"Are you all alright?"
Jinsuke hadn't gone far before he found Maki and the others.
The shattered ground and collapsed buildings around them made it obvious that a fierce battle had just taken place.
"Master!"
Maki's hair was a mess, her glasses broken, and she was barely standing with her sword as support.Judging by appearances alone, she had taken quite the beating — but thankfully, it was nothing more than surface wounds.
"We're fine," she said, forcing a smile.
"I can tell," Jinsuke replied, resting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "That's enough for now. After this fight, you've passed."
"Eh…?" Maki froze, her eyes trembling slightly.
Her master's words—did that mean…?
"Master, do you mean— I passed the test?" she asked, her voice shaking with emotion.
She knew better than anyone that Jinsuke still had much stronger techniques he hadn't taught her yet. She had trained tirelessly, waiting for this day to come. Watching her classmates grow stronger so quickly while she hit a ceiling had been painful. She never said it aloud, but deep down, she blamed her own lack of talent.
Even though her physical strength surpassed most sorcerers, without her cursed tool glasses, she couldn't even see curses. The thing that kept her moving forward wasn't just the ridicule of the Zenin clan — it was her master's recognition.
"Don't get too excited yet," Jinsuke said with a faint smile. "Whether you can truly pull it off is another story. Rest up for now. Come back when you're in top shape."
Her body had already reached the standard needed to begin training in the Eight Gates, but whether she could truly cultivate the power of life force was uncertain — after all, she still had traces of cursed energy within her.
"I understand, Master. I won't let your expectations down!" Maki's eyes burned with determination — she would become as strong as him.
Meanwhile, Yuta checked on his companions. Once he saw that everyone was safe, he turned toward Rika — it was time to fulfill his promise to her.
After all, the power of pure love must one day be repaid.
Jinsuke looked at Rika — standing still, wide-eyed and eerie — and couldn't help but find it strangely comical. Such an immensely powerful cursed spirit… what a waste.
As the touching scene unfolded, Yuta prepared to die with Rika — but instead of perishing, he ended up breaking the curse, allowing Rika to regain her human form.
Yuta stared in disbelief. "Rika…"
Clap, clap, clap.
"Congratulations on breaking the curse." Gojo appeared, applauding lightly as he stepped into view.
"And who are you supposed to be?" Maki and the others looked confused. They had never seen Gojo without his blindfold, and for a moment, none of them recognized him.
"Me? I'm the incredibly handsome Satoru Gojo!" he said with a grin, before explaining Yuta's situation.
"Yuta's lineage is quite special — he's a descendant of one of the Three Great Vengeful Spirits, Michizane Sugawara. In other words… a distant relative of mine."
Jinsuke had already known all of this. It didn't interest him, so he quietly turned to leave.
In his mind, the Eight Gates scripture continued to unfold — now, seven pages were fully open:
[Gate of Opening: 100%]
[Gate of Healing: 100%]
[Gate of Life: 100%]
[Gate of Pain: 100%]
[Gate of Limit: 100%]
[Gate of View: 100%]
[Gate of Wonder: 100%]
[Gate of Death: 0.8%]
After such a fruitful battle, the Eight Gates were nearly complete.
He noticed, however, that the life force gained from exorcising curses had diminished — or perhaps, it was simply that the next stage required far greater amounts of energy.
"This last gate…" he mused. "It might take several more large-scale massacres — or a few Special Grades — to open it."
A grin tugged at his lips. "Looks like I'll be relying on Geto again."
The small boss was gone, but the big one hadn't appeared yet. Plenty more wool to shear.
Even with the combined power of Heavenly Restriction and the Seventh Gate, he was already unmatched — but leaving it unfinished just didn't feel right.
Geto probably never imagined that even after death, someone would still be milking him for benefits.
With the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons over, the Jujutsu world finally entered a brief moment of peace.
But three days later, the higher-ups made a decision that shattered that peace completely.
"The higher-ups have decided to expel two second-year students — Hakari and Kirara."
In the Tokyo Jujutsu High meeting room, Principal Yaga announced the new order.
The techniques of Hakari and Kirara had once again stirred the disapproval of the conservative elders. Techniques too close to modern science made them uncomfortable — and what they disliked, they simply erased.
"That's ridiculous!" Riko was the first to slam the table and stand.
"They didn't break any rules! They fought in the Night Parade too! How can they be expelled?"
Just because the elders didn't understand their techniques — they wanted to throw them out? What kind of justice was that?
The other teachers stayed silent. They all knew it was pointless to argue; the higher-ups never listened.
Gojo lounged in his chair, hands spread casually, looking thoroughly entertained. He turned to the man across from him.
"Hey, your students are about to be expelled. Don't you have anything to say about it?"
Jinsuke crossed his legs, a faint smirk on his face.
"Ah, thank you for reminding me, Gojo-sensei. I almost forgot I had those two as students."
"So what'll you do?"
Jinsuke tapped his finger against the table, pretending to ponder.
"Seems there's only one option left… I'll just kill all the old men."
His eyes lit up, clearly finding the idea satisfying.
Instantly, Yaga and the other teachers broke into a cold sweat.
"Wait, wait, Zenin-sensei!" Yaga said, panicked. "There's still room to negotiate! I'll speak with the higher-ups again!"
He knew Jinsuke wasn't joking — this was a man who'd slaughtered his own clan members without hesitation. Killing a few elders would be nothing to him.
Sure, the old men were stubborn, but without them, the Jujutsu world would descend into chaos.
"Hahaha!" Gojo burst out laughing. "Not a bad plan! Kill the old geezers and we'll run the higher-ups ourselves!"
If there was anyone who hated the higher-ups more than anyone else, it was Gojo. He argued with them constantly, and if not for timing and politics, he might've acted on it already.
"Gojo!" Yaga barked, cutting him off quickly. He was terrified that someone might overhear this conversation.
"Zenin-sensei, I'll report this to the higher-ups personally," Yaga said firmly. "I swear, Hakari and Kirara will not be expelled."
He could only hope that his authority as principal would be enough to make them back down — otherwise, things were about to get very, very messy.