A few days later.
"The Kamo clan..."
Naobito Zenin stared at the intelligence report in his hand, his mind struggling to process the information. He had never imagined that so soon after the fall of the Zenin, the Kamo clan would follow suit—and in an almost identical fashion, no less.
Wiped out by one of their own.
How should he put it? While the tragedy of the Zenin weighed heavily on Naobito's heart, seeing the Kamo suffer the exact same fate provided a strange, twisted sort of comfort. As long as I'm not the only unlucky one, I feel a whole lot better.
"If the Gojo family also... Cough! No, forget it. With those two monsters around, the Gojo won't be falling apart anytime soon."
"Besides, compared to them, my Zenin clan still has four and a half members left. The Kamo? Aside from the corpses, the survivors are all behind bars."
Naobito picked up his tea and took a slow, savoring sip.
"Sss—ah."
"Today's tea is exceptionally sweet."
It was a season of chaos.
Beyond the hidden world of sorcery, a massive incident rocked the secular foundations of Japan. The Emperor, the Crown Prince, and several members of the Imperial family were attacked by unidentified terrorists. There were no survivors.
While the existence of Jujutsu remained a secret to the public, many high-level government agencies maintained close ties with the Big Three and the Jujutsu High Council. Panic-stricken officials immediately requested an investigation. The attack was too bizarre, too supernatural, to be anything other than a "Curse" incident.
Given the gravity of the situation, two Special Grades were dispatched: Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto.
"Kenjaku!"
The pair returned quickly with a definitive answer.
"Idle Transfiguration! It was the technique used by that curse, Mahito!" Satoru reported. "Kenjaku's group is behind the regicide."
Suguru lowered his head in thought. "Why attack the Imperial family? Just to cause panic?"
Satoru's brow furrowed. "I feel like Kenjaku is brewing something massive. Let's go ask my brother; he's bound to know."
"I have no idea."
"Ehh?!"
Souma Gojo spread his hands. "Do you think I'm a deity? Like I know every move Kenjaku makes before he makes it?"
In the past, predicting Kenjaku's "meta-game" had been easy because Souma had essentially read the script. But now, Kenjaku's actions had veered so far off the original plot that the script was useless.
Furthermore, Souma was currently preoccupied with something far more pressing: mastering his Maximum Output. Satoru and Suguru had already reached that milestone. If he couldn't pull it off, where would his dignity go? More importantly, how could he face a peak-form Sukuna without it?
BEEP— BEEP— BEEP—
Suddenly, the red alert sirens blared throughout Jujutsu High.
At the main gates, Kenjaku stood in broad daylight, wearing a pleasant smile as the five Special Grades surrounded him in an instant.
Souma narrowed his eyes. "It's just a clone."
Kenjaku chuckled. "Of course it's a clone. Otherwise, wouldn't I be walking into my own execution?"
Yuki Tsukumo snorted. "So, what's the point of this, you cockroach?"
"To declare war, naturally!"
"War? The promised duel is still two days away."
Kenjaku shrugged. "That is the duel between Souma Gojo and Sukuna. I am here to issue my own personal challenge."
Kenjaku pointed at Satoru Gojo, then swept his finger across Suguru, Yuki, and Yuta Okkotsu.
"I, Kenjaku, challenge the four of you. Two days from now, in Ginza, I will take on four Special Grades at once!"
"Huh??" Satoru's jaw dropped in exaggerated shock. "Kenjaku, have you lost your mind? I could take you out by myself!"
"Be that as it may," Kenjaku smiled thinly. "I will be holding a large group of 'monkeys' hostage there. If any one of you fails to show up, I start killing."
BOOM!
Yuki smashed the clone into dust with a single punch.
"This is a blatant 'lure the tiger from the mountain' tactic," Yuta noted, frowning. "But if we don't go, those hostages die."
Satoru shrugged. "It doesn't matter. If Kenjaku wants to successfully lure us away, he has to actually find a way to stall us. Four Special Grades? It'll take us less than a minute to save the hostages and then head to whatever battlefield we want."
Souma remained silent, lost in thought.
As Satoru said, with four Special Grades—especially Satoru with his long-range teleportation—they could bounce between Ginza and the school in seconds. A diversion shouldn't work.
But seeing Kenjaku's confident smile, Souma felt an itch at the back of his mind. Maybe he really does have a way to stall Satoru. In the original timeline, even Miguel managed to stall Satoru for a significant amount of time. Kenjaku surely had a plan.
If the diversion was inevitable, what was the real goal?
Souma looked up. If he was fighting Sukuna and the four Special Grades were in Ginza, the target was obvious.
The Star Corridor. Tengen.
"I need to find a reliable teammate to guard Tengen. Toji Fushiguro would be perfect..."
"Hey! You brats at the High School! I'm declaring war too!"
Suddenly, Jogo's silhouette appeared at the gate.
"A declaration? Another one?"
The five Special Grades looked down at the Jogo clone, blinked, and then turned back to continue discussing Kenjaku's scheme.
Jogo: "..."
"You bastards! What is this?! I am declaring war on you! Me! The Great Jogo!"
"Kenjaku already did it. We're busy. Besides, you can't beat us anyway," Satoru waved him off dismissively.
"Bullshit! He declares his, I declare mine! Don't you dare look down on me!" Jogo's head erupted in flames. Then, he let out a cold, sharp laugh. "I am the curse born from the fear of the Earth. I control the flames of the deep."
"You know, Mt. Fuji has been quite restless lately, hasn't it?"
"It's one of the largest active volcanoes in the world. It could blow at any moment. Who knows how many people would die? Don't you agree?"
The five sorcerers finally turned their heads in unison.
Seeing that he finally had their attention, Jogo crossed his arms and sneered. "Now? Willing to accept my challenge?"
Satoru spread his hands. "But my brother is fighting Sukuna, and the four of us are booked for Kenjaku. Who exactly are you challenging? Do you want me to drop by after I'm done with the brain-guy?"
"..." Jogo's eye twitched. "I'm interested in that man... Toji Fushiguro!"
"Two days from now. Mt. Fuji. Tell him to come find me!"
With that, Jogo dissolved into a puddle of magma.
Souma let out a tired sigh. Kenjaku's plan was crystal clear now. He was systematically clearing the board to get to Tengen. Even Toji was being lured away.
Souma scratched his head. "Looks like I'll have to move Tengen ahead of schedule. And I need to find her a bodyguard who's actually reliable."
Someone dependable, with power that rivals a Special Grade...
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