Geto Suguru listened quietly, his mind weighing the vast, ancient problem against Tsukumo Yuki's radical philosophy. The world's cruelty was undeniable, but a solution spanning millennia could not be born from a single person's effort. Yet, her direction felt like the first real compass point he had seen.
Tsukumo Yuki leaned forward, her golden eyes alight with resolve. "I favor the first solution—removing cursed energy from humanity entirely," she stated. "There is precedent. Those born under a Heavenly Restriction, with little to no cursed energy, live in our world yet remain untouched by its worst aspects. I've found a few such cases." Her expression grew pointed. "But a person with truly zero cursed energy? To my knowledge, there is only one: Fushiguro Toji."
A sigh of genuine relief escaped her. "I heard about your battle with him. Thank goodness he escaped. He is the only viable sample we have." Her gaze grew intent. "My return wasn't just to judge your promotions. I need to make contact with him. He could hold the key to understanding energy removal, and I'll need your help to find him. My previous investigations... he sensed them and vanished."
Haibara Yu, his face bright with innocent curiosity, then asked, "If Toji is the only one without cursed energy, what about the second option? Teaching everyone to control it doesn't sound impossible."
Tsukumo Yuki's smile turned weary. "It sounds simple, but the practical barriers are immense. First, we would have to reveal the existence of curses to all of humanity. The conservative Higher-ups would never allow it. Beyond that, mastering cursed energy requires years of dedicated training, and innate talent varies wildly. Ensuring universal competency is a near-impossible challenge."
A contemplative silence fell over the group, broken only by birdsong from outside. The sheer scale of the task was daunting.
It was Gojo Satoru who shattered the quiet with his characteristic, provocative grin. "Why don't we just kill all the old men and build a new system?"
Ieiri Shoko sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "There you go again. I've told you, that's not a solution. I'm seriously worried you'll end up a curse user one day."
Geto Suguru's gaze moved from Gojo's playful defiance to Shoko's exasperation, before finally settling on Kamo Itsuki. His voice was measured, carrying a hint of pointed expectation. "Itsuki. I remember when Satoru first suggested killing the Higher-ups, you said that anything we wanted to do required Special Grade strength first." He paused, letting the new weight of their titles hang in the air. "Now that we have it... it seems you had more to say back then."
Kamo Itsuki gave a slow, acknowledging nod. "My thoughts aren't fully formed yet," he began, "but since you ask, I'll share them. Tsukumo-senpai's premise is correct. To eradicate curses, there are only two ultimate paths: remove humanity's cursed energy, or teach humanity to control it."
He paused, his gaze level. "However, I lean toward the second option—universal control."
His reasoning was clinical, delivered with the calm of a scholar presenting evidence. "Consider Fushiguro Toji, our sole example of zero cursed energy. He has a son. That son possesses cursed energy. This tells us the Heavenly Restriction is an individual trait, not a heritable condition. Even if we could somehow strip cursed energy from this generation, there is no guarantee it wouldn't re-emerge in the next. The solution isn't permanent."
He turned his attention back to the core principle. "Furthermore, our foundational lesson at Jujutsu High was that curses are born from human negative emotion. The emotion is the cause; the cursed energy is the medium. As long as the cause exists, the problem persists. We cannot eliminate human emotion. Therefore, we must master the medium. Senpai's second path is the only viable long-term solution. The first is a theoretical dead end."
A note of solemn realism entered his voice. "But this isn't work for a person, or even a generation. This is a project for centuries, perhaps millennia. It requires a fundamental reshaping of human society and understanding."
He looked at each of them—the revolutionary, the idealist, the healer, the strongest. "Until that distant goal is even conceivable, our immediate duty remains the same: protect the present. We eliminate curses that have already formed and mitigate the suffering they cause. This is what Jujutsu High does. But we must do it with that larger horizon in mind. Otherwise, we are just endlessly mopping a floor with a broken pipe overhead, never asking how to fix the leak."
A heavy, contemplative silence settled over the group. His words had given shape to a vague, shared unease. They had all felt the grinding futility of the endless cycle—exorcise a curse, another appears. The old justification, to protect the non-sorcerers, had begun to feel like a palliative, not a purpose. Kamo had reframed their endless battle not as a final goal, but as a necessary, temporary action within a much grander, almost unimaginable, project.
It was a burden, but also, for the first time, a direction.