Tokyo Jujutsu High was located within a hidden barrier deep in the mountains on the outskirts of the city.
The morning sun filtered through the lush leaves, spilling onto the ancient and solemn stone-paved path.
"Clack, clack, clack."
A steady, unhurried sound of footsteps echoed leisurely on the stone steps leading to the main gate of Jujutsu High.
Yoru, wearing a brand-new black Jujutsu High uniform with his hands in his pockets, swaggered across the barrier that symbolized the school's highest level of defense.
No alarm sounded.
No fluctuation rippled through the barrier.
Not even the guardian shikigami attempted to block his way.
In this world where cursed energy was the benchmark for existence, his perfect body, which lacked even a single trace of cursed energy, made him like a non-existent ghost.
The barrier laid out by Master Tengen was, to him, as negligible as a morning breeze.
"The air here is just as stuffy as always."
Yoru took a deep breath, a hint of nostalgia flickering in his crimson eyes.
He followed the familiar tree-lined path, heading straight toward the principal's office.
Inside the principal's office.
The current principal of Jujutsu High, Masamichi Yaga, sat with a heavy furrow in his brow, wearing reading glasses amidst a pile of colorful wool felt.
He held a felting needle, performing the final repairs on a newly made Panda cursed corpse.
Pressure from the higher-ups had been mounting lately. That bastard Satoru Gojo had run off overseas on another business trip, and Suguru Geto's reputation as the 'Most Evil Curse User' was growing more prominent by the day.
Every heavy burden was pressing down on his shoulders as principal.
Only when making these wool felts could his heart find a moment of peace.
"Knock, knock, knock."
A casual knock sounded.
Before Masamichi Yaga could even say 'Come in,' the ancient wooden door was pushed open without the slightest hint of courtesy.
"Principal, doing handicrafts first thing in the morning? You certainly have refined hobbies."
A gentle yet somewhat lazy voice echoed leisurely at the doorway.
Masamichi Yaga's hand jerked violently.
"Hiss—"
The sharp felting needle stabbed deep into his finger, and a bead of crimson blood welled up.
But he seemed unable to feel the pain. His entire body went stiff as if struck by lightning as he slowly raised his head.
The moment he saw the youth standing at the door...
This principal of Jujutsu High, who had always maintained the image of a battle-hardened tough guy, saw his eyes instantly turn red.
Ten years.
That incomparably handsome face, those deep red eyes that seemed capable of seeing through all the falsehoods in the world.
And that powerful aura that could make anyone feel incredibly at ease, even without a shred of cursed energy.
He was just like the peerless Sword Saint from ten years ago—the one who had turned the tide at the Tombs of the Star Corridor and pulled the entire jujutsu world back from the brink of the abyss!
"Yoru..."
Masamichi Yaga's voice trembled violently. He stood up so abruptly that he accidentally overturned the basket of wool felt on his desk.
"You brat... where on earth have you been for the last ten years!"
Masamichi Yaga strode forward and pulled Yoru into a tight embrace.
Those rough, large hands patted Yoru's back forcefully, as if afraid that everything before him was just a dream.
"Principal, if you keep patting me like that, I'm going to fall apart."
Yoru laughed helplessly, lightly returning the hug of this elder who had been silently supporting everyone.
"I'm back."
Just then.
Sudden, hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway.
"Principal! I heard there was an anomaly outside the barrier just now—"
Outside the door, two tall figures in suits burst in.
It was Kento Nanami, who had grown into a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer with a mature slicked-back hairstyle and goggles.
And following behind him was Yu Haibara, still looking like a hot-blooded youth!
When their gazes landed on the black-haired youth standing beside Masamichi Yaga...
The expressions on their faces instantly froze.
"Yor... Yoru-senpai?!"
Yu Haibara rubbed his eyes in total disbelief, his voice cracking with emotion.
Kento Nanami adjusted the goggles on the bridge of his nose, and his usually calm, steady eyes were currently surging with a tempest of shock.
"Is it... is it really you, Yoru-senpai?"
Yoru turned his head, looking at these two juniors whom he had conveniently saved ten years ago and who had now become the pillars of Jujutsu High.
The smile on his lips deepened.
"What? It's only been ten years, and you don't recognize me anymore?"
"Nanami, in that getup, you look even older than I do."
Hearing that all-too-familiar teasing.
Yu Haibara could no longer control his emotions. Tears burst from his eyes as he lunged forward and hugged Yoru's leg.
"Waaah! Yoru-senpai! You're finally back!"
"Gojo-senpai said you were trapped in some strange place, and we thought you were never coming back!"
Although Kento Nanami wasn't as dramatic as Yu Haibara, his clenched fists and slightly trembling shoulders betrayed the intense agitation in his heart.
"It is good that you have returned."
Kento Nanami took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his chest.
"As long as you are here, those rotten oranges in the higher-ups won't dare to be as unscrupulous as they are now."
The group gathered together excitedly.
Yoru gave a simple, half-true account of where he had been for the past decade.
He hid the existence of the system, only saying he was sucked into a dimension with a different flow of time by that Special Grade Cursed Object and had a hard time finding his way back.
"So that's how it was..."
Masamichi Yaga sighed, his expression becoming a bit somber.
"You've returned at just the right time."
"Satoru has gone overseas to investigate an international cursed object smuggling case related to Kenjaku. It might be a while before he returns."
"And this year, our school will be welcoming a very special and troublesome new student."
Yoru raised an eyebrow, feigning ignorance as he asked:
"Oh? A special new student?"
Masamichi Yaga handed a top-secret file to Yoru.
"Yuta Okkotsu."
"A boy possessed by the Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit, Rika."
"The old geezers in the higher-ups, out of fear of Rika's power, have already secretly issued an order for his execution."
Yoru took the file and looked at the photo of the boy with heavy dark circles under his eyes and a timid gaze.
A sharp light flickered in his deep red eyes.
The God of Pure Love, Yuta Okkotsu.
The protagonist of Volume 0 was finally about to make his debut.
"Principal, leave this matter to me."
Yoru closed the file and tossed it casually onto the desk.
"If the higher-ups want someone dead, I'll make sure they live."
"After all, my sword hasn't tasted the blood of those rotten oranges in ten years."
As Yoru's words fell...
The temperature in the principal's office seemed to drop to the freezing point in an instant!
The Sword Saint without cursed energy—the one who had once rivaled gods with a mortal body and cut through the General Headquarters alone—
Was finally, in the spring of 2017, officially announcing his return!
And what kind of earth-shattering change would Yoru's intervention bring to the originally tragic fate of Yuta Okkotsu?
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