Inside a quiet café, Jinsuke sat down across from a man who seemed to know Toji's whereabouts.
The man, Shiu Kong, blinked in surprise at the familiar face.
"Toji? Don't tell me the job's already... No, wait—you're not Toji."
For a moment, the striking resemblance fooled him. But having dealt with Toji many times before, he quickly realized this wasn't the same man.
"Hello. I'm Toji's brother, Jinsuke. May I ask if you know where he is right now?"
Jinsuke's tone was polite, his smile faint.
"Brother? Toji had a brother? Huh, never heard him mention that before."
But Shiu didn't doubt his words—the resemblance was too uncanny.
"Well, if you're looking for Toji, you might as well wait. If my math's right, today should be the last day of his job. If things go smoothly, he'll come to me for the rest of his payment. And even if it fails, he'll still give me an answer."
Shiyu spoke leisurely, raising his cup.
"If you're not in a rush, we can share a drink... Hm? Where'd he go?"
Halfway through his sentence, he realized the man had vanished without a trace.
"Toji's brother, huh... Interesting."
Finishing the last sip of his coffee, Shiu stood and left as well. He had a bad feeling — after years of working with Toji, this time the sorcerer killer might finally meet his match.
Still, it wasn't his problem. He was just a broker.
Meanwhile, inside Jujutsu High's barrier, the two young geniuses, Gojo and Geto, had successfully escorted the Star Plasma Vessel, RikoAmanai, to safety.
Everyone breathed easier. Inside the barrier, no assassin could sneak in — any cursed energy would be detected instantly.
"Man, finally here. I'm beat. Next time, I'm never taking a babysitting job again" Gojo stretched, his expression equal parts irritation, fatigue, and faint reluctance.
He hadn't slept for three days. And soon, the girl they'd grown fond of would be absorbed by an old man in the name of "assimilation".
To say she would be "one with Tengen" was just a nicer way of calling it what it was — death.
"These past few days were the happiest of my life. Thank you all!" Riko didn't rebuke his complaint. Instead, she smiled in gratitude.
They had given her the joy of true companionship, something she'd never known before. She had always thought she liked solitude—when in truth, she had simply never been part of the warmth of others.
"I don't need thanks from a kid" Gojo muttered, feigning disdain, though the corner of his lips tugged upward.
Geto only smiled quietly, eyes narrowed in amusement.
Kuroi, standing nearby, wore a heavy look — after all this time spent caring for the girl, was today really their last with her?
Shhhk!
Their moment of reprieve shattered in an instant. A cold flash cut the air, a blade piercing straight through Gojo's chest.
The tip emerged from the front, blood dripping down the steel and soaking his clothes.
Everyone froze, eyes wide, bodies stiff with shock.
"Satoru!" Geto roared, cursed energy erupting around him.
He opened a rift in the air, summoning a monstrous cursed spirit to lunge at the attacker.
Yet Gojo acted as though nothing had happened. Turning his head, he studied the face of the man holding the blade.
"Hey... haven't we met before?"
"Don't worry about it. I'm not good with men's names either" Toji smirked faintly, yanking his sword free.
"Avoided the vitals, huh? As expected from the Gojo family's once-in-a-century genius."
ROAR!
The cursed spirit Geto had unleashed lunged, jaws wide, swallowing Toji whole.
"Take Riko and go" Gojo said to Geto, calm as ever. "I'll handle him."
Geto hesitated only a second before obeying, pulling Riko toward Tengen's chamber.
Gojo stayed behind to face the sorcerer killer — Toji.
Moments later, the cursed spirit split open from within. Toji emerged, wielding a massive broadsword, body drenched in blood, a grotesque cursed spirit coiled around him.
He openly laid out his scheme to Gojo.
He was the one who had issued the bounty. He was the one who set the time limit. It wasn't just to wear them down — but to trick Gojo into lowering his guard once the deadline passed, making him release his Limitless technique.
And as someone born with no cursed energy, Toji could slip past Jujutsu High's barrier undetected.
He only had to wait inside, patient as a hunter, for the perfect moment to strike.
As for Geto? Toji never considered him a threat.
"So that's how it is" Gojo said, grinning wide. Energy began to swirl in his palms, pulling everything toward him with immense force.
"Then it's my turn!"
With respect for his opponent, Gojo unleashed a devastating cursed technique. A massive sphere of power tore the ground apart, blasting Toji into the ruins.
But just as he was about to press the attack, Gojo realized something was off.
There wasn't a trace of cursed energy in Toji's body.
And yet his movements — blinding, inhuman — slipped through Gojo's perception and technique entirely.
"Whoa, is this speed for real?" Gojo's eyes widened. "This isn't human."
"Technique Reversal... Maximum Output... Blue!"
"Cursed Technique Lapse...Maximum Cursed Energy Output... Blue"
Unable to catch his enemy, Gojo expanded his attack range, gathering swirling black-and-blue cursed energy that demolished every building around him.
He would leave Toji no place to hide.
The battlefield cleared to an open plain of rubble.
Gojo focused his senses. Even if Toji had no cursed energy, he still carried a weak cursed spirit. That would be enough for Gojo to track him—
Bzzz... bzzz...
Before he could, countless tiny fly-head curses filled the air. Their buzzing cloud drowned his senses completely.
"Damn...!"
Gojo prepared to sweep them away with Blue, but then froze.
His face changed. "Wait... his target isn't me!"
He spun around instinctively—
"Finally using your technique for defense, huh?"
Toji appeared at his back, a short inverted-sword in hand. His muscles bulged, driving the strike.
Shrrk!
The blade erupted with strange cursed energy, ripping through Gojo's Limitless defense and plunging deep into his neck.
With ruthless precision, Toji's arm blurred, stabbing every vital point in Gojo's body in a storm of steel.
The final strike crashed down on his head.
Crack!
Gojo's eyes went vacant. His body slumped into a spreading pool of blood, life draining away.
Expressionless, Toji sheathed his blade and stepped deeper into Jujutsu High.
Gojo had been sharp—sharp enough to sense that his empty hands still hid a killing blade. Toji himself hadn't been certain he could win. So he crafted a plan, layer by layer, to wear him down.
In the end, victory was his.
Minutes later, Jinsuke finally arrived. He froze at the sight of Gojo's bloody body, a headache pounding behind his eyes.
"You've got to be kidding me. Already? Dammit—hope I'm not too late."
His legs coiled, then shot forward like springs. His figure blurred, streaking into Jujutsu High's depths.
He could already sense something shifting inside Gojo's body.
In other words—he was on the verge of cheating death.
And someone like that? Until the very end, they were almost impossible to kill.
Jinsuke made up his mind. He'd need to play this smart—and if worst came to worst, he'd take Toji and run.
Because once Gojo awakened as the strongest sorcerer alive, even he might not withstand the storm.