HRU: Chapter 230/231

Chapter 230: To Destroy Sukuna's Fingers

Satoshi looked up, his gaze sweeping across everyone in the room. He took off his sunglasses, revealing those captivating azure eyes once again.

He spoke calmly, "It's not to restore my strength. I want to use my Zanpakutō to completely destroy Sukuna's finger."

Satoshi's voice echoed with firm conviction.

At the same time, his Zanpakutō, Sode no Shirayuki, appeared in his hand, releasing a gentle stream of ice crystals that filled the room with an intense chill.

In just moments, the classroom's temperature dropped several degrees.

Except for Satoru, everyone's attention was instantly drawn to the beautiful, moon-white blade.

Beads of sweat the size of soybeans formed on Yaga Masamichi's forehead.

Suguru stared at Sode no Shirayuki's breathtaking blade, swallowing unconsciously.

He now fully understood—the contents of that report were definitely baseless rumors.

Satoshi's Zanpakutō was clearly functioning perfectly. Even standing behind Satoru, Suguru could still feel the overwhelming pressure radiating from the blade.

If this was considered a broken Zanpakutō in need of repair, then every Cursed Tool in the jujutsu world should be thrown away.

Shoko widened her eyes, trying to imprint Satoshi's stance into her memory.

I knew it. Satoshi's strength was never in doubt. He easily exorcised a Cursed Spirit that had devoured a Sukuna Finger. Why would he even need to rely on its power?

As she watched him summon his Zanpakutō, a bright smile appeared on her face.

Everyone was captivated by the blade. They didn't even register what Satoshi had said next.

Only Satoru, who already knew Satoshi's Zanpakutō was perfectly intact, caught the second half of his sentence.

He frowned and looked at him. "Hey, Satoshi, what are you saying? Destroying Sukuna's finger? That's impossible!"

Born into the Gojo family, one of the Big Three Sorcerer Families, Satoru was well aware that for over a thousand years, countless sorcerers had tried to destroy Sukuna's fingers, hoping to eliminate the disaster at its source.

But not a single one succeeded.

Sukuna's fingers couldn't be destroyed, only sealed. That had become an accepted law in the world of jujutsu.

Everyone froze when they heard Satoru's response.

They had finally realized what Satoshi said earlier—that he intended to destroy the Sukuna Finger completely.

How could that be possible?

The same thought ran through all their minds.

But Yaga didn't immediately refute him. Instead, he frowned and asked, "Satoshi, what exactly are you planning?"

Although he didn't believe it was possible to destroy a Sukuna Finger, hearing Satoshi's idea couldn't hurt.

As a teacher at Jujutsu High, he had no objections. Too many students had lost their lives to Sukuna's cursed remnants.

If Satoshi had a way to destroy them, that was a good thing. He was just confused.

Satoshi glanced at the curious stares around him and smiled helplessly. "Let's try using your Cursed Energy output first. If that fails, I'll use my Zanpakutō."

Everyone's heartbeat quickened. They all looked toward Yaga.

They wanted to see how the school would respond.

Yaga stroked his chin, thinking. "The order we received from the Jujutsu Headquarters was only to keep the fingers out of the school."

"If you're serious about trying to destroy them, Jujutsu High has no objections."

The moment Yaga confirmed this, Satoru's eyes lit up with excitement. "Satoshi, you really know how to stir things up. How about we make it a competition? Let's see who can destroy a Sukuna Finger first."

He also wanted to test it. If he went all out, could the finger really be destroyed?

Suguru was equally interested. "That's not a bad idea."

Though he was currently a Grade 1 sorcerer, his Cursed Energy output was on par with a Special Grade.

If he poured everything into this, he just might stand a chance.

Shoko laughed. "Well, since all the boys are in, I'll give it a go too."

She might not have much impact in combat, but when it came to raw energy output, she was no less capable than Satoru or Suguru.

Satoru blinked, a little confused. "Wait, Shoko, what's the point of you joining in?"

Suguru quickly reached out to stop him. "Satoru, don't forget. The positive output from Reverse Cursed Technique might have a unique effect on Sukuna's Finger. Cursed Spirits are especially weak to that energy."

Satoru's expression shifted as realization struck.

That's true. This kind of power could deal significant damage to cursed entities. It's just that in real combat, Shoko had no offensive spells, and most Cursed Spirits wouldn't stand still to be blasted by her output.

Satoru scratched his head and grinned. "Got it. Alright, Shoko. If we can destroy these two Sukuna Fingers, we'll go down in jujutsu history."

"No, not just two."

Everyone turned to the source of the voice—Satoshi.

He looked at them and said seriously, "There are four more at the Gojo estate. We'll destroy those too."

Everyone froze.

"For real?"

Satoshi nodded and was about to explain further when a tremor suddenly shook the area surrounding Jujutsu High.

Yaga's expression changed slightly. "It's the school barrier. Someone's attacking it. It must be the Kamo and Zenin families. They've arrived."

The room instantly went on high alert. Except for Suguru, everyone there was from a sorcerer family.

And Suguru was no amateur either.

Although Yaga had already reinforced the barrier ahead of time, there was no telling if anyone had slipped in.

They were all seasoned fighters, not easily caught off guard.

After all, Jujutsu High was a core division of the Jujutsu Headquarters. The Three Great Families were intimately familiar with its layout.

Satoshi quickly issued commands. "Alright, let's move fast. Teacher Yaga, hold them off at the front gate. Satoru and Suguru, guard the two Sukuna Fingers!"

He then turned to Shoko and said firmly, "Shoko, get the storage unit released. You're coming with me to retrieve the other four from the Gojo family!"

Satoshi stayed calm under pressure and quickly organized the group.

The others thought through the plan. It made sense. No loopholes. They immediately agreed.

"Alright. You two take the back route. Go and return quickly with Shoko!" Yaga said seriously. "Satoru, Suguru, come with me to get the fingers!"

(To be continued.)

Chapter 231: Rumors Stop at the Wise

Satoru patted Satoshi on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry. No one will get their hands on those two fingers unless they step over my dead body!"

Satoshi rolled his eyes at him, clearly unimpressed. "Don't act cool. If it really comes down to that, just hand it over. Worst case, we'll take it back later."

Satoru: "..."

Shoko and Suguru both struggled to hold back their laughter.

As expected, only Satoshi could cure Satoru's swollen ego.

Infuriated, Satoru grabbed Suguru's shoulders and barked, "Suguru, what are you laughing at? Come with me to check on the Sukuna Finger!"

Satoru and Suguru followed Yaga Masamichi out.

Satoshi turned to Shoko and smiled. "Alright, Shoko, let's move. If we don't, the school might not hold much longer."

He took her wrist and quickly headed for the back gate.

Shoko responded by summoning Minazuki.

...

A few minutes later, the school gate opened.

Yaga led Satoru and the others to the entrance. The moment he saw the crowd waiting outside, his expression shifted.

They'd expected a lot of people, but not this many.

Thankfully, the Kyoto Jujutsu High delegation had also shown up in support. As sister schools, they couldn't ignore a situation like this—especially when the one being accused was Satoshi, who had just treated them to ice cream.

At the very least, they wanted to hear the full story.

With Kyoto High's arrival, the defensive force at Tokyo Jujutsu High strengthened considerably, especially with top-grade sorcerers like Satoru and Yuki present.

The faces of the accusers darkened visibly.

Yaga immediately noticed Zenin Ogi among them, along with several representatives from the Kamo clan and some minor families who were affiliated with the Jujutsu General Administration.

Ogi scowled at Yaga. "Yaga Masamichi, do you even understand what you're doing? Obstructing officials from the Jujutsu General Administration is punishable by death!"

Yaga crossed his arms and looked straight at him. "Death penalty? Sorry, Mr. Zenin, but we at Jujutsu High are also following orders from the Jujutsu General Administration."

Zenin Ogi's face twisted in rage. He pulled out a document. "That's not the latest order! This is the latest directive from the Minister himself—reclaim the Sukuna Fingers and open an investigation into Gojo Satoshi, who poses a major threat to the jujutsu world!"

Hearing that, Yuki glanced at Yaga, then turned to Satoru, frowning. "Satoru, what's going on? Where's Satoshi?"

She didn't understand why so many were mobilized, or why they were targeting Satoshi.

An investigation of this magnitude? That was bordering on accusing him of treason. Even if it hadn't reached that stage, their aggressive stance left little room for trust.

Satoru didn't hide anything. He explained everything to Yuki.

He hadn't yet had the chance to explain Satoshi's plan, though.

Yuki narrowed her eyes as she stared at the crowd. "So, these people are here to cause trouble for Satoshi?"

Just then, Yaga spoke calmly, narrowing his eyes. "Gojo Satoshi has no intention of taking the Sukuna Fingers stored at Jujutsu High. His goal is to destroy them—these Special Grade Cursed Objects—completely."

For a moment, the crowd was silent.

Then laughter broke out at the gate.

Ogi smirked at Yaga. "Do you hear yourself? Destroy Sukuna's Fingers? That's a weak excuse. You're just trying to avoid handing them over."

The others joined in.

"Exactly. You really think you can fool us with something like that?"

"No one has destroyed a Sukuna Finger in over a thousand years. Even if someone tried, it's impossible!"

"Yeah, Sukuna's Fingers are indestructible. What, you think Gojo Satoshi wants to 'borrow' them to repair that broken Zanpakutō of his?"

Yaga exhaled and kept his voice steady. "What I said is true. Satoshi intends to destroy not just the two Fingers stored at the school, but also the four others that the Gojo family has kept over the past nine years."

"If you don't want to interfere, we can arrange a livestream to broadcast the entire event."

This was Satoshi's request. He didn't want to be misunderstood anymore. Broadcasting it live was the best way to silence the rumors.

Hearing that, the faction leaders exchanged glances and started whispering among themselves.

After a moment, Zenin Ogi stepped forward, squinting at Yaga. "Fine. We'll give Satoshi a chance. But if he fails to destroy the fingers, the Jujutsu General Administration will reclaim them—all of them, including the four at the Gojo estate."

Yaga looked toward Satoru and Suguru. Satoru nodded subtly.

Seeing that, Yaga responded, "Alright. We accept your condition. Please proceed to the plaza."

He let out a breath of relief.

No one had ever succeeded in destroying a Sukuna Finger before. Still, he believed in Satoshi. He wasn't just any sorcerer—and they had Satoru, too.

There was a chance.

If they could destroy even one finger in public, they could justify keeping the others at the school.

They had Suguru, with his immense Cursed Energy output. Satoru, a true Special Grade sorcerer. Shoko, a master of the Reverse Cursed Technique. And finally, Satoshi's Zanpakutō as their trump card.

If their target was just a finger, then maybe, just maybe, they could do it.

Yaga soon lowered the barrier and led everyone to the same plaza from last time.

...

At that moment, news that Gojo Satoshi would livestream the destruction of Sukuna's Fingers spread like wildfire across the jujutsu world.

Trailing behind Yaga, Iori Utahime glanced at the serious faces of Satoru and the others. She couldn't stay quiet anymore and asked, "Yuki-sensei, is Satoshi really planning to destroy a Sukuna Finger? Isn't that too reckless? And he's going to livestream it?"

Mei Mei whispered, "It's definitely a risky move. It almost looks like a setup. If they fail, not only will they lose the school's fingers, but even the Gojo family's nine years of effort might go to waste."

Although they were from Kyoto High, they were still loyal to their sister school. Tokyo High and Kyoto High came from the same roots.

(To be continued.)