Goodwill

Gojo stood before Ren, his tall frame blocking the view.

"Ren, discuss something with me."

"What is it?"

Ren did not lift his head.

Gojo had become even more lively during the past five years. His speech also seemed to waste more time.

"In two months, Tokyo and Kyoto Jujutsu High will hold the Goodwill Event. I want to invite you to be a judge with me."

He leaned closer.

"Yuta has improved a lot recently. I want him to participate and build some confidence."

During this period, Yuta and his friends had exorcised two semi-Grade 1 curses. His personality had changed noticeably. After the exchange event, he might soon become a real special-grade sorcerer in both ability and recognition.

"Impossible."

"Huh? Do you have something to do?"

"No. But think about what happened the last time you invited me to watch a competition."

Ren looked up.

"To me, you mean trouble."

Gojo had no immediate answer.

"You cannot say that. Last time, someone caused trouble. It had nothing to do with me."

"Now I am among the higher-ups. Who would dare cause trouble under my eyes?"

"Oh? You control Headquarters with one word now?"

"Not yet. But I will eventually."

Ren remained unmoved.

Why would he watch a one-sided competition?

That would be a waste of time.

"If you do not go, you will not see how far that kid has grown. You really do not care?"

"I do not. His strength has nothing to do with me."

Gojo rolled his eyes under the blindfold.

Ten years had passed, yet Ren had not changed in appearance or personality.

"Fine. I will watch by myself. That kid's future achievements will not be low. I guarantee it."

In a Tokyo residence, several curse users sat together again.

"Granny Ogami, do you have anything to say?"

"Exactly. We spent so much money. What did the test prove?"

"Semi-Grade 1 curses? They did not even feel like Grade 3."

They surrounded Ogami and blamed her.

More than ten million yen had been thrown out, and they had not even heard a decent sound from it. No one could accept that.

Ogami struck the floor with her cane.

"What? Back then, every one of you agreed. Now that the result is poor, you want to blame me?"

"How was there no result? Did we not discover a powerful student under Gojo?"

"Did we not confirm that Ren Zenin will not hunt us down simply because of Gojo's affairs?"

Her sharp gaze swept the room. Several people lowered their heads.

"This matter ends here. I will explain to the seller. You do not need to worry."

"Useless."

The word made the room's faces shift. The most hot-tempered curse user almost stood.

A hole appeared in the floor.

A young man crouched beside it, staring at them without expression. His message was clear: speak another word, and the floor would not be the only thing broken.

They were angry, but they did not act.

Ogami was an experienced curse user with real ability. Fighting her would bring no benefit.

The young man followed Ogami out.

The remaining curse users looked at one another and sighed.

Gojo's existence had squeezed the living space of curse users too much.

If only he were like Ren, indifferent to other people's lives.

Ogami went straight back to Hayato Godo's villa.

"Open the door. Hayato Godo, come out."

The door opened. Seeing Ogami, Hayato smiled.

"Come in. How were the curses? Good enough that you want more?"

"Stop pretending. What kind of semi-Grade 1 curses did you sell me? They could not even beat a Jujutsu High freshman."

"Did you sell me two Grade 3 curses?"

Hayato saw that she did not look like she was extorting him.

But he was sure he had sold real semi-Grade 1 curses.

"Tell me exactly what happened."

Ogami explained everything she had done over the past few months.

Hayato went from confused to shocked.

Ogami grew impatient.

"Are you going to resolve the issue with the curses?"

Hayato did not answer immediately. A dark glimmer flickered again at his chest, hidden by his coat.

"I am certain I sold you two semi-Grade 1 curses. The money will not be returned."

"Do not rush. I am interested in that young man you mentioned. If you help me later, I will pay you seven million."

Ogami frowned.

"What are you planning?"

Curse users survived first and harmed people second.

With someone like Ren Zenin, if there was no conflict of interest, fleeing was the correct answer. If Gojo had not put so much pressure on them, they would not have provoked such a powerful opponent either.

For a seal master to ask for help, the matter could not be small.

"Do not worry," Hayato said. "The favor is simple. On the day before Christmas, help me stall the people from Jujutsu High."

"Why?"

"You do not need to clash with Gojo directly. Throw out what I give you when the time comes."

Hayato stood and led Ogami to the left side of the living room.

The space there opened upward. A huge curtain hung down like it covered a massive window.

He pulled it aside.

Ogami lost her composure.

"You want me to throw all of these out?"

The wall was filled with sealed scrolls.

Thinking of what he had said, a terrifying idea appeared in her mind.

"Are you planning to massacre a city?"

Hayato smiled, satisfied by her reaction.

"You do not need to know the rest. If you agree, you may choose two scrolls from here as your reward."

Ogami stared at the wall of scrolls. Light flashed in her cloudy eyes.

"Fine. I agree."

When she left the villa, she tossed two scrolls into the air. The young man behind her caught them.

The yellow talismans marked them as Grade 1.

"A big job," Ogami said. "These are the pay."

The young man stored them away without speaking.

"Next, I have to report to the boss. How should I explain this?"

Ogami looked helpless. The test had been her proposal. Since it failed, she had to bear responsibility.

Running was not an option.

Half an hour later, she hung up the phone and looked at the road, relieved.

"An uncontrollable factor has appeared. The plan is suspended."

That result was not bad.

She could watch what Hayato planned to do and avoid being sold out by him.

Thinking back to that wall of sealed scrolls still made her heart pound.

"Grandson, let us go. We have work to do."

October arrived.

The weather had begun cooling, though the day remained clear.

For some reason, cursed spirit activity had decreased again.

At a glance, everything seemed to be improving.

But the abnormal situation drew Jujutsu Headquarters' attention.

In a Jujutsu High meeting room, Hideki Shimizu sat at the head of the table with sunlight behind him.

"Satoru Gojo, recent cursed spirit activity is abnormal. Do you know anything?"

"No idea. Aren't fewer curses a good thing? Do you prefer being so busy no one can sleep?"

"Watch your tone," an elder snapped. "We still have not settled the matter of Yuta Okkotsu forcing a special-grade cursed spirit to manifest. What attitude is this?"

Gojo put his legs down and sat properly.

"Remember one thing. He is mine."

His voice cooled.

"If something happens, I take responsibility. You do not interfere. Understand?"

"You..."

"Hm?"

At some point, Gojo had removed his blindfold. His blue eyes stared at the people seated around the table.

"Even if I did not take responsibility, what could you do?"

"Do not forget. I stand on my students' side."

The domineering words silenced the room.

It had been a long time since they had seen this side of Gojo. Several of them had almost forgotten how arrogant he once was.

Shimizu coughed.

"Yuta Okkotsu's condition is stable, so let us leave that aside. Discuss the curses."

"The recent decline reminds me of the disaster from ten years ago."

Shimizu frowned.

Was a battle of that scale about to happen again?

"Do not worry," Kaito Abe said. "Our shikigami show no abnormal activity. This situation should be caused by a person or organization hunting curses."

The onmyoji had the most right to speak on this. During the black cloud incident, their shikigami had shown instability, greatly reducing their combat power.

Over the past ten years, they had strengthened their bonds with shikigami. Now they could sense their states more clearly.

Recent inspections found no suspicious gathering of curses.

"Kaito Abe, we cannot relax just because curses are not gathering power. If someone intends to control curses and attack humans, we must prepare."

No one named Geto, but every gaze drifted toward Gojo.

The meaning was obvious.

Gojo smiled coldly.

"If you have time to gossip, use it to investigate the truth."

He put his blindfold back on.

"I have something else to do. Continue if you like."

He turned his back on them and left.

"It must be Suguru Geto. Gojo is covering for him. Those two are the same."

"Then what? Not only Gojo, Ren Zenin is also his backing. If you are capable, go kill him."

"Gojo has recruited several talented students in recent years, but none of them seem to care about Headquarters. That is not good."

Once Gojo left, the higher-ups returned to their usual habit of speaking behind his back. They did not dare speak to him directly, but holding it in felt unbearable.

Kaito Abe sat quietly and did not join.

During the past ten years, he had reached Grade 1 and stood near the top of the jujutsu world. Time had made him more mature than the arrogant youth he had once been.

Listening to their complaints, his face remained still, but disdain filled him.

Shimizu sighed.

"Enough. Do not mention Suguru Geto again for now."

"But the students' attitudes must be corrected. If all of them become like Satoru Gojo, what then?"

"If there is nothing else, disperse. Investigating the matter is the priority."

He left after speaking.

Recently, Kyoto High's principal had been bothering him constantly, and he was already annoyed.

Not long after, Gojo came to the agency again.

This time, he was not looking for Ren.

"Fushiguro, what has that guy been doing lately?"

Gojo also suspected the recent decrease in curses had something to do with Geto. He could not ask Geto directly, so he came to Toji.

Toji glanced at him and kept scrolling through his phone.

"This is your attitude when asking for help?"

Gojo showed a bright white smile. He stepped close, put an arm around Toji's shoulders, and leaned his head near him.

"Toji, is that guy preparing something big lately?"

The soft tone and intimate posture sent a chill from Toji's feet to his skull.

For Toji, this kind of attack struck the soul.

He punched.

The fist stopped five centimeters from Gojo's face.

"Get lost."

Toji's whole body had goosebumps.

"Stay away from me. Do that again and I will kill you."

Two blades appeared in his hands, cold light reflecting across Gojo's face.

"Relax," Gojo said, backing up with both hands raised. "Now can we talk properly? Is Suguru Geto preparing something?"

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