Chapter 167 – An Existence Comparable to Sukuna
Tokyo Jujutsu High – Office
Fushiguro Megumi and Kinji Hakari had come to report their findings.
"Gojo-sensei," Fushiguro began seriously,
"the Simurian people are not to be underestimated. Their top-tier warriors are no weaker than special-grade sorcerers."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"And I suspect… they may possess an existence comparable to Sukuna."
Alice's figure surfaced in his mind.
Ria's older sister felt fundamentally different.
Boses was the type of warrior whose strength was obvious at a glance—but Alice was restrained, understated.
Yet beneath that calm exterior, her power likely surpassed Boses by a considerable margin.
"Comparable to Sukuna?" Gojo Satoru raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"So the one who visited Earth last time wasn't even their strongest… That's unexpected."
He leaned back slightly, expression thoughtful.
"Still, even with warriors like that, they ended up as refugees…"
Gojo wasn't particularly worried about the Simurians themselves.
He believed the current jujutsu world had the strength to stand against them—and no matter how powerful they were, they numbered only fifty thousand.
Even if they had far more sorcerers than Earth, Earth wasn't protected by sorcerers alone.
If things ever truly spiraled out of control, every nation on the planet would unite on a single front.
What truly concerned Gojo was the force that had turned the Simurians into refugees in the first place.
"What's their attitude like?" Gojo asked.
He genuinely hoped the Simurians could coexist with humanity.
It would give them a stable home—and at the same time, strengthen Earth as a whole.
Technological progress.
Jujutsu development.
As long as humanity continued growing stronger, even if a greater invader appeared in the future, they would at least have the ability to resist—or, at worst, evacuate.
"There seems to be internal conflict among them," Hakari said after some thought.
"During the visit, I noticed something off. Their leader and that so-called High Priest don't seem to get along."
Fushiguro nodded and added,
"To be precise, their leader—Dex—is extremely friendly toward humans. From what I observed, he genuinely wants coexistence.
"As for the High Priest… I don't think he trusts us much.
"Of course, that's just my impression. It's also possible they're working together and putting on an act for us."
Gojo listened quietly, then smiled faintly.
"Humans have good and bad people. No reason aliens would be any different."
"There'll be plenty of chances to learn more. No need to rush."
To Gojo, the alien visit was actually a rare opportunity.
A perfect catalyst to temper the younger generation of sorcerers.
The recent generation had extraordinary talent—but they'd never faced a true crisis.
Without danger, growth stagnates.
After all, Gojo himself had only become the strongest sorcerer of his era after dying once.
Hakari scratched his head and added casually,
"Oh, and there's one more thing I've gotta say."
He looked utterly serious.
"The aliens' food is honestly terrible.
If there's another mission like this, you'd better send someone else next time."
With that said, Kinji Hakari waved his hand and turned to leave.
"I'm heading out."
The novelty of aliens had already worn off.
It was time for him to go back and continue enjoying the passion of middle age.
Watching Hakari's retreating figure, Gojo Satoru shook his head slightly.
"That guy never changes… figures, considering who his teacher was."
Fushiguro Megumi, standing nearby, remained calm.
After all, he was surrounded by people with strong personalities—this barely registered as unusual.
"Next time, maybe we should invite those aliens to Earth properly," Gojo said suddenly, a mischievous smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
---
Meanwhile, Zen'in Kaon and the others had returned to Tokyo Jujutsu High after their short break—
only to find that Yuji Itadori was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Teacher Itadori?" Kaon complained.
"Didn't he say we'd have a new mission today? Don't tell me he's late again."
After subduing a curse user during the last mission, her interest in the jujutsu world had skyrocketed.
Unfortunately, that enemy had been far too weak.
This time, she was hoping for something a little more exciting.
"Maybe Teacher Itadori has something to deal with," Kaguya said casually.
Then he turned to Ria. "By the way, Ria—how have you felt about Earth these past few days?"
Ria nodded lightly.
"It's nice. I like it here."
"That's good to hear."
The group continued chatting idly.
From time to time, Gojo Kamui glanced at Ria… then at Zen'in Kaon.
The same thought kept circling in his mind:
Why had both his father and Kaguya's father given them the same instruction?
Protecting Ria made sense—she was an alien, a guest from another civilization.
But Zen'in Kaon?
Over the past two days, he had quietly investigated her background.
All he could confirm was that she was the daughter of Fushiguro Megumi's father's elder brother.
That was it.
There was no information at all about her parents.
Piecing together the fragments, Kamui began to suspect something.
Her parents were very likely sorcerers who had participated in the Shinjuku War eighteen years ago.
Records of that battle were extremely scarce—only a few vague lines remained.
But he knew that nearly all senior figures in today's jujutsu world had taken part in that war.
"Zen'in Kaon," Kamui suddenly asked,
"were your parents sorcerers too?"
If they were, then by age alone, they must have fought in Shinjuku—and must have been close friends with his father.
Otherwise, his father wouldn't have spoken the way he did.
"My mom used to be a sorcerer," Kaon replied.
"As for my dad—he's just a normal guy without any cursed energy."
She tilted her head, looking puzzled.
"Why are you asking?"
"Nothing," Kamui said calmly.
"Just confirming something."
At this point, he was certain.
Her parents were definitely among the friends his father had mentioned.
That realization sparked his curiosity.
After all, most powerful sorcerers in the jujutsu world were either his father's juniors or students.
There were very few who could truly be called Gojo Satoru's peers.
"Wait—are you sure your father has no cursed energy?"
Kaguya suddenly interjected.
"Yeah," Kaon nodded.
"Why?"
Having no cursed energy didn't automatically mean someone was ordinary.
Kaguya thought of his own mother—and of Fushiguro Megumi's father.
People who had left the jujutsu world… yet were anything but normal.
"Someone without cursed energy doesn't necessarily mean they're weak," Kaguya said carefully.
"Your father might actually be very strong."
Given that Kaon's father was from the Zen'in family, the words 'Zen'in' and 'ordinary' didn't exactly belong in the same sentence.
If her father hadn't told her the truth, it made sense that she wouldn't know.
After all, if Kaguya himself hadn't grown up surrounded by such people, he wouldn't have believed that someone without cursed energy could rival sorcerers either.
"That's impossible," Kaon waved it off.
"My dad's just a muscle-bound guy who wears a pink apron and cooks in the kitchen."
She simply couldn't connect that image with the word 'strong'.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"First-years—eyes over here."
A figure clapped their hands, drawing everyone's attention just as the discussion was about to continue.
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