Chapter 177

Fushiguro Megumi and Gojo Satoru took a car to the hospital that Tennen Riko had reported and went straight to the ward.

When the door opened, Gojo Satoru immediately saw that Tennori Riko, Kuroi Misato, and Hato Kazuma were all there, but the atmosphere was extremely oppressive, and apart from the occasional soft sobs, no one spoke.

"Tsumiki! Tsumiki! Big sister!"

Megumi Fushiguro rushed straight to Miki Fushiguro's bedside—no matter how many times she called out, there was no response; she remained lying quietly with her eyes closed, as if she had fallen into an ordinary, peaceful sleep.

“It’s no use,” Riko Tenn slowly shook her head, her voice very low.

"Ichima said she was cursed."

Above Fushiguro Miki's brow, a scarlet curse mark, as if made of blood ink, was emerging.

The flustered Fushiguro Megumi also saw the striking curse mark—he abruptly turned his head to look at Hagoromo Kazuma, almost unable to suppress his loss of composure.

Is there...is there a way to undo this?

“We can only ask Satoru to help dispel this remote link spell for now,” Kazuma Hatori shook his head slightly. “We are still looking into the specific cause of the coma.”

He was 100% certain that Ryosaku was dead, but now Fushiguro Miki was still cursed.

According to Riko Tenten, the first person to discover the house, there were no signs of forced entry or breaking and entering. Miki Fushiguro, who was lying on the ground, did not struggle at all, as if everything was peaceful and quiet.

The only change was to the shoe cabinet placed in the entryway.

Miki Fushiguro prepared unique slippers for Riko Tennen, Misato Kuroi, Satoru Gojo, Kazuma Hatori, and Suguru Natsuyu, each with a different style that made them easy to distinguish.

Since Natsumi and Kazuma hadn't visited the Fushiguro family for a long time, their slippers had gradually been moved to the bottom shelf due to infrequent use; however, Fushiguro Miki would still frequently take them out and clean them thoroughly to ensure they wouldn't be covered in dust when needed.

Just as Riko discovered that Fushiguro Miki was unconscious, she also noticed that the slippers belonging to Natsuyuki had been tampered with—perhaps the other party had put them back exactly as they were, but the dust on the soles was still different from that of Kazuma Hatori's pair.

By piecing together these clues, Kazuma Hatori was able to deduce the general situation at the scene:

Xia Youjie deliberately chose to visit on a day when neither Gojo Satoru nor Fushiguro Megumi were home. Fushiguro Miki happily took out his slippers and put them on for him. Then, without any warning, she was knocked unconscious by Xia Youjie, and an unknown curse was planted on her.

Was it the method that Lu Suo gave him? Sure enough, during Xia Youjie's time as the leader of the Panxing Cult, it had been secretly contacting Xia Youjie through [Huzhang Kaori]'s body.

It was probably with the intention that even if the plan to obtain Xia Youjie's remains failed, Xia Youjie could still inherit his will.

That guy was too cunning; he had already realized that Kazuma Hatake and Natsuyuki might not have truly defected—if it weren't for the [Eight-Phase Wheel Card] that could perfectly mimic them, the final assassination plan might not have gone so smoothly.

Even so, their backup plan succeeded, and their enemy changed from Lu Suo to Xia Youjie.

The current situation is similar to that of the comatose person before. Gojo Satoru can dispel the remote link spell used for marking, but he cannot wake up Fushiguro Miki.

"There's only one piece of news that can barely be considered good news,"

After confirming that the curse mark on Fushiguro Tsuki's forehead had disappeared, Gojo Satoru comforted her, "At least the enemy can no longer use this link mark to launch a ranged spell and cause secondary damage to Tsuki."

Megumi Fushiguro, who was staring intently at Miki Fushiguro, did not respond, but her tense shoulders visibly relaxed.

“As for how to wake Tsumiki up… don’t worry,” Gojo Satoru said, “Ichima and I will find a way.”

"Really? That's great, oh my..."

Regardless of whether Fushiguro Megumi believed Gojo Satoru's assurance, Nenori Riko, who always trusted Gojo Satoru and Hatake Kazuma one hundred percent, breathed a sigh of relief and replied with tears in her eyes.

Gojo Satoru patted her head to comfort her after a long time—just like during the [Astrop] incident, he firmly protected Tennori Riko under his wing, without wavering.

"There will be a way," he said.

Fukuguro suddenly spoke up: "Was it Xia Youjie who did it?"

After hearing Riko's description, how could he not deduce who the culprit was?

"Don't overthink it. With your current strength, even if you find him, there's nothing you can do."

Gojo Satoru patted Fushiguro Megumi on the shoulder and bluntly pointed out the truth—even if we put it highly, Megumi currently only has the strength of a level 2 sorcerer, and going to fight against a special-grade sorcerer like Natsuyuki is tantamount to suicide.

"You just focus on your studies, I'll take care of the rest."

“…”

Looking at the still unconscious Fushiguro Miki, Fushiguro Megumi remained silent for a long time before replying in a low voice.

"I see."

………

As the sun gradually set, Riko Tennen, Misato Kuroi, Kazuma Hatori, and Satoru Gojo left Miki Fushiguro's hospital room one after another. Only Megumi Fushiguro said that he wanted to stay alone for a while and stayed behind by himself.

On the way back, Gojo Satoru was unusually quiet, his expression almost solemn.

He usually displays an effortless ease in handling any situation, and rarely shows such a serious or solemn expression.

"Enlightenment".

It wasn't until Kazuma Hato called his name that Gojo Satoru snapped out of his reverie and turned to look at his lover, who was clearly worried about his condition.

The two stared at each other for a moment, and Gojo Satoru seemed to relax a lot as if he had just realized that there was someone else beside him. He even smiled and reached out to hook his arm around Hato Kazuma's shoulder.

"What's wrong? Are you worried about me?"

Kazuma Hatori nodded, "Hmm." After thinking for a moment, he added, "If Satoru can't bring himself to do it, then I'll kill Natsuyuu-geki."

Wu had the camaraderie of classmates, but he didn't.

He could simply be a cold-blooded and ruthless Sirius shark.

"……puff."

Looking into Kazuma Hagoromo's unwavering gaze, Gojo Satoru, who was hallucinating about Kuroko Shiba, couldn't help but let out a slight laugh, which made his expression no longer as cold and solemn as before.

"I didn't say I couldn't do it."

Satoru Gojo spoke slowly, but his voice was extremely steady, without any hesitation or reluctance. "If Jie has done something irreparable, he needs to pay the price for it."

"and……"

This time, he clearly showed some hesitation, as if he was considering whether or not to tell Kazuma Hatori.

Kazuma Hatori mimicked the cute gesture that Satoru Gojo often used, tilting his head slightly at him: "Hmm?"

“…cough,” Gojo Satoru laughed again, amused by him. “But now that I think about it…everything is traceable, starting from when I thought we were fighting side by side.”

One by one, the streetlights leading home lit up, illuminating the winding yet smooth road ahead and lengthening the two shadows that stood side by side.

Tall trees provide shade on both sides, and neatly arranged low shrubs extend along the road, which, under the night sky, only serve to highlight a rich and deep dark green, but do not feel frightening.

"At the time, I thought it was because Jay was a good actor. Now that I think about it, maybe back then, he really started to question the irreconcilable deadlock between the world of sorcery and ordinary society."

“Cursed spirits vary in strength, and they are all born from the negative emotions accumulated by ordinary people. Low-level cursed spirits are naturally easy to deal with, and even auxiliary supervisors can help to exorcise them.”

"But the number of powerful cursed spirits is increasing year by year, while sorcerers who cannot create cursed spirits are exhausted from rescuing ordinary people from those cursed spirits who may not be grateful to them, until they fall completely in this endless battle."

"Jay once upheld the belief that the strong should protect the weak, but in his final year at the vocational college, he began to question whether it was necessary for sorcerers to go all the way down this path. Simply exorcising cursed spirits was merely a stopgap measure; it would be better to let sorcerers, who were originally strong, die in battles with cursed spirits—and those cursed spirits were originally born from the malice of the weak."

These thoughts about sorcerers, spirits, and ordinary people may have some merit, but the solution can never be the [evolution of all mankind] that Xia Youjie insists on now.

Not to mention his indifference to the number of innocent people he sacrificed on his path toward this goal.

Kazuma Hatori didn't say these words aloud, because he knew that Satoshi must have already thought about them as well.

"So... I don't agree with his approach. When we staged a breakup on the streets of Shinjuku, he said, 'If I could be you, would I not have so much trouble, and would those absurd ideas be somewhat feasible?'... I guess that was his true feeling."

Gojo Satoru raised his head, his misty blue eyes now dimmed, calmly reflecting the twinkling stars in the night sky.

Even within [Six Eyes]'s field of vision, every object was covered with too many and too subtle remnants of cursed power. Along with the automatic intelligence analysis that could never stop receiving information, it was like an all-pervasive miasma, drifting in every crevice he could see, filling his brain that had to maintain a high-energy-consuming operation at all times.

Even so, Gojo Satoru still thought that the starry sky tonight was very beautiful.

Whether it's the vibrant flowers and plants growing in the countryside, the whales and dolphins leaping out of the boundless sea, or the neon lights of a bustling city, he felt from the bottom of his heart that they were all very beautiful.

"Doesn't Satoru find it exhausting to constantly exorcise cursed spirits? Plus the duties of a teacher and head of the family... he's been getting less and less time off lately." He heard Kazuma Hatori speak up, "If one day Satoru doesn't want to continue being a jujutsu master, I'll support him."

Gojo Satoru smiled.

It was not a mocking or sarcastic laugh; nor was it a resigned or passive laugh.

He was simply happy for the pure joy in his heart, and when those unique blue eyes looked at Kazuma Hagoromo again, they were firm and bright, like a pioneer lighting a huge bonfire alone on a vast snowfield.

"No, I never thought about not becoming a sorcerer, and I didn't help others for gratitude or reward."

Gojo Satoru gently pressed his forehead against Hagoromo Kazuma's, as if to comfort his worries—but at the same time, every word he uttered was powerful and resolute, just like that golden, innocent heart that had never wavered despite witnessing countless deaths and the darkness of humanity.

"This has nothing to do with whether I am the [strongest] or not. I just want to do it, so I am willing to keep doing it. Even if I feel tired sometimes, I don't need other people's understanding or gratitude to continue."

If doing something requires a reason, how can it be considered voluntary? It's just another transaction, whether tangible or intangible.

While Kazuma Hatori couldn't help but worry, he also knew that this was the choice that Goku had made.

Whether it's the first or second playthrough, from the very first time he met Gojo Satoru, this unwavering strength has remained constant, enough to make his heart flutter countless times.

Seeing Kazuma Hatori's expression, Satoru Gojo couldn't help but laugh again, and simply kissed his lover, who was always speaking up for him, to show that he really didn't need to worry about him.

But Gojo Satoru knew that he was actually very happy at that moment—to have someone who always stood by his side, sharing his heart without reservation, and walking side by side without any worries.

“Even if Jay’s method of [evolving all of humanity] is feasible, I do not accept the so-called [ideal] that requires killing innocent people to achieve.”

When he said this, Gojo Satoru frowned, clearly doubting whether the method Xia Youjie was currently practicing was truly "feasible".

“It’s not just Tsumiki who’s been marked, and this is definitely not the last step in Xia Youjie’s plan.”

"We need to be prepared to deal with this."

The stars and the bright moon were obscured by dark clouds, and a storm was brewing.

………

When Fushiguro Megumi enrolled in Jujutsu High School the following April, Hato Kazuma also bought a Shinkansen ticket to Sugisawa Third High School in Sendai.

Just in case, Ryomen Sukuna's fingers were no longer placed in the louvered box at that high school. His goal for this journey was simply to find the boy that Itadori Yamasuke had entrusted to his care last week, whose name was—

"Are you Hisahito Itadori?"

A low voice sounded on the road at night, calling out to the cherry-haired boy who had just come out of the hospital and was about to walk home.

"Oh, it's me... May I ask who you are?"

Confused, Hisahito Itadori scratched his head and turned around to look at the stranger who had called out to him.

Before him stood a boy with a strange hair color that was a mix of magenta and pure white, wearing a kasaya and sporting a bob haircut.