Satoru Gojo:?
Did you suddenly develop a hobby for military history? Why the sudden thought?
Since he had already said it, Suguru Geto could only explain helplessly, "No, I was wondering whether Jujutsu Sorcerers or modern technology is more powerful."
[Does Suguru Geto think nuclear weapons or Jujutsu Sorcerers are stronger?]
It is hard to imagine how someone could place two seemingly unrelated things on a stage for a comparison of combat power; how is this any different from asking whether a magical girl or a Kamen Rider is stronger?
Jujutsu Sorcerers and human technology are fundamentally incomparable.
It is common knowledge that Cursed Spirits can only be exorcised using Cursed Techniques or Cursed Tools; human firearms are ineffective against them, which is why Jujutsu Sorcerers are needed to protect ordinary humans.
However, on second thought, even with Cursed Energy reinforcement, Jujutsu Sorcerers are nothing more than mortals, lethal weapons like bullets can indeed cause harm.
Not to mention the nuclear bombs or missiles mentioned by Kobe Suzuo.
Suguru Geto had never thought of such a thing.
He felt that the problem he had been struggling with originally was not in this direction, but one sentence from Kobe Suzuo had completely led him astray.
"Ordinary firearms shouldn't be able to harm me, after all, I have Limitless." Satoru Gojo had clearly never encountered this kind of topic before, he took two seconds to think:
If it were a weapon with higher lethality, one could escape immediately upon realizing something was wrong, but if a real confrontation occurred, it would indeed be quite troublesome; after all, Jujutsu Sorcerers are merely humans.
Besides, using something like that would be a bit inhumane.
It was hard to say which was stronger. Satoru Gojo had encountered battlefields while on business trips abroad, but he had only observed them from a distance; it was difficult to imagine what it would be like when those weapons were aimed at him.
Ultimately, the hypothesis of "missiles versus Jujutsu Sorcerers" was simply impossible.
Satoru Gojo shrugged his shoulders. "Well, isn't one of the functions of the Director's Department to prevent exactly this kind of situation from happening?"
Negotiating and cooperating with the official government to obtain the funding and privileges necessary to exorcise Cursed Spirits, while ensuring social stability by keeping the existence of the Jujutsu World known to as few people as possible.
If one day ordinary people used missiles, aircraft carriers, laser cannons to hunt down Jujutsu Sorcerers, then the Jujutsu World would truly be finished.
Satoru Gojo nudged Suguru Geto, who was still lost in thought, with his elbow and asked, "What made you suddenly start thinking about such things?"
Suguru Geto sighed, "I talked to Supervisor Kobe about this issue yesterday, his views are quite similar to Satoru's."
Kobe Suzuo said that humans are not fragile, that Jujutsu Sorcerers are no different from humans.
The young man sitting in the wheelchair looked unwell; the consecutive incidents had drained too much of his energy, leaving his face pale. "Jujutsu Sorcerers are merely a special profession with a rather high barrier to entry."
Kobe Suzuo was merely hinting at the cooperative relationship of mutual restraint between the Director's Department and the government. To make it easier to poach people later, he was telling Suguru Geto that the Elders were not that noble, that the boy shouldn't be so driven by a sense of justice—after all, where else could he work?
After graduation, there is no need to stay at Jujutsu High; come to the Kobe Group to assist in the research and development of the Jujutsu Detection Network. I guarantee you'll have a permanent position with even better benefits!
Suguru Geto was simply the type of person who was meticulous and tended to overthink; he believed that Kobe Suzuo had noticed his lack of resolve lately and was giving him a warning.
Supervisor Kobe is truly a man of great ideas.
Suguru Geto sighed with emotion, only to be interrupted by Satoru Gojo's grumbling, "As expected of a businessman, you're quite skilled at these matters involving the exchange of interests."
The two fell into an inexplicable silence for a moment, walking slowly toward the small cafeteria at Jujutsu High.
The Kobe Family's specially hired chef was now a permanent fixture at the Jujutsu High cafeteria. Once a luxurious bowl of tonkotsu ramen and a platter of tempura were placed before each person, the aroma of the food awakening their taste buds, Satoru Gojo finally asked, "How is Supervisor Kobe doing?"
Suguru Geto swallowed a piece of plump, succulent tempura. "He didn't sustain any serious injuries; he just looks a bit tired."
He glanced at the awkward Satoru Gojo and finally added, "He said there will be meetings over the next two days, so he told you not to worry or feel rushed."
Huh?" Satoru Gojo's sunglasses nearly slipped off his face as he slapped the table. "Who has nothing better to do than care about him!
Isn't that just being tsundere?
Suguru Geto thought silently as he began to finish the bowl of luxurious ramen before him. As the steaming food entered his mouth, his stomach instantly felt warm, the sense of fullness brought by the carbohydrates made him feel joyful.
Perhaps it was because there were fewer missions lately, or perhaps it was because the chef was getting creative with the cuisine; as long as he didn't eat Cursed Spirit Orbs near mealtime, Suguru Geto could maintain a fairly good appetite.
He wiped the sweat from his head. Outside the window, the cicadas were buzzing loudly; he wondered when this year's bitter summer would arrive.
..
Kobe Suzuo, wearing a bronze fox mask adorned with intricate bellflower patterns, was pushed by Cai Ming as they slowly entered that somewhat eerie meeting room.
Seeing him, Zenin Naobito laughed twice, "What are you talking about? Our Director is still as lively as ever, isn't he?"
He simply pretended not to see the wheelchair or Kobe Suzuo's casted leg. "The Chiba Family went through so much trouble to arrange a plan to investigate his movements, but it turned out to be completely useless."
The corners of Kobe Suzuo's mouth curled beneath his fox mask, he said with lingering fear, "That was a brush with death. If it hadn't been for the Six Eyes Child of the Gojo Clan being present by chance, you wouldn't have seen me today."
That was truly a stroke of luck; with the Six Eyes present, the Reverse Cursed Technique active, the Cursed Spirit Manipulator there as well.
Zenin Naobito laughed again, completely indifferent to the heavy atmosphere in the room or the faces of certain people who had already turned grim. "Then you'll have to give the Six Eyes a proper thank you!"
Of course.
Kobe Suzuo spoke, his pitch-black eyes staring straight at the Chiba Clan Head, who was already drenched in cold sweat sitting behind the Kammo Clan Head.
But for now, let's settle the score first.
Author's Note:
Ah, I didn't make the update on time today..
Chapter 19: Those Elders
August. It is the hottest time of the year, falling exactly during summer vacation according to the school calendar.
The sun blazed and cicadas buzzed. Between the sweltering air hitting one's face, ice-cold Ramune soda, fireworks festivals, summer celebrations, most students found this to be a wonderful time they looked forward to with great anticipation—aside from the slight nuisance of summer vacation homework.
Of course, while they are high school students, Jujutsu Sorcerers who have already shouldered heavy responsibilities and begun working ahead of their time cannot enjoy such leisure.
Troublesome missions arrived one after another, like the unavoidable heatwaves of summer, leaving one trapped and unable to escape.
It was the time of year when Cursed Spirits were at their most rampant.
Suguru Geto still remembered the experiences of last August as a "hellish picture scroll."
The mission schedule was so packed it made one's head spin; every day was spent either exorcising Cursed Spirits or rushing to the next one, traveling almost across the entire country.
Even adequate rest was hard to guarantee, almost every Assistant Supervisor currently had thick dark circles under their eyes.
Unlike Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto, who came from an ordinary family, was somewhat unaccustomed to this situation.
He didn't have any dissatisfaction with those arrangements.
Suguru Geto had been recruited to Jujutsu High with the conviction that "the strong must protect the weak." Having already become a Jujutsu Sorcerer, he had taken the exorcism of Cursed Spirits as his own responsibility and duty.
Looking at the Cursed Spirit Orbs that were gradually piling up because there were too many to swallow, Suguru Geto's mood was inevitably somewhat complex.
It was truly difficult to adapt, even though he had been different from others since childhood: he could see monsters that others could not, possessed special abilities that allowed him to control those monsters.
To put it bluntly, it was like a graduate full of lofty dreams and ambitions being struck down by reality the moment they entered society—that inexplicable, stifling sense of, "Is it really like this? So this is how it is?"
Not only did he have to endure the visual ugliness of Cursed Spirits, but he also had to suffer the gustatory agony brought by Cursed Spirit Orbs. As that summer drew to a close, the youth had grown taller, his muscles becoming firm and lean.
Suguru Geto felt a bit of self-mockery as he felt his slightly empty clothes, thinking that this should count as a form of ascetic training; if he spent a few more summers like this, he would be close to attaining Buddhahood.
But this year was different; the incredibly wealthy Supervisor Kobe appeared with his extremely useful intelligence, saving the young Jujutsu Sorcerers a great deal of trouble.
—It was supposed to be like this.
"So boring." In the classroom, someone muttered unconsciously.
Masamichi Yaga, standing at the podium, grabbed a felt plushie from beside him and tossed it toward Satoru Gojo. "No talking during lectures."
Satoru Gojo sat slouched and disheveled. After catching the palm-sized green bear, he squeezed it like a stress toy. "But Masamichi Yaga-sensei, your Japanese literature classes are really boring."
He tossed the Cursed Corpse in his hands toward the podium. "Besides, we've had culture classes for half a month straight, we haven't been on a mission for nearly a week."
It was the first time in Satoru Gojo's life that he had been this idle, even his bones felt sluggish. "Have all the Cursed Spirits gone into collective hibernation this year?"
The Cursed Corpse little bear hopped a couple of times before clinging to the hem of Masamichi Yaga's clothes and crawling back into his pocket.
Masamichi Yaga thought of the chaotic troubles caused by the Elders Council over the past half month, his temples throbbed; he had a thousand words he wanted to say, yet he could not speak them.
He didn't want to teach these three little brats either, okay?
Look at them, all of them—either disrupting classroom discipline or daydreaming, except for the most well-behaved one, who was focusing intently on studying medicine.
The higher-ups are so busy they're practically on fire, they still have to endure it. Forget the teachers—even the Principal has been held back for overtime for half a month!
Jujutsu High never had many full-time teachers to begin with, in the current situation, it's impossible to find even a single spare one. In fact, because they hadn't had time to arrange the schedule, even the externally hired academic teachers couldn't make it.
Using the pretext that the Chiba Clan despised the authority of the Jujutsu Director's Department and attempted to assassinate the Jujutsu Director, Kobe Suzuo enlisted all Jujutsu Sorcerers between the ages of 18 and 80, including the Chiba Clan Head, into the "Redemption" squad.
Under the name of the Jujutsu Director's Department, he signed "contracts" with these sinners. Currently, these people are working a schedule of 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, six days a week, handling the accumulated tasks of exorcising Cursed Spirits within "Window."
Kobe Suzuo obtained the Chiba Family's internal information with overwhelming force that very day, subsequently insisted that the mere Chiba Family could never break through the Kobe Family's information barriers to obtain intelligence regarding the travel plans of the Kobe Family's heir.
Either someone assisted them, or there was an issue within "Window."
The former involves internal collusion with hidden agendas.
The latter is the lifeblood of the Jujutsu World—you wouldn't want to receive incorrect intelligence and end up dying mysteriously during a mission, would you?
So you have to investigate! Investigate thoroughly!
Kobe Suzuo had been in office for two years, besides securing sponsorships, making money, paying out of his own pocket to increase benefits for Jujutsu Sorcerers, everyone knew that he invested the most effort into "Windows," maintaining a top-tier intelligence network.
In terms of intelligence, whatever Kobe Suzuo said went. If he said there was a problem, then the files were truly opened for investigation.
Jujutsu High in Tokyo has been brought into Kobe Suzuo's orbit. Among the Three Great Families, the Gojo Clan shows a clear tendency to side with Kobe Suzuo, while the Zenin Clan merely stirs the waters to watch the spectacle, the Elders Council cannot explicitly favor any single family.
The Kammo Clan Head sat in the meeting room, feeling as though he was being targeted.
Even if he had objections, he couldn't do anything; he could only endure it and join in the investigation.
A room full of people was forced into overtime by Kobe Suzuo, then they issued a triple-threat of soul-searching questions:
How did your family end up having a mole in mine?
How did your family end up ruining the talented prodigy of my family?
How did your family ruin my family's business?
The more they investigated, the more obsessed they became, the more enraged they grew, they even began to dig up old grievances.
The Elders Council was already a disorganized mess to begin with, now, without even needing a gust of wind, they were about to scatter completely.
In the end, they truly could not investigate any further; if they continued, the meeting room would turn into a river of blood. Amidst the ashen faces of the Clan Heads, Kobe Suzuo finally called for a halt, a crowd of people sat together, attempting to make excuses to cover their tracks.