Late at night, the cold wind of Shibuya poured into the basement through the shattered walls.
Toji leaned against the cracked edge of the crater, breathing heavily.
Although he had agreed to follow Rin, he knew all too well how bad his condition was.
A Heavenly Restriction body recovered quickly, but several of his ribs had been shattered by that overwhelming force, and his internal organs were severely displaced. Even under normal circumstances, it would take at least half a month before he could move properly again.
In the assassin's world, serious injury meant offering your neck to your enemies.
Right now, he did not even have the strength to hold a blade. If the Zen'in Clan or any curse users he had offended before found him, the outcome was obvious.
"Boss."
Toji forced a crooked smile.
"Since I'm working for you now, you're not just going to let me die from my injuries, right? Do you know any underground doctors nearby, or someone who can use Reverse Cursed Technique?"
"Underground doctors? Reverse Cursed Technique?"
Rin looked down at Toji, who was slumped on the ground, his expression calm and distant.
He stepped into the crater and stopped in front of him.
"I don't need such inefficient methods."
Rin raised his right hand, palm facing outward, pointing it toward Toji's chest from a short distance away.
The next moment... hum~!
A vibrant emerald light bloomed from his palm.
There was no trace of Cursed Energy within it, yet it radiated a pure vitality that seemed capable of restoring all life.
Yang Release.
The green light flowed into Toji's body like water.
Toji's pupils shrank sharply.
He could clearly feel that wherever the warmth passed, his displaced organs were gently guided back into place, as if moved by invisible hands. His broken ribs tingled as the fragments reconnected and began to mend at a visible rate. Even the torn flesh and bruises across his body scabbed over and peeled away within moments, revealing unblemished skin beneath.
In less than ten seconds, Rin lowered his hand, and the green glow faded.
"Get up."
Toji remained frozen for two seconds. Then he clenched his fists and pushed himself up, leaping effortlessly out of the crater.
There was no stiffness. No pain.
Not only were his injuries completely healed, but even the fatigue from days of gambling and drinking had been swept away. His body had been restored to its absolute peak.
Toji looked down at his hands, and for the first time, genuine shock appeared in those beast-like eyes.
If Rin's overwhelming physical strength had shown him what true power was.. Then this effortless healing, like something out of a creator's hand, completely shattered his understanding of the world.
This was not Reverse Cursed Technique. Reverse Cursed Technique relied on converting negative energy into positive, and since Toji had no Cursed Energy to begin with, its effect on him was greatly reduced.
But this green light directly infused the body with pure vitality.
"You… what are you? Some kind of god walking the earth?"
Toji touched the scar at the corner of his mouth, the way he looked at Rin completely changed.
Following someone like this… let alone crushing the Zen'in Clan, even overturning the entire jujutsu headquarters didn't seem impossible.
"Enough nonsense."
Rin turned and walked out of the ruins.
"Call your information broker. Tell him his network answers to me from now on. Double his pay."
Toji grinned, pulled out the spare phone that had somehow survived, and dialed Shiu Kong's number.
The call connected.
"Shiu Kong, forget the Star Religious Group job. Yeah, I didn't take it. Also, I've got a new boss."
He spoke into the phone while following Rin onto the streets of Shibuya.
"From now on, your information network reports directly to me. The boss is generous. Money isn't a problem."
There was a long pause on the other end. Shiu Kong clearly had not yet recovered from the shock of the Star Religious Group's destruction.
"Toji… are you serious? That mysterious person who wiped out the Star Religious Group alone… recruited you?"
"Yeah. That's the one. Beat me half to death and took all my weapons while he was at it."
Toji said it plainly, even sounding faintly amused.
Silence lingered before Shiu Kong finally sighed.
"…Understood. What do you need me to look into?"
Toji lowered the phone and glanced at Rin walking ahead.
"Boss, what are we checking?"
"Ask him where the two Jujutsu High students escorting the Star Plasma Vessel have taken her."
Rin didn't turn back.
Toji relayed the question.
Soon, the sound of rapid typing came through the phone.
"Got it. After the Star Religious Group suddenly withdrew the bounty, the underground assassins were scared off. No one dares take the job anymore. Those two Jujutsu High students seem to think the danger has passed. Instead of returning to school, they took the Star Plasma Vessel and flew straight to Okinawa."
"Okinawa?"
Toji ended the call and looked at Rin.
"Boss, those two took the target to Okinawa. Looks like they want her to enjoy a few normal days before the assimilation."
"A vacation, huh. Sounds like Gojo Satoru."
Rin stopped and looked up at the night sky.
"Which direction is Okinawa?"
Toji pointed south.
"That way."
"Good. Grab my clothes."
Rin turned his head.
"Huh?"
Toji blinked, not quite processing it.
Rin didn't bother explaining. He reached out and grabbed Toji by the shoulder.
The crimson hexagram within Rin's right eye spun rapidly.
The Kamui vortex tore open around them, distorting space as the surrounding air was violently dragged inward like a black hole.
"Holy—!"
Before Toji could finish, both of their figures twisted and vanished from the streets of Shibuya.
…
The next day, noon.
Okinawa. A private beach.
Blue sky stretched endlessly above a sparkling sea, sunlight pouring down onto soft white sand as waves rolled gently against the shore.
"Hahaha! Riko, look over here!"
Gojo, wearing flashy swim trunks and his signature round sunglasses, held a water gun and gleefully sprayed Riko Amanai and Kuroi Misato in the water.
"Gojo! That's cheating! You're using Cursed Energy to control the water!"
Riko, dressed in a cute one-piece swimsuit, squealed as she dodged, splashing seawater back in retaliation.
With the threat of assassination from the Star Religious Group and curse users gone, and under the protection promised by Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru, the fourteen-year-old girl had finally cast off her burdens. Her face lit up with a bright, carefree smile.
Geto Suguru sat on a beach chair, dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt, a glass of iced juice in hand.
He watched the three of them playing in the water with a faint smile, though his eyes remained vigilant, occasionally scanning their surroundings.
Even if the bounty had disappeared, as a jujutsu sorcerer, he would never let his guard down.
"Suguru! Stop brooding over there and come join us!" Gojo called out toward the shore.
"I'll pass…"
Geto lifted a hand, about to refuse.. When Gojo's laughter abruptly stopped.
He turned sharply, staring at an empty spot less than twenty meters from the beach chair.
His sunglasses slid down slightly as his sky-blue Six Eyes locked onto the space ahead.
"What is it, Satoru?" Geto noticed the change immediately. He set his drink aside and stood up, cursed energy already gathering at his fingertips.
"Suguru, something's coming."
Gojo's usual carefree tone vanished, replaced with clear vigilance.
Through the vision of the Six Eyes, the space ahead was folding and distorting in an unstable manner.
What made it even more unsettling was that he could not detect even the slightest trace of Cursed Energy.
It was as if two beings that did not exist in this world were forcing their way into reality.
Hum.
A dull pulse echoed through the air.
A black vortex suddenly opened on the beach.
Two figures stepped out slowly.
At the front was the black-haired youth they had encountered the day before on the school grounds.
Rin.
He was still dressed in that out-of-place black uniform, his expression relaxed.
Behind him stood a burly man in a tight short-sleeved shirt, a scar running along the corner of his mouth.
The moment they saw him, both Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru stiffened.
Another man with no Cursed Energy.
Moreover, the sheer physical pressure and killing intent radiating from the scarred man were like those of a prehistoric beast that had just crawled out of a battlefield.
"Oh man, wearing a trench coat in this kind of heat is torture."
Rin stepped onto the soft sand, casually loosening his clothes as he took in a breath of the salty sea breeze.
Toji rubbed his temples, still feeling slightly dizzy. Even with his physique, the weightlessness from that spatial transfer had left him a bit nauseous.
"Boss, next time you teleport, give me a warning first," Toji muttered.
___
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