Early in the morning, the mist hadn't completely dissipated, and the air was filled with the scent of grass and dew. In the pavilion on the edge of the training ground, three cups of hot tea sat on a stone table, white steam rising from them.
Satoru Gojo, rarely without a dessert, sat on a stone bench, his hands folded on his knees, his black blindfold covering his pale Six Eyes, but the slightly pressed corners of his lips showed his seriousness at the moment. Across from him sat Eriri, who had just finished her morning exercises—her hair still damp—and Genji, floating beside her as usual, his posture relaxed.
"So," Genji picked up a teacup, lightly blew on it, and looked at Satoru Gojo with his deep indigo eyes. "You called us here specially, and not just for tea, Satoru?"
"Oh, you caught me~" Satoru Gojo smiled, his cynical tone returning slightly, but quickly subsiding. "There is indeed something I'd like your help with, Lord Zen'in Genji. And, by the way, bring your 'connection.'"
Satoru Gojo waved his hand, took a thin folder from his sleeve, and placed it in the center of the stone table. "The mission location isn't in Japan. It's a small island in the South Seas. The exact coordinates and information are inside. The objective is to investigate the recent activities of an ancient religion called the 'Naraku Sect' in that area."
"Naraku Sect?" Genji set down his teacup, slightly raising an eyebrow, looking thoughtful. "Sounds a bit familiar, but I can't recall clearly. What kind of religion is it?"
Upon hearing the name, Eriri was the first to react. As a diplomat's daughter and a well-read aspiring author who had dabbled in anecdotes, she was familiar with history and cultures from around the world.
"Naraku..." She recalled the materials she had read and organized her thoughts. "If I remember correctly, it originated in the Nanyang islands, with a history dating back hundreds of years or even earlier. They believe in a god known as the 'Immortal God' or 'Lord of the Abyss.' The core of their doctrine revolves around 'eternal life,' 'immortality,' and 'transcendence.'"
She paused, as if choosing her words carefully. "Rumors say that devout believers can use some special ritual or offering to avoid aging and disease, and even… achieve some form of 'immortality.'" She changed her tone, with obvious suspicion and a hint of veiled mockery. "In recent years, several high-ranking officials have also been linked to this sect. But take that with a grain of salt."
"The sect operates secretly. Their rituals are often accompanied by rumors of blood sacrifices. Their teachings are quite extreme and exclusive. After all, Japan has its own unique circumstances, so this level of fringe cult doesn't mean much here."
Hearing this, Genji nodded noncommittally, picked up his teacup again, and took a sip.
"Sounds like an ordinary religion with a rather biased and extreme doctrine, possibly mixed with traces of cursed techniques or curse users, using people's fears and desires to control them." He set down his cup and looked at Satoru Gojo with slight confusion. "Why does the jujutsu world, especially you, need to investigate this kind of matter? Can't the local police or special departments handle it?"
"Normally, it wouldn't be our turn to handle this," Satoru Gojo admitted, lightly tapping the folder with his finger. "If it were just an ordinary cult scamming for money or performing bloody sacrifices pretending to be gods and ghosts, the mundane forces would naturally handle it. But this time, the situation is a bit special."
He straightened up, his voice becoming more formal. "Although there's no conclusive evidence yet, and the identity of the 'Immortal God' is still unknown, Lord Tengen has explicitly requested a thorough investigation. According to an extremely faint residual analysis of the cursed energy fluctuations controlled by the barrier…"
Satoru Gojo paused, speaking word by word:
"This so-called 'Immortal God' is very likely a special-grade cursed spirit. Moreover, it is probably an ancient being that was born long ago, extremely intelligent, good at hiding and disguising, and may have even built its own belief system."
"A special-grade cursed spirit?" Genji finally frowned slightly. Eriri also took a deep breath and unconsciously sat up straighter. A special-grade cursed spirit is a monster capable of causing regional or even national disasters!
"How is that possible…" Eriri couldn't help but ask. "A special-grade cursed spirit… overseas? Becoming an object of religious worship?"
"That's the problem," Satoru Gojo sighed, rarely showing a troubled expression. "Remember what I said earlier? With the explosive growth of the global population, the total amount of negative emotions has become far greater than ever before."
"Although the cursed energy absorption and suppression barrier you set up a thousand years ago, covering the entire world, has been successful for a thousand years, it is now close to saturation. In recent years, there have been signs of local instability."
He looked at Genji, who nodded slightly, indicating he knew. He understood the barrier's condition better than anyone.
"This has led to a result," Satoru Gojo continued. "Even in overseas regions where the inheritance of jujutsu techniques is relatively weak and there have been few cursed spirit disasters in history, the frequency of cursed spirit births and activity, especially powerful ones, has begun to increase significantly in recent years. However, the overseas sorcerer systems are either long broken, not suited to the climate, or are like loose sand, completely incapable of handling the sudden growth of cursed spirits, especially possible special grades."
"On our end," Satoru Gojo pointed to himself and spread his hands helplessly. "You know the bureaucratic system of the Jujutsu Headquarters. The procedures for overseas intervention are cumbersome, the interests are complex, and the old men aren't interested in overseas affairs unless they threaten the homeland. More importantly, there are only a few powerful combat forces capable of handling special-grade cursed spirit incidents alone, each with many tasks and responsibilities, unable to go abroad for long periods."
"So," Genji understood, "this suspected special-grade cursed spirit hiding overseas, engaging in religious worship, falls to you—the 'strongest modern sorcerer' and the most mobile special-grade sorcerer?"
"Bingo!" Satoru Gojo snapped his fingers, then his face fell again. "But I really can't leave right now. There's a lot of messy stuff from the Headquarters, it seems there are some small movements from the Kyoto side, and there are still several early warnings of Grade 1 cursed spirits in the country that need confirmation… I really lack clones."
He clasped his hands together, made a "please" gesture, looked at Genji, and tried to squeeze a "sincere" smile from the corners of his mouth beneath his black blindfold:
"So I had to come and ask you, Lord Zen'in Genji! You see, you're certainly strong enough, you have extensive experience dealing with special-grade cursed spirits (you killed an unknown number a thousand years ago), and you can move freely without being restricted by cumbersome rules. Just bring Eriri along—consider it a study abroad trip! The data shows that island's scenery isn't bad!"
"Moreover," Satoru Gojo put away his joking expression and said seriously, "Lord Tengen specifically mentioned this matter. I'm afraid it's not just about a special-grade cursed spirit. The 'Naraku Sect' and the 'god' they worship may involve something deeper, or have an influence on the barrier and cursed spirit ecology that we don't yet know about. If you, the creator of the barrier, go and investigate yourself, you might find clues we would miss."
The pavilion was quiet, only the rustle of wind blowing through a bamboo grove.
Eriri looked nervously at Genji. An overseas mission? Investigating a cult and a special-grade curse? This sounded far beyond just training and a Friday "assessment" in terms of danger.
"I'll take it."
Satoru Gojo's eyes lit up.
"However," Genji said, "I need more detailed information, including the geography and culture of that island, reports on anomalous events in recent years, and all the details Lord Tengen noticed about the characteristics of this 'god's' cursed energy. Also, the travel procedures and identification need to cover…"
"Leave it to me!" Satoru Gojo patted his chest and promised, smiling. "The information will be compiled immediately! Formalities? Ha, we can use diplomatic channels or some 'special arrangements' to get legal identities and travel comfortably! Just consider it a state-funded trip!"
Eriri: "…"
She had a strong feeling that the hole in this "state-funded trip" was far too big.
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