Inside a luxury villa in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward—
Toji sat cross-legged on the wool carpet in the living room, wearing an oversized gray hoodie as he carefully wiped the Inverted Spear of Heaven in his hands with a piece of deerskin.
Under his meticulous maintenance, the blade of the special grade cursed tool gleamed with a cold and eerie light.
The television nearby was broadcasting previews for the upcoming Halloween festivities. Throughout Shibuya, young people had already begun preparing for costume parades and parties.
Click.
Accompanied by a ripple of distorted space, Rin stepped out from the starlit gate of the divine realm dressed in casual homewear.
"Boss."
Toji didn't even lift his head, continuing to polish the blade.
Rin walked over to the sofa and sat down casually, picking up a summary report from the coffee table and flipping through it.
"How's the situation outside?"
"It's a complete mess."
Toji sneered as he slid the Inverted Spear of Heaven back into the holster at his waist.
"That acquaintance of yours, Gojo Satoru, has gone completely insane these past few months."
"He's been training the first and second-years at Jujutsu High like crazy."
"I heard my idiot son has already been sent to Shoko Ieiri's emergency room several times from the training alone."
Although Toji's tone was filled with disdain when mentioning Megumi, Rin still caught the brief flicker of complicated emotion hidden in his eyes.
Over the past few months, while Toji appeared indifferent toward his son's situation on the surface, he had secretly used the unlimited black card Rin gave him to eliminate quite a few assassination requests from the underground black market targeting Megumi.
At one point, several clueless foreign Curse Users even attempted to kidnap Megumi in order to threaten Gojo.
But before they could even approach the outskirts of Jujutsu High, Toji intercepted them and shredded them into minced meat with the Chain of a Thousand Miles.
The fatherly love of the Heavenly Restriction tyrant had always been rough and awkward.
"Other than Jujutsu High, what about Jujutsu Headquarters and the Three Great Clans?"
Rin set the report down and casually took a sip of the now-cold coffee on the table.
"They're all quiet as scared little quails."
Toji grinned, revealing a row of sharp white teeth.
"Ever since you burned those stubborn old bastards at Jujutsu Headquarters and paid a visit to the Zenin Clan, those arrogant idiots don't even dare breathe too loudly anymore."
"That old drunk, Naobito Zenin, even issued a gag order forbidding any clan member from provoking this villa."
"Now both the underworld and the legitimate sorcerer world know that Chiyoda Ward has a living King of Hell they absolutely can't afford to offend."
Absolute power brought absolute authority.
This was precisely the peace and quiet Rin wanted.
"However..."
Toji's tone shifted, his eyes turning sharp.
"That stitched-forehead bastard you told me to investigate finally started showing his tail."
The fingers tapping against Rin's knee paused slightly as he looked up at him.
"Shiu Kong's intelligence network sent word yesterday."
Toji straightened up and spoke in a low voice.
"Over the past month, a mysterious leader has appeared within the underground Curse User circles."
"He's been offering absurdly high rewards to recruit vicious Curse Users from all over."
"And someone spotted a man wearing a kasaya with stitches across his forehead near an abandoned temple on Kyoto's outskirts."
"Kasaya. Stitches."
A cold smile slowly rose at the corners of Rin's mouth.
Kenjaku.
After hiding for half a year, this thousand-year-old fox who stole Geto Suguru's body had finally begun tightening the net around his grand conspiracy.
"There's one more thing."
Toji stood up and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing at the gloomy sky outside.
Autumn had blanketed Tokyo in a suffocating atmosphere, like a storm on the verge of breaking.
"Over the past few days, the flow of Cursed Energy beneath Shibuya has become extremely abnormal."
"The Window observers reported that large numbers of unidentified Semi-Grade 1 and Grade 1 Cursed Spirits have been gathering around Shibuya's subway system."
"On top of that, they found traces of extremely complex barrier techniques being set up throughout the surrounding area."
Toji turned and looked at Rin.
"Boss, they're definitely planning something major in Shibuya on Halloween."
"And nine times out of ten, the target is Gojo Satoru."
Halloween.
Shibuya.
The moment those two words were spoken, Rin slowly stood up.
The peaceful half-year of leisure had finally come to an end.
The Shibuya Incident, the most tragic event in the original story and the true turning point of the Jujutsu world, had finally reached the final stage of Kenjaku's carefully orchestrated plan.
To deal with Gojo Satoru, Kenjaku had mobilized every Special Grade Cursed Spirit disaster at his disposal and even prepared a trump card like the Prison Realm.
In Kenjaku's eyes, this was a flawless, guaranteed-kill trap.
"October 31st..."
Rin glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall.
There were less than three days left until Halloween.
"Boss, want me to go twist that stitched-face bastard's head off ahead of time?"
Toji touched the Inverted Spear of Heaven hanging at his waist, bloodthirsty excitement flashing in his eyes.
"No need."
Rin walked toward the window.
His dark pupils reflected the prosperous yet fragile city outside.
"They spent half a year building this stage and gathered so many actors."
"If I kill the director before the play even begins, wouldn't that be boring?"
Deep within his eyes, six black tomoe and concentric ripples slowly rotated.
For a brief instant, a terrifying pressure spread through the living room, so oppressive that even Toji instinctively felt his heart tighten.
Then it vanished just as quickly.
"Let them make their move."
Rin turned around, took his black trench coat from the rack, and draped it over his shoulders.
"When they raise the barriers in Shibuya..."
"When they believe Gojo Satoru has been sealed..."
"When they think victory is already in their hands..."
"That is when we enter."
"I'll make them witness with their own eyes just how laughable and fragile their so-called perfect kill plan truly is in the face of real power."
___
Read 12 Chapters ahead:
Patreon.com/slept01