Tsurugi sat down as Yuka said, "Aliens? That's a wild leap you're making there."
Tsurugi looked to her, saying, "It's what the Curse User told me. He said Aliens have come here."
Suzuki's eyes sparkled as he asked, "So there's more of them?! I gotta ask Maru to introduce me."
Before Suzuki could rush off, Tsurugi leaned forward, grabbed his shirt and stopped him.
"Hey, come on. Let me go."
Suzuki complained as Tsurugi said, "Hey, idiot. Don't just head towards Aliens like it's no big deal!"
Suzuki looked to Tsurugi and said, "But honestly, Maru seemed like a good guy. I want to see if the rest of them are like that. Besides, the more we know about them, the better. That's true no matter if they turn out to be future friends or enemies or even just neighbours."
Tsurugi sighed, thinking, 'There's that creepy switch he has. Going from bumbling idiot to eerily smart.'
Tsurugi then said, "All diplomatic missions with the aliens have been Japan's responsibility since the security treaty. And apparently, the Inspector General says the aliens are being treated as a Special-Grade threat on par with Ryomen Sukuna."
Yuka sweated in surprise, asking, "And you believe it?"
Suzuki froze there, thinking, 'Ryomen Sukuna? That guy? Who...'
His face darkened for a while, but he shook away the feeling, and then he heard Yuka's voice as she said, "Well, we should go check it out. Suzuki's right about that much."
Tsurugi then said, "We can't. Usami introduced Maru to us as an Inspector from the state party of the security treaty. Even if Maru is an alien, they wouldn't share that kind of intel with grunts like us just yet."
Yuka looked annoyed, saying, "Who said we'd check with Usami?"
Tsurugi held his chin, saying, "Not to mention. I can't trust Maru yet."
Suzuki sighed, saying, "Well, you're not wrong about that. He could just be putting on an act, and it's not like we can check them to see if he's lying. After all, if he's an alien, then his biology would be completely different to ours. That includes his emotional tells. Rather than getting a read on him, it would be better to pray for the heavens to send down Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to do it for us."
Tsurugi sighed and said, "Pretty much."
Tsurugi's eyes widened, and he said, "Oh! That's right!"
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The trio stood before a projected seethrough barrier as the Curse User was on the other side, saying, "I knew you'd come."
Suzuki deadpanned, saying, "You're not Lex Luthor waiting for Superman. Can you not say something as cringe as [I knew you'd come]?"
Suzuki stuck out his tongue in disgust as the Curse User looked annoyed before asking, "You want to know about the Aliens, right?"
Tsurugi looked to him and asked, "First, why don't ya start with how you got the info about the aliens in the first place?"
The Curse User said, "Well, just assume that basically any info managed digitally will be leaked."
"You took advantage of the fact that the government is trying to maintain their systems in the wake of Artificial Intelligence to get leaked data."
Suzuki said this as the Curse User laughed, saying, "Oh wow. Absolutely right. They really should start switching back to paper records. Hehe. I'm impressed, though. You're smarter than these two idiots."
Yuka got a tick mark as she asked, "Can I punch this guy?"
Suzuki sighed, saying, "Don't blame me if you break your hand on the Projection Barrier."
The Curse User then said, "The Aliens. They call themselves Simurians."
Suzuki grabbed his chin, saying, "Simurians, huh? How many are here?"
Yuka looked to him and asked, "Wait, Suzuki. Are you really buying this?"
Suzuki nodded, saying, "I can't tell if Aliens are lying, but I can definitely tell when Humans are. And he isn't lying. He's either telling the truth, or he's not well in the head."
The Curse User smiled and said, "50,000. There are 50,000 aliens on a mothership floating above this country as we speak."
Suzuki's eyes widened, thinking, 'There's potential for every one of them being high-level Sorcerers. No wonder they're being considered as a Special-Grade threat on par with Ryomen Sukuna.'
Tsurugi sweated, saying, "50,000. Damn, that's enough to basically fill Koshien Stadium to capacity."
Tsurugi looked to him and asked, "How the hell could a Spaceship that big be floating above us with nobody noticing?"
He replied, saying, "A Barrier Technique like a curtain. I'm sure. Or it could be some advanced Alien tech we don't know about yet. Either way, they travelled through space to get here. They can probably be self-sufficient on that ship to an extent. But they'll hit a limit at some point. So supplies gotta be brought before that happens. It's happening tomorrow at 8 pm, at Kurumayama Highlands in Nagano prefecture. If the Barrier Technique's visual effects are making the ship invisible, then it might weaken just enough for a Sorcerer to catch a glimpse of the ship while supplies are being loaded. You should go there and see it for yourselves."
They left as Yuka said, "He was awfully cooperative."
Suzuki sighed and said, "Well, he's probably trying to make us a distraction for his escape, but a part of him probably wants this to resolve peacefully so that when he escapes, he can continue his business as a human trafficker. No war means that Japan isn't revealed to be weak compared to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's generation."
Tsurugi nods, saying, "Pisses me off."
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The trio arrived at the mountain as they started walking through it, and Suzuki smiled, saying, "I feel like Detective Conan investigating something."
They looked perplexed, asking, "Detective Conan?"
"You two really have no sense of culture at all."
Suzuki said this as they continued making their way up the mountain.
Tsurugi took off his jacket, saying, "So damn humid even at night."
Yuka called out, saying, "Hey! I know we decided to aim for the top of the mountain on a whim, but couldn't the ship also be at the base of it?"
Tsurugi looked at her, saying, "We're talkin' about a spaceship and a mountain here. Obviously, we go up!"
Suzuki shrugged, saying, "Eh. There's a chance Yuka's right, but the top of a mountain is the least likely space for people to go, so it's more likely to be at the top."
Yuka saw the ring hanging on a necklace around Tsurugi's neck and said, "The ring..."
"I'm not givin' it back. The three clans treated Granny like she was some kind of failure. But she never gave up and shut 'em up with her true power."
Tsurugi said this as Suzuki deadpanned, thinking, 'But Grandma told me that their grandma slaughtered her entire clan.'
Tsurugi then said, "I wanna be just as powerful."
Then they saw it, and Suzuki exclaimed, "Holy crap. They really are here! This is awesome!"
Tsurugi looked to him and said, "No matter what happens, it's up to us, the Jujutsu Sorcerers, to take care of it."
Suzuki smiled, saying, "I know. I know. It's just... I'm getting goosebumps all over. I love it."
Tsurugi then said, "Our grandparents fought hard during the Culling Game to protect everyone. We need to be more like them."
Tsurugi looked up, thinking, 'I wanna be like... Zenin Maki.'
Yuka looked up, thinking, 'I have to be just like Okkotsu Yuta.'
Suzuki looked to Yuka and thought, 'Are you going to start doing that?'
Suzuki sighed as he looked up as well and thought, 'I need to be like -------- -----.'
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They walked through a train station as Usami said, "A man-eating shark has appeared. And your mission is to exterminate it."
Yuka then asked, "A shark? Shouldn't that be the government's job?"
Tsurugi agreed, saying, "Yeah. Is there any reason why you gotta dispatch Jujutsu Sorcerers?"
Usami then said, "It was spotted in Gifu."
Suzuki deadpanned, saying, "But that prefecture is landlocked. There's no way one would make it that upriver, right?"
Usami then said, "No. This shark swims through forests."
Suzuki smirked and said, "Sounds exciting."
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The four were sitting on the train as Suzuki looked to Tsurugi, thinking, 'What's with that look on his face? Is something about Maru bothering him?'
Tsurugi then said, "Cursed Spirits only appear in Tokyo."
"Cursed Spirits?" asked Maru.
"Oh, so I'm allowed to talk to you today?"
Tsurugi said this as Maru looked confused, and Suzuki thought, 'That's weird. It doesn't look like he has any idea what Tsurugi is talking about.'
Tsurugi then asked, You don't know what Cursed Spirits are? You guys use Jujutsu too, right?"
Yuka then said, "Cursed Spirits are incarnations of the accumulated Cursed Energy that leaks out of people in this country. That's what Yokai, ghosts and apparitions really are."
Suzuki looked at him, thinking, 'There's no flicker of recognition on his face. Does he really not recognise the concept? Are Cursed Spirits not born from their Species? That means that either they have a way of dealing with it that prevents the birth of Cursed Spirits or... in the worst case, they're all born as Sorcerers. That would be a dangerous situation for Japan. 50,000 Sorcerers. Japan has never had that many Sorcerers in its history. Maybe over the centuries, a total similar to that has existed, but never in the same time and place. All the same, I could be completely wrong, and maybe there is no expression in their species for recognition.'
Suzuki sighed, thinking, 'Let's test that.'
Suzuki pressed the button above him as a lady with a tray table walked over, and he asked, "Do you have any kind of goods?"
She nodded, opening the table as Suzuki took one and threw it to Maru, saying, "I think you'll like it."
Maru looked to him and asked, "Are you sure you want to give me this?"
"Just try it."
Suzuki said this as Maru took a bite and his eyes lit up, saying, "This... It's similar to Takoyaki!"
Suzuki smiled, saying, "I heard from Yuka that you liked Takoyaki, so I thought you'd like something like that."
Maru smiled, saying, "Yeah! Definitely!"
Suzuki looked at Maru, thinking, 'His expression of recognition is the same as humans. Which means my deduction from before was probably right. I'll have to report this to Usami later on.'
Maru turned to Tsurugi and asked, "So what about the Cursed Spirits?"
Tsurugi went on saying, "Missions to exorcise Cursed Spirits like this haven't happened outside of the Inhuman Makyo in Tokyo for 5 decades. That's 50 years. But now this happens, right after aliens got here?"
When Ayanokoji Kiyotaka created that barrier, he based it on the Barriers of the Culling Games. It recognises the distinct Cursed Energy of every Curse inside the barrier and assigns them points based on their strength, and records it along with their locations. The points are only there for show, though. It's not like they can use them. It's just a way that lets us keep track of the Curses being born in the Inhuman Makyo.
Maru responded with a "Huh?"
Yuka clarified, saying, "He's saying that maybe this man-eating shark is actually another alien like you guys."
Maru stood up, saying, "Wha-?! I swear my compatriots don't look like that picture Usami showed us!! We don't eat people either!"
Suzuki grinned, saying, "So you really are an alien, huh?"
Maru sweated, saying, "Ugh. I'm sorry. I'll talk about it when the time comes."
Suzuki sighed and said, "Well, nothing we can do about it then", as he turned to look out the window.
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Suzuki and Yuka stood before the old man as Yuka asked, "Might be a bit late to ask, but are you sure that's what you saw?"
The man made a peace sign and said, "I saw it on a dark, moonless night with my very own eyes!!"
Suzuki looked devastated, saying, "All three of them are old people who can barely see three steps in front of them."
"I'm experienced."
The man said this as Suzuki got a tick mark as Yuka held him back, and his eye twitched, and he shouted, "You shitty old geezer!"
Yuka struggled to hold him back, shouting, "Hey! Stop that, you idiot!"
Suzuki finally calmed down as the old man left, and Yuka smiled, asking, "Is it upsetting you that badly?"
"I got the short end of the stick. Information gathering. And then find out that the report is probably fake. Of course, I'm bummed out."
Suzuki said this as Yuka sighed, and she touched the side of her head and said, "Tsurugi. You there?"
White discs appeared where her fingers were touching. A communication device.
"Yeah. I'm here."
Tsurugi said this across the line as Yuka said, "There are two victims and three witnesses. Witnesses say they saw a shark next to the mangled remains of the victims. No bodies of water are present near either site where the victims were found. But... they're all really old and can't see very well. So that's why I'm thinking that's not what they really saw. The autopsy results found bite marks that aren't like those from a bear or anything."
Suzuki sighed and got up, saying, "Since it's probably nothing interesting. Let's go get something to eat, Yuka!"
Yuka nodded, saying, "Yeah!"
Consequently, Tsurugi and Maru went on to resolve the issue. They discovered the truth about a tiger that was once in the care of a Jujutsu Sorcerer who wore a shark suit but began attacking people. As strange as it was, it was definitely an interesting story. Suzuki was obviously distraught to learn that he missed out.
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Everyone stood together as Usami announced, "Maru's an alien."
The trio looked to Usami, saying, "We know."
Yuka then asked, "So you can talk about it now?"
Suzuki then said, "Nah. It's probably more like Maru let slip on our first mission, and now hiding it from us is pointless."
Usami nodded, saying, "That's right. I want you three to continue carrying out Jujutsu High missions with Maru."
Maru smiled, saying, "I can't wait!!"
Tsurugi looked through his holographic device, saying, "Whatever", and Yuka didn't pay much attention either.
Maru looked to them, asking, "Hey, can't you sound a little happier?"
Suzuki looked to him and said, "I'll be happy if you use your Cursed technique some more."
Maru formed a cross with his hands, saying, "No can do."
"You're no fun."
Suzuki said this as Maru sweated, saying, "My twin brother and I share our Cursed Technique. He'll notice if I use too much Cursed Energy. If that happens, then he might start seeing humans as dangerous."
Suzuki nodded, saying, "Ah. I get it. It's for our sakes. Thanks, Maru."
Maru smiled, saying, "No problem."
Suzuki then said, "You're still boring, though."
Maru deadpanned as Suzuki asked, "Why exactly did you all come here?"
Maru looked to him and said, "Our world doesn't belong to us. We came here in search of a new place to live."
Suzuki nods, saying, "I see. That kind of thing, huh? You guys were pretty brave making a voyage like this. Sounds pretty exciting, honestly."
"Exciting?" asks Maru, thinking, 'Does he just see it as some adventure?'
"It's exciting to see that you aren't idiots. Instead of struggling in vain for that planet, you came here."
Suzuki said this as he smirked, saying, "Keep it up, Neighbour."
Maru smiled, nodding and saying, "Yeah. Neighbour."
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The higher-ups sat together as the prime minister asked, "Are things with the aliens really okay right now?"
Usami looked to him, asking, "Meaning?"
"The report from Suzuki is concerning."
The Prime Minister said this as many others seemed similarly concerned, as one asked, "What are we to do if he's right and they really are all Sorcerers?"
Usami looked to them and said, "There's no confirmation that they are all Sorcerers. There's still Suzuki's alternative explanation to consider."
That man looked to Usami and asked, "Why are you going out of your way to side with the Simurians?"
Usami looked at him and asked, "Why are you going out of your way to side against them?"
He looked to Usami and said, "Because in diplomacy, once they stop taking you seriously, it's all over! They've already kept us in check once with their King. It's time for us to demonstrate the power of our own deterrent."
As soon as those words left his mouth, Miyaguni's eyes sharpened.
The man didn't stop saying, "We need to call upon Ayanokoji Kiyotaka!"
She glared and said, "That's not happening. His involvement isn't necessary."
The man sweated, saying, "But if we don't call on him, we could end up losing our entire country to them. Maybe the whole world. We should contact Choso-San and ask him to bring him here."
She gave him a stare that said, [I'll kill you if you don't stop talking] and said, "I already told you. His involvement isn't necessary."
Usami sighed and said, "Calm down, Miyaguni. We're in a meeting."
Miyaguni calmed down, leaning back into her seat.
Usami looked to the man and said, "What was it you said? It's all over once they stop taking us seriously? Sure, that might be true for an individual or private company, but that kind of mindset doesn't apply to international relations. If you want to stir things up just to feel like you're getting things done at work, then that's your business. But don't drag the rest of us or the country into it."
The man sweated and looked down.
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To Be Continued
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Rating Out Of 10 For This Chapter?
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