"Mirai-sensei!"
Gojo Satoru dodged Yaga's sudden tackle from behind and turned his head with a smile.
"I'm finished on my end."
"I'll leave the rest of the trouble to you~"
As soon as he finished speaking, Gojo's figure vanished from the spot.
"Mirai-sensei, are you alright?"
Yaga Masamichi quickly walked toward Mirai, his expression three parts tense and seven parts relieved.
Relieved that Mirai hadn't been killed—or seriously injured—by Gojo.
Tense because he feared Mirai wouldn't let the matter go so easily if he had suffered a loss.
"That guy Gojo isn't exactly right in the head. Don't take it to heart."
"I'll go beat that brat up later!"
Maki chimed in angrily as well.
"That bastard with the blindfold!"
"Principal Yaga, this matter isn't entirely Gojo-sensei's fault."
Supported by Maki, Mirai raised a hand slightly.
"I was the one who asked Gojo-sensei to deploy his domain."
"…Uh…"
Everyone's expressions stiffened.
So they were the clowns here?
They had been worrying themselves sick, and it turned out the two of them had planned this together?
"Even so, you could at least have chosen somewhere more open!"
"Deploying a domain in the residential area of the academy is extremely dangerous… Forget the building damage."
"What if a passing student—or an assistant supervisor living nearby—had been caught in it…?"
Seeing Yaga's stern face as he prepared to lecture them, Mirai's mouth twitched and he quickly interrupted.
"I suggested going to the training field. Gojo-sensei refused."
No wonder Gojo had said before leaving that the rest of the trouble would be left to him…
Apparently that trouble also included Yaga and his endless lectures.
"Go…jo…Satoru!"
Yaga ground out the name through clenched teeth.
Glancing at the ruins scattered across the ground, Yaga stormed toward the teaching building in a fury.
Meanwhile, Mei Mei—whose gaze had remained fixed on Mirai the entire time—had a strange glimmer flash through her eyes.
Putting aside what had happened earlier…
The head of the Zenin Clan who had just walked out of that domain…
At first he had been so weak that he needed Maki's support just to stand.
Now he was already waving his hand calmly, his complexion normal again.
His recovery speed was quite impressive.
Gojo's domain differed from other sorcerers' domains.
One damaged the body.
The other attacked the brain.
Using the Reverse Cursed Technique to heal the body was simple.
But the brain…
Mei Mei pressed her red lips together before turning away with her usual carefree elegance and following Yaga.
If it had nothing to do with money, she had no intention of digging deeper—even if she had noticed something unusual.
Her employer was safe.
Which meant the important matter now was asking Principal Yaga for yesterday's combat bonus.
After learning the truth of the situation, the anger on Maki's face faded.
"Mirai-nii, didn't you already master that years ago—"
Before she could finish, Mirai gently interrupted.
"Maki, where's that guy White Zetsu?"
Right… where was White Zetsu?
Maki turned around to look.
Panda, Inumaki, and Okkotsu had all arrived.
Yet the one who loved crowds the most—White Zetsu—was nowhere to be seen.
"Could it be that a passing sorcerer exorcised him by accident?"
Panda suggested cautiously.
The academy was huge.
They weren't the only sorcerers around.
Some graduates occasionally returned, and assistant supervisors sometimes passed through on missions.
It wouldn't be strange if someone didn't know about White Zetsu's existence—after all, both White Zetsu and Mirai had only arrived at the academy a few days ago.
"Salmon roe!"
Inumaki also showed a hint of concern.
Okkotsu said,
"Maki-senpai, maybe we should go look for him quickly."
"Mirai-nii, rest here for now! I'll go find that guy!"
A trace of anxiety appeared on Maki's face as she hurried off with the others toward the training field they had come from.
"One after another…"
Mirai looked back at the ruined area and sighed softly.
He wasn't even sure which place Maki meant by "here."
"If she found out the truth about Shiro Zetsu, her first reaction would probably be smashing his head open."
Mirai murmured quietly.
The slightly pale complexion he had earlier visibly began to regain color.
The contract he signed with Gojo did not include any restriction about being injured.
After enduring so many waves of information bombardment, damage to his brain had been inevitable.
Using the Reverse Cursed Technique to heal brain damage was extremely difficult.
Mirai shook his head slightly.
"With this… the chance of successfully healing the technique burnout should be around seventy percent."
Not impossible.
"Objective three… half accomplished."
Jujutsu High — Medical Room
A doctor's white coat.
Surgical gloves prepared before the operation.
Already fully prepared for surgery, Shoko Ieiri held a sharp scalpel in her hand that trembled faintly.
Her gaze was fixed on the naked body lying on the operating table.
Her eyes were burning with excitement.
It felt like she had returned to the state she was in when she first performed surgery after learning the Reverse Cursed Technique.
Only a special specimen like this could bring her such pleasure.
The red-clouded black robe had been neatly folded and placed on a nearby chair.
White Zetsu lay unconscious on the operating table, completely unaware.
His pale white skin almost matched the color of the medical room's ceiling.
"As long as I don't cut into the core… he shouldn't complain when he wakes up."
Shoko muttered softly as she made a clean, decisive incision.
"Hm…?"
Seeing the liquid that flowed from the cut flesh, Shoko's expression turned uncertain.
"Black blood…"
The blood of most cursed spirits was purple or red.
Black blood was something she rarely saw in cursed spirits.
Especially blood that flowed so slowly… and was so viscous.
This phenomenon was more common in the corpses of sorcerers who had been dead for a long time.
After death, blood settled into the lowest blood vessels under gravity, then coagulated and darkened.
"And this smell…"
Shoko frowned and instinctively held her breath.
The moment the flesh was cut open, along with the black blood came an extremely pungent smell of decay.
Even a mask couldn't block it.
Shoko paused.
She put down the scalpel and walked out of the room.
Ten seconds later—
Shoko returned, wearing five layers of masks, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"The information contained in this body… is becoming more and more interesting."
Half an hour later, after searching all the public areas and failing to find White Zetsu—
Panda brought Maki and the others to the teaching building to ask Yaga for help.
After asking around, they finally learned from a random staff member that Shoko had carried White Zetsu into the medical room.
Everyone was shocked.
Then they ran.
BANG!
The medical room door was flung open.
A wave of putrid decay rushed out of the room.
"It stinks!!"
Enduring the foul smell, they covered their noses and rushed into the operating room.
Shoko Ieiri sat beside the operating table, smoking with a frown.
The operating table was covered in black blood.
And on it lay a torso with its limbs severed.
Everyone who entered felt a chill run through their bodies.
Yaga Masamichi didn't even bother covering his nose as he rushed forward to check White Zetsu's condition.
At that moment, Yaga's head was truly pounding.
From the time he became a teacher until now as principal, he had only taught three students.
One had gone dark and tried to destroy all humanity.
One did whatever he wanted without restraint.
He had thought the last one would finally give him some peace…
Panda had told him a bit about White Zetsu after spending several days with him at the academy.
White Zetsu had appeared in the Zenin household when Maki was around seven years old.
He had accompanied Mirai for nearly ten years.
And now, right after Gojo caused chaos—
Shoko had immediately dissected him.
Putting himself in Mirai's position…
It was like someone secretly dismembering Panda behind Yaga's back.
For the first time in his life…
Yaga Masamichi found himself worrying about the life of a cursed being.
When you live long enough, you really do encounter everything.
What a damn headache.