A man with white hair slowly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with confusion and disbelief.
Outside, the sky was starting to brighten. Morning sunlight slipped through the gaps in the curtains, pushing away the cold lingering in the room. Tiny specks of dust floated up and down in the golden beams, like little sprites dancing in the air.
It took a while before Gojo finally sat up from the soft bed. His messy white hair stuck out in all directions, resembling a poorly made bird's nest.
As if trying to shake off the frustration, he ran a hand through his hair, then muttered absentmindedly, "Again… Why do I keep having dreams like this?"
Dreaming about Hayashizaki possessing a short-haired girl named Yukinoshita Haruno and messing with the Star Plasma Vessel incident was one thing…
But now, he dreamed that Hayashizaki was the one who taught him Reverse Cursed Technique? And by *ripping out his heart* to force him to learn it?
That was just insane.
What kind of messed-up dream was this!?
Whatever. Time to get up.
Another busy day ahead.
Gojo Satoru quickly shook off his bad mood, got out of bed, and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and freshen up.
He toasted two slices of bread, fried an egg, cooked some bacon, and heated a cup of milk. A hearty and delicious breakfast was ready.
After finishing the breakfast he made, Gojo Satoru put on his black eye mask and left the teacher dormitory of the school.
He didn't go to his office but instead headed to the auxiliary supervisor's office hall of the school. He immediately spotted a man sitting at his desk. The man had a slightly thin face, heavy dark circles under his eyes, and the glow from the computer screen reflected on his glasses.
"Ijichi~"
The familiar playful voice suddenly rang in Ijichi Kiyotaka's ears, causing him to shiver before he lifted his head to see the white-haired man leaning against his desk.
"Mr. Gojo?" Ijichi Kiyotaka asked in surprise, "Why are you here so early today?"
"Ah, recently I've been having some bad dreams, haven't had a good night's sleep," Gojo Satoru joked, pointing to his eye mask, "I even have dark circles now."
"Eh!?" Ijichi Kiyotaka was startled. Could it be a curse...?
"I'm just kidding~" Gojo Satoru waved his hand to tell him not to be so nervous, "Enough about that, how's the investigation going?"
Ijichi Kiyotaka, who had just looked embarrassed, immediately became serious when Gojo Satoru brought up the matter.
He first looked around, then slowly shook his head and lowered his voice. "Mr. Nanami has been searching for a week, but there's no trace of... Suguru Geto's cursed energy, neither in Tokyo nor Chiba."
It was known to very few that Suguru Geto was suspected to still be alive. Gojo Satoru had immediately sealed this information when he found the cursed energy residue left by Geto in Ichigami Town.
Now, apart from those who were there at the time, only one person, Kento Nanami, knew about it. Nanami had been tasked by Gojo Satoru to investigate Geto's whereabouts.
Hearing the news that nothing had been found, Gojo Satoru's expression didn't change. He had already expected this outcome.
"Can't find him... That's normal. If that guy is really Geto, he wouldn't be so careless as to leave any traces," Gojo Satoru casually said.
Although he said that, Gojo Satoru knew better than anyone that Suguru Geto couldn't possibly still be alive.
After all, he had died under the watch of Gojo's Six Eyes, and there was no way he could have made a mistake.
It was only possible that someone had stolen the body of his dead best friend.
Afterwards, Gojo Satoru specifically went to the place where he had buried Geto and dug up the grave. Sure enough, it was empty.
"There's no need to keep looking. Whoever took Geto's body will eventually show themselves," Gojo Satoru said after thinking for a moment. "For now, focus on the internal matters at the school."
"Are you saying..." Ijichi Kiyotaka looked thoughtful.
"The mole hasn't been caught yet," Gojo Satoru's eyes narrowed slightly, and his tone became a bit sad. "Also, the issue with the principal change."
"After Principal Yaga died, we haven't had anyone to take over as principal at the Tokyo campus. It's been over two months, and I'm sure the higher-ups are getting impatient by now."
"My guess is that it won't be long before they parachute someone in as principal, but it'll probably be one of those useless people who only listen to the higher-ups and can't do anything but give orders. If they put someone like that in charge, I might just end up killing them myself."
Gojo Satoru spoke these rebellious words without hesitation, which made Ijichi Kiyotaka turn pale.
"So, instead of completely falling out with the higher-ups, we might as well let Gakuganji take over as the principal of the Tokyo campus," Gojo Satoru said in a low voice.
"The Tokyo and Kyoto campuses are going to merge."
...
In a Tokyo apartment building, a figure with Suguru Geto's appearance, Kinji, was on the phone with someone.
A sharp, electromagnetic noise came through the phone's speaker, followed by a decisive voice: "Based on the school's intelligence, the special-grade curse spirit that could heal my body has been exorcised, so our deal is finished. Don't call me again. This number will be disconnected."
Hearing the firm voice from the phone, Kinji smiled calmly and said, "Don't rush."
"Although Mahito is indeed dead, my technique is curse spirit manipulation. It might not be an amazing technique, but it has an interesting side to it."
"The cursed spirits absorbed by the cursed energy manipulation technique are mostly not special, but if the cursed spirit absorbed is a special-grade one, there will be a very interesting small change."
"What do you mean?" The voice, after being demagnetized, came through the phone again.
"When a special-grade cursed spirit is absorbed by cursed energy manipulation, its technique and abilities will be drawn out and used by the caster themselves," Kenjaku explained gently. "In other words, after absorbing Mahito, I'll also be able to use Idle Transfiguration and heal your curse and binding."
"..."
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, as if the person was thinking about something. Kenjaku didn't hurry them and just kept a gentle smile on his face.
"…Soon, the Tokyo and Kyoto campuses of the Jujutsu High will merge, and the two campuses will move together."
As soon as he finished speaking, the phone line went dead with a busy signal.
The white-haired bobcut girl who was sitting beside him, making tea, suddenly asked curiously, "Did you really absorb Mahito?"
"Of course not, and that guy probably didn't completely believe what I said," Kenjaku laughed heartily. "But whether what I say is true or not doesn't matter. Someone about to die will grab any lifeline they can, and even if they know I'm lying, they'll still convince themselves."
"Actually, I did want to absorb Mahito, but I didn't get the chance. If things go as expected, Mahito probably fell into the hands of that fake Sukuna."
"Then he didn't die unjustly," Uraume said in a cold tone. "So, what's your plan now?"
"If the Tokyo and Kyoto campuses merge, it will definitely be Kyoto that merges into Tokyo, because the Kongou Palace is beneath the Tokyo Jujutsu High," Kenjaku mused. "If we wait until the two campuses merge to act, the difficulty and risk will increase dramatically. Looks like we need to act now."
He smiled at Uraume and said, "This time, I'll need you to help, since we're really short on manpower."
"I'll do what I need to do."
Uraume's expression remained unchanged. Without looking up, she continued making tea, her eyes slightly lowered, but a hint of interest flashed in them.
This time, if nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to meet the real Sukuna.
The real Sukuna, not that damn fake!
"Then I'll leave it to you," Kenjaku said, yawning as he spoke.
"You don't look so good, especially at a time like this," Uraume glanced at him.
The man with the bun smiled slightly.
"It's fine, just had an interesting dream."
…
---
You can read 10 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu