General Administration of Jujutsu, Central Courtyard, Conference Hall.
The moment Jujutsu High proposed assigning the recovery of Sukuna's finger as an admission task, the room erupted into argument.
And the dispute had shown no signs of stopping even now.
Voices clashed.
"It's simply too arrogant to entrust the retrieval of a Special Grade Cursed Object to two high school students."
"That's a remnant of Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses from a thousand years ago!"
"Even if it's just a fraction of his power, it's not something an ordinary sorcerer could possibly handle!"
"Let alone a student who hasn't even officially enrolled!"
But others clearly took issue with those objections and shot back.
"These two are from the Gojo family. They're not ordinary candidates!"
"They've both proven themselves capable of confronting Special Grade cursed spirits! One is the Six Eyes user of the Gojo clan! The other is a prodigy who possesses a Zanpakutō!"
"I say we leave the task to them!"
"..."
As the debate spiraled on, no one managing to convince the other, all eyes suddenly turned to one man, a middle-aged figure unfamiliar to most.
Yagyū Hidetsugu.
A man who had risen to prominence within the Directorate General's Office over the past nine years. His rank was second only to the Director of Jujutsu, who rarely made an appearance.
So, in the Director's absence, his words held tremendous weight in any dispute.
Yagyū Hidetsugu calmly swept his gaze across the room, eyes resting on the group that had been locked in heated argument just moments before. He hesitated briefly.
He had clawed his way to this position within the Directorate General.
All for Gojo Satoshi.
Not only did he now hold this authority, he had also secretly placed numerous individuals from the Gojo family within the ranks.
His purpose: to facilitate the cooperation between the Metropolitan General Headquarters and Gojo Satoshi.
Nine years ago, Satoshi had entrusted them with the mission of collecting Sukuna's fingers.
Now that Satoshi was personally heading out, Yagyū would protect him with everything he had.
Yagyū Hidetsugu's expression remained neutral as he declared,
"I approve of assigning the mission to recover Sukuna's finger to Tokyo Jujutsu High."
Upon hearing this, those who had opposed turned pale.
They didn't want to provoke him.
But of course, the real reason was that they wanted to use their own family influence to claim Sukuna's finger for themselves.
They wanted to object again, but seeing the look in Hidetsugu's eyes, none dared to speak further.
"Agreed."
"I... also agree."
Yagyū Hidetsugu smiled faintly.
"Good. Then it's settled."
"Arrange the mission immediately. Deliver the secret scroll containing the mission's location to Yaga Masamichi and have him take it back."
"If there's nothing else, this meeting is adjourned."
"..."
After receiving notice from the Spell Inspectorate.
Zenin Estate, Family Council Room.
All key figures of the Zenin clan were gathered. Seated at the head of the long table was Patriarch Zenin Naobito.
On either side of him sat Zenin Ogi, Zenin Jinichi, Zenin Shinsuke, and the others.
Naobito's tone was steady.
"Since Gojo Satoshi fell into slumber, our Zenin clan has greatly expanded its influence."
"We even managed to suppress the Gojo family for a time."
"But now, we may need to revise our plans."
His words caused the room to fall silent. Everyone glanced at the stack of documents placed in front of them.
Clearly, Naobito's statement was based on the contents of those files.
All of them picked up the documents to read.
Zenin Ogi's expression darkened.
"Patriarch, our Zenin clan is currently working closely with the Kamo clan. Even if that monster Satoshi awakens, I don't think it'll hinder our growth."
Zenin Shinsuke clenched his fists tightly.
"That's right. My strength is finally beginning to recover."
"And Gojo Satoshi has been asleep for nine years. Even if he awakens, who's to say he'll be as fearsome as before?"
"Besides, don't forget, we have the Kamo clan backing us!"
Zenin Jinichi leaned forward, both hands resting on the table, smiling confidently.
"Exactly. We've made a major breakthrough. If we keep going, the Zenin clan might surpass the other two great sorcerer families!"
"There's no reason to stop now!"
If things continued on this trajectory, Jinichi's influence within the clan would only grow.
Naturally, he wasn't willing to abandon their plans.
Naobito sighed inwardly. In this seemingly quiet meeting room, he could already hear the crashing of waves beneath a cliff's edge.
"Have Gojo Satoshi's nine years of slumber made you forget the power of his Zanpakutō?"
"Do none of you recall it in your dreams at night?"
His regretful words struck everyone like a cold wind.
Their faces changed.
Indeed, they had grown complacent. But now that Naobito mentioned it, both Ogi and Jinichi broke out in a cold sweat.
Gojo Satoshi's Zanpakutō…
Even after nine years, the shadow it cast on their hearts had never truly faded.
Zenin Shinsuke's expression twisted with frustration.
He had once been hailed as a genius of the Zenin clan… until Gojo Satoshi appeared. Since then, he had been utterly forgotten.
Taking a deep breath, his gaze sharpened.
"Patriarch, you said it yourself."
"Gojo Satoshi has been asleep for nine years. During that time, his Zanpakutō has remained silent!"
"Even if it can recover… there's no proof it will!"
"More importantly, we don't even know if Satoshi can return to the power he had back then!"
Zenin Jinichi chimed in:
"Patriarch, Shinsuke is right. Cooperating with the Gojo family is not the right move for the Zenin clan."
"Do you think if we approach him now, Gojo Satoshi will respect us?"
"After Satoshi fell asleep, the Gojo family's growth came to a halt. We seized that opportunity and took a huge bite out of their territory!"
"Do you really believe there's still a chance for cooperation?"
Naobito slowly closed his eyes.
After a long pause, he exhaled lightly.
"Ogi, even if we can't cooperate, we must do everything in our power to avoid becoming Satoshi's enemy."
"And Shinsuke… if you want to return to your former glory, you must let go of your obsession with Gojo Satoshi."
"If you truly doubt how much power he still has after sleeping for nine years…"
"Then the answer is simple."
"Tomorrow, the Jujutsu High entrance exam will take place. The entire process will be broadcast live!"
"Gojo Satoshi will be facing a Special Grade cursed spirit that has consumed Sukuna's finger. If you're that curious, why don't we all watch together?"
"..."
(To be continued.)
***
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