Mahito was deep in thought.
The question was when to make his move.
Summer, when Cursed Spirits boiled up in swarms?
Or after that, when the tension had eased a little, and he could crack them across the back of the head?
Jujutsu Sorcerers scattered all across the country anyway.
It seemed best to press the attack when their concentration was at its thinnest.
'Let summer pass... and set it for around autumn?'
The day of execution: autumn.
The location had to be somewhere that could provoke the greatest confusion, somewhere cramped and chaotic.
For confusion to truly bloom, it also needed a dense population.
A place where humans swarmed—where especially many humans swarmed.
A place that satisfied every one of those conditions.
After lying on a bench and thinking it over, Mahito settled on the subway.
It was perfect.
He had already gathered every card worth using.
He had assembled them based on the information given by the white-haired monk, so there was no room for error.
Mahito had read the soul dwelling inside her body.
A twisted soul.
Its shape closely resembled the incarnated beings he had painstakingly scraped together one by one.
'So that's Sukuna-sama, huh?'
A wicked smile spread across Mahito's face as he licked his lips.
From the way she addressed him.
And from the shape of her soul, he had realized she was a human from the same era as Sukuna.
You could not infer that much from the shape of a soul alone, but her words, her attitude—
Her emotions had given him the clue.
They had five fingers.
The whereabouts of the remaining fifteen were unknown, but there was a high chance the schools had them.
If not all of them, then most.
In that case, he would raid the schools and steal the fingers away.
After that, he would find Sukuna's vessel.
'According to that woman, there is a vessel... but she said she doesn't know who it is, right?'
Even she did not know, but one thing was certain.
It would be on the school's side.
Sukuna's vessel was also one of the school's highest-priority assets.
Securing it no matter what was the correct move.
"Well, I'll know when I see it."
There was still plenty of time, and plenty of room to maneuver.
In the middle of chaos, it would not even be that difficult.
'For now, don't kill it.'
Not everyone who ate a finger became a vessel.
That held true even for a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
There was only one being qualified to become the vessel.
A single human supposedly created by a man named Kenjaku before his death.
Mahito smiled and closed his eyes.
He did not know that Itadori was not a vessel, but a prison.
Just like the woman who had given him that information.
Kugisaki was a student who had recently transferred to Tokyo Jujutsu High.
She was also a newly minted Jujutsu Sorcerer.
The reason she had come to Tokyo was simple: she hated living in the countryside.
She had found the villagers' petty hostility disgusting.
"You're risking your life for a reason like that?"
Megumi and Yuji had both been startled when they heard her motive, but Nobara had stood proud.
Because for her, it was worth staking her life on.
Dorm life. Money.
Food, clothing, and shelter had all been solved in one stroke, so if anything, it was a great deal.
"Ah, Maki!"
It was a quiet afternoon.
There were no missions and no classes, so while strolling around the school grounds, she ran into Maki.
A second-year senior with Heavenly Restriction and no Cursed Energy.
Her specs in every category were astonishing, but the truly astonishing thing was something else.
Her beautiful face.
And the overwhelming curve of her hips and chest.
'How is she even a student?'
From the first time she saw her until now, Nobara felt that same sense of wonder every single time she met Maki.
That did not mean Maki had a bad personality, either.
She was more straightforward than most men and broad-minded too.
A senior worth admiring. The ideal she wanted to resemble.
For Nobara, calling Maki a stroke of luck would not even begin to cover it.
"Oh, Nobara."
Maki, who had been sitting on a bench, waved when she saw her.
Maki liked juniors who approached her openly.
"What are you doing out here?"
Nobara slipped onto the bench beside her and asked.
Her eyes were shining with interest.
"Just resting after training. I had a mission too."
"Huh? Already?"
"Yeah. I headed out at dawn and just got back. Mai was grumbling that she was tired too. Getting up before sunrise really is a pain."
Mai's face flashed through Nobara's mind.
Zenin Mai.
Maki's twin younger sister, and someone considered a strong candidate to become a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer.
If Maki was the senior she admired, then Mai was more like an older sister she had grown close to.
At the same time, she was also a scary older sister.
Gentle to those on her side, but cynical.
And she used a gun as her weapon.
That did not mean Nobara disliked Mai or kept her distance.
If anything, she had tried to get closer to her.
Mai knew that too, so even when she found it annoying, she still put up with her.
It was very different from how things had originally gone.
Originally, Nobara had disliked Mai.
And it would not have been an exaggeration to say Mai disliked Nobara too.
"Ugh. The worst. Did you really have to look at some ugly Curse's face first thing in the morning?"
"It was morning by the time we ran into it, but we wrapped it up fast and came back."
"Then did you come back by train?"
"By shinkansen. If I dawdle for no reason and end up not making it home, I'm the one who loses out."
"You and Mai commute every day, right? Doesn't that wear you out? Wouldn't it be easier to just live in the dorms?"
Nobara tilted her head.
It was the first time she had asked about Maki's personal family circumstances.
Until now, she had only asked relatively shallow questions—what her hobbies were, what kind of sorcerer she was, things like that.
"I have to go see my brother's face. I'll keep being a Jujutsu Sorcerer either way, but honestly, if I don't see him, I'm the one losing out."
"What? You have a brother?"
Nobara's eyes went wide.
It was the first she had heard of it.
"Not my real brother. He's someone who's looked after me since I was little. My benefactor, kind of like family. And also..."
Maki trailed off, her cheeks turning red.
It was embarrassing to talk about love in front of a junior she had only recently grown close to.
With Mai, or with her older sister, or with the Servants she regarded as elders, that was about as far as she could go.
But—
Nobara understood what that expression meant at a glance.
"Ah. You like him, don't you?"
"Ahem! Was it that obvious?"
Maki asked with a dry cough.
She was embarrassed, but she had no intention of denying it.
"Honestly? It's kind of amazing. This is the first time I've ever seen you look like a girl in love, Maki."
"It's not that amazing. Anyway, that's why I try to go home every day. Mai too."
"What? Mai too?"
For a moment, Nobara's eyes widened even further.
Because it sounded like they liked the same man.
Maki and Mai were sisters.
Of course they lived in the same house, but surely...?
"Hm? Ah. Mai's the same. She likes the same person. Has for a long time."
"What do you mean, for a long time? Is that really okay?"
Nobara's voice jumped.
It was shocking. Genuinely shocking.
"It's fine. Monogamy is just a legal restriction, right? If you don't bother getting married, there's no reason you have to follow something like that."
"No, I don't mean legally..."
Two people loving one man.
That was what she wanted to ask about—was that really okay?
To Nobara, romance was one-on-one.
Like most people, she measured things by ordinary relationships.
But this was two against one.
She had never imagined Maki would get tangled up in the kind of love life that suited a shameless playboy.
That was why, even if it was rude—
Even if it crossed a line—she felt an urge to stop her.
"Ah. You mean two people liking one person? It's not normal, sure, but what are you supposed to do once you've fallen for someone? The more time passes—"
"Wow... I seriously never thought I'd hear you say something like that, Maki."
"It's not a bad thing, is it?"
Maki smiled without a trace of hesitation.
She had not expected to have this kind of conversation, but she did not regret it.
From long ago until now, her feelings had always been directed at one person.
And naturally, the same was true for Mai.
The relationship might be a little messy, but sincere love was still sincere love.
'She's incredible.'
Because Maki was so confident, Nobara's fluster slowly turned into awe.
If anything, she was almost jealous.
A man receiving the love of two sisters anyone would covet.
Whoever he was, Nobara thought he had to be absurdly blessed.
"More importantly, Nobara, you should be worrying less about our love life and more about the exchange event. You said you want to keep living as a Jujutsu Sorcerer, right?"
Maki changed the subject with a look that said the timing was perfect.
And it really was.
"Ah, right. The exchange event. You said it's with Kyoto Jujutsu High, right? So are we going to Kyoto?"
"No. This year it's in Tokyo. We won, remember?"
"Ehhh~?"
Disappointment spread openly across Nobara's face.
Because that meant no Kyoto sightseeing.
"Why are you disappointed? It's easier this way. Letting them come to us is better."
"Still, it's Kyoto. It would've been nice to go and treat it like a trip."
"Ah. Suguru and the principal don't like that idea."
"By Suguru, you mean Geto-sensei, right? If going out annoys him that much, then wow, he really has gone stale."
Maki silently nodded.
Honestly, she felt the same way.
"We'll probably end up like that too once we get older. Exorcising Cursed Spirits is rough, and it's the kind of job where you stake your life every time."
"Ugh. When you put it that way, it's kind of horrifying."
"It's not that horrifying. Anyway, work hard."
Maki brushed herself off and stood up.
She was thinking of heading back to her dorm room and taking a nap.
Her body still felt lively.
Her mind was fine too, but moving around since dawn had left its own kind of fatigue behind.
No missions. No classes.
At times like this, the right answer was to kill time by sleeping.
"Ah! Sorry. You were tired, weren't you?"
Nobara hurriedly stood as well.
She had just remembered that Maki had been out on an early-morning assignment and looked flustered.
"A little? But talking with you was fun, so don't think of it as a bother. You need time like this too."
"Maki...!"
Emotion welled up on Nobara's face.
Even though she was tired, Maki had listened, humored her, and shown her consideration. It was honestly moving.
If Maki had been a man?
Nobara might really have fallen for her.
"I seriously love you."
"Yeah. You should go get some rest too. Resting when you can is part of the job."
"Yes. I'll work hard at resting!"
"Good."
Maki let out a faint laugh and patted Nobara on the shoulder.
It had been a more pleasant conversation than she expected.
'The exchange event, huh.'
Maki sank into thought as she walked toward the dorms.
Last year, Yuta had massacred the field.
And this year, there was an extremely high chance Yuta would do it again.
Yuta's Cursed Technique was mimicry.
The more cards he gathered and the more he honed his mastery, the more monstrously powerful that broken technique became.
And the Jujutsu Sorcerers around him were no joke either.
Inumaki Toge's Cursed Speech. Geto's Cursed Spirit Manipulation.
Mai's Construction Technique was useful too, though not to the point of being a main weapon.
On top of that, there were the techniques of the countless Cursed Spirits he had copied.
Lately, he had even been trying to learn Megumi's [Ten Shadows Technique].
When he asked if it was okay to copy it?
Megumi had answered that he did not really mind.
Not the easiest senior to admire blindly, but still a senior who acted like one.
If it would help Yuta, he was willing to cooperate.
Thanks to that, Yuta had recently been obsessed with figuring out how to conquer [Mahoraga]...
Though even that would probably happen before long.
'Now that I think about it, this is actually ridiculous.'
There would be two [Mahoraga], the shikigami no [Ten Shadows Technique] user had ever managed to subjugate.
Then there was Gojo and Geto.
Just that much firepower was already more than enough.
But on top of that, there was Yuji, known as Sukuna's vessel.
And Hakari too, running around exorcising Cursed Spirits like a madman to pay off his girlfriend's revolving debt.
She had no confidence at all.
No confidence that they could lose.
Maki judged that certainty of victory was not arrogance, but simple assessment.
Even if she left it to the others, they would handle everything on their own anyway.
'I probably won't even need to step in. There might not even be room for me.'
If someone ordered her out, she would go.
But if they were taking volunteers, she did not particularly want to step forward.
Last year had already satisfied her enough.
'I almost feel bad for the Kyoto kids.'
Maki shook her head as she entered the dormitory.
She sincerely wanted to offer her condolences to Kyoto Jujutsu High.