"To be honest, I find it a bit difficult for Master Tengen to assign this mission to the two of you."
The four walked down the corridor of Jujutsu High. Yaga Masamichi walked at the front, glancing back at the unkempt Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto. Even dogs would shake their heads at them.
"However, fortunately, the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association considered the difficulty of the mission, so Kenmyo Isayama has been added."
"Everything is different now."
Just thinking about the trouble-making abilities of those two problem children, and then comparing them to Kenmyo, made Yaga Masamichi feel it was the difference between delinquents and honor students.
How great would it be if Kenmyo were his student.
Unfortunately, he was only seconded by the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association because they feared the situation was too complex for the two hotheads, Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto, to handle.
After all, in the eyes of the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association, Kenmyo was one of their own, someone they knew inside and out: powerful, with a clean background, and on good terms with many Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerers. For a period, he even worked as a "Cleaner" for the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association, living on "minimum wage."
This kid has finally made a name for himself and is being groomed by the Kamo Family as their next head.
Speaking of which, only the Zenin Family doesn't have a next-generation head now; the other two families have heirs. You can imagine how anxious the constantly feuding Zenin Family must be.
Yaga Masamichi said,
"You two should really thank Kenmyo; he sacrificed his time to accompany you."
"Isn't that obvious? My and Geto's combination is already the strongest, and now with Kenmyo added."
Gojo Satoru said with a thumbs-up.
"With the three of us together, I feel like we could take on the entire world."
"Right, Geto, you think so too, don't you?"
Sometimes it was truly helpless; he even had to drag others into his boasting. Suguru Geto nodded helplessly.
"Mhm."
"That's an exaggeration. I'm just here to make you two look better."
Kenmyo heard their praise, but felt it was too much.
"Can you two be normal? I can't take it anymore."
"Oh, right, Teacher."
Gojo Satoru asked, with his hands clasped behind his head,
"What kind of mission is it that requires the three of us to be gathered together?"
"Don't tell me it's to blow up the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association headquarters. And what did Tengen, that woman, want with us last time?"
A hint of seriousness appeared on Gojo Satoru's face. If he were asked who he was least confident about fighting and might lose to, it would undoubtedly be Tengen, whom he had only met once.
That time, Gojo Satoru felt powerless for the first time in his life, suppressed by a Barrier Technique to the point where he couldn't even use his Cursed Technique.
What kind of thing was that?
It usually lived underground at Tokyo Jujutsu High, and Gojo Satoru, who had studied there for two years, didn't even know about it.
Hearing Gojo Satoru mention it, Kenmyo suddenly remembered that those two seemed to have personally met Tengen.
Only he hadn't.
"This is a special, highly confidential mission."
Yaga Masamichi didn't stop walking, heading towards a classroom.
Kenmyo noticed that even though it was a weekday, whether it was due to the small number of people at Jujutsu High or something else, it seemed like only the four of them were left in the entire school, with no one else.
"There are two requests in total. In short,"
Yaga Masamichi continued,
"It's about the 'protection' and assassination of the Star Plasma Vessel."
Hearing this, Kenmyo, who had already anticipated it, was not surprised.
"Huh?"
Gojo Satoru said he didn't understand how such a contradictory mission could be created.
If the ultimate outcome was assassination, why bother protecting it? It was quite contradictory.
So, he came to a conclusion.
Gojo Satoru turned to Kenmyo and said,
"Sorry, Kenmyo, you might have come all this way for nothing."
"Our teacher has senile dementia."
Suguru Geto also nodded in agreement, then squinted his eyes and said with a smile,
"After all, it's this season, so it's understandable."
"Plus, he's the next Principal of Tokyo Jujutsu High, so he's all excited."
"Wasn't there a Principal last time?"
Kenmyo asked, puzzled. The Principal wasn't Yaga Masamichi when he came recently; he had only just been appointed.
"That Zen'in branch family member was transferred."
Suguru Geto explained,
"So Teacher Principal Yaga is already the Principal."
Just a monthly assessment almost caused a first-year death incident, so that Principal really reached his limit.
Becoming Principal early is something to celebrate.
But hearing this, Kenmyo actually felt a little sorry for Teacher Principal Yaga, who was leading the way.
Because in the future, when these two troublemakers cause problems, Yaga Masamichi can help clean up their messes.
These two students are indeed good, in the sense that they can infuriate Yaga Masamichi enough to shorten his lifespan by many years, allowing him to close his eyes early and avoid suffering.
Truly filial.
"Let's stop the jokes here."
"Kenmyo, let's ignore this old man who's full of nonsense."
Suguru Geto stretched his arms out in a big yawn, striking a pose to stretch his body, and his narrowed eyes opened to a slit.
He looked at Kenmyo seriously and suggested,
"Let's go play basketball. We still haven't settled the score from last time."
"Don't talk nonsense."
A vein throbbed on Yaga Masamichi's forehead, clearly furious with these two rebellious disciples who wanted to sneak away before he even finished speaking.
"Whether it's a joke or not is up to me to decide."
He abruptly pulled open the classroom door and turned to look at the three behind him.
"Now, get in here quickly."
"Sigh."
Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto each tilted their heads and spread their hands towards Kenmyo, striking a helpless pose.
"There's nothing we can do about him."
"Isn't his menopause over? Why is he still so bad-tempered?"
"Let's go, let's go in."
Suguru Geto and Kenmyo were the first to enter. The classroom was dilapidated, looking like it hadn't been used for years. All the bench-style seats were placed on the desks.
Moreover, there was so much thick dust that there was no place to sit. On the empty podium, however, there was a computer with a glowing screen indicating it was powered on, meaning this classroom had been prepared by Yaga Masamichi from the start.
"Are we going to help Master Tengen with Cursed Technique initialization?"
Suguru Geto slowly said as Yaga Masamichi fiddled with the equipment,
"It's about time."
Unlike the clueless Gojo Satoru, Suguru Geto indeed had some insights.
Kenmyo knew this from reports from his subordinates, but Suguru Geto had deduced this information from just a few simple sentences from Yaga Masamichi, pinpointing the main content of the mission.
"I think so too, that old geezer hasn't changed bodies in almost 500 years."
This voice, which had inexplicably joined their conversation, was so familiar, yet it came from the person least likely to say such a thing among those present.
So, Yaga Masamichi immediately looked up upon hearing this, and Kenmyo and Suguru Geto likewise looked at the speaker, various incredulous expressions appearing on their faces.
"That shouldn't be right. How could my idiotic student know so much?"
"Is this still the Gojo Satoru we know?"
"Geto, was he hit hard last time?"
"Hey, hey, hey, what are those expressions?"
Gojo Satoru felt greatly insulted by their stares.
What do you mean by that?
"This kind of common knowledge can be learned by just reading a couple of books."
Gojo Satoru thought it was perfectly reasonable to be interested in someone he found troublesome and to seek out information about them.
Why were they so surprised when it came to him, as if they were meeting him for the first time?
This wasn't all; Gojo Satoru continued,
"That old geezer Tengen is like Agumon's evolution; there's a chance he'll evolve into MetalGreymon, but also a chance he'll turn into SkullGreymon."
Although this explanation sounded a bit strange, that was indeed what Gojo Satoru meant.
"Every 500 years, Tengen must be arranged to get a new body."
Gojo Satoru accurately stated the information about Tengen.
"The person whose body is replaced is called the Star Plasma Vessel, right?"
"Cough, that's exactly right."
Yaga Masamichi coughed and continued,
"Since you all... Oh, right, Kenmyo, do you have any questions?"
He suddenly remembered that Kenmyo hadn't expressed any opinions yet, so he asked.
"No, I know all this information."
Kenmyo shook his head.
"Please continue."
"Since you all know, that makes things much easier."
This way, Yaga Masamichi could skip the introductory phase and go straight to the mission's core, without wasting extra words explaining basic things.
"The The Higher-Ups knows that you haven't had time to coordinate, so they've specifically given you ample time to familiarize yourselves with each other's Cursed Techniques."
"There are still fifteen days until Master Tengen's assimilation, so there's plenty of time."
In fact, while these people at Jujutsu High were discussing mission matters, Tengen had long since fallen into a deep slumber to suppress her own state, so she was not involved now.
How could the selection of guardians for the "Star Plasma Vessel" be decided so hastily? A plan must have been made long ago.
Tengen had decided on the candidates half a year ago and submitted the list of "guardians" to the The Higher-Ups of the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association.
She also requested the The Higher-Ups to begin the escort mission two days before the start of her assimilation ritual, bringing the Star Plasma Vessel safely to her palace, the Tomb Chamber.
"The current location of the Star Plasma Vessel is still confidential, so I don't know where it is right now."
Kenmyo knew that there was more than one Star Plasma Vessel that could be used for assimilation, and concealment could provide protective measures.
He didn't care whether Tengen evolved or not, nor about the future lives of ordinary people and Jujutsu Sorcerer. Kenmyo also didn't need to care about Tengen's Barrier protection; with or without a Barrier, it made little difference.
He just felt that the method of reviving using someone else's body was a bit unsavory.
In short, for Kenmyo, who was once an Inquisitor of the Inquisition,
Tengen's actions brought a certain 'flavor' to mind.
"It's currently being guarded by other personnel from the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association, so it should be safe."
"What? There are still so many days left. Why call us here so early?"
Gojo Satoru's earlier eagerness was instantly doused with cold water, completely extinguished.
He rocked his chair back and forth, looking very relaxed.
Tengen was familiar with these two guys' personalities, so she specifically instructed the The Higher-Ups to only notify them two days before her assimilation, otherwise it would affect their motivation.
However, Tengen probably didn't expect that the The Higher-Ups had already altered her orders, not only moving it up by half a month but also privately adding someone to her escort team.
"If Tengen really evolves into a Cursed Spirit, what will happen to the domestic Barriers?"
Kenmyo thought that the optimal solution would be to let Geto subdue Tengen, allowing him to control Tengen and consolidate the domestic Barriers.
All problems would be solved, since Tengen had already become a Cursed Spirit.
Originally, the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association couldn't find suitable candidates, but then Kenmyo emerged with overwhelming strength, instantly giving the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association hope.
It's clear that the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association truly wanted Master Tengen's assimilation to be the last, ending her life completely.
"Master Tengen's 'Star Plasma Vessel' location, although very hidden, might still be exposed."
"Because currently, there are two large forces eyeing it covetously."
"One is the 'Q Organization,' which exists to overthrow the entire Jujutsu World."
Two symbols appeared on Yaga Masamichi's computer: one for the Cursed Technique Organization and the other for the Star Plasma Cult.
These two groups are highly likely to cause trouble during Tengen's assimilation.
"The other is the Star Plasma Cult. Kenmyo, you should be quite familiar with this one."
"Mhm."
Kenmyo nodded, because he had once taken down the Star Plasma Cult's flag and burned it down.
He was truly more than familiar with this thing he had trampled underfoot.
But Suguru Geto and Gojo Satoru didn't know that such a thing had happened to Kenmyo.
"What happened? Why don't I know about it?"
Gojo Satoru immediately became interested.
"Kenmyo once single-handedly defeated an entire branch of the Star Plasma Cult, capturing all their followers and high-ranking members in one fell swoop."
"In one night, he alone completely wiped out the entire branch of the Star Plasma Cult."
Although the mission content for promotion to Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer was top secret at the time, it had passed, so it was immediately declassified.
Kenmyo had excellently completed the mission, while also perfectly demonstrating the iron-bloodedness of the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association and the severe consequences of crossing its bottom line.
Kenmyo's actions textbook-style displayed the authority of the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association.
Only then did the high-ranking officials of the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association's The Higher-Ups evaluate Kenmyo as a fine blade.
"All the believers of that branch no longer dared to worship the Star Plasma Cult. This means that the safety of our mission is already more than half accomplished, and it's all thanks to him."
"That's amazing."
Although Gojo Satoru didn't know what this so-called Star Plasma Cult was, for the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association to send Kenmyo, it must have been very tricky.
And it was so cool; in Gojo Satoru's mind, a scene of "one man holding the pass, preventing ten thousand from entering" had already appeared.
"No, just a bunch of small fry."
Kenmyo merely shook his head calmly, as if just stating a fact.