As expected, Tokyo Jujutsu High won the exchange event.
Nothing had changed.
The three first-years were already a nuisance to deal with, but the three second-years shattered the balance completely.
It was almost pitiful.
Zenin Maki disabled Kamo and toyed with second-year Miwa Kasumi.
Zenin Mai generated live rounds and hunted Cursed Spirits.
And then there was Okkotsu Yuta, who had so much room to spare that he just wandered around picking fights wherever he pleased.
Tokyo's strength was overflowing to a ridiculous degree.
Itadori Yuji came away from his fight with Todo Aoi with smoother control over his Cursed Energy.
Fushiguro Megumi gained practical experience with his Cursed Technique.
Kugisaki didn't gain as much as the others, but she had always been the type to grow quickly anyway.
[Straw Doll Technique].
It attacked a target indirectly through a medium, and that medium could take several forms.
A severed body part from the target, or something that made up the target.
Depending on the case, even a technique itself could become the medium.
Drive a nail through that medium together with a straw doll, and the technique activates.
That was how it inflicted damage on the target.
Its range had no limit whatsoever.
The effect varied depending on the value of the medium, but it was a terrifying technique all the same.
Because of that, her close-quarters skill and Cursed Energy control had been a little rough around the edges.
Even that, though, was steadily improving.
"Oh, brother! I never imagined you knew my big brother too! So you really did come from the same middle school—"
"No, I didn't! Please! It's not like that!"
After all the scheduled events were over, Yuji was being hounded by Todo trailing after him.
The two of them had clicked well to begin with.
And once Todo learned Yuji also knew Kadoc, his internal favorability shot through the roof.
The first-years had their own conversations.
The upperclassmen had theirs.
The exchange event had originally been scheduled as a one-night, two-day affair.
They were supposed to return as soon as it ended, but an extra day of rest had been added.
For the students who had worked hard.
And to ease the fatigue on the supervising teachers, even if only a little.
"Big brother. How was it?"
"You did well. Seeing you hold back appropriately, I could tell you've improved a lot."
In a quiet corner of a building at Tokyo Jujutsu High, Maki, Mai, and Kadoc sat side by side drinking canned beverages.
There was a bench there, with a window directly behind it.
It was an exceptionally calm, secluded spot.
"Mai, you did great too. You stayed calm and kept your shots steady, right? You barely missed at all."
"Yes. Thank you."
At Kadoc's praise, both sisters flushed red with delight.
It was hard to believe these were the same girls who had been beating people down and firing guns earlier.
Gulp. Maki drained the last of her sports drink and asked, "By the way, where did Ms. Minamoto-no-Raiko and Ushi-gozen go? I haven't seen them for a while."
"They stepped away for a bit so the two of you could talk. We're inside Jujutsu High, so it's safe."
Jujutsu High was like Kadoc's home.
It was layered with all kinds of barriers, making intruders easy to detect.
Even if someone tried to enter through the sewers like before at the airport—
Even if they used some other absurd method—
They would be detected without fail.
There was only one way not to get caught.
To have no Cursed Energy at all, like Maki, Kadoc, or a Servant.
"That's a relief."
Maki smiled and rubbed her chest.
She had been worried that maybe her contribution had been too small.
That maybe he would look badly on the fact that she had taken things a little easy.
Apparently, that wasn't the case at all.
"Ah, so this is where you were."
Just as the conversation faded and only a comfortable silence remained, Yaga Masamichi approached from the far end of the hall.
"Mr. Yaga? What brings you here?"
Kadoc tilted his head and stood up.
He had seen him this morning already, so there was no helping the reaction.
"Tengen-sama is looking for you. Go down and see them with your shikigami... no, your Servants."
"Tengen? Why?"
Tengen did not interfere with the present world.
The last operation to exterminate Kenjaku had been an exception, and even now that principle still held.
So why now?
For Kadoc, curiosity alone was reason enough to go.
At Tengen's name, the sisters rose from their seats as well.
The atmosphere had shifted into the kind that said it was time to part.
"Understood. Did they say anything else?"
"No."
Kadoc nodded and met the sisters' eyes.
Unfortunately, it was time to separate.
"Maki. Mai. You both worked hard today. I'll see you at home a little later."
"Yes, big brother."
"Yeah. See you."
He turned his back on the sisters and walked down the corridor.
The Servants who had been dispersed in spirit form sensed his movement and quietly drifted back toward him.
I went down into the Tombs of the Star Corridor with Minamoto-no-Raiko and Ushi-gozen.
Even with multiple doors now, I had a clear sense of which one was the real entrance.
How strange.
Back when I had possessed Kadoc, I did have talent for Magecraft.
That body had been Kadoc's, after all.
But now?
Now I only looked like Kadoc on the outside. Inside, I was completely different.
I didn't even have the Magic Crest I'd received as a hand-me-down.
And yet I could still read the flow and presence of Cursed Energy—
And even the flow of Magical Energy—with surprising clarity.
Why?
I had wondered that from time to time before, but every time I came to the same answer.
I had no idea.
All I could do was guess that somewhere in the process of possession and reincarnation, I had gained some new ability.
"Welcome."
We followed the long passage downward, and the moment we stepped into the roots of the giant tree, a grown-up Riko Amanai greeted us.
Or rather, Tengen, who merely looked like her.
"Hello. I'm glad to see you look well."
"Thanks to you. I called you here suddenly, but I appreciate you coming."
"It's fine. I was curious why you called for me, so I was bound to come anyway."
"That makes sense. I do not ordinarily interfere with the present world."
Tengen gave a calm nod.
Even when Jujutsu Sorcerers died.
Even when civilians died.
She had been someone who did not involve herself.
And yet now, she sounded as though she might revise that stance.
Had something changed in her heart?
"Yes. That's what I understood too. Last time, when I came here, was an exceptional case."
"Mm. Unless it was that kind of extraordinary situation, I had no intention of moving."
"Had? That makes it sound like things are different now. Am I right?"
There was no point dragging it out.
I asked directly.
Tengen took a moment after hearing the question, then slowly nodded.
"To some extent, yes. That said, I have no intention of intervening too deeply. The age is shaped by the people who live in it. I merely prepare the foundation and support it."
I understood what she meant.
The barrier techniques Jujutsu Sorcerers currently use, like curtains—
Even the frequency with which Cursed Spirits appear is maintained by Tengen's nationwide barrier network, the pure barriers.
Hokkaido alone was the exception.
A separate territory and separate jujutsu laws had taken root there.
If that vanished, Cursed Spirits would surge in number.
Barrier techniques like curtains would have to be rebuilt from the ground up.
There was no need to imagine how much damage would pile up in the meantime.
Or how much chaos would erupt.
"Right. And things are stable now, so there's no reason for you to step in personally, Tengen."
"That is true. However, as I considered you all—those who should not have existed in this current—I found my thoughts changing."
The failure of the merger. The snowball effect that followed.
The proper flow of Jujutsu Kaisen, already twisted once, had been twisted again.
Gojo Satoru's awakening through Toji. Tengen's assimilation.
By moving myself, I had prevented Geto Suguru's fall and killed Kenjaku.
The current situation was, in every sense—
Perhaps as favorable a flow as one could hope for.
There had been a few troublesome steps along the way, but...
They had been more than worth enduring.
Still, I hadn't expected even Tengen's thinking to change in the process.
She was practically a plant, so I had assumed her stance would stay exactly the same.
"In what way?"
"I intend to grant you a little more convenience, and through that, make the stability of this land even more secure."
"You're saying you'll help me? Really?"
My eyes widened before I could stop myself.
If Tengen actively helped, a great many problems would unravel in an instant.
"Even I find this decision surprising, but it amounts to securing one firm pillar."
"Me?"
"Mm. I became convinced that no matter the circumstances, you would not waver. Just as you wish for peace, I desire stability as well."
Tengen folded her arms and smiled.
The way she emphasized no matter the circumstances gave her a strangely smug air.
A little bratty, almost.
Like the sort of dangerous charm you'd expect more from a niche doujin than from anything in broad daylight.
Well, fair enough.
By age alone, she was nearly a thousand years old.
Acting like that in front of anyone was probably natural for her.
In any case, what mattered was that Tengen was willing to help me. Nothing else did.
Even if she had some hidden angle—
Even if she intended to use me like some kind of peacekeeping force—I could live with that.
"I feel the same way. Is there anything you want from me?"
"My only wish is that you all continue to act as yourselves, just as you have until now. If you do, then even the next thousand years may enjoy peace and stability."
I nodded silently.
A thousand years sounded like an exaggeration, but I took it to mean she found us that reliable.
"Isn't that a little exaggerated?"
"It is not. I know you have a tendency to undervalue yourself, but you will understand soon enough."
Tengen murmured like someone with foresight.
It reminded me of Solomon when he got like that—socially hopeless, saying only what he wanted to say.
You'll understand soon enough.
It left a slightly unpleasant feeling, but she didn't seem malicious.
That was enough.
After living so long as a Master and spending so much time among Servants, I had gotten good at reading people's emotions.
Minamoto-no-Raiko and Ushi-gozen both wore calm expressions too.
If there had been some dark intention here?
They would have drawn steel or turned the atmosphere threatening long before I did.
"Is that so?"
"Mm. More importantly, what you want right now is not this vague talk, is it?"
"You know what I want?"
"The Special Grade Cursed Spirit that attacked you. The Cursed Spirit Zenin Naoya nearly exorcised, and the location of that spirit's companion. Is that not correct?"
She was exactly right.
Tengen didn't interfere with the present world, so I hadn't expected anything from her. But she was going to tell me that? She really had made up her mind.
"You're going to tell me?"
"That is why I called you here. Is that not your greatest headache, and the matter foremost on your mind?"
"Without question."
Jogo. Hanami. Dagon.
I didn't need to worry too much about those three.
The moment I saw them, I could respond.
Mahito was manageable too, so long as he didn't kill instantly—but his technique was far too vicious.
It was a technique made for ambush.
That was why I couldn't afford not to worry about him.
Even knowing he wasn't inside Tokyo right now.
He really could just pop out of a sewer again out of nowhere.
The thought of Mahito drew a sigh from me automatically.
What a pain in the ass.
So hearing that this frustration might finally ease made my expectations rise.
Enough to make my heart lift.
"I will tell you their location. And even if they are reborn in the future, I will identify their position and inform you then as well."
"In the future?"
"Even if they are exorcised, they will be born again. They are somewhat unusual."
The phrase in the future caught my attention, but I understood what she meant.
The wasteland a hundred years from now.
Even in Jujutsu Kaisen, there had been foreshadowing that the four Special Grade Cursed Spirits would be reborn even after exorcism.
So using the phrase in the future made sense, but...
Why tell me that?
That wasn't the important part.
After thinking for a moment, I cleared my head.
I figured she had simply lived so long that she had gotten used to speaking in longer spans of time.
"Where are they?"
"Outside Tokyo. But close. And they have gathered a fair number of forces. Judging by the Cursed Energy signatures, they appear to be incarnated sorcerers."
"Incarnated sorcerers?"
"Mm. Kenjaku's leftover legacy... no, that is a somewhat irritating way to put it, but there is no doubt they are what he left behind."
I had half expected it already, and yet my chest still went cold.
The number of enemies that needed to be torn apart had increased.
The incarnation of an incarnated sorcerer was born by shredding and erasing the original soul.
In other words, they were walking corpses.
It couldn't be helped.
The taste in my mouth turned bitter, but killing them was the only answer.
Even if, by some miracle, the technique could be undone, the original soul was already dead.
"Right. If we're going to clear them out safely too, I'll need a little help."
"It does not seem to me that you lack force. If you require organizational support, move them yourself. I intend to help you, but I do not think I can go that far."
"That's fine."
Mobilizing organizations. Military force.
Those were easy enough to solve, so they weren't the problem.
Location data.
That was what mattered most, and knowing Tengen would help with that put me at ease.
"So where are they? Please tell me their exact location."
I asked the most important question of all.
The summit felt close enough to touch now, and that made me impatient despite myself.
Perhaps Tengen sensed that, because she answered without making me wait.