The curse users who had taken up bounties on the dark web, attempting to set ambushes at the airport and in abandoned warehouses, never even caught a glimpse of Satoru Gojo before they were left to rot in those dark corners forever.
In an abandoned building on the outskirts of Naha, Okinawa.
Three curse users who had kidnapped Misato Kuroi were staring at the dark web's bounty amount on a screen, practically salivating.
"As long as we lure that little girl here, the thirty million is ours..."
"Bang!"
Before they could finish their sentence, the heavy iron door of the building was kicked off its hinges by a terrifying displays of raw strength!
The heavy iron plate smashed into the wall like a cannonball, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
Through the haze, Yoru gripped Shiranui, his gaze sweeping over the three panicked small-fries as if he were looking at inanimate objects.
"Who... Who are you?!"
"Where's the Star Plasma Vessel?!"
"Sun Breathing, Fourth Form..."
Yoru didn't waste a single word. His figure blurred into a series of afterimages as he instantly closed the distance!
"Fake Rainbow!"
"Slash! Slash! Slash!"
Three scorching red lines ignited simultaneously across the throats of the three curse users.
They didn't even have time to activate their cursed techniques before their heads flew high into the air along with geysers of blood, the wounds instantly cauterized by the extreme heat.
Yoru had kept his promise; he was like a cold, precision-engineered killing machine.
While Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto were escorting Riko to the outskirts of the exchange point, he had efficiently cleared out all the trash.
Misato Kuroi was rescued safely; aside from being a bit shaken, she was completely unharmed.
What should have been a tense rescue operation had turned into a one-sided slaughter thanks to Yoru's overwhelming power.
"Yahoo! The ocean! The beach! I've arrived!"
By the Okinawa coastline, Satoru Gojo stretched his arms out with exaggerated enthusiasm.
"Since we're already here and Kuroi's safe, why don't we take a little vacation?"
"Anyway, there's still a full day before the deadline for the merger."
Satoru Gojo adjusted his sunglasses, a playful smirk dancing on his lips.
Suguru Geto sighed helplessly, but seeing Riko Amanai—who looked visibly relieved despite her red eyes—he eventually nodded.
"Fair enough. Let Riko relax for a bit."
The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.
Before a massive glass tank, the shimmering blue ripples of water played across Riko Amanai's young and vibrant face.
Schools of whale sharks and manta rays glided slowly overhead, creating a dreamlike underwater world.
Riko and Kuroi had changed into summer casual clothes. Standing in that tranquil blue expanse, the girl's eyes reflected the passing schools of fish.
"It's so beautiful..."
Riko murmured softly, her fingers gently touching the cold glass.
"Everyone thinks becoming the Star Plasma Vessel is such a grand thing."
"That it's for the sake of the entire jujutsu world, for the greater good of protecting everyone..."
The girl's voice trailed off, carrying a trace of an undetectable tremor.
"But... I'm actually really scared."
"I don't want to die. I want to live with Kuroi forever. I want to go to so many places I've never seen..."
This sudden sense of fate and sorrow caused both Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto, who had been fooling around, to fall silent.
They were the geniuses of the jujutsu world, hailed as the 'strongest.'
But faced with a sacrifice dictated by the higher-ups and the rules, even they felt a pang of powerlessness in this moment.
Just then, a warm hand was placed gently on Riko's head.
Yoru stood behind her.
In his red pupils, which reflected the water's ripples, there was no pity or sympathy—only pure warmth and resolve.
"If you're scared, say it out loud."
Yoru's voice was quiet, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.
"You aren't alone."
"I didn't come here for some 'greater good,' and I certainly didn't come for that old man Master Tengen."
"I am only here to protect you."
"As long as you don't want it, tomorrow will not be your end."
Riko turned her head sharply. Looking at Yoru's calm face, her tears finally burst through the dam.
She threw her arms around Yoru's waist and began to wail.
She released all the fear, grievance, and resentment she had bottled up for over ten years.
Watching this, Satoru Gojo scratched his white hair irritably.
"Tch, why'd you have to go and make it so sentimental?"
He turned to look at Suguru Geto.
"Hey, Suguru. If the kid really doesn't want to go through with the merger tomorrow, what do we do?"
Suguru Geto looked at Yoru and Riko, his previously clouded eyes gradually becoming firm.
"What else?"
"If that is Riko's wish..."
"Then we two 'strongest' will just have to join Instructor Yoru and blow all those rotten orange higher-ups away."
The atmosphere had just become warm and passionate.
However, Yoru suddenly looked up. His eyes, which had activated the Transparent World, seemed to pierce through the thick walls of the aquarium to look at a corner in the far distance.
"You guys take Riko to the beach and play first."
Yoru patted Riko's back gently and pushed her toward Kuroi, his tone perfectly natural.
"I'm going to go buy some drinks."
"Huh? Can't Kuroi just go get the drinks?" Satoru grumbled.
But Yoru ignored him and walked into the crowd.
Okinawa Beach.
Sun, sand, and waves.
Riko and Kuroi played by the water in their swimsuits, while Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto played a childishly competitive game of volleyball on the sand.
Everything seemed so perfect.
Yet, on the rooftop of a deserted building several kilometers away from the beach.
Several well-hidden fly-head shikigami were staring intently at the group on the shore.
"Target confirmed. The Star Plasma Vessel and two escorts are present."
A curse user hidden in the shadows whispered into a radio.
"The monster with the black blade isn't here. This is the perfect chance!"
"Prepare to move. For that thirty million..."
"Slash!"
He didn't get to finish his thought.
A faint red blade qi, like a beam of light piercing through space, instantly severed his neck!
Not a single drop of blood even splattered; the cut had been cauterized by the extreme heat.
The fly-heads used for surveillance turned to ash at the exact same moment.
In the shadows of the building.
Yoru slowly sheathed Shiranui, looking coldly at the corpse of the man who had tried to scavenge a kill.
In the short thirty minutes since leaving the aquarium, he had secretly eliminated four waves of assassins trying to approach the beach.
Within the perception range of the Transparent World, there wasn't a single rat left brave enough to show its head.
Yoru turned and headed back to the beach.
He sat down under a parasol, holding several bottles of chilled drinks.
"Instructor! Come play with us!" Satoru shouted toward Yoru, using his Limitless technique to shamelessly block Suguru's spike.
"You guys go ahead."
Yoru waved with a smile, pressing a cold bottle of soda against his forehead to enjoy the chill.
However, his gaze was not fixed on the people playing by the sea.
Instead, he looked past the blue coastline, staring coldly into the distance.
It was too quiet.
The small-fries lured by the bounty had been wiped clean by him.
But the man he truly felt wary of—the one known as the Sorcerer Killer, the Sorcerer Killer.
He had yet to appear.
No presence, no cursed energy residue, not even a trace of killing intent.
It was as if he were a ghost that didn't exist in this world.
Yoru's fingers tightened slightly around the cold soda.
*Toji Fushiguro, just where are you hiding?*
This gamble against destiny was finally entering its most dangerous phase.