July. It was still a bit early to call it the height of summer, but the days were finally starting to get hot.
Fresh off a massive win at the Sakitama Cup and riding a wave of high spirits, Toji had been living like a king for the past month—treating his students to barbecue after school and generally splashing cash around. It was then that Yuki Tsukumo, the Special Grade Sorcerer rumored to rarely visit Jujutsu High, came to see him.
She must have been trotting around the globe again, as she arrived bearing souvenirs like an African ceremonial knife and an ancient Chinese ritual cursed tool. Seeing the look on her face, Toji immediately asked, "Do you need me to clear the room?" proving that he really was a professional gigolo at heart.
Gratefully accepting his consideration, Yuki lit some sandalwood in an incense burner associated with a deity that removes all obstacles—something she had acquired in India. Then, she opened an attaché case packed with bundles of bills. And not just one. She pulled case after case from a storage cursed tool until there were ten in total. The grand total: one billion yen.
Faced with that amount of money and Yuki's unusually serious demeanor, even Toji wiped the smirk off his face and demanded to know her objective.
"This is the second time you've shown me this kind of money... Is the job that big?"
"Yeah. It's a huge job. Big enough to change the fate of the nation."
"I can't read you. The Jujutsu world is boringly peaceful right now thanks to Naoya and the Gojo brat keeping an eye on things, isn't it? Is there really a job worth piling up this much cash for?"
As Toji said, the current Jujutsu world was the very picture of peace. If Satoru Gojo's explosive birth was the First Impact, then Naoya Zen'in's awakening was the Second Impact. Though one was natural and the other cultivated, both were Special Grade Sorcerers boasting transcendental abilities. With them reigning supreme, the world had become a very cramped place for curse users and Cursed Spirits.
Given the current situation, unless some incredibly powerful curse user was in hiding, the Jujutsu world was secure. That should have been the case—but Yuki's answer pointed in a slightly different direction.
"The job exists. —In two months, on the full moon, Tengen's cursed technique will undergo initialization. You've at least heard of it, right?"
"Yeah, something like that. Tengen is immortal but not unaging, right? Supposedly he survives by assimilating with the body of a kid called a Star Plasma Vessel... What about it?"
"Exactly. That's it. —And what I want to commission you for is the protection of the Star Plasma Vessel. I don't mean just until the assimilation with Tengen. I mean I want you to protect them from Tengen."
"Hah? What's the point of that? Interfering with the assimilation between Tengen and the kid won't do anyone any good, will it?"
As Toji doubted, doing such a thing would only throw the Japanese Jujutsu world into chaos without any clear benefit. However, the determination in Yuki's eyes was not that of someone embarking on a meaningless endeavor.
As if to prove it, she took a deep breath and began to speak clearly about her objective.
"This is a bet. A big one, with the fate of humanity on the table. —Thanks to the cooperation of you, Naoya, and Maki, my research direction has solidified. My goal is to create a world without Cursed Spirits. Up until now, I had considered two plans to achieve that. Plan 1: Strip all humanity of cursed energy. Plan 2: Turn all humanity into sorcerers. However, I've discarded Plan 2. If you look at history, there are countless examples of sorcerers turning into curses after death. Even if we prevented that, what awaits is a 'society where you will inevitably be killed by someone.' To prevent a dead sorcerer from turning into a curse, they must be killed by another's cursed energy, after all. Such a world is far from my ideal. If we're aiming for something, surely an existence like yours or Maki's is desirable."
"Heavenly Restriction? Well, I've been going along with the research, but will it actually amount to anything?"
"It will. Definitely. ...And for that, I need to make a gamble. That is, 'forcing Tengen to evolve.' This is just my hunch, but even if Tengen evolves, given how tenacious that old geezer is about living, the chance of him going berserk is almost zero. He'll easily wrap his 'Immortality Technique' and his own soul in a superior barrier to keep surviving. And if that read is correct, Tengen should become an existence closer to a 'Cursed Spirit' or a 'God.' If that happens, there's no longer any meaning in sacrificing a Star Plasma Vessel every time for that geezer's sake. And more importantly, the possibility of 'taming' Tengen arises. To interfere with the barrier of Tengen that covers Japan, interfering with Tengen himself is the quickest way. ...And then, via Tengen's barrier, apply a 'Binding Vow' to all non-sorcerers. A binding to exchange all their cursed energy for physical reinforcement, just like Naoya."
Having finished explaining her goal, Yuki's vitals were perfectly normal. Even with Toji's superior physical senses, he couldn't detect a single sign of a lie.
Trusting his senses, Toji decided that Yuki's thoughts were at least 'serious.' But even if that were true, it didn't mean there were no problems. In fact, there were massive ones.
"Hmm. Well, I'm not really interested, but I get that you've thought this through. But listen, even if you pile up a billion yen, asking me to fight the entire Japanese Jujutsu society is reckless. If I interfere with Tengen, it'll be a huge incident. You don't think I'm an invincible Superman or something, do you?"
Yes, the problem was simply that the enemy would be too numerous and too powerful. In his current condition, full of spirit and energy, Toji didn't intend to lose in a one-on-one fight, but if they unleashed humanity's ultimate secret technique—'surrounding him and beating him with sticks'—the odds were obviously against him.
However, Yuki dismissed Toji's concern with a nonchalant air.
"No, you just need to take advantage of that geezer's sentimentalism. ...As the date of assimilation with the Star Plasma Vessel approaches, Tengen will inevitably issue a request to the school regarding the protection and erasure of the Vessel. And when that happens, that old geezer will definitely spout some pretty words like, 'Grant all the Star Plasma Vessel's wishes.' It's like giving a condemned prisoner a last meal—a self-satisfying act of atonement. I want you to poke at that. Guide the Star Plasma Vessel to refuse the assimilation themselves, and then snatch them right out from under Tengen's nose. During the 'previous' full moon capable of the ritual, assimilation was postponed because the Star Plasma Vessel refused. There's a precedent, so this plan should be solid."
"You've been weirdly detailed since the start... Where is that information and confidence coming from? Do you have a spy in the school?"
"No, not at all. I understand Tengen as if he were part of me. After all—"
'—I am a Star Plasma Vessel, too.'
Needless to say, Yuki's vitals remained 'normal' as she revealed this.
After considering her request for a few days, Toji 'accepted' the job and secretly began making calculations to secure the Star Plasma Vessel.