(Pov 3rd)
The following months would follow a rather stable pattern for the students of Tokyo Jujutsu High. Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru, having already made their names as the strongest of their generation, had been going on missions to exorcise curses more often, though their other classmate, Ieri Shoko, would tag along as support on occasion. Her limited combat abilities meant she spent more time on campus. The first years, consisting of Gojo Satoshi, Nanami Kento, and Haibara Yu, had gone on several more missions as well, making their own strength known. For the higher-ups who reviewed the schools, though the most surprising was the meteoric rise of Gojo Satoshi, the younger brother of Gojo Satoru.
Despite having absolutely zero cursed energy, he had proven himself capable of taking on serious threats many times on his own. As such, he had risen rapidly through the Grades as recommendations from both Yaga Masamichi and the principal of the Tokyo school vouched for him. In the four months between the first mission he had taken in May and now, Gojo Satoshi had risen to the rank of Semi-Grade 1, an astounding feat that was thought to be impossible for anyone other than Gojo Satoru, of course. There remained only one more task to complete for Satoshi to become an officially recognized Grade 1 sorcerer like his older brother.
The process for increasing in rank for a sorcerer was rather simple; most started at Grade 4 and could be upgraded if a sorcerer at least one grade above them recommended it to the higher-ups, who would then decide the merit of such an upgrade. This process was not without complication, as personal matters could alter the acceptance rate. For instance, in the future, Zenin Maki will be one of the only Grade 4 sorcerers as the Zenin clan would intervene, preventing her from rising.
The process when becoming a Grade 1 sorcerer was more complicated than the previous Grades as the recommendation must come from two Grade 1 sorcerers at which point a third Grade 1 would accompany them on several missions to determine the merit of such an upgrade and if they agreed then the sorcerer would be made a Semi-Grade 1 and then they could be assigned a mission to take on a Grade 1 threat alone to determine if they could rise to full Grade 1 status.
This is the state that Satoshi found himself in during the early days of August 2006, and unfortunately, he had gotten so caught up in trying to get stronger and increase his rank that he had forgotten what was to come in just a few more days. What may be the most important catalyst event in the entire world of Jujutsu was about to happen, and if things were not changed, it would set in motion a plan one thousand years in the making.
(Pov Satoshi)
I had been hanging out with Satoru and his friends more often recently. I still liked being around Nanami and Haibara, but their own growth had been much more typical than mine, meaning the caliber of missions we went on was different, as they were both only Semi-Grade 2. As such, I found myself associating much more with Satoru and his friends than with the other first years. It was nice that Satoru was always good to be around, and Suguru and Shoko were also good company, even if Shoko insisted on smoking whenever she could. The benefits of knowing how to heal yourself at will, I suppose. She was good company, especially because she shared her cigarettes. I had picked up smoking in my first life due to work stress, and despite being in a new body, I hadn't realized I missed it.
Though the time for my final mission was now approaching, I would be sent to hunt down a Grade 1 threat, and when I succeeded, I would officially become a Grade 1 myself. Though, to be honest, Grade 1 wasn't the limit of what I wanted. Once my restriction fully awakened, I'd certainly become strong enough to be registered as Special Grade. For now, though, that would have to wait as I made my way to the principal's office to learn what mission they had in store for me.
I entered the principal's office once again, and this time he was the only one within, and he was looking at the inside of a manila folder. When I approached the desk He handed the folder to me without a word. He was a silent type, which suited me just fine, as it made much of our interactions easier. Looking into the folder, it had a paper that had the information regarding my mission.
The target was a rogue curse user who had been sentenced to death by the higher-ups. This was unusual as the standard mission was to exorcise a Grade 1 curse, but the principal must have noticed my confusion. "This particular curse user has been threatening many of the members of the Jujutsu Headquarters, so his take-down has been given higher priority." He spoke, and it made enough sense that the higher-ups were cowards at heart, using their position to push people around while doing their best to keep their own power from being reduced.
The paper gave an overview of who he was and what his technique was, something they had due to his former attendance at the Kyoto branch. His name was Junichi Taro, and his technique was called Press. He could form a large industrial hammer to smash down on anything within his range. He had already used this technique to cause many deaths among civilian and sorcerer populations since he went rouge and he had been spotted near an old factory that used to produce plane parts during the Second World War. The higher-ups believed this factory to be his hideout, and due to it being far from any inhabited areas, I wouldn't require a barrier. However, to be safe, they had evacuated some of the residents based on the excuse that demolition work was being done.
With the information at hand, I knew I would need to move quickly, as it was only a matter of time before Taro would notice his discovery and move, so now would be the best time to move against him. Given that his sentence was death, the mission was simple in nature: find him and kill him, though something in my gut told me that this mission wouldn't be so simple. But I can't spend all my time worrying about what might happen, so once I had the information, I left and began making my way to the factory.
The factory was situated rather out of the way, in a relatively small town that was rather far from Tokyo. I had even needed to take a train instead of the usual car ride there and back. As I approached the old building, I could already sense the cursed energy emanating from him, though where exactly it was harder to tell. I entered the factory with my sword at the ready, using my improved hearing to try and track him down, though I didn't need to try that hard as he leapt onto a walkway above and looked down at me. He had most likely known they would send someone for him and had been waiting to spring a trap. I just happened to be the one to walk into it.
"So, we finally meet Gojo. I've heard a lot about you." He said I wasn't that surprised he could recognize me, as the hair is a dead giveaway for just about anyone who knows anything about the Jujutsu world.
"Should that impress me?" I responded that I had learned early in a fight against a thinking opponent that getting them angry could be very beneficial, as they'd be more likely to make mistakes.
"You talk big for someone about to be dead. I hope you're ready, even the precious Six Eyes won't protect you from me!" He declared, leaving me rather stunned
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Don't play dumb, Gojo Satoru. I know it's you and I'll be the one collecting the bounty on your head, then the entire Jujutsu world will tremble before me!"
'...huh?' This guy was an idiot; he thought I was Satoru, really? I didn't even know how to respond. This had never happened before. Sure, we looked similar, we're brothers, but not that similar, right?
"Dude, you should check your eyes. I'm not Satoru." I said the idea of fighting had left my mind at this point.
"What are you talking about? You must be him, you have white hair, blue eyes, that's the description I was given."
"Yeah, I'm his brother, we come from the same clan, everybody has those features," I said. At this point, I was trying not to laugh at him. "Also, what was your plan if I were Satoru? He'd kill you in an instant, you old geezer."
"I am not an old man, and I can definitely kill Satoru!" He was shouting now, both upset and embarrassed.
"Dude, come on, do you really think that? I know what your technique is, and there's no way it could even touch him."
"Oh, you read my old school file, huh? I have something much more impressive to show, and with it I shall crush you and your brother. Prepare to die!" He exclaimed before leaping down to ground level, now about five meters in front of me.
Before I could advance, though, he began to move, raising his hands together, forming them so that they created a triangle with his thumbs crossed on the bottom and the rest of his fingers pressed together above. Once this was done, he yelled out a single phrase.
"Domain Expansion: Barren Crushing Tower"