Inside Yoru's dormitory at Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Moonlight spilled through the window onto the wooden floor, coating everything in the room with a layer of silvery-white radiance.
Yoru sat cross-legged on the tatami, eyes closed, deep in the rhythmic breathing of Total Concentration: Constant.
His Synchronization Rate had stabilized at 46%.
After forcibly taking Maki and triggering a world-line rejection reaction, though it hadn't substantially decreased, a subtle sense of obstruction prevented him from slacking off in the slightest.
"Huu..."
A visible white stream of air slowly exhaled from Yoru's nose and mouth, condensing into frost in the air before quickly dissipating.
Suddenly, a minute ripple of cursed energy stirred outside the window.
Yoru's eyes snapped open, a sharp glint flashing in his deep crimson pupils.
Without even drawing his blade, he flicked his hand, and a sharp gust of sword qi sliced through the window latch.
*Click.*
The window swung open, and a low-grade cursed spirit—no larger than a palm and looking like a one-eyed toad with wings—staggered inside.
Any other sorcerer would have exorcised it instantly.
But Yoru didn't move.
He sensed a very familiar residual dregs of cursed energy on this creature.
It belonged to Suguru Geto's Cursed Spirit Manipulation!
The one-eyed toad spirit flew before Yoru, glanced at him with some fear, and opened its fanged mouth.
"Gag—"
With a nauseating sound, it vomited a small cylinder tightly wrapped in waterproof oilpaper.
Having fulfilled its mission, the low-grade spirit dissolved into a wisp of black smoke and vanished.
Ignoring the foul smell, Yoru picked up the cylinder and unwrapped the oilpaper.
Inside was a rolled piece of parchment.
He unfurled it and read by the moonlight.
It was covered in dense handwriting—Suguru Geto's familiar, slightly wild script.
"Yoru, if you're reading this, it means I've completely established myself within the Star Religious Group."
The letter cut straight to the point without any pleasantries.
"Those monkeys are even stupider and easier to control than I imagined."
"A few minor miracles are all it takes for them to offer up all their wealth and resources on a silver platter."
"With these resources, I've covertly established an intelligence network covering all of Japan."
Yoru's lips curled into a slight smirk.
Indeed, without the madness and suicidal tendencies driven by being backed into a corner in the original story...
Suguru Geto's brilliant mind and terrifying execution were finally being fully unleashed.
He wasn't just a Special Grade curse user; he was a mastermind hidden in the shadows, capable of subverting the entire jujutsu world.
Yoru continued reading.
"However, that's not the main point."
"The point is that the thousand-year-old monster you mentioned, Kenjaku, has finally shown his hand."
At the name 'Kenjaku,' Yoru's gaze turned incredibly sharp.
In the original timeline, Kenjaku was the ultimate mastermind behind every tragedy.
Having lived for over a millennium, he constantly swapped bodies, plotted the Culling Game, and even sought to merge humanity with Master Tengen to create an indescribable horror.
And the body Kenjaku desired most was Suguru Geto's—a perfect vessel capable of consuming infinite cursed spirits with nearly limitless potential.
"Lately, I can clearly feel an extremely hidden yet massive force testing me from the shadows."
The handwriting grew forceful here, even tearing the parchment.
"They've been intentionally guiding me toward dangerous areas with powerful cursed spirits, seemingly to evaluate my strength and the development of my Cursed Spirit Manipulation."
"Furthermore, I've discovered a few rats being manipulated behind the scenes within the Star Religious Group's leadership."
"That Brain named Kenjaku has clearly set his sights on me."
"He's like a venomous snake hiding in a gutter, patiently waiting for me to show a weakness so he can tear my throat out and steal my body!"
Reading Geto's description, Yoru took a deep breath.
Kenjaku's intuition was even sharper than expected.
In the original story, Kenjaku seized the body only after Geto failed the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons and was mortally wounded by Satoru Gojo.
But now, due to Yoru's intervention, Geto hadn't truly turned evil and had established his own power base early.
This had alerted Kenjaku sooner, prompting him to take the initiative.
"But don't worry, Yoru."
In the final section, Geto's handwriting returned to its usual arrogant confidence.
"Since I know that snake exists, I won't give him a single opening."
"I've decided to play along."
"I'll deliberately show him the madness and ambition he expects to see while covertly gathering strength and devouring cursed spirits."
"I want him to believe I'm following his script, stepping toward self-destruction one pace at a time."
"Until the most critical moment in the future..."
"Using this perfect body he craves as bait, I'll draw him out of that damn gutter once and for all!"
"Then the three of us will crush him and his thousand-year-old plot together!"
"Burn after reading. Geto."
*Snap.*
Yoru closed the letter.
With a flick of his finger, a crimson flame born from Sun Breathing instantly ignited, reducing the parchment to ash.
Watching the ashes scatter in the air, Yoru's deep crimson eyes shimmered with a heart-stopping light.
'Nicely done, Geto.'
Yoru praised him silently.
This was the most terrifying aspect of the alliance between himself, Satoru Gojo, and Suguru Geto.
Satoru Gojo stood in the light, deterring the higher-ups and all low-lives with absolute martial might.
Suguru Geto stayed in the dark, using his status as the worst curse user as a cover to expand his influence and act as bait for the big fish, Kenjaku.
And Yoru himself...
He acted as the variable who could see the future and connect the past to the present, placing the most critical pieces on this grand chessboard.
"Kenjaku..."
Yoru stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the moon partially obscured by dark clouds.
"Every calculation, every conspiracy."
"Now, they are all within our control."
"Let's see who has the last laugh in this game that has spanned a thousand years."
However, just as a surge of heroic pride rose within Yoru's heart...
"Thump!"
His heart seized with a sudden, violent pain without warning.
This agony was ten, no, a hundred times more intense than when he had taken Maki from the Zenin family.
It felt as if an invisible giant hand was gripping his heart, trying to forcibly rip him out of this world.
[WARNING! WARNING!]
[DETECTED THAT THE ACTIONS OF THE HOST AND HIS ALLIES HAVE SEVERELY DEVIATED FROM THE ESTABLISHED TRACK OF THE WORLD-LINE!]
[WORLD WILL REJECTION REACTION HAS REACHED THE CRITICAL POINT!]
[FORCED REPATRIATION COUNTDOWN... ACTIVATED!]
Hearing the urgent, cold alarms of the system in his head, Yoru clutched his chest and dropped to one knee, cold sweat instantly drenching his forehead.
He knew that by forcibly changing Suguru Geto's fate, taking Maki early, and even beginning to plot against Kenjaku...
This series of actions had finally incensed the fundamental laws of this world.
The time he had left in this era was truly running out.
He had to set all his bonds and contingencies in place before he was forcibly sent back.
"Just a little more..."
Yoru gritted his teeth, enduring the pain of his soul being torn apart as he slowly stood up.
"Just one last thing..."
"That guy far overseas... he must complete his final transformation!"
Meanwhile.
On the other side of the planet, in a small Middle Eastern country shrouded in the smoke of war.
That white-haired strongest, in whom Yoru had placed all his hope, was undergoing a terrifying evolution that would subvert the very understanding of the jujutsu world.
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