Tokyo Technical School of Sorcery — Special Mission Room
The air was tense. A small group of students from Kyoto and Tokyo were gathered in a circular room. The atmosphere was formal, but the tension between some people made it almost unbearable. Among them, two figures dominated everyone's attention without words: Satoru Gojo and Naoya Zen'in.
Ever since Naoya had arrived from Kyoto with a letter from Principal Utahime, everyone in Tokyo had been on alert. His reputation preceded him, not for his victories, but for his coldness, his cruel methods, and, above all, his arrogance so marked it seemed to overflow from his presence.
Gojo watched him from his seat, legs crossed, a mocking smile on his face.
"So, you're the Zen'in who thinks messing with Rank 3 spirits is a waste of time, huh?"
Naoya glanced at him, his expression unchanged.
"And you must be the idiot who thinks a special rank is just an excuse to walk around blindfolded."
The room erupted into a furnace of stifled murmurs.
Shoko Ieiri, sitting at the back, raised an eyebrow.
"Are you already fighting? It hasn't even been five minutes..."
Suguru Geto, standing near the mission board, sighed with his arms crossed.
"These two can't coexist without trying to dominate. They're two stars destined to collide."
"And you think with that attitude anyone outside the clan that covers you is going to take you seriously?" Gojo retorted, smiling condescendingly.
"I don't need to be taken seriously," Naoya replied, already standing up. "I just need to be the strongest."
The words echoed through the room.
Gojo frowned slightly, losing his smile for the first time.
"Tsk... how original. Have you already decided how you're going to die, porcelain prince?"
Naoya took a step forward.
"If you ever defeat me, I'll let you choose the coffin."
Shoko abruptly stood up.
"Enough, both of you! We're not here to see who has the bigger ego."
Geto intervened more calmly.
"You're both on the same joint mission. If either of you disobeys orders or endangers others, the person responsible will be reported... directly to Director Yaga."
The words calmed the atmosphere, but not the tension.
Later, in the infirmary — Shoko Ieiri's perspective
Shoko was writing down a medical report when she heard Naoya's firm footsteps entering. His expression was that of someone who couldn't tolerate wasting time.
"Is something broken?" she asked without looking at him.
"No. I'm here to confirm that I'm fully qualified, in case they want to find an excuse to remove me from the mission."
She sighed.
"You have talent, Naoya. No one doubts that. But that doesn't give you the right to act as if everyone is beneath you."
Naoya looked at her sideways, for the first time not with disdain, but with a hint of silent respect.
"They're not beneath me… they're just not at the level I demand."
"So that's it… it's not just arrogance. It's conviction," Shoko thought, jotting something else down in her notebook.
Geto — Entrance to the training dojo
Suguru looked from afar at Gojo, who was still nursing his anger.
"Did it bother you that someone else spoke like you, Satoru?"
Gojo didn't respond immediately. Then he murmured, "No. It bothers me that someone like him has no heart." He feels nothing... Not for his companions, not for humans. It's just... power walking.
"That's what you were when you arrived here," Geto replied calmly. "Maybe he just needs a reason to change. Like you found it."
Gojo didn't respond. He looked up at the sky and then said, emotionlessly, "Or maybe he's what I would have been... if I hadn't had any friends."