As the principal of Tokyo Jujutsu High, Yaga Masamichi had seen his share of fights.
Throughout his journey, he had exorcised countless Cursed Spirit, even personally dealing with many Special Grade Cursed Spirits.
Yet, even so, the towering flames from earlier had instilled genuine fear in his heart.
The night sky was illuminated by fire. Massive fireballs fell like meteors from the sky. Thunderbolts descended like divine punishment. A gigantic sword slash split the earth in two.
Without a doubt, it was a natural disaster.
The commotion of the battle had engulfed nearly half the campus. Gojo Satoru, who had set out first, had failed to resolve it for a long time, deepening the unease in Yaga Masamichi's heart.
But as the battle concluded and Yaga Masamichi arrived at the scene, meeting up with the completely unharmed Gojo Satoru, he suddenly realized the situation was different from what he had imagined.
"You're saying... all that commotion just now was caused by Cain and the enemy?"
"Yeah. Only the fire was the enemy's. The rest of the lightning and the slash were Cain's doing."
Gojo Satoru gestured animatedly, recounting everything that had just happened. "I'm telling you, Cain is amazing!"
"..."
That couldn't simply be described as 'amazing'.
Yaga Masamichi took a deep breath, pushed up the sunglasses on his face, and felt a vague sense of his worldview crumbling.
What kind of scene haven't I seen?
This scene, I really haven't seen!
A new student who had just enrolled one day ago had defeated a Cursed Spirit rivaling a Special Grade Sorcerer.
This couldn't be described as a genius anymore. It was a complete monster, a monster just like Gojo Satoru.
"By the way, why didn't you intervene?"
Snapping out of his shock, Yaga Masamichi belatedly realized something was off and looked at Gojo Satoru.
"I thought you were locked in a difficult battle just now, but you were actually hiding on the sidelines watching the whole time?"
"What were you thinking, letting a student face such a terrifying Cursed Spirit?"
"Ah well... I was just too surprised."
A somewhat awkward smile appeared on Gojo Satoru's face.
With Hanami's assistance, Jogo hadn't revealed his presence at the beginning.
By the time Gojo Satoru sensed Jogo's presence and arrived at the scene, Cain had already completed the first round of their clash.
A skeleton walked out of the flames, recovering in an instant as if time had reversed.
Faced with that sight, even Gojo Satoru was momentarily stunned.
And by the time he regained his senses, Cain had grown six more arms and begun the second round of combat with Jogo.
"Actually, I did consider intervening midway, but then Cain suddenly unleashed a Black Flash."
"You understand too, when a Jujutsu Sorcerer unleashes a Black Flash, they undergo a transformation from the inside out."
"I thought Cain might use the Black Flash to achieve a breakthrough, so I watched a bit longer from the side."
"And then you watched until the fight ended?"
"Ahem... mainly, I didn't expect him to have even grasped a Domain. So, there was no chance for me to intervene."
Gojo Satoru thought for a moment and added, "Actually, I did contribute. If I hadn't been there, that Cursed Spirit hiding in the shadows would have come out to ambush Cain."
"Well, aren't you wonderful."
Yaga Masamichi let out a cold laugh.
Even he, usually serious and proper, was so angered by Gojo Satoru's actions that he couldn't help but laugh.
"A student's life is the most important thing."
"What if Cain's regeneration ability had limits? Do you think you could have intervened in time to save him?"
"I think Cain was confident. How should I put it... his eyes! Yes, his eyes!"
Gojo Satoru pointed to his own eyes. "His gaze was full of confidence back then, so I chose to believe in him."
A vein popped on Yaga Masamichi's forehead. "That's not a reason for not intervening! Reflect on this properly!"
"Yaga, you're just too rigid."
Gojo Satoru shrugged. Anyone could see he wasn't reflecting on anything.
As a fellow genius, Gojo Satoru had also once achieved breakthroughs between life and death to become the strongest.
Because of that, he understood Cain's thoughts at that moment better than anyone else.
Rather than intervening and interrupting the battle, observing from the sidelines was the best choice. This was evident from the fact that Cain hadn't blamed him afterward.
Yes, his approach was correct!
Standing on the devastated ground, Gojo Satoru raised a finger with a serious expression.
"Yaga, the way us geniuses grow is something you ordinary people can't understand."
"You're right. I'm just an ordinary person."
Yaga Masamichi said expressionlessly, "Your salary for this year is gone. Also, you'll pay for the cleanup costs. A genius like you shouldn't be short on money, right?"
Gojo Satoru: "..."
...
In a villa in the Tokyo suburbs.
"Hanami, you're back."
Mahito, who had been reading a book, lifted his head and greeted the figure who had just entered.
"Why are you alone? Where's Jogo?"
"*&%#@￥#."
Hanami's reply echoed in the room.
It was the language unique to curse spirits, belonging to no existing language system.
However, when the sound reached Mahito's mind, he still understood its meaning.
"[Jogo is dead.]"
"Dead?" Mahito was stunned. "What happened? Did you run into Gojo Satoru during the mission?"
"[Gojo Satoru was also there, but the one who killed Jogo wasn't him. It was the mission target, Cain.]"
"Cain? Really?!"
A look of surprise appeared on Mahito's face.
He was quite familiar with Jogo's strength.
As the strongest combatant on the Cursed Spirit' side, Jogo's technique was really strong. When serious, he could even fight against a Special Grade Sorcerer.
"Geto Suguru, the intel you gave said Cain was just an ordinary Jujutsu Sorcerer with a special physique. What's going on?"
"My apologies. It seems my information was wrong."
On the opposite sofa, Geto Suguru closed his eyes and replied, feeling somewhat annoyed inside.
As a professional mastermind, Geto Suguru had been secretly observing the situation with Hanami and Jogo.
Because of that, he had noticed Cain.
He had consumed Sukuna's finger without dying from the poison, even maintaining his sanity and gaining power.
Clearly, this wasn't normal.
To probe Cain's true capabilities, he had deliberately adjusted the plan to contact Jogo and the others earlier, sending Jogo to act personally.
According to the plan, he intended for Jogo to capture Cain and investigate. If conditions were suitable, he would use him as a vessel to resurrect Sukuna.
But what Geto Suguru hadn't expected was that Jogo, as the strongest combatant on their side, had actually failed to defeat Cain.
"Having the power of a Special Grade Sorcerer right after enrollment... I didn't expect a variable to appear at this point."
Geto Suguru closed his eyes, looking ahead. "Mahito, we need to adjust the plan we discussed earlier."
"How do you want to adjust it?" Mahito asked.
He hadn't known Geto Suguru for very long.
Because of Jogo's sudden demise, he was now filled with distrust towards Geto Suguru.
If the other made another unreasonable request, he wouldn't mind teaching him a lesson.
"Don't worry. This time, we'll act together."
Seemingly sensing what Mahito was thinking, Geto Suguru chuckled lightly and took out a finger from his pocket.
"Let's use this as bait. We'll set a trap and deal with Cain."
T/N- Do you guys know, Hanami's curse language is japanese in reverse.
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Re@d adv@nce ch@pters on p@t
guilt_free_daoist
Jo!n d!sc0rd I!nk in synops!s.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.