The Forest.
The Tokyo Team sped through the dense woods.
White Zetsu (in Haruta's body) clung tightly to Panda, his body pressed close to Maki and Inumaki for protection. He displayed his ruthless yet cowardly nature to the fullest.
"What the heck..."
Yuji Itadori glanced at the White Zetsu hiding behind him and muttered speechlessly. "He says I've grown up, but he's still hiding behind his seniors like a scared cat."
Hearing this, Nobara Kugisaki almost stumbled.
"Pink-haired Punk, have you been brainwashed by White Zetsu?"
"Brainwashed?" Yuji waved his hands frantically. "No way! Zetsu is always by my side, so maybe I'm just used to it!"
"Don't wrong me, Nobara," Yuji lowered his voice, sighing. "I just think... Senior Zetsu is actually really nice."
Yuji had met three Cursed Spirits capable of speech.
One was a Volcano (Jogo) that attacked him at night.
One was a Patchface (Mahito) whom he hated to the core.
Compared to them, White Zetsu was... harmless. Just a Cursed Spirit that liked to show off occasionally.
"I genuinely think Zetsu is a good guy," Yuji said earnestly.
"Yeah..."
Nobara's eyes darkened. She looked away, her voice barely a whisper.
"The Mama's Boy... isn't too bad."
Yuji nodded, then glanced back at Zetsu before leaning in to whisper to the two beside him.
"Nobara. Megumi."
"What did Gojo-sensei say to you two after I was resurrected that day?"
"Why do you guys seem to be avoiding Zetsu today?"
"What?!" Nobara and Megumi shouted in unison, startled.
"No?" Yuji blinked at their intense reaction. He chuckled nervously. "Maybe it was just my imagination then."
That day in the operating room, after receiving a phone call, Gojo-sensei had spoken privately with Megumi and Nobara. Yuji didn't know the content, but his instincts told him something was off. Today, they were deliberately avoiding eye contact with Zetsu.
"First-years! Stop daydreaming!"
Maki called out from the front. "Incoming from the other side!"
There was no need for a warning.
The noise was like a bulldozer climbing a mountain. It immediately attracted everyone's attention.
CRASH!
A large tree snapped in half. Billowing dust rose into the air.
"YOSHI!"
"IT'S SO GOOD THAT YOU'RE ALL HERE!"
A burly figure emerged from the smoke, exuding a powerful aura like a tiger descending a mountain.
With his upper body completely naked, Aoi Todo grinned maniacally.
"Come at me all at once!"
"Come on! Let's fight to our hearts' content!"
"Proceed according to plan!" Panda shouted.
The team instantly split.
Yuji narrowed his eyes and charged forward with a vengeance. He leaped up, delivering a powerful kick aimed straight at Todo's head.
Team A: Maki, Nobara, Megumi.
Team B: White Zetsu, Panda, Inumaki.
The two groups scattered into the forest to hunt Curses, leaving Yuji to hold off the monster known as Todo Aoi.
...
BAM!
Todo raised his arms, easily blocking Yuji's full-force kick. He didn't even flinch.
"Not bad, Freshman!"
Todo let out a sinister laugh. He twisted his body and threw a punch.
The fist, as big as a clay pot, grew larger in Yuji's vision.
BOOM!
Yuji crashed through several large trees in succession.
He flew backward for more than ten meters, skidding to a halt in the dirt. He felt a faint sensation of a bone fracture in both forearms.
"Newbie," Todo clenched his fists, approaching step by step.
"Before I beat you unconscious... let me ask you a question."
Todo bent his knees slightly, assuming a combat stance.
"What type of woman do you like?"
...
Team A (Maki, Megumi, Nobara).
Maki took a Cursed Tool from Megumi's shadow. She stopped running and turned to look at Nobara.
"Nobara. Are you hiding something from me?"
Yuji wasn't the only one who noticed. Maki had sensed it too.
Megumi usually had a grumpy face, so his silence was normal. But Nobara was different. Her fiery temper had gone silent today. She was distracted.
"Maki-neechan, I..." Nobara bit her lip.
She took a deep breath and glared at Megumi.
"You say it now!"
"Didn't that Bastard say today was the last day?!"
"The competition has already started! There's no need to hide it anymore!"
Megumi was stunned by her sudden outburst. Why are you yelling at me?
"It wasn't my arrangement!" Megumi sighed, seeing Maki's serious expression.
"It's about White Zetsu..."
Regardless of the outcome, he and Nobara had completed their mission for the day. There was no need to hide it from their team leader.
"Actually," Megumi began slowly. "After Yuji was resurrected that day, Gojo-sensei assigned us a Secret Mission."
"To probe the secrets of White Zetsu's body. And..."
"To install a monitoring device on him."
Maki's face darkened instantly. She stopped in her tracks. "What do you mean?"
Megumi exhaled a long breath.
"That day in the operating room, Gojo-sensei received intel from an anonymous source."
"He asked us to verify White Zetsu's technique first."
"The six purple, diamond-shaped marks on his face are a technique called 'Miracle'."
"When faced with mortal danger, the marks are consumed to mitigate or ignore the damage."
Maki gripped her spear tight, her eyes turning cold.
"So... during training, when you kept asking Zetsu about the Ten Shadows Technique... letting him fall into your shadow was a deliberate act?"
Megumi hung his head in shame. "Yes."
"We were testing the resilience of the Miracle spell. To verify the authenticity of the information Gojo-sensei received."
"As it turns out... the intel was correct."
"One mark disappeared. He survived the fall unscathed."
Maki frowned. "And then?"
Nobara stepped forward, complaining loudly to mask her guilt.
"I wonder what that white-haired, blindfolded bastard will do next!"
"After confirming the technique... he ordered us to plant a miniature listening device on Zetsu."
Maki felt a bad premonition.
"Even if Zetsu is weak... surely he would detect a bug being planted on him?"
"The intel was very detailed," Megumi replied softly.
"The Miracle technique has a side effect."
"When the marks are consumed to negate damage... White Zetsu loses the memory of the event."
Maki's expression froze.
"So... you experimented on him?"
"You tested the limits of the damage he could withstand? To see if he would lose his memory?"
"Maki-neechan! That's not how it is!" Nobara shouted anxiously. "We never intended to really hurt the Mama's Boy!"
"Gojo is 100% certain that this body isn't the real White Zetsu at all! We saw him die and come back to life!"
Maki wasn't surprised by Zetsu's nature. She had suspected it since Shoko's autopsy.
But...
If they planted a listening device...
Is the person they want to investigate White Zetsu?
Or is it Zenin Mirai?
At this moment, Maki forgot about the match entirely. Her heart sank to the bottom of the sea.
She thought about Mirai's sudden arrival at the College. His change in personality.
The ominous premonition in her heart grew deeper and deeper.
Gojo Satoru is preparing to move against Brother Mirai.
RUMBLE!
Before anyone could speak further, the ground shook violently.
A vast, writhing tide of roots and trees erupted from the earth, blocking out the sky!
A terrifying, suffocating pressure swept over the forest in an instant.
"A Special Grade Cursed Spirit?!"
....
.....
.....
Support my patreon and get early access to chapters
patreon.com/ImmortalDaoWriter