Under Satoru Gojo's arbitrary decision, the bloody and brutal cursed spirit hunting segment of the Sister-School Goodwill Event came to a hasty end in a way no one could have predicted.
Replacing it was a "Tokyo-Kyoto Sister-School Talent Show" that sounded so cringe-inducing it made people's toes curl.
Once the official news was announced, wails of despair echoed everywhere.
Inside a large activity room at Tokyo Jujutsu High, the students from both schools looked as if they had been forced to eat garbage. Their faces were ashen, radiating a thick aura of resentment.
This resentment was so strong that it even attracted a few low-grade cursed spirits to circle outside the window, curiously peering in at this group of youths who were practically overflowing with grievances.
"So, why did it turn out like this?" Nobara Kugisaki muttered weakly, sprawled over the table and absentmindedly stabbing the surface with a nail. "Wasn't it supposed to be a sister-school mixer? How did it turn into a talent show?!"
"Besides, we're jujutsu sorcerers! Why do we have to put on a talent show?!"
Megumi Fushiguro pushed up his sunglasses, his eyes beneath the lenses equally filled with despair. "Give it up. It's Gojo-sensei's decision."
That single sentence plunged everyone into an even deeper silence. Why did Gojo-sensei always become so unreliable right when people started thinking he was actually dependable?
Amidst this dead silence of despair, a man stood up. Like a lighthouse in the dark of night, he radiated a scorching and dazzling light.
Aoi Todo!
Wearing a white tank top, his robust, bronze muscles gleamed under the lights. He wore a meticulously serious expression, as if he were about to deliver an incredibly important speech.
"How could you possibly find this boring?!" he bellowed, his voice booming so loudly that dust drifted down from the ceiling. "Have you guys forgotten the true meaning of youth?!"
"Combat is youth! Sweat is youth! Therefore, unleashing our passion and talent on stage is also youth! Is this not the best way to deepen the bonds between best friends?!"
'Todo... actually makes a bit of sense?'
'Like hell he does!' Nobara slammed her script directly onto the table.
Before the others could even process his twisted logic, Aoi Todo waved his large hand and pushed a massive whiteboard into the center of the room. Written across it in flamboyant strokes were two large words: "Best Friends!"
He picked up a marker and began passionately outlining his concept for a stage play—a hot-blooded tale of muscles, friendship, and romance.
The lead actors, naturally, were himself and his "one and only best friend," Yuji Itadori.
Yuji Itadori himself was actually very cooperative. After all, it was something his best friend wanted to do, so of course he would support it unconditionally.
However, the expressions on everyone else's faces looked exactly like Suguru Geto's whenever he swallowed a cursed spirit.
While the students were dominated by Todo's enthusiasm and forced to rehearse this stage play full of sweat and shouting, Ian and Satoru Gojo were sitting on the observation deck of Jujutsu High, leisurely enjoying the Kikufuku mochi that Gojo had highly recommended.
"When you say 'old fossils,' are you referring to those ancient geezers hiding behind the scenes in the Big Three Sorcerer Families?" Satoru Gojo asked with seeming nonchalance, but his Six Eyes were operating at high speed, analyzing every piece of information Ian brought.
Ian shook his head and popped an edamame cream-flavored mochi into his mouth. "Not just them."
"To be precise, it's those ancient curse users who were defeated by past generations of jujutsu sorcerers but couldn't be completely exorcised for various reasons, leaving them sealed away under layers of restrictions. The balance of the world has been broken by us. In order to find a new equilibrium, the world will strengthen the cursed spirits' side, so the seals have naturally loosened."
Satoru Gojo's movements paused slightly. He understood what this meant. Those were monsters who had once stirred up storms of blood and carnage throughout history. Every single one of them would be far more difficult to deal with than an ordinary special grade cursed spirit.
"As for the newly born cursed spirits..." Ian's gaze grew profound, as if piercing through space to see the other side of the world. "Humanity's fear of the ocean birthed Dagon; the fear of the forest birthed Hanami; the fear of the earth birthed Jogo."
"But don't forget, there are many other fears that surpass all of these."
"Like what?" Satoru Gojo's expression became more serious than ever before.
Ian's lips curled into a playful smile. "On a grand scale, there's the fear of the sun. The fear of the universe. On a smaller scale, there's humanity's fear of modern weapons, of nuclear bombs."
"The cursed spirits gestated from such fears will surely be quite extraordinary."
Satoru Gojo fell silent. He knew that the landscape of the jujutsu world was truly about to change.
He hesitated no longer and dialed a number right in front of Ian.
The phone rang for a long time before it was connected. From the other end came a woman's voice that sounded somewhat lazy, yet carried a hint of intellect and free-spiritedness.
"My, Satoru? What a rare guest. To think you'd actually contact me on your own initiative. Have you finally decided to accept my proposal and solve the cursed spirit problem at its root?"
"Yuki, let's put that aside for now," Satoru Gojo said, his tone incredibly serious. "Return to Japan immediately. There's a special grade mission. No, it's a crisis that could shake the very foundation of the jujutsu world."
On the other end of the line, Yuki Tsukumo fell silent for a moment before chuckling. "If it's making you speak in that tone, it seems things really are serious."
"Alright, I'll head back as soon as I can. It just so happens I'm quite interested in everything that's been going on lately anyway."
Hanging up, Satoru Gojo dialed another number.
This time, the call was answered almost instantly. A gentle, apologetic teenage boy's voice came through. "Gojo-sensei! I'm so sorry, I'm in the middle of a mission right now."
"Yuta," Satoru Gojo interrupted him directly. "Drop the mission you have on hand immediately and hurry back. A massive upheaval is about to happen in the jujutsu world."
Currently on his mission, Yuta Okkotsu paused slightly before agreeing without hesitation. "Yes, understood, Gojo-sensei!"
Having done all this, Satoru Gojo finally felt a slight wave of relief. The impending return of two special grade jujutsu sorcerers was undoubtedly a crucial counterweight for the coming crisis.
With them around, he would be able to let loose and deal with those undying old fossils when the time came!
He turned to look at Ian, only to find the other man watching with great interest as the group of students in the activity room below were being tortured half to death by Aoi Todo.
"What are you looking at?" Satoru Gojo asked curiously.
Ian smiled. "Come see for yourself. Don't you think this is much more interesting than just simple fighting and killing?"
Satoru Gojo leaned over and looked down, only to see Yuji and Todo putting on a passionately radiant performance that was so awkward it made his toes curl.