Compared to the Cursed Spirits' side, Jujutsu High was facing far more complications.
With the deaths of Principal Yoshinobu Gakuganji and Instructor Utahime Iori of Kyoto Jujutsu High, the surviving Kyoto students were temporarily staying in Tokyo.
Satoru Gojo rubbed his temples as he stared at the casualty report from the Exchange Event.
Listed one after another were:
Panda.
Toge Inumaki.
Maki Zen'in.
Aoi Todo.
Tsukumo Yuki.
Utahime Iori.
Yoshinobu Gakuganji.
In Gojo's mind, one more name belonged on that list:
Kento Nanami, who had become a Cursed Spirit and was subsequently exorcised.
And these were only the dead.
Kenki Kamo had been gravely injured by Mahoraga. Even if Reverse Cursed Technique could reattach his severed arm, he would still require significant time to recover from blood loss.
After Kamo completed treatment and regained consciousness, he revealed information that made Gojo's emotions even more complicated.
Mahito and Hanami had withdrawn very early, before the curtain had fully lifted.
In other words, for a brief period, Gojo, Mahito, and Hanami had all been outside the veil at the same time.
If not for the incident involving Nanami shaking his focus, he might have noticed.
Gojo lay back, staring at the ceiling. He couldn't quite define what he was feeling or which emotion weighed heaviest.
Once again… he had failed to reach those who had been waiting for him.
"In such a short time… they even managed to deal with Tsukumo Yuki and retreat?" he muttered.
Masamichi Yaga, standing at the doorway, finally spoke when he saw Gojo's rare passivity.
"What's wrong with you? Kyoto Jujutsu High now has staff vacancies. Kusakabe has been recalled to temporarily oversee things there, but we still have mountains of work to handle. This isn't the time for you to space out."
Gojo was usually frivolous, but when truly urgent matters arose, he never wavered like this.
In Yaga's memory, the last time Gojo looked like this was after he personally killed Suguru Geto.
Before that, when Geto left Jujutsu High.
And before that, the incident involving Riko Amanai.
Gojo inhaled deeply. Finally, he chose to speak honestly.
Still staring at the ceiling, he said as evenly as possible,
"I saw Nanami."
"What?" Yaga frowned. "What are you talking about? Are you under too much stress?"
The pressure on Gojo was immense. He had to report everything to the Higher-Ups. He had to shoulder responsibility, especially for Tsukumo Yuki's death. And on top of that, the psychological weight of so many sacrifices.
Jujutsu sorcerers were accustomed to death. "Cold-blooded" might not be the right word but they were hardened.
Even so, such a scale of loss could crack even the strongest defenses.
Gojo suddenly sat upright.
His Six Eyes, brilliant as sapphires, locked onto Yaga with unusual seriousness.
"I saw Nanami."
Silence filled the room.
After nearly a full minute, Yaga closed the door behind him. He removed his sunglasses, rubbed his temples, and sat down on the sofa.
"If you're saying it like this… you're not joking. Could it be"
Gojo finished the sentence for him.
"Yes. Nanami returned to Jujutsu High as a Cursed Spirit."
Another silence.
"…And you exorcised him?" Yaga finally asked.
"He gave me information about the Cursed Spirit who killed him. Then I exorcised him."
Gojo's summary was deliberately brief.
He didn't mention the details. He didn't say that Cursed Spirit Nanami had already killed a non-sorcerer. He simply said: I exorcised him.
But Yaga understood.
Personally putting down a comrade… it wasn't something to be praised. It was simply the duty of a sorcerer.
There were no comforting words that would not sound hollow.
Yaga trusted Gojo's ability to recover. He chose to give him time, preparing to leave and attend to other matters.
but Gojo continued.
"That Cursed Spirit… before entering combat mode, its body was covered in numerous stitches. Its strength far surpassed Nanami's, without a doubt, Special Grade. But the strangest part…"
Gojo's voice lowered.
"Nanami said it could clearly articulate his combat logic, psychological patterns, and even the full details of his Cursed Technique. It was as if it had seen through everything about him."
"And in the end, it deliberately used a non-Cursed Energy attack to kill him."
Yaga froze.
"What? It deliberately used a non-Cursed Energy method?"
Gojo's gaze sharpened.
"Yes. From the very beginning, its goal was to bypass the trap I had specifically prepared for Nanami."
Yaga's breathing grew heavy.
"Does that mean… it was responsible for this entire incident as well?"
"Neither Kamo nor Fushiguro Megumi saw its true form. It disguised itself as a Divine Dog to attack them. But based on its ability to morph its body into grotesque claws, combined with Nanami's account and previous information from Itadori…"
Gojo's voice was firm.
"It was Mahito."
Silence settled once more.
Mahito had not acted alone.
Yaga found it difficult to imagine a Special Grade Cursed Spirit of such raw power carefully using a binding-vow curtain and orchestrating such a calculated, malicious scheme.
This wasn't recklessness.
This was intelligence.
At that moment, Gojo slowly stood.
He rolled his neck once, the casual motion clashing with the weight in his voice.
"I can't stay passive anymore."
His eyes hardened.
"I'll kill him with my own hands."
This time, he did not say "exorcise."
He said
Kill.
...
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