Chapter 70: Toho Hiroshi's "Defection"
"Hey, hey, hey! You're serious! Such a huge one!"
Gojo Satoru exclaimed exaggeratedly, though his Six Eyes behind his sunglasses lit up with excitement.
He raised his hand, and at his fingertips, pale blue and red Cursed Energy condensed, compressed, and intertwined at an unprecedented speed, forming a tiny sphere containing infinite destructive energy.
"In that case, I have to return the favor seriously."
Hollow Technique — "Purple."
Whoosh—
The purple-black beam of energy burst forth instantly, silent and soundless, yet it seemed to pierce through space itself, obliterating all matter in its path.
The next instant, "Purple" collided with the massive meteorite descending from the sky with a thunderous crash.
Accompanied by a deafening explosion, the purple-black light expanded rapidly, like a greedy black hole, disintegrating, devouring, and reducing that immense meteorite to nothingness, starting from the point of contact.
In just a few seconds, the Tengai Shinsei, capable of causing a massive catastrophe, was completely obliterated by "Purple" and vanished without a trace, leaving only the slowly dissipating energy ripples and a scattering of debris in the sky.
As the light faded, Gojo Satoru stood in place, catching his breath slightly, a satisfied curve tugging at the corners of his mouth beneath his sunglasses.
The spot where Toho Hiroshi had been standing was now empty.
Only the lingering traces of slightly distorted space remained, proving he had been there and had quietly departed using Kamui.
Gojo Satoru surveyed the surrounding ruins, which looked as if they had been ravaged by a natural disaster, and took on the immense responsibility and reputation of "quelling the rebellion, killing the mastermind, and preventing the catastrophe."
He adjusted his sunglasses, looked in the direction where Toho Hiroshi had disappeared, and muttered a playful curse: "You ran off pretty fast."
"Don't mess this up, you bastard. Otherwise, I'll tease you about it for the rest of my life."
In the night, he turned around, his pale blue Six Eyes sweeping over the ruins. A new era was quietly beginning upon these very ruins, accompanied by countless schemes, sacrifices, and unfinished bonds.
...
Inside Yaga Masamichi's office, the atmosphere was so heavy it felt like it could drip water.
Gojo Satoru sat carelessly on the sofa, his sunglasses pushed onto his forehead, his Six Eyes staring unfocused at the ceiling. He looked uncharacteristically bored, or rather, it was a heaviness masked by ease.
Yaga Masamichi stood opposite him, his chest heaving violently, his heavy breathing sounding exceptionally clear in the silent room. He had just finished shouting his last sentence and was now staring fixedly at Gojo Satoru, trying to find even a trace of a joke on that cynical face. But he failed.
Gojo Satoru's expression, beneath his usual laziness, held an unprecedented seriousness and exhaustion.
"Say that again!" Yaga's voice was hoarse from agitation and disbelief. "Hao... he also..."
"Defected~"
Gojo Satoru drawled, his tone light and airy, yet it struck Yaga's heart like a heavy hammer. "Right in front of me, he slaughtered a conference room full of Higher-Ups, summoned a giant meteorite to flatten Jujutsu High, and then whoosh, he ran off using a space-time Cursed Technique. Genuine, Special Grade Curse User, Toho Hiroshi, fresh out of the oven."
He even mimicked the "whoosh" motion.
Yaga Masamichi felt a wave of dizziness; he stumbled back a step and steadied himself by gripping the desk.
Within such a short time, receiving news of two of his best students defecting—one of them in such a decisive and violent manner—the impact was almost too much for this tough man who had seen it all.
"Impossible..." Yaga muttered to himself, as if trying to convince himself. "That child Hao... he is calmer and more sensible than Geto Suguru! How could he... Why would he do this?"
He looked up sharply, his gaze piercing like lightning as it shot toward Gojo Satoru, carrying a final shred of hope and a massive question: "Did the Higher-Ups do something? Did they force him! Or, Satoru! Did you say or do something that provoked him? You know how much Geto Suguru's situation affected him!"
Gojo Satoru sighed, sat up straight on the sofa, and finally turned his gaze toward his homeroom teacher, who had been both a teacher and a father figure to him.
Seeing Yaga's reddened eyes and tight jawline, he set aside his playful demeanor.
"Hey, hey, Yaga-sensei, in your heart, am I really such a bastard who specializes in provoking teammates?" He scratched his head, his tone helpless. "Although I admit I can be a bit infuriating sometimes..."
"Then what exactly is going on!" Yaga roared, slamming his fist onto the desk with a loud bang. "Give me a logical reason! Otherwise, I will never believe that Hao would do such a thing!"
Gojo Satoru was silent for a moment, seemingly organizing his words, or perhaps weighing his options. Finally, he seemed to make up his mind and let out a soft breath.
"Fine, fine, I really can't do anything with you." He spread his hands, his expression becoming slightly more serious. "It's not that I can't tell you, but, Yaga-sensei, you have to promise first that you won't tell anyone after hearing this."
Yaga was in no mood to banter with him and just stared at him with an even sterner gaze. Gojo Satoru rubbed his nose and finally stopped beating around the bush.
He recounted everything: Toho Hiroshi's suspicions about the Higher-Ups being infiltrated, his deduction that Geto Suguru might have been framed, the necessity of a thorough purge, his own plan to feign defection to infiltrate the shadows and investigate, his instruction for Yaga to keep the situation stable, and his intention for Gojo Satoru to cultivate newcomers.
He spoke concisely, but didn't miss a single key point. The office fell into a long silence.
The anger and disbelief on Yaga Masamichi's face gradually faded, replaced by extreme shock and complexity. He stared blankly at Gojo Satoru, as if truly seeing these two students for the first time.
He digested this earth-shattering plan, which was filled with a massive amount of information; every step was full of risk, paranoia, and heart-wrenching resolve.
After a long while, Yaga slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, his body feeling as if some strength had been drained from it, and he sank heavily back into his chair. He raised his hand and rubbed his temples forcefully, trying to alleviate the throbbing pain in his pulsing temples.
"Absurd." After a long time, he squeezed the two words out from between his teeth, his voice filled with a sense of powerlessness and deep worry. "This is just too reckless."
He looked up, his gaze sharp as he looked at Gojo Satoru: "You two. No, the three of you! None of you have ever been anything but a headache!"
"Geto Suguru chose the most extreme method, and what about Hao? He chose another kind of extreme! And what about you, Satoru? You just watched him act recklessly? And even played along with his act?"
Gojo Satoru curled his lip: "What else could I do? Fight him to the death right there and let the guys hiding in the shadows watch a grand show of the'Strongest' having an infighting? And then let the rotten oranges continue to leech off the Jujutsu World? Or are you saying you have a better way to immediately drag out the bastard hiding in the shadows of the Jujutsu World?"
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