Kenjaku's pupils constricted to pinpoints.
Impossible.
—The more meticulous the schemer, the steadier they remain when things go sideways. That was a general rule. But this time, Kenjaku genuinely felt his heart lurch.
What was happening?
Had that black-robed figure just absorbed a Cursed Spirit? Was this person also a user of Cursed Spirit Manipulation?
No. Not necessarily. The "absorption of a Cursed Spirit" was nothing more than a visual effect. In reality, the black-robed figure could be using any number of completely different Jujutsu Techniques — both Kenjaku and Nanami were certainly sharp enough to know that.
But it was still bad.
Because the appearance of someone who appeared to use Cursed Spirit Manipulation would very likely prompt the people at Jujutsu High — or even Satoru Gojo himself — to start wondering whether Suguru Geto had somehow survived.
Satoru Gojo had killed Geto with his own hands. Buried him with his own hands. And the true nature of Kenjaku's Technique had never once appeared in the records of the jujutsu world, so Gojo would not immediately leap to the conclusion that Geto's corpse had been hijacked and possessed. But even if Gojo harbored so much as one percent of suspicion — and then, for some reason, whether out of restlessness or idle curiosity or any number of possible motivations, decided to go check on Geto's grave — Kenjaku's optimal plan would be completely ruined.
That grave contained a fake corpse. But if Gojo's suspicion ran deep enough and he actually dug it up, Gojo would absolutely see through it.
"Tch…" Kenjaku began grinding his teeth furiously. Damn it. Why is this happening?
Where had this black-robed person come from?
Kenjaku's first instinct was Mahiko.
But the probability that Mahiko was behind this was actually very low — for a simple reason: Kenjaku had never told Mahiko what his trump card for sealing Satoru Gojo was.
In theory, Mahiko had no idea that the body called "Suguru Geto" was a devastating weapon — the kind that could make Gojo's life flash before his eyes.
So she had no reason to do something like this.
Besides, Mahiko's expression right now was one of genuine shock. She was still glancing over toward the surveillance Cursed Spirit, her eyes full of the unmistakable question: Is that thing one of yours?
How could it be one of mine?
Damn it — so what was the right move here?
He could feel his own heart rate climbing. His composure was slipping, his expression cracking — enough that Rime, standing beside him, caught a glimpse of his face and went wide-eyed with shock. "What happened? Why do you suddenly look like… that?"
He shook his head, signaling Rime not to interrupt his thinking. This was serious. It had struck at the fundamental security of his entire plan.
After turning it over from every angle, Kenjaku ultimately leaned toward the conclusion that this black-robed figure was a wild-card sorcerer who had appeared out of nowhere — one who happened to possess a Technique with a visual effect similar to Cursed Spirit Manipulation. The coincidence was outrageous, but not impossible. Most likely, the black-robed figure's appearance was nothing more than an accident.
But even if it was an accident, it had already put his plan in real danger.
He had to act immediately.
And the best move was to have Mahiko take down the black-robed figure right now — eliminate him on the spot and leave the body in full view, so that Nanami could see with his own eyes that this person was not Suguru Geto. That would stamp out any doubt that might otherwise reach Gojo.
So Kenjaku directed the surveillance Cursed Spirit to fly close to Mahiko's ear. "That person in the black robe is a serious threat. I need you to deal with him. Right now."
"Huh?" Mahiko feigned surprise. "For real?"
On the surface, she looked startled. But inside, the girl was practically dancing.
Ha. It worked.
The old brain-jar must be absolutely losing his mind right now.
Hahahaha… — This was Mahiko's new move.
As mentioned before, planting a suggestion in Miwa's mind had only been the first step of the plan. Once that was done, the second problem Mahiko immediately had to face was this: Satoru Gojo wouldn't be back for another month — and during that month, what could she do to maximize the chances that Kenjaku would not move against her, or at the very least, would not have time to prepare thoroughly if he did?
Mahiko needed a whole series of moves to keep Kenjaku running in circles.
The more she kept this guy frantically putting out fires, the better her odds of survival.
And so Mahiko put on a puppet show for Kenjaku.
The first Cursed Spirit to appear at the school had been a naturally-occurring one — nothing to do with Mahiko. But the swarm of Grade 2 Cursed Spirits that came flooding out afterward? Those were all Mahiko's doing.
She had absorbed quite a few Cursed Spirits in the past, and some of them she had never cleansed. Instead, she had stored them away like marbles in a jar. Then, through Idle Transfiguration, she had quietly reshaped them into unrecognizable Grade 2 Cursed Spirits — completely different from their original forms.
On top of that, Mahiko had built special physical structures into those Cursed Spirits' bodies, allowing them to flow like putty — simulating the visual effect of Cursed Spirit Manipulation absorbing a Cursed Spirit.
That kind of flowing was not a Technique, so Kenjaku couldn't detect it.
When Mahiko released those Cursed Spirits, she had been extraordinarily discreet, using the Ten Shadows Technique's "shadow storage method" — a method she had never once revealed to Kenjaku. Because of that, Kenjaku had no idea what she had done.
As for the black-robed figure… the black-robed figure was, of course, also Mahiko's creation.
"Huh? That guy isn't one of your helpers?" Mahiko played up her surprise. "I just assumed you were bored and sent him here to mess with me."
"He's not," Kenjaku answered, his voice urgent. "Hurry up and take him out. Keep the body intact and leave it where it falls."
It was a baffling set of demands, but Kenjaku had no time to phrase things more carefully.
Because the black-robed figure had already turned and bolted.
Nanami and Junpei were both taken aback and immediately gave chase, but the black-robed figure sprayed out a dense cloud of black mist like a squid unleashing ink — and with blinding speed, vanished without a trace.
Nanami abandoned the pursuit. There was still a far more suspicious unknown sorcerer right here that demanded his attention.
"Hurry up and catch him!" Kenjaku urged.
Outside the Curtain, Mahiko moved. The girl saw the black-robed figure fleeing, and without hesitation she conjured a massive hammer and brought it crashing down from above, slamming it directly onto the black-robed figure.
BOOM——
The ground split and fractured.
The black-robed figure took the hit and instantly erupted with another massive surge of black mist, enveloping both Mahiko and the black-robed figure in an instant. Kenjaku's surveillance Cursed Spirit couldn't keep up — it was still lagging behind — and so Kenjaku lost sight of both of them.
A moment later, Mahiko swung her giant fan, dispersing the black mist.
"Did he go into the sewer?" Mahiko looked at the open manhole in the ground, lips curling. "Honestly, I really don't want to go into a sewer."
But she jumped in anyway.
The black mist trailed all the way down into the sewer — everything pointed to the black-robed figure running through the tunnels below, continuously releasing black mist to block the view behind him.
But in truth, the moment Mahiko brought her great hammer crashing down from above and the black mist bloomed around them, she had already recalled the black-robed figure back into her own shadow.
Kenjaku's surveillance Cursed Spirit couldn't keep pace, and couldn't see through the black mist — so it had no idea.
Mahiko pretended to chase the figure down into the sewer.
Up on the schoolyard above, Junpei wasn't sure what to do next, so he turned to leave — but at that moment, Nanami called out to stop him.
"Hold on a moment," Nanami said. "I have a few things I'd like to ask you."
____
👻🔥Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: COTE: Confessing to Sakayanagi From the Start
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone