Utaha remained silent.
She lowered her eyelashes, the thick lashes casting faint shadows on her pale cheeks, hiding the complex emotions churning in those eyes.
She didn't immediately respond to Satoru. She just stood there quietly, surrounded by a heavy silence that was inconsistent with her age.
This silence lasted for several seconds, feeling exceptionally long and oppressive in the quiet, talisman-covered secret room.
The smile on Satoru's lips didn't change, but his gaze under the blindfold flickered slightly.
This silence was more interesting and thought-provoking than any intense reaction he had expected.
"Oh my, are you scared stiff?" Satoru shrugged with feigned lightness, trying to break the frozen air.
"No need to worry. As long as you follow the rules and stay under my watch, I guarantee you—"
"Sukuna-san." Utaha finally spoke. Her voice was soft but exceptionally clear, interrupting Satoru's unfinished and ambiguous comfort.
She wasn't speaking to Satoru, but to the existence in her mind.
"You will never give up on gathering your own power, right?"
"Hmph, a boring threat." Sukuna's deep voice sounded in her mind with disdain.
"Twenty fingers? I will get them back sooner or later. However, little girl, you needn't worry too much. This female body is ultimately not very convenient to use."
"Rest assured, once I find a suitable method to leave your body and reshape a perfect physical body of my own, I will naturally leave. I have no interest in residing in your body long-term."
Sukuna's words were half-reassurance and half-genuine intention.
Utaha was silent for a moment. She raised her head, looked at Satoru, and nodded slowly. "I understand. I accept this agreement."
Rather than being executed immediately, it was better to buy time. Perhaps before Sukuna found a new method, she could find a way to become stronger herself, or some other turning point would appear.
"Very good." Satoru snapped his fingers, a smile hanging on his face again.
"In that case, welcome to officially becoming a 'Special Admission Student' of Jujutsu High. Get ready, I'll take you and your friends to see the school in a little while."
...
The next day, Satoru sat in the passenger seat of a black sedan that looked low-key on the outside but had surprising interior space.
He drove Utaha, Eriri, and Megumi away from the bustling Tokyo city area and headed towards the suburban mountains.
Along the way, Satoru played the role of a "tour guide," though his commentary style remained unique.
"Look over there. Once we pass through this tunnel, we'll enter the barrier range of Jujutsu High. Even if ordinary people enter by mistake, they'll just think it's an ordinary mountain forest and then find themselves wandering back out for some reason." He said, pointing ahead.
"Tokyo Jujutsu High, full name Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College. As the name suggests, it's a place for training Jujutsu Sorcerers. Don't be fooled by its traditional look on the outside, the facilities inside are very modern. Of course, except for the training grounds—those places are built to be as sturdy as possible..."
The vehicle slowly drove into a traditional architectural complex surrounded by lush trees. With upturned eaves, bracket sets, and bluestone paths, the air was filled with a peaceful and ancient atmosphere.
Eriri curiously peered out the car window, unable to hide her excitement.
She leaned toward Utaha's ear and asked in what she thought was a very small voice, "Hey, fat woman, what exactly happened yesterday? I went to look for you and found you weren't there, and you didn't reply to my messages. My mom said you might have been taken away by Gojo-sensei?"
Utaha sighed helplessly, feeling a sense of powerlessness toward this scatterbrained blonde underdog. "It's nothing major. I was just informed that if the situation gets out of control, I might be 'disposed of.'"
"What?! You're going to be killed?!" Eriri was so shocked she nearly jumped, her voice suddenly rising.
"Then what do we do? How about I have my family arrange for you to secretly hide abroad?"
"Sawamura..." Utaha pressed her hand to her forehead.
"Can you say that any louder? Do you think Gojo-sensei won't hear you?"
Satoru, driving in the front, let out a meaningful chuckle but didn't look back.
Only then did Eriri realize what a stupid thing she had done. Her face instantly flushed red, and she shrank back into her seat.
Just then, an indescribable change seemed to occur in Megumi, who had been sitting quietly to the side.
Sukuna, who had been perceiving the outside world through Utaha, suddenly let out a surprised "Eh?" in Utaha's mind.
(Little girl, pay attention to that bob cut girl.) Sukuna's voice carried a hint of interest.
"She seems to have awakened a Cursed Technique."
Almost at the same time, Satoru also looked at Megumi through the rearview mirror, an eyebrow twitching slightly under his sunglasses. "Oh? Kato-san, when did you..."
Megumi herself seemed somewhat confused. She looked down at her hands and said softly, "I don't know either. It was just yesterday, I suddenly felt... like I could control something a little."
"For real?! Kato, you awakened a Cursed Technique?!" Eriri was shocked again, her attention instantly diverted.
"What is it? Is it powerful? Quick, show us."
Utaha also looked at Megumi in surprise. Recalling Sukuna's previous reminder, she asked in her mind. (Sukuna-san, can you tell what type of Cursed Technique it is?)
(Very peculiar... it's a concealment or presence manipulation type of ability.) Sukuna evaluated.
(Just now, if I hadn't been intentionally perceiving the surroundings, I might have even subconsciously ignored her existence. Her Cursed Energ has become extremely thin, almost merging with the environment. This isn't simple invisibility, it's more like... blurring on a cognitive level.)
Satoru parked the car in an empty space, turned around, and looked at Megumi with great interest. "Kato-san, can you try using your ability on us? Don't worry, just let us feel it."
Megumi nodded and closed her eyes, seemingly concentrating.
A few seconds later, a strange sensation enveloped the car.
Eriri blinked and looked confusedly at the seat where Megumi had been sitting. "Eh? Where's Kato? When did she get out of the car?"
Utaha also felt a moment of daze. Her gaze clearly hadn't left Megumi, yet she found that the seat was suddenly empty.
(It's not invisibility.) Sukuna murmured. (She's sitting right there, but the brain is automatically ignoring her.)
Satoru pushed up his sunglasses, his Six Eyes operating at high speed to analyze the information flow.
"A cognitive interference technique with quite a high priority. She hasn't physically disappeared. Rather, she makes her presence drop drastically in the consciousness of others, even to the point of being subconsciously filtered out."
"If it weren't for my Six Eyes receiving information far beyond the processing limits of a normal person and being able to detect this information gap, even I would probably have fallen for it. A very practical ability, especially for intelligence gathering and stealth."