HRU: Chapter 227/228

Chapter 227: Tsukumo Yuki

The representative from the Kamo family immediately frowned and said again, "But with Gojo Satoshi's personality, even if we give the order under the name of the Jujutsu Headquarters, he probably won't obey so easily and hand over the finger, will he?"

Although Gojo Satoshi was no longer as much of a threat as before, his brother Gojo Satoru was still no ordinary person. More importantly, behind them stood the entire Gojo clan, along with sorcerer families that maintained strong ties with the Gojo family.

He didn't believe Satoshi would comply that easily. Otherwise, he wouldn't be Gojo Satoshi.

"Even if the Gojo family retrieved it, it was under Jujutsu High's name, right? As long as we spread the claim that Gojo Satoshi left Sukuna's finger at the school to monopolize its power, then even if we don't act ourselves, there will be plenty of people who want that finger. They'll go after Satoshi themselves."

"…Would others really believe that?"

"It doesn't matter whether they believe it or not.

Lord Ogi said all we need to do is claim that Sukuna's finger can restore Gojo Satoshi's Zanpakutō powers.

There are many in the jujutsu world who don't want to see him regain that strength.

Forget Jujutsu High. Even the Gojo family wouldn't be able to withstand the pressure of the entire jujutsu community."

The Kamo representative fell silent. After a sip of black tea, he nodded. "Alright. I'll report this to the clan head and move quickly."

"Pleasure doing business with you."

---

At that time, back at Jujutsu High.

Satoshi ended the call with Yagyū Hidetsugu and continued training. Since the opposing force hadn't made a move yet, there was no need to rush.

Right now, the top priority was to fully adapt to his body after nine years of slumber. That mattered more.

He had sparred yesterday with Toji and the others from the Yorozuya. Though he won, it was clear his physical adjustment wasn't yet perfect. There was still room to grow.

Still, he had only been awake for two or three days. Considering he had been asleep for nine years, that was already impressive.

But his thoughts soon returned to Sukuna's finger. Both the Zenin and Kamo families were formidable, especially the Kamo—quiet, methodical, and deeply entrenched. They were the real old foxes.

Even though he refused to hand over the finger, he knew they wouldn't give up.

It wouldn't be long before they acted.

But with him, Satoru, and Shoko at Jujutsu High, and the Gojo and Ieiri families backing them, the other side wouldn't dare try anything as crude as robbery.

If he was right, their plan would be to exert pressure through the Jujutsu Headquarters, targeting Jujutsu High and even the Gojo family.

The only question was what method they'd use.

Forget it. Let the enemy come. We'll deal with it then.

Satoshi shook his head and focused on practicing Zanjutsu and Hohō.

Suddenly, a sweet, familiar voice sounded from behind him.

"Hey, what kind of girl do you like?"

Satoshi was startled.

He turned toward the voice and was met with the sight of a tall blonde girl. Her long legs in tight jeans stood out, and she wore a bright, sweet smile.

But Satoshi wasn't paying attention to her legs. What caught him was her face. It felt so familiar. He'd definitely seen her somewhere before.

The image of a young girl slowly overlapped in his mind.

"Yuki?" he said, a bit surprised.

Behind her stood two more girls, both laughing. One wore the Jujutsu High uniform, and the other was dressed in a red-and-white shrine maiden outfit. Both looked to be around the same age as him.

The one in the shrine maiden outfit should be Iori Utahime. The one in uniform… Mei Mei?

She looked young, so Satoshi wasn't completely sure.

But that should be it.

He suddenly recalled what Shoko had said yesterday—Yaga Masamichi had asked her to receive the Kyoto Jujutsu High group coming for the exchange event. As for why he hadn't informed Satoshi or Satoru, it was because only Shoko was suited to receive them.

He had found that a little odd at the time.

Now, seeing Yuki and the others, Satoshi finally understood what Yaga meant.

Indeed, it would've been awkward to have him and Satoru do the welcoming.

"Long time no see, Satoshi," Yuki said with a bright smile.

Though she had already seen his appearance during the Cursed Corpse livestream, it was different seeing him in person.

"Yuki, long time no see," Satoshi replied with a smile.

She stared at him, then pouted teasingly. "Come on, Satoshi-kun. After nine years, that's how you greet me? So cold!"

"Uh… huh?"

Utahime covered her mouth and giggled. "So this is Gojo, the one who broke the fastest Special Grade record at Jujutsu High. I didn't think he'd be this aloof."

Mei Mei raised her eyebrows, studying Satoshi. A well-known name, even nine years ago.

Even though she was considered a prodigy at Kyoto Jujutsu High, after watching the footage of Satoshi exorcising Cursed Spirits, she had to admit the gap.

If Gojo Satoshi ends up our opponent in the exchange event, we're screwed.

Damn. I might not even get my hands on the prize money. That was a lot of spare cash too…

Mei Mei sighed internally.

Satoshi blinked. "Huh? Then… what would make me not seem aloof?"

Seeing her chance, Utahime's eyes gleamed. "Sensei, Mei Mei and I want ice cream!"

Mei Mei nodded. "If someone's buying, I don't mind."

Yuki smiled, turned to Satoshi, and batted her eyes. "I want ice cream too, Satoshi."

He shook his head and laughed. "Alright, let's go. There's a stall near the front gate."

He didn't mind. It had been years since they'd last seen each other. This was a good opportunity to reconnect with Yuki and maybe get a better read on what Kyoto's exchange team had planned.

"Yay!" Seeing that Satoshi really agreed to treat them, the three girls smiled and high-fived.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 228: The Mysterious Contestant from Kyoto High?

At the entrance of the shop, Satoshi sat on a bench, quietly eating ice cream.

"The exchange event should be starting soon. Why'd you all come early?" Satoshi asked curiously.

They had arrived a bit ahead of schedule.

Hearing this, Yuki glanced at Satoshi, who was staring at her. Her cheeks flushed immediately as she replied, "Because during the mission to retrieve one of Sukuna's fingers, assigned by the Curse Technique Administration, students from Tokyo Jujutsu High suffered serious injuries.

I heard Principal Gakuganji say that Tokyo Jujutsu High would be sending first-years to participate in the sister school goodwill event."

"So the principal sent us here to evaluate your new students' combat ability in advance."

After speaking, Yuki couldn't help but sneak another glance at Satoshi.

Nine years.

Satoshi had changed a lot in that time. His appearance had become much more striking than when he was a child.

Even though he wore sunglasses, concealing his pale blue eyes, the allure was still undeniable. Yuki couldn't take her eyes off him.

Satoshi didn't mind, or maybe he had simply grown used to the attention.

"I see."

Thinking about it, as the executive force under the Jujutsu Inspectorate, the students of Jujutsu High would naturally be involved in the retrieval of Sukuna's fingers.

Considering how dangerous the fingers were, casualties were unfortunately to be expected.

But now that Satoshi had awakened, there was no longer a need for others to risk themselves on such missions.

Except perhaps for Satoru and Suguru.

Utahime, recalling the video she'd watched the day before of Satoshi exorcising a cursed spirit, gave him a pitiful look and said, "That's right, Gojo-kun. I'm only a Grade 2 sorcerer, so please go easy on me. You should aim for Mei Mei instead!"

Mei Mei: "..."

Mei Mei immediately took a big bite out of Utahime's ice cream in retaliation, causing Utahime to flare up and start fighting back, almost in tears.

Seeing their expressions, Satoshi could tell they were joking. He shook his head with a faint smile and said, "We'll talk about the exchange meeting later. I'm not even sure if Principal Sekiguchi or Yaga-sensei plan to have me participate."

He suspected Yaga might want him to compete.

But after he destroyed Sukuna's finger, who knew?

If the opponents were only at Mei Mei and Utahime's level, he had little interest in something so juvenile.

Unless Kyoto's last team member was actually strong, Satoru and Suguru could probably handle it on their own.

He didn't need to get involved.

Yuki seemed to catch on to what he was thinking and smiled mysteriously. "Satoshi, don't underestimate us. If your school doesn't send you out and takes things lightly, you might end up paying for it."

"Let me tell you a secret. Our last teammate is our trump card."

Hearing that, Satoshi paused, then nodded to himself.

Right. Yuki, being the team leader, wouldn't participate in the actual battle. If their team only had Mei Mei and Utahime, then Kyoto High School would… well, be pretty underwhelming.

So, if everything followed the usual pattern, their final member should be quite strong—possibly Grade 1, maybe even near Special Grade. No one knew who it was yet.

Of course, it was also possible that Yuki was just teasing him.

She was known to toss around half-truths during casual conversations.

Satoshi didn't bother trying to figure out if she was serious.

No matter how strong or mysterious the opponent was, it didn't matter to him.

They weren't going to be a match for him anyway.

(To be continued.)