"Mai!!! Maki!!!" Kita yelled as she dragged Naoya by his hair through the corridors.
Naoya's body bounced against the floor with every step; his clothes were torn, his face was swollen, and he looked like he had been used as a punching bag for the entire afternoon.
He was barely conscious at this point.
I had spent the last few minutes searching for Maki and Mai, and after another five minutes of wandering around, I finally found them sitting together in the garden.
The garden itself was surprisingly peaceful compared to everything else that had happened recently, with carefully maintained trees surrounding a small pond and stone paths running between patches of grass, the whole place looking almost completely disconnected from the chaos that had consumed the jujutsu world.
Mai and Maki turned around when they heard me.
Both of them froze.
Mai stared at me.
Then she looked down.
Then back at me.
"Is that…"
"Yeah," Maki replied.
"That's Naoya."
"Yoo!!! Hi, both of you!" I said cheerfully as I approached them. "Look what I found!"
I dragged Naoya a little closer by his hair.
"Did you like my gift?"
I gave him another tug.
"A very well-beaten Naoya. Here he is."
I threw him toward Maki.
Naoya rolled across the grass before stopping face-first near her feet.
Maki stared down at him.
Then she looked at me.
A huge grin slowly spread across her face.
"Hehehehe…"
I stared at her.
She stared at me.
And then I started laughing too.
"Hehehehehe…"
Mai looked between the two of us.
She tried to keep a straight face.
She really did.
But eventually she started laughing too.
Within seconds, all three of us were standing there laughing like a group of evil villains who had just successfully completed the world's dumbest revenge plan.
Naoya, meanwhile, was lying helplessly on the ground.
He tried to push himself up, but his arms barely responded.
"You…"
His voice was weak.
"You foids…"
He coughed before continuing.
"You're cheating!"
I stopped laughing.
"Cheating?"
I tilted my head.
"How exactly?"
Naoya's face twisted with frustration.
"You…"
He tried to answer, but his battered body and exhausted mind seemed incapable of producing an actual argument.
I crouched down in front of him.
"You lost the duel, remember?"
Naoya glared at me.
"And you beat Mai and Maki when they were little."
Maki's expression immediately changed.
The smile remained, but there was something colder underneath it.
Mai also became quiet.
I stood back up.
"So let's see…"
I looked at Maki.
"You've got a reason."
I looked at Mai.
"You've definitely got a reason."
Then I pointed at myself.
"And I have a reason."
I smiled.
"Sounds fair to me."
Naoya's eyes widened slightly.
"Wait…"
"Oh well."
I shrugged.
"Let's start the revenge torture party."
"Muhehehehe…"
Maki immediately started laughing again.
Mai covered her mouth, but I could see her shoulders shaking.
Naoya looked between the three of us.
"You people are insane…"
I crouched down beside him one final time.
"I still remember you beating me."
I tapped my cheek.
"I've gotten stronger since then."
Then I glanced toward Mai and Maki.
"And you did some pretty unspeakable things to them."
My smile disappeared.
"So now it's repayment time, Naoya-kun."
What followed was not exactly a pleasant experience for Naoya.
For once, the three of us had absolutely no reason to hold back against him, and after everything he had done to Mai and Maki, neither of them seemed particularly interested in showing him mercy.
By the time it was over, Naoya was no longer capable of fighting back.
Eventually, he died.
Honestly, I didn't feel particularly guilty about it.
Maybe that was something I should have worried about.
But right now?
None at all! Still nothing.
After hanging around with Maki and Mai for a while, I eventually decided to head back.
There was still one more thing I wanted to see.
Satoru Gojo had been busy rebuilding the entire jujutsu system.
Considering what had happened over the past few weeks, the old system had basically collapsed under its own weight.
So when I returned, I found myself standing toward the side of the room and listening quietly as Gojo explained the new structure to the remaining higher-ups.
The atmosphere was completely different from the old meetings.
The elders who remained looked noticeably more nervous than before.
It wasn't difficult to understand why.
I had beaten Naoya in a fight.
And while Naoya wasn't technically an elder, he had been one of the strongest fighters associated with that group.
That meant something had changed.
The old people who had spent decades controlling jujutsu society could no longer assume that their authority automatically meant they were untouchable.
Gojo stood at the front of the room with his usual relaxed expression.
"So," he said, clapping his hands together, "let's make something very clear."
Several elders looked toward him.
"The ranks aren't disappearing."
I listened carefully.
"But the way people move through those ranks is changing."
Gojo explained the new system.
The existing grades would remain, but promotions would no longer depend primarily on completing missions, political recommendations, or receiving support from one of the major clans.
Strength would matter.
Actual ability would matter.
If someone believed they had reached a level above their current rank, they could challenge sorcerers around the level they believed they belonged to.
If the people they fought agreed that the challenger genuinely possessed the strength required for that rank, the promotion would be recognized.
In other words, you couldn't simply sit behind a clan name and demand a higher position anymore.
You had to prove it.
And if you were weak?
You stayed where you were.
I quietly nodded.
Honestly, it made sense.
The previous system had allowed politics to interfere with everything.
The clans had too much influence, the higher-ups had too much authority, and support personnel were often treated as if their contributions were somehow less important simply because they weren't front-line fighters.
That was changing too.
The jujutsu organization was being divided into different branches, with independent rankings for assistants, barriers specialists, medical personnel, scouts, administrators, and other support roles.
Their ranks would no longer be directly tied to the grades of combat sorcerers.
It was a small change compared to everything else, but honestly, it might have been one of the most important.
A person didn't need to be able to punch a special grade curse through a building to be valuable.
Gojo continued explaining the changes.
The goal was simple.
Prevent the clans from monopolizing power.
Prevent promotions from becoming political favors.
Prevent people from being thrown into missions they were completely unprepared for simply because some old man sitting behind a desk decided they were expendable.
And most importantly—
Prevent another Shibuya.
I stood quietly at the side while Gojo continued tearing apart the old system piece by piece.
The elders didn't look happy.
But they weren't in much of a position to argue anymore.
For the first time since I had arrived in this world, things actually seemed to be moving in a better direction.
Naoya was dead.
The major enemies had been defeated.
The jujutsu system was being rebuilt.
The clans were losing their monopoly over power.
Gojo was free and alive.
Mai was alive.
Yuki was alive.
Megumi was alive and well.
Choso was alive.
Even Panda had survived without becoming toy-sized.
For once…
Everything looked bright.
I leaned against the wall and quietly watched Gojo continue explaining the new system.
Maybe I had actually managed to change the story.
I smiled.
"Not bad…"
Then I remembered that I had basically been improvising my way through the entire thing.
My smile disappeared.
"…Please don't let this blow up in my face later."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of chapter.
Should I pull modulo events forward for funsies and to continue the fanfic?