Chapter 5: The Late Arrival of Zen'in Shinsuke, the Death of Gojo Satoru
Inside a quiet coffee shop, Zen'in Shinsuke sat down across from a man who claimed to know Zen'in Toji's whereabouts.
At first glance, Kong Shiu froze.
"Toji? Wait… no. You're not him."
The man before him bore an uncanny resemblance to Toji—seven, maybe eight parts alike—which had caught Kong Shiu off guard. But having dealt with Toji frequently, he quickly realized this wasn't the same person.
"Hello," the stranger said politely with a faint smile. "I'm Toji's elder brother, Zen'in Shinsuke. Could you tell me where he is now?"
"Brother? Toji has a brother? Funny, he never mentioned that."
Kong Shiu didn't doubt him though. With a face like that in front of him, it was hard not to believe.
"Well, if you want to find Toji, you might just have to wait. Today's the final day of his mission. If things go well, he should come by to collect the rest of his payment. Even if he fails, he'll give me an explanation."
Kong Shiu spoke casually, then raised his cup. "If you're not in a hurry, we could share a dri—huh?"
Before he could finish, the man was gone. At some point, Shinsuke had vanished without a sound.
"Toji's brother, eh? Interesting."
Kong Shiu drained the last sip of his coffee and stood. He had a sinking feeling: the assassin he had worked with for years might fail this time.
But it didn't matter to him. He was only the middleman.
---
Meanwhile, inside the barrier of Jujutsu High, the two prodigies—Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru—finally succeeded in escorting the Star Plasma Vessel, Riko Amanai, to safety.
Everyone exhaled in relief. Inside the barrier, no assassin could enter without being detected.
"Finally… I'm exhausted," Gojo muttered, stretching with a look of irritation mixed with weariness. "Next time, I'm not babysitting again."
He hadn't slept in three days. Fatigue weighed on him, but the heaviness in his gaze came from something else—the thought that Amanai, who had shared precious days with them, would soon be absorbed by Master Tengen.
Merging, they called it. But in truth, it was no different from death.
"These past few days… were the happiest of my life. Thank you."
Amanai's eyes shone with gratitude, not complaint. She had always believed she liked solitude, but now she realized it was because she had never known true companionship.
"I don't want thanks from a kid."
Gojo's words carried mock disdain, yet the slight upward curl of his lips betrayed his pride.
Geto just smiled with narrowed eyes, saying nothing.
Beside them, Kuroi stood silently, her face tight with reluctance. After all this time caring for Amanai, was this really their farewell?
"Shhhk!"
The moment of respite shattered. A flash of steel pierced through the air—a long blade drove clean through Gojo's body, bursting out his chest.
Blood cascaded down the weapon, soaking his clothes.
Everyone froze, eyes wide with horror.
"Gojo!" Geto roared, cursed energy surging violently. With a snap, a rift opened in the air, and a grotesque curse spirit crawled through with a guttural snarl.
But Gojo stood as if unfazed, turning to study the man who had impaled him.
"Have we met before?" he asked casually.
The man pulled his blade free, smiling faintly. "No need to remember me. I'm not great at keeping men's names in mind either."
"Dodged the vitals, huh? Impressive. As expected of the Gojo clan's once-in-a-century prodigy."
In the instant he spoke, the massive curse lunged forward, maw gaping like an abyss, and swallowed him whole.
"Geto," Gojo said calmly, eyes fixed ahead. "Take Amanai to Tengen. I'll handle this one."
Geto hesitated for a moment, then acted—grabbing Riko Amanai and rushing toward Tengen's sanctum.
Gojo Satoru stayed behind, facing off against the infamous sorcerer killer—Fushiguro Toji.
"Shhhk—shhhk—shhhk!"
The moment Geto departed, a massive curse spirit was impaled by a wide, bloodstained blade. Toji emerged, hefting his cleaver-like sword, his body drenched in blood, a grotesque curse coiling faintly around him.
He stared at the baffled Gojo, then, almost arrogantly, laid out his entire scheme.
The bounty? His doing. The mission deadline? Also his. His aim was simple: weaken the targets, then trick Gojo into lowering his guard when the mission time expired and his Infinity was deactivated.
And Toji, born without cursed energy, could slip in and out of Jujutsu High undetected by its barrier. All he had to do was lie in wait, biding his time until Gojo finally relaxed—then strike with a lethal blow.
As for Geto Suguru? Toji dismissed him as irrelevant.
"So that's how it is."
Gojo grinned, spreading his arms. A powerful, unnatural pulling force began to gather in his palms.
"My turn now, isn't it?"
Out of respect for his opponent, Gojo unleashed a devastating attack. At his command, Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue warped space itself—a focal point in front of him collapsed into a void, radiating the signature blue glow of the technique. Instantly, everything in the vicinity, including chunks of rubble and shattered structures, was violently drawn inward as reality tried to fill the absolute emptiness at the heart of the effect.
Windows shattered and buildings buckled as the world collapsed toward the singularity, crushing and tearing everything in its path. Gojo intended to leave nowhere for his enemy to hide.
As the dust settled, he focused, stretching his senses. Even if Toji had no cursed energy, he carried a weak curse. Gojo could use that trace to track him down.
"Bzzzt… bzzzt…"
But before he could lock on, dozens of tiny fly-like curses appeared around him. The swarm clouded his perception completely.
"Tch. Annoying pests."
He was about to unleash Blue again to clear them out—when a sudden realization struck.
His expression shifted. "No… damn it! His target isn't me!"
Gojo whirled around—
"Heh… finally using your Infinity defensively?"
Toji's figure materialized behind him, short, reversed-blade dagger in hand. The muscles on his arm bulged, veins straining as he thrust forward.
"Riiip—!"
The blade pulsed with strange cursed energy, tearing through Gojo's Infinity. The edge drove into the side of his neck.
With ruthless precision, Toji slashed, splitting half of Gojo's torso open.
"Shhhk—shhhk—shhhk!"
His arm blurred, stabbing Gojo's body over and over in a merciless storm of strikes. The final blow came down hard on Gojo's skull.
Crack!
Gojo's eyes went lifeless. His body collapsed into a spreading pool of blood, breath fading into silence.
Toji, face expressionless, calmly sheathed his blade and strode deeper into Jujutsu High.
He knew Gojo's perception was razor-sharp—so sharp that Toji hadn't been sure he could kill him head-on. That was why he had crafted his layered plan to systematically wear him down.
And in the end, the victor was him.
---
Minutes later, Zen'in Shinsuke arrived belatedly. His eyes fell on Gojo's bloody, fallen form, and his head immediately throbbed.
"You've got to be kidding me. Did you really have to go this far, this fast? …Let's just hope I'm not too late."
His legs coiled with strength, launching him like a shadow deeper into the school grounds.
Already, he could sense something stirring inside Gojo's broken body—a shift, an awakening.
Simply put, Gojo was stepping onto the path of a haxxed existence.
This kind of guy? He wouldn't die—not until the very endgame.
Shinsuke sighed inwardly. If it came to it, he'd have to intervene elsewhere. And if worst came to worst… he was ready to grab Okkotsu and run.
Because he doubted his current strength could withstand the storm about to be unleashed—the rise of the man destined to become the Strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer alive.