Bang!
A deafening crash exploded within the core meeting room of the General Headquarters.
A precious solid wood conference table was smashed to pieces by a white-haired elder, his face contorted in uncontrollable fury.
"Absurd! This is utterly ridiculous!"
The old man's snowy beard trembled violently, his clouded eyes burning with a rage he couldn't hide.
"The merger with Master Tengen actually failed?!"
"The Star Plasma Vessel, Riko Amanai, was killed in the deepest depths of the Tombs of the Star Corridor? Despite being guarded by two Special Grade sorcerers like Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto, she was taken out by some assassin with zero cursed energy?!"
"You useless fools! What on earth were you doing?!"
The meeting room was packed with the core leadership of the jujutsu world.
They each had their eyes covered with cloths or hid behind folding screens.
But at this moment, the oppressive and angry cursed energy radiating from them made the air in the room feel heavy enough to suffocate.
"Calm yourself, Great Elder."
A cold voice drifted from behind a screen.
"The most critical issue right now isn't assigning blame, but Master Tengen's status."
"With the merger failed, Master Tengen is evolving into something indescribable. Although he currently maintains the barriers and hasn't completely lost his sanity..."
"This is like a highly unstable time bomb! He could blow the entire jujutsu world to smithereens at any second!"
"Exactly!"
Another high-up chimed in urgently.
"Moreover, how did that assassin, Toji Fushiguro, manage to infiltrate the Tombs of the Star Corridor? Are Jujutsu High's barriers made of tissue paper?!"
"The most infuriating one is that fellow named Yoru!"
A conservative high-up tapped his cane angrily.
"Doesn't he call himself an 'External Instructor'? Doesn't he claim he can kill a Special Grade in a single strike? Why didn't he protect the Star Plasma Vessel at the most critical moment?!"
"In my opinion, this was a malicious conspiracy! That freak Yoru, who has no cursed energy, might have been in league with the Star Religious Group or that assassin all along!"
"I propose we immediately strip Yoru of his position as External Instructor and subject him to a severe trial on charges of negligence and suspected treason!"
"Seconded!"
"I concur!"
For a moment, the room was filled with righteous indignation.
These decaying rotten oranges were masters at quickly finding a scapegoat whenever they faced the unknown.
And Yoru, an uncontrollable outsider with no cursed energy, was undoubtedly the perfect candidate to take the fall.
"Strip him of his status? A trial?"
Just as the high-ups were excitedly preparing to issue an execution order...
An arrogant and lazy voice suddenly drifted in from outside the closed doors.
"You senile old rotten oranges... have you spent so much time underground that your brains have rotted into mush?"
BOOM!
Accompanied by an explosion of terrifying cursed energy...
The meeting room doors, crafted from special cursed tools, were instantly reduced to splinters by a horrifying repulsive force!
A violent gale swept through the room, scattering teacups and documents in every direction.
Several elderly members were even knocked to the floor by the pressure, groaning in a pathetic heap.
As the dust settled...
A tall white-haired youth in a tattered Jujutsu High uniform casually stepped over the wreckage, entering the room that represented the highest authority in the jujutsu world.
Satoru Gojo.
He wasn't wearing his sunglasses, and his brilliant eyes—the Six Eyes that mirrored the starry sky—coldly swept over every official present.
"Satoru! You... How dare you be so arrogant!"
The Great Elder pointed at Satoru, his finger trembling violently.
"This is the General Headquarters! This isn't your Gojo family's backyard! You are openly defying the entire jujutsu world!"
"Defying?"
Satoru gave a contemptuous laugh.
He casually pulled over a still-intact chair and sat down dominantly with his legs spread wide.
"I'm exactly defying you. What are you going to do about it?"
Satoru casually crossed his legs and rested his hands on his knees.
The absolute sense of pressure radiating from his very core forced every high-up to shut their mouths in unison.
They were furious, but they weren't stupid.
The terrifying fluctuations of cursed energy emanating from Satoru were leagues above what they had been before the mission!
It was an invincible, absolute power.
"You were saying something about putting Yoru on trial?"
Satoru stared coldly at the Great Elder.
"I suggest you wake up."
"The death of the Star Plasma Vessel was the work of that assassin, Toji Fushiguro. And that monster assassin—who almost killed even me—was driven off by Yoru's brute strength!"
"If it wasn't for Yoru, what you'd be looking at right now wouldn't be me and Suguru alive and well, but three cold corpses!"
"Furthermore..."
Satoru paused, his lips curling into a mocking smirk.
"Do you really think you can use your pathetic little 'authority' to judge a monster capable of wiping the floor with the Sorcerer Killer?"
"If you piss him off, believe me, he could easily turn all you rotten oranges and this dump into ash."
These words were like sharp daggers, precisely piercing the vulnerabilities of everyone present.
They feared Yoru precisely because he possessed a powerful force that they couldn't control.
If they truly dropped all pretenses, who could guarantee that the zero-cursed-energy madman wouldn't march straight to their door?
"..."
The Great Elder swallowed hard, his tone noticeably softening.
"Even if Yoru repelled the assassin, the fact remains that he failed to protect the Star Plasma Vessel! Someone has to take responsibility!"
"Responsibility?"
Satoru scoffed with extreme disdain.
"Master Tengen's failed merger happened because he's useless. What does that have to do with us?"
"As for responsibility..."
Satoru stood up arrogantly, looking down on the cluster of decaying old men.
"I am telling you this formally."
"From today onward, Yoru is under the full protection of the Gojo family!"
"Anyone who dares touch a single hair on his head is declaring open war on the entire Gojo family!"
"And one more thing..."
Satoru casually raised his right hand, pressing his index and middle fingers together as a faint, dark red light flickered at his fingertips.
"I have now perfectly mastered the Reverse Cursed Technique."
"Which means..."
A dangerous killing intent flashed in Satoru's eyes.
"It's highly likely that I am... truly the strongest in the world now."
A terrifying threat.
Naked military deterrence.
Faced with a Satoru Gojo who had awakened the Reverse Cursed Technique and was now leagues above everyone else—and the full protection of the ancient and powerful Gojo family—the high-ups fell silent.
The high-ups of the General Headquarters fell into a complete silence.
They were humiliated and enraged, yet they were helpless.
Because in this cruel jujutsu world, absolute strength was the absolute truth!
"We... understand."
The Great Elder slumped back into his chair, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
"Regarding Yoru's trial... it will be suspended for now."
"As for his status as an External Instructor... it shall be retained."
Hearing the satisfactory answer, Satoru let out a cold, contemptuous smirk.
He casually retracted the cursed energy from his fingertips and turned to walk out of the sickening meeting room with a swagger.
As he reached the door, he gave a casual wave of his hand.
"Just a friendly piece of advice."
"Stop with these boring little schemes behind people's backs."
"Because next time..."
"I might not stop at just kicking down your front door."
Watching Satoru's arrogant departure, the high-ups gritted their teeth in humiliation.
Yoru's reputation hadn't been damaged by the failed mission.
On the contrary, because he survived an encounter with the Sorcerer Killer, drove him off, and gained the full backing of the Gojo family, his name became even more prominent among the Big Three Families and the entire jujutsu world!
But while it's easy to dodge an open spear, it's hard to guard against a hidden arrow.
Would these rotten oranges, accustomed to controlling everything, really just let it go?
In a dark corner, a pair of calculating eyes watched it all coldly.
The gears of fate continued to turn relentlessly.