Gojo had no intention of making a grand spectacle of things, only to overlook something trivial and have all his effort go to waste.
By the time the meal ended, he had gained a much clearer understanding of the Time Vessel Association.
Before, he had only heard the name in passing. Now, through the Gojo Family's channels, he had access to a detailed list of their strongholds, along with information on when and where they gathered.
"They hold a regular meeting once a month," Gojo said after reviewing the documents. "We can make our move then."
"The timing works out perfectly."
"In two days, we act."
He picked up a glass of cola, finished it in one go, then turned to Riko.
"After that, you can do whatever you want. No one will interfere with you anymore."
"If you want to go back to school, say your goodbyes, or just go out and have fun, that's all fine."
Riko had been quietly listening the whole time. After a brief hesitation, she spoke in a soft voice.
"You're planning to kill them, aren't you?"
"More or less."
"If the Time Vessel Association isn't dealt with, they'll keep causing trouble for you."
"At the very least, getting rid of them would let you spend your final days in peace."
"Um…"
She lowered her gaze slightly.
"Could you not go after them?"
"I don't want this to drag more people into it because of me. If it's inconvenient, we can just head back to the college now. I can say goodbye over the phone."
Her voice carried a faint note of pleading.
Gojo tugged down his sunglasses, looking at her with a hint of confusion.
"They're trying to kill you, and you're not even angry?"
"Why are you asking me to spare them?"
"They're not targeting me. They're targeting the Star Plasma Vessel."
"If I weren't one, none of this would have anything to do with me."
"They don't have any personal grudge against me, so… I don't think they deserve to die because of it."
"And besides, my purpose is to undergo Assimilation with Master Tengen. I don't have much time left anyway. There's no reason to drag innocent people down with me at the very end."
Geto rubbed his forehead, glancing at her.
He had mixed feelings about Gojo's approach, but Riko's kindness… it was almost too much.
"Are you sure that's what you want?"
"Yeah."
She nodded, completely serious.
Gojo watched her for a moment, then shrugged.
"If that's what you want, we'll leave it."
Their job was to fulfill her wishes. There was no need to force anything else.
"In that case, we'll take you back to school first."
"Okay."
After lunch, they rested briefly before heading out.
"Will going back to school cause you trouble?" Riko asked on the way.
"No."
"Don't worry about it. The others aren't a threat."
"My classmates won't get dragged into this, right?"
"Of course not."
With each answer, she relaxed a little more.
It was obvious from their short time together that she was the kind of person who constantly worried about burdening others. Growing up as a Star Plasma Vessel had shaped her that way.
And the more she tried not to trouble anyone, the more it made her pitiful.
Back at the school, Gojo sat on the edge of a flower bed, watching the campus in silence.
"Now you understand why I used to think the way I did," he said calmly.
"A lot of the time, things don't change just because you want them to."
"Even if you want to do something, it's not that simple."
Beside him, Betty swung her legs idly.
"But that doesn't matter, does it?"
"For you, none of this is that important anymore."
She spoke softly, almost casually.
"You're moving between two worlds now. You'll run into more situations like this."
"You won't have the luxury to hesitate every time."
"If there's something you want to do, then do it."
"My mother always acted without hesitation when she believed something was right. The other witches were the same. The Great Sage, the Sword Saint, the Divine Dragon, and even Reinhard now, they're all like that."
"You have power that rivals theirs."
"But when it comes to resolve, you're still a step behind."
Gojo fell silent.
For someone as proud as him, it was rare to have nothing to say in response.
Because he knew she was right.
Just like Reinhard, who chose to support Felt without hesitation after learning her identity. He hadn't cared about her background, her strength, or whether anyone else stood behind her. He simply followed his conviction.
No doubt, no hesitation. Absolute certainty.
Gojo had never thought much about it before. Never really noticed.
Now, hearing Betty's words, something clicked into place.
"Yeah… you're right."
"I've been lacking resolve."
He broke into a grin.
"Thanks. You really helped me figure that out."
"Betty, you're the best!"
Before she could react, he scooped her up and tossed her into the air, catching her again, over and over.
"Hey!"
She had just been feeling a little proud of herself for offering such wise advice, and now it was completely ruined.
Still, seeing the smile on his face, her lips curved up ever so slightly.
If he was happy, that was enough.
"I've set up Cursed Spirits around the area as sentries. There shouldn't be any problems."
Geto walked over, glancing at the two of them.
"Didn't I tell you not to go to so much trouble?" Gojo said.
"It's fine. This much Cursed Energy isn't an issue."
Gojo set Betty down and turned back to him with a grin.
"Relax. Those guys aren't a threat."
"Be honest with me," Geto said. "Just how strong are you right now?"
"Even with magic and Reverse Cursed Technique, there's no way you should be this confident."
Gojo blinked.
"Huh? Haven't I told you?"
"No."
"Well, that's on me then."
He paused, as if considering how to phrase it.
"If I had to put it into words…"
He smiled.
"Above heaven and below, I alone am the honored one."
"…"
"…"
"Pfft."
Before Geto could even process it, Betty burst out laughing.
"Hey, ruining the moment like that isn't nice," Gojo complained.
"I just think it's a shame," she said, still chuckling. "You never said that when you were over in my world."
Gojo poked her cheek.
"What, you want me to say it and then go spar with Reinhard like I've got a cheat code?"
"Or go fight the Witch of Envy?"
"That's completely different."
"That's exactly why it's funny."
He sighed. Having someone around who knew all his past was… occasionally embarrassing.
"Betty's right," Geto added. "That was way over the top."
"Over the top?"
Gojo raised one hand to the sky, pointed the other at the ground, and smirked.
"Not at all."
"Huh?"
Before Geto could react, Gojo vanished.
A violent gust of wind swept through, forcing both of them to squint.
"Bang!"
A dull impact echoed.
Gojo reappeared just as suddenly, this time holding a thin old man by the collar.
"Caught a little rat."
Geto stared at the Curse User in his grasp, his lips twitching.
He had deployed Cursed Spirits to keep watch and hadn't detected anything. Yet Gojo had not only noticed the intruder first, but already dealt with him.
"Told you," Gojo said casually. "Relax. Leave everything to me."
He tossed the man onto the ground and made a call to have him taken away.
"Where's Riko?"
"Still in the chapel. She didn't want us going in, said she didn't want to make a scene."
"She'll be fine?"
"No one's getting past me without being noticed."
They wandered around the campus, killing time until the afternoon.
When classes ended, Riko finally appeared.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting."
"Are we heading back to the college now?"
She approached them, holding a pure white rabbit in her arms.
"No rush," Gojo said.
"Since we're not dealing with the Time Vessel Association, we've got plenty of time."
"You probably want to spend more time with your friends, right? Or we could go shopping or something. That was part of the plan anyway."
"Betty wants to check out the stores too."
"But… would that be—"
"No."
He cut her off.
"If there's a problem, I'll tell you."
"I'm not the kind of person who bends over for others."
Riko blinked, a little stunned by his confidence.
Geto, meanwhile, frowned as he stared at the rabbit.
"Riko… where did you get that?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, this?"
"Gojo gave it to me. He told me to take it everywhere, even to the bathroom."
"It's really well-behaved though. My classmates loved it."
Geto's expression shifted to outright shock.
"Wait. What?"
He turned to Gojo.
"Since when can you summon shikigami? Or is that Betty's doing?"
Gojo scratched his head.
"Ah… did I not mention it?"
"Guess I forgot."
"It's nothing much. I just happened to pick up the Zen'in clan's Ten Shadows Technique."
As he spoke, he made a casual hand sign. The shadow beneath his feet rippled, and the rabbit in Riko's arms dissolved into darkness.
"The Zen'in clan…"
"The Ten Shadows Technique?!"
Geto nearly roared the last words, grabbing Gojo by the collar and shaking him.
"And you're telling me that was an accident?"
"You don't just 'accidentally' learn that!"
Inherited techniques were something you were born with. They couldn't be learned by outsiders.
Unless you took over someone else's body, which clearly wasn't the case here.
This was even more absurd than magic.
"Hey, hey, let go, I'm gonna die," Gojo laughed, completely unfazed.
After messing around for a bit, he finally explained.
"Let's just say it's… a special circumstance."
"It's not like magic, something you can learn normally, so I didn't bother bringing it up."
"If the Zen'in clan finds out, they won't let this slide," Geto muttered.
"And what are they going to do?" Gojo shrugged. "Come after me?"
"You're not worried other clans might get involved too?"
"Please."
"If I cared about that, I wouldn't use it."
He grinned.
"Anyway, want to see the other shikigami?"
Geto sighed, but his reaction was honest. He nodded.
"Let's go. I'll show you tonight."
Looking at Gojo now, he finally understood where that overwhelming confidence came from.
The Limitless Cursed Technique and Six Eyes alone were already absurd. Now he had the Zen'in clan's most powerful inherited technique on top of that.
Facing him… Geto couldn't imagine how anyone was supposed to win.
At this point, the only thing that might limit him was his Cursed Energy reserves.
"Just don't tell me one day that your Cursed Energy suddenly doubled too."
"If you're that curious, I could try making it happen," Gojo said with a grin.
Geto resisted the urge to punch him.
They laughed and chatted as they left the school and got into a car.
Meanwhile, somewhere else…
"Three hundred million as a bounty. Interested?"
At the sound of that number, a burly man in a black T-shirt narrowed his eyes, interest flickering within them.