"Within several kilometers, you're the only household around here. Even if I wanted not to find you, it'd be pretty hard, wouldn't it?"
"That… does make sense."
Hearing Gojo Satoru's reply, An Xora nodded.
With Gojo's Six Eyes and their absurd observational power, plus the fact that An Xora and Seele hadn't bothered to hide their cursed energy at all, Gojo could probably spot something strange just by glancing in the direction of their apartment from atop the construction site.
"So then," An Xora continued, "this esteemed teacher from Tokyo Jujutsu High—Gojo Satoru—came all the way here specifically to see us for what reason exactly?"
"There are a few things I'd like to ask the two of you," Gojo replied cheerfully. "But before that, how about you introduce yourselves? I've already given my name. If you won't even tell me yours, that'd be a little heartbreaking, wouldn't it?"
"My name is An Xora. This is my younger sister, Seele."
An Xora spoke calmly.
"Oh? So it's An Xora-kun and little sister Seele."
Gojo nodded.
"Then let me explain my purpose. Due to some intel about a suspected special-grade appearance, Jujutsu High sent me to investigate its authenticity. If I could locate the sorcerer suspected to be special grade, and confirm they aren't a curse user, the goal would be to invite them to join the jujutsu world."
"Now that I've seen you in person, it looks like the intel wasn't wrong. Seele-chan's cursed energy has indeed reached special-grade levels. As for An Xora-kun—your cursed energy is already at least at the level of a Grade 1 sorcerer."
An Xora: "So… you're planning to invite us to that Jujutsu High of yours?"
"No, no, no, no, no…"
Unexpectedly, Gojo shook his head.
"That was the original plan. But now? Things have changed a bit."
"If I'm not mistaken, Seele-chan's cursed energy… looks a lot like incarnation."
As he spoke, Gojo slowly pulled down his blindfold, revealing the eyes hidden beneath.
Those brilliant, luminous blue Six Eyes locked directly onto Seele beside An Xora.
Under the Six Eyes' vision, blue-white cursed energy swirled around Seele's body. Yet at her chest, a far stronger concentration of black-and-red cursed energy gathered—dead, oppressive, and utterly desolate.
This situation closely matched descriptions of incarnated individuals in the jujutsu world.
The only difference was that Seele wasn't a weak civilian or low-level sorcerer, as was usually the case in such descriptions. Even ignoring the second presence within her body, Seele's cursed energy alone was already enormous—calling it special grade was honestly an understatement. Even among special grades, this level of cursed energy was downright terrifying.
And then there was that other presence within her—just staring at it for a short while made even Gojo's Six Eyes feel slightly uncomfortable.
This was the first time Gojo Satoru had ever encountered something like this.
"A special-grade that's been incarnated… huh. Guess living long enough really lets you see everything."
Worried that the two—clearly newcomers to the jujutsu world—might not grasp the seriousness of the situation, Gojo deliberately explained the concept.
"So, in short," An Xora said thoughtfully, "you mean someone parasitized by a powerful curse—an existence that could be possessed and lose control of their body at any time?"
He rubbed his chin and glanced at Seele beside him.
Honestly, Seele's situation did resemble incarnation quite a bit. Dark Seele, as a Stigmata consciousness, would look exactly like a curse in this world. Add in the power of Withering—symbolizing death—and its adaptation to the cursed energy system…
To any jujutsu sorcerer, Dark Seele would absolutely look like a full-fledged cursed spirit.
"The other me wouldn't do that," Seele said softly, placing a hand over her chest. "Even if she needs to use my body, she always gives control back to me in the end. And even if she doesn't listen to me… she'll listen to Big Brother An Xora."
"And… I believe the other me would never harm me or Big Brother An Xora."
"Oh?" Gojo asked curiously. "So the curse inside you has already appeared before?"
"The other me appeared when Seele was very young. Whenever Seele was in danger, she would come out to protect me."
"A curse that doesn't seize the host's body, and instead actively protects them…?"
To be honest, if anyone else told him such an outrageous story, Gojo would've laughed on the spot.
But Seele's demeanor didn't look like she was lying in the slightest.
"Girl, the curse inside you is extremely powerful. That level of cursed energy… even for me, it's something I've never seen before. And cursed energy is born from negative human emotions."
"In other words, curses born from humanity's negativity are inherently evil. The fact that it hasn't taken your body yet may simply be due to some uncontrollable external factor. Once it finds an opportunity, an existence that evil won't hesitate for even a second."
"Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Even so, Seele showed no sign of wavering.
"This is troublesome," Gojo sighed. "In the jujutsu world, incarnated individuals are treated just like curses—and exorcised accordingly."
"And you too, An Xora-kun. Harboring a curse could get you labeled a curse user. Trust me—the higher-ups are absolutely capable of pulling something like that."
As he spoke, powerful cursed energy began to gather around Gojo without warning.
In response, An Xora spoke calmly, without hesitation:
"Talking more won't change anything. I trust Seele—and the other Seele—to never harm me. And even if we accepted your viewpoint, based on what you just said, handing Seele over to you wouldn't lead to any good outcome anyway."
Yuji Itadori's case in the original story made this abundantly clear. Even if you complied with the jujutsu authorities, the higher-ups would still slap a death sentence on you sooner or later. If not for Gojo's pressure, Yuji would've been executed right at the start.
Under those circumstances, An Xora would have to be brain-dead to agree with Gojo.
He was absolutely certain that the moment he did, Gojo's next step would be to take him and Seele back to Jujutsu High. Even if Gojo managed to protect Seele like he did Yuji, was An Xora really supposed to willingly go endure that nonsense?
Did Gojo really think An Xora didn't understand Dark Seele's situation?
Clones manifested by the system—whether Seele or Dark Seele—were absolutely loyal to him.
Besides, solving the problem didn't require going back at all.
Beating Gojo up right here would work just as well.
After all, the higher-ups in the jujutsu world were blatantly bullies who feared strength. And An Xora was very curious—
If the so-called strongest, Gojo Satoru, were to lose—
Lose to Seele—
Would those higher-ups still dare to strut around in front of him and Seele afterward?