edged with cold mockery.

"Trash."

Cursed energy surged through his body, an explosive torrent.

His blood boiled, his muscles trembled, and his bones gave a faint hum.

Blue light seeped out of his body, initially a thin layer enveloping him like mist, then rapidly condensing and taking shape-

"Susanoo."

It was not the first stage's skeletal rib cage.

It was a more advanced form-layers of flesh-like energy wrapped around the skeleton, forming a more complete body.

A twenty-meter-tall blue giant's upper body rose from the ground, four powerful arms spreading in the darkness, each thicker than the shrine hall's pillars.

The giant lowered its head, ghostly blue flames burning in its hollow eye sockets as it looked down on the tiny curses below.

Susanoo's second stage.

Enormous blades condensed from cursed energy appeared in its four hands, one after another.

The blades were long and narrow, dark blue light flowing along their edges, every swing raising a piercing shriek.

The main hall seemed so cramped before this giant.

Its head broke through the roof, sending wooden beams and tiles clattering down.

Its arms forced the walls apart, cracks spreading like spiderwebs.

The red eyes began blinking frantically, letting out shrill hisses.

The "woman" screamed piercingly and scrambled backward on all fours, trying to escape.

The doll tumbled from her arms, the light in its button eyes flickering violently.

But it was too late.

Madara stood within Susanoo's chest, the patterns in his Sharingan spinning rapidly, reflecting the twisted masses of cursed energy below.

His expression was calm, almost cruelly so.

"Die."

All four arms swung down at once.

Four enormous blades tore through the air, the darkness, and the network of cursed energy permeating the space.

They left four ghostly blue afterimages in their wake, like four intersecting bolts of lightning.

The first slash struck at the "woman."

She tried to condense cursed energy into a barrier, but it was as fragile as paper before the enormous blade and shattered instantly.

The blade sliced through her body without resistance, cutting her in half from shoulder to waist.

There was no blood, only thick black cursed energy gushing out like sewage bursting through a breached embankment.

The second slash struck at the doll.

The doll leaped up with a scream, trying to flee, but the blade was faster.

The enormous blade struck the doll's body with precision, pinning it to the ground.

The light in its button eyes went out, its red-thread smile split open, and the black stuffing inside spouted out like a fountain.

The third and fourth slashes swept across the densely packed eyes on the walls.

Wherever the blades reached, eyes burst like bubbles with soft popping sounds, leaving black holes behind.

The walls were collapsing, the ceiling was falling, and the entire main hall's structure was coming apart.

Then Madara clenched his fist.

Susanoo's four hands clenched into fists simultaneously and slammed into the ground.

BOOM-!!!

A tremendous crash.

It was a heavy, violent sound, like a mountain collapsing, like the earth splitting open.

A shock wave spread outward from the giant, shattering the floor, toppling the walls, and snapping beams and pillars wherever it passed.

The entire shrine building was flattened like toy blocks before that power.

Dust, rubble, and wood splinters flew like a torrential downpour.

After delivering that blow, the blue Susanoo began to dissipate, its limbs dissolving into motes of light, followed by its torso and finally its head.

Madara dropped from midair and landed lightly on a slanted plank, his Sharingan slowly fading.

He surveyed his surroundings.

The shrine no longer existed.

Only ruins remained.

Shattered timber, broken stone, scattered tiles, and the black cursed residue that was still dissipating.

The "woman" in the white bridal kimono was gone, leaving only a puddle of evaporating black slime.

The doll was gone as well, leaving only a length of red ribbon where it had been, which soon turned to ash too.

Every eye on the walls had vanished, and most of the ceiling had collapsed, exposing the gray sky.

Sunlight streamed through the hole, illuminating the drifting dust.

Then he pressed the button on the radio at his waist.

"Mr. Yoshino," he said calmly, "the curses have been exorcised. Please lift the Curtain."

At the foot of the mountain, beside the black official car.

Yoshino sat in the driver's seat, gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles had turned white.

He stared ahead with unfocused eyes, his lips pressed into a thin line and fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead.

As an Assistant Supervisor, he did not have to enter the battlefield. That was both a rule and a safeguard.

An Assistant Supervisor's duties were to erect Curtains, seal off areas, provide logistical support, and request reinforcements when necessary-not fight.

That also left him feeling somewhat guilty.

He watched those young jujutsu sorcerers risk their lives fighting on the front lines, while he could only wait helplessly in the rear, praying and keeping records.

Whenever a mission ended and he saw them return injured, or... never return at all, that helplessness coiled around his heart like vines, tightening its grip.

That was why he was especially polite, careful, and respectful toward jujutsu sorcerers.

Because they truly put their lives on the line in this work.

"Everything's all right, isn't it? Madara..." Yoshino murmured, his voice almost inaudible.

He remembered that Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer from six months ago.

It had been a Grade 3 mission like this one, an abandoned building like this one, inside a Curtain like this one.

That sorcerer had even smiled and told him, "I'll be back soon," before entering, but in the end, all that came back was a mangled corpse.

Yoshino's hands trembled on the steering wheel.

Madara was only fifteen, had enrolled just a week ago, and was on his first mission.

Although Mr. Gojo had said he was quite capable, could a Grade 3 Jujutsu Sorcerer... really handle this?

What if the intelligence was wrong? What if there was more than one curse? What if-

BOOOOM!!!!!

A tremendous crash came from the mountain, shaking even the car windows.

Yoshino was abruptly jolted back to reality.

He startled all over, nearly jumping out of his seat as he looked frantically toward the sound-

Smoke and dust rose from the hillside where the shrine stood.

"What happened!?" Yoshino's voice distorted with terror. "Don't tell me-"

His first thought was the worst-case scenario: the curses had gone berserk, the shrine had collapsed, and the sorcerer-

No, no!

Yoshino immediately started the car, and the engine roared.

He grabbed the radio, his fingers trembling so badly he could barely press the talk button.

"Madara!? Are you all right!? What happened!?"

His voice was urgent, almost a roar.

Just as he was about to step on the accelerator and charge up the hillside, a reply came over the radio.

Crackle... crackle...

Through the static, Madara's unhurried voice came through, so calm it sounded almost leisurely:

"Oh, it's fine. I just went a little overboard. I've already exorcised the curses."

Yoshino froze.

He stared blankly toward the shrine as the smoke and dust slowly cleared, revealing the hillside-

The shrine was gone.

No, it had not "disappeared." It was simply no more.

Where the shrine building had originally stood, there was now only a stretch of ruins.

Shattered timber, collapsed walls, tiles and stones scattered everywhere, and a conspicuous crater in the center that looked as though it had been struck by an enormous hammer.

The entire area looked as if it had been bombed.

Yoshino opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again.

"No way..." he muttered. "Is this really something a Grade 3 Jujutsu Sorcerer can do?"

The radio sounded again. "Mr. Yoshino? Please lift the Curtain. I'm coming down."

"Ah, yes! Right away!"

Yoshino hurriedly formed hand seals and recited the incantation.

The black Curtain began to dissipate, like ink diluted with clear water, gradually turning transparent before vanishing completely.

On the hillside, a figure was walking down the stone steps.

It was Madara.

He walked at an unhurried pace, his steps steady. There was some dust on his uniform, but he did not appear injured.

He held the mission documents, leafing through them as he walked, as though checking something.

Yoshino quickly got out and waited beside the car.

His feelings were complicated-relief, because Madara was safe.

Shock at the shrine's devastation, and a trace of awe he could not quite describe.

Madara approached the car and handed Yoshino the documents. "Mission complete. The curses were Grade 2, at least two of them, possibly in a symbiotic relationship. One had a female appearance, the other took the form of a doll. They've been exorcised."

His tone was as ordinary as if he were reporting what he had eaten for lunch.

Yoshino took the documents, his fingers still trembling slightly. "O-okay! Thank you for your hard work! I-I'll record everything accurately!"

Madara nodded, opened the car door, and sat in the passenger seat. He buckled his seat belt and looked at Yoshino, who was still staring blankly. "It's over. Let's go back."

"Oh, right!" Only then did Yoshino come to his senses, hurriedly getting into the car and starting the engine.

The car left the hillside, returning along the road they had taken there.

Throughout the drive, Yoshino kept starting to speak and stopping, occasionally stealing glances at Madara through the rearview mirror.

Madara leaned back in his seat, resting with his eyes closed. He was not tired; mainly, the more troublesome thing was...

"I might have to write a self-criticism..." Madara suddenly said, his eyes still closed. "Could you help me out, Mr. Yoshino?"

"Huh?" Yoshino paused. "A self-criticism?"

"I collapsed the shrine," Madara said matter-of-factly. "Although it was to exorcise the curses, with this much destruction, the higher-ups might demand a report or a self-criticism."

Remembering the ruins, Yoshino's mouth twitched.

That was hardly just "collapsing it"... He'd practically demolished it.

"Ha-ha..." Yoshino gave a couple of dry laughs. "That might be a little difficult... The damage to the site is a fact, and it has to be recorded accurately in the report. Still, if the curses have indeed been exorcised and there were no other casualties, the punishment shouldn't be too severe..."

Madara gave a hum of acknowledgment, his eyes still closed.

"Then I'll dump it on Gojo-sensei," he said, as though it were only natural. "Let him handle it."

Yoshino: "..."

He silently tightened his grip on the steering wheel and decided not to ask any more questions.

The car drove onto the highway, and Tokyo's outline gradually grew clearer ahead.

Sunlight streamed through the car window, casting alternating patches of light and shadow across Madara's face.

He opened his eyes and looked at the scenery rushing past outside the window.

The first mission was over.

It hadn't been perfect, but at least it was done. The corners of Madara's mouth lifted slightly.