Looking at the silent scene before him, White Zetsu was just about to speak up and push the situation forward when he caught Mirai's warning glance.
Suguru Geto clenched the fists hidden within his sleeves so tightly that blood began to seep out.
The sharp pain in his palms constantly reminded him:
This was Jujutsu High's headquarters.
If he started a fight now, he would simply be courting death.
After a long moment of silence, Geto slowly raised his head and flashed Mirai a bright smile.
"It seems the Head of the Zen'in Clan really knows how to train his dogs."
Mirai waved his hand casually, the smile on his lips unchanged.
"Want to learn? I can teach you."
As he said this, Mirai's gaze drifted directly toward Nanako and Mimiko standing behind Geto.
The fake smile on Geto's face stiffened. Without drawing attention, he stepped forward to shield the two girls.
The giant white bird curse opened its beak and swallowed the frightened Nanako and Mimiko inside, completely blocking Mirai's line of sight.
Regarding Mirai's strange offensive technique, Geto—being closer—seemed to have analyzed more details.
The speed at which cursed energy erupted and the technique activated was extremely fast.
But it required visual focus on the target.
Suppressing the urge to strike, Geto looked at Mirai, his tone growing slightly colder.
"Zen'in Clan Head, would you mind letting me speak with my old friends from Jujutsu High first?"
Mirai shrugged and cooperatively stepped aside.
He had provoked Geto enough already. If Geto actually started a battle here and died, that would be a huge loss.
Geto strode forward, his gaze sweeping across the people of Jujutsu High before finally settling on Gojo.
"I came here to declare war on Jujutsu High."
Originally he had planned to exchange a few nostalgic words, but the pressure in his heart now left him unwilling to waste time on such things.
"On December 24th, at sunset—the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons will begin."
"The cursed locations will be Tokyo Shinjuku and the sacred jujutsu grounds of Kyoto."
"At that time I will release thousands of curses with a single order:"
"To kill every human they see."
"Believe it or not. Come or don't come."
"The choice is yours."
After finishing his emotionless declaration, Geto turned and prepared to leave.
Gojo looked at the back of his former best friend and spoke calmly.
"Do you really think I'll just let you walk away?"
Geto paused briefly but did not answer. He simply waved his hand.
In an instant, hundreds—perhaps thousands—of curses around Grade 2 surrounded Maki, Panda, Yuta, and Inumaki.
Through silent action, Geto warned Gojo of the consequences of attacking.
"Oh ho ho!"
"You think these little things are enough to scare me?!"
White Zetsu trembled as he forced himself into the center of the group beside Maki and the others, shouting loudly despite his fear.
"Mirai, hurry up and kill that show-off long-haired monk!"
Although they were somewhat stunned by White Zetsu's cowardly-yet-arrogant behavior, the three students and one panda still firmly protected the weak curse in the center.
Maki did so because White Zetsu had taken care of her many times when she was at the Zen'in household, and she understood his personality.
As for Yuta, Inumaki, and Panda—
they simply followed Maki's lead.
"A sorcerer protecting a curse?"
Geto stood atop the giant bird and sneered coldly.
"Heh. It seems Jujutsu High really has changed."
"What's wrong? After ten years, has the school started getting along with curses?"
His icy gaze pierced toward White Zetsu.
"Satoru, your students are already treating curses like relatives and friends. Aren't you going to guide them back to the right path?"
It was this foul-mouthed curse that had caused the death of one of his subordinates.
But Mirai's presence made Geto extremely wary.
If Gojo decided to act, that would be perfect.
Gojo glanced at Maki, whose expression remained resolute, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"It's only a Grade 4 curse."
"If he's my student's uncle, then what's wrong with letting him stay at Jujutsu High?"
Looking at Geto's darkening expression, Gojo continued with a grin.
"Besides, do you really think I'd listen to the orders of those old fossils in the higher-ups?"
The attempt to provoke him had failed.
Geto turned his head toward Mirai, who had been watching like a spectator all along, and issued an invitation in a cold voice.
"Zen'in Clan Head, don't forget to attend the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons."
"Don't worry. I won't miss it."
Mirai's lips curved upward.
A free feast like that—he would have gone even if Geto hadn't invited him.
Geto stared deeply at Mirai, as though trying to carve his appearance into memory.
Suddenly, he revealed a warm smile.
"After the event ends, I'll pay a visit to your residence."
Mirai returned the smile.
"Of course. I'll be waiting anytime."
"Whoosh!"
The giant bird beat its wings and soared into the sky, scattering fallen leaves everywhere.
High above, the monk's robes fluttered violently in the wind.
Looking down at the crowd below—now no bigger than sesame seeds—Geto stopped hiding the killing intent surging in his eyes.
Once he obtained Yuta Okkotsu's special-grade curse, he would certainly wipe out the Zen'in Clan in blood.
Thinking back to his first meeting with Zen'in Mirai, Geto was not stupid.
If Shoko could immediately figure it out back then, he certainly could as well.
The curse user who attacked him at the time could have resolved things with the Ten Shadows Technique, yet instead deliberately revealed the existence of a special-grade curse in front of him.
Mirai clearly knew that Geto's technique allowed him to absorb curses.
He knew how irresistible an unknown special-grade curse would be to him.
With such obvious intent, Geto naturally wouldn't rashly storm the headquarters of one of the Three Great Clans without thorough preparation.
Against Jujutsu High, he could still disperse the sorcerers' forces by threatening the lives of ordinary civilians.
But against the Three Great Clans…
Even threatening all the civilians in Japan might not move them at all.
First he would deal with Jujutsu High and absorb the special-grade curse Rika Orimoto under Yuta's control.
Only then would it be time to wash the Zen'in Clan in blood.
"Once I absorb these two great curses…"
"Even Satoru won't be able to stop my ideals anymore."
Geto murmured to himself.
Mirai glanced up at the sky and showed a faint smile.
The fact that Geto had managed to endure for ten years without acting surprised him slightly.
But the course of events in the story was still firmly within his control.
For a chess piece to attempt resisting the player manipulating the board—
was nothing more than a grand joke.
"So you're the new teacher the higher-ups dropped in?"
Gojo stepped forward before Yaga could even speak.
"That's right."
Mirai nodded calmly.
"I'm the teacher who used the authority of the Zen'in Clan Head to parachute directly into this position."
The two men stared at each other through Gojo's white bandages.
The atmosphere slowly grew heavy.
The tension left behind by Geto's departure once again weighed down on the onlookers.
"Gojo!"
"Mirai-nii!"
Yaga Masamichi and Zen'in Maki both hurried forward to speak.
"Relax, Principal."
A light smile appeared on Gojo's calm face as he extended his right hand.
"Nice to meet you, new colleague."
Yaga looked at Gojo's outstretched hand and was just about to relax—
when his heart tightened again.
A thin layer of cursed energy covered Gojo's hand.
Others might not understand it, but Yaga knew it very well.
No matter how close you got—
you could never actually touch him.
Gojo hadn't deactivated his Limitless technique at all.
"Gojo—"
Yaga was just about to reprimand him when the scene before him froze him in place.
Zen'in Mirai's hand ignored the Limitless and reached out.
It couldn't even really be called a handshake.
Mirai's hand looked like a projection from a hologram, overlapping directly with Gojo's hand as if phasing through space.
"Nice to meet you, Gojo-sensei."
A test?
A show of dominance?
Seeing the stunned look on Gojo's face, Mirai's lips curled upward slightly.