Chapter 36 — Grow Up a Little
"Phew…"
Ren closed the sliding door behind him and glanced at the shishi-odoshi in the courtyard—the bamboo water hammer tipping up and down, dripping steadily.
He let out a long breath.
Finally resolved.
He had no intention of getting dragged into that mess.
He turned and headed straight toward the dormitories.
"Ren."
He hadn't gone far when a voice called out behind him.
He stopped and turned.
Mai Zen'in stood a few steps away, watching him closely.
"You don't actually intend to wipe out everyone at Tokyo Jujutsu High, do you?" Her gaze was sharp, searching.
"Of course not," Ren said with a faint smile. "I haven't forgotten your sister's there."
"And also that certain someone who carries Zen'in blood…"
"That's not what I meant," Mai cut him off.
They held each other's gaze for a moment.
Then, almost simultaneously, both smiled in quiet understanding.
"Execute everyone at Tokyo Jujutsu High" had, of course, been deliberate exaggeration—a strategic escalation meant to force retreat.
It was never his true intention.
The scene at the school gates replayed in his mind.
When Yuji Itadori had appeared—alive—Tokyo's students hadn't reacted with hostility.
There had been shock.
Not fear.
Not killing intent.
Even his classmates—Nobara Kugisaki and Megumi Fushiguro—their awkward complaints hadn't felt like resentment.
They felt like clumsy attempts to mask the overwhelming emotion of seeing someone precious return from the dead.
Ren didn't know Itadori personally.
But judging from the way those closest to him treated him, they weren't looking at him as a curse.
Not as the so-called King of Curses.
Not as a calamity.
Not as some inhuman monster.
They looked at him as a classmate.
A person.
In their eyes, Yuji Itadori was simply human.
And Ren—
Could not bring himself to assassinate someone like that.
More importantly, the higher-ups in the jujutsu world clearly knew how morally murky this was.
If Itadori truly were an existential threat that demanded universal extermination, they could have issued an open warrant. Mobilized every sorcerer in the country.
But they hadn't.
But they hadn't done that.
Instead, they had quietly handed the job to a group of students.
Hiding behind the curtain while pushing the dirty work onto juniors—
Ren found that despicable.
And he had no intention of obediently letting himself be used.
"Personally, I'm more in favor of eliminating problems before they grow," Mai Zen'in muttered, kicking a pebble along the path. "But you do have a point."
"This is Tokyo's mess. Why should we clean up after them?"
"If they can't handle it—and if that kid Yuji Itadori really does become some kind of 'calamity'—then they can come beg us for help."
"Then we'll decide whether to 'lend a hand.'"
Ren nodded.
If that day ever came, he wouldn't stand by.
But punishing someone for a crime they hadn't committed yet—
Killing them for what they might become—
That, he refused.
After a pause, he glanced sideways at her.
"So you just walked out like that? Didn't Kamo try to stop you?"
"That guy—" Mai puffed out her cheeks. "I've never liked him."
"He keeps going on about how Megumi Fushiguro is more talented than the Zen'in main house."
"If he admires him so much, he can go ask him for help. Don't bother me."
Ren suppressed a laugh.
So that was the real reason she'd left.
From her perspective, a proud clan like the Zen'in being told they were inferior to someone outside the main family line—it was a direct insult.
The two walked in silent understanding.
"Mai! Ren! Wait for me!"
Panting, Kasumi Miwa came running after them.
"Miwa?" Mai blinked. "You too? Didn't Kamo stop you?"
"I—I…" Miwa stammered.
What she didn't dare say was that she'd left under the excuse of—
"I'll go persuade them."
Of course, she had no intention of dragging Ren and Mai back.
It had simply been the first convenient excuse she could think of to escape that suffocating meeting room.
What a joke.
She had become a sorcerer because it paid well. Because it would help support her younger brothers.
Not to assassinate people.
And Sukuna's vessel? The King of Curses? A millennium-old monster who slaughtered women and children for fun?
That sounded terrifying.
If she had to face someone like that—
She would die.
Absolutely die.
From the moment Yoshinobu Gakuganji proposed the plan, Miwa had been digging her toes into the floor, searching desperately for a way out.
Thankfully, Ren had "stepped forward" and given her the perfect opportunity to leave.
Miwa looked up at him with shining gratitude.
If she'd stayed, she might have been forced into that mission—
And possibly killed by Sukuna's vessel.
Ren…
He was practically her savior.
---
Back in the meeting room.
Noritoshi Kamo turned his head toward the only remaining third-year not yet gone—
Momo Nishimiya, hovering slightly above the ground on her broom.
"Nishimiya. What are you doing?"
"Don't tell me you're going to shirk your responsibility like those immature second-years?"
"N-No," Momo wiped sweat from her forehead, forcing an awkward smile. "I just thought I'd go persuade Ren."
"He's a key combat asset. If he doesn't participate, our strength will drop significantly. In that case, this plan—"
Her words flowed more smoothly the longer she spoke, and her broom began drifting toward the exit.
"Stop."
Kamo's voice cut sharply through the air.
"Miwa is enough to persuade him."
"Don't think I don't know what you're planning."
"As a senior, act like one. Set an example."
"Or is your maturity as lacking as your appearance?"
"You—!"
Momo nearly exploded.
Ignoring her, Kamo turned toward the corner of the room, where Mechamaru sat motionless.
"Only the strong can understand one another."
"Only the strong possess the awareness to shoulder heavy responsibility."
"Mechamaru. In the end, only you—as a semi–Grade 1 sorcerer—understand the importance of this plan. The urgency of eliminating Sukuna's vessel before disaster takes root."
"Whirr—clack—bzzt—"
Mechamaru's jaw moved mechanically, emitting a series of incomprehensible sounds.
"…Mechamaru?"
"Ka—Kamo… sen—senpai," the voice crackled through static. "My… my signal… seems to be… experiencing… technical difficulties…"
With a dull click, the green lights in the brass puppet's eyes flickered out.
Its limbs went limp.
Silence filled the room.
Then—
"You idiots! Take this seriously! Act like adults for once!"
Kamo's suppressed roar finally exploded across the meeting hall.