"We've finally made some progress after so many days of discussions."
Satoru Gojo stepped out of a dimly lit wooden hut, its interior walls covered in countless talismans and complex inscriptions carved into the foundation.
Feeling the warmth of the sun again, he rubbed his arms and muttered, "Hope I didn't pick up the stench of those old fossils. Damn, being in there too long makes me feel like I'm rotting away."
This was one of the hidden meeting places for the top brass of the jujutsu world.
Not only was it in a highly concealed location, but it was also equipped with various detection prevention measures and fortified using a wealth of rare materials, making it an ideal sanctuary.
It had been five days since Nightmare cursed technique was leaked.
During those five days, at least ten high-ranking members of the jujutsu world gathered here every day to discuss how to deal with Nightmare.
But just as Gojo had anticipated, these old geezers—obsessed with their own survival and the interests of their factions—only cared about preserving themselves.
Rather than devising a plan to combat Nightmare, the meetings often became opportunities for them to scheme against their rivals, form cliques, and pressure each other into contributing members from their own factions to form a new strike team.
If Satoru Gojo weren't at his wit's end, unable to come up with a way to deal with Nightmare himself, he wouldn't have tolerated staying here, listening to a bunch of decrepit old men passing the buck.
Didn't they understand that the more they delayed, the stronger Nightmare would become, and the more hopeless the future of the jujutsu world would be?
No—they definitely knew.
But even knowing that if Nightmare reached full maturity, the jujutsu world would have no future, they still refused to rush to their deaths.
Back when the three great clans and the elite jujutsu sorcerers formed a strike team against Nightmare, fewer than 20% made it back. The trauma from that failed mission ran deep.
To them, going up against Nightmare was a death sentence.
So they'd rather lie low, hoping that a stronger Nightmare would spare insignificant figures like them.
This was a shared mindset among many of the jujutsu world's Top Brass.
But ever since Nightmare started targeting the top brass themselves, that mindset began to shift.
Every day, news came in of one or more high-ranking officials mysteriously vanishing—disappearing without a trace.
It was clearly Nightmare doing.
At first, over twenty top officials gathered here.
Today, the meeting had fewer than ten.
Gojo wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.
Coincidentally—or perhaps not—the ones killed by Nightmare were the most conservative and obstinate, self-serving individuals among the elite.
With them gone, the meetings actually progressed more smoothly than before.
And today, one of Gojo proposals was finally, reluctantly passed.
The Cursed Womb: Death Painting Release Agreement
To fight Nightmare, Gojo had to gather every bit of power he could.
The first three Cursed Womb: Death Paintings—Choso, Eso, and Kechizu—were all notably powerful.
Most importantly, having only recently been incarnated, they hadn't yet committed any heinous acts. Their records were still clean.
Plus, Choso kept claiming that Yuji Itadori was his younger brother, saying things like, "Wherever Yuji stands, that's where we stand." That made Gojo even more willing to accept them.
But Gojo acceptance didn't mean the jujutsu leadership would accept them.
Initially, when Gojo suggested making Choso and the others into jujutsu sorcerers, he was met with fierce opposition.
The Top Brass still viewed Itadori—who harbored Sukuna—as a ticking time bomb. Naturally, their attitude toward the Death Paintings was no different.
Not only were they unwilling to recognize their rights, they even wanted to seal the trio up again.
Conveniently, the official who proposed that was reported missing the next day, and no one brought it up again afterward.
Today, Choso and his brothers were finally accepted by the Top Brass, officially becoming members of the jujutsu world.
Not only that, but Gojo also secured the opportunity to release Death Paintings four through nine.
As long as Choso, Eso, and Kechizu made significant contributions to the jujutsu world, they could use those merits to secure the release of their other siblings.
"Choso and the others must be thrilled," Gojo chuckled, knowing full well that these three special-grade incarnated beings were now fully on his side.
Previously, they joined cursed spirits and curse users purely because the human world had no place for them, forcing them into darkness.
But now, they weren't just recognized as sorcerers—they were given the promise that if they worked hard, their other siblings could be freed too. Naturally, betrayal was no longer on the table.
But the joy lasted only a moment before it faded.
Recruiting the three was something worth celebrating.
However, the real problem still hadn't been resolved.
Even with Choso and the others, their combined strength was a drop in the bucket compared to what was needed to defeat Nightmare.
"Sigh..."
Gojo couldn't help but sigh, rubbing his temples in frustration. "Kurumi… Why did you have to die like that…"
Tokisaki Kurumi willingness to provide intel on Nightmare so Gojo wouldn't have to fight blindly anymore was a good thing.
But Gojo would've preferred having her help in the actual battle against Nightmare.
Even if she was just a clone, she knew the original's capabilities inside out.
Even without Zafkiel, her twin gun-shaped special-grade cursed tools and shadow manipulation alone made her as strong as any special-grade sorcerer.
Unfortunately, Kurumi died.
She encountered Nightmare the very same day she handed over the intel.
If she were still alive, Gojo wouldn't have had to sit here and consult with a bunch of half-dead old men on how to defeat Nightmare.
But now, there was no use dwelling on it.
The only clone that betrayed Nightmare had already been eliminated.
From now on, they could only rely on themselves.
"Lord Gojo."
Just as Gojo was preparing to return to Jujutsu High in Tokyo and inform the others that the Death Painting Release Agreement had been approved, a strangely shrill voice called out behind him.
Gojo turned to see a short, dwarf-like old man trailing behind him.
With the Six Eyes, he didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.
As the head of the Gojo Clan, he naturally recognized the dwarf's identity.
He was the steward of the Kamo Clan—one of the Three Great Families.
Originally, the Kamo Clan head and several elders were supposed to attend the meeting.
But the clan head had long been bedridden, unable to manage affairs, so power had been temporarily delegated to this steward.
Most of the Kamo elders had either disappeared or gone into hiding to preserve their lives.
As a result, this lone steward represented the Kamo Clan at the meeting.
"Something you need?"
Satoru Gojo attitude was lukewarm.
Although they were both from the Big Three Sorcerer Families, the Gojo clan, due to its unique position, rarely intervened in the affairs of the Jujutsu world. As a result, their relationship with the other two clans wasn't particularly good.
Moreover, the current head of the Gojo family, Satoru Gojo, was a reformist. His relationship with the conservative factions of the other two clans had deteriorated from slight goodwill to outright indifference.
However, even if their relationship wasn't good, Satoru Gojo wasn't so rude as to ignore the other party altogether.
Especially now, when the entire Jujutsu world needed to unite as one.
"Lord Gojo, our clan head wishes to meet with you."
"The head of the Kamo family?"
Satoru Gojo raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise upon hearing that. "Has his condition improved?"
"No, we have appointed a new clan head."
"Isn't the replacement of a head in one of the Big Three families something that should be publicly announced to the entire Jujutsu world?" Gojo looked even more surprised. "So, has Noritoshi Kamo become the head now?"
"It's not him either," the butler replied with a smile. "As for the details, Lord Gojo will know once he comes with me."
"Hmph…"
Seeing the butler act so mysteriously, Satoru Gojo fell into brief contemplation.
In his eyes, the Kamo family's actions were clearly suspicious.
Changing the clan head without informing the Jujutsu world, and then privately inviting him to a meeting?
What kind of matter couldn't be discussed in an official high-level meeting?
Could it be that some branch family had usurped power and, lacking both prestige and strength, was trying to curry favor with him?
Among the Big Three families, apart from the Gojo clan, the other two had suffered heavy losses recently.
Under such circumstances, internal strife within the families wasn't too hard to believe.
"Forget it. Whoever your new head is, if it's not related to the Nightmare, I'm not interested."
Satoru Gojo waved his hand dismissively and said, "I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."
"But what if what the new clan head wants to discuss with you is precisely about eliminating the Nightmare?" the butler said, stopping Satoru Gojo just as he was about to leave.
"If it's related to eliminating the Nightmare, why not bring it up during the meeting just now?" Gojo narrowed his eyes and scrutinized the butler suspiciously.
"Lord Gojo, even if we had brought it up in the meeting, do you think it would have made any difference?" the butler retorted.
"..."
The butler's words left Satoru Gojo momentarily speechless.
After all, thinking about it carefully—he had a point.
Even if they brought up something in the meeting, if it were truly constructive, it would still end up being debated endlessly for several days.
And most importantly, even after days of arguing, it would likely result in nothing.
After spending a few days dealing with the Top Brass, Satoru Gojo had come to a deeper understanding of how they operated.
"All right. In that case, I'll go with you."
Knowing full well he wouldn't get anything useful out of the official meetings, Gojo nodded and said, "Let's hope your new clan head can really surprise me."
"Then please come with me, Lord Gojo."
Seeing that Gojo had agreed, the butler's smile grew a bit broader as he led Satoru Gojo toward a hidden passage.
Due to the Nightmare increasingly rampant activity, many well-known organizations and families had relocated their headquarters, scattering their members and hiding in separate locations.
Naturally, the influential Kamo family did the same.
After exiting the narrow passage and driving for nearly an hour into central Tokyo, Satoru Gojo finally arrived at the residence of the new Kamo clan head.
Hidden in plain sight.
Standing in front of an inconspicuous apartment building, the butler led Gojo upstairs and stopped in front of one of the doors.
"Clan head, as you instructed, I have brought Lord Gojo."
"Come in."
As the solemn voice sounded from inside, the door opened.
The butler gestured for Gojo to enter and then stood guard at the door like a sentry.
Gojo didn't stand on ceremony and walked straight into the room.
Upon entering the living room, he finally laid eyes on the current head of the Kamo family.
He was an exceedingly ordinary-looking middle-aged man—someone who would disappear into a crowd and be forgotten almost immediately.
If he had any distinguishing features, it would be the ring of fierce-looking scars on his forehead.
The scar was very fresh, as though he had just undergone cranial surgery. The wound hadn't even healed completely.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Gojo."
The most malevolent curse user in history greeted him with a calm gaze.
"You're the new head of the Kamo family?"
Gojo stared deeply at the man in front of him before casually plopping down on the sofa. "I heard you had something you wanted to discuss with me?"
"Yes, it's about the plan to eliminate the Nightmare."
"Details?" Gojo cut straight to the point. "If it's just some pointless proposal, I'll punch you before I leave."
"Mr. Gojo, you're quite the impatient one."
Seeing that Gojo had no intention of exchanging pleasantries, the man smiled faintly and said, "If Mr. Gojo is willing to participate in this plan to take down the Nightmare, I can provide a way to finish her once and for all."
"A sure-kill method?"
Gojo sneered, clearly skeptical. "If the Kamo family really had something like that, why didn't you use it back when the first extermination team was formed?"
"Because at that time, we knew the chances of success were slim. We didn't want to reveal our trump card," the man said nonchalantly.
Of course, the Kamo family had no such trump card.
But he did.
It's just that this trump card couldn't be used alone—it had to be combined with Satoru Gojo, the ace of the Jujutsu world, in order to truly eliminate the Nightmare.
"For the past hundred years, we've been constructing an enormous and complex barrier—a cage like a coliseum. If we can trap the Nightmare inside, we'll have a chance to slay her."
The man spoke calmly and with confidence.
"Mr. Gojo, are you interested in joining us?"