Chapter 51: Expelling a Student?
"Are you all alright?"
Zen'in Shinsuke didn't walk far before he spotted Maki and the others.
The shattered ground, collapsed buildings, and scorched air all spoke of the brutal battle that had just ended.
"Sensei!"
Maki, hair disheveled and glasses gone, leaned heavily on her blade just to stay upright. From her battered state alone, it was clear she'd been through hell—thankfully, nothing beyond surface wounds.
"We're fine," she said, forcing a smile.
Shinsuke gave a faint nod. He placed a heavy but gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Good. That's enough. After this fight, you've passed."
Maki froze. Her eyes trembled as if she hadn't dared hope for those words.
He was saying… she'd passed the trial?
Her voice quivered with emotion, "S-Sensei… you mean, I've really passed?"
She knew all too well—there were techniques, secrets, entire realms of power her teacher had yet to share with her. She had trained herself bloody for years, always chasing this moment.
Watching her classmates grow stronger by the day while she stood trapped at her limits had gnawed at her heart. Even if her raw strength surpassed most sorcerers, without those cursed-lens glasses she couldn't even see curses.
The thing that had kept her going all this time wasn't just her grudge against the Zen'in clan. It was her teacher's acknowledgment.
"Don't get too worked up yet," Shinsuke said flatly. "Whether you can truly do it is still uncertain. Rest well after this. Adjust yourself, then come find me again."
Her body was finally strong enough for the Gate of Opening—yet whether she could awaken the power of blood and life-force was another matter. After all, unlike him, she still carried a faint trace of cursed energy.
"I understand, Sensei! I won't let you down!" Maki's eyes burned with determination. She would become as strong as him. Stronger, even.
---
Meanwhile, Okkotsu Yuta, relieved his friends were alive, steeled himself to fulfill his promise with Rika.
After all, the power of "pure love"—borrowed power—had to be returned.
Shinsuke eyed the girl-curse, with her huge, staring eyes, and couldn't help but feel a strange amusement. A curse this terrifying… such a waste, really.
Then came the touching scene. Instead of dying with her, Okkotsu inadvertently broke her curse. Rika's form shifted—returning to her original human self.
Okkotsu stood frozen in shock.
"Rika…"
Clap, clap, clap.
"Congratulations. You've lifted the curse."
Gojo Satoru appeared, clapping with that infuriating smirk.
"Uh… who's this guy?"
Maki and the others stared in confusion. They had never seen Gojo without his blindfold.
"I'm the devastatingly handsome Gojo Satoru, of course!" Gojo announced proudly, before turning serious and explaining Okkotsu's lineage.
"Okkotsu's bloodline is extremely rare. He's a descendant of Sugawara no Michizane—one of the Big Three Vengeful Spirits. Which also makes him… my distant relative."
The students exchanged stunned looks, trying to process this.
But Shinsuke had already lost interest. He turned away silently, his mind focused inward.
In the pages of his inner scripture, seven of the Eight Gates now gleamed open.
Gate of Opening: 100%
Gate of Rest: 100%
Gate of Life: 100%
Gate of Pain: 100%
Gate of Limit: 100%
Gate of View: 100%
Gate of Wonder: 100%
Gate of Death: 0.8%
After this harvest, the Seventh Gate was complete.
But he also noticed—curse exorcisms now gave less life-force than before. No, not less—it was that his training required exponentially more.
For the final gate, he would need massacres of this scale several more times over… or he'd have to hunt down multiple special-grade curses.
"Looks like I'll still have to rely on little Getō," he muttered.
The "mid-boss" had fallen. But the final boss had yet to make his move.
Although there would be more to harvest in the future.
Even though stacking the Seven Gates with the Heavenly Restriction was already almost more than enough, it still felt incomplete—if you didn't train it to the max level, it wouldn't feel right.
Getō never would have guessed that, after his death, someone would keep treating him like a woolly sheep to be shorn.
The Night Parade of Hundred Demons finally wound down, and the jujutsu world enjoyed a short, uneasy calm.
Three days later, however, the authorities made a decision that shattered that fragile peace.
"The higher-ups have decided to expel two second-year students from Tokyo Jujutsu High: Hakari Kinji and Hoshi Kirara."
In the conference room at Tokyo Jujutsu High, Yaga announced the order that had just come down from the higher-ups.
Hakari Kinji's and Hoshi Kirara's techniques had, in the end, stirred the conservative faction into action. Their style—leaning close to modern scientific principles—was disliked by the old guard. Anything they disliked had to be eradicated.
"What right do they have?! What rules have they broken? They helped during the Night Parade of Hundred Demons—why expel them? I object!"
Amanai voice rose first; she had been supervising the two and was the first to stand up in protest.
Just because some old fogies didn't understand a technique, they'd kick students out? Was there any justice left? Any reason?
No other teachers spoke up—everyone knew that once the higher-ups had decided, objections were meaningless.
Satoru Gojo lounged in his chair, palms open, utterly entertained—he couldn't have cared less. He glanced at Zen'in Shinsuke and smirked.
"Hey — aren't these your students? Don't you have anything to say?" Gojo teased.
Shinsuke glanced at Gojo—legs crossed, enjoying the show—and gave a faint smile. "Thanks for the reminder, Gojo-sensei. I almost forgot I still had those two students."
"So what're we going to do?" Gojo looked at him, waiting for a reaction.
Shinsuke drummed his fingers on the table, thoughtful. "Seems there's only one solution—maybe I should just kill all those old men."
His eyes flashed at the idea, and for a moment he looked positively delighted.
At once, the other teachers' skin prickled and cold sweat broke out across their backs.
"No, no—Shinsuke-sensei, that's not necessary! There's room to negotiate—I'll talk to the higher-ups again," Yaga stammered, wiping his forehead. He understood Shinsuke wasn't joking. If this man could deal death even to his own clan, what were a few elderly councilors to him?
True, the higher-ups could be rigid, but without them things would descend into chaos.
Gojo, though, was laughing his head off. "Perfect—kill the elders, and we'll take their seats!" he chortled. He'd always had it out for them.
Yaga quickly cut him off; he was terrified these words might travel to the very elders Gojo was insulting.
"Shinsuke-sensei," Yaga said more seriously, "I will report back to the higher-ups. I will not allow Hakari Kinji and Hoshi Kirara to be expelled."
He slammed a hand on the table. He would do his best to have the decision reversed. After all, he was the principal of Tokyo Jujutsu High—surely that counted for something. Right?