Gojo Satoru looked at the boy in the file.
A photo was attached inside.
He took it out and carefully examined the image.
It was a teenage boy.
The file stated he was only a first-year in high school.
He came from a single-parent home, raised by his mother after his parents divorced.
He had once founded a Film Appreciation Club at the start of the school year, but for some reason, it quickly declined, and the club had since been disbanded.
The boy in the photo was smiling shyly, with medium-length hair and bangs parted to reveal his face.
His name was—Yoshino Junpei.
After confirming the contents of the file, Gojo Satoru looked up.
Pfft.
"You laughed! You definitely laughed!"
The girl shot him a fierce look, like a wounded beast.
Originally, it should have been a very intimidating gaze, but with tears still in the girl's eyes, it only made her look more pitiable and cute.
"You bastard—!" the girl screamed, looking nothing like the shy boy in the photo.
No, it would be more accurate to say she could no longer be the shy teenage boy in the file.
This was an exceptionally delicate and pitiable girl.
She used her long bangs to cover one eye and nearly half her face.
She looked at Gojo Satoru with her other, uncovered eye, which was filled with layers of tears like a spring about to overflow.
She was wearing a male high school uniform, but it didn't fit at all; the shoulders were slouching, and the sleeves almost covered half her palms.
She curled up at the foot of the bed, hugging her knees, her head almost buried between them.
She only looked up when she heard someone approaching.
Anyone could see she was on the verge of a breakdown.
Gojo Satoru tried to suppress his laughter.
He tried, and tried... but how could he hold back something so hilarious!
"Pfft, hahahahaha! What is this? What on earth is this?"
"A Cursed Spirit actually has this kind of twisted hobby?"
"Instead of harming people, it turns them into the opposite sex?"
"How... how can it be so weird? Ahaha, ahahahahaha!"
Gojo Satoru laughed loudly, but in his heart, he felt a profound wariness toward the girl before him.
No, "wariness" wasn't the right word.
For Gojo Satoru, there was no human or Cursed Spirit in this world who could make him truly wary.
He had been invincible for far too long—so long that he had lost that sense of vigilance inherent to a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
Thus, even facing this abnormal situation, he still laughed dismissively.
He shouldn't have laughed.
Neither as an expert nor as an adult should he have laughed.
But he simply couldn't help it, so he did.
Along with his laughter, a terrifying power erupted from the girl.
Even Gojo Satoru's nearly desensitized sense of vigilance twitched instinctively before this power.
It was as if a long-lost killing intent was stimulating him, telling him to keep a close eye on the girl before him, telling him to be ready to kill her at any moment.
To kill her before she could kill him.
The reason was simple: Cursed Energy.
Powerful Cursed Energy.
Magnificent Cursed Energy.
—Cursed Energy that nearly blotted out the sun.
Even before Gojo Satoru stepped into the police station, he had already sensed this massive Cursed Energy.
Even an ordinary person without a shred of talent for jujutsu could feel the cold air brushing against their skin.
A Jujutsu Sorcerer like Gojo Satoru could see the nearly physical power radiating from the girl as the center, spreading in all directions like a furious volcano doing its best to spew out lava.
If Gojo hadn't confirmed that the girl before him was indeed human, he would have thought she was a Cursed Spirit—unquestionably a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
Her Cursed Energy reserves were even far above Gojo Satoru's.
That's right, in terms of Cursed Energy quantity alone, she was even stronger than Gojo Satoru; this amount of Cursed Energy reminded Gojo Satoru of Okkotsu Yuta.
Okkotsu Yuta was a human who could be called number one in terms of Cursed Energy quantity in the entire history of the Jujutsu world.
The girl's Cursed Energy quantity certainly hadn't reached that level.
But seriously speaking, Okkotsu Yuta was actually a distant relative of Gojo Satoru.
Although they were very distant, no matter how distant, Okkotsu Yuta possessed the bloodline of a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
But the girl did not have a Sorcerer bloodline.
In Tokyo, there are many people whose lives are forcibly interrupted due to persecution by Cursed Spirits.
Of course, there are also many people like this girl who were persecuted but were lucky enough not to die.
Most of these people are able to slightly control the Cursed Energy in their bodies due to the stimulation from Cursed Spirits, but it is limited to that.
Most of them can only spend their lives active as logistics personnel for Jujutsu Sorcerers, only able to use some extremely simple Barrier Techniques.
Only the girl was special.
Without a Sorcerer bloodline, and disregarding those born with massive Cursed Energy, she now possessed such an enormous amount of power.
Although it didn't reach Okkotsu Yuta's level, even now, her Cursed Energy could definitely be ranked among the top five humans... maybe even the top three.
Gojo Satoru suspected it was a Binding Vow.
At the cost of her entire physical body, she gained massive Cursed Energy.
Although it couldn't compare to Okkotsu Yuta, this power could easily allow the girl's Cursed Energy to accumulate to the level of a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
Correction: even among Special Grade Cursed Spirits, the girl's power was among the best.
That was why Gojo Satoru stood here; others were unable to handle her.
Possessing such powerful Cursed Energy, even a single word from her could potentially give birth to a new Curse.
If the girl died during this period, it was certain that a new Special Grade Cursed Spirit would be born.
Indeed, only Gojo Satoru, who was also a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer, could handle this.
Gojo Satoru pondered in his heart, but his mouth was merciless.
He laughed for a full half-minute before he finally stopped his intermittent laughter.
He carefully observed the girl opposite him.
Although this girl was erupting with a huge amount of Cursed Energy, theoretically, as long as she controlled it slightly, she could Curse him.
Gojo Satoru had already prepared his 'Limitless' Cursed Technique to deal with the crisis before him.
But there was none—not a single bit of a Curse.
Just by seeing the girl's extreme indignation, one knew that if she had the ability, she would definitely fight back, but she didn't.
Gojo Satoru could only think of two possibilities.
The girl was indeed an excessively kind person, and even at this point, she couldn't bear to hurt others—well, that possibility could be ruled out.
Looking at those large, watery eyes, if she had even a tiny bit of ability, her Cursed Energy would have already been slapped onto Gojo Satoru's face.
Then, there was only one other possibility—
She truly didn't know how to use any Cursed Techniques at all; she was a pure amateur in the world of Sorcerers.
In other words, she wasn't a spy sent by the Cursed Spirits... right?
Exactly.
Another reason Gojo Satoru appeared here was to determine if Yoshino Junpei, who had transitioned from a boy to a girl, was a spy sent by the Cursed Spirits.
It sounded ridiculous; before this, the entire Jujutsu world wouldn't have even entertained such a thought.
According to common sense, Cursed Spirits were simply a bunch of beasts that only knew how to harm people.
In terms of intelligence, they weren't even as good as dolphins, so how could they know how to send spies?
But now it was different, because according to this girl, Yoshino Junpei, Cursed Spirits had also developed intelligence—and more than one.
They even knew how to cooperate with Curse Users and were intending to overturn the world of Sorcerers.
This was somewhat overly alarmist.
Gojo Satoru believed that as long as he was still alive, there was no possibility of the Jujutsu world being overturned.
But those old fogies at the top acted as if their tails had been stepped on, moving with lightning speed.
Among their actions was specifically sending him over to take a look at this girl who spoke such shocking words.
"Pfft-haha, hahahaha, uh, sorr—very sorry."
Gojo Satoru sputtered as he stopped his loud laughter, his shoulders still shaking uncontrollably.
"Can—can you tell me what you were thinking? Actually running to a police station to find us."
The girl's eyes took on a dead-fish look.
"Isn't that obvious? If this country truly has inexplicable supernatural phenomena, it's impossible for the state to have no reaction."
"The most direct way I could think of was to find the police, because the police are at the front lines of contact with these supernatural phenomena."
"To find you all, besides the police, is there any other choice?"
Gojo Satoru stroked his chin.
"Hmm, hmm, very logical. You really do have talent, it's just—"
"You're still laughing!" the girl yelled.
That's right, they were currently inside a police station, and the girl had said the words 'Cursed Spirit' the moment she entered.
After that, although the police officer who received her suspected she was mentally ill, or perhaps a girl whose 'eighth-grader syndrome' had relapsed in high school, after hearing the girl's serious account, a senior officer suddenly and nervously brought her to—
—Inside a temporary detention cell.
That's right, the senior officer had directly brought her to a temporary detention cell.
As for the reason—
Gojo Satoru coughed twice and finally suppressed his laughter.
"Well then, I'll be blunt."
Gojo Satoru looked at the girl and said with a slight smile, "Those guys at the top want you dead."
The corner of the girl's eye twitched, leaving her speechless.
"The fact that you could seek help from the police after surviving an encounter with a Cursed Spirit proves you are very smart."
"If you were just an ordinary person persecuted by a Cursed Spirit, coming to the police station would undoubtedly be the most correct choice."
"Just as you said, we jujutsu experts have a close cooperative relationship with the police station."
"But because of that, they know more than ordinary people—for example, about you."
Gojo Satoru paused, maintaining his smile unchanged, and said softly:
"To be modified by a Cursed Spirit, not only survive, but even possess extremely massive Cursed Energy... you are the first case."
"Before this, there has never been a precedent of a Cursed Spirit modifying an ordinary human to make them a powerful Sorcerer."
There were too many things hidden in this, and the most fatal point was this:
If Cursed Spirits could freely modify ordinary people into powerful Jujutsu Sorcerers, then it was no exaggeration to say that the current Jujutsu world, ruled by a tiny minority of Jujutsu Sorcerers, would face upheaval.
Even more—the entire human society would face upheaval.
The main reason Sorcerers do not rule humanity now is that their numbers are too small, and most Sorcerers are actually very afraid of thermal weapons; a single bullet is fatal to most Jujutsu Sorcerers.
Plus, with the existence of Cursed Spirits, Jujutsu Sorcerers simply don't have the leisure to rule Japan, let alone the world.
But if even ordinary people could become Jujutsu Sorcerers, and Sorcerers with massive Cursed Energy like this girl—well, that would be hard to say.
So, this was an extremely serious matter.
Of course, Gojo Satoru understood this as well.
Gojo Satoru looked seriously at the girl before him—the first case of a human modified by a Cursed Spirit, Yoshino Junpei.
"Yoshino Junpei, let me ask you one thing—are you on the side of humanity?"
The girl took a deep breath, got down from the bed in the temporary detention cell, and stood before Gojo Satoru.
Her bangs were very long, long enough to cover one eye.
She had a delicate and lovely face, and the bottom of her other eye seemed to always be brimming with tears.
The men's clothes she wore were loose and baggy on her, looking as if they might slip from her shoulders at any moment.
Pitiful as she looked, she was trying hard to keep a straight face, looking seriously at Gojo Satoru.
Gojo Satoru slightly lifted the blindfold tied over his eyes, using the Six Eyes to observe her.
He observed her Cursed Energy flow, internal organ beats, neural electrical currents, and even the slight tremors of the muscles on her face.
As long as one is human, it is impossible to lie under Gojo Satoru's serious Six Eyes.
And now, Gojo Satoru was using the Six Eyes to look at the girl.
If there was even a shred of a sign that she was lying, even if Gojo Satoru felt sorry for it, he would definitely kill her.
This had nothing to do with whether the girl was innocent.
If the girl deviated from the path of humanity and was seduced by Cursed Spirits, then she must die.
This was a war of species; there was no possibility of mercy.
In the next instant, the girl spoke.
She said: "I am human. I swear, I will always stand on the side of humanity."
She. Was. Not. Lying.
Gojo Satoru was certain that under these Six Eyes, the girl had not lied; what she spoke were words from the heart.
Gojo Satoru laughed.
"Very well, Junpei-chan. Then I shall announce your sentence."
The girl swallowed nervously.
"Your death penalty has been changed to a stayed death sentence," Gojo Satoru said with a beaming smile.
Whew.
The girl let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Hahaha, your reaction is so interesting." Gojo Satoru laughed loudly.
"That nervous look really suits your cute face, Junpei-chan."
The girl's eyes instantly turned into dead-fish eyes, and even her heart that had just relaxed seemed to have flown off to who-knows-where.
She caught her breath.
"But, is this okay? The people above wanted you to come and kill me, right?"
"Let me guess, they probably want to squeeze everything I know dry and then kill me to eliminate any future trouble?"
"Although it might not be good for me to say this, it seems you've arbitrarily decided to give me a stayed death sentence?"
Gojo Satoru put his blindfold back on and shrugged.
"Can't be helped, because letting you die like this would be a bit of a waste."
"A waste?" The girl frowned.
"You might not know it yourself, but in fact, after being modified by a Cursed Spirit, although your gender was swapped, the Cursed Energy in your body is the real deal."
"Honestly, before this, I've only seen one other case of someone with such massive Cursed Energy."
"Although I don't know what your Innate Technique is—well, because you were modified from an ordinary person, it's possible you don't have an Innate Technique at all—just based on this Cursed Energy alone, it's certain you can become a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer."
Gojo Satoru thought for a moment and added:
"If, on top of this Cursed Energy, you are also lucky enough to have your own Innate Technique, reaching Special Grade would probably be quite easy."
Gojo Satoru wasn't lying.
Although her Cursed Energy quantity wasn't as high as Okkotsu Yuta's, the girl's Cursed Energy was already extremely terrifying.
With such massive Cursed Energy, no matter how useless her Innate Technique might be, it would surely produce a huge effect.
Becoming a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer could be said to be a sure thing.
"Hmm... sounds like an impressive rank," the girl said.
"It's very impressive," Gojo Satoru said easily. "For now, there are only three Special Grades in Japan."
The girl's eyes widened suddenly.
Gojo Satoru snapped his fingers. "Exactly. That's why I said it's a waste."
"If someone with such profound Cursed Energy as you doesn't join the ranks of Jujutsu Sorcerers and is instead directly executed, it would truly make me ache with regret."
"You might not know, but we Sorcerers make up a tiny, tiny fraction of all humanity."
"Every Jujutsu Sorcerer is so busy their feet barely touch the ground."
"If there's a new Special Grade to share the pressure, that would be a great thing."
What Gojo Satoru just said was indeed from the heart.
Perhaps because he saw the girl, he felt a sense of an impending storm.
Cursed Spirits actually giving birth to species with intelligence and even a twisted sense of humor was something that had never happened in the history of the Jujutsu world.
As for what an intelligent Cursed Spirit was thinking, it was very difficult for Gojo Satoru to predict.
But regardless of what the intelligent Cursed Spirit was thinking, as a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer, Gojo Satoru only had one choice at this stage: strengthen the power of the Jujutsu world and remain flexible to deal with all changes.
Thinking of this, Gojo Satoru suddenly said to the girl, "It would be difficult for you to go to school now, wouldn't it? Get ready and come to Jujutsu High."
"Me?"
"What's wrong? Do you have friends waiting for you at high school?"
"No... I just... no, it's nothing."
The girl took a slight breath. "Can I... can I see my mother one last time?"
Gojo Satoru was stunned for a moment, realizing the girl had misunderstood.
She probably thought of Jujutsu High as some secret training base for Sorcerers—though Gojo Satoru couldn't deny that description—in reality, Jujutsu High was truly a high school.
It was a three-year system, and the only difference from a regular high school was that it had specialized courses for teaching Jujutsu Sorcerers; otherwise, it was almost no different from any other high school.
Well, the fact that students were extremely rare was also a point of difference from ordinary high schools.
"You can go whenever you want." Gojo Satoru waved his hand dismissively.
"Although it's called a suspended death sentence, it's not as serious as you think."
"As long as you work hard to raise your level as a Sorcerer, once you reach Special Grade, your death sentence will naturally be revoked."
"During this time, just treat Jujutsu High as a regular boarding school. You can still go home normally on Saturdays and Sundays."
"Ah." The girl was stunned and said incredulously, "Is that really okay?"
"From what you said, I thought I was very special."
"I thought someone had to monitor me... that I would be separated from my mother from now on."
"Hahaha, it's not that serious." Gojo Satoru said casually.
"We are human too, and naturally, we have families."
"We can't let Jujutsu Sorcerers risk their lives on the front lines and not let them go home, right? There's no such thing."
"No, I'm not talking about that... it's about yourself," the girl said hesitantly.
Gojo Satoru gave an "Oh," finally realizing what the girl was thinking.
He turned his body, tilted his head toward the girl, and revealed a bright smile:
"Oh my, we've been talking for so long and I forgot to introduce myself."
"It's a bit embarrassing to talk about myself like this, but if it's to put Junpei-chan at ease, then let me give a slightly arrogant self-introduction."
Gojo Satoru paused deliberately before saying nonchalantly, "I am Gojo Satoru."
"For now—I am the strongest Sorcerer on this planet."
He laughed, a bright and cheerful laugh, and said:
"In this country, I'm someone with a bit of power."