The Sky Splits

Not long after Gojo and Geto left Jujutsu High, space rippled in their wake.

A tall woman in a fitted outfit stepped out of the darkness. She brushed back pale hair and watched their departing backs with a faint smile.

"Suguru Geto," Yuki Tsukumo murmured, "sooner or later you will realize that you cannot stand with them."

Her eyes carried a shadow that did not match her light tone.

"You are strong. But being born in the same era as them is your tragedy. No, maybe being born with them is the tragedy of this era and the fortune of the world."

Ren Zenin was too strong.

Satoru Gojo was too terrifying.

Among the three public Special Grade sorcerers, Geto was the most suitable one to move.

"Don't blame me, Geto."

White flame burned in the darkness.

Deep within an old forest stood a huge palace. Inside, countless wooden partitions divided the space into small enclosed seats. Shadows sat behind them, each one hiding something old.

"Number One sent a request for aid," said the figure at the highest seat. "What do you all think?"

His voice broke the silence like light entering a hall that had belonged to night for centuries.

"No need," an old voice said from behind a red partition. "Those who kill should be prepared to be killed. Number One has gone too far."

Another voice immediately objected.

"Old Zenin, don't shield him just because the one acting is from your clan. Fighting inside Tokyo is forbidden. That is the rule. Number One's guilt is ours to judge, not some child who has barely grown hair."

"Miyamoto, you old bastard," the Zenin elder sneered. "Are you still upset that Niten Ichiryu was drawn by Ren?"

The second voice sharpened.

"Don't push too far, Zenin."

An edge of cursed energy burst out, sharp enough to feel like a blade leaving its sheath.

From the Zenin partition, black power gathered into a vortex. A huge dark hand gripped the edge of it, as if a demon were about to tear its way out.

"Want to test whether the Miyamoto family's blade is still sharp?"

"Don't make me laugh," the Zenin elder said. "Miyamoto Musashi stood as a mortal beside gods. He was a model for all of us. And you? You could not even draw his sword."

"Your family drew it," the Miyamoto elder shot back, "and the boy still looks at the Zenin clan like filth."

The tension rose.

Other partitions remained silent, but several ancient presences seemed to be watching the quarrel with interest. Some might even have been betting on who would move first.

"Enough."

The figure at the highest seat stood.

Power erupted from him like the pressure of a deep abyss. The Zenin vortex and the Miyamoto blade intent shattered at the same time.

"Remember what you are. Before Tengen awakens, we are the final authority of the jujutsu world."

His voice was cold.

"Once you enter the Jujutsu Hall, you are not merely clan members. You must cast aside family honor. We are judgment. We are execution. We are the last barrier behind jujutsu society."

No one answered.

Satisfied, the man continued.

"The question remains. Ren Zenin attacked Jujutsu Headquarters and violated the ceasefire agreement. What do you all propose?"

The Zenin elder said nothing, but the old eyes behind his partition moved from seat to seat. He did not speak the threat aloud. He did not need to.

If an ordinary sorcerer had attacked Headquarters, there would have been no meeting. But Ren's strength and the influence of the clan behind him had turned a simple issue into a difficult one.

Everyone claimed that the Jujutsu Hall required its members to abandon family ties. In truth, who could completely cut away the faith they had lived by?

The leader tapped the table.

Then his hand stopped.

His eyes filled with shock and anger.

"Send the action team immediately," he said. "Stop those two. Now."

Several shadows vanished from the hall.

"What did the boy do?" the Zenin elder asked.

The leader was silent for a moment.

"He split the sky."

At Headquarters, Nanami stared at the crack above Tokyo.

What kind of power could tear open the sky?

"Stop staring," Toji said. His usual smile had faded. "The trouble starts now."

He glanced at Nanami.

"Can you cast a Curtain?"

Nanami answered with the tone of a student called on by a teacher.

"I have studied the theory, but since you and the boss never used Curtains, I assumed it was part of the agency's style and did not prioritize practice."

Toji's forehead twitched.

He wanted to use Curtains. He simply had no cursed energy. As for Ren, most enemies died before a Curtain could matter.

"Learn later," Toji said. "This time the mess is big. The old ones can't pretend not to see it."

Number One had clearly prepared for Ren. He had probably sent a signal to the Jujutsu Hall before the fight. Until now, no one had come. That silence had said enough. The Zenin name still protected Ren.

But tearing the sky in public was different.

That violated the first foundation of jujutsu law: never expose cursed energy to the public in a way that could create widespread negative emotion.

Even the Zenin clan could not openly step over that line without consequence.

"Boss," Toji said softly, eyes on Ren's figure, "your trouble just got bigger."

His smile returned by a fraction.

"But I wonder who'll end up paying for this."

In the battlefield, Ren and Number One stood apart. Their auras still clashed like two dragons.

For the first time, the Sovereign Wind Array showed a trace of resistance.

Some rule was pushing back.

This opponent could resist the array.

His level stood above Yadha's.

"Ren Zenin," the curse inside Number One said, "this body does not have much time left."

Its eyes turned toward the distance.

"Also, several old friends I do not wish to see are coming."

He raised one hand. Blue energy gathered in his palm, carrying the sense of countless years flowing and disappearing.

"Try to withstand this."

His voice softened.

"This is the body's final farewell."

"Time - Cosmic Recollection."

Clocks appeared everywhere.

They turned backward.

Concrete regressed into sand. Tiles returned to stone. Clouds dissolved into water vapor. Everything began moving back toward its oldest form.

Ren looked at the beautiful and deadly blue light.

"A final farewell," he said. "Please. You're a cursed spirit. Don't make it sound so poetic."

The Sovereign Wind Array surged.

Power from time itself was being drawn into it. Something opened in Ren's understanding, and the progress of Sovereign Wind Array began rising at an astonishing rate.

Ren did not notice the number.

He watched the incoming power and brought two fingers together.

"Sky, earth, time, and flood. The farthest point of time returns."

The eight directions reversed beneath him.

A golden force flew from his hand.

The moment it appeared, Number One's borrowed eyes shrank.

"That is him," the curse whispered. "It must be him. No human could find that power."

The blue force receded like tidewater beneath sunrise.

A crack opened across Number One's face.

The curse touched it, looked at Ren, then gave a quiet sigh.

"Fine."

"We will meet again."

Number One's body collapsed like a sandcastle under floodwater.

The blue in his eyes vanished.

The Buddha Bone Relic flashed inside his pocket and disappeared.

Only one last sentence remained in Number One's ear.

"Human, your body could not sustain my promise. I did not break faith. You simply had nothing left to say."

Number One lay on the floor, dying.

Ren stood motionless.

His mind had entered a golden inner landscape where time itself had stopped.

He had touched a corner of time's rule.

The Sovereign Wind Array had changed again.

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