The television flickered with urgency as the morning broadcast cut through the quiet when footage of Shibuya filled the screen, showing collapsed buildings, scorched streets, and emergency crews moving through the wreckage.
The destruction was far more than even a natural disaster on the level of Tsunami or an earthquake could achieve.
"Authorities have confirmed that last night's incident in Shibuya was the result of a large-scale terrorist attack," the anchor reported, images shifting to aerial views of the destruction that stretched far beyond what any conventional disaster could explain. "The extent of the damage is still being assessed, but early estimates suggest widespread structural collapse, fires, and multiple casualties. Officials are urging civilians to remain calm as investigations continue."
The nature of the disaster couldn't be related to anything besides terrorist activity. Bombing on a mass scale.
Something similar happened last year, at the Night Parade of 100 Demons. However, this here was far worse.
The screen briefly showed a cratered section of the city, still smoldering from Sukuna's rampage, before cutting back to the studio.
Of course, most would think that it was all a terrorist plan. Never would they think that the supernatural had anything to do with this.
"We are also receiving unconfirmed reports of unusual phenomena observed during the incident, though authorities have declined to comment further at this time."
The television clicked off.
A heavy silence settled over the room inside Tokyo Jujutsu High as the weight of everything that had happened finally caught up to them.
"That's the best they could have come up with, a terrorist attack!" Maki snorted, exhaling slowly, running a hand through her hair as she leaned back slightly.
"They're not exactly wrong," Panda replied, arms crossed as he stared at the now-dark screen. "Curse users are more or less like magical terrorists. As for special grade curse spirits, they are no less than anything those terrorists could cook up in their caves."
"Salmon," Inumaki nodded, looking equally exhausted by the last night's ordeal.
None of them had even a shred of sleep and were working their best to control the situation on their end.
Nobara just clicked her tongue in irritation. She was the only first year present there currently since Megumi was still unconscious and Yuji had refused to come back with them after what Sukuna did. Currently, he was running around dealing with the curse spirits Geto released out in the open after everything in Shibuya was over.
At the center of the room, Masamichi Yaga stood with his arms folded, his expression more serious than usual as he listened to everyone speak.
While he was not on the front lines for a very long time after taking the job of being the principal for the Tokyo Jujutsu branch, he did understand the seriousness of the situation.
Satoru was sealed, and Geto had assumably come back to life out of nowhere. Yaga doubted that was actually possible, knowing truly reviving someone who once died wasn't possible. He instead believed that someone else had taken control over Geto's body.
Whatever it was, currently they were facing a huge problem when Gojo Satoru wasn't there to hold the sky for them.
Shoko was also there, still smoking and looking as sleep-deprived as ever. Unlike most, she behaved like nothing mattered to her. However, this couldn't be further from the truth, she was just much better at not showing it.
"The public narrative doesn't matter right now," Yaga said finally, his voice cutting through the conversation. "What matters is understanding what actually happened."
Maki's expression hardened slightly at that. "Then let's start with the biggest problem," she said. "That idiot getting sealed."
The room fell quiet again. They all knew who was the idiot she was referring to.
"How they did that in the first place? I thought with Infinity he was nigh untouchable?" Nobara cursed.
"Clearly they had a way, perhaps a cursed tool which could capture him and bypass his Infinity," Yaga added, not sure himself how Geto was able to accomplish that, but ultimately he didn't care anymore.
It didn't matter currently.
"That alone changes everything," Panda added, his tone unusually serious. "Without him, we're… exposed."
"That's just the beginning of it..." Maki added.
Shoko nodded slightly, her gaze lowering as she spoke. "After your fights ended, the entire thing with Itadori losing control, Geto came out finally, didn't he," she said calmly, letting out smoke while others just pursed their lips recalling what really happened.
Shoko and Yaga weren't there. However, Panda, Maki, Toge, and other students from Kyoto saw it just fine. Geto was there.
"He could have killed all of you right there. None of you were in any condition to fight."
"But he didn't," Maki said, frowning. "That's the part that doesn't make sense."
"No," Yaga corrected, his eyes narrowing slightly. "This just makes it worse."
Everyone looked at him.
"If he didn't come there to kill you," Yaga continued, "then it means he either achieved what he wanted, or he needed us alive, for reasons we are unaware of entirely."
Shoko took another drag from her cigarette before speaking again. "Barriers," she said simply. "They went up this morning. Multiple locations across Japan, covering major cities."
"News channels are not covering it, but I got reports from the Jujutsu higher-ups."
Nobara blinked. "Barriers? Like… trapping people inside? Like what happened in Shibuya?"
"Not exactly. Many non-sorcerers were found outside of the barriers all on their own in the morning. Upon asking, they said they sleepwalked. At night they slept in their homes, and in the morning they were already outside, walking out of the cities," Yaga added.
"He said something about a… game. Didn't he!" Panda added, recalling what Geto said before sparing their lives.
"A battle royale," Maki said, her tone dark. "That's what it sounded like."
"And reincarnated sorcerers," Nobara added. "At least that's what it sounded like when he started talking about making contracts with multiple binding vows with past sorcerers."
Yaga nodded. "Another reason to believe he is not Geto but someone using his body."
The weight of that statement settled heavily over the room.
"So we're just supposed to sit here and wait for that to start?" Nobara snapped, clearly frustrated. "Don't we have any plan?"
"That's the problem," Yaga said. "We don't have one. At least for the time being until we learn more about what he is planning."
"Higher-ups?" Panda asked.
Yaga's silence was answer enough. "They haven't responded," he said after a moment. "Not in any meaningful way."
Maki let out a quiet scoff. "Besides putting all the blame on Gojo and declaring a manhunt for Itadori..."
For a moment, no one spoke, each of them processing the situation in their own way.
Then Nobara broke the silence again. "We have to get to that idiot."
"We will, don't worry about Itadori for now. The order was given just recently. Given the condition, ordinary sorcerers wouldn't act up against Itadori anytime soon. We have some time," Panda added.
"Salmon." Toge nodded.
Nobara didn't like it, but knew Itadori would most likely be fine, so she let go of the matter, at least until she remembered another one.
"…And what about him?"
The question shifted the focus immediately.
"The boy...?" Yaga asked.
"We are uncertain. There isn't much we know about him. He showed up out of nowhere."
Maki glanced at him, her expression thoughtful now. "Yeah... but he helped us, saved my life twice..."
"Everyone we talked to said the same thing," Panda added. "He helped. A lot."
"Nanami, Todo… even you,"
Nobara nodded slightly. "The bastard owed me a facial spa, but outside that, I guess he's cool," she admitted. "Didn't give out his name though, and doesn't even seem like he knows fighting by the way he fought, but he is strong. I hate to say it, but the idiot saved my life too, twice," Nobara added with a huff.
"Speaking of him, how is he? After tanking Sukuna's domain, he passed out entirely," Maki asked, a little concern showing in her otherwise emotionless face.
Shoko exhaled quietly. "He's alive," she said. "How ? is a miracle I'm still trying to figure out, but still alive.
That drew everyone's attention.
"What do you mean by that?"
Shoko exhaled again. "Usually reverse cursed energy leaves behind traces when someone tries to heal with inefficiency. It would heal up the wound, however, if you're not thorough, it would leave behind marks or sometimes even incomplete healing.
From what I noticed, the boy can use reverse cursed energy," Shoko said, and that alone made everyone startle.
Someone who could use reverse cursed technique, that was a big deal. Not many could use that, hell, they hadn't seen anyone besides Shoko and Gojo doing it so far.
"His body had so many wounds, barely healed up, that I'm surprised the boy was even alive. As I said, it's a miracle that he is alive," Shoko added.
"So you're saying that he not only knows reverse cursed technique but also has been in fights before Shibuya?"
Shoko shrugged slightly. "That's the problem," she replied. "We don't know who he is, where he came from, or what exactly he is capable of."
"Digging intel on him would take a few more days, since currently the higher-ups are busy dealing with what happened in Shibuya, trying to minimize the impact."
"For all we know, he could have awakened his powers and technique that very night," Shoko added.
Nobara frowned. "But he has a domain,"
Silence fell again.
"He could just be like Hakari," Panda suggested.
"That alone makes him dangerous," Yaga said quietly.
"He helped us, saved our lives, multiple times at that," Maki pointed out.
"I'm not saying he is an enemy, I'm just saying to be careful around him until we know who and what his motives are," Yaga consoled.
"We don't even know how strong he is, it would be prudent to stay vigilant."
"As a matter of fact, you two have seen him fight, right? Tell us where your estimation of his power lands," Yaga stated, asking both Maki and Nobara.
Both girls fell into contemplation. And then described what they saw him doing.
"Wait, wait... you're saying the dude fought 3 special grade curses and still is alive?" Panda asked, eyes wide.
"More or less," Maki grunted.
'...'
There was silence for a while until finally Panda couldn't take it anymore.
"Who is this motherf****"
xXx
A/N : Okay, I know Panda wouldn't ask that, at least no in that way, but I couldn't help it, I wanted to show that surprised look on their faces.
The chapter set the tone for what is to come, there won't be much fighting for a while, its more like a preparation arc than fighting arc.
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