"...But, Uncle Kong, I take back what I said earlier. Tell me now—I really want to know just how much of a scumbag that man is!"
Megumi's face was icy, as if he held nothing but contempt for the man.
Kong was momentarily stunned.
He even wondered if Megumi was looking for an excuse to pick a fight or if he intended to confront Toji head-on.
Still, this might be a good opportunity to let Megumi understand what kind of person Toji was.
Not that Toji had any redeeming qualities to speak of.
"Alright then, let me tell you exactly what kind of scumbag the man I know really is!"
Kong perked up, pulling over a chair and sitting down to recount all of Toji's worst traits.
Denouncing Toji wasn't an opportunity that came often, let alone complaining about him to his own biological son!
Using my money to bet on horse racing!
Megumi listened absentmindedly, thinking to himself that this was exactly as expected.
Toji's character hardly differed from the image he had in his mind.
"After all, he's the kind of scum who didn't even know whether his own child was a boy or a girl!"
Megumi sneered, his mood turning sour.
Had he known this would happen, he shouldn't have wavered in the first place. He shouldn't have even considered trying to understand Toji.
A name like "Megumi" was clearly a girl's name.
Toji didn't even know whether he was male or female—was there a more disgusting father than that?
"Well, although I also think he's too degenerate, so much so that he doesn't even care about his own child..."
Kong hesitated for a moment upon hearing this but offered his own speculation.
"But I think he probably knew you were a boy and deliberately gave you a girl's name."
"Huh? What kind of logic is that?"
"Toji often had one phrase he liked to say."
Kong took out a cigarette and lit it, his gaze drifting as if lost in memory.
"He said he couldn't remember men's names, but his own child turned out to be a boy... I've always wondered if he intentionally gave you a girl's name—so he could remember it more easily?"
Megumi froze, clear astonishment flashing in his eyes.
It was as if he had been struck hard, his vision blurring momentarily.
"Though it's just my speculation. Even if you asked him now, he definitely wouldn't answer truthfully. He's not exactly the straightforward type."
In that regard, Megumi was the same.
The two of them shared the same stubborn, uncommunicative nature.
Kong couldn't help but laugh, amused by the thought.
...
The jujutsu world was in turmoil.
The news of Jujutsu High being attacked spread across the country within days.
The information that Gojo Satoru was gone followed closely behind, and with some people deliberately fanning the flames, it spread like wildfire through both the jujutsu and curse user communities.
How exactly had Gojo Satoru disappeared?
No one knew. The only thing people were certain of was that he had vanished overseas.
Perhaps there was something overseas even more terrifying than Japan's jujutsu world—maybe a cursed spirit, maybe a sorcerer.
But regardless, whatever was overseas couldn't threaten them for now.
Meanwhile, the mountain that had been weighing down on everyone was truly gone.
On the other hand, the curse users' great pillar of support, Geto Suguru, had returned from the dead.
The long-dormant curse user world was like a lake into which a massive boulder had been dropped—the ripples spread rapidly across the entire surface, and Japan's jujutsu world became a place of hidden undercurrents.
The higher-ups suddenly found themselves swamped with tasks.
Even disasters requiring Grade 1 sorcerers, which had been rare in the past, were now occurring frequently across the country. Murder cases shocked local news outlets and even made national headlines.
The ones causing these disasters weren't cursed spirits—they were curse users.
Roy also became busier.
With the jujutsu world severely understaffed, even a Special Grade like him had to frequently take on missions to deal with the surge in curse user incidents.
Whenever Roy took action, no matter the task, it was effortlessly resolved.
No curse user could escape his pursuit, and none could withstand even a single move from him.
His fearsome reputation gradually spread throughout the curse user world.
However, the negative impact of Gojo Satoru's disappearance offset these positive effects, as incidents of curse-related disasters across various regions showed no signs of decreasing.
Even Megumi, Yuji, and the others had to increase their mission frequency, repelling curse users and exorcising cursed spirits.
During this time, the group also took on the mission at the Eighty-Eight Bridge. Unexpectedly, one of Sukuna's fingers appeared there. Megumi defeated a special-grade cursed spirit, while Itadori and Nobara took down the second and third of the Death Painting Wombs. Unfortunately, the finger was still devoured by Sukuna.
By then, time had unknowingly slipped into October.
Roy had a premonition—the decisive battle was likely approaching soon.
Without hesitation, he rejected all other assignments from the higher-ups and recalled Itadori's trio, along with Maki and Bocchi, back to Jujutsu High.
"Starting now, all of you will undergo a period of rigorous training!"
Roy's tone brooked no argument as he firmly assigned each of them their training regimen.
"Rigorous training?!"
Bocchi was stunned.
She wanted to go home immediately.
She glanced around, hoping to find a like-minded ally who could speak up against this dictatorship while she cheered from the sidelines.
But after surveying the group, she realized—whether it was Yuji, Megumi, Nobara, or Maki—they all wore expressions of unwavering determination, practically daring the challenges to come. Not a single one of them seemed inclined to slack off.
What was this? Why did it feel like she was the only useless one here?
"Yuji, focus on foundational cursed energy training. Nobara, deepen your mastery of Falling Blossom Emotion. Maki, hone your physical combat—you're still far from unleashing the full potential of the Heavenly Restriction. Megumi, come here—I'll help you refine your domain!"
"As for Bocchi..."
Roy's gaze swept over the other four before finally settling on Bocchi.
The corners of his lips curled into a cruel smile.
"I'll train you personally!"
Bocchi's mind went blank.
"WHY?!"
"I'm going to thoroughly correct your wildly inconsistent mentality—one moment godlike, the next utterly useless!"
Roy's eyes locked onto Bocchi like a hunting eagle.
Bocchi's cursed technique was incredibly powerful.
The only problem was her mindset.
When her confidence was high, she could even beat Kenjaku in a straight fight!
But when her morale crashed, even a second-grade cursed spirit could bully her effortlessly.
Her mental state existed in a quantum superposition of god-tier and trash-tier—unstoppable one moment, cowering behind her teammates the next. Such instability had to be corrected at all costs!
"I'm doomed!"
Bocchi's vision darkened as she fainted on the spot.
Under Roy's demands, the group plunged into relentless training.
His merciless approach pushed them to their absolute limits, refusing to let up until they were completely spent.
"This is Sparta! I protest! Who can endure this kind of training?!"
Bocchi couldn't take it from day one.
Seriously, who could handle being forced into extreme sports on the first day? Bungee jumping was nothing—she had to cliff dive and skydive too?!
Was this even humanly possible training?!
"I can endure it."
Roy shot her a glance. Back when he trained under Fan Xinglou, he was beaten to the brink of death daily. Only his sheer resilience kept him alive—anyone else would've died a thousand times over.
Seeing Bocchi's resistance, he grinned and beckoned.
"Come here. I'll give you a buff!"
Bocchi shuddered, giving him a terrified look before obediently throwing herself back into training.
Skydiving, bungee jumping—once you get used to them, they're actually pretty thrilling!
"Pretty tough, huh?"
Roy muttered thoughtfully as he watched Bocchi-chan's retreating figure.
Her resilience was far greater than she herself imagined.
But she always imagined failure before even trying, scaring herself out of her own confidence. Yet, once pushed to her limits, her true resilience would shine through.
"I need to think of a way..."
As several students began their training, Roy also started his own.
His technique imbuing was mostly complete, but there was still plenty of room for improvement.
Moreover, the move he used to defeat Kashimo Hajime wasn't fully perfected yet. If he could refine it, his strength would undoubtedly reach another level!
Beyond that, inspired by his battle with Kashimo Hajime, he had another experimental ability in the works. If completed, his power could double!
But all these techniques required time to perfect.
During this period, the new principal of Kyoto Jujutsu High also took office—a veteran first-grade sorcerer from Kyoto Jujutsu High. His factional leanings were unclear for now, giving off a fence-sitting vibe.
Not long after, the head of the Jujutsu High Council sought out Roy, probing him about Bocchi-chan's technique abilities. Roy ignored him outright and promptly kicked him out.
With the decisive battle approaching, the erosion of the Council's influence was nearing its end.
Roy had already cut loose.
Now, all that remained was to bring everything to a head in one final clash!
Time passed unnoticed, and soon it was late October.
Autumn arrived, and the once-vibrant green trees on Jujutsu High's mountain began to wither, their leaves gradually turning yellow.
At dusk, the golden sunset bathed the earth, draping the ground in a dazzling golden veil.
"Jujutsu High… feels like it's been forever since I've been back!"
At the school's entrance, a figure ascended the stone steps, stopping beneath the massive torii gate.
He wore a white high-collared coat starkly different from the Jujutsu High uniform, with a black sword bag slung over his shoulder. His slightly long black hair fell naturally, and though he looked only about sixteen or seventeen, he exuded both youthful energy and a maturity beyond his years.
Gazing at the school grounds in the distance, his face filled with nostalgia, he stepped into the school's barrier.
Jujutsu High, nestled halfway up the mountain, had always been secluded, but lately, it had grown even more deserted. Sorcerers were scarce, and even assistant supervisors were rarely seen.
"Have all the sorcerers gone out on missions? Just as Principal Yaga said, the situation really isn't looking good."
The white-clad youth wandered the campus but found no one, not even Principal Yaga in his office—it seemed even he was busy.
Near the sports field, his ears perked up.
"Someone's here?"
From the field came the sounds of shouts and the whooshing of weapons. Having found no one else in the school, he was eager for conversation and headed toward the commotion.
The moment he entered the sports field, he froze, his mouth falling open in shock.
On the field, two figures darted back and forth like lightning. Every collision left shallow craters in the rubberized ground, and the deafening crashes echoed like thunderclaps, sending chills down the spine.
The two figures moved so swiftly that even the white-clad youth could barely track them, leaving him momentarily stunned.
"One of them is Maki-san—what a surprise. It's been a while since I last saw her, yet she's grown so strong... But who's the other one?"
"Hmm?"
At that moment, one of the two combatants suddenly noticed his arrival and raised a hand to signal Maki to pause.
Only then did the white-clad youth get a clear look at the figure.
Dressed in casual, loose-fitting clothes, the person's shock of white hair was particularly striking.
If he hadn't known that Gojo-sensei had already disappeared, he might have mistaken this person for him.
"You are...?"
The white-haired youth approached, scrutinizing the boy with a thoughtful gleam in his eyes.
This attire... it looked somewhat familiar.
"Yuta? Isn't that Yuta?"
Just then, Maki also stepped forward from behind. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw the white-clad youth.
"When did you get back? Why didn't you let us know?"
Yuta?
Yuta Okkotsu?
"So it's you—the Lovecraft Warrior!"
Roy suddenly realized, looking at Yuta Okkotsu with amusement.