The birth of cursed spirits with intelligence, and even a twisted sense of humor, was something that had never occurred in the history of the jujutsu world.
As for what such an intelligent cursed spirit might be thinking, even Gojo Satoru found it difficult to predict.
But regardless of its intentions, as a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer, Gojo only had one choice at this stage:
strengthen the power of the jujutsu world and remain flexible enough to deal with any changes.
Thinking of this, Gojo suddenly said to the girl,
"It would be difficult for you to return to your old school now, wouldn't it? Get ready and come to Jujutsu High."
"Me?"
"What's wrong? Do you have friends waiting for you at your high school?"
"No… I just…"
The girl took a small breath.
"No, it's nothing."
Then, hesitantly, she asked,
"Can I… can I see my mother one last time?"
Gojo froze for a moment before realizing she had misunderstood.
She had probably imagined Jujutsu High as some sort of secret training base for jujutsu sorcerers.
Well—
to be fair, he couldn't completely deny that description.
But in reality, Jujutsu High was still very much a school.
It followed a standard three-year system, and aside from its specialized curriculum for training jujutsu sorcerers, it was almost no different from an ordinary high school.
Well, aside from the fact that the number of students was ridiculously small.
"You can go home whenever you want."
Gojo waved his hand dismissively.
"Although it's technically a suspended death sentence, it's not as serious as you think.
As long as you work hard and raise your level as a sorcerer, once you reach Special Grade, the death sentence will naturally be lifted.
During this period, just treat Jujutsu High like a normal boarding school.
You can still go home on weekends."
"Ah…"
The girl stared at him in disbelief.
"Is that really okay?
From the way you described it, I thought I was some kind of dangerous special case.
I thought someone would have to monitor me… that I'd be separated from my mother from now on."
"Hahaha, it's not that serious."
Gojo replied casually.
"We're human too, you know.
Naturally, we have families.
We can't exactly ask jujutsu sorcerers to risk their lives on the front lines and then forbid them from ever going home, can we?
There's no such rule."
"No, that's not what I meant…"
the girl said hesitantly.
"I meant… you."
Gojo let out an "Oh," finally understanding what she meant.
He turned toward her, tilted his head slightly, and flashed a bright smile.
"Oh my, we've been talking for so long that I completely forgot to introduce myself.
It's a little embarrassing to say this about myself, but if it helps put Junpei-chan at ease, then let me give you a slightly arrogant introduction."
He deliberately paused before speaking casually.
"I am Gojo Satoru."
"For now—
I am the strongest sorcerer on this planet."
Then he laughed brightly and added,
"In this country, I have a bit of influence."
Hmm, things are progressing very smoothly, Mahito thought to himself.
At this moment, he was seeing the world through Yoshino Junpei's eyes.
Although he was not directly controlling Junpei's body, if he wished, he could instantly transform her into one of his clones.
Even now, he could perceive her thoughts and emotions.
He could even remotely influence the minor hormonal fluctuations within her body, subtly guiding her mental state—
or even reconstructing her personality entirely.
As expected, Gojo Satoru had failed to notice any of this.
That was only natural.
Before this, let alone a cursed spirit as cunning as Mahito, the cursed spirits recorded throughout the history of the jujutsu world had all been little more than beasts with intelligence inferior to dolphins.
Naturally, it was almost impossible to imagine that a cursed spirit would employ such a cautious and elaborate method to plant a spy.
In fact, the very fact that Gojo had even asked Junpei whether she stood on humanity's side was already cautious enough.
But even if he were killed, Gojo probably still could not imagine the truth.
While Junpei did indeed consider herself to be on humanity's side, she also believed that as long as humans ruled humans, true beauty would never come into being.
Therefore, compared to humanity ruling itself, a cursed spirit ascending as a god to rule over humanity was, in her eyes, the better path.
Jujutsu sorcerers were all more or less touched by madness.
But even among them, Yoshino Junpei was undoubtedly an outlier among outliers.
And it was precisely because of that abnormality that even when Gojo cautiously used the Six Eyes to examine her, it ultimately proved futile.
Junpei successfully entered Jujutsu High.
From here, all that remained was to gain access to every piece of knowledge within the school.
Once obtained, all of it would be synchronized back to Mahito.
At this stage, Mahito's plan could be said to have been executed perfectly.
And now—
it was time to consider other matters.
For example—
"Cool—!"
A sudden voice interrupted Mahito's thoughts.
He looked toward the source.
A spatial gate was slowly closing, and Kenjaku was leading someone through from the other side. (T/N: So Kenjaku can casually make portals now?)
It was a strange-looking man.
He had blond hair tied into an asymmetrical ponytail and three purple triangular markings beneath each eye.
He wore a black jumpsuit that left his right shoulder exposed, along with brown shoes.
He looked around with unrestrained curiosity, like a child arriving at an amusement park.
Although he was standing still, it was obvious that his mind had already rushed ahead.
His gaze slowly swept across the room before finally settling on Mahito.
Then he flashed a broad smile—
one filled with childlike innocence.
"I'm Hijiri Shunta.
Hello, cursed spirit."