"It's Kenjaku!" Tengen said thoughtfully.
"No wonder, no wonder I haven't been able to find the headquarters of the Lord of Curses until now. Even though we were sure they were on the Japanese mainland, I could never find them..."
"If it's Kenjaku, he is indeed a Barrier Master who can rival me."
Tengen couldn't help but sigh at this point.
"It's my fault. I really didn't expect Mahito to have even subjugated Kenjaku."
After Gojo Satoru made that phone call and had an honest exchange with Mahito, he couldn't wait to gather his war preparation team members.
Naturally, they tacitly excluded the Jujutsu Higher-Ups. In their eyes, the Chief Executive of Jujutsu was no longer trustworthy.
Previously, both Tengen and Gojo Satoru believed that simply enhancing Gojo Satoru's individual strength would be enough, because as long as Mahito was dealt with, his subordinates would be of no account.
However, the Apotheosis Ritual had changed the nature of the situation.
Tengen judged that they had to gather enough people to pool their wisdom and efforts.
This was no longer a matter of individual heroism but a necessary group power struggle.
This was because Tengen clearly knew what the so-called Apotheosis Ritual was; it would surely affect all of Japan, and Gojo Satoru alone could no longer control the situation.
At this moment, everyone present was a powerful Jujutsu Sorcerer handpicked by Gojo Satoru himself.
They were Gojo Satoru's true core circle, the people he trusted beyond doubt, and they were located inside the absolutely safe Star Corridor.
Tengen had transformed the Hollow Wicker Basket Barrier of the Star Corridor into a meeting room.
Now, everyone sat around the long table in the meeting room, with Gojo Satoru at the head.
They were:
Special Grade Sorcerers: Yuki Tsukumo, Yuta Okkotsu.
Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerers: Masamichi Yaga, Aoi Todo, Kento Nanami.
Semi-Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer: Utahime Iori.
School doctor: Shoko Ieiri.
Students: Miyuki, Fushiguro Megumi, Maki Zen'in, Itadori Yuji.
And:
Kyoto Jujutsu High Principal and leader of the Traditionalist Faction of the Jujutsu World: Yoshinobu Gakuganji.
Then, during the solemn meeting, Utahime Iori was the first to lose her patience.
She stood up and pointed at Yoshinobu Gakuganji, roaring loudly,
"Wait a minute, Lord Tengen! Who can explain why this old man is at our meeting table?! Who can be sure this guy isn't a spy for the Lord of Curses?! Who is vouching for him?!"
The elderly Yoshinobu Gakuganji, whose eyes were almost closed, glanced at Utahime Iori, who was shouting at him.
If it were any other meeting and Utahime Iori shouted at him like that, he would have already taken action to teach her a lesson.
But this meeting was an internal meeting of Gojo Satoru's core circle. It was already unexpected that he could sit here, so he would not say much.
Masamichi Yaga raised his hand.
"It was I. I recommended Gakuganji to participate in this meeting."
In the original work, Masamichi Yaga unexpectedly trusted this leader of the Traditionalist Faction.
Before his death, Masamichi Yaga told Yoshinobu Gakuganji the method of stably creating Soul-Imbued Curses.
This was because Masamichi Yaga was certain he would die at the time. He didn't want his technique to become a lost art, nor did he want it to be abused.
He ultimately bet everything on Yoshinobu Gakuganji.
Yoshinobu Gakuganji did not fail Masamichi Yaga either.
Until Gojo Satoru broke out of the Prison Realm in the original work, he did not hand over this technique.
It was only after Gojo Satoru emerged from the Prison Realm and mercilessly killed all the Jujutsu Higher-Ups that he revealed he had obtained this technique.
And now, Masamichi Yaga once again placed his trust in Yoshinobu Gakuganji.
"I agreed to it," Gojo Satoru nodded naturally. "I also believe Principal Gakuganji is trustworthy."
"Look at the wrinkles all over his face and his hair that's already fallen out!" Utahime Iori said loudly.
"Can you say he's never been tempted by immortality?!"
"You trust the leader of the Traditionalist Faction that much?"
"I swear that after our meeting is over, this old man will 100% report our meeting contents to the Jujutsu Higher-Ups!"
Yoshinobu Gakuganji couldn't take it anymore and said in a deep voice,
"Watch your tone, Utahime Iori!"
"It is precisely because I am the leader of the Traditionalist Faction that I will never collude with Cursed Spirits. I am the one who can least accept Cursed Spirits, as is the faction I lead!"
"If we're talking about suspicion, that little girl whose gender was personally swapped by Mahito is far more suspicious than I am!"
Miyuki was startled, her expression flustered.
She didn't know if Yoshinobu Gakuganji was truly a spy for Mahito's side, but she really was a spy!
Shoko Ieiri raised her hand.
"Ah, I was the one who suggested Miyuki-chan join this meeting. She's always been very well-behaved; I can vouch for her."
Utahime Iori glanced at Shoko Ieiri and continued to berate Yoshinobu Gakuganji without hesitation:
"Miyuki has been acting right under Satoru's nose since her gender was changed, and she's never had any contact with Mahito's side."
"Her life has been entirely under our gaze."
"She is just a victim of Mahito testing his Idle Transfiguration ability, but you are completely different!"
Yoshinobu Gakuganji said coldly,
"This has nothing to do with whether she is innocent or not."
"As long as there is a sliver of risk, the source should be nipped in the bud."
"Since her body has already been transformed into a vessel for Mahito's incarnation, to prevent her body from losing control at a critical moment, she should be killed before that."
"That is the best course of action."
After those cold words were spoken, the atmosphere of the entire secret meeting changed.
These extremely rational words made everyone present feel uncomfortable.
But Utahime Iori's expression remained unchanged.
She stared fixedly at Yoshinobu Gakuganji and said coldly:
"Then you should commit seppuku even more!"
"I narrowly escaped from Mahito's headquarters."
"Guess where I went to their headquarters from?"
"Right in the Upper District of Kyoto!"
"Mahito specifically ordered an Intelligent Cursed Spirit capable of opening Spatial Gates to open the door, and they even conducted special patrols in Kyoto, treating it entirely as their own territory."
"Right under your nose!"
Yoshinobu Gakuganji did not refute this point.
After Utahime Iori returned, the information about Mahito had become almost completely public.
It was impossible to keep it hidden anyway; after all, the fact that the legendary Mahito could fight Gojo Satoru to a draw was too much of a shock for everyone.
Every Jujutsu Sorcerer who knew about this situation was frantically searching for information, and Utahime's information had already spread.
This was how the anonymous call Kinji Hakari received came about.
Kyoto was the territory of the Traditionalist Faction, and Yoshinobu Gakuganji was its leader.
Yet Mahito had blatantly opened a Spatial Gate in his territory and conducted a grand inspection, but no information had been transmitted to him.
Not to mention Utahime Iori—even Yoshinobu Gakuganji himself found it unbelievable.
It was no wonder Utahime Iori lost her temper with him immediately; this was indeed his negligence, and he had no defense.
Yoshinobu Gakuganji said in a muffled voice,
"This was my failure."
"After receiving the information, I personally went to that Spatial Gate."
"Unfortunately, Mahito had already removed it."
"Of course he would remove it," Utahime Iori's voice grew fierce.
"After all, if we investigated further, who knows who else we might find!"
Those words were too heavy.
Yoshinobu Gakuganji was so angry that he subconsciously widened his eyes.
Those eyes, usually hidden by his thick white eyebrows, snapped open like a benevolent Buddha suddenly turning into a wrathful one, accompanied by a momentary burst of Cursed Energy.
But Utahime Iori was not affected in the slightest.
She glared back fiercely at Yoshinobu Gakuganji, refusing to back down an inch.
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon! Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSim
Next Bonus Chapter at 700 Powerstones.