Chapter 100: The Immortal Tengen
"The Tokyo-Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event will be held over three days, with the first day being the Group Battle.
The rules are simple: the team that first exorcises the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit in the designated area wins. Many Curses below Grade 3 have also been released into the area. If no winner is determined by sunset, the team with the higher number of exorcised Curses wins.
Aside from this, there are no other superfluous rules. Obstructive behavior is, of course, allowed.
However, you are all comrades fighting against Curses together. The purpose of the exchange event is to let you learn about each other through competition, so do not kill or maim your opponents.
Explanation complete. The competition will begin at noon. Dismissed!"
After Masamichi Yaga briefly explained the rules of the group battle, the students from both sides left separately.
The allotted free time was intended to give them a chance to discuss their strategies. Yaga believed that such cooperation skills are extremely important in a sorcerer's career.
When battling Curses too powerful to defeat alone, your comrades are the only people you can trust.
Only this trust can lead them to victory.
.
.
.
After the teams dispersed, Satoru Gojo immediately dragged Emiya to join the teacher from the Kyoto School, arriving ahead of the students at the room where the match judgments would later take place.
"Look, Emiya-kun, this is Utahime Iori, the teacher from the Kyoto School! And this is Shirou Emiya, the teacher from the Tokyo School!"
The teacher from Kyoto School was dressed in a Miko outfit, had a noticeable scar on her face, and didn't look very old. Of course, Emiya looked even younger.
"Teacher? At this age? I thought he was a first- or second-year student watching! He's actually a teacher?"
It would be a lie to say anyone hearing this wouldn't be surprised. She recalled that when she was his age... she was probably already being tormented miserably by that guy, Gojo...
But in any case, the position of High School Teacher is absolutely not granted merely for being strong. One must possess at least some extraordinary expertise in a certain field.
"Of course, of course! Emiya-kun is already a competent Grade 1 Sorcerer, unlike some individuals who are still only pre-Grade 1."
As Gojo's words fell, a visible vein popped up on Utahime Iori's forehead.
But she couldn't help it. Her Cursed Technique leans toward the support type, making it difficult for her to benefit from the mechanism that relies on solitary subjugation to gain a promotion.
"Alright, alright~ It is time to talk about serious matters."
Gojo suddenly dropped his playful demeanor and stated seriously, "Someone at the high school is colluding with Cursed Users, or even Curses."
"Someone colluding at the high school?"
"Impossible! Cursed Users aside, Curses?!"
Emiya and Utahime showed different forms of confusion. The former was thinking about why there would be an external spy inside the high school, while the latter was shocked by the idea of collusion between a sorcerer and a Curse.
"We have to look at the Curses Emiya-kun has encountered recently.
They can speak human language, they cooperate with each other, and they act according to a plan. This mole might only believe they are colluding with Cursed Users.
And as for why I'm certain this mole is within the high school... Emiya-kun, when you fought that volcano-head Curse, it was within a massive Barrier that completely concealed even the volcano, right?"
Seeing Gojo's gaze, which was directed at him from beneath his blindfold, Emiya subconsciously nodded.
But what did a Barrier have to do with a mole?
"That's the core of the problem—there is a sorcerer in the Jujutsu world known as the 'Omniscient,' Tengen.
It's thanks to her advanced Barrier Technique mastery that the Jujutsu world and the normal world appear so harmonious. The Barriers around the various high schools, various Jujutsu bases, and even the Barriers of most assistant supervisors all achieve their current effects by borrowing her enhancement.
Simply put, you can understand her as a signal receiving and amplification device for Barrier properties... That should be right, shouldn't it?"
"...To be able to amplify the Barrier Techniques of the entire Jujutsu world... Could such a person really exist? Doesn't that mean her contribution alone is worth half the Jujutsu world?"
"Hey, hey, you idiot! If Tengen-sama hears those words..."
Utahime cautiously tried to warn Gojo, but the guy completely disregarded her warning and immediately used her as a bad example—
"See? Just like that.
The high school Barrier we are currently in can completely isolate Curses and Cursed Spirits precisely because of Tengen's augmentation. Conversely, Tengen, who controls the Barrier, can also sense everything that happens within it at any time.
This is the reason he is able to become the 'Omniscient' sorcerer.
But don't worry, my Limitless can block this kind of perception."
For some reason, Gojo's description suddenly gave Emiya a chilling feeling that he was being watched every single moment.
But then again, according to Gojo's description, that Tengen is undoubtedly an important figure in the Jujutsu world, one of the pillars maintaining the balance of the entire Jujutsu world.
All the important Barriers are controlled and amplified by him—isn't that akin to a Director of National Security?
"Wait..."
Emiya felt he must have realized something important.
If the Curtain used by the assistant supervisors can also be identified and augmented by Tengen, wouldn't that mean that as long as an unknown Barrier is deployed within his known range, he can perceive and manipulate it?
"Is Gojo-sensei implying that Tengen-sama actually knew about the Barrier where the Curses were hiding?"
Emiya was beginning to understand.
This assumption is based on Tengen siding with the sorcerers.
As an omniscient sorcerer, there's no reason for him not to inform the high school that a massive Barrier had suddenly been deployed several dozen kilometers outside Tokyo.
The only reason he would ignore this Barrier is if the Barrier had existed for a long time.
So, the basis for the Curses to infiltrate it and plan their scheme is... someone leaked information beforehand.
"Well, it's not quite that powerful. He can certainly intrude into a Barrier deployed by others, but this is like a hacker breaking into a system; the final outcome still depends on how hard the firewall is.
All in all, the possibility of an internal mole within the high school is the highest, which is why I wanted to ask Utahime to investigate the people at the Kyoto School."
Gojo turned his head back to Utahime. She, of course, understood the gravity of the situation and could only agree.
"I understand."
Colluding with Cursed Users is already a major crime, let alone the possibility of colluding with Curses? One must at least recognize the major rights and wrongs.
"Gojo-sensei, what reason would a sorcerer have to collude with Curses?"
Emiya was a bit confused.
This feeling was like people cheering for surrender when aliens came to wipe out humanity—what's the point? Unlike the differences between nations or races, humans and Curses are fundamentally different species.
"Well, how would I know about that?"
Gojo rested his hands behind his head and lay back in the chair, replying casually: "Sorcerers are all strange people, after all. Some are just in it for the money, some just want to realize their self-worth, and some are just pure thrill-seekers.
And there are even some individuals... So, perhaps only people who are a little bit abnormal can become sorcerers."
Emiya was speechless. He'd just insulted himself along with everyone else, hadn't he?
But does one need to have a special ambition or strong willpower to become a sorcerer? Perhaps not, but most people who lack these rarely make it to the end.
Instead of the mole investigation, which he couldn't help with, Emiya was more curious and concerned about something else—
"Since the current system of the Jujutsu world relies on the Barrier mastery of Tengen-sama, what if one day..."
'What if he dies?'
Out of respect, Emiya didn't utter the latter half of the sentence, but Gojo definitely understood.
"You don't need to worry too much about that, because Tengen's Cursed Technique is the Immortal Technique."
"..."
Immortal Technique—what was the deal with this Cursed Technique name that sounded so contradictory? Did the ability of this technique truly allow the user to never die, just as the name suggests?
Is it really that exaggerated?!
"It's not as exaggerated as you think at all~"
Gojo seemed to see through Emiya's thoughts and stepped forward, patting his shoulder.
"It's only immortality, not eternal youth. So the flaw of this technique is that when the holder ages to a certain extent, the technique will try to restructure the body, 'evolving' into a non-human, higher existence.
However, it is said that if they truly 'evolve' to that stage, they will lose their 'personality.' A non-human Tengen will no longer choose to help humanity.
So, every five hundred years, that person will Assimilate with a Star Plasma Vessel—a person with a compatible physique. This refreshes the body and also initializes the Cursed Technique's effect.
In short, while it would be great to evolve into MetalGarurumon, the fear is evolving into SkullGreymon, so it's best to just start over from Koromon."
'After your explanation, the matter has clearly become more exaggerated!'
Assimilation once every five hundred years—that means this has happened more than once. Just how long has that sorcerer been alive?
"But Gojo-sensei, what happens to the people who are assimilated by Tengen?"
Emiya's focus was still not on the shocking information, but on the insignificant lives within that information.
"It's said that they completely merge to become the new Tengen, but this deduction isn't very credible from the perspective of either memory or soul... I haven't seen the person myself, so I don't know.
If I were to speak from the perspective of a Star Plasma Vessel's friend, I'd say they probably died."
It is said that Tengen always stays in the Tomb of the Star Corridor, which is enveloped by layers of Barriers, and the location of the Tomb can shift with the Barrier, so Gojo doesn't know. He also has no interest in seeing someone who is so afraid of death that they hide inside a turtle shell.
"'Star Plasma Vessel,' wasn't that what you guys were doing back then..."
Utahime subconsciously recalled the situation back then but was suddenly interrupted by Gojo.
"That's right. The mission to escort the Star Plasma Vessel failed, at the hands of Toji Fushiguro.
However, I heard there were several backup Star Plasma Vessels outside. One of them was successfully selected and sent to the Tomb of the Star Corridor. I don't know what happened after that."
At that time, Gojo and Suguru Geto took on the commission but were intercepted by the Heavenly Restricted Brute, Toji Fushiguro. If Gojo hadn't realized the Reverse Cursed Technique at that critical moment and stepped into an even stronger domain, it's uncertain whether he would even be alive now.
Gojo casually admitted his failure, then clapped his hands and stood up from the chair.
"Alright, the rest of the personnel should be arriving soon.
Emiya-kun, do you believe that old man will definitely tell his students that killing Sukuna's vessel is more important than the exchange event?"
.
.
.
Meanwhile, the Tokyo High students were preparing fervently for the battle.
"Our five-person coordination has already taken shape under Emiya-sensei's guidance, but now we suddenly have one more person."
Maki Zenin, standing in the center of the room, analyzed: "Do we need to change the battle plan? We don't have much time."
"That depends on Yuji. What can you do?" Panda turned his gaze toward Yuji Itadori.
As the center of attention, Itadori straightforwardly rolled up his sleeves—
"Punching and kicking!"
"It's useless, isn't it?"
"I was just thinking that."
"Mustard leaf."
The expressions of everyone in the field were disheartening, leaving Itadori completely unable to understand how things could have turned out this way.
"What's with your expressions? Besides their Cursed Techniques, isn't fighting with their fists the most suitable for sorcerers?"
Itadori felt that his understanding was completely correct.
"That used to be true, but it's different now."
Maki Zenin directly dragged a basket of weapons from the corner and placed it in front of him.
"Just pick two Cursed Tools that feel right to you from these. It's better than going in empty-handed, and it's convenient for Fushiguro to carry them."
"Hey?!" Megumi Fushiguro responded with a hint of dissatisfaction.
"The shadow space saves space, that's true, but the weight still counts against me! Your weapons alone are seven or eight pieces."
Maki Zenin, instead of feeling guilty, actually showed a satisfied smile.
"Isn't that perfect? Just treat it as weight training."
Speaking of which, hadn't she also loaned a Cursed Tool to Itadori before? What was it called again? Never mind, she couldn't be bothered.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting