On Sunday, April 16, Asou Akiya went out to deposit money.
Gojo Satoru waited for him outside the bank, holding an ice cream cone in each hand. He alternated between licking the left and the right while his Six Eyes occasionally locked onto other delicious-looking foods along the street. He mentally recorded every discovery and patiently waited for Asou Akiya to foot the bill later.
After losing access to his bank card, Gojo Satoru had finally learned to pay attention to prices. He was no longer completely clueless about the concept of money.
Asou Akiya glanced at his bankbook before closing it.
"Let's go shopping."
The Gojo Clan already supplied Gojo Satoru with daily necessities in quantities far beyond what a single person could ever use. As a result, all Asou Akiya really needed to do was replenish his supply of snacks.
Gojo Satoru secretly peeked at the numbers in the bankbook.
A lightbulb immediately lit up in his head.
[Has my family finally given me a raise?]
Inside a massive snack supermarket, Asou Akiya pushed the shopping cart from behind while obediently following the directions of Lord Gojo Satoru.
As long as the snacks weren't excessively bizarre, Asou Akiya never voiced any objections.
Occasionally, however, when they approached certain sections of shelves that were generally frequented by adults, Asou Akiya would deliberately take a detour.
This naturally aroused Gojo Satoru's curiosity.
The moment Gojo Satoru disappeared without warning—as he so often did—Asou Akiya promptly caught him and dragged the minor away.
"The health supplement section has nothing to do with you."
Japanese men were remarkably fond of buying health supplements.
Asou Akiya looked down on the practice.
In his opinion, sorcerers had absolutely no need for such things.
Cursed energy strengthened their organs and enhanced their physical abilities. Wasn't that far more advanced than relying on all sorts of questionable pills and medicines?
Today, Getou Suguru wasn't around.
He had accepted a mission at the last minute and slipped away.
Asou Akiya therefore didn't need to worry about one friend getting jealous of the attention he gave another. Throughout the shopping trip, he focused entirely on purchasing the snacks Gojo Satoru liked. Whenever he noticed parents pushing children around in shopping carts nearby, he even found himself in the mood to joke about it.
"Gojo, do you want to be a seven-year-old child for a day?"
"I'm already sixteen years old!"
The moment Gojo Satoru realized what Akiya was referring to, he turned around with a look of utter disbelief on his face.
"I rode in shopping carts when I was little too," Asou Akiya said with a smile, offering himself as an example. "My parents would push the cart while I sat inside it and pointed out the things I wanted to eat. Then they would decide whether or not to buy them for me."
He had seen countless fan illustrations of Gojo Satoru sitting in shopping carts. Most of the time, they depicted the twenty-eight-year-old version rather than high-school-aged Gojo. In a sense, some of the things Gojo Satoru lacked during childhood might only be things he would learn to make up for after becoming an adult.
At this point, Asou Akiya's attitude toward his family from his previous life was no longer as extreme as it once had been.
He had gradually learned to let go.
He chose to remember the good moments, distilling the warmth of familial love while reducing the complicated mixture of affection and repression that had accompanied it.
At the very least, his childhood had not left him with psychological trauma.
"Japanese people have two particularly notable characteristics," Asou Akiya said to Gojo Satoru without any concern for national sensitivities. "A detached indifference toward others and a form of politeness that remains largely superficial. Even if someone exorcised a cursed spirit right in front of them or started punching empty air, most of them probably wouldn't run away in terror. They would simply ignore the strange behavior."
The most bizarre aspect of the Shibuya Incident had been the passengers trapped on the fifth underground level of the subway station.
They didn't even tried to leave.
Anyone with eyes could tell they were dealing with a supernatural incident.
Yet after witnessing Gojo Satoru descend from above and single-handedly declare war on "thin air," many of those people still remained where they were instead of leaving the dangerous area.
Any bystander with a basic sense of self-preservation would have either fled far away or stepped forward to ask what was happening.
Those trapped civilians had behaved less like ordinary people and more like background extras in a film.
Gojo Satoru quietly listened to Akiya's mockery of Japanese people.
He felt absolutely no sense of personal identification with the criticism.
The educational philosophies of the Three Great Clans had never included patriotism.
They did not revere the Emperor.
They did not revere the gods.
The rules of their clans stood above the laws established by the outside world, and the Japanese government had never truly interfered in their affairs.
This was especially true for Gojo Satoru, who had been born into the Gojo Clan.
At his core, he was a Six Eyes user who had been worshipped and raised by humanity as a divine child.
A divine child had no need to concern himself with what ordinary humans thought.
All he needed to do was extend his protection over them.
Switching to Chinese, a language Gojo Satoru could understand, Asou Akiya began explaining a passage from Zuo Zongtang.
"The ancients once described the Japanese this way: 'they understand minor courtesies but lack a sense of greater righteousness; they are meticulous about trivial matters but lack great virtue; they value superficial details while neglecting honor and shame; they fear power but do not cherish benevolence.'"
[Understand minor courtesies but lack greater righteousness.]
In the original story, the representative example of this would be Cult Leader Getou Suguru, who walked the path to enlightenment after killing his own parents.
[Meticulous about trivial matters but lacking great virtue.]
The representative example from the original story would be Gakuganji Yoshinobu, who carried out the execution order against his friend's student.
[Valuing superficial details while disregarding honor and shame.]
The representative example from the original story would be Zen'in Mai, who loved her sister yet also encouraged her sister to fall into the same abyss alongside her.
[Fearing power but not cherishing virtue.]
The representative examples from the original story would be the higher-ups of Jujutsu Society and Zen'in Naoya.
Asou Akiya spoke with complete sincerity.
"Gojo, you're different. Most of the time, you see things more clearly than I do. Whenever you scold me, my first reaction is always to reflect on whether the problem lies with me."
Gojo Satoru enjoyed being praised, and as a result, he was unusually willing to listen to Akiya's lengthy lectures.
"If Suguru heard this, he'd probably argue with you. He's the exact opposite. He always insists on attaching responsibility to power, but in reality, the strong don't need a reason to use their strength."
Gojo Satoru chuckled.
"The grand principles you're talking about don't seem to trap you the way they trap other people. Instead... it feels like you're trying to free yourself from worldly constraints, right?"
Asou Akiya smiled and nodded.
Meanwhile, Gojo Satoru tossed several more bags of potato chips into the shopping cart. Leaning his backside against the cart's frame, he looked as though he was considering climbing into it himself.
"Suguru cares too much about being a sorcerer. You, on the other hand, look down too much on all the rules and restrictions of the jujutsu world. Both of you are completely moved by your own philosophies."
Asou Akiya reached out to straighten the bags of chips, curious to hear Gojo Satoru's conclusion.
"So?"
Gojo Satoru's gaze lingered on the shelves.
Without his custom-made sunglasses, his blue eyes shimmered like sunlight dancing across water.
His expression was relaxed, revealing a kind of happiness that seemed ordinary on the surface yet was anything but ordinary.
"Only the weak need validations for their beliefs."
With a single sentence, Gojo Satoru managed to criticize two people without using a single curse word.
Asou Akiya: .....
Then Gojo Satoru abruptly changed the subject.
"I know you two are afraid of loneliness and want me to join your side. But Suguru's problem hasn't crossed the line yet. As for you..." He looked directly at Akiya. "Akiya, if you ever switch careers and become a curse user, don't expect my approval."
Gojo Satoru had not forgotten how Akiya had used others as his blade and spent money to arrange the death of the person in charge of the Time Vessel Association.
Asou Akiya let out a small complaint.
"A profession with no future like being a curse user? Whoever wants that job can have it."
Gojo Satoru gathered a mountain of snacks into his arms.
"Good."
Asou Akiya was surprised to discover that Gojo Satoru had chosen to sit on the front edge of the shopping cart rather than climb into the basket itself.
"Let's get moving!"
Gojo Satoru imitated a child's train-whistle noises, making exaggerated woo-woo sounds as though a locomotive were setting off.
In that instant, Asou Akiya understood the choice Gojo Satoru had made.
He had chosen a path that stepped beyond worldly conventions while remaining within the boundaries of what society could still accept.
Gojo Satoru wanted to be an interesting jujutsu sorcerer, a proud strongman, rather than a curse user whom everyone despised and discriminated against.
During the Star Plasma Vessel incident, one of Gojo Satoru's feet had already crossed into the ranks of curse users.
Yet in the end, he had pulled that foot back.
He had listened to the opinions of his two friends.
The rationality within him, which would never be extinguished, kept him walking along the proper path in life.
Pushing the shopping cart with Gojo Satoru perched on the front was obviously far less convenient for Asou Akiya.
Nevertheless, he quickly adapted to the added weight. Once he got the hang of it, a stronger push was enough to send the cart gliding forward smoothly.
"Gojo, do you like your life right now?"
"Hehe~"
As always, Gojo Satoru answered with a smile rather than a direct response. Swinging his legs back and forth, he stubbornly refused to openly admit that he liked it.
There was something about his innocent and carefree nature that resembled the piggy bank sitting in his dorm room.
May fortune and wealth gather.
The fortune it attracted was the fortune of accumulated virtue.
The wealth it gathered was the wealth of kindness.
Asou Akiya paid for everything using Gojo Satoru's salary card. Laden with bags of snacks, the two of them left the supermarket together.
As they passed a photography studio, Asou Akiya slowed his pace and examined the artistic portraits displayed in the window.
"This spring, we haven't taken a group photo together yet, have we?"
"Another cherry blossom viewing?"
Gojo Satoru automatically assumed that Asou Akiya was planning another hanami outing.
"Let's wait until the Higher-Ups and the Three Great Clans finish arguing before we go cherry blossom viewing," Asou Akiya said. "Otherwise, being too carefree feels like it would just attract trouble."
He had no intention of giving the higher-ups another headache.
"Though secretly slipping out to take a group photo together is still something worth considering."
Gojo Satoru pouted.
"We can take a group photo, but I want the best spot."
In every four-person group photo, Akiya somehow managed to steal the center position.
Asou Akiya suddenly came up with an idea for this year's photo and replied slyly,
"Sure. I'll let you stand in the most prominent position."
Gojo Satoru was instantly delighted.
Asou Akiya was the type to act the moment inspiration struck.
"Tonight, let's get Shoko and Suguru together and go to a photo studio!"
...
That evening, at the photography studio, the classmates changed into outfits according to Asou Akiya's instructions and stood in their assigned positions.
The four handsome and beautiful students of Tokyo Jujutsu High were dressed in black-and-white striped prison uniforms. None of them wore makeup. All of them were barefoot. Handcuffs bound their wrists, and they faced the camera with expressions that made the entire atmosphere extraordinarily bizarre.
The photographer was already laughing so hard that he could barely contain himself, repeatedly praising modern high school students for their creativity.
Arranged from right to left according to height, they stood before a cold-toned prison backdrop.
Gojo Satoru: "..."
Standing in the number one center position, he held a placard that read:
[Crime: Murdering the Number One Host.]
[Punishment: Never Forgetting the Male Bodhisattva's Physique.]
Gojo Satoru's soul trembled.
A host? Fushiguro Toji used to work as a host who sold his looks?!
Pure and innocent as ever, Gojo Satoru continued pondering another question.
What does "Male Bodhisattva" even mean... Bodhisattva? Ugh, this again!
Getou Suguru: ...
Standing in the second position, he held a placard that read:
[Crime: Bullying a Thousand-Year-Old Elder.]
[Punishment: Cleaning the Tombs of the Star Corridor for One Week.]
Getou Suguru sucked in a sharp breath.
A thousand-year-old elder? That's a terrifying old hag!
Then he became annoyed.
How exactly did I bully Master Tengen? I merely... pressured her into letting someone go.
Ieiri Shoko: "..."
Standing in the fourth position, she held a placard that read:
[Crime: Saving Scum and Keeping Them Alive.]
[Punishment: Growing Dark Circles Under My Eyes Is My Blessing.]
Ieiri Shoko suddenly felt a powerful urge to pull out a scalpel.
Unfortunately, prison uniforms did not come equipped with scalpels.
DK Scumbag Number One: Getou Suguru.
DK Scumbag Number Two: Zen'in Naoya.
As the person who had saved both of them, Ieiri Shoko found herself speechless.
Asou, would you like this blessing instead?
After reading one another's charges, all three of them erupted in indignation.
"Asou Akiya! Why do you get that charge?!"
Standing third in the height ranking, Asou Akiya happily held his own placard.
It read:
[Crime: Should Have Been Innocent, Imprisoned Due to Being Dragged Down by Friends.]
[Punishment: Three Days of Self-Reflection.]
The camera flash went off.
In that instant, it preserved the most unconventional spring group photo imaginable for four sixteen-year-olds—a memory belonging to mid-April.
Tokyo Jujutsu High's Prison-Gang Quartet.jpg
In the future, whenever they looked at that photo, they would immediately remember the Star Plasma Vessel mission.
The jujutsu world could not sentence them for their actions.
So they sentenced themselves instead.
Three of them wore expressions of disgruntled innocence, as though they had been wrongfully imprisoned. Their faces genuinely looked like those of villains.
Only the mastermind standing beside his female classmate smiled brightly and openly, as though he were saying to the entire jujutsu world:
"This is our confession. We chose our own crimes. We've been properly reflecting on our mistakes, you know~."
...
Within the Tombs of the Star Corridor, Tengen could not help but burst into laughter.
All of her wariness toward the Six Eyes and the Cursed Spirit Manipulation user vanished completely.
These children were willing to do good and accumulate virtue.
They were the future of the jujutsu world.
They had made mistakes.
But they deserved forgiveness.