An Ending, A Beginning

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"That is roughly what happened. Just like Satozakura High School, the dead lost all their blood. We can confirm the same group is behind it."

Ren calmly summarized the prison incident for Satoru Gojo. "By rough estimate, there were more than seven hundred dead. More than last time."

"If this is for some kind of ritual, then it is frightening. And I have a feeling this is not the end. It is only the beginning."

Gojo pinched his chin. "As expected, curse users invaded the school. We still do not know how they learned the school's location, but they were weak. We captured them without much trouble, and they are being interrogated now."

"Gojo-sensei."

Ren then explained the Nekomata's situation. "That cursed spirit was unusual. It could inflict pure damage on the soul. More importantly, someone had fused it with a human body, and that technique was extremely similar to headquarters' artificial sorcerer method."

Gojo did not doubt Ren. His expression grew more serious. He shifted into a slightly more proper sitting posture. "I will go there. Those old fossils are stupid and rotten, sure, but would they really be that stupid? Either way, they owe us an explanation."

"All right. Leave dealing with those old men to me. You young people should go spend your youth recklessly. This year's individual event has been changed to a draw-based format at my suggestion. I want to play baseball for once, so you can join in too."

"Isn't it a draw?"

Gojo turned back and flashed a bright, healthy smile that showed his white teeth. Then he walked away. Ren understood.

He could already imagine what would happen. If every slip drawn had the same result, then it was still technically a draw. It was exactly the kind of thing Gojo-sensei would do.

The first team event of the Goodwill Event ended like that. The result was about what Ren had expected. In the end, Megumi finished the match.

Yuji had also "passively" become Aoi Todo's best friend. The "individual event" Gojo changed was now destined to become a baseball game, scheduled to begin two days later.

The curse users who had invaded Jujutsu High were interrogated as well. Unfortunately, they did not provide anything useful. They only said someone had contacted them and told them to invade a certain place.

By the time they realized they would be facing the universally known Satoru Gojo, it was already too late. Overall, Jujutsu High suffered no real loss. Several of the curse users were even dealt with by students from the two schools at the first moment. No one on this side died. If anything had to be counted as a loss, it was only that a few cursed spirits released for the event had been exorcised by the curse users.

Gojo returned quickly from the higher-ups. Seeing the smile on his face, Ren knew Gojo-sensei must have come out ahead this time. Headquarters had no way to explain this.

Even if they had not done it, a technique currently known publicly to be in their hands had appeared among the enemy and caused such heavy casualties. No matter what, they had to give an explanation.

Ren did not know how badly Gojo-sensei made the higher-ups bleed, and he was not particularly interested. What he cared about was the blood stolen during the two mass-casualty curse incidents.

What was it for?

If the goal was reviving Sukuna, they would have to go through Yuji. So this should not be related to Sukuna. Thinking of the Bone Woman from before and the Nekomata this time, Mahito's side seemed to have obtained a technique from the same source.

Following that trend, they could only be trying to revive a curse connected to Ame no Murakumo. And the myths tied to the Ame no Murakumo recorded in jujutsu history were more than simple legends.

Yamata no Orochi. Susanoo.

Even if the truth differed from mythology, those two names alone were enough to make the matter serious, especially with Mahito's side slaughtering people so freely. Whatever they were plotting, it was huge.

After Ren shared his guess with Gojo, Gojo did not look surprised. Only then did Ren learn that Gojo had already suspected the same direction. However, he had searched through ancient texts passed down in the Gojo clan and found nothing about Yamata no Orochi or the legendary god Susanoo.

The Gojo clan had a long history, reaching back to the Heian era, but no lineage could preserve everything perfectly. At least where those two were concerned, there were no records.

Gojo had even used headquarters to make the Zen'in clan and the Kamo clan search their own ancient texts. They found nothing either. It was as if the story were merely an old legend.

"What about Master Tengen? Does he know anything about Ame no Murakumo?"

Gojo spread his hands. "I asked. Tengen does not know much about it either. According to him, he has no memory of seeing a curse like Yamata no Orochi. As for cursed objects... he said he rarely dealt with the outside world in the past, so he does not know much there either."

Ren looked troubled. "So we can only stay passive again. These curses are so annoying. Like rats in the sewer. They crawl out now and then to disgust everyone, then slip back underground before we can catch them."

Gojo smiled and praised him. "Good metaphor. But do not worry. We will catch their tail eventually."

Gojo also said he would continue pursuing information in that direction. This matter, along with Mahito's group's movements, became one of the current highest priorities. After the Nekomata incident ended, the curse side hid itself again as expected.

The awkward part for the jujutsu side was that only a handful of people could locate traces of those cursed spirits. They could not search every part of the country. And while the Windows could monitor different areas, they were limited in strength. Against intelligent Special Grade cursed spirits that knew how to hide, they could not keep up.

Ren could only turn his attention to the approaching "individual event."

Sure enough, under the strange looks of Masamichi Yaga and Utahime, every slip they drew had the word baseball written on it.

And so a tournament of one-on-one matches became a bright, energetic baseball game under the sun. Jujutsu High naturally had fields. The equipment was simple too, since sports supplies were normal for the school to have. Everything was ready, except...

"You do not know how to play baseball?"

Maki stared at Ren in disbelief. Ren looked equally confused. "Isn't the point just to hit the ball?"

"That is... kind of right. No, wait. You really do not know the rules at all?"

Maki, Panda, and the others were wearing full protective gear. They were warming up on the field while waiting for the match to begin, only for Maki to discover that Ren barely understood baseball's rules.

"Maki-senpai! I know baseball. I will explain it to him."

Yuji Itadori volunteered. He had not been especially interested in baseball at school, but he did understand the rules and knew how to play.

After Yuji explained the rules to Ren, Ren walked onto the field full of confidence. "No problem. I wondered what it would be like, but it is still just winning by hitting the ball or throwing it where the opponent cannot catch it."

"This guy..."

They started warming up. Techniques and cursed energy were forbidden. Otherwise, the game might turn into murder baseball, though with bodies like Maki's and Yuji's, they could almost do that without cursed energy.

"Woohoo!"

Ren swung the bat so fast only a blur remained. The baseball launched high into the air, sailed over the field, and landed beyond the wire fence. His extraordinary dynamic vision let him catch the ball's path with ease.

Long training had given him frightening physical strength even without cursed energy. Rules existed to score points, and Ren only needed to make the ball impossible for the other side to catch.

"Nice hit! Run!"

Yuji shouted happily. On the other side, pitcher Maki narrowed her eyes. "Again."

Ren rested the bat against the ground and smiled with great delight. Baseball was easy too. Hearing Maki ask for another try, he looked smug. "The result will not change. I told you, this sport is simple. Hit the ball, throw the ball..."

A piercing rush of wind cut him off. The baseball distorted slightly in the air. Fortunately, Ren was prepared. The bat tore out a sharp cry as he swung and sent the flying ball back again.

"That was close. This bat is really sturdy."

For a moment, Ren had almost thought the bat in his hands would snap in half. Luckily, it survived the abuse.

"Hi, hi!"

Gojo, wearing sunglasses and a white shirt, appeared at the edge of the field. Beside him came Utahime in a baseball uniform, along with the Kyoto students she led.

The two of them were the referees. Since Ren had joined, Kyoto had one fewer player, so Kyoto received the right to have one person use jujutsu.

"Huh? You can do that?"

Maki swung with full confidence, but the baseball right in front of her curved strangely through the air, slipped past the bat, and was caught easily by Naone behind her.

Blood Manipulation.

Maki gritted her teeth, but there was nothing she could do. Tokyo had agreed that one person on Kyoto's side could use jujutsu. They had assumed it would be Momo, giving Kyoto an aerial advantage and making it easy to catch high balls. Instead, Kyoto had Noritoshi pitch and used the blood attached to the ball to alter its trajectory.

Compared with that, Mechamaru being turned into a pitching machine was nothing. Fortunately, the amount of blood Noritoshi could attach to a ball was limited, so the changes in trajectory were not especially fast.

The match swung back and forth. Kyoto had Noritoshi's Blood Manipulation and Todo. Tokyo had Yuji, Maki, and Ren. The lively baseball game gradually headed toward its end amid the referees' occasional loud calls and everyone's cheerful chaos.

"Geto, how much more do we need to meet the conditions?"

Jogo looked at the blood pool in front of him. Ripples occasionally rose across its surface. Strange, tangled objects hung over the pool, suspending a long sword above it. The sword's edge barely touched the blood.

Suguru Geto stood nearby with a satisfied smile. "Around three or four more times."

Before the already steaming Jogo could say anything, Geto continued.

"The plan needs to slow down a little. This technique is interesting. For now, we will use these failed products to gather what we need."

Jogo changed the subject. "And Sukuna? What do you plan to do about the fingers Jujutsu High has? If they keep some and we cannot gather all twenty, Sukuna cannot revive at full strength."

Geto crouched and dipped one finger into the blood pool. The ruby-like droplet clinging to his fingertip reflected his figure.

"Do not worry. Sending those weeds there this time was only a symbolic probe. Even if Jujutsu High chooses to keep some of Sukuna's fingers, there will be ways later. When chaos arrives, they will not have the attention to spare."

"Even if he is the strongest, how many places can he look after? Besides, that title is not easy to bear."

Flicking the blood from his finger, Geto stood and slipped both hands into his sleeves. "Jogo, do not show yourselves for now. Dying meaninglessly would be stupid."

Jogo snorted sparks and smoke. "I do not fear death, but I am not stupid enough to get killed for nothing. With that kid's technique, our techniques have almost no room to breathe in front of him."

Geto smiled as usual, but something indescribably strange hid behind that smile. "Is that so, Jogo? Even if death means being erased completely from this world?"

Jogo pulled his face into a vicious grin. "Who do you think you are looking down on? Do you think we are cooperating with you against sorcerers just to become stronger ourselves? Even death is fine if it is necessary. As long as curses can survive in this world as 'humans,' the ones laughing loudly in the wilderness a hundred years from now do not need to be me."

"Good. If you have that resolve, then let us bring a few surprises to this stagnant jujutsu world."

Saitama City, Urami East Junior High School.

From June to September, in Morioka, Yokohama, and Nagoya, three victims had died the same way in different places and at different times. According to information from the management offices of their residences, all three had reported automatic-door malfunctions before their deaths. Their neighbors had not experienced the same issue.

In addition to the identical manner of death, investigators found another common point. All of them had attended the same school: Urami East Junior High.

This mission was assigned only to the three first-years. After the previous incidents, it could basically be confirmed that the higher-ups had been forced to silently accept Yuji's existence. As for the curse side...

Ren and Gojo had been worrying that the curses would not show themselves.

And so the three first-years, led by assistant manager Akari Nitta, headed to Urami East Junior High.

Ren and Megumi knew this school very well. They had spent their junior high days here. Tsumiki, currently unconscious, had also attended this school.

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