Knock... Knock...
Shin was sleeping in his Jujutsu High dormitory when he was suddenly awakened by a violent knocking at his door. He sat up with a kip-up and opened the door.
Standing outside were Junpei, Yuji, and Megumi.
Megumi said anxiously, "Something big happened, Kagura. Gojo-sensei wants us to gather at the training ground as soon as possible."
Hearing the urgency in his tone, Shin vaguely sensed the gravity of the situation. He quickly changed his clothes and rushed to the training ground with them.
On the training ground, all the second-year students had already arrived. Even Masamichi stood there with a grim expression.
Once Shin arrived, Satoru spoke up, "Just now, the Higher-Ups received reports from all over the country that Cursed Spirits are rampaging through cities and slaughtering civilians. Even some Curse Users couldn't restrain themselves and have joined in, the destruction is extremely severe."
"The Higher-Ups have issued an order: all Grade 1 and above Jujutsu Sorcerers are to deploy to wipe out the Curse Users and Cursed Spirits. Shin, you are being sent to Hokkaido. The Special Grade Cursed Spirit there uses fire and magma, it might be the one that escaped from us before."
"After you quickly handle the situation in Hokkaido, head to the surrounding locations to help. Someone will send you the list of all locations shortly."
"All second-year students are to head to Nagoya immediately. The rest of the first-years will remain in Tokyo to prevent a shortage of Jujutsu Sorcerers, just in case some rats from the sewers decide to come out and cause trouble."
After Satoru finished speaking, Masamichi added, "This mission is extremely dangerous. According to observations from the Window, there are signs of Special Grade Cursed Spirits at every site of destruction. This means we can basically confirm that the Cursed Spirits now possess considerable intelligence and are acting collectively."
"This is a serious situation that hasn't happened in hundreds of years. Perhaps from now on, we will be engaged in a war to the death with the Cursed Spirits."
In the past, the Jujutsu World viewed Cursed Spirits as mere geometric masses of twisted Cursed Energy. No matter how strong they were, they were just mindless monsters. If they could be killed, they would be. If not, the surrounding civilians would be evacuated.
Sometimes, when a Jujutsu Sorcerer saw a trash Cursed Spirit like a Maggot out in the world, it was like a normal person seeing a mosquito—though they might feel disgusted, they would often turn a blind eye and not bother to exorcise it.
However, now that it's known that the intelligence of Cursed Spirits has reached the point where they can carry out planned, collective actions, Jujutsu Sorcerers can no longer afford to let even a single Grade 4 Cursed Spirit survive.
After hearing this, Shin immediately thought of that insidious schemer, Kenjaku. However, he couldn't fathom why Kenjaku, who had always been playing the long game, would suddenly make such a big move. The only possibility he could think of was Yuji.
Shin stole a glance at Yuji and, once everyone had returned to prepare their combat gear, reached out to stop him.
"Itadori, I have something to tell you. Can we talk alone for a moment?"
Although Yuji didn't know what Shin was planning, he followed him anyway.
After the two walked to a secluded, empty corner, Shin turned around, took out his Shulker Box, and retrieved all the Death Paintings.
Of the Death Paintings, only Choso, Eso, and Kechizu still remained active. The other six had all died, but they still possessed considerable Cursed Energy and curses.
Shin put them into a bottle and handed it to Yuji.
"Itadori, while I'm away, please help me watch over this cursed object. This cursed object was entrusted to me by Gojo-sensei. If I die out there, this ensures it won't fall into the wrong hands."
Yuji had no idea about the capabilities of Shin's Shulker Box. After all, Shin had only told Satoru about it. Currently, only Satoru and Tengen knew.
Yuji clenched his fists, lowered his head, and said in a low voice, "Don't say that. Kagura, you're so strong, you'll definitely come back alive. But I'll keep this cursed object for you. Consider it me helping you lighten the load."
"Alright, remember this, Itadori. You must not give this cursed object to anyone else. As soon as these Cursed Wombs find a host, they will create several Special Grade Cursed Spirits. You should have learned this."
Yuji nodded and said, "I remember reading in the textbook that if someone accidentally swallows a cursed object, there's a high probability they will become a vessel of the Cursed Spirit and lose consciousness. There's also a small chance they could gain Cursed Energy and a Cursed Technique while remaining conscious. But regardless of the situation, according to regulations, they must be dealt with."
Shin smiled with relief and gave one last instruction, "Before I return, you must keep them with you at all times, just like I do, Itadori."
With that, Shin walked away quickly. Yuji stood there, blankly hugging the bottle in his arms, and muttered, "Don't worry, Kagura, I'll definitely keep it with me."