Eichi listened to Tengen for a long time and gained a deeper understanding of her as a person.
"You've decayed under the erosion of time."
That was Eichi's evaluation of Tengen.
Time buries everything.
The childhood fantasies, the toys he once desired, the dreams he yearned for.
How many of those memories can one recall after growing up?
Eichi thought of his past life.
The comics he had saved up for, searched for, and finally collected as a child—he couldn't even remember their stories after growing up.
He once wanted to travel the world, to see it all with his own eyes, to walk across the vast land of his homeland.
In the end, he was confined to a few kilometers of earth, and even leaving his small town required serious thought.
He had no life goal, and in just a few decades, Eichi had already lost so much. So how much had Tengen lost in a thousand years?
"Erosion, perhaps..."
Tengen didn't deny Eichi's words.
"You will lose to Kenjaku."
Eichi said this with certainty.
Not based on the plot he once knew, but a judgment made after understanding who Tengen was.
"Why?"
Tengen didn't actually care about winning or losing. In her eyes, if she lost, it was simply fate, and all she had to do was accept it.
"Because Kenjaku has always been preparing to defeat you and achieve his goal, while you've done nothing equivalent."
Take two people with the same goal. One spends every spare moment working toward it. The other only glances at it once in a while, brushes the dust off, and sets it aside again.
Isn't it obvious who is more likely to succeed?
Kenjaku had spent a thousand years inching toward his goal, analyzing failures and perfecting his plan.
Tengen, on the other hand, only moved when pushed by external forces. She couldn't read people's hearts and eventually withdrew into the Tombs of the Star, spending her days observing barriers to pass the time.
The current Tengen had become numb, lost passion for everything, and simply continued living on instinct.
In contrast, it was only natural that Kenjaku, the villain who had worked tirelessly toward his goal, would be the one to achieve it.
Dreams and goals are like an anchor. As long as one holds on tightly, even the erosion of time won't make them lose their way.
Otherwise, one ends up like Tengen—drifting aimlessly, losing drive, and surrendering everything to fate.
"Perhaps."
Tengen didn't reject Eichi's statement.
It was as if she would accept any outcome as fate's arrangement.
Eichi shook his head. He understood her now, so he had no intention of trying to change her.
I can't count on Tengen, but that's fine. A Tengen who has let everything go and only maintains the barriers out of habit is actually convenient for me.
Many plans I didn't dare attempt before can now be set in motion.
Like slowly bringing all the barriers across the country under my control.
When that happens, Tengen would probably just accept it as fate too.
Perhaps because she hadn't spoken with anyone in so long, Tengen became increasingly talkative, like any other old person.
Eichi didn't leave the Tombs of the Star until late at night.
But he had no complaints.
Because he had gotten the answer he wanted. And it was a very good answer.
Tengen was old. Unless her life was directly threatened, she was harmless to anyone.
Now Eichi understood why Tengen seemed so unreliable.
The Jujutsu World had developed to this extent.
There were countless new things. Whether Tengen asked the Jujutsu Headquarters directly or observed through the barriers, she could've understood a lot.
But she didn't. Even observing through the barrier was merely a way to pass the time.
Just like Sukuna, the master of killing time.
For a thousand years, his soul was sealed in an immobile finger, only able to blankly watch the outside world.
Occasionally, he would find amusement in observing Cursed Spirits and humans.
Sometimes, because he couldn't move, he'd become the amusement himself.
But for a bored Sukuna, even becoming the entertainment was a form of fun to pass the time.
And when the time came, he would repay it in full.
But Tengen did nothing.
No wonder Kenjaku called her an old relic. In this day and age, and she was still stuck in the past.
Her brain must have rusted from disuse.
Come to think of it, Tengen and Kenjaku were quite the match.
Tengen was originally female, but could change gender through star plasma vessel assimilation.
Kenjaku—no explanation needed. Gender change was basic for him.
He had even experienced childbirth.
More importantly, their strengths and weaknesses complemented each other.
Kenjaku gained longevity through his brain, but needed to keep replacing his body.
Tengen gained longevity through her body, but her brain had decayed from time.
If Kenjaku's brilliant mind were put into Tengen's immortal body, it would probably be a perfect combination.
After a good night's rest, Eichi had Zen'in Shuji submit a report to the Jujutsu Headquarters detailing his findings on Tengen.
In his report, Eichi wrote that Tengen used Barrier Techniques to anchor and fix her consciousness, which would otherwise be dispersed across the world... and concluded: Tengen would not disrupt the structure of the Jujutsu World for at least a few decades.
The upper brass at Headquarters were very pleased after reading it.
Then they went back to drinking tea and enjoying themselves.
Eichi had once complained to Naobito that these old men really didn't care about the possibility of Tengen losing control in a few decades.
Naobito just smiled and said that was the young people's problem. The old folks had worked hard all their lives—what was wrong with enjoying themselves? Keep the music playing, keep the drinks coming.
Eichi was speechless.
After that mission, the second year at Tokyo Jujutsu High became uneventful.
The only thing worth looking forward to was the Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event.
However, maybe because they had gone too far last year, the Kyoto students scattered the moment this year's event began.
Their only goal was to exorcise as many Cursed Spirits as possible before Satoru, the Devil King, found them.
And so began a joyful game of hide-and-seek.
When it ended, Satoru still regretted not catching that Sorcerer from the Kamo Family last year.
He had thought up several new tricks he was dying to try on that snake.
And so, the third year of Tokyo Jujutsu High began.
Soon after, Ijichi Kiyotaka, who Satoru found useful, amusing, and trustworthy, enrolled.
On the first day of his third year, Eichi pulled out a notebook he had kept hidden away.
It contained records of important future events.
To prevent forgetting anything due to the passage of time, Eichi had written it all down and stored it in his shadow.
Every year, he would take it out to see if anything significant was about to happen.
Third year of Tokyo Jujutsu High: Glasses-kun enrolls, Yuki Tsukumo comes to Tokyo Jujutsu High, Satoru becomes the strongest, Yu Haibara dies, and... Suguru's defection.
"There's a lot to watch for this year."
(To be continued.)