With everyone successfully transported to Hokkaido, the Goodwill Event officially began.
"Emerge from darkness, blacker than black. Purify that which is impure."
Satoru Gojo raised his right hand, casting the Curtain.
"Now, everyone, play nice! Once you're ready, just step onto this array one by one." He pointed to a stone slab on the ground nearby, intricately carved with complex incantations. "This is a Teleportation Slate. It'll drop you at random locations throughout the forest."
As he spoke, he clapped his hands, activating his own technique to teleport himself to a nearby high-rise building.
"Reporting for duty! Task complete, Gojo-sama reporting in!" Gojo gave a mock salute to the two women in the room before flopping into the chair on the far right. To his left sat Utahime Iori in her traditional shrine maiden attire; a faint scar traced across her face, a silent testament to some past incident.
To Utahime's left was the special guest for the event, the white-haired beauty, Mei Mei.
Finding himself ignored, Gojo noticed the two were focused intently on a small screen on the wall. He quickly leaned in, his right hand nudging Utahime's head aside while his left hand tugged down his blindfold. "Whatcha lookin' at?"
Utahime rolled her eyes, too exhausted to deal with him.
Mei Mei leaned back into her chair, stroking her chin as she crossed her legs. "Hasegumo and Nagasawa are inside the Curtain. My Black Bird Manipulation spotted them, but I haven't had a chance to notify you yet."
"Oh ho?" Gojo wore a wicked grin. "Are those two sneaking off for a secret date?"
He stared at the image of the man and woman sitting side-by-side by the lake. The more he watched, the more restless he became, feeling as though ants were crawling under his skin. "Mei-san, can your birds broadcast audio? I want to hear what Gumo is saying."
"It doesn't have that function." Mei Mei toyed with a lock of her hair and sighed softly. "If you really want to listen in, you're welcome to go in yourself."
Deep in the woods, the two groups of students met for the first time, standing in a tense, silent standoff.
Among them were Maki and Mai Zen'in. Despite being twin sisters, a rift from their childhood left their relationship strained and awkward. They locked eyes, their gazes burning with a silent vow: I will not lose to her.
Into this thick, uncomfortable atmosphere, a "hero" stepped forward to break the deadlock. It was the Grade 1 sorcerer, Aoi Todo.
Now, "Aoi" was typically a feminine name in Japan, but looking at Aoi Todo, not a single person—not even Panda or Toge—would ever think the word "effeminate." In their minds, only one phrase resonated: What a total man.
A jagged scar tore across his face, spanning from his forehead across the bridge of his nose to his left cheek. His rippling, corded muscles screamed that he was a pure brawler.
As a student of the Special Grade sorcerer Yuki Tsukumo, Todo possessed a unique knack for gauging an opponent's strength. He immediately identified Yuta Okkotsu as the strongest of the Tokyo four, stepped forward with an arrogant stride, and demanded: "What kind of woman do you like?"
"Eh? (⊙﹏⊙) Uh, hello. I'm Yuta Okkotsu." Yuta looked incredibly flustered. "Are you... asking me?" He knew perfectly well who Todo was talking to, but the question was just too bizarre to process.
"Correct. Your answer will determine our relationship."
It was often said that there were no "normal" jujutsu sorcerers. Among the sea of the obsessed and the deranged, Todo's personality was merely... eccentric. From a certain perspective, a powerhouse is entitled to their quirks; some might even call it a unique charm. In short, he was a man who loved his idols (specifically the lovely Takada-chan), loved his delusions, and lived entirely by his own rules, indifferent to the opinions of others.
"I guess... someone with a nice body and a gentle personality?" Yuta's voice was as quiet as a mosquito's buzz. He was the polar opposite of the giant standing before him. Faced with Todo's socially devastating question, he pondered for an entire minute, his face turning beet red, before finally squeezing those words out.
"I see... how shallow." Todo closed his eyes, and two thick lines of tears began to roll down his cheeks. "I didn't expect you to be so superficial."
Heaven only knew what Todo was hallucinating in his mind right now. "You may be strong, but I have absolutely no interest in you now."
"Heh... is that so?" Yuta's lip twitched as he thought: Good. Let's keep it that way.
Awkward as it was, Todo's outburst succeeded in dissolving the heavy tension.
"I'm Panda." "Maki Zen'in." "Salmon."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kasumi Miwa, a practitioner of the New Shadow Style." After her self-introduction, Miwa heard Toge's response. She immediately wondered just how irresponsible the boy's parents must have been to name their child "Salmon." She stepped forward and patted his shoulder with a look of profound pity. "Having to carry a name like that... it must be hard on you."
Toge Inumaki had no idea what was going through the blue-haired girl's head. "Bonito flakes?"
"He can't speak normally because of his Cursed Technique. He has to use food ingredients as a substitute," Panda explained, stepping in to clear up the misunderstanding. However, because they were about to compete, he didn't reveal the name or specific mechanics of Cursed Speech.
However, the Inumaki clan was legendary in the jujutsu world. To someone from a Great Clan like Noritoshi Kamo, the answer was obvious. He instantly connected the dots but kept his mouth shut. He tucked the intel away, choosing not to let the opposition know he had identified Toge's technique. This might be useful at a critical moment, he thought, introducing himself with narrowed eyes. "Noritoshi Kamo."
"Momo Nishimiya." "Mai Zen'in."
"Eh?" Panda nudged Maki with his elbow. "A relative of yours?"
"That's my twin sister."
"You never mentioned her."
"Shut it." Maki's expression turned grim. She didn't want to talk about it; thinking of her sister only brought back the bitter memories of their childhood, souring her mood further.
The others, sensing the "danger" radiating from Maki, decided to drop the gossip and act like nothing had happened.
"Mechamaru." The final introduction was the most jarring. The Tokyo group thought having a Panda was weird enough, but Kyoto had apparently sent a literal robot to the competition.
Just as Panda was about to crack a joke, Todo finished his mental deluding. He marched over to Toge Inumaki. "What about you? What kind of woman do you like?"
"As for me... I like girls who are free-spirited and full of love," Hasegumo said, sitting on a rock by the lakeshore. "Ideally, a girl who likes anime and games. You're pretty much perfect as you are now."
"Is that so...?" Hisazakuro Nagasawa's face flushed a deep crimson. Despite her bold personality, she was still a girl in the middle of her very first romance—and with a man she had crushed on for a decade. She didn't know how to respond, so she simply looked out over the lake. Every now and then, a fish would break the surface, its tail slapping the water and sending ripples across the glass-like mirror.
"By the way, the 2007 arcade game champion had the same name as you," Hasegumo mentioned. Back then, he had used that as an excuse to send Geto to his hometown to walk his dog, but he had actually followed that tournament closely. Finding out the champion shared a name with an acquaintance had genuinely surprised him.
"That was me." Hisazakuro was a bit of a closet nerd. Hearing this, she playfully shook her fist. "Don't look down on me, you know. I'm unbeatable at fighting games."
Though they hadn't seen each other often over the years, they talked like old friends who had known each other forever. Their shared hobbies and similar temperaments drew them together like magnets.
"Speaking of which, there's something I've been meaning to ask," Hasegumo said, turning to look at her. "I don't age. You know that, right?"
They say youth is wasted on the young; people often miss the beauty of an older sister figure until it's too late. At thirty, Hisazakuro was in her prime—bright eyes, white teeth, and a soft touch of "baby fat" on her cheeks that made one want to reach out and pinch them. Her green track pants and low-top sneakers emphasized her long legs, while the calluses on her hands proved she wasn't just a pretty face; she was a capable fighter in her own right.
As beautiful as she was, time would eventually take its toll. Hasegumo felt he had to bring it up. He was easygoing, but he took relationships seriously. If decades passed and he still looked like a teenager while she was elderly, the psychological gap would be something they'd have to face.
"I know." Nagasawa looked at him and asked a question she already knew the answer to. "Are you going to get sick of me because I'm old? Are you going to abandon me?"
"Of course not," Hasegumo stood up and replied seriously. "I'm just worried—"
"There's nothing to worry about." Hisazakuro's smile widened. She stood and linked her arm through his. "Very few sorcerers live long enough to die of old age anyway. Why worry about things so far in the future? Besides... the forbidden romance between a seventy-year-old lady and an eighteen-year-old boy... just thinking about it is thrilling..."
"Heh." Hasegumo rubbed the back of his head and laughed foolishly. Suddenly, a pillar of cursed energy erupted in the distance. Simply sensing it made his skin crawl with discomfort.
"It's so evil it's nauseating..." The essence carried by that cursed energy was unlike anything he had ever felt—a pure, malignant vibe that was the complete antithesis of his heart of gratitude. It was... humanity's hatred for humanity.
"Aren't you going?" Jogo looked at Kenjaku, the volcano on his head already beginning to smoke. His mood was far worse than his outward appearance suggested; he looked ready to incinerate the man in front of him. "He is our comrade. You want me to just stand here and watch those pathetic brats kill him?"
"He's just a newborn. If you insist on going, I won't stop you. I can even set up a new Curtain on the perimeter to slow down Satoru Gojo," Kenjaku replied with effortless calm. "However, Hasegumo's whereabouts are unknown. I am absolutely not going to risk exposing our existence to the jujutsu world by stepping in there."
It was his cautious nature that had allowed him to survive for a thousand years. After all, the strongest "Grandpa" in the current jujutsu world had already been killed by his hand.
Unlike the manga where he chatted brazenly in cafes, Kenjaku had been walking on eggshells ever since Hasegumo made his debut. He lived in constant fear of discovery, meeting with the Disaster Curses only in the most secluded locations.
Even though he knew this newborn curse would be someone special—someone with immense potential and utility—he would not put himself in danger.
Looking at the three Disaster Curses bristling with hostility, Kenjaku added calmly: "According to my intel, there are two people inside capable of killing him: Aoi Todo and Yuta Okkotsu. That's all I can tell you."
"I see..." Jogo thought for a moment, managing to rein in his temper.
In his eyes, the future of curses was paramount, but his comrades were equally indispensable. Among the cursed spirits, Jogo was the most sentimental. Even though he had never met the newborn, and even facing potential danger, he was determined to save him.
Furthermore, he didn't believe for a second that he would lose to Satoru Gojo. Even if they met head-on, he'd have to fight the man to see who was truly superior.
"Do as you said. You handle the opening on the perimeter and the new Curtain."
"A future where we abandon our own kind... that's not a future I want."
"Hanami, Dagon. Let's go." Jogo opened his mouth, revealing a terrifying grin. His sharp fangs glinted in the light. "Let's slaughter those sorcerers."