A ring of silver chains glimmered with tiny, fragmented lights, with a Setsubun Grass dangling from the end—the flower of Suguru Geto's birth.
The pure white calyx was nearly transparent, with blue-purple anthers clustered in the center, accented by a few scattered yellow spots.
Exquisite and tiny, no larger than a mung bean, it was difficult to even distinguish the shape of the flower from a distance. As an earring, it wasn't out of place; on the contrary, it had a strange sense of compatibility with the original black earlobe.
The Buddhist bead cursed tool worn on Suguru Geto's wrist was crafted by the same person.
The new cursed tool could be called a divine artifact. As long as cursed energy is infused into it, the Cursed Spirit Orb is swallowed when the Setsubun Grass glows with a faint golden light, Suguru Geto will no longer feel pain.
Whether in terms of taste or physical sensation.
Along with the Cursed Tool, an unsigned letter was sent, its paper slightly yellowed.
The first few lines of the letter featured faded handwriting that seemed to be complaining, essentially grumbling about how difficult this Cursed Tool was to make, stating that it was a blessing to be able to invite a master like her.
The latter half consisted of only two short sentences, the ink still looking very fresh.
I don't know why I agreed to this commission back then, but now that the mission is complete, our cooperation ends here.
Suguru Geto was somewhat surprised after reading it.
He had already forgotten why he had reported the side effects of Cursed Spirit Manipulation in the first place.
I never expected that the Director's Department would actually be working hard to help ease Suguru Geto's worries, it seemed they had even paid a significant price for it.
Although the content of the letter was somewhat baffling, some facts could still be inferred from certain words and phrases.
It was likely that someone from the Director's Department had used a favor to obtain this Cursed Tool; later, when the two had a falling out, the Cursed Tool and the letter were sent together into the hands of Suguru Geto.
Suguru Geto had a new piercing in his right ear, where a small Setsubun Grass swayed gently.
It always felt as if something had been forgotten, yet no matter how hard he tried, he could never quite remember.
Satoru Gojo uncontrollably shifted his gaze toward that streak of golden light, then quickly looked away, answering bluntly:
Not at all.
His eyes flickered, he carefully untied the silk ribbon from his wrist and placed it over his eyes.
Besides, I'm so strong, it would be a shame not to become a Jujutsu Sorcerer, wouldn't it? I'm still waiting for Yuji to grow up so he can transform into the complete form of Ryomen Sukuna and fight me.
Having stayed in a child's body for so long, with several unimaginably strong Jujutsu Sorcerers constantly keeping him in check, all of the King of Curses' rebelliousness seemed somewhat "cute."
Itadori is currently seven years old, his personality is even more fierce than in previous years; he bickers with Ryomen Sukuna every day, possessing a sharp wit that is unlike that of an ordinary elementary school student.
He indeed had little in common with ordinary elementary school students, showing extraordinary physical strength at such a young age.
In the past two years, Jujutsu High has added elementary and middle school divisions, with [Window] and [Merlin] selecting children with Cursed Energy from around the world.
Afterward, Assistant Supervisors brought professionals to conduct multiple visits, doing their best to persuade guardians to send their children to Jujutsu High, or at least to come to the school on weekends to receive "special education."
During PE class with the other kids, Itadori Yuji ran even faster than the "second-generation" Heavenly Restriction, Maki Zenin.
The Fushiguro Family and the Itadori Family were on good terms, Itadori Yuji's sociability was in full bloom; not only did he get along well with the Fushiguro Siblings, but even the freak Fushiguro Toji looked at him with newfound respect.
The two, one large and one small, would occasionally sneak out to play, upon their return, Sukuna would become incredibly loud and sarcastic, only to be forcibly silenced by Fushiguro Toji.
As Itadori Yuji's cursed energy grew year by year with age, Ryomen Sukuna gradually became able to use Cursed Techniques, his danger level increased exponentially.
But there were hardly anyone at Jujutsu High who was afraid; perhaps it was a sorcerer's sixth sense, but they always felt that Sukuna should have some kind of restriction on him, that he wouldn't be able to pull off anything significant.
When Satoru Gojo ran into Sukuna out for some fresh air, he went up to provoke him with a few snide remarks, testing the other's strength.
After having a satisfying, intense fight, taking the exhausted kids to Nobara Iori to treat their wounds, then taking them out for a lavish feast, the easy-to-please kids had no complaints at all.
Sukuna cursed under his breath as he followed along to taste a few dishes, thinking that if he was beaten even harder the next time they met, it would be fine.
He had fought with Sukuna many times and had been punished by Masamichi Yaga on many occasions.
Suguru Geto was speechless for a moment. "Does this have anything to do with whether you become a Jujutsu Sorcerer or not?"
All the melancholy of graduation and the confusion about the future had vanished.
He did not press further; he walked to the bedside and closed the window, shutting out the petals that continued to drift into the room on the warm breeze.
Satoru jumped down from the desk and stretched. "After all, I really never thought about it.. ah, but lately I've been thinking that being a gigolo wouldn't be so bad either."
As he spoke, he seemed to open a floodgate of words, continuously adding conditions amidst Suguru Geto's increasingly speechless expression:
“He has to be reliable; he must be able to play with me, have similar interests, buy me desserts; he should be someone I can coax into being obedient without him losing his own opinions; he doesn't need to know how to do housework—I'm quite aware of my status as a kept man, so I can do that.”
Aren't you being a bit too much trouble? Are you picking out a sugar daddy? You're picking out a wife, aren't you?
You don't even have the self-awareness of a gigolo; what a waste of that face of yours.
Suguru Geto already wanted to run away and leave, but Satoru Gojo held his shoulder, looking as if he were going to force him to listen to the end.
You can't control me too much, but you should always think that I'm necessary; an age difference of up to eight years doesn't matter, as long as they're good-looking.. Of course, the most important thing is that they're rich, otherwise they won't be able to afford to support me.
Suguru Geto remained silent for a long time before saying gloomily, "Is this really just a hypothesis of yours?"
He didn't actually find a benefactor like that, so how could he describe it in such detail?
Satoru Gojo took the dew-covered flowers out of the vase on the windowsill, lightly brushed the hydrangea petals with his fingertips, curled his lips into a smirk:
It's possible that such a person really exists.
Chapter 90: The Me Over There
Perhaps it was because they were surprised by the outstanding performance of this year's students, but it was more likely that the Director's Department was simply having one of its habitual mental breakdowns.
The graduation process at Jujutsu High, which used to end with just a simple graduation photo, had become exponentially more complicated. Following the requirements from the higher-ups, a standard graduation ceremony was held, high-ranking officials as well as parents (primarily from the Gojo Clan and Zenin Clan) were invited to attend.
As a homeroom teacher with years of experience and the Principal of Jujutsu High for three years, Masamichi Yaga believed his role was more like that of a gatekeeper rather than a teacher focused on educating and nurturing students.
A chance for regret for those young people who have not yet recognized the cruelty of the Jujutsu World, whose personal goals are vague, who have rushed headlong into the world of Jujutsu Sorcerers.
But as he was overwhelmed with preparations for the graduation ceremony, checking the principal's speech, the leaders' addresses, the presentation of certificates, the other segments over and over again.
Watching Nobara Iori, who had been painstakingly selected from the trio of problem students to represent the outstanding students, speak, Masamichi Yaga felt a sense of trance, thinking that he might be no different from an ordinary teacher.
As the young boys grew into such dashing and unrestrained youths, a sense of achievement and relief spread through his heart.
Perhaps at a graduation ceremony in an ordinary school, that is how the teachers and principals would think as well.
The Jujutsu World is truly getting better (wiping away tears).
Masamichi Yaga let out a sigh of emotion and continued the roll call: "Satoru Gojo."
There was no response from the audience below.
Due to the scarcity of Jujutsu Sorcerers, even with large-scale recruitment screenings conducted with government assistance, Jujutsu High still only had a handful of students in total.
Even with the elementary and middle school divisions brought in to make up the numbers, the grand auditorium, built far too magnificently, was only half-filled.
The lights on the stage were too bright, making it impossible to see anything in the vast, dark crowd below.
A sudden sense of foreboding welled up in Masamichi Yaga's heart, he inconspicuously gestured to Nobara Iori, who had just received her graduation certificate and was walking off the stage.
After having just perfunctorily finished listening to the students' speeches, Nobara Iori gave a belated, soft hiss and asked the Suguru Geto beside her, "Did that guy Satoru Gojo not show up today?"
He hasn't been seen at school for the past two days.
Suguru Geto pondered for two seconds before finally digging out a relevant piece of information from the deepest corners of his memory. "It seems like.."
As he spoke, he opened his contacts, found the chat history with his two junior students from the elementary department, Mimiko and Nanako, said in realization:
They're definitely not here.
These two kids are twin sisters discovered during screening after being officially incorporated into the government's perception of the Jujutsu system.
The countryside where they lived was backward and feudal, with a low level of modernization; child abuse and cults were intertwined there.
During the police investigation, because they were unable to find suitable guardians for the two kids for the time being, Suguru Geto was relatively free at the time, he helped look after them for a period.
Later, Mimiko and Nanako were adopted by Cai Ming, not long after, they officially enrolled in the Jujutsu High Elementary Division, continuing to get along well with Suguru Geto.
Two days ago, when Cai Ming took a leave of absence to take Mimiko and Nanako out to play, the two kids happened to run into Satoru Gojo leaving school.
Satoru Gojo first said he was going to save the world, then he said he was going to save a princess.
He spoke mysteriously for a long time, nearly fooling the kids, then he burst into laughter, mocking the wide-eyed elementary schoolers for believing such nonsense.
The two kids grew more and more indignant as they thought about it. Later that day, while having their usual chat with their reliable senior Suguru Geto, they couldn't help but report Satoru Gojo for his nonsense and for lying to children.
Satoru Gojo occasionally acting out and being temperamental was a common occurrence; Suguru Geto didn't pay much attention to it at the time, as all his energy was spent coaxing the children.
While analyzing Satoru Gojo's whereabouts from the kid's angry chat logs, he said helplessly:
If nothing unexpected happens, Satoru has gone to investigate his Golden Balloon Flower again.
Nobara Iori understood instantly, exchanged a glance with Suguru Geto, made an "already gone" gesture toward Masamichi Yaga, who was looking over frequently.
Masamichi Yaga had seen this gesture countless times before; his vision went dark for a moment, but he was not surprised at all by Satoru Gojo skipping the graduation ceremony.
Dressed in a suit, the dark-faced Principal looked at several officials he had seen on television in the front row, forcing a strained smile as he braced himself to push the ceremony forward.
There were only three graduates in the entire year at Jujutsu High, so the usual method of schools calling names one by one to pad out the time with certificate presentations was definitely not going to work.
But the Elders insisted on grandeur, so, under the guiding principle of "not losing face for Jujutsu Sorcerers," they forcibly transformed the graduation ceremony into an awards ceremony.
Three classes above and three classes below Satoru Gojo, all the students who had already graduated and been recruited as special civil servants were called back to receive some nonsensical award.
The prize money provided by the Kobe Group, the largest "sponsor" in the Jujutsu World.
On the stage, Makoto Hibara held the award plaque, thanking the school, the teachers, the leaders, the sponsors with a bright, sunny expression, using simple but sincere words.
Beside him, Kento Nanami was much more steady and precise, his speech even shorter and more formal, leaving no room for criticism.
The two of them stood together like a combination of a dimwit and a happy-go-lucky person.
Suguru Geto and Nobara Iori watched from backstage; as actual graduates, the two of them had to wait to take a group photo on stage with the Principal and the teaching staff.
Nobara Iori took a photo of the stage and sent it to the group chat of three, but it remained unread; Satoru Gojo was offline.
She sighed, "I didn't expect him to skip even the final graduation ceremony."
After entering his third year, Satoru Gojo's strength had already reached an extremely terrifying level.
It was as if some shackles had been broken; whether it was total Cursed Energy or the precision of his Cursed Technique manipulation, Satoru Gojo rapidly reached the pinnacle after a brief period of chaos.
On the surface, Yuki Tsukumo, Suguru Geto, Satoru Gojo are all ranked as Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerers, but in reality, Satoru Gojo has likely long since surpassed the Special Grade level.
As for why the word used was "probably"..