At the appointed time, Naobito Zenin led everyone back to the clan grounds.
Amid the ruins, they saw a terrifying rift carved into the earth. Beside it sat a figure with barely any clothing left, quietly facing away from the group. Even the cursed energy that leaked from him unintentionally was enough to make one's heart tighten in fear.
Most of those who were not familiar with Akira Zenin assumed that this [Ten Shadows Divine Child] was savoring the aftermath of the battle, waiting for the cheers befitting the first Ten Shadows user to subdue the final shikigami.
Those who knew him better, however, understood the truth.
This kid was probably just sleeping…
Naobito Zenin walked over and discovered that Akira Zenin's eyes were actually open.
"You brat, you weren't asleep?"
"Just woke up."
"Then it really worked."
"Yeah."
"That was a terrifying sight. If it weren't for the Barrier, the damage wouldn't have been limited to this much, right?
Now you can summon Mahoraga. I'm afraid there's no one left who can stand against you."
"Maybe. But could you get me some clothes first?"
After his body recovered, Akira Zenin had accidentally fallen asleep. The moment he opened his eyes, he realized a crowd of people was standing behind him. Nearly naked, he didn't even dare turn his head. Fortunately, for reasons unknown, no one stepped any closer.
Naobito Zenin quickly ordered the others to go back and start rebuilding the Barrier, then told Akira Zenin's maid to bring him some clothes.
Finally "unsealed," Akira Zenin looked at Naobito Zenin.
"This time, no matter what kind of scheme I get dragged into, I should at least be able to protect myself."
"Just protect yourself? As a [Ten Shadows Divine Child], when are you going to show some pride?
If you keep being this modest, you'll be easy to manipulate once you become Clan Head."
"Clan Head? I'm not taking it."
"Hah… You're the Ten Shadows user. If you don't take it, who would dare?"
"Isn't your son Naoya eager to be Clan Head? Besides, I'm not necessarily the only Ten Shadows user."
Naobito shook his head, taking Akira Zenin's words as nothing more than a joke.
"So what's next? Going back to Jujutsu High?"
"I'll rest at home for a day. There are a few things I need to prepare. And since I already promised the Kamo family, I'll go handle the handover. They did give quite a lot, after all."
"Hahaha, it was only ten billion. Do whatever you feel like."
"Consider it indulging a kid.
Oh, right, Old Man. Have the Kamo family check if there's a five-year-old named Noritoshi Kamo. I hear he's pretty quiet. Anyway, the Kamo family wouldn't hand over their real heir, so they might as well swap in someone more agreeable."
...
Tokyo Jujutsu High, at the foot of Mount Enzan. It was already 3:00 p.m. on the third day of the Star Plasma Vessel escort mission.
"Good work, everyone. We're inside Jujutsu High's Barrier now," Suguru Geto said.
The girl known as the Star Plasma Vessel, Riko Amanai, let out a breath of relief and bent forward, resting her hands on her knees.
"So we can relax now, right?"
"Yeah."
The maid, Kuroi, handed Riko a towel to wipe the sweat from her face.
Suguru Geto glanced toward Satoru Gojo standing nearby.
"Satoru.
You've worked hard these past few days. Two days without sleep. You can relax a little now."
Satoru Gojo rolled his eyes, let out a heavy sigh, and quietly deactivated the Limitless Technique.
"Ugh. Who wants to babysit some brat? I'm done playing along."
"Huh?"
The girl being called a brat, Riko Amanai, shot Satoru Gojo an indignant look.
Just as everyone finally relaxed, a dull thud rang out.
A blade suddenly pierced through Satoru Gojo's abdomen from behind. A burly man in a tight black short-sleeved shirt stood there, one hand gripping the hilt, looming at Gojo's back.
Seeing Satoru Gojo injured, everyone froze in disbelief.
Impossible. This was inside the Jujutsu High Barrier.
Satoru Gojo tilted his head slightly, glancing back over his shoulder.
"Have we… met somewhere before?"
The man in black, Toji Fushiguro, replied calmly.
"Don't worry about it. I'm the same. I'm not very good at remembering men's names."
Taking advantage of Toji Fushiguro speaking, Satoru Gojo activated [Blue] from farther back, dragging the man toward him. At the same time, Suguru Geto moved in perfect sync, summoning a white sandworm that snapped its jaws around Toji midair and slammed him into a massive rock.
"Satoru!"
Suguru Geto rushed toward Satoru Gojo. That kind of piercing wound looked anything but light.
Satoru Gojo raised a hand, signaling him to stop.
"I'm totally fine~
I didn't have time to activate a technique, but it didn't hit any vital organs. I reinforced my body with cursed energy and restricted the blade's movement, so it couldn't cut anywhere else.
It's basically like poking a sweater with a safety pin."
He turned his head back toward Toji Fushiguro's position and emphasized again.
"I'm really fine. Don't worry about me. Go protect Riko Amanai. I'll deal with this guy. You two head to Tengen-sama first."
Suguru Geto glanced at Riko Amanai and Kuroi beside him.
"Don't let your guard down!"
As Suguru Geto led the two deeper inside, Toji Fushiguro had already spat out the cursed spirit storing his weapons, draping it over his shoulder. Holding the Split Soul Katana, he carved the sandworm cursed spirit apart and stepped out from within it, scanning his surroundings.
"The Star Plasma Vessel isn't here. I was hoping that last strike would take you out. Looks like your skills have slipped."
"The bounty on Amanai has already been revoked. Even if you killed her, you wouldn't get a single yen, idiot."
Toji Fushiguro scoffed.
"I'm the one who revoked it. The bounty was just there to wear you down. If I hadn't set a time limit, you'd have kept your technique running until the very end, wouldn't you? Stubborn little brat."
Satoru Gojo locked onto his target and abruptly raised both hands, firing [Blue] toward Toji Fushiguro's position. Under the pull of gravity, rocks and trees were ripped from the ground and dragged toward him.
Toji Fushiguro sliced every flying object apart with his weapon, stomped hard against the ground, and vanished in an instant.
Satoru Gojo could barely follow his movements.
Fast. But it's not that simple. There's something off about him. No cursed energy at all. A Heavenly Restriction focused entirely on physical ability.
"If I can't sense him without cursed energy, then I'll widen my field of vision. [Blue]!"
Five tiny blue spheres appeared around Satoru Gojo. As they expanded outward, they rapidly grew in size, erasing every surrounding structure in an instant.
"This is a two-stage method I picked up from someone else. No need to fine-tune the output. It saves a ton of processing power."
Just as Satoru Gojo searched for Toji Fushiguro, a loud buzzing suddenly filled the air. A massive swarm of Grade 4 cursed spirits descended, completely surrounding him.
"So you're using Fly Heads to interfere now that the buildings are gone? That does make it harder to pinpoint his position. Fine. I'll just wipe them all out."
Satoru Gojo immediately spread his hands and released another [Blue] beside him. This one was smaller, flickering faintly as it pulsed.
"When I sparred with Akira, I realized a technique isn't necessarily stronger just because it's bigger. And it doesn't have to be fully released to be effective either. An incomplete [Blue] has a shorter duration, but its constantly shifting, unstable gravity tears the target apart from the inside!"
As Satoru Gojo openly explained his technique, the surrounding Fly Heads were shredded by the fluctuating gravitational forces. Toji Fushiguro's figure reappeared, but he was dangerously close. A single [Blue] sent him flying into the nearby ruins.
"So that makes me the winner!"
Within the rubble, Toji Fushiguro snapped his partially dislocated arm back into place and suddenly bolted toward the interior of the Tombs of the Star.
"Damn it! I almost forgot, his target is Amanai!"
Satoru Gojo had just turned his head toward the Tombs of the Star when a chain attached to a strange blade appeared behind him. His nerves were stretched too tight, and his attention had been locked entirely on Toji Fushiguro's movement. He didn't notice the chain in time.
With no chance to dodge, Satoru Gojo could only raise [Stasis Power] to block.
The blade pierced straight through the Limitless Technique and stabbed through the back of Satoru Gojo's neck.
Seeing his strike land, Toji Fushiguro yanked the [Chain of a Thousand Miles], pulling himself toward Satoru Gojo. Gojo clutched his neck with one hand while firing [Blue] at Toji with the other, but the chain had already looped around a nearby tree, returning the strange blade to Toji Fushiguro's hand.
Toji Fushiguro used that blade to block the incoming [Blue], kicked Satoru Gojo to the ground, then pulled out a small dagger and stabbed into Gojo's neck several times before driving it straight into his forehead.
"Special Grade Cursed Tool [Chain of a Thousand Miles]. As long as the other end stays out of sight, it can extend infinitely.
Special Grade Cursed Tool [Inverted Spear of Heaven]. It nullifies techniques that are currently active."
Toji Fushiguro looked down at Satoru Gojo, sprawled in a pool of blood, his eyes unfocused.
"Well, guess there's no point explaining it now. It's already stuck in his brain."