The days following Hidden Inventory were a blur of debriefings, medical checkups, and awkward
conversations.
Shinichi found himself in an unusual position: too involved to be dismissed as a bystander, but
too young to be treated as a proper participant. The jujutsu world's authorities didn't quite know
what to do with a five-year-old who had talked down an assassin and predicted a near-death
awakening.
"The Kamo family wants you back," Yaga informed him during one such debriefing. "Immediately."
"I understand."
"But given your... contribution... to resolving this incident, the higher-ups have agreed to grant
you certain privileges. You'll be allowed to visit Jujutsu High regularly. To train with our
students. To participate in appropriate missions."
Shinichi bowed formally. "Thank you, Mr. Yaga."
"Don't thank me yet. Your father is furious. You ran away from home, interfered with a classified
mission, and nearly got yourself killed. There will be consequences."
There always are.
Before returning to the Kamo estate, Shinichi sought out one more conversation.
He found Geto Suguru alone in the gymnasium, staring at nothing.
"Geto."
The older sorcerer didn't turn around. "Shinichi. Shouldn't you be heading home?"
"Soon. I wanted to talk to you first."
"About what?"
Shinichi sat down beside him, maintaining a respectful distance. "About what happened down there.
How you're feeling."
Geto laughed bitterly. "A child is asking me about my feelings. That's a new low."
"I'm asking because I'm worried about you."
"Worried?" Now Geto did turn, his expression somewhere between amusement and irritation. "I'm a
Special Grade sorcerer. One of the strongest in the world. What could you possibly be worried
about?"
"That you're starting to wonder if it's worth it."
Silence.
"Protecting people who don't know you exist. Fighting curses that keep coming back no matter how
many you kill. Eating those disgusting things day after day, year after year, and nobody ever
thanks you for it." Shinichi met Geto's gaze steadily. "I'm worried that you're starting to ask
yourself: what's the point?"
For a long moment, Geto said nothing. Then, slowly, his mask cracked.
"How do you know that?"
"Because it's what I would think. If I were in your position."
Geto stared at this strange child—too perceptive, too articulate, too aware of the world's
darkness—and felt something shift in his chest.
"You're not wrong," he admitted finally. "I do think about that. More often lately."
"Then here's what I want you to remember." Shinichi's voice was soft but firm. "The world is
broken. People are selfish and afraid and ignorant. Curses will never stop coming. And most people
will never understand or appreciate what sorcerers do for them."
"This isn't very comforting."
"I'm not finished. The world is broken—but that doesn't mean it can't be fixed. And the people who
fix broken things aren't the ones who give up when things get hard. They're the ones who keep
working, day after day, even when nobody thanks them."
Geto was quiet for a long time.
"You really are strange, Shinichi."
"I've been told."
"Where did you learn to think like this? You're five years old."
I was eighteen when I died, Shinichi thought. I've had time to figure out what matters.
But he couldn't say that. So instead he just smiled.
"Books. I read a lot of books."
One week after Hidden Inventory, a secret meeting convened in a barrier room at Jujutsu High.
Present were: Gojo Satoru, Geto Suguru, Shoko Ieiri, Riko Amanai, Toji Fushiguro (via secure
communication), and Kamo Shinichi.
It was, by any measure, the strangest gathering in recent jujutsu history.
"Let me make sure I understand this correctly," Geto said, rubbing his temples. "You want to
reform the entire jujutsu world. Using a five-year-old's plan."
"When you put it like that, it sounds ridiculous," Shinichi admitted.
"That's because it is ridiculous."
"Hear him out," Gojo said lazily. He was draped across a couch, seemingly unconcerned with the
weight of the conversation. "The kid talked Toji out of killing us. That earns him some
credibility."
"I didn't talk him out of anything," Toji's voice crackled through the speaker. "I made a tactical
decision based on new information."
"Sure you did."
"Can we focus?" Shoko interrupted. "Shinichi, explain your plan. From the beginning."
Shinichi took a deep breath. This was the moment everything could fall apart—or come together.
"The jujutsu world is broken," he began. "The higher-ups are corrupt. The Three Great Families
care more about politics than protecting people. Sorcerers are treated as tools, used up and
discarded. And ordinary humans are kept ignorant of the threats that surround them."
"Nothing controversial so far," Gojo observed dryly.
"The problem is that you can't fix a broken system by destroying it. Killing the higher-ups,
overthrowing the families—that just creates chaos. New tyrants rise to fill the vacuum. Nothing
actually changes."
"So what do you propose instead?" Geto asked. His tone was skeptical, but he was listening.
"Gradual reform. From the inside." Shinichi looked around the room. "We have something
unprecedented here. Two of the strongest sorcerers in history. A healer who can revolutionize
jujutsu medicine. The former Star Plasma Vessel, who now owes no allegiance to Tengen. And..." he
gestured toward the speaker. "An outsider who knows all the dirty secrets of the Three Great
Families."
"I'm not an ally," Toji said flatly. "I'm a mercenary who happens to owe you a favor."
"That's fine. I'm not asking for loyalty. I'm asking for cooperation."
Riko raised her hand tentatively. "Um... why am I here? I'm not a sorcerer. I can barely defend
myself."
"Because you were going to be sacrificed, and no one told you. You have every right to be angry at
the system that treated you as disposable." Shinichi met her eyes. "And because you can learn.
Shoko is already teaching you the Reverse Cursed Technique. In a few years, you could be a
powerful healer in your own right."
"This all sounds very nice," Geto said, "but you still haven't explained the actual plan. How do
we reform a system that's been entrenched for centuries?"
"Step one: deterrence." Shinichi turned to Gojo. "You're the strongest. Everyone knows it now,
after what happened during Hidden Inventory. The higher-ups are terrified of you. As long as you
exist, they won't make any aggressive moves against us."
Gojo grinned. "I like being a threat. Continue."
"Step two: education. Geto, you're respected by students and teachers alike. You genuinely believe
in protecting people. If you become a teacher at Jujutsu High, you can shape the next generation
of sorcerers. Teach them to question authority, to value human life, to see non-sorcerers as
people worth protecting."
Geto frowned. "You want me to become a teacher?"
"Eventually. When you're ready."
"And step three?" Shoko asked.
"Medical advancement. You can use the Reverse Cursed Technique better than almost anyone. If you
can teach others—even partially—you could save countless lives. Sorcerers who would have died on
missions could be healed. The casualty rate would plummet."
"I've tried teaching it before. Most people can't learn."
"Then find the ones who can. Riko, for instance."
Shoko glanced at Riko, then nodded slowly. "It's... not impossible."
"This is all very optimistic," Toji's voice cut in. "But you're ignoring the obvious problem. The
higher-ups aren't going to sit back and let you undermine their power. They'll send assassins.
Frame you for crimes. Destroy your reputations. I know—I've done that work for them."
"Which is why we need you," Shinichi said.
Silence.
"I'm not joining your little revolution, kid."
"I'm not asking you to. I'm asking you to stay alive. To be a resource we can call on when things
get dangerous. And in exchange, we'll help you with what you actually want."
"And what's that?"
"Your son. Megumi." Shinichi kept his voice steady. "You were going to sell him to the Zenin
family. For money you would have gambled away within a month."
Toji's silence was thunderous.
"We can protect him. Give him training, education, a future. All you have to do is not hand him
over to people who will use him as a weapon."
"You've been planning this," Toji said slowly. "From the moment we met. This whole
conversation—it's been building toward this."
"Yes."
"You manipulative little—"
"I'm trying to save your son's life. And yours." Shinichi didn't flinch from the anger in Toji's
voice. "You don't have to trust me. You don't have to like me. But think about what I'm offering.
Really think about it."
The room was silent. Everyone watched the speaker, waiting for Toji's response.
Finally, he spoke.
"I'll think about it."
The line went dead.