Outskirts of Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School.
A man walked into the school like a ghost. Due to the Dream Migration, almost all non-combatant personnel had been evacuated. Those remaining here during this period were, without a doubt, people prepared to sacrifice their lives.
Complete fortification. That was the current state of Tokyo Jujutsu High.
*Step.* The man entered the torii gate of the school. He stood quietly, freezing in the posture of taking a single step. Soon, he saw a reaction. He sensed two men rushing toward him from the distance.
The man could even imagine that, aside from these two coming to greet him, others were likely waking up those who had entered the Dream Migration. In particular, that man—Satoru Gojo—would likely wake up from the Dream Migration immediately and appear before his eyes. Yet, he held no fear. He simply continued forward.
One footprint at a time, he slowly ascended the stairs from the torii gate. It was clearly an extremely dangerous act, yet he felt an incredible sense of relief. He thought of the moment years ago when he finally chose to part ways with his best friend. Back then, he had undoubtedly held the resolve to die. He knew that one slip-up would mean his death, yet he approached his friend without hesitation, boldly exposing his back to him.
Back then, his best friend could have killed him with a casual strike, but he didn't. He just watched him disappear into the crowd. And now, as always, he chose to face his best friend directly once again.
The man stepped off the stairs and onto the edge of the school plaza. There, two men were already standing, waiting to receive him. They were the current Principal of Tokyo High, Masamichi Yaga, and the current Kendo Instructor, Atsuya Kusakabe.
Now, both of them wore expressions of shock.
The man raised his hand, revealing a smile. "Long time no see, Yaga-sensei. Seeing you so energetic is better than anything."
"Are you... Kenjaku?" Atsuya Kusakabe asked, trembling.
"No, I am not." The man tucked both hands into the wide sleeves of his monk robes and smiled. "I assume you learned Kenjaku's secret from Tengen. I haven't covered my forehead. As you can see, I am the original."
"Suguru Geto," Masamichi Yaga asked in a low voice. "Is it really you?"
The man—Suguru Geto—nodded. "It is exactly me."
Suguru Geto had specifically chosen to come during the time Gojo was fighting Ryomen Sukuna. He knew that compared to his resurrected self, Kenjaku and Sukuna were the enemies Gojo truly wanted to deal with. Especially Sukuna—if that egocentric monster truly broke through the Dream Migration, the trouble caused would be far more severe than anything Geto himself could do.
"I thought about wearing my old Tokyo High uniform, but after thinking it over, it felt a bit embarrassing," Geto laughed. "What's wrong? Seeing an old friend resurrected in front of you, is all you have suspicion and stern faces?"
Kusakabe gritted his teeth. "You sure have the nerve to speak. It hasn't been that many years since the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. The damage you caused has already been written into textbooks; in a few years, it'll probably be a required exam question for Jujutsu High. Your infamy is thunderous. For someone like you to dare appear before us like this... what exactly are your intentions?"
Kusakabe's defensiveness wasn't an overreaction. On the contrary, the fact that they were exchanging pleasantries was the true anomaly. Logically speaking, the moment a Special Grade Curse User like Suguru Geto appeared here, they should have immediately initiated an extermination operation.
But, how to put it... Suguru Geto's crimes in the Jujutsu world were actually quite strange. His crime was: [Mass slaughter of non-sorcerers, causing a collapse of the balance of the Jujutsu world].
During his years as a Curse User, Geto only targeted non-sorcerers. He caused almost no harm to Jujutsu Sorcerers. In fact, he cherished talent; as long as you were a sorcerer, even if you stood in his way, he wouldn't kill you.
Even during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, the most severe incident, as long as you didn't stop him from killing non-sorcerers, he would always let you go at the last moment.
His crime in ordinary society was [Crimes Against Humanity]. But in the Jujutsu world, it was the flexible [Crime of Disrupting the Jujutsu Balance].
To sorcerers, he could even be considered friendly.
Among all Curse Users, Suguru Geto was the most unique. Unique enough that even after he had physically stepped into Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School, a battle did not immediately break out.
"Tengen has left the Japanese mainland. The one controlling the Great Barrier of Japan now is the Lord of Cursed Spirits, Mahito," Masamichi Yaga said in a deep voice. "At this point, even infiltrating the Tombs of the Star is useless. You should know this. After all, you were resurrected by the Lord of Cursed Spirits himself."
Yaga was referring to the reason Geto infiltrated Tokyo High during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons years ago. Back then, he released almost all his Cursed Spirits across Japan, forcing sorcerers, including Gojo, to defend against the slaughter, while he secretly came here alone. He was resisted by the students remaining at the school and ultimately died at the hands of Yuta Okkotsu.
Why did he have to come? Afterwards, it was determined he came for Tengen within the Tombs of the Star. Although Tengen's form was in an intermediate stage between human and god, their classification was close to a Cursed Spirit. Even if only 'close' to a Cursed Spirit, they could be captured by *Cursed Spirit Manipulation*. Geto must have learned of Tengen's state from somewhere, which was why he had to come alone in secret.
"It seems Yaga-sensei has confirmed... that I am me," Geto smiled.
"I can't forget your 'righteousness'," Yaga said with a complex tone. "Sometimes, late at night, I wonder where I failed in teaching you, causing you to slide into such a state. You clearly cared more about the ideals of justice than Satoru, yet in the end..."
*...You became the most evil of men.* Yaga swallowed the final words.
*Step.* Suguru Geto took another step forward.
Kusakabe instinctively placed his hand on the hilt of the longsword at his waist. "Suguru Geto! Stand right there! Don't move!"
He couldn't be blamed for being so nervous. After all, this was a genuine Special Grade Curse User! He had been present during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. Those Cursed Spirits blotting out the sun had flown past him and over his head. He killed until his hands went soft, yet they were endless. It wasn't until the spirits suddenly dispersed uncontrollably that he felt a moment of respite. At the time, he truly thought he would die.
And that was just a side battlefield. He didn't dare imagine how terrifying the main battlefield, facing Suguru Geto directly, must have been! And now, just when he thought the Night Parade would become nothing more than a chapter in a history book, the true Demon King had suddenly appeared before him. His mental state was like a Hero encountering the Final Boss in the starter village.
Geto glanced at Kusakabe, maintaining his smile. "No need to be nervous, Kusakabe. I didn't come with malice. On the contrary, I came to ask for help."
Kusakabe froze. "Help?"
*You, a Special Grade Curse User, came here to ask for help?*
"After all, I graduated from here too. If I run into trouble, can't I ask my alma mater for assistance?" Geto said with a beaming smile. "What do you say, Yaga-sensei?"
Yaga took a deep look at Geto, then turned around. "Come with me."
Kusakabe looked back at Yaga in disbelief. "Are you serious? You're letting a Special Grade Curse User into the school?!"
"Suguru is special," Yaga said flatly.
"Special how?"
"Special in that—he is harmless to Jujutsu Sorcerers," Yaga said gravely. "Special in that, before he died, he didn't kill a single sorcerer... not one."
"But he killed countless ordinary people!" Kusakabe roared.
"That's why I was killed by my junior, Yuta Okkotsu, wasn't I?" Geto strolled past Kusakabe casually. "Look, I've already died once. You should lower your guard a little. Don't mangas these days always have that plot... where the early-game boss repents and immediately becomes a trustworthy friend? Just treat me like that kind of person."
Kusakabe glared daggers at Geto, finally taking his hand off his sword hilt. He grumbled viciously to Yaga, "You're going to regret this, Principal Yaga!"
"Right now, *I* am the Principal," Yaga said subconsciously.
He froze as soon as he said it. Hearing this, Geto burst into laughter.
"I know that one! It's a famous line from *Naruto*, right? Hahahaha! The daughters I adopted used to love watching that. They told me about it!"
Yaga fell silent, simply leading the way. Geto stepped up to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with Yaga, still laughing heartily. Kusakabe watched their backs, momentarily forgetting this was a dangerous Special Grade Curse User.
Kusakabe covered his eyes and sighed to the heavens. "I don't care what happens in the end anymore!"
Geto wasn't lying. He really came for help.
He sat very peacefully in the reception room. Yaga and Kusakabe were present, and another person slid the door open and walked in naturally. She stubbed out the ladies' cigarette in her mouth and smiled as she greeted Geto.
"I figured you'd probably be resurrected by the Lord of Cursed Spirits."
Shoko Ieiri walked up to Geto and sat down next to him naturally. Compared to Yaga, who showed some surprise upon first seeing Geto, Shoko's expression remained consistent from start to finish. In fact, she greeted him familiarly—no shock at seeing the dead revived, no defense against a dangerous enemy, not even basic vigilance. It was as if Geto was still that outstanding student at the school, as if their relationship had never changed.
Kusakabe covered his eyes again, slumping into his chair. "Have I entered some kind of tragic romance novel? This is Jujutsu High, right? Suguru Geto is a Special Grade Curse User, right?"
Kusakabe believed he was the only normal person here. Yaga, Shoko, and Geto—none of them were normal!
In fact, if he knew that after Geto defected, he still had the mind to go find Shoko and try to recruit her, and remained unshaken even knowing Shoko was calling Gojo, Kusakabe would know that the current scene was practically mild.
If he knew that back then, Gojo had already arrived, and after exchanging two sentences, Gojo just watched helplessly as Geto disappeared into the crowd while he sat on the steps acting like a tragic protagonist, Kusakabe would have completely given up.
Yaga glanced at Shoko. "I assumed you had already called Satoru."
"He's currently fighting Sukuna with great enthusiasm; where would he have the time to deal with these small matters?" Shoko placed her hands on the table, fingers crossed, very relaxed. "I used Kogane to send him a message. He only replied with one sentence."
"What?" Kusakabe asked expectantly.
"'Oh, got it,'" Shoko said.
"'Oh, got it'?"
"Yes. 'Oh, got it,'" Shoko confirmed.
*Fuck!* Kusakabe closed his eyes in despair.
Geto couldn't help but laugh. His laughter echoed in the reception room, laughing until tears came out. He raised a hand to wipe them away, stammering:
"That really... really... really fits my stereotypical impression of Satoru. It seems in the years since I died, he's been quite energetic."
Yaga sighed. "Too energetic. Energetic enough to openly declare he's going to reform the Jujutsu world, and openly start cultivating disciples, preparing them one by one to replace the Higher-ups. The Higher-ups absolutely hate Satoru to death."
Geto paused, then smiled. "That also fits my stereotypical impression of Satoru."
Geto then asked Shoko curiously, "You said you judged that I would be resurrected by the Spirit King. Why?"
"Before you appeared, your body was occupied by a thousand-year-old sorcerer named Kenjaku. At the time, he even led people to break into the Tombs of the Star, ultimately being defeated by Yuta Okkotsu. We all suspected it might be you, until Gojo had a frank phone conversation with the Lord of Cursed Spirits. Only then were we certain it wasn't you."
Shoko recalled as she spoke:
"At that time, Gojo made a Binding Vow with the Lord of Cursed Spirits. This Vow seemed to unlock some kind of restriction on the Spirit King's side. We suspect that the Lord of Cursed Spirits actually wanted to break free from Kenjaku's connection but never had the chance until Gojo's call came through... However, that call was an accident, a flash of inspiration from the Spirit King, not part of his plan."
Hearing this, Geto understood what Shoko meant.
He smiled. "So, before that phone call, the Lord of Cursed Spirits was already prepared to turn against Kenjaku. And that preparation... was me?"
Shoko said triumphantly, "Exactly. And looking at it now, my judgment was accurate. Here you are, right in front of us."
Geto raised his hands and clapped gently. "As expected of you, Shoko. I always felt that if the three of us competed using brains instead of power, you would be the one to win every battle."
Shoko straightened her back, saying cheerfully, "Even if you flatter me like that, there's no reward."
Kusakabe couldn't take it anymore. "I say, this isn't a class reunion! This isn't a class reunion! Geto, are the pleasantries over? What exactly is this help you need?"
Kusakabe suspected that if he didn't actively interrupt, this catching-up would last until Gojo finished fighting Sukuna! He wasn't being sarcastic earlier; he really felt like he had walked into a class reunion where students who hadn't seen each other in years were greeting one another, discussing meaningless topics, unknowingly reverting from modern salarymen to their student days, as if they hadn't changed at all and time had returned to the past.
Geto shrugged. "Alright, then I'll be blunt."
He assumed a serious expression. "Yaga-sensei, Shoko... I want to deal with Kenjaku."