Evening. 6:30 PM.
[Star Plasma Vessel Mission Start Date: April 10th.]
[Star Plasma Vessel Mission End Date: April 12th.]
[All personnel from Tokyo Jujutsu High are assembled—seven students, plus Teacher Yaga, for a total of eight people.]
Asou Akiya did not join in on Gojo Satoru and Getou Suguru's roughhousing and horseplay. Getou Suguru was about to be promoted to Special Grade sorcerer, but the certification had not yet been issued, so there was no need to pay it too much mind—the Headquarters was still processing the paperwork. He placed the red string he had carried with him today onto the nightstand, sat alone at his desk, and began to review the entire incident after school.
[I must draw three bottom lines in my mind.]
[I am the person who must not lose control the most in this incident. I am the greatest variable.]
[The original story's ending: Amanai Riko dies, Getou Suguru is severely injured and falls into a coma, Gojo Satoru dies and comes back to life. Yaga Masamichi, Ieiri Shoko, Nanami Kento, and Haibara Yu remain safe and unharmed, having encountered no danger.]
[This is the ordinary ending I can accept: nothing has changed.]
He took out two pens—one black, representing life, and one red, representing death.
On the first sheet of white paper, he drew a red line. Above the red line, he then sketched a black cartoon butterfly.
Afterward, Asou Akiya took a deep breath, unable to exhale for a long time. He gripped his pen and drew a red line on the second sheet of white paper. Above this red line, a cartoon butterfly so red it seemed to drip with blood.
[The worst ending: Amanai Riko dies, Getou Suguru dies, Gojo Satoru dies.]
[This is the butterfly effect ending I can least accept: my appearance indirectly caused the death of everyone.]
[At that moment, will I have any room to salvage the situation?]
[I must prepare myself mentally.]
[The Jujutsu Kaisen world contains souls, but neither the anime nor the manga contains examples of resurrection from the dead.]
[Even if I exhaust all my strength to curse Gojo Satoru and Getou Suguru, will their souls remain? The possibility is far too slim. Kenjaku will certainly seize the chaos to take Getou Suguru's corpse, the Gojo Clan will take Gojo Satoru's corpse, and Tengen will take Amanai Riko's corpse. In the end, I will merely be a powerless outsider.]
[If an incident where everyone dies were to occur, the only thing I could do is—]
Asou Akiya closed his eyes.
[Destroy Gojo Satoru and Getou Suguru's corpses at the first possible moment, preventing them from being desecrated after death.]
[The result of my doing this would be offending Kenjaku.]
[I will die, so I must commit suicide. My corpse must be destroyed along with theirs.]
His cursed energy had a flame-like effect, but achieving instantaneous incineration of corpses into ashes was still somewhat difficult. He would need to rely on a "binding vow," exchanging a sorcerer's self-imposed restrictions for a brief burst of power.
[However—I will not resign myself to death willingly. Even if I die, I want to take revenge before I kill myself.]
A flash of ferocity crossed Asou Akiya's restrained and calm face.
[The perpetrators: the Time Vessel Association, Kong Shiu, Fushiguro Toji, Kenjaku, Tengen.]
[To be perfectly honest, none of them should expect to have an easy time of it.]
Dealing with the Time Vessel Association would be easy—they were merely an organization of ordinary people. They would bear the full brunt of the Gojo Clan's fury. Even if the Gojo Clan were utterly incompetent, they would still have to avenge Gojo Satoru. The jujutsu world would have to give the Gojo Clan an explanation.
Kong Shiu and Fushiguro Toji, the broker and the Sorcerer Killer—this pair would be somewhat trickier to handle.
No matter. Fushiguro Toji's weakness was far too obvious.
—Fushiguro Megumi.
[Means of revenge: The Gojo Clan deals with the Time Vessel Association. Zen'in Naoya kills Fushiguro Megumi, who possesses the "Ten Shadows Technique." Yaga Masamichi deals with Kong Shiu. Zen'in Naobito deals with Fushiguro Toji, who comes knocking in a rage.]
[Only Tengen and Kenjaku... let them wear each other down! Living is torment enough for them both!]
Asou Akiya had thought through the worst ending and the worst revenge plan.
Immediately after, on the third sheet of white paper, he drew the outcome he desired most: simply a single black horizontal line.
[Best ending: All allies survive.]
[Zen'in Naoya rescues Amanai Riko. Gojo Satoru masters Reverse Cursed Technique. Due to Getou Suguru's identity as the Cursed Spirit Manipulator, Fushiguro Toji refrains from killing him out of fear of a cursed spirit rampage.]
[The two young masters of the Gojo Clan and the Zen'in Clan join forces to send Amanai Riko abroad, with the Three Great Clans shouldering the pressure together.]
[With Tengen's tacit approval, the Star Plasma Vessel mission, which has persisted for a thousand years, comes to an end.]
[April 10th to April 12th is the critical window for changing fate.]
[The less I intervene, the fewer variables there are. I will only do the most crucial few things, minimizing the possibility of exposing my identity.]
[One: Betting on boat races.]
[Time: April 10th, the first day of the Star Plasma Vessel mission.]
[Location: The boat racing venue is "Boat Race Edogawa," Edogawa Ward, Tokyo.]
[Event: The objective is to earn money, placing a bet on Boat No. 1, "Hatano."]
[Solution: I cannot show my face for this matter. It would be best to find an adult to act as a proxy for placing the bet.]
[Two: Establishing a binding vow with Zen'in Naoya for the mission.]]
[Time: April 11th, the second day of the Star Plasma Vessel mission.]
[Location: Naha Airport.]
[Event: The three juniors are requested to assist Gojo Satoru and Getou Suguru in supporting the Star Plasma Vessel mission.]
[Solution: Lure him with profit. One cannot trust Zen'in Naoya's character.]
[I need to know which side Gojo Satoru and Getou Suguru choose on this day. If they choose to stand against Tengen, I will use the revelation of the "Ten Shadows Technique" possessor's identity as the price to establish a binding vow with Zen'in Naoya, giving Zen'in Naoya the courage to stand against Zen'in Toji. I will require Zen'in Naoya to rescue Amanai Riko at a designated location and designated timing, and use multiple helicopters as cover to transport Amanai Riko away from Tokyo Jujutsu High.]
[High altitude is Fushiguro Toji's weakness, but not an absolute one. He possesses a portable armory.]
[During the period when Fushiguro Toji is pursuing the helicopters, I must time things precisely and capture Kong Shiu at the Time Vessel Association, coercing him into canceling the Star Plasma Vessel mission. To prevent Fushiguro Toji, who is in urgent need of money, from taking Gojo Satoru's corpse to claim the dark web bounty, I must set up a new mission to lure Fushiguro Toji back to the Time Vessel Association.]
[For example: Designating the Sorcerer Killer to kill the leader of the Time Vessel Association within today, with a bounty of 50 million.]
[My actions in this matter are close to those of a curse user hiring an assassin, so I cannot entrust this to Miss Mei Mei. She might not agree, and only by handling it personally can I eliminate any subsequent risks.]
[Three: Controlling Zen'in Naoya's life and death.]
[Time: April 12th, the third day of the Star Plasma Vessel mission.]
[Location: Tokyo Jujutsu High.]
[Event: I must obtain all of Zen'in Naoya's movements throughout this day on April 12th.]
[For this point, I can rely on modern high technology, installing a GPS tracker and listening device inside Zen'in Naoya's school uniform. His current vigilance is far from what it will be in adulthood. I must monitor Zen'in Naoya's every move to prevent him, upon seeing Gojo Satoru lying in a pool of blood but not yet dead, from delivering a fatal blow. Additionally, I can request Second Grade sorcerer Iori Utahime to remain at the school and help me intercept Zen'in Naoya at the critical moment.]
[This matter still cannot be entrusted to Miss Mei Mei either. Her "Black Bird Manipulation" technique would monitor Zen'in Naoya while simultaneously capturing my own anomalous behavior—why would I rather lie in ambush for Zen'in Naoya at the school gates than let Ieiri Shoko rush over to treat Gojo Satoru?]
[Gojo Satoru must learn Reverse Cursed Technique.]
[If this opportunity is missed, Gojo Satoru's future will be uncertain, and he may pay an even heavier price.]
[The instant Zen'in Naoya harbors killing intent toward Gojo Satoru is when I will stab Zen'in Naoya in the back. I will drive Zen'in Naoya into despair, making him mistakenly believe everything is part of my sinister scheme—that I will kill the Cursed Spirit Manipulator, that I will kill Gojo Satoru, that I will use my intellect to kill all those arrogant prodigies of the jujutsu world. In the end, Zen'in Naoya will resign himself to fate before the "legitimate son of the Kamo Clan," and for the sake of clinging to survival, he will establish the most severe master-servant binding vow.]
[I will control Zen'in Naoya on Gojo Satoru's behalf. I will coerce the Zen'in Clan on the Gojo Clan's behalf. And I will drag the Kamo Clan down into the water with us.]
[If this succeeds—the future belongs to us.]
Asou Akiya did not destroy the papers. Instead, he slipped the three sheets between the pages of a book he frequently read.
Success or death—there was no middle ground.
From this moment forward, all his actions would revolve around these three matters.
Hearing movement from the dormitory corridor, Asou Akiya carefully perceived his surroundings. This year, six people were staying in the boys' dormitory, making it the year with the highest number of male residents. And the most "troublesome" person was about to shift from Gojo Satoru to Zen'in Naoya.
In the corridor, Zen'in Naoya did not dare to bother Gojo Satoru over a trivial matter. Instead, he knocked on the door of the dormitory next door, where Nanami Kento was staying.
"Where is the cafeteria?"
He was rather satisfied with his blonde classmate's looks and technique, and wanted to find a place to eat dinner.
"There is a cafeteria?"
Nanami Kento's first reaction was that he also wanted to find the cafeteria.
In the dormitory, Nanami Kento had been preparing to make Western-style food. However, seeing the Zen'in young master who knew nothing about the situation, he said politely, "Tokyo Jujutsu High doesn't have a cafeteria. I only discovered after moving in that you have to cook for yourself here."
Zen'in Naoya froze, his brows pinching together tightly. "How do Satoru-kun and the others eat?"
"They seem to be accustomed to gathering for meals." Through a day's worth of interaction, Nanami Kento had noticed that Zen'in Naoya's mouth was full of "Satoru-kun." As expected, he was the fan of Gojo-senpai that Asou-senpai had mentioned—it really did highlight the character of the Three Great Clans, where strength was held in the highest regard.
Zen'in Naoya left quite rudely the moment he got his answer, stopping before Gojo Satoru's dormitory and pressing his ear against the door to listen.
Hm? Was that the voice of that powerful Cursed Spirit Manipulator inside?
Were they fighting or eating?
Zen'in Naoya hesitated for a moment, then knocked on the door. He received a shooing voice from Gojo Satoru inside: "I don't have dinner here. Figure it out yourself!"
Zen'in Naoya: "..."
So all of them knew there was no food on the first day of enrollment? Only he didn't know?!
Zen'in Naoya braced himself and asked, "Satoru-kun, I would like to invite you out for a meal. I also wanted to ask a small matter about the Kamo Clan."
Gojo Satoru "whooshed" open the door a crack, revealing his beautiful face with his sunglasses askew. His Six Eyes were fierce and malicious, as though he were cursing Zen'in Naoya for being meddlesome.
"At school, you follow the school's rules. Call me senior. Don't you understand proper etiquette?"
"...Satoru-senpai."
The voice with which Zen'in Naoya uttered it was somewhat nervous and a little excited. He found the new form of address quite interesting.
"What do you want to ask?" Gojo Satoru ignored the intimate tone and got straight to the point. "Where to eat? Off-campus is too far. Can you cook?"
"I can't cook. I was planning to go out to eat." Zen'in Naoya was exceptionally well-behaved before Gojo Satoru, enduring his temper even while being looked down upon. "Is the legitimate son of the Kamo Clan at this school?"
Gojo Satoru's face was written all over with "are you messing with me" as he said, "I don't know any legitimate son of the Kamo Clan."
Zen'in Naoya fell silent. Was the person who wrote the letter not at this school?
Inside the dormitory, Getou Suguru walked out and said warmly and amiably, "Zen'in-kouhai, I have a case of instant noodles in my dormitory. Do you need some?"
Zen'in Naoya replied absently, "Instant noodles? Even a dog wouldn't eat that sort of thing."
Getou Suguru: "..."
Gojo Satoru doubled over with laughter. "Suguru, you've just eaten too many noodles. You think everyone likes eating noodles!"
Zen'in Naoya took his leave of Gojo Satoru and prepared to go out through the school gates for a meal. As he passed by the first dormitory room at the entrance to the corridor, he brushed shoulders with the person who had just opened the door.
Asou Akiya walked in the direction of Gojo Satoru's dormitory, his head slightly lowered, not giving Zen'in Naoya so much as a single glance.
Zen'in Naoya's footsteps faltered.
That morning, he had only confirmed that the other party's looks were above 85 points. The drawback was that his features had not yet fully matured, which did not suit his aesthetic tastes, and so he had overlooked this person's presence.
A male classmate of Satoru-kun and Suguru-kun?
A youth with black hair and black eyes, no innate technique, a Grade Two sorcerer at best?
Suspicion rose in Zen'in Naoya's heart, yet he firmly believed that Satoru-kun would not lie about this sort of thing, and temporarily dismissed his doubts.
"What was his name..." Zen'in Naoya thought for a long while but could not recall it. He let out a scoff and abandoned this behavior of troubling himself over trivial matters.
"No matter what that fellow wants to do, he will contact me." Zen'in Naoya walked outward, disgusted by the possibility of being deceived. "Isn't school just a place for having fun? If anyone dares to make a fool of me, I can simply go home. In any case, I won't lose anything."
There were not many things in this world that the Three Great Clans could not settle. He had been born to enjoy wealth and glory, treading the path of pursuing strength.
—The 27th head of the Zen'in Clan can only be me!