Chapter 15: Mission Settlement and Special Grade Treatment
"Semi Special Grade pending?"
Inside the principal's office at Tokyo Jujutsu High, Masamichi Yaga stared at the mission report in his hand, his brows locked so tightly together it looked like they could trap a fly.
"Satoru," he said flatly, "are you messing around again?"
Across from him, Satoru Gojo sat with his legs crossed, openly eating Kikufuku as if this were none of his concern.
Yaga exhaled through his nose and tapped the report.
"Yes, Yami performed exceptionally this time. Yes, he practically resolved the mutated cursed womb by himself. But according to the final field revision from the curtain observation, that thing had not fully matured."
His tone remained stern and measured.
"At best, it was a semi Special Grade on the verge of becoming a true Special Grade, not a complete one."
He placed the report on the desk.
"Directly classifying a first year as Special Grade based on that is unprecedented in the history of jujutsu society."
Even Yuta Okkotsu, a name few people could say lightly, was only designated Special Grade because of Rika.
Yaga pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at the white haired troublemaker in front of him.
"Do you understand what that means?"
Gojo chewed leisurely, then swallowed.
"What's the big deal?"
He waved one hand lazily.
"You read the investigation report too, didn't you?"
He leaned back in his chair, smile easy, voice light.
"Sure, it was only a semi Special Grade. But it was still exorcised instantly."
"And the wound residue was weird in a very fun way. Not only did it completely destroy the curse's regenerative ability, it even purified the remains."
Gojo raised a finger and wagged it.
"That power made even me feel just a tiny bit threatened."
His grin widened slightly.
"He's still green, sure. But his potential is absolutely Special Grade."
Then the playful tone faded.
Only slightly.
But enough.
The blue in his eyes sharpened, and a trace of coldness flickered within it.
"More importantly..."
He rested his chin on one hand.
"Those rotten old fossils have been getting restless lately."
"If they want to play games, then I'll give them a really big surprise."
His smile returned, but this one looked more dangerous.
"A monster they can't control at all."
Yaga fell silent.
He understood exactly what Gojo meant.
The conservative faction in the higher ups had always treated uncontrollable power as something to be erased. If Yami were merely a promising Grade 1 or even a gifted sorcerer below that, maybe he could have slipped through and grown quietly.
But Special Grade was different.
Special Grade meant standing directly at the center of the storm.
Yaga's voice dropped.
"Are you planning to use him as bait?"
"No, no, no. How could I?"
Gojo waved both hands innocently, smiling like a fox who had just finished raiding a henhouse.
"I just want to see whether those rotten oranges can survive being hit by sunlight."
...
At the same time, inside Kyoto Jujutsu High.
Within a dim Japanese style room, an old man with a long beard and deeply wrinkled face knelt on the tatami, holding a photograph in one hand.
The photograph showed Yami standing amidst the ruins after the Roppongi mission, broken blade in hand.
"No cursed energy... and yet capable of killing a Special Grade candidate."
Yoshinobu Gakuganji, principal of Kyoto Jujutsu High and one of the leading representatives of the conservative faction, stared at the image with cold, murky eyes.
"The return of another Toji Fushiguro?"
He narrowed his gaze.
"No... this one may be even stranger than that Heavenly Restriction aberration."
His fingers tightened around the photograph.
"An uncontrollable variable like this must not be allowed to live."
Especially now, when Satoru Gojo had already grown more and more arrogant. If he were allowed to train another monster by his side...
Then those old men in the upper ranks really might be buried for good.
"Principal."
A respectful voice came from outside the sliding door.
"The one from the Kamo family has arrived."
"Let him in."
Gakuganji lowered the photograph and set it aside. In the depths of his old eyes, killing intent flickered.
"And pass down my words as well."
His tone was calm.
Too calm.
"At the upcoming sister school exchange event..."
"I want that brat named Yami to disappear completely."
He paused for only a heartbeat.
"If it happens during an accident, then let it be treated like an accident."
"If he dies at the hands of a curse, all the better."
...
Back at Tokyo Jujutsu High, in the boys' dormitory.
The man at the center of all this hidden malice knew absolutely none of it.
At this moment, Yami was doing something far more exhausting.
He was sweating.
Profusely.
And that was because he was helping Nobara Kugisaki move her luggage.
"Careful! Put that one down gently!"
Nobara stood with her hands on her hips like a tyrannical supervisor, pointing left and right without mercy.
"That suitcase has my new clothes in it!"
"And that one's full of skincare. Expensive skincare, okay?"
Yuji Itadori, panting under the weight of a huge cardboard box, looked ready to collapse.
"I mean... why are we the ones helping you move?"
"Huh?"
Nobara looked at him as though the answer were obvious.
"That's called gentlemanly conduct."
Then she turned and pointed toward Yami with a completely straight face.
"Besides, Yami stole all the spotlight during the mission, so helping a little is only fair."
Yami set down the last box and smiled helplessly.
Even with the complaints, it was obvious things had changed between the four of them.
After surviving a life and death mission together, the distance that had existed before had all but disappeared.
Whatever awkwardness there had been at the start was gone now, burned away in battle.
"Alright!"
Gojo's voice suddenly came from outside the window.
He popped his head in so abruptly that everyone jumped.
"To celebrate everyone surviving, I'm treating the first years to sushi tonight."
"YES! Long live Gojo-sensei!"
Yuji was the first to explode with joy.
Even Megumi, usually so composed, showed the faintest trace of anticipation in his eyes.
As Yami turned to follow the others, a crisp notification suddenly rang in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Strong malice toward the host detected!]
[Source: Kyoto. Conservative upper echelon.]
[Emergency mission triggered: Break the Deadlock.]
[Mission Description: The higher ups have prepared a deadly trap and intend to use a Special Grade curse to kill the target. Please crush the conspiracy, exorcise the Special Grade curse, and ensure everyone's survival.]
[Mission Reward: Yoriichi Tsugikuni role playing progress +5%. Random breathing branch unlocked.]
Yami's steps paused for the briefest moment.
His gaze lowered slightly as the blood red text faded across the system panel.
"Malice... huh."
The warmth in his eyes cooled.
At his waist hung a new blade, its lacquer black scabbard faintly radiating a restrained, scorching aura.
[Special Grade Cursed Tool: Shiranui]
This was the reward Gojo had forcibly wrung from the higher ups under the excuse of compensation for exorcising a semi Special Grade cursed womb.
Officially, it was only a "temporary use authorization."
In practice, it was still a real Special Grade cursed tool.
Yami's fingers brushed lightly over the hilt.
A smile slowly rose at the corner of his lips.
But this one was different.
It did not belong to Yoriichi Tsugikuni's quiet composure.
It was sharper.
Colder.
Dangerously bloodthirsty.
"Perfect."
His voice was soft.
"I was just wondering what to use as a whetstone for my new sword."
He lifted his gaze again.
And in that instant, his eyes looked like frozen fire.
"Then I'll use all of you as the offering."
.....
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