The kinetic force tore a jagged gash into the wooden floorboards and instantly shattered the small window above Ren's bed, sending glass raining onto the desk.
Gojo's eyes widened in genuine surprise. His Infinity instinctively snapped back up to protect him from the spatial distortion, violently repelling the katana out of his hand. Nightfall clattered heavily onto the floorboards, completely unharmed, the dark, oppressive mist instantly settling back into a calm hum the second it left Gojo's grasp.
The room fell into a dead, ringing silence, save for the evening wind blowing through the shattered window.
Principal Yaga had his thick arms raised, shielding his face from the blast. Utahime had half-drawn her katana , her eyes wide with shock.
Ren looked down at his katana on the floor, then slowly looked up at Gojo. "You broke my window," he deadpans.
Gojo just stared at his right hand. The air around his fingers was still sizzling with expelled red energy. Then, a massive, unhinged grin split across his face.
"Did you see that?!" Gojo yelled, spinning toward Yaga and Utahime, looking like a kid who just opened the best Christmas present ever. "It actively rejected my cursed energy!"
"Satoru, what just happened?" Yaga demanded, his deep voice tight with alarm. "Was that a cursed technique?"
Gojo lowered his hand, his exposed bright blue eye locking onto Ren. His gaze was practically vibrating with academic excitement.
"It's a soul-bind," Gojo beamed, pointing enthusiastically at the blade. "It hates everyone's energy but his."
Gojo knelt down and picked the weapon back up. This time, he kept his Infinity entirely active around his hands, essentially holding it with an invisible, spatial glove so his energy never actually touched the metal. He tossed it casually back onto Ren's lap.
Ren caught it. The moment his hands wrapped around the hilt, the dark aura instantly calmed, settling comfortably and seamlessly against his physical density.
"See?" Gojo clapped his hands together loudly. "It likes him! Yaga, we can't confiscate it. If you hand that to Shoko and the tech department, the second a researcher tries to test its cursed output, it'll blow up their entire laboratory. It's completely useless to anyone who isn't Ren."
Yaga glared at the weapon, clearly deeply unsettled by the entire display. "A Special Grade cursed tool that violently rejects all other users... Satoru, the implications of this—"
"Are hilarious!" Gojo interrupted, pulling his blindfold back up into place and fully covering his eyes again. "Our transfer student is a living anomaly, and now he has an anomalous katana. Maybe he really did just hold it until it evolved. "
"Maybe the sheer density of his replicated Heavenly Restriction forced the metal to aggressively adapt to him. Who cares? It's strong, it's safe in his hands, and absolutely nobody can steal it."
"Hold on," Utahime interrupted, her sharp eyes snapping away from the weapon and locking directly onto Gojo. The sheer shock of the explosion was rapidly fading, replaced by her usual, highly attuned suspicion. "What did you just say?"
Gojo tilted his head, his hands shoved casually in his pockets. "I say a lot of brilliant things, Utahime. You'll need to be more specific."
"You said replicated Heavenly Restriction," Utahime pointed out, taking a firm step forward. Her voice dropped into a demanding, dangerous tone. "You told the Kyoto staff he was just an anomalous transfer student born with a Heavenly pact. What the hell do you mean by replicated?"
Ren kept his face perfectly blank, but internally, he winced. Gojo's big mouth had just casually dropped a massive piece of classified intel right in front of the Kyoto instructor.
Gojo paused. He looked at Utahime, then at Ren, and finally back to Utahime. Instead of backpedaling or offering one of his elaborate, bullshit cover stories about 'intimacy transfer', a slow, notoriously obnoxious smirk spread across his face.
He leaned down slightly, bringing his face closer to hers, treating her exactly like a toddler asking a complicated science question.
"Ah, that," Gojo said, his voice dripping with condescending sweetness. "Well, you see, Utahime... it's a highly classified, ultra-secret Tokyo branch phenomenon. It's strictly need-to-know."
Gojo raised a hand, holding his thumb and index finger an inch apart. "And unfortunately, your cursed energy output is just a little too weak to get security clearance. It's a strength issue, really. Maybe if you practice your little songs really hard, one day you'll be strong enough to hear the big boy secrets!"
A very visible, thick vein popped on Utahime's forehead. Her face turned a brilliant, violent shade of red.
"I AM A GRADE ONE INSTRUCTOR, YOU OVERGROWN MAN-CHILD!" Utahime shrieked, her hands flying up as she completely lost her professional composure. She looked ready to draw her sword and try to bypass his Infinity through sheer, unadulterated rage. "I WILL KILL YOU! STOP TREATING ME LIKE A STUDENT!"
"See? This is exactly why you don't have clearance," Gojo teased, effortlessly dodging a half-hearted swipe from her. "Way too emotional. Very un-tactical."
"Satoru. That is enough," Principal Yaga commanded, his booming voice vibrating the floorboards. He rubbed the bridge of his nose beneath his dark sunglasses, looking like a man who was actively developing a migraine.
Yaga let out a heavy, deeply tired sigh. He looked from Gojo's smug grin to Utahime's murderous glare, before settling his intimidating gaze back onto the boy sitting on the mattress.
"That still leaves Utahime's original question unanswered," Yaga rumbled, his deep voice leaving no room for deflection. He crossed his thick arms over his chest. "Where exactly did you acquire this weapon, transfer student?"