Chapter 133: Misato Kuroi's Kidnapping
Morning sunlight filtered through the leaves outside the safe house, falling in soft patches across the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Yami slowly opened his eyes.
After a long breath, he ended the cycle of Total Concentration: Constant that he had maintained throughout the night.
The assassins from the Star Religious Group had lurked around the villa until dawn, but in the end, none of them dared to make a move.
Perhaps they had been frightened off by the sword intent he made no effort to conceal. Perhaps they were waiting for a better opening.
Either way, they had retreated like the tide before sunrise.
But Yami knew very well that this was not peace.
It was only the calm before the storm.
"Good morning, Big Brother Yami!"
Riko pushed open the door in a neat sailor uniform, her face bright with the kind of energy that only belonged to girls her age.
After last night's dinner and Yami's silent guard outside her room, she had completely lowered her guard around him. She even seemed genuinely excited about going to school today.
"Morning."
Yami stood and, out of habit, ruffled her hair lightly.
"Where's Kuroi?"
"Kuroi went to the nearby convenience store to buy fresh milk and bread. She said she'd be back soon."
Riko glanced at the wall clock.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
Even when Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto came downstairs yawning, Misato Kuroi still had not returned.
Yami's brows furrowed.
"Something's wrong."
He walked to the window.
Transparent World, activate.
His vision pierced through the walls of the villa, swept past the surrounding trees, and extended toward the convenience store several hundred meters away.
Nothing.
There was no trace of Misato Kuroi.
No Cursed Energy residue from a battle.
No sign of resistance.
Nothing at all.
"What's wrong, Instructor Yami?"
Geto noticed the change in his expression and immediately released a fly-head Cursed Spirit for reconnaissance.
"Kuroi is missing."
Yami turned around.
His voice had gone cold.
"What?"
Riko's smile disappeared instantly.
"Kuroi… Kuroi, she…"
Before she could finish, the spare phone Misato Kuroi had left on the coffee table began vibrating.
An anonymous message had arrived.
Geto walked over quickly and opened it.
A photo appeared on the screen.
Misato Kuroi was tied to a chair, unconscious.
Below the image was a short message.
[If you want her alive, bring the Star Plasma Vessel to Okinawa for the exchange.]
Bang!
Gojo slammed his fist into the wall.
His lazy expression vanished at once. Behind his sunglasses, a dangerous blue light flickered in his Six Eyes.
"Those bastards…"
His voice dropped.
"They kidnapped someone right under my nose?"
Then his anger erupted.
"Suguru. Let's go. We're killing all of them."
Gojo's pride would never allow this kind of provocation to pass. To him, this was not only a hostage situation. It was an insult shoved directly into his face.
"Calm down, Satoru."
Geto's expression was dark as well, but he forced himself to remain rational.
"They specifically named Okinawa. This is clearly a trap meant to lure us away."
His eyes shifted toward Riko.
"If we all leave Tokyo, or if they ambush us on the way, Riko-chan will be in danger."
Riko's face turned pale.
Then her tears finally fell.
"It's my fault…"
Her voice trembled.
"If Kuroi weren't protecting me, she wouldn't have been kidnapped."
She turned to Yami, panic breaking through all her stubbornness.
"Big Brother Yami, please save Kuroi. I'll do anything. Just please save her."
Seeing the girl cry, Yami felt killing intent rise in his chest.
Those rats hiding in the gutters would do anything for their goal. They would not even hesitate to drag ordinary people into it.
"Don't cry."
Yami walked over and gently wiped the tears from Riko's face.
"I promise I'll bring her back safely."
Then he turned toward Gojo and Geto.
"This isn't a simple kidnapping."
His eyes were deep and cold. Through the Transparent World, through the subtle movements of the enemies around them, and through his knowledge of the original path of fate, he could already see the shape of the conspiracy.
"Since last night, the number of Curse Users around this area has increased abnormally."
Geto's expression tightened.
"Not only people from the Star Religious Group," Yami continued. "There are also a lot of unorganized Curse Users and desperate criminals. They came for money."
Gojo clicked his tongue.
"A bounty?"
"Someone posted an enormous bounty on the underground network for the Star Plasma Vessel."
"Thirty million?" Gojo sneered.
"No."
Yami shook his head.
In his mind, the image of a man with a scar at the corner of his mouth surfaced again. A beastlike man without Cursed Energy, hiding behind the chaos and waiting for the perfect moment.
"It isn't just the thirty million."
His fingers settled against Shiranui's sheath.
"It's a fatigue tactic."
Toji Fushiguro.
The man known as the Sorcerer Killer had finally begun tightening the net.
He had deliberately spread the bounty to attract every money-hungry Curse User and criminal in reach. The paper-bag shikigami user from the original timeline, the kidnappers who took Kuroi, and every small-time attacker rushing in for a payday were all disposable pawns.
Their purpose was not to win.
It was to exhaust Satoru Gojo.
To force him to keep Limitless active.
To wear down his focus, his Cursed Energy, and his nerves little by little.
The real killing blow was hiding behind all that noise.
"So what do we do?" Geto asked. "If we go to Okinawa, we're walking into their trap. If we don't, Kuroi dies."
Yami's grip tightened around Shiranui.
"Then we go."
His answer was immediate.
"If they want to muddy the water, we'll cut through it."
He looked at Gojo and Geto.
"Satoru, Suguru. Stay close to Riko. Your priority is her safety."
Then his gaze shifted to Geto.
"Suguru, leave two concealed Cursed Spirits on me. Something small enough that they won't be noticed. I'll use them to locate you if we get separated."
Geto nodded and immediately released two tiny Cursed Spirits. They slipped silently into Yami's shadow.
Yami looked at them both.
"No matter what attacks come, your mission is simple."
He glanced at Riko, who was still wiping her tears.
"Make sure Riko enjoys this final summer before the assimilation."
Gojo paused.
"Huh?"
He stared at Yami as if he had misheard.
"Enjoy herself? What about all the cannon fodder rushing in to die?"
Yami slowly drew Shiranui.
A deadly red light flowed along the black blade.
"I'll clean them up."
Half an hour later, Haneda Airport.
The private aircraft arranged by Jujutsu High was already prepared. The group had just entered the waiting area when Yami's steps came to a halt.
Within the Transparent World, five lifeless humanoid masses of Cursed Energy were closing in from five different boarding gates.
Each one wore a paper bag over its head.
Each one carried a strange weapon.
Shikigami.
"Watch out!"
Geto raised his hand, about to summon Rainbow Dragon, but Yami stopped him.
"Paper bags over their heads."
His eyes turned cold.
"A bounty hunter from the underground network."
He did not draw his sword.
He took a breath.
Then he stepped forward.
Bang!
The floor cracked beneath his foot.
His figure split into five afterimages.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Five dull impacts rang out almost at the same time.
The paper-bag shikigami, which could divide endlessly and even give Gojo some trouble if allowed to multiply, never got the chance to attack.
Yami's fists struck their Cursed Energy cores with perfect precision, sending shockwaves through their bodies and blasting them apart before they could split.
Scraps of paper scattered across the waiting hall.
Yami stepped on the remains and flicked his wrist.
His voice was quiet, but everyone nearby heard it clearly.
"I'll make sure the entire underground network understands one thing."
He looked toward the empty gates where more enemies were no doubt watching from the shadows.
"Anyone who takes this bounty dies."
For a moment, even Gojo's Six Eyes stung under the force of Yami's killing intent.
The trip to Okinawa was destined to be soaked in blood.
And the Sorcerer Killer hiding behind the curtain would soon learn what it meant to draw the wrath of the sun.
.....
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