The final data for the premiere season of The Outcast was finally verified, and the results were nothing short of a biblical event for the television industry. In an age where streaming had fragmented the audience into a thousand tiny pieces, the finale had managed a staggering 25% viewership rating on NBN 1.
It was the highest rating for any scripted drama in over fifteen years, a feat that broke records dating back to the "Golden Age" of broadcast TV. Even on Global Stream, which aired the episodes an hour later, the "click-through" rate and valid views had already surpassed 20 billion.
Leo Vance was no longer a rising star; he was a tidal wave.
To celebrate, a high-end banquet was held at a five-star hotel within walking distance of the NBN headquarters in Los Angeles. Leo found himself surrounded by a phalanx of network executives, veteran producers, and legendary directors.
The atmosphere was thick with expensive champagne and the scent of victory. Leo didn't particularly enjoy the "smoke and mirrors" of Hollywood socialites, but he understood the game. Maintaining the "High Priest" level of grace meant staying on good terms with the gatekeepers of the industry.
However, as the night progressed and the alcohol began to flow, the "Unspoken Rules" of the business began to surface. A few of the older producers, their faces flushed with wine, leaned in toward Leo with oily smiles.
"Director Vance, spectacular work on the casting. Those girls... Tia and Sophie Vane... truly remarkable," one producer chuckled, his eyes darting toward the VIP lounge. "Why don't we call them over for a few drinks? I'm sure they'd love to thank the network heads personally for the ratings."
Leo's expression didn't flicker, but the temperature around him seemed to drop ten degrees. He set his glass down with a deliberate, echoing clack.
"The actresses in my crew are professionals, not hostesses," Leo said, his voice carrying a calm, razor-sharp edge. "They're currently resting after a grueling three-month shoot. If you want to discuss their talent, my office is open from nine to five. If you want to harbor ill intentions toward them... well, I'm sure you've seen what Gojo Satoru does to people he dislikes."
The producer's smile froze. He looked into Leo's eyes and felt a sudden, primal surge of fear, the same fear Silas felt in the arena. The "Hollywood Hellraiser" might have become a director, but he hadn't lost his teeth.
The request was dropped instantly.
By midnight, most of the industry titans were sprawled across the velvet chairs like "dead pigs," their dignity lost to the open bar. Leo Vance, however, stood perfectly straight, looking as refreshed as if he'd just woken up from a nap.
He had the System. Before the first toast, he had spent 10,000 Reputation Points to exchange for the [Eternal Sobriety] buff. He could have drunk the hotel's entire wine cellar and his liver would have remained as pristine as a diamond.
10:00 PM. The Internet.
While Leo was navigating the sharks of Hollywood, the digital world was in a state of absolute agitation.
The Outcast had finished. Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1 was over. The national audience was currently experiencing a collective "withdrawal" that manifested as localized insanity on social media.
University students, in particular, were undergoing a state of "Brain Rot." They swarmed Leo's official TikTok and Instagram accounts, leaving comments that bordered on performance art:
[LEO VANCE, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO REPAY US FOR THIS DEBT?! (Screaming) (Twisted) (Creeping in the dark) (Wriggling) (Squirming) (Quickly bending) (Twisting and folding like a lawn chair!)]
[Bruh, finals week is starting. I've been studying Advanced Calculus for eighteen hours. Every night I looked forward to Jo burying someone just to feel alive, and you just... ENDED IT?! I'm jumping, brothers! I'm jumping into my bed and not coming out until 2027!]
[Is it really finished? I was so angry I actually tore up my 'Introduction to Macroeconomics' textbook. What is the point of a stable economy if there is no more Wang Ye content?! Life is a scam!]
Leo Vance, sitting in the back of his car on the way home, scrolled through these comments and couldn't help but smirk. He was doing this for the good of the students; if they spent all night watching his shows, they'd never pass their exams.
However, he wasn't a total monster. He tapped a command into his phone, notifying his company's social media team.
"Drop the first wave," Leo whispered.
Minutes later, the official Jujutsu Kaisen accounts posted the first official poster and PV trailer for the feature film: "JJK: HIDDEN INVENTORY / PREMATURE DEATH".
Leo's intention was to soothe the audience's spirits. He didn't expect that the reveal would actually make them even more feral.
Downtown LA. A Street-Side BBQ Stall.
The A-list stars of Starlight Management, Maya West, Cecelia, and Julian Cross were currently sitting at a plastic table under a neon sign.
They had just finished watching the Outcast finale together and felt a profound sense of loss. To relieve the mood, Maya had suggested they ditch the high-end restaurants and go for a "commoner's feast", spicy skewers and cold beer at a local street stall.
Maya sat with her fair, tanned legs crossed, looking like a street-style goddess even as she heartily enjoyed her food.
"Maya! Look! Quick!" Julian Cross shouted, holding his phone up with a shocked expression. "The JJK movie info just went live!"
"Let me see! Move over!" Cecelia was the first to lean in, nearly knocking over Julian's beer.
Maya West immediately opened her own phone. The top two trending hashtags on X and TikTok were already:
#JJK_HiddenInventory_PV_GoLive
#GojoSatoruStudentYears_DellaRose_Tiffany_Cameos
When Maya saw the second hashtag, her face immediately stiffened. A sharp, unmistakable pang of sourness, the "Water Pig" of her desires welled up in her chest.
She clicked on the poster.
The entire image was washed in a brilliant, nostalgic cerulean blue. It had a carefree, youthful style that felt like a summer afternoon in the early 2000s. Beneath a crystal-clear sky stood a group of teenagers.
In the center were Leo Vance and Robert Sterling (Suguru Geto). They were both smiling, looking forward toward the horizon as if they were ready to embrace a future that could never break them.
The boy with the silver-white hair wore a high-collared black school uniform and a pair of dark sunglasses instead of the blindfold. He looked strikingly, devastatingly handsome, but different. He was more sunny, more cheerful, and radiated a youthful arrogance that made the audience want to protect that smile forever.
"Is this... Gojo Satoru in his student days?" Maya whispered, her grip on her phone tightening.
She looked at the billing at the bottom of the poster.
Special Guest Appearances: DELLA ROSE & TIFFANY.
Maya's teeth ground together. Della Rose got a cameo? And Tiffany too?!
She looked at Leo's smiling face on the screen. She had been the one who signed him as a favor, the one who saw him as a "Hellraiser." Now, she was the one sitting at a street stall, watching him take the rest of her roster to the stars.
"Leo Vance... you really are a brat," Maya muttered, though her eyes were already scanning the trailer for a glimpse of his "Six Eyes."
The war for the global market was just beginning, and the "Hidden Inventory" was about to show the world that the most dangerous curse of all... was the past.