On the TV news, a report played about an explosion at a residence in Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka Prefecture, caused by a gas leak.
Masamichi Yaga listened to the broadcast while glaring at the four students kneeling before him, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white.
"One of you said you'd cast the Veil yourselves, then abandoned the Assistant Supervisor and ran off, right?" he demanded.
"And in the end… you completely forgot about it? Admit it!"
Almost instantly, Shion Gojo, Suguru Geto and Shoko Ieiri all pointed accusing fingers at Satoru Gojo.
Satoru lifted his hand awkwardly and protested loudly, "Sensei, can we not look for the culprit?"
"Looks like it was you!"
WHAM!
With one swift punch, a large, smoking lump rose on Satoru's head.
---
Several hours earlier, in the gym…
Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto were halfway through a one‑on‑one basketball game. Sweat dripped, the ball bounced, and laughter echoed.
Shoko was nearby, trying on Satoru's sunglasses, curious to see what made them special. Then she reached over and plucked them off Shion Gojo's face while he sat contentedly eating dessert.
"Huh, these aren't special at all! I thought they'd be like the Cyclops' glasses from X‑Men!" she declared.
Shion reclaimed the sunglasses and slid them back on. "They're just ordinary shades that help suppress vision feedback. With the Six Eyes' perception, if there were no filters, your brain would fry from all the extra information," he explained.
Shoko handed the sunglasses back to Satoru, plopping down beside Shion again.
"Your brain would fry? Then learn Reverse Cursed Technique from me! Even if it fries, I can fix it!" she teased.
Shion blinked at her. "Why would anybody want to learn from your teaching style?"
Meanwhile on the court, Satoru called out, "What confuses me more than Shoko's teaching is why we have to cast a Veil at all?"
Geto caught the basketball and looked thoughtful. "Because cursed spirits are born from the negative energy of everyday people. To keep those spirits from multiplying out of control, we maintain barriers to stabilize the public's emotions."
"Sigh…" Satoru snatched the basketball back. "Worrying about ordinary people is such a pain!"
Geto shook his head. "Satoru, protecting the weak is what jujutsu sorcerers do. It's our duty."
"Huh?" Satoru said with a flourish, "Using so‑called righteous principles as a crutch in front of real power — that's just weak people's rhetoric."
Geto's expression grew cold. "Power without restraint only leads to destruction."
The atmosphere between them became tense. They both turned to look at Shion, waiting for his take.
Shion, still eating dessert, paused only long enough to shrug.
"I don't really have an opinion," he said with a grin, "I live by one principle in this world."
"What's that?" they asked in unison.
Shion smirked, "I don't eat beef."
"…What?"
Both of them stared blankly, not getting the joke.
Shion continued casually, "The idea is simple: follow your heart's desires without overstepping important boundaries!"
"As for your debate — protect non‑sorcerers or not protect them — both sides sound pretty stupid."
"Huh?" Satoru and Geto blinked in confusion.
Shion set down his unfinished dessert. "You two brats want to fight?"
Satoru and Geto grinned at each other, sensing a playful battle was about to break out.
Shoko, ever quick, bolted away as though her legs were rockets.
"Cursed Spirit Manipulation: Ghost Eye!"
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!"
Danger flashed in both Satoru and Geto's eyes, but Shion merely smiled faintly and spread his arms, brimming with energy — a showdown was about to explode.
Whoosh —
Suddenly, the gym door burst open. One moment they were about to clash, the next they were all doing elderly warm‑ups in unison.
Masamichi Yaga stared at the bizarre scene, feeling something was very wrong.
"What were you doing just now? Where's Shoko?"
"Don't know!"
"Maybe she went to the bathroom?"
Yaga rubbed his temples. "Forget it. This time, the higher‑ups have issued a new mission for you three."
"Huh?"
All three turned around, expressions blank with boredom.
"What's with those faces? Are missions that boring?"
"Not at all~"
They said it in perfect synchrony.
Yaga ignored their antics and continued, "Honestly, I didn't want you on this mission, but unfortunately, it was personally designated by Lord Tengen. I have no choice."
There were two parts to the mission.
"One, protect the Star Plasma Vessel — the compatible host for Lord Tengen's body. Two, you must protect her, then kill her at a specific moment," Yaga explained.
Satoru froze. "Protect her then kill her? That's insane!"
Shion pretended to misunderstand the gravity, grinning. "Teacher Yaga must be so happy about his promotion to Principal he's lost his mind!"
Geto frowned. "What do we do about that? Send him to the infirmary?"
Shion shrugged. "That only treats the symptom, not the cause."
Satoru had an idea. "How about my brother and I use our family's influence to cancel Principal Yaga's promotion?"
Yaga just blinked.
"Next time you plot something, at least hide it from me… and keep it quiet!"
Masamichi Yaga shook off the banter and continued, "This operation concerns Lord Tengen's 'Immortality' cursed technique. Everyone knows Tengen is immortal, but immortality doesn't stop aging — it just prevents true death. When aging progresses too far, the body begins forced evolution into something beyond human, threatening to become a dangerous Cursed Spirit. To prevent this, Tengen must merge with a Star Plasma Vessel every five hundred years to reset the body and delay evolution."
Shion raised a hand. "What happens to the Star Plasma Vessel after merging?"
Yaga hesitated. "She becomes inseparably part of Tengen, her identity effectively erased and existing now as part of Tengen's spiritual form."
The gravity of that sank into all three of them.
"Isn't that basically murder?" Geto said flatly.
Satoru's face curled with disgust. "Assimilation? What a hypocritical way to put it!"
Yaga sighed. "If you really don't want to take part, using your status to report it could get the mission rejected."
"No," Shion said calmly, standing and stretching. "Would the higher‑ups really trust anyone but us with something this important? Besides…"
He smiled wide, eyes sparkling.
"This is the Star Plasma Vessel's final journey. Instead of old stodgy men leading her, wouldn't it be better to have three handsome, eye‑catching young men by her side?"
Hearing this, Satoru and Geto both lifted their heads, eyes turning into playful grins like something out of a Peter Ho drama.
"Exactly! Exactly!"
____
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