The next morning, early.
Inumaki, Maki, Yuta, and Panda walked side by side along the main road of the school, discussing the new teacher who would be arriving today.
"Maki, you really can't guess who it is?" Panda asked curiously. "Gojo-sensei said it's someone you know."
Maki pushed up her glasses, and her expression immediately turned cold.
"If it's someone I know, then it can only be a sorcerer from the Zen'in clan."
As soon as she said that, the atmosphere instantly fell silent.
Yuta Okkotsu carefully moved closer to Panda and whispered, "What's wrong with Maki-senpai?"
Panda covered his mouth with one hand and quietly explained, "The Zen'in clan is one of the three great jujutsu families. Since Maki doesn't have cursed energy, she isn't treated well by the clan's sorcerers."
"Oh, though not all of them are like that. The Zen'in clan head actually treats Maki pretty well."
"Oh."
Yuta nodded in understanding, finally realizing why Maki had come to study at Jujutsu High.
Third floor, corridor.
Gojo Satoru and Masamichi Yaga watched the four students below with serious expressions.
"First Suguru Geto shows up again out of nowhere… and now a new teacher from the Zen'in clan takes office."
"Troubled times…" Yaga murmured in a low voice while stroking his chin.
"I wanted to meet him ever since Shoko mentioned him back then. Who would've thought that ten years later we'd end up colleagues at Jujutsu High?"
"Life really is interesting."
Gojo stood with his hands behind his back, speaking lightly.
Unlike Yaga, Gojo wasn't particularly worried. His overwhelming strength gave him the confidence to handle any sudden incident.
The next second, Gojo's brows furrowed slightly as he looked up at the sky.
"Damn it!"
Yaga's expression changed dramatically. He turned and ran downstairs while shouting orders:
"All sorcerers grade-one and above, assemble immediately at the school gate!"
At the same time, Maki and the others—who had been strolling leisurely—suddenly stopped and looked up.
A pure white giant bird with four wings was descending straight toward Jujutsu High from the sky.
"Well, this is rare. A curse actually flying straight into the sorcerers' headquarters."
Panda complained while silently putting on his panda-emblem cursed-tool gauntlets.
"Whoosh—"
The giant bird landed in front of them, stirring up a powerful gust of wind that sent fallen leaves flying everywhere.
"So after all this time, nothing here has changed at all."
Suguru Geto—his jet-black hair flowing and dressed in monk's robes—looked toward the school buildings in the distance and spoke with mild disdain.
"Geto-sama, is this shabby place really in Tokyo?"
Nanako crawled out from the bird's beak, her face full of disappointment as she complained loudly.
Suguru Geto.
Nanako.
Mimiko.
And a shirtless sorcerer with two pink heart tattoos on his chest.
Four people in total—plus one curse.
Maki lifted the cursed spear in her hand and frowned.
"Sorcerers who have nothing to do with this school—get out."
Inumaki pulled down the collar covering his mouth as cursed energy began gathering.
"Nice to meet you, Yuta Okkotsu."
"My name is Suguru Geto."
Seeing the sorcerer who had suddenly appeared in front of Yuta in an instant, the pupils of the other three shrank.
So fast.
They hadn't even had time to react.
Geto slightly bent down, holding Yuta's hands with both of his, speaking sincerely.
"You possess incredible power."
"I sincerely invite you to join us and help create a more perfect world."
"Could you do me that favor, Okkotsu-kun?"
"H-Help with what?"
Yuta blinked in confusion and replied instinctively.
Geto placed a hand on Yuta's shoulder and smiled with narrowed eyes.
"Kill every ordinary human in the world."
"Then build a perfect world where only sorcerers exist."
Kill all humanity?
What kind of world-level horror joke is that?!
A terrorist? A comedian?
Panda, Maki, and the others stared at Geto as if he were completely insane.
"Please stay away from my student."
A familiar voice—one they hadn't heard in ten years—came from behind.
Geto turned around with a bright smile.
"Satoru. Long time no see."
Seeing someone who still hadn't moved, Gojo's tone dropped.
"Stay away from my students… Geto."
Geto's smile faded as he stepped back slightly.
"No wonder this year's first-years are so strong. Turns out they're your students."
"Special grade sorcerer, Yuta Okkotsu."
"Suddenly mutated cursed corpse, Panda."
"Descendant of the Cursed Speech clan, Toge Inumaki."
"And finally…"
Geto looked at Maki, a mocking smile curling at his lips.
"The Zen'in clan's failure—Zen'in Maki."
"In the perfect world I want to create, there's no place for monkeys like you."
"You bastard! You—"
Before Maki could finish, a sudden furious shout interrupted her.
"Hey! You long-haired monk in the robes!"
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!"
Maki—who had been about to lash out—paused and glanced toward the sports car driving up outside the school gate.
"White Zetsu?!"
Seeing White Zetsu standing arrogantly on the passenger seat, Maki looked shocked.
If White Zetsu was here…
Then Brother Mirai must have come to Jujutsu High as well.
Sure enough, as the car approached, the figure in the back seat—previously hidden by White Zetsu—was revealed.
A familiar face.
"A curse?!"
White Zetsu's arrogant, domineering posture shocked not only Geto's group but everyone from Jujutsu High as well.
According to their cursed energy perception, that pale-faced curse wearing a black robe with red clouds…
Was only Grade 4.
At most, maybe Grade 3.
The strength classification of curses from weakest to strongest:
Unranked → Grade 4 → Grade 3 → Grade 2 → Grade 1 → Special Grade.
In terms of power, White Zetsu was so weak that any of the sorcerers present could crush him with one hand.
Yet this very weak curse…
Could talk.
And speak fluently, even sarcastically.
A curse with this level of intelligence was something none of the sorcerers present had ever seen before.
"Hey! I'm talking to you, long-haired monk!"
White Zetsu stood with one foot on the passenger door frame, looking down arrogantly.
"You keep staring at me—have you been captivated by my heroic appearance?"
Then White Zetsu looked at Maki, and his tone instantly changed.
"Maki-chan! Long time no see. You've been gone so long without coming back to visit Uncle White Zetsu."
Ignoring everyone's stunned expressions, White Zetsu jumped out of the car and happily rushed toward Maki.
"Don't worry, Maki-chan. Your uncle's got your back!"
"If that monk dares bully you, we'll have Mirai wipe them out."
"Uncle?!"
Inumaki, Yuta, Panda—two humans and one cursed corpse—stared blankly, looking from White Zetsu to Maki and back again.
A Grade 3 curse…
was their classmate's uncle?
So was Maki human?
Or a curse?
Their worldviews were collapsing and rapidly reconstructing at high speed.
"White Zetsu!!"
Maki shoved away the body that was trying to hug her and gritted her teeth.
"That's enough! Don't you dare try to take advantage of me again!"
As for the story behind the "uncle"…
It went back several years, to when Maki had just started wearing glasses that allowed her to see curses.
When she entered the meeting room and saw White Zetsu beside Mirai, he had tricked her into calling him "uncle."
At that time, Maki was only eight years old.
White Zetsu was also the first curse she had ever seen.
Combined with the common knowledge that curses couldn't speak—and the fact that Mirai would never allow a curse to approach him…
With all those factors stacked together…
Maki had mistaken the pale-skinned White Zetsu for some strange human and ended up calling him "uncle."
Most importantly, when White Zetsu looked at her…
There was no contempt.
No disdain.
Only after she removed her glasses and saw nothing there did Maki finally understand the sinister nature of curses for the first time.
And ever since then…
White Zetsu had frequently referred to himself as her "uncle."