No one objected to Makima's arrangements. The group immediately stood up and split into two teams, leaving the monitoring room.
Yaga Masamichi and Gakuganji Yoshinobu went to check on Master Tengen to ensure nothing went wrong there, while the rest headed out through the main gate toward the source of the massive surge of cursed energy—the forest training grounds where the students were located—to search for the intruders.
However, they had barely stepped outside when they saw a pitch-black barrier descend from above the forest in the distance, enveloping the entire area.
"It's a Curtain. Someone has set up a barrier here."
Utahime Iori spoke with a grave expression.
"Looks like a curse user is behind this?"
Gojo Satoru's tone was still casual, but the gaze beneath his blindfold had taken on a dangerous edge at some point.
He quickly stepped up to the black barrier, circulated his cursed energy, and reached out, intending to break it.
Bang!
A dull collision of cursed energy rang out. To everyone's surprise, Gojo's hand was actually repelled by the barrier.
"How is that possible?"
Utahime stared in shock. A barrier that looked so ordinary was actually able to block Gojo Satoru?
With that thought, she also reached out to touch the barrier herself.
But when her hand made contact, it passed straight through without the slightest resistance, as if the barrier didn't exist at all.
"Wait—why were you repelled, but I can enter freely?"
"It's an effect similar to a binding vow."
At that moment, Makima stepped forward and spoke.
"By allowing everyone to freely enter and exit, it achieves the effect of preventing only a single individual from entering."
And the one individual who could not enter was obviously Gojo Satoru.
"A very sophisticated barrier technique. Looks like a highly skilled curse user is behind this."
"Then what do we do now? Both schools' students are still inside the barrier. If they encounter the intruders…"
Utahime's expression turned extremely grim. The enemy had clearly come prepared, laying down such a targeted barrier in advance. Regardless of their true objective, the students inside the barrier were now in serious danger.
"No need to panic. Even if they blocked me outside, I'm not the only Special Grade here."
Though surprised by the barrier caster's level, Gojo didn't seem anxious.
After all, so what if he was stopped here? The fact that they set up such a barrier meant they feared his strength and knew they likely couldn't defeat him head-on.
But just because they couldn't beat him—did that mean they could beat Seele?
"Miss Seele once defeated Mr. Gojo and also possesses a technique capable of spatial movement. Even if this barrier can stop Mr. Gojo, it surely won't be enough to stop Miss Seele."
As Makima spoke, she turned her gaze toward An Xora and Seele beside her.
"Miss Seele, in the name of the Jujutsu higher-ups, I formally request your assistance. Please enter the barrier together with Miss Utahime and myself, and rescue the students trapped inside."
"Afterward, I will personally visit and provide the two of you with compensation that you'll find satisfactory."
Gojo and Utahime both caught the implication in Makima's words.
She was requesting help in the name of the higher-ups, yet when mentioning payment, she spoke only of herself.
In other words, even if the higher-ups tried to go back on their word afterward, Makima would pay An Xora and Seele out of her own pocket.
Was this because she worried they wouldn't trust the higher-ups' integrity, yet didn't want to waste precious time that could be used to rescue the students—so she used this method to eliminate any concerns?
It seemed that Makima truly was different from the other higher-ups—a leader genuinely willing to consider the lives of ordinary sorcerers, not another rotten orange who disregarded those below.
As for why she didn't simply order Seele to help as a higher-up—
That was obvious.
When An Xora and Seele joined the jujutsu world, they had clearly stated that they would accept no orders from the higher-ups. That condition had even been personally relayed by Gojo himself. Under such circumstances, even someone like Makima had to seek Seele's consent if she wanted her help.
Seele turned her gaze to An Xora.
"Does An Xora want Seele to go?"
An Xora asked.
Since, on the surface, An Xora and Seele supposedly had no prior relationship with Makima before today, even though everything had already been planned, An Xora still pretended to consult Seele.
"If An Xora wants Seele to go, then Seele will go. If An Xora doesn't want it, then Seele will stay here and protect An Xora."
"I see. Then go. I'll wait for you outside the barrier."
As he spoke, An Xora gently rubbed Seele's head, then stepped aside with Gojo.
"Thank you for your help. Then without further delay, let's enter the barrier."
Makima, Seele, and Utahime stepped into the barrier one after another. In an instant, only An Xora and Gojo were left outside.
"For this matter, I'll be counting on you, An Xora," Gojo said, leaning against a nearby pillar, his tone unusually serious. "I'll also prepare a gift to thank you afterward."
"Forget it. I have no interest in having a man come visit my and Seele's new home."
An Xora shook his head and declined.
Why would he want Gojo coming over for no reason? What if he showed up at a bad time and ruined the mood?
If it were just ruining his mood, that would be one thing—An Xora considered himself fairly easygoing. But if he managed to anger Seele or Makima, that might very well cost someone their life.
"So Miss Makima is fine, but I'm not?" Gojo asked with a grin. "An Xora, won't Seele get mad at you for that?"
Gojo didn't mind being rejected at all; instead, he seemed more interested in this angle.
An Xora laughed it off.
"First of all, Seele would never get mad at me. Second, even if she knew exactly what I was thinking, she'd support me rather than stop me."
"But you can tell that Seele really likes you, right? Even so, that's fine?"
"Not only is it fine—Seele would actually be happy. Of course, that's probably something you wouldn't understand."
...
Inside the barrier.
Makima, Seele, and Utahime appeared within the forest.
The moment they arrived, they could clearly feel multiple powerful and unfamiliar cursed energy signatures mixed into the air, coming from different directions.
"The unfamiliar cursed energy is mainly concentrated in two locations. One has two signatures, the other has three."
"There are also smaller, weaker signatures scattered throughout the forest."
As she sensed the cursed energy within the barrier, Makima spoke calmly.
"Next, Miss Seele and I will each head toward one of the locations where the powerful cursed energy is concentrated."
"As for the scattered enemies throughout the forest, I'll leave those to you, Miss Utahime."
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