"What exactly is a 'Pure Love Warrior'..."
Yuta Okkotsu gave a dry laugh, his gaze shifting to Roy.
"Could this be the newly appointed Tokyo Jujutsu High teacher, Roy-sensei?"
His eyes were clear and transparent, exuding an almost college-freshman-like innocence.
"Don't mind his nonsense—sometimes he just says strange things," Maki stepped forward with an amused grin.
"But as you guessed, this is indeed Roy-sensei, another Special Grade after you. I've been studying under him too, and the gains are far greater than you'd imagine!"
"You're studying under him? Is Kusakabe-sensei alright with that?"
Yuta wiped away an imaginary sweat. If Maki preferred learning from Roy over attending Kusakabe's classes, didn't that imply Kusakabe was being looked down upon?
Was he okay? Wouldn't that leave some psychological scars?
"He seems quite happy about it," Maki replied honestly.
"Truly worthy of Kusakabe-sensei," Yuta sighed with a wry smile.
"More importantly, why are you back?" Maki rested her naginata on her shoulder, eyeing Yuta curiously. "Weren't you sent abroad by Gojo-sensei? Where did you end up after that?"
"That's right," Yuta nodded with his usual gentle smile. "In March, right after I regained my Special Grade status, Gojo-sensei sent me to Africa for training. I didn't expect to stay there for half a year."
"So your training's finished?" Maki's expression suddenly turned eager.
"Almost. I originally planned to return after completing it, but then I heard about Gojo-sensei losing contact," Yuta admitted, his tone serious yet tinged with worry. "After confirming it with Principal Yaga—though he told me not to worry—I couldn't sit still, so I decided to come back early."
"Still no leads on Gojo-sensei's disappearance?"
"Well..." Maki didn't answer directly, instead glancing at Roy for confirmation.
As a Grade 4 sorcerer, she knew far less than Special Grade Roy.
"Unfortunately," Roy spread his hands plainly. "There's been no trace of Satoru Gojo so far. I'd like to meet him too, but it seems that chance isn't coming anytime soon."
"I see..." Yuta's concern deepened. "What could possibly happen to Gojo-sensei... Who in this world could even kill him...?"
He suspected Gojo might have encountered a powerful enemy or something similar.
Roy, of course, knew better. According to Root's speculation, Gojo's disappearance likely mirrored that of Kiritsugu Emiya and others—secretly abducted by some powerful, unknown world.
If true, Gojo might even be in the same world as Kiritsugu and the others by now, possibly already acquainted with them.
But right now, no one knows exactly which world pulled off this unscrupulous act.
If we really want to settle accounts, although the Jujutsu Kaisen world swallowed the worlds of Bocchi-chan and Yotsuya Miko, fundamentally, it was actually stimulated by the disappearance of Gojo Satoru.
The world that's been poaching main characters from various worlds is the real root of all this, the true target that needs to be held accountable!
"You said you trained in Africa for a full six months?"
Suddenly, Maki spun the naginata on her shoulder, pointing its battle-ready tip at Yuta Okkotsu.
"Perfect timing—I've also trained for about six months and really want to test my current level. You must feel the same way! Come on, let's spar!"
"Eh..."
Hearing this, Yuta's smile stiffened slightly.
"What, you looking down on me?"
Noticing his reaction, Maki narrowed her eyes, her expression turning displeased.
"Admittedly, I used to be weaker than you. If I were still the same as before, of course I wouldn't challenge you. But times have changed—if you don't believe me, just try me and see for yourself!"
"Exactly, exactly."
Seeing this, Roy chuckled and tossed the wooden staff in his hand to Yuta.
"You're indeed exceptional, but even the current you might not necessarily win against the present Maki. I can guarantee that."
"...Alright."
After a moment's consideration, Yuta finally agreed.
Fair enough—he had witnessed the earlier scene too. Maki's strength was indeed incomparable to before, and he shouldn't judge her based on past impressions.
"Then please enlighten me, Maki!"
"Gladly!"
Seeing Yuta accept, Maki grinned cheerfully.
"But actually, wouldn't Roy-sensei be a better sparring partner? I just flew back from Africa, after all..."
Yuta removed his sword bag, gripping the wooden staff as he stepped onto the field, muttering with a hint of resignation.
His complaint was barely audible.
Yet unexpectedly, Maki still caught every word.
She shook her head, a trace of bitterness in her expression.
"Testing what I've learned against Roy-sensei is fine, but trying to gauge my progress with him is nearly impossible."
"What do you mean by that?"
Yuta blinked in confusion.
"Simple."
Maki assumed her naginata stance and jerked her chin toward Roy, who was lounging carefree on a deck chair nearby.
"He's too strong. If I become twice as strong, he'll match me with twice the power. If I become ten times stronger, he'll respond with tenfold strength. It's like he has no upper limit—always staying one step ahead. How am I supposed to see my progress like that? Honestly, every time I spar with him, I end up feeling utterly defeated!"
Yuta's eyes widened slightly.
Before he could ponder the implications, Maki suddenly stepped forward, closing the distance with speed indistinguishable to the naked eye, and slashed at his neck with her blade.
Unbelievably fast!
Yuta's expression shifted as he immediately channeled cursed energy throughout his body and the wooden staff, blocking the overhead strike by thrusting the staff backward.
Thankfully, the force behind this strike didn't exceed his limits.
But before Yuta could catch his breath, Maki swung again.
"That was just 50% power. Now it's 70%!"
Wait, seriously?!
Yuta was startled by the terrifying sword strike and didn't dare to meet it head-on, hastily retreating several steps. At the same time, the nearly limitless cursed energy within him surged out like thunder, causing his body to swell with power once more.
Maki remained calm and composed, maintaining her steady rhythm while her sword movements grew increasingly faster.
"This is bad—I can't even see Maki's movements clearly! She has no cursed energy, making her actions completely unpredictable...!"
Yuta found himself struggling to keep up, his footing becoming increasingly unsteady.
Just as she'd claimed, Maki had indeed become incredibly strong!
At this level, even he would have to go all out to stand a chance against her!
On the nearby lounge chair.
Roy watched their sparring session and nodded slightly to himself.
The natural combat prowess of the Heavenly Restiction was truly no joke—her martial talent was nearly on par with his own, and her rapid improvement during this period was nothing short of astonishing.
Even if Maki were to fight Sukuna now, she'd probably have a chance of winning.
Though admittedly, that chance would likely be very slim.
Just then, the phone on the side table vibrated.
Roy picked it up.
It was a call from Principal Yaga.
The voice on the other end was more serious than he'd ever heard before.
"...Something major has happened. Come to the principal's office immediately."
"Oh?"
Roy closed his eyes briefly.
When he reopened them, a satisfied smile spread across his face.
"Finally. I was starting to get impatient!"
"You two, break it up."
Roy stood from the lounge chair, interrupting Maki and Yuta's spar.
"If you want to fight, there'll be plenty of opportunities soon!"
Both Maki and Yuta stopped simultaneously, turning puzzled looks toward Roy.
"What's going on?"
"Principal Yaga summoned me. You two should come along too."
Roy opened his group chat and sent a message summoning Yuji and the other three to meet up as well.
"We might be looking at a cursed terror attack on par with—or even bigger than—last year's Night Parade of a Hundred Demons!"
...
Shibuya, Tokyo.
"Sorry for the wait! Here's yours."
Nijika Ijichi carried several ice cream cones over to her friends and began distributing them.
"Kita-chan, this one's for you."
"Ryo, here's yours. Don't forget to pay me back tomorrow."
Kita Ikuyo and Ryo Yamada accepted their ice creams from Nijika.
Ryo blinked in surprise.
"Kita-chan gets hers for free?"
"Yep."
"Nijika, do you hear yourself? How is that fair?"
"Shut up. Should I count how many times you've mooched ice cream off me this summer?"
Nijika shot Ryo a frosty glare.
"But it's the end of the month. I'm really broke."
Ryo gazed despondently into the distance, at a loss for words.
It was October 31st—Halloween.
The streets were bustling, filled with people dressed as monsters and ghosts. The entire Shibuya district had transformed into an all-night carnival of neon lights and revelry.
"At this rate, I'll have to start eating grass!"
Ryo plucked some wild greens from her forehead and began chewing on them with a melancholy expression.
"Hey, you've pulled this trick way too many times already!"
Nijika's fist itched with the urge to smack Ryo on the head.
This guy actually dressed himself up as a tree person, with weeds growing all over his forehead!
Is Halloween meant to be played like this?!
"Kita-chan, what are you looking at?"
Nijika, looking utterly exhausted, suddenly noticed Kita Ikuyo staring blankly at the sky, so entranced that she didn't even notice her ice cream starting to melt. Unable to contain her curiosity, Nijika asked.
She glanced up at the sky—there was nothing there.
"Ah, well…"
Kita Ikuyo snapped out of her daze and forced a smile at Nijika.
"I think I might've said something earlier about how curse-related stuff usually doesn't appear during big events like Halloween… You can forget about that. Maybe I remembered wrong."