First Meeting, Geto's Shock

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"Whoa, look at that lineup."

"Some conglomerate heir out for a drive?"

"A kid in a supercar. That's new."

"If he were older, the gossip sites would lose their minds."

Pedestrians scattered along both sides of the street whispered among themselves as they watched Itsuki in the flashy red car.

Several girls had already taken out their phones, trying to search for heirs of major business families who might fit the scene.

Some were even inventing rumors before the car had fully stopped.

No one dared get too close to the black coupes surrounding it, though. One accidental scratch looked expensive enough to ruin a household.

Itsuki studied the two people across from him with open interest.

Suguru Geto, young and still whole.

Shoko Ieiri, cigarette in hand and eyes too tired for someone her age.

They were not paper figures on a page anymore. In person, both of them felt far more human.

Geto and Shoko stared at the boy in the passenger seat through the car window, both frowning.

They had only just met, and now the Zenin Clan had arrived in full force. This did not look like a coincidence.

"We're here," Itsuki said. "Have them act according to plan."

The driver immediately relayed the order through his earpiece.

"Clan head."

The sorcerers stepping out of the black coupes, along with Maki and Mai's mother, came forward and bowed.

"Take your daughters shopping," Itsuki told the woman. "If they like something, buy it. The Zenin Clan can afford it."

Then he looked at the sorcerer standing nearby.

"As for you, protect them."

"If anything happens, you know the consequences."

The Zenin sorcerer, dressed like a black-suited bodyguard, trembled and answered at once.

"Rest assured, clan head. I will protect the young ladies with my life."

The two girls in the back seat did not interrupt. Once Itsuki finished giving orders, they obediently got out and followed their mother into one of the outer black cars.

"Geto," Shoko said quietly, "aren't you going to run?"

"You're a wanted criminal now, you know."

"Zenin sorcerers showing up here might mean they came to arrest you."

Geto smiled.

"Let's wait. I want to see what the young Zenin clan head is trying to do."

Other than Satoru Gojo, Geto did not fear any sorcerer sent after him, even if the other side belonged to one of the Big Three Families.

That confidence came from strength.

As one of the three special grade jujutsu sorcerers, Suguru Geto had no intention of living like the curse users who spent their lives hiding in dark corners.

In the next moment, under Shoko and Geto's surprised gazes, the two rows of black coupes drove away from the street.

Only the red supercar remained, sitting alone in front of them.

The driver in the front seat showed no trace of cursed energy. He was only a non-sorcerer.

Looking at the calm expression on Itsuki's face, Geto felt his confusion deepen.

Was he not here to capture him?

Or did he have another purpose?

Seeing the doubt on both their faces, Itsuki gave a faint smile.

"Wait a little longer."

"I hate mosquitoes buzzing around when I'm trying to talk."

Was he talking to them?

Shoko blinked, not understanding what the young clan head meant.

Geto, however, turned his gaze toward several directions at once, thoughtful.

On the roof of a nearby building, a masked curse user stared at the billion yen sitting in the red supercar and struggled with himself.

He had rushed over after receiving the notice, planning to follow the Zenin motorcade and look for a chance to assassinate the boy.

But most of the convoy had suddenly left.

The rare opportunity placed right in front of him looked far too much like a prepared trap.

Should he act now, or wait?

While he hesitated, the curse users hidden among the crowd had already begun to move.

Another masked curse user leapt from the crowd and attacked with lethal intent.

Several sharp throwing knives sliced through the air like bullets, raising faint ripples as they shot straight toward Itsuki.

Head. Heart. Vitals.

The first attack became the signal.

From rooftops, alleys, storefronts, the middle of the crowd, even drainage passages, more than a dozen masked curse users surged out of hiding.

Even if this was a trap, a billion yen was worth the gamble.

Manipulated knives, elemental fire, compressed air blasts, firearms...

Cursed techniques and modern weapons converged on Itsuki all at once.

Geto kept his hands in his sleeves. He had no intention of helping.

The young clan head was one thing, but even the non-sorcerer driver was not panicking.

Interesting.

Just as the curse users thought they had succeeded, their smiles froze forever.

A monstrous hand extended from beside the target and swatted the incoming attacks into powder.

Then enormous tails thrust out of the void with thunderous force, piercing straight through the attackers' bodies.

Screams barely escaped before the impaled curse users were dragged into nothingness.

The crowd looked up in confusion, but saw only blue sky and white clouds.

Some thought they heard faint chewing overhead.

Most shook their heads and kept walking, dismissing it as their imagination.

Only Shoko and Geto turned grave at once.

They had not seen the cursed spirit's full body.

Only ten massive tails, dry and branchlike, swaying in the air as if they could cover the sky.

An ocean of vicious cursed energy swept out in every direction, far beyond the pressure of any special grade they had seen.

A cursed spirit Jujutsu High had never recorded.

Undeniably special grade.

Cold sweat slid down Shoko's forehead. Her hand trembled slightly as she pulled out her phone.

Gojo had to hurry.

That thing might actually be able to kill Geto.

Geto looked at Itsuki Zenin in the passenger seat, and the last trace of contempt in his heart vanished.

With power on that scale, the eleven-year-old already had to be treated as a special grade threat.

"Relax," Itsuki said through the car window, hands folded behind his head. "I have no intention of attacking you."

"I'm interested in what you were saying to Shoko earlier."

"If the fools at Jujutsu High can't understand you, you could try working with the Zenin Clan."

As he spoke, the driver considerately adjusted the passenger seat backward, letting Itsuki recline more comfortably.

"Oh?"

Geto's surprise was genuine.

"You understand my ideas?"

Then he smiled.

"If I want to realize my vision, what about Satoru Gojo?"

"If you want cooperation, that troublesome man is a wall we can't avoid."

Geto acknowledged that the boy in front of him was strong. His total cursed energy might even surpass Gojo's.

But he still did not believe the boy had a way to deal with Satoru.

Itsuki nodded, neither confirming nor denying it.

"Right now, I'm still lacking. That's why we need time to develop."

"If you ever want to cooperate, come find me at the Zenin estate."

Geto looked up at the massive tails in the void again, something unreadable moving through his eyes.

After a long silence, he smiled and nodded.

"Fine. If I need help, I'll come to you."

Neither of them bothered avoiding Shoko, who was still on the phone beside them.

They treated her as if she were not even there.

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