Chapter 86: Crossroads at Sunset
He gaped, looking at Rin in disbelief, trying to find a hint of a joke on the other's face, but Rin's expression was more serious than ever.
He suddenly remembered Geto Suguru mentioning that "Gojo Satoru is the strongest," but he had always thought it was an exaggeration. Only now did he realize that it might be an undeniable truth.
"Then... aren't we fighting a battle we're destined to lose?" Miguel's voice trembled slightly. "No, we have to go persuade Geto Suguru! We can't let him just throw his life away!"
Rin, however, shook his head helplessly, his fingertips unconsciously caressing the cold bottle.
"It's no use, I've already tried. If he could be persuaded, we wouldn't be in this situation today."
He paused, then said softly:
"The current Geto Suguru is like a bird without feet."
"What? A bird without feet?" Miguel was bewildered, having never heard such a saying.
"A bird without feet is a bird without feet."
Rin explained, his voice very soft.
"It has no feet, so it can only fly endlessly, from birth to death, never able to land.
And the moment it finally lands, is the moment it dies."
Miguel listened blankly, a chill gradually rising in his heart.
"That's how Geto Suguru is now,"
Rin's gaze drifted towards the gym window. The sunlight outside was bright, but it couldn't penetrate the gloom in his eyes.
"He can't stop anymore. The 'world of only Jujutsu Sorcerers' in his heart is an unattainable goal, yet he still flies towards that direction.
During this time, he also has to face the 'Hunter's' gun, those who obstruct him, and the forces he must confront."
He turned his head to look at Miguel, his tone heavy:
"Only two outcomes await him. Either he flies until he's exhausted and falls to his death; or he gets shot and killed by the Hunter's gun."
Miguel's face completely darkened. He leaned against the ping-pong table, hands supporting himself on the surface, his head slightly lowered. After a while, he finally looked up and asked in a hoarse voice:
"Then what... what can we do next? We can't just watch him die, can we?"
Rin finally twisted open the water bottle and took a sip of ice water. The cold liquid slid down his throat, but it didn't calm him down.
He looked at Miguel, a hint of determination in his eyes:
"The only thing we can do is try our best to save him from the 'Hunter's' gun. Perhaps that way, he can live a little longer."
The gym fell silent again, with only the sound of wind rustling through the leaves outside the window.
Miguel looked at Rin's profile and suddenly understood that this usually silent young man had long regarded Geto Suguru as someone to protect.
And wasn't he himself the same?
...The setting sun dyed the sky a warm orange, and the afterglow streamed through the windows of the Star Plasma Cult's stronghold, casting long shadows on the ground.
Geto Suguru leaned against the windowsill, his fingertips lightly resting on the cold glass, his gaze fixed on the slowly setting sun outside the window.
He had just returned from Jujutsu High, still carrying lingering Cursed Energy fluctuations, but there was no triumphant exhilaration on his face from a successful declaration of war, only a faint, indescribable sense of melancholy.
The scenes from Jujutsu High just now involuntarily replayed in his mind.
Principal Yaga was still wearing his signature uniform, his face expressionless, but a hint of complexity flickered across it when he saw Geto Suguru.
Shoko leaned against the wall, a cigarette between her fingers, unlit. She just looked at him, her eyes holding disappointment and a trace of imperceptible regret.
And... Gojo Satoru.
The man wearing the black blindfold no longer had his usual frivolous demeanor. Geto Suguru could feel that his eyes beneath the blindfold must have been as cold as ice.
They didn't say much. The past, their stances, those youthful promises, were all kept out by the words "declaration of war."
"It's really been a long time, everyone."
Geto Suguru murmured softly, his voice drowned out by the wind outside the window.
The light of the setting sun fell on his face, softening the obsession in his eyes, allowing him to temporarily shed the heavy identity of "Star Plasma Cult Leader" and revert to the young man who once attended classes and carried out missions with everyone at Jujutsu High.
He remembered skipping class with Gojo Satoru to eat ramen, Shoko scolding him for being "careless" after he got injured, and Principal Yaga's sternness when he handed him a Cursed Corpse model... Those days felt like yesterday, yet also a lifetime ago.
At the same time, inside a classroom at Jujutsu High, the setting sun also streamed through the window, falling onto the podium.
Gojo Satoru sat in a student's seat, one leg crossed over the other, his hands clasped behind his head. He appeared to be spacing out, but his mind was filled with Geto Suguru's image.
"That guy always liked to preach."
He recalled Geto Suguru in high school, always sitting primly at his desk, telling him and Shoko that "Jujutsu exists to protect Non-Sorcerers," his tone as firm as an oath.
At that time, Geto Suguru had light in his eyes, an ideal of "everyone being happy" in his heart, and even his smile carried the purity of youth.
But now?
Gojo Satoru narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze beneath the blindfold deepening.
The person who once said he would protect Non-Sorcerers now wanted to start a war, to create a "world of only Jujutsu Sorcerers." The comrade who once fought alongside him was now an enemy of the Jujutsu World.
"But what are you doing now, Suguru?"
He spoke softly, a hint of helplessness in his voice that he himself didn't notice.
The classroom was empty, only his voice echoing. The setting sun gradually lowered, casting a long shadow of him, like an insurmountable chasm separating him from the Geto Suguru of the past.
The sunset on both sides was equally warm, yet it shone upon two people with opposing stances. They were both reminiscing about the past, both thinking of each other, but the paths beneath their feet had long diverged... The atmosphere in the meeting room at Jujutsu High was heavy. The afterglow of the setting sun streamed through the windows, but it couldn't dispel the tension in the air.
People filled both sides of the long table. Principal Yaga sat at the head, his brow furrowed, while Gojo Satoru leaned back in his chair, seemingly relaxed, but his fingers unconsciously tapped the table.
Mei Mei, Nanami, and others were also present, their faces serious. Everyone's gaze was fixed on the document in the assistant's hand.
"Special Grade Curse User Geto Suguru, skilled in Cursed Spirit Manipulation, absorbs and manipulates naturally occurring, uncontracted Cursed Spirits..."
The assistant's voice echoed clearly in the conference room. "Considering the data showing a sharp decrease in the number of Cursed Spirits in various regions over the past three years, his claim of 'controlling over two thousand Cursed Spirits' may not be an exaggeration."
As soon as the words fell, Principal Yaga spoke, his tone heavy:
"Even if he truly has two thousand Cursed Spirits, statistics show that most are just trash below Grade 2.
The number of Curse Users in the Star Plasma Cult will not exceed fifty at most.
These are not the most troublesome issues. What is most worrying is the newly appeared Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer, Rin."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.
"According to the latest intelligence, that guy can already skillfully control Cursed Spirit Manipulation, and even multiple different systems of Cursed Techniques, without any usage restrictions. What's more terrifying is that the Cursed Techniques he uses are even more powerful than their original versions."