The "Veil" descended over the abandoned apartment complex, turning the afternoon sun into a murky, midnight sky. Yuji and Nobara had already disappeared into the maw of the building, leaving the three "observers" behind.
Gojo sat on the bumper of the car, swinging his legs like a child. Megumi stood a few paces away, his arms crossed, his eyes fixed on the entrance. Ren leaned against a concrete pillar, his hands deep in his pockets, his dark glasses reflecting the shimmering black wall of the Veil.
"So," Gojo broke the silence, glancing at Ren. "What do those Divine Eyes see in there, Ren-kun? Are our fledglings doing okay?"
Ren didn't move his head, but behind the lenses, the Tenseigan was active in its passive state. "Kugisaki is overconfident. Her heart rate is high—she's excited, not focused. Itadori is... chaotic. His cursed energy is leaking like a broken pipe."
"You speak like a veteran," Megumi said, looking at Ren. "You're our age, yet you look at this like it's a game of chess."
"When you can see the ending before the book starts, Megumi, everything feels like a game," Ren replied smoothly.
The Observation
Inside, a crash echoed. A wall on the second floor buckled.
"They found a big one," Megumi noted, his hand twitching toward a shadow sign. "Should we—"
"No," Ren interrupted. "A Grade 2 is cornering Nobara. She's been separated from Yuji. There's a child involved."
Gojo's grin didn't waver, but his "Six Eyes" were also tracking the movement. "Oh? A hostage situation. That's a tough first lesson. What's the play, Ren? You're the 'Insurance Policy' today."
Ren looked at the building. Through the layers of concrete, he saw the Curse holding the boy. He saw the fear in Nobara's eyes as she lowered her hammer.
"The play is growth," Ren said. "But..."
Suddenly, Ren's 12-Tomoe Rinne-Sharingan spun. He sensed a shift in the "spatial fabric." The curse wasn't just holding the boy; it was attempting to drag him into a sub-dimension—a "pocket" where neither Yuji nor Nobara could reach him.
"The curse is smarter than it looks," Ren whispered. "It's attempting a Partial Domain Shift."
5% Power: The Ghost Move
Without a sound, Ren straightened up. He didn't enter the building. He simply raised his left hand toward the sky.
"Rinne-Sharingan Technique: Law of the Third Tomoe – Gaki-no-Michi (Preta Path: Vacuum)."
Ren didn't absorb energy; he did something more subtle. He "pinched" the air.
Inside the building, the Curse opened a portal to pull the boy in. But suddenly, the portal didn't just close—it imploded. The gravitational pressure Ren exerted from outside the building was so precise it only hit the Curse's wrist.
CRACK.
The Curse's hand snapped like a dry twig, forced open by an invisible weight. The boy fell to the floor, and Nobara, seizing the moment, hammered a nail into the Curse's shadow.
"Resonance!" she screamed.
The Curse exploded into purple mist.
Outside the Veil
Outside, Megumi blinked. He had felt a momentary spike in the atmosphere—a heavy, "salty" smell of ancient power—and then it was gone. He looked at Ren. Ren's hand was back in his pocket.
"What did you just do?" Megumi asked, his voice low. "I felt the ground shake for a millisecond."
"I just gave the wind a little push," Ren said, his voice as calm as a graveyard.
Gojo chuckled, patting Megumi's head. "Don't sweat the details, Megumi-kun. Ren just performed a surgical strike from fifty meters away through three walls without breaking a single window. It's called 'Efficiency'."
A few minutes later, Yuji and Nobara walked out of the building, carrying the child. Nobara looked exhausted but proud. She walked straight up to the group, pointing at Ren.
"Hey! Did you see that?" she demanded. "I totally had it under control, but the curse just... let go. Did you do something, Glasses?"
Ren pushed his goggles up, the white-blue glow of the Tenseigan catching the light for a split second before he hid it again.
"You did the work, Nobara," Ren said, giving her a rare, small smirk. "I just made sure the boy didn't get lost in the dark."
Nobara's heart did a strange little flutter. She crossed her arms and huffed. "Tch. Whatever. As long as you were watching my 'city-style' exorcism."
"I was watching," Ren promised.
Gojo stood up. "Alright, kids! First mission is a success! Let's go get some high-end sushi. Ren's treated!"
"Wait, why me?" Ren asked.
"Because," Gojo laughed, "Gods don't need a paycheck, but students do!"