Pure Love vs. Righteous Cause

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Settle in, take your time, and let's see what waits in the dark 🖤

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Mei Mei weighed the man-sized axe in her hand.

Looking down at the crowded street, her eyes seemed to shine.

"Anything below Grade 1 can count toward Jujutsu High assignments. Grade 1 cursed spirits can be exchanged for direct payment."

"Cursed spirits... I really am starting to like you more and more."

Smiling, Mei Mei leapt from above and brought the axe down with brutal force.

A mountain of cursed spirits stacked on top of one another turned into a gorgeous purple fountain in less than a second.

Thick blood sprayed through the air with broken stone.

Two and a half minutes later.

"Oh dear."

Mei Mei looked down at the Grade 1 cursed spirit she had accidentally killed and frowned slightly.

"I suppose this one can go on my bonus request to Jujutsu High."

A few streets away, cursed energy compressed at Gojo's fingertip until it was no larger than a point.

Crimson light flashed.

The Grade 1 cursed spirit towering dozens of meters high was reduced to dust in an instant.

The shockwave swept outward, shattering the windows of several nearby buildings and cracking their outer walls.

Gojo looked at the opponent in front of him, irritation flickering in his blue eyes.

The Grade 1 cursed spirit he had just blown apart mattered to him about as much as an ant crushed underfoot.

The problem was the foreign curse user holding that special cursed tool.

Miguel had already kept him tied down for several minutes.

Thunder roared.

A massive beast burst from shadow again and dove from above.

Wild lightning flashed, and within a few seconds, blood sprayed from more than a hundred large cursed spirits.

Standing on Nue's head, Itsuki's stray hair did not move in the wind.

Only the cloth of his pants snapped violently around his legs.

He glanced toward Miguel, who was being used as Gojo's punching bag, and prepared to move.

On his way out, he passed Mei Mei, who was carrying several Grade 1 cursed spirit heads. Cursed energy erupted from the space beside Itsuki.

A giant, withered tail pierced through space.

In the instant Mei Mei's body went tense, the captured cursed spirits in her possession were skewered by the tail.

"Mei Mei, don't misunderstand."

Seeing her tighten, Itsuki narrowed his eyes and smiled. "These will still count toward your payment."

"I just have urgent business and need to withdraw first. Please forgive the rough handling."

"I see."

Mei Mei's stormy expression cleared at once.

"As long as the money stays the same."

"I was just thinking these cursed spirits were getting in the way."

Using cursed energy to seal the bodies and keep them from regenerating was not cheap.

Cursed spirits were not like sorcerers. They did not need Reverse Cursed Technique to repair damaged bodies.

Only by destroying the core of cursed energy stored inside them could one reduce them to ash.

"Then I will be leaving first."

"If you collect anything else after this, hand it to the Zenin Clan's sorcerers."

"Your payment will be settled together afterward."

After saying that with a light smile, Itsuki sent Nue accelerating toward the edge of the Curtain.

Mei Mei watched him leave and smiled faintly.

If that sudden attack had targeted her instead...

"The Zenin clan head really is interesting."

The instant Nue broke out of the Curtain, it plunged into the Kamui Dimension.

Endless darkness stretched in every direction, crossed by a road that seemed to have no end.

Far away, a faint white glow shone clearly against the black.

Nue flew at full speed toward it.

Short-range teleportation was simple. Itsuki only needed to take one step.

But before White Zetsu was born, long-distance teleportation was something he could not accomplish.

Inside this deep darkness, even Itsuki could not tell which direction corresponded to reality.

He could only sense the Gedo Statue's presence, along with the White Zetsu born from it.

The white glow flickering in the darkness marked White Zetsu's location.

Jujutsu High.

Suguru Geto was focused only on Gojo and Itsuki.

As long as those two did not leave Jujutsu High, he would not act.

But a mere Grade 4 cursed spirit...

Sensing a weak layer of resistance around the white light, Itsuki kept a little distance and returned to the real world.

A circular, ink-black Curtain trembled faintly, ripples spreading through it from the chaotic cursed energy within.

The Curtain Geto had lowered was the source of that resistance.

At the same time, White Zetsu, who had been watching the show reach its climax, snapped his head toward a nearby rooftop.

He got up to leave, thought about it, then slowly returned to the window.

Looking down at the fight below, Itsuki smiled.

"Perfect timing. I even get to watch the finale before collecting the harvest."

His smile deepened when his gaze swept over the battered Suguru Geto.

In the teaching building corridor, Maki, Panda, and Inumaki lay badly injured on the floor.

Inhuman footsteps approached.

Panda and Inumaki tensed, forcing themselves up as if another attack were coming.

Antlers. Four hooves. Compound eyes. A pure white body, its abdomen marked with intricate patterns.

"Relax," Maki said, warning the others before they panicked. "That's Brother Itsuki's shikigami, Round Deer."

Maki, Panda, and Inumaki let out long breaths and relaxed.

Round Deer lowered its head over them in turn, releasing a soft glow. Their injuries healed almost instantly.

The moment the treatment ended, Round Deer dissolved into pools of ink and sank into the floor.

The group exchanged a look, then hurried to the window to watch the battlefield below.

They were not stupid enough to throw themselves back into a death match between special grades and give Geto leverage over Yuta.

When they saw the blood on Geto's face, and the calm still left in Yuta's expression, they relaxed a little.

"I love you, Yuta! I love you more than anything!"

The limits on the special grade vengeful cursed spirit Rika Orimoto were released.

"You womanizer!"

Geto's face twisted, vast cursed energy surging around him.

Beside him, the special grade imaginary vengeful cursed spirit Tamamo-no-Mae Incarnate released its restraints as well.

Every cursed spirit still under Geto's control converged into Cursed Spirit Manipulation's Maximum Technique.

Cursed Spirit Manipulation.

Maximum: Uzumaki.

Dense black light blazed like storm clouds rolling at the center of a tornado.

"How rude."

"This is pure love."

Yuta raised his hand. Endless cursed energy compressed into a multicolored sphere at his fingertip.

"Then this is justice!"

Madness crawled across Geto's face as the attack he had been building finally erupted.

The impact was like a nuclear blast.

The sound alone was deafening.

Buildings near the battlefield were pulverized in less than a heartbeat.

Dust, stone, and debris shot through the air while layers of white shockwave climbed into the sky.

The full-power clash between two special grade sorcerers distorted the space around them for a single moment.

"Heh... heh..."

"So strong. Rika Orimoto really is incredible."

Robes in tatters. Right arm gone. Face covered in blood.

Suguru Geto leaned against a wall and laughed.

"Next time..."

"Next time, I will get her."

Even in that state, Geto felt joy rather than anger.

Rika Orimoto's existence had shown him the possibility of washing the Zenin Clan in blood.

The possibility of surpassing Satoru Gojo.

The possibility of creating a new world.

In the next second, the smile on Geto's face froze.

A familiar voice sounded beside his ear, one he had long since learned to dread.

"We meet again, Geto."

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