Chapter 126: The Star Plasma Vessel Escort Mission Announced
Daily life at Tokyo Jujutsu High was never quiet.
On a clear afternoon, the courtyard had once again become a battlefield.
"Gojo Satoru! Give back my limited-edition talismans!"
Utahime Iori's furious voice rang through the school grounds.
She was chasing Gojo across the courtyard with a broom in hand, her face red with anger and her miko robes fluttering behind her. The white-haired boy ran ahead of her with infuriating ease, waving several red-inked talismans above his head.
"Bleh. Who told you to leave them somewhere so obvious?" Gojo said, turning around mid-run to make a face. "I thought they were scrap paper."
"You bastard! Those are my trump cards against Grade 1 Cursed Spirits!"
Utahime looked ready to shove the broom down his throat. Unfortunately, the difference in their physical ability was cruelly obvious. No matter how hard she chased, Gojo kept just enough distance to make it humiliating.
"Satoru, stop bullying Utahime-senpai and give them back," Suguru Geto said from the wooden corridor.
He was sitting comfortably with a can of iced oolong tea in hand. His tone sounded like mediation, but the relaxed look on his face made it painfully clear that he was enjoying the show.
"Geto, whose side are you on?!"
Utahime's anger immediately found a second target.
At the other end of the corridor, Yami stood in front of a simple outdoor grill, wearing a pink apron that looked wildly out of place on him.
He was calmly flipping Wagyu skewers over the charcoal.
Fat dripped onto the coals with a soft hiss, sending up curls of white smoke. The rich smell of grilled meat quickly spread through the courtyard, cutting through all the shouting with an authority even Gojo's nonsense could not match.
"It smells amazing…"
A window in the office next door quietly opened a crack.
Masamichi Yaga hid behind the curtain, staring at the sizzling skewers with a stern expression that completely failed to hide the way he swallowed.
Ever since Yami, this unofficial instructor with a suspicious background and absurd combat ability, had moved into Jujutsu High, the number of headaches caused by Gojo and Geto had not decreased in the slightest.
But the food had improved dramatically.
"Instructor Yami, add extra cumin to mine!"
The smell finally defeated Gojo's attention span. He abandoned his game of tormenting Utahime and appeared beside the grill in an instant, reaching straight for the skewers.
Yami did not even look up.
The tongs in his hand snapped out and struck Gojo's fingers with perfect accuracy.
"Line up."
"Ow! So strict!"
Gojo pulled his hand back with a betrayed look, as if he had just suffered some grave injustice.
A few minutes later, everyone had gathered around the corridor with food in hand.
Even Utahime, who had been chasing Gojo with murderous intent moments earlier, had been pacified by a plate of sweet-spicy chicken wings Yami had grilled especially for her. She sat there eating with serious concentration, her anger temporarily suppressed by seasoning and meat.
For a little while, the courtyard looked less like a school for Jujutsu Sorcerers and more like an ordinary high school club gathering after classes.
No blood.
No curses.
No missions.
Just food, noise, and the rare illusion of peace.
Then steady footsteps approached.
Masamichi Yaga walked into the courtyard with his usual stern face.
A moment ago, he had been secretly watching the skewers from his office. Now, he had once again restored the dignity of a proper homeroom teacher.
"Satoru. Suguru."
His tone was heavier than usual.
"Come to my office."
Gojo still had a bamboo skewer between his teeth. "What kind of mission is so urgent that it can't wait until after we eat?"
Geto put down his oolong tea.
Unlike Gojo, he immediately noticed Yaga's expression.
Something was wrong.
Ten minutes later, inside Yaga's office, the atmosphere had completely changed.
Yaga sat behind his desk, hands clasped before him. Across from him stood Gojo and Geto.
"The time for Master Tengen's assimilation is approaching."
The moment those words left his mouth, even Gojo's casual expression shifted slightly.
Yaga continued, "The target of this mission is the Star Plasma Vessel, Riko Amanai."
He pushed a file across the desk.
"Your mission is to escort her safely to the Tomb of the Star Corridor and ensure the assimilation is completed."
Geto's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The Star Plasma Vessel," he said quietly. "You mean the girl who's going to be sacrificed?"
"It is not a sacrifice. It is assimilation," Yaga corrected, his voice firm. "A necessary measure to maintain the stability of Master Tengen's barrier. The safety of the entire Jujutsu world depends on it."
"Tch."
Gojo shoved his hands into his pockets, his expression openly dismissive.
"So we're babysitting. Why send both of us? Isn't that overkill? Are the old geezers upstairs really that bored?"
"Satoru," Geto said, glancing at him, "don't take this lightly."
His expression had become unusually serious.
"The Star Plasma Vessel's existence affects more than just Jujutsu High. Curse Users, religious extremists, and organizations that worship Master Tengen will all have their own interests in this. Especially the Star Religious Group. They won't just sit back and allow the assimilation to happen."
Gojo adjusted his sunglasses with a grin.
"What's there to worry about? With the two of us here, even if the King of Heaven himself shows up, he can wait in line."
Just as they were about to take the mission file, a calm voice came from the doorway.
"I'm going too."
The three of them turned.
Yami stood by the door. The pink apron was gone, replaced by his usual black clothes. In one hand, he held the spare iron sword Jujutsu High had issued him. Its hilt was already nearly worn down.
"Instructor Yami?" Geto said, surprised.
Yaga frowned.
"Yami, this mission was assigned to Satoru and Suguru by the higher-ups. You're external personnel. According to regulations—"
"Regulations are dead. People aren't."
Yami walked into the office and stopped in front of the desk. He placed both hands on the surface and met Yaga's gaze directly.
"Teacher Yaga, my intuition tells me this mission won't be as simple as it looks."
His voice was calm, but there was no room for doubt in it.
"There may be variables even those two can't handle."
Variables even Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto could not handle.
If anyone else had said that, Yaga would have dismissed it on the spot.
But this was Yami.
The man had no Cursed Energy and yet had repeatedly shattered the common sense of the Jujutsu world. In taijutsu, combat awareness, and pure killing ability, he had already forced even Gojo and Geto to take him seriously.
Yaga fell silent.
Truthfully, he also felt something off about this mission. Sending both Gojo and Geto out at the same time seemed excessive on the surface, but beneath that decision, he could smell the usual political rot of the higher-ups.
After a long pause, Yaga nodded.
"Fine. You may accompany them as an instructor, but follow from the shadows. Avoid exposing yourself unless necessary. I don't want the higher-ups making a fuss before the mission even begins."
"No problem."
Yami's lips curved faintly.
"Hey, hey, hey. Instructor Yami, aren't you looking down on us a little too much?"
Gojo sounded deeply offended. While complaining, he casually snatched the last piece of braised meat that Yami had left untouched on the table and swallowed it in one bite.
"With Suguru and me here, what kind of variable could there be? Just watch from the side and learn how the strongest do things."
Yami looked at Gojo's arrogant expression.
He did not get angry.
Instead, something complicated passed through his eyes.
He knew exactly what that variable was.
Somewhere in the shadows, the man known as the Sorcerer Killer was most likely already sharpening his blades.
"Before we leave, I need to solve one problem."
Yami looked down at the spare iron sword in his hand and sighed.
The blade was already chipped and curled from repeated use. Ordinary refined steel could not withstand even a fraction of the heat and resonance created by Sun Breathing.
Taking such a weapon into a fight against Toji Fushiguro, a man who wielded cursed tools like the Inverted Spear of Heaven, would be no different from throwing away his life.
He needed a real sword.
A blade that could bear the sun.
"You two go ahead and pick up Riko Amanai."
Yami turned and tossed the ruined iron sword into the trash.
"I'm going to the black market to find something usable."
"I'll meet up with you soon."
Gojo and Geto exchanged a glance.
They both found his behavior strange, but neither asked further.
In their eyes, this escort mission was still just that.
An escort mission.
Difficult, perhaps.
Annoying, certainly.
But nothing they could not handle.
The peaceful noise of Jujutsu High continued behind them. The scent of grilled meat still lingered in the courtyard. Utahime was still glaring at Gojo from afar, and Yaga was still pretending he had not been eyeing the remaining skewers.
Everything seemed ordinary.
But beyond that fragile peace, the Star Religious Group had already cast its net.
A massive bounty had begun to circulate through the underground world.
And the legendary killer with no Cursed Energy had already set his sights on them.
The gears of fate began to turn.
.....
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