The wind over Tokyo's skyline felt different tonight.
Heavier.
Charged.
Like the city itself had begun holding its breath.
On the rooftop of a high-rise building, five figures stood scattered across the concrete.
Suguru Geto stood at the center, calm as ever. Beside him were his allies. Miguel, Larue, Manami Suda, and Toshihisa Negi.
And slightly apart from them—
Oden.
The city below flickered with unaware life.
Geto exhaled softly, almost satisfied.
"Beautiful," he murmured.
Then he raised his hand.
The air fractured.
From the darkness behind him—
They came.
Hundreds of cursed spirits spilled into existence like a flood breaking a dam. Some crawled. Some flew. Some simply dissolved into the sky like smoke given intent.
The swarm descended on Tokyo.
Screams would come later.
Right now, there was only release.
Geto watched them go with quiet approval.
"Begin," he said softly. "Jujutsu High will arrive soon."
His gaze shifted slightly.
"Miguel."
Miguel cracked his knuckles once, expression unreadable.
"I understand," he said.
Geto nodded.
"I trust you with him."
A pause.
Oden tilted his head.
"…Him?" he repeated.
Then his gaze sharpened slightly as it landed on Miguel.
Before anything else could be said—
Oden stepped forward.
"I'm the one handling him."
The air shifted.
Miguel didn't react.
Geto, however, turned his head slightly toward Oden.
"No," he said calmly.
"If you can, then fine."
A pause.
"But I am not trusting you with it."
Silence followed.
Oden's jaw tightened slightly.
Not anger.
Something closer to annoyance.
"…Tch."
He clicked his tongue.
Then looked away.
Let it go.
For now.
Geto smiled faintly as if satisfied with that answer.
Then he stepped onto the back of a massive cursed bird that had been circling above.
"Proceed," he said.
And with a single beat of its wings—
He vanished into the sky.
Leaving the rooftop behind.
Leaving Oden.
Leaving Miguel.
Leaving the stage set.
A moment passed.
Then—
The atmosphere changed again.
Fast.
Sharp.
Approaching presence.
Miguel's eyes shifted first.
"They're here," he said quietly.
From the edge of the rooftop—
The first responders arrived.
Landing with force.
Satoru Gojo stepped forward at the front line.
Behind him. Panda, Toge Inumaki, and others fanned out into combat formation.
The air tightened instantly.
Gojo's gaze swept the rooftop once.
He didn't see Geto.
His smile faded slightly.
"…Not here," he muttered.
Then his eyes shifted.
Locking onto Miguel.
The moment their eyes met—
The pressure in the air changed.
Recognition.
Assessment.
Threat evaluation completed in an instant.
Gojo smiled again, but this time, it wasn't relaxed.
It was sharp.
"So you're the one standing there," he said lightly.
Miguel didn't answer immediately.
Instead—
He smiled.
Small.
Calm.
Confident.
Like a man already preparing for the weight of what was about to begin.
Above the shattered skyline of Tokyo, the air burned with tension.
On one side of the rooftop stood Satoru Gojo, relaxed but alert, hands loose at his sides.
On the other—
Miguel.
The wind whipped between them like an unspoken challenge.
Gojo tilted his head slightly.
"You're not what I expected," he said lazily.
Miguel didn't blink.
"And what did you expect?" he replied.
Gojo smiled.
"Someone stronger."
A beat.
Then Miguel exhaled through his nose, almost amused.
"You talk too much."
That alone was enough.
The air snapped.
Gojo vanished.
Miguel moved.
The impact didn't explode, it folded. Space between them compressed as fists met defenses and defenses met nothing.
Gojo reappeared behind him instantly.
"You're slower than I thought," Gojo said.
Miguel turned just in time to block.
"Still talking," Miguel muttered.
Another exchange.
Then another.
The rooftop cracked under the rhythm of their collision, too fast for normal eyes, too precise for hesitation.
Gojo grinned mid-fight.
"You're not bad," he admitted. "For a warm-up."
Miguel's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Keep underestimating me," he said, "it suits you."
Above them, unnoticed for a moment—
Oden watched.
Then clicked his tongue.
"…This is pointless."
He turned away.
"Dragon."
The air shifted.
A massive serpentine form emerged from the cursed energy around him. Soaring Dragon coiled beneath him, lifting him effortlessly into the sky.
With a single motion—
Oden dropped from the rooftop.
Not toward Miguel.
But behind the building.
Away from the clash.
Both fighters briefly sensed it.
Miguel's eyes flicked.
"…Where is he going?" he muttered mid-exchange.
Gojo also noticed.
"Huh?" Gojo said lightly. "He left?"
But neither stopped fighting.
Because neither could afford to.
Elsewhere.
Oden landed silently behind the structure, boots touching concrete with a soft impact.
He exhaled.
The noise of battle faded slightly behind him.
"…Tch," he muttered.
His expression darkened, not with fear.
With irritation.
"That Geto guy…"
He clicked his tongue again.
"Terrorism. Genocide. Whatever you want to call it… it's disgusting."
But then his gaze shifted upward.
Toward the battlefield.
Miguel.
"…If I fight Geto," he said quietly, "I'll end up fighting him too."
A pause.
Oden's hand tightened.
"I can't do that."
His decision settled like iron.
"First…"
He raised his hand.
Cursed energy spilled outward in a controlled wave.
Dozens, then hundreds of serpents emerged.
Infinite Snake split across the streets like living shadows.
"Find them," Oden ordered. "Save as many civilians as possible."
The snakes scattered instantly.
Oden didn't wait.
He moved.
A few blocks away.
Screams echoed through broken streets.
A curse shattered against the ground, cleanly split apart.
Standing over it was a woman.
Elegant.
Dangerous.
Almost playful in the way she held the massive axe in her hand.
Mei Mei tilted her head slightly as she sensed something approaching.
Then she saw him.
Oden.
She blinked once.
"…Oh?"
Behind her, a man in charge of maintaining the veil was shaking violently.
"Mei Mei-san… that's— that's one of Geto's people!"
The man was pale.
Terrified.
"Please! We should retreat or—!"
Mei Mei didn't even look back.
"I don't do charity work," she said calmly. "I kill curses. Not kids."
The man nearly collapsed.
"But—! We were paid to support this operation!"
Mei Mei sighed.
"That doesn't change my contract. I was paid to kill curses, not curse users."
Oden stopped a few meters away.
Silent.
Observing.
Mei Mei studied him back with equal interest.
Then—
The man suddenly bowed.
"DOUBLE! I'll double your payment!"
A pause.
Mei Mei blinked.
"…Double?"
Her expression softened immediately.
"Oh," she said.
Then she smiled.
"Now that's different."
She adjusted her grip on her axe.
"I apologize," she said lightly, eyes sharpening.
"I don't like fighting children…"
A beat.
"But I do like getting paid."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Mei Mei pointed her axe forward.
"Let's make this quick."
Oden tilted his head slightly.
"…Fine."
His serpents coiled behind him.
His hand moved toward his blade.
He stopped thinking about Gojo.
Stopped thinking about Miguel.
Stopped thinking about Geto.
And focused only on the woman in front of him.
The fight had just been decided.
---
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