Storm Clouds Gathering

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"Most of those people died on the spot. A few others made it to the hospital, but they will probably be disabled for life. You did not kill them yourself, but based on the statements from the survivors, the higher-ups are accusing you of deliberately putting them in a position where they would die. They are even calling it suspected murder."

Ren listened as Satoru Gojo explained all of that with a calm expression. He scratched his head and put on an innocent face.

"How could that be? I clearly rescued them. Afterward, I handed them over to the police, didn't I? I never expected them to start fighting. That part was out of my hands."

Leaning back on the sofa, Gojo changed the subject. "Ren, you know I have a little friction with the jujutsu higher-ups, right? Those rotten old men are stubborn and don't have a shred of conscience. They are targeting you because of me. Once they find a weak point, they swarm like flies around a corpse."

Ren fell silent for a moment. Then he asked, "Aren't you going to ask why I did it, sensei?"

The corner of Gojo's mouth lifted. He looked at Ren through his sunglasses.

"I know what kind of person you are, Ren. I watched you grow up, after all. Maybe you are not the type to fight to the death for some grand cause, but when you see something ugly enough, you still can't help acting."

"I already sent the higher-ups away. Strictly speaking, all you did was drag those people down the stairs and injure them a little. Your Grade 1 assessment may be delayed for a while, though."

"Right. Ren."

Gojo, who had already reached the door, suddenly stopped.

"How do you define the strong and the weak? I mean between sorcerers and ordinary people."

Ren paused, thought for a bit, then said, "If we only look at personal strength, jujutsu sorcerers are the strong side. But I think it is like the differences among ordinary people too. There are heights people cannot easily cross, except the gap between ordinary people and sorcerers is even harder to change."

"In other ways, jujutsu sorcerers and ordinary people should be the same. A sorcerer's descendants might fail to inherit a cursed technique and eventually become an ordinary family, while ordinary people sometimes give birth to talented jujutsu sorcerers. And you cannot just divide everyone into strong and weak. For example, to you, sensei, what real difference is there between most sorcerers and ordinary people?"

Ren snapped his fingers.

"That reminds me of a line: 'With great power comes great responsibility.' My version is, with greater authority comes greater responsibility. The jujutsu higher-ups hold a lot of authority, so they are the ones chiefly responsible for exorcising curses across the country."

"An ordinary paid jujutsu sorcerer like me only needs to complete his missions, right? Besides, isn't there another Special Grade jujutsu sorcerer like you, sensei? Yuki Tsukumo. She is often overseas and rarely exorcises cursed spirits. Since she did not choose that authority, she does not have to shoulder those heavy responsibilities."

Gojo did not answer. Instead, he suddenly looked toward the distant sky, as if he had noticed something. His voice settled.

"Let's stop there. Something happened. An outsider has invaded Jujutsu High."

Ren's expression changed. He moved to the doorway and looked out. Sure enough, there was a bird-like shadow in the far sky heading toward them. Gojo seemed to think of something, and his body vanished from the spot, leaving only one sentence behind.

"Go to the school gate."

Ren activated his technique and rushed there. As soon as he arrived, he heard a black-haired man in monk's robes with an arm around Yuta Okkotsu, saying something on the stone path. Maki, Panda, Toge Inumaki, and the others were all nearby.

On the other side of the path stood an enormous pelican with four wings. Several men and women stood around it. Ren only caught one sentence from the black-haired man.

"Kill every non-sorcerer and build a world that belongs only to jujutsu sorcerers."

'A madman.'

Ren made that judgment silently. Gojo, who had arrived a step before him, cut the man off.

"Stop feeding my students your twisted ideas, Geto."

'So this is Suguru Geto, the Special Grade curse user.'

Suguru Geto turned toward Gojo with the smile of someone seeing an old friend after a long absence.

"It really has been a long time, Satoru. I heard this year's students were all excellent. So they were yours."

"Geto. Step away from them."

Gojo's tone was calm. Behind him, Principal Yaga and several other Jujutsu High sorcerers had also arrived. Geto ignored them and turned his gaze to Ren.

"You must be Ren Kamishiro. I have heard about you too. How was it? You have seen how ugly those monkeys can be, haven't you? Join us. Let's build that beautiful world together."

Ren smiled back. "Sorry, old man. I am not interested in cults. My friends aren't either, so could you stop bothering them?"

"Huh? You little brat. How dare you speak to Lord Geto that way?"

Ren glanced at the two girls on Geto's side, then at the strange bare-chested man with two hearts on his chest. He asked Gojo lightly, "Sensei, they are all curse users, right? Should we kill or restrain all of them here?"

Geto's smile stiffened slightly. Gojo spoke and killed the idea.

"He has already prepared for that. Whether we attack him first or his companions first, the cursed spirits under his control will pour out and target everyone here. Some of them are annoying enough to be a real problem."

Ren did not say anything else. He had only spoken because Geto was trying to lure Yuta and the others while clearly harboring ill intent. From the look of it, they probably were not going to fight here, so he would watch for now.

Afterward, when Geto showed obvious malice toward Maki - or rather, toward someone who did not count as a jujutsu sorcerer by his definition - Yuta firmly rejected him.

Gojo flashed between the two of them. "Geto, what exactly did you come here for?"

Geto looked at everyone from Jujutsu High and spoke loudly with an unrestrained smile.

"Everyone! Clean out your ears and listen carefully. I have come to issue a challenge. On December twenty-fourth, at sunset, we will begin the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons!"

"The locations will be Tokyo Shinjuku, the crucible of curses, and Kyoto, the sacred ground of jujutsu. We will release over a thousand cursed spirits in each location. Naturally, their orders will be to kill everything!"

The smile on his face twisted further.

"If you do not want hell to descend, then fight with everything you have to stop us. Let us... curse each other to our hearts' content!"

Geto's excited declaration had barely ended when the two girls who came with him interrupted.

"Lord Geto, the shop is going to close!"

Returning to calm, Geto smiled at Gojo.

"Sorry, Satoru. They keep insisting on crepes, so we will take our leave. I truly do not know what is so good about a place full of monkeys..."

"Do not do anything reckless, Satoru. Your students are all within my attack range. I have improved over the years too."

Geto said that over his shoulder. Several terrifying figures surfaced under his control, and more than one of them carried the powerful presence of a Special Grade.

"Everyone, farewell."

He climbed onto the talons of that huge pelican and waved. The strange bird beat its wings and took flight. The cursed spirits were withdrawn and left with him.

"You all right?"

Ren walked over to Yuta and the others. Yuta smiled and said he was fine. Ren patted his shoulder.

"Don't take that man seriously. He is... probably already insane."

Yes. In Ren's view, Suguru Geto was probably insane. Only his empty ideal still held him upright.

Killing every non-sorcerer to build a paradise solely for jujutsu sorcerers was ridiculous no matter how Ren looked at it. Some sorcerers would always have ordinary family members or friends. What happened when a sorcerer had an ordinary child with no talent?

How could those sorcerers possibly agree to have all their loved ones killed? Even setting that aside, jujutsu sorcerers were too few in number. If every ordinary person was removed, what could the survivors even do? Without the threat of curses, they would only face the threat of extinction.

In short, it was pure delusion. Reality was not a math problem with a fixed answer and no variables. There were too many factors, especially the human heart and human nature.

...

"Suguru Geto. Special Grade curse user. His cursed technique is Cursed Spirit Manipulation, which allows him to absorb naturally formed cursed spirits that have no master-servant restriction. He uses the religious organization he established to collect cursed spirits."

"Combined with the cursed spirits he already possessed, the number he gave - more than two thousand - is probably not an empty bluff."

Kiyotaka Ijichi reported the situation with a grave expression to the core Jujutsu High forces gathered in the room. Principal Yaga continued after him.

"That said, according to our estimates, most of his cursed spirits are small fry below Grade 2. The number of sorcerers under his command should not exceed fifty."

"That is enough to cause chaos, but the idea that he can destroy both cities is pure fantasy."

Gojo, leaning to one side, said quietly, "That is exactly what makes it bad. He would never willingly start a war he is guaranteed to lose. He still has some kind of trump card..."

"Damn it."

Considering Geto's personality and how well Gojo understood him, Principal Yaga's expression grew even uglier.

"Notify the graduates from previous years and the three great families. Send a request for assistance to the Ainu Jujutsu Society as well. This will be an all-out war. This time, Suguru Geto's curse must be completely exorcised."

At the same time, elsewhere.

Geto looked at the curse users before him and smiled.

"Everything is prepared, yes? You only need to hold Satoru Gojo back. They probably still believe the lie from my student days. Once I kill Yuta Okkotsu and seize that Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit, the scales of this war will tilt toward us."

"A Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit that has lost its shackles and restrictions... combined with my technique. I truly cannot wait to see it. The world we seek is nearly here."

Across from him, a tall, broad man with dark skin, white clothes, and a white hat spoke.

"Geto, if you found a way to revive that Special Grade cursed spirit, why not absorb it directly? If I remember right, it is pretty famous in Japan's legends too..."

Geto looked at Dojikiri, which sat on the table for reasons unknown. His gaze turned distant.

"Miguel, this one is different. It is not a simple curse. A curse with such a strong sense of self has too many variables. It could easily cost more than it is worth."

"That is why I am leaving it to you. Bring it to the battlefield and revive it there. I imagine that will make things easier for you. Take the other two blades with you as well. They were originally one set."

Miguel rubbed his chin. "So we really use it to take that girl's life? A demon slain in legend needs the blood of its enemy's descendant to revive. That does sound like a topic worth studying."

Geto opened his arms.

"Everyone, let us advance toward the new world."

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