Chapter 39: Exchange Meeting Tactics: Shut the Door and Let Yami Loose
The atmosphere in Tokyo Jujutsu High's meeting room was nothing like Kyoto's.
There was no suffocating conspiracy, no killing intent hidden behind polite faces. Instead, the whole place felt more like a gathering of problem children pretending to hold a strategy meeting.
"All right, listen up."
Maki pushed up her glasses and smacked the pointer against the blackboard with a sharp crack.
"Tomorrow's team event has simple rules."
"The first team to exorcise the Grade 2 cursed spirit in the designated area wins."
"If time runs out before that happens, victory goes to whichever side exorcises more lower grade curses."
She paused, then snorted.
"That's the official version. In reality, those Kyoto idiots are definitely not going to play fair and focus on exorcising curses."
Her gaze swept across the room before stopping on Nobara, who was absentmindedly petting Panda's head like he was some oversized house pet.
"Nobara. Stop messing around and pay attention."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm listening."
Nobara reluctantly pulled her hand back and leaned against the desk.
"Anyway, isn't the answer obvious? We just beat all of them into the ground first."
"Crude, but efficient."
Megumi crossed his arms and spoke in his usual calm tone.
"Todo will definitely come looking for Yami the moment the match starts."
"As for the others, they'll most likely target Yuji."
He frowned slightly.
"Headquarters already sees him as a problem. Since he's Sukuna's vessel, they won't pass up a chance like this."
Yuji scratched the back of his head, looking thoroughly confused.
"Huh? Me too? I didn't even do anything."
"That's because the higher ups are rotten to the core," Maki said coldly.
Then she turned toward the one person in the room who had barely spoken.
Yami sat off to the side, quietly wiping Shiranui with a white cloth. His movements were slow and precise, as if he were tending to something sacred rather than simply cleaning a weapon.
"Yami," Maki said, "what do you think?"
He lifted his head.
His expression remained as calm as ever.
"They want to kill me."
His voice was so flat it might as well have been a comment on the weather.
The whole room froze.
"Huh?!"
Yuji nearly jumped out of his seat.
"Not just Yuji." Yami set the cloth down. "I'm one of their targets too."
He briefly recounted the warning Mechamaru had sent the previous night.
When he finished, silence hung in the room for all of two seconds.
Then Nobara kicked a chair over.
"Those bastards!"
Her eyes practically blazed.
"So they really are trying to pull that kind of stunt? Fine. Tomorrow I'm smashing their faces into the dirt."
Even Panda's expression darkened.
"So that's how it is."
He cracked his knuckles.
"Then we don't need to waste time pretending to be honorable."
Since they wanted to play hunter, Tokyo Jujutsu High would happily play predator.
Maki turned back to the blackboard and, with a piece of chalk, wrote several large words across it:
[Operation Plan: Shut the Door and Let Yami Loose]
Megumi stared at it for a second.
"…That name is terrible."
"It's simple and memorable," Panda said at once, pointing at the board as if he were giving a formal presentation.
"The core idea is easy. Since Kyoto wants Yami and Yuji, we do the opposite of what they expect."
"Yuji stays with the main group. He helps us draw attention, exorcise curses, and keep the match moving."
"And Yami…"
Panda grinned and looked toward the quiet boy by the window.
"You go solo."
"A roaming position," Maki added, picking up the explanation without missing a beat. "Your job is to intercept Kyoto's main force alone."
"As long as you hold them up, or better yet break them completely, we've already won."
Yami raised a brow.
"So I'm bait."
"No." Maki's correction came instantly. "You're the trump card."
She met his eyes directly.
"You're our strongest piece. As long as you're on the field, Kyoto won't be able to move however they want."
"And with your strength…"
A faint, dangerous smile touched her lips.
"Taking their whole team at once shouldn't be a problem, right?"
The room turned toward him.
Faced with all those expectant stares, Yami simply smiled.
He slid Shiranui back into its sheath with a soft click.
"Since you trust me that much, I can only live up to it."
He paused, and something glimmered quietly in his eyes.
"Still, since this is technically an exchange event…"
"To avoid anyone dying, I'll try not to draw the blade."
The room went quiet for a very different reason.
Nobody forgot what he had done with just the scabbard.
Bending Mai's revolver like soft metal had already been bad enough. If he went all out without even drawing Shiranui, the Kyoto students would probably leave the field as broken educational materials.
"Bang!"
The meeting room door flew open.
"Yo! Looks like everyone's full of spirit!"
Gojo Satoru swaggered in with a giant bag of Kikufuku in one hand, his blindfold in place and his grin entirely too cheerful for a man who had definitely been eavesdropping.
"Gojo-sensei!"
Yuji waved excitedly.
Gojo dropped the sweets onto the table, then strolled to the front of the room. The grin remained, but something colder lurked beneath it now.
"I heard your whole strategy meeting."
He glanced at the chalkboard and snorted.
"Shut the door and let Yami loose? The name's a little dumb, but honestly, I kind of love it."
He placed both hands on the desk and leaned forward.
The air in the room shifted.
For once, Gojo Satoru looked less like an irresponsible teacher and more like the strongest sorcerer alive.
"Listen carefully."
"I only have one requirement for tomorrow."
His smile sharpened.
"Don't just win."
"Crush them."
He tapped the desk once.
"I want a complete victory. The kind that makes those old fossils in the higher ups choke on their own tea."
No one spoke.
They didn't need to.
Gojo's voice was enough to set the entire room on fire.
"Since that old bastard Gakuganji had the nerve to issue an assassination order, that means they're already desperate."
He straightened, then turned his head toward Yami.
His grin widened.
"Especially you."
"Since they've decided to treat you like a thorn in their side, then you might as well become a nightmare they can't pull out."
"Cause as much trouble as you want."
"If anything happens…"
He pointed at himself with theatrical confidence.
"Your teacher will handle it."
That line hit harder than any speech.
Even Nobara's anger turned into excitement.
Even Megumi's expression eased.
And somewhere deep inside, even Yami felt something stir.
For Tsugikuni Yoriichi, the past had always been full of loss, silence, and things that could not be saved.
But here, in this world, surrounded by loud mouthed idiots, stubborn allies, and a teacher reckless enough to stand behind him no matter what…
For the first time in a long while, Yami felt something close to freedom.
He stood slowly.
His fingers rested against the hilt of Shiranui.
The light in his golden red eyes sharpened into something fierce.
"Since you've said that, Sensei…"
His voice was calm, but there was no mistaking the heat underneath it.
"Then tomorrow, I'll teach them a lesson they won't forget."
The room fell still.
Yami's hand tightened around the hilt.
A quiet smile appeared on his face.
"Making me their target…"
"was the stupidest decision they could have made."
.....
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