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-----
"Gojo-sensei!"
When Satoru Gojo returned to the restricted room with Naruto and Yuki Tsukumo, Itadori Yuji, who was confined there, immediately stepped forward and asked,
"What happened outside?"
"Small problem, it's already solved."
Satoru Gojo waved his hand, then said,
"However, there was a slight accident. Sukuna's fingers, which were stored at the school, were stolen during the chaos."
"Stolen?"
Upon hearing this, Itadori Yuji fell silent for a moment, then calmly asked,
"Does that mean I'm useless now?"
"How could that be?"
Satoru Gojo shook his head, then his eyes, hidden beneath his blindfold, narrowed slightly as he smiled and said,
"On the contrary, you might have been the target."
"Me...?"
Itadori Yuji was stunned by Satoru Gojo's words, then curiously asked, "Is it because I can suppress Sukuna?"
"Hmm, it's highly likely."
Satoru Gojo nodded. Sukuna's fingers had been stored at Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical High School for decades without any issues. Now, as soon as a 'vessel' capable of containing the fingers appeared, the remaining fingers were immediately stolen. To say there was no connection would be impossible.
Satoru Gojo even suspected that Itadori Yuji's contact with Sukuna's fingers was the result of deliberate guidance.
Not only that, but the Cursed Spirits who stole Sukuna's fingers, in addition to knowing exactly where they were stored, also had a complete grasp of the Jujutsu Sorcerers' information.
That information was definitely not something Cursed Spirits could possess, so there must be someone on their side colluding with those Cursed Spirits, and their status was not low.
Both Satoru Gojo and Yuki Tsukumo already had suspects in mind, but due to the special status of the suspects, they hadn't decided how to handle the situation.
"Then what should I do?"
Itadori Yuji's face instantly darkened upon hearing Satoru Gojo's affirmative answer, then he asked,
"Are you going to keep me locked up here forever?"
"Of course not."
Satoru Gojo smiled slightly at Itadori Yuji's words and said, "If I kept you locked up here forever, what if those scheming guys never showed up?"
"Understood."
Upon hearing Satoru Gojo's words, Itadori Yuji immediately understood his meaning, then looked at him calmly and said,
"You want to use me as bait to draw out those who stole Sukuna's fingers?"
"Exactly."
Satoru Gojo nodded frankly, then pulled down his blindfold, looking at him seriously as he asked,
"Are you scared?"
"Hmm, a little."
Itadori Yuji also nodded very frankly, admitting he was a little scared, then smiled at Satoru Gojo and said,
"But you definitely won't let me die easily, right?"
"Hahaha!"
Satoru Gojo burst into laughter at Itadori Yuji's words, then looked at him confidently and replied,
"Of course, I'm the strongest!"
"Hehe, then it's no problem."
Itadori Yuji also smiled, looking at Satoru Gojo's confident gaze, then asked, "What do you need me to do next?"
"You don't need to do anything specific."
Satoru Gojo put his blindfold back on, then casually sat in the chair in front of him, saying in a relaxed tone, "Next, you just need to enroll normally and focus on learning about Cursed Energy—Oh, right, I forgot to introduce you."
Satoru Gojo suddenly remembered something, then raised his hand and pointed to Naruto and Yuki Tsukumo, who had come with him, saying,
"They are Naruto and Yuki Tsukumo-sensei. One will be your classmate, and the other will be your Jujutsu teacher."
"Hey, hey!"
As soon as Satoru Gojo finished speaking, Yuki Tsukumo immediately retorted, "When did I say I was going to teach the kids? Don't just assign me work casually!"
"Now, now, don't be so quick to refuse, Senior."
Satoru Gojo pulled down his blindfold, revealing one eye as he looked at Yuki Tsukumo and said,
"Next, I'll be fully focused on tracking down the guy who stole Geto's body. I won't have much time to stay at the school, so I'll have to rely on you, Senior, for the safety here. Otherwise, I wouldn't feel at ease leaving."
"Even so, I don't want to teach kids. It's too much trouble," Yuki Tsukumo said, turning her head away.
"It won't be too much trouble."
Satoru Gojo stood up, raising both hands to point at Naruto and Itadori Yuji respectively, and said,
"Aside from these two Jujutsu novices, the other two students are already very excellent Jujutsu Sorcerers. Senior only needs to supervise them when they go on missions. And Senior, you probably want to witness the growth of these two kids firsthand, right?"
Although Satoru Gojo didn't know why Yuki Tsukumo specifically wanted to see Itadori Yuji, he could sense that she had a special interest in Itadori Yuji. Moreover, Yuki Tsukumo would definitely personally guide Naruto's Jujutsu training, and since he had other things to do, it was a good opportunity to have her teach Itadori Yuji as well.
By the way, the most important learning task for Jujutsu High students is practical missions, and they even get paid.
"Hmph!"
Yuki Tsukumo did not immediately agree after hearing Satoru Gojo's words, nor did she directly refuse. Instead, she turned her gaze towards Itadori Yuji, staring at him with a complex expression for a while, then asked,
"Kid, tell me about your family?"
"???"
Itadori Yuji was momentarily stunned by Yuki Tsukumo's sudden question, then replied,
"I'm currently living with my grandfather, but he's not well and is currently hospitalized."
Yuki Tsukumo frowned upon hearing this, then continued to ask, "What about your parents?"
"Parents—"
Itadori Yuji pursed his lips and remained silent for a while before answering, "My mother left after I was born, and my father works out of town and rarely comes back."
"Left—"
Yuki Tsukumo's frown deepened upon hearing Itadori Yuji's answer, and she asked again, "Can I meet your grandfather?"
She had originally intended to ask to see Itadori Yuji's father, but from Itadori Yuji's tone when he mentioned his father, she could tell that their father-son relationship was likely not harmonious, so she changed her target and requested to meet Itadori Yuji's grandfather.
"Meet Grandpa?"
Itadori Yuji looked at Yuki Tsukumo curiously for a moment upon hearing her request, then replied,
"I need to ask Grandpa, but he probably won't refuse."
"Okay, thank you."
Yuki Tsukumo nodded slightly upon hearing Itadori Yuji's reply, then turned to Satoru Gojo and said, "I agree to your request, but only until you find that guy. Once you find him, I'm out."
"No problem."
Satoru Gojo immediately nodded upon hearing Yuki Tsukumo's request, then smiled and said, "I believe it won't trouble you for too long, Senior."
"Hmph, it better not!"
Yuki Tsukumo snorted lightly, then turned to Naruto and said, "Naruto, let's go."
"Oh!"
Naruto nodded. His gaze had been fixed on observing Itadori Yuji. As he left, his eyes met Itadori Yuji's, who was looking at him, and both felt a strange sense of familiarity, or rather, closeness, in each other's gaze.
---
Kyoto, within a certain special space.
"Yo, Mahito."
Kenjaku, seeing Mahito toying with one of Sukuna's fingers, immediately smiled and raised his hand to greet him, then said with relief,
"It's great that you're still alive."
"You too."
Mahito looked at Kenjaku, narrowing his eyes as he stared at him for a moment, then said, "Jogo, Dagon and Hanami are dead, but it's great that you made it back alive!"
"Don't say that."
Kenjaku pretended not to notice the sarcasm in Mahito's words, his expression unchanged as he pulled aside his clothes to reveal a deep, bone-deep scar he had deliberately left on his chest, and said with a wry smile,
"Although it was indeed my mistake this time, misjudging Yuki Tsukumo's strength, I almost didn't make it back."
"Is that so?"
Mahito glanced at the scar on Kenjaku's chest, his eyes narrowing into a slit, then he smiled and said, "That's truly a pity."
Mahito's "pity" was ambiguous, whether it referred to the deaths of Jogo and Hanami, or to the fact that Kenjaku had not died.
"Yes, without Hanami, Jogo, and Dagon's combat power, our plan will be more difficult to execute."
Kenjaku also said with a look of regret, then looked at Sukuna's finger in Mahito's hand and said,
"But thankfully, you brought back Sukuna's fingers, so it's still a gain."
"Is that so?"
Mahito blinked at Kenjaku's words, then raised Sukuna's finger in his hand and asked, "So, what are you planning to do with this thing?"
"What to do!"
Kenjaku pondered for a moment with a thoughtful expression upon hearing this, then replied,
"Originally, I planned to use these fingers to revive Sukuna, but given the current situation, I might be in big trouble next, so I must change the plan. How many of Sukuna's fingers did you get?"
"Nine."
Upon hearing this, Mahito casually took out a scroll and opened it directly. Inside were eight Sukuna's fingers fixed in place, plus the one he was toying with in his hand, making exactly nine.
"Nine..."
Kenjaku looked at the nine Sukuna's fingers Mahito took out, and also took out a sealed scroll from his body, which similarly sealed seven of Sukuna's fingers, then said,
"I have seven here. Plus the nine you brought back, that's a total of sixteen. Adding the one swallowed by that 'vessel,' that makes seventeen. We only need three more to revive the King of Curses in his prime. However, if the King of Curses in his prime were to be revived, he might not follow our plan, so this number is just right."
"Just right?"
Mahito's eyes narrowed again upon hearing Kenjaku's words, then he asked, "Do you think Ryomen Sukuna with only seventeen fingers can defeat Satoru Gojo?"
During this attack on Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical High School, although Mahito did not directly confront Satoru Gojo, he saw him defeat Hanami from a distance and gained some understanding of Satoru Gojo's strength. To be honest, it didn't think that Ryomen Sukuna, not in his prime, had the ability to defeat a "monster" like Satoru Gojo. No, it should be said that even Ryomen Sukuna in his prime might not be able to defeat Satoru Gojo, the "strongest" of this era.
"He can't win."
Kenjaku shook his head directly, stating with certainty, "Unless the King of Curses in his prime is fully revived, it's absolutely impossible to defeat Satoru Gojo."
Mahito couldn't help but feel a little confused upon hearing Kenjaku's definitive answer, then he tentatively asked, "Reviving the King of Curses in his prime carries risks, but if he's not revived, you can't deal with Satoru Gojo. So what are you planning to do?"
"To complete our plan, reviving the King of Curses in his prime is an inevitable step, but this can be done later. We can first use his fingers to do some other things."
Kenjaku said with a smile, then took out a cube covered in eyes and said, "Besides, to deal with Satoru Gojo, we don't necessarily have to defeat him head-on."
"Then that must be—Prison Realm?!"
Mahito's eyes widened upon seeing what Kenjaku held, then he realized with a start and said, "I can't believe you even got your hands on something like this. So you want to use Prison Realm to seal Satoru Gojo?"
"Exactly, but it's not for me to use, it's for you."
Kenjaku nodded, then directly threw all of Sukuna's fingers and the Prison Realm to Mahito, saying,
"Next, I will be relentlessly pursued by Satoru Gojo, and his attention will be completely focused on me. You take this opportunity to go to Jujutsu High again, bring out another Special Grade Cursed Object, 'Cursed Womb: Death Painting,' then use Sukuna's fingers to incarnate and revive them, thereby restoring our combat power. Then, according to the original plan, create chaos to force Satoru Gojo to return and finally, at all costs, use Prison Realm to seal him!"
Mahito caught Sukuna's fingers and the Prison Realm that Kenjaku threw to him. After listening to his plan, he stared at him in silence for a while before nodding and saying,
"Okay, I'll do as you say."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Kenjaku smiled upon hearing Mahito's reply and said, "If I don't survive Satoru Gojo's pursuit, our plan will be entirely up to you, Mahito!"
With that, he didn't wait for Mahito's response and directly turned and left the space.
Only Mahito remained standing there with a complex expression, staring at his retreating back, wondering what he was thinking.
Mahito had never fully trusted Kenjaku and had always been wary of him.
During this operation, the deaths of Hanami, Dagon, and Jogo further heightened Mahito's vigilance towards Kenjaku to its highest level.
It had even thought that when they met again, they might directly turn hostile, but it didn't expect Kenjaku to suddenly display such an almost final farewell attitude towards it.
This caused Mahito's original wary attitude towards Kenjaku to suddenly waver, and even produced some inexplicable emotions.
However, that emotion was quickly dispelled by Mahito, who then looked at Sukuna's fingers and the Prison Realm in his hand, a look of excited delight appearing on his face.
With these things, it could now play to its heart's content!