Fushiguro Toji finally understood why this young master insisted on signing that contract with him.
The timing for this "kidnapping" mission is quite tight.
The interior decoration of the Kobe Family villa was in a modern style, the 150-inch television looked excellent once it was mounted on the wall.
An ID photo of a young girl wearing a school uniform and a white headband is displayed in the center, with several red lines radiating from her, connecting her to several surveillance screenshots and photos.
There is a family photo, her graduation photos from every year, photos of her with older women.
Tiny, dense lines of text were listed beneath these photographs, clearly displaying the life of this fourteen-year-old girl.
Every significant event in her life since birth, along with the people she was closest to, was laid out clearly on these.
Fushiguro Toji raised an eyebrow. "There's no need for the victim's information to be quite this detailed."
This is the Star Plasma Vessel, currently under the supervision of Tengen's forces.
Kobe Suzuo held a laptop, her fingers tapping skillfully on the keyboard as colorful letters and numbers scrolled rapidly, the dim blue electronic light casting flickering shadows across her profile.
For someone still living in the era of keypad phones, this scene was far too high-tech.
I hope you can bring Riko Amanai out.
Was the Star Plasma Vessel incident a test of Satoru Gojo's stability by the Elders Council, or was a potential traitor brewing some kind of plan?
Kobe Suzuo couldn't understand their way of thinking, nor did she bother to engage in intellectual battles with those old fossils.
With an absolute advantage in intelligence, Kobe Suzuo only needed to pull the rug out from under them and crudely achieve the maximum possible profit.
The Kobe Family will hide her, you are to wander around, creating the illusion that Riko Amanai's life or death is unknown.
Fushiguro Toji didn't care about whether it was the Star Plasma Vessel or not; he rested his chin on one hand, leaning against the side arm of the sofa as he assessed the difficulty of this mission.
“After tonight, I will sync the official information regarding the pursuit of the Star Plasma Vessel with you, to avoid exposing your whereabouts by running into Jujutsu Sorcerers head-on.”
Kobe Suzuo's thoughts gradually became clearer, her knuckles tapped lightly on her notebook. "As for Curse Users or any other factions, you should be able to handle them with your strength, right?"
As the eye of the storm vanished from everyone's sight, those hidden beneath the surface would either give up the golden opportunity of the Tengen transformation to continue lurking in the shadows, or throw caution to the wind and make a desperate stand.
Kobe Suzuo only needed to watch Fushiguro Toji walk these people around.
As for Tengen, if Riko Amanai is truly the one and only indispensable person, then Tengen will certainly spare no effort in searching for her.
In the position of Jujutsu Director, monitoring Tengen's movements would be easy; one could simply adapt to the situation as it unfolded.
After Kobe Suzuo finished explaining the details, she clapped her hands, a waiter placed a silver-white briefcase on the table and opened it, revealing the items inside.
A short-lived shikigami substitute, a new mobile phone, a concealed earpiece for communication, a full set of identification documents, a significant amount of cash, two different black cards.
“These will help you complete this mission. Buy whatever Cursed Tools you need; there is no limit on the amount.”
Fushiguro Toji looked at the items in the box, his mouth twitching. This was the first time he had been given such an ample budget. "You planned this all along, didn't you?"
Kobe Suzuo thought about whether anything had been missed and replied casually, "No, it was just a sudden idea. This is just the standard equipment for full-time employees."
Leaving the Jujutsu Director's Department Shrine, the entire process—from gathering and integrating intelligence to persuading Toji Fushiguro to sign a contract with the effects of a [Contract]—took only four or five hours in total.
With zero Cursed Energy, Fushiguro Toji could bypass the barrier Tengen had placed around the Star Plasma Vessel; with his physical abilities, he could also stealthily take someone away under the watchful eyes of Jujutsu Sorcerers.
Kobe Suzuo had limited manpower available at this stage, without resorting to child labor, Fushiguro Toji was a highly effective blade to wield.
Even though this blade was unruly and somewhat difficult to handle.
But thanks to the cheat provided by the World Consciousness, with the Contract in place, Kobe Suzuo could act much more boldly in everything he did.
He looked up, meeting Fushiguro Toji's wild and piercing gaze, smiled gently. "They want my life; it's not much to ask to pull a few strings and cause some trouble, is it?"
“Don't you think the current Jujutsu World is terrible, Fushiguro-kun? Before this fragile balance is broken, someone must do something."
Before Kobe Suzuo could finish speaking, Fushiguro Toji's patience had already run out, he grabbed the briefcase from the table, preparing to leave.
Boss, I'm not interested in your kind of rhetoric.
The robust man sighed, scratching the back of his head with one hand. "Time is tight and the mission is heavy, so stop nagging."
At the entrance, the driver who had brought Kobe Suzuo back had already switched to another car and was waiting there.
Fushiguro Toji glanced at the low-profile yet luxurious car, gave an inscrutable smile, got into the vehicle, vanished into the night.
Young Master, do you think he understood your hint?
Merlin connected the living room speakers.
“Whether you understand or not doesn't matter.”
When no outsiders were around, Kobe Suzuo still sat upright, taking a sip of the coffee brought by the waiter.
Merlin: "True, being able to speak so candidly with you is a privilege reserved for the Fated Person."
“……”Kobe Suzuo felt that this AI's database had been contaminated.
Intelligence plummeted, while being head over heels in love skyrocketed.
Toji Fushiguro is very smart, but this man's core is a kind of self-destructive whimsy; I don't expect a few casual words could possibly reach his heart.
Kobe Suzuo stood up, preparing to take a shower and change her clothes before heading to the study to work overtime.
The financial relationship is already solid enough, let alone someone with wealth on my level.
Kobe Suzuo was more generous than the financier; aside from him, no one else would casually give Fushiguro Toji this much money.
At dawn, Fushiguro Toji arrived at the Kobe Family estate again, carrying a sack on his shoulder.
On his way to evacuate Riko Amanai, he encountered a delivery truck from a clothing store and stuffed her into a sack on the spot.
A robust adult man carrying a young girl was somewhat conspicuous, but it was much easier to move when he was carrying a sack.
To hide his tracks, Kobe Suzuo did not arrange a car for him to return.
Following the instructions through his earpiece, Fushiguro Toji climbed through the window into the lit study, a thin layer of morning dew still clinging to his body.
His gaze was devoid of emotion, making the vertical scar at the corner of his mouth appear somewhat sinister, a grotesque, worm-like Cursed Spirit was clinging to his upper body.
The man, who was even more muscular than a gorilla, placed Riko Amanai on the sofa and turned to leave through the same window he had entered.
Kobe Suzuo watched the vein in the man's temple throb, gaining an even deeper understanding of Fushiguro Toji's rudeness.
"Wait." Kobe Suzuo grabbed a document from beside her and handed it to Fushiguro Toji.
Fushiguro Toji was still gripping the window frame, glancing at the papers in Kobe Suzuo's hands—his labor contract with the Kobe Zaibatsu.
He was clearly very displeased with this "bill of sale" and rolled his eyes before preparing to jump out of the window again.
Kobe Suzuo endured it for a moment and said, "You'd better take a careful look at the contents when you get back. It contains an overview of my Cursed Technique as well as the company's welfare policies; some things require you to apply for them yourself, otherwise you'll miss out."
Perhaps because of the benefits, Toji Fushiguro reluctantly accepted the contract, rolled it up, stuffed it into the mouth of the Cursed Spirit wrapped around him, then plummeted straight out the window.
Kobe Suzuo, who had originally intended to mention those two kids of his..
Forget it, I should have more patience with a future ace employee.
Look at how well the mission was completed—on the sofa, the fourteen-year-old girl in the sack was in an unknown condition.
Kobe Suzuo's face was stiff as she called for the family doctor and the live-in assistant.
..
Good afternoon, Kobe-san. Are you taking us to see the Star Plasma Vessel?
Satoru Gojo was uncharacteristically proactive today, arriving early at the meeting point while pulling Suguru Geto along with him.
After Satoru Gojo was sent back yesterday, Masamichi Yaga personally approached him and Suguru Geto to discuss the Star Plasma Vessel escort mission, which had been personally assigned by Tengen and was unavoidable.
But he had already made an agreement with Suguru: he would save that middle school student, he would also see what Kobe Suzuo, who claimed she wanted to force the old man out of his position, was planning to do.
As soon as the car door opened, Satoru Gojo's chattering reached Kobe Suzuo's ears.
He had stayed up all night and was suffering from stomach pains again this morning; his complexion was truly poor, the pure white brightness momentarily caused Kobe Suzuo to lose herself in thought.
His leather shoes faltered for a moment as they hit the ground, but he quickly steadied himself.
Kobe Suzuo gave a faint smile. "Today's mission is to go to Hokkaido to deal with a semi-Special Grade Cursed Spirit."
It's a Cursed Spirit born from local folklore. It's currently a Grade 1, but the system has detected abnormal Cursed Energy fluctuations in the surrounding area, so you two are going together.
Satoru Gojo blinked, "Eh?"
Suguru Geto blanked for a moment, then confirmed, "Um, Supervisor Kobe, we received an emergency assignment yesterday."
He observed Kobe Suzuo's reaction, his fox-like eyes narrowing into slits. "The Star Plasma Vessel is related to Lord Tengen's transcendence. It is said that there is no room for error, we are to depart immediately."
Satoru Gojo was still thinking about Kobe Suzuo's shocking statement from last night. "Even if Suzuo wants to rebel, he can't just run away from a direct assignment from the Director's Department like this, can he?"
He leaned in, attempting to put an arm around Kobe Suzuo's shoulder, but she lightly dodged him. "The consequences will be severe, you know."
Suspension and investigation would be light; if one wasn't careful, they could be executed under some crime, that would be disastrous.
Satoru Gojo, refusing to give up, reached out and grabbed her, hanging onto Kobe Suzuo like a close brother and saying, "But if Suzuo begs me, I might step in and protect you."
The heat of midsummer had already begun to take shape, the occasional breeze blowing against the cheeks had turned warm.
But Kobe Suzuo was still wearing a standard three-piece suit, exuding a steady temperament like winter cedar.
The Star Plasma Vessel went missing this morning.
As he spoke, he raised his hand to push Satoru Gojo away, appearing extremely uncomfortable with the contact, his brow furrowing slightly.
There were no useful clues at the scene, no traces of Cursed Energy left behind. We don't know who the culprit is, we don't know if the Star Plasma Vessel is still alive, we can't even determine the exact time of the disappearance.
Kobe Suzuo's tone was quite calm. "The Jujutsu Sorcerers have no clue regarding the disappearance of the Star Plasma Vessel, so they followed Director Kobe's suggestion."
He seemed to flash an extremely mocking smile, so quickly that Suguru Geto failed to see it clearly.
“The police have already been called.”
Chapter 11: That Police Officer
How many caregivers there were, how many layers of barriers surrounded the residence, exactly which room the target was in—all of this was included in the intelligence prepared by Kobe Suzuo.
Fushiguro Toji found Riko Amanai and knocked her unconscious before taking her away; the entire process took less than twenty minutes, he carried out the task with extreme efficiency.
It wasn't until Mikage Kurosawa went to wake Riko Amanai as usual that morning, only to find a single, long-expired substitute puppet and an empty room, that she realized Riko Amanai had gone missing.
The guardian, who had looked after the Star Plasma Vessel for many years and truly cared for and protected Riko Amanai, was thrown into a panic and immediately chose to report the incident.