A Bizarre Adventure That Begins in Jujutsu Kaisen

A strong wind rises from the fields, followed by a gradual thickening of frost, and then a flurry of ice and snow.

Yang energy sprouts from the depths of Yin, followed by freezing thunder that startles bamboo shoots, and hibernating insects begin to stir.

The four seasons alternate, and the cold and heat cycle in turn.

After being formally wanted, the mysterious top-level gang led by Amakusa Shiro completely disappeared, as if they had vanished from the face of the earth in Japan.

For more than half a year, there has been no reliable intelligence or eyewitness reports about their activities.

They seemed to blend into the peaceful daily routine, leaving no trace of their magical power or actions.

If they have indeed fled overseas, then resolving the issue without causing a diplomatic dispute will indeed become somewhat difficult.

This was not because Theo lacked ability, but because once he began his expeditions and hunts, he found it difficult to stop.

After all, there are far too many heinous criminals in the world who cannot be judged by law, and the next node in the reverse tree scenario is precisely "severity"—"discipline, justice, and necessary constraints"!

However, blindly carrying out indiscriminate "purification" that transcends national borders will trigger a series of uncontrollable international political and ethical problems.

Therefore, during these six months, Theo and the Japanese sorcery world did not focus on the global manhunt for Amakusa Shiro's gang.

Instead, they devoted their energy to the intensive implementation of reforms and infrastructure development.

From the Prime Minister to government officials at all levels, they have all been quietly incorporated into the collaborative network of the sorcery world, forming a community of wills with Theo at its core.

"Build high walls, store up plenty of grain, and delay declaring yourself king."

Ancient wisdom takes on new practical significance at this moment.

Sufficient and reliable manpower and a stable and efficient system are the cornerstones for coping with all changes and realizing long-term goals.

Moreover, Theo has not been formally studying sorcery for a year yet, and he has not yet reached his limit. He is still evolving and growing!

Rather than prematurely escalating conflicts and falling into a passive position of being an enemy of the world, why not wait for it to fully develop and then calmly make a move with the attitude of truly dominating the world?

During this period, Gojo Satoru's amazing "money power" complemented the genius mechanic Kokichi's black technology full of "my thoughts power," playing a crucial and irreplaceable role together.

Not only did a new, more modern-style building for the Directorate of Spellcasting rise from the ground, but the main campus of the comprehensive school, which aims to systematically train a new generation of spellcasters, along with its supporting residential community and training facilities, also completed the structural reinforcement and barrier installation with astonishing efficiency, welcoming its first batch of students.

The establishment of this school itself is a microcosm of the new sorcery education system.

Since more than half of the first batch of recruited "potential sorcerers" are adults who have already entered the workforce, simply using the old "higher vocational school" model is obviously unable to meet their dual needs for academic improvement and career development.

Therefore, after much coordination and negotiation, a composite educational institution was finally established, combining the basic screening function of a "higher specialized school" with the higher education degree-granting qualification of a "university of science and technology".

Behind it is joint investment and policy support from the sorcery community and the government, and its scale and resources are far beyond those of the old colleges.

Its operating model has also been carefully designed.

The "Higher Specialized School" section is mainly responsible for the first year's basic spellcasting education, physical training, and general education courses, which is equivalent to a large "selection and adaptation period".

After a year of study, the school will decide on the student's future direction based on their wishes, talents, and overall assessment.

Students aspiring to become frontline combatants or specialized research-oriented professional technicians will be promoted to the "University of Science and Technology" division to receive more in-depth and professional higher education.

Students who choose to become assistant supervisors, primarily in logistics and intelligence, will be transferred to the vocational training track of the higher vocational college.

In addition, the new system also provides flexibility for "freelance" sorcerers who already have a family background in sorcery or who have acquired considerable strength and knowledge through other means before enrolling in the school.

They can choose to skip the basic academic year of the vocational high school and directly enter the university of science and technology based on their merit assessment.

During this time, Theo's "Spirit Manipulation Technique" was also not idle.

He not only handled the daily exorcism and subjugation tasks well, but also turned his attention to the "millennial heritage" that the ancient family had kept hidden since the Heian period.

Dio first went to the Gojo family, and with Gojo Satoru's introduction, he successfully came into contact with the special-grade cursed spirit "Ōeyama Outer Path Maru" that his family had guarded for generations.

As is widely known, the Gojo family was originally the Sugawara family.

The Sugawara clan's origins can be traced back to the Tsuchishi clan, who mastered ancient burial techniques—they were responsible for managing the imperial mausoleum and maintaining the authority of funeral rites, and were the core supporting force of the Wa royal power.

In the world of curses, being proficient in funeral rites is, in a sense, being proficient in the spell of "letting the dead truly rest in peace."

Through the oldest and most primitive form of barrier, the dead are brought back to silence, obsessions are dispersed in the wind, and resentment is prevented from growing into a cursed spirit.

What the Tushi clan guards is not just the tombs, but also the boundary between "life" and "death", "human" and "curse".

Therefore, within the Gojō family, which partially inherited the "business" of the Tsuchishō clan, a special cemetery is still preserved to this day.

What is placed there is not corpses, but the curse itself.

"Ōeyama Outer Path Maru" is naturally among them.

The way they sealed this top-tier cursed spirit was quite mythical: it wasn't a barrier or a ritual, but a seemingly ordinary "jade bottle".

This jade bottle is an extremely special magical tool, its power is only effective against a single target.

Once the seal is established, no matter how the stopper is opened or closed, the cursed spirit imprisoned within cannot escape on its own.

Only when the holder calls out its true name can it be released briefly.

If you say the phrase "If I call your name, will you dare to answer?" again, it will be pulled back into the bottle by an invisible force.

A cursed object imbued with the colors of Chinese mythology, yet it seals away demons and gods from Japanese legends.

This combination may seem abrupt, but upon closer examination, it has its own underlying logic.

After all, Sugawara no Michizane himself had been appointed as an envoy to Tang China.

This may be the reason why this jade bottle appeared in the Gojo family and has been passed down to this day.

The sealed "Ōeyama Outer Path Maru" is a special-grade rebellious spirit born from the legends of Ōeyama, a place on the border between Tanba Province and Yamashiro Province. It is commonly known as Shuten-dōji.

It was a massive creature with long, fiery red hair that reached its waist, two enormous, backward-curving horns on its forehead, a tiger-skin skirt loosely tied around its waist, and a giant vermilion wine gourd, named "Swallowing the Sea," trailing behind it, a gourd commensurate with its size.

Its technique, "Eight Meridians Raging Waves," is activated through the accompanying incantation tool, "Sea Devouring."

This gourd can act as a medium to draw in the moisture of heaven and earth, the flow of rivers, and the raging tides of the ocean, sealing them within its own vessel, and then summoning them out using its own magical power.

When activated, a massive torrent of water surges forth from the gourd's mouth like a living thing, transforming into towering waves, whirlpools, and high-pressure water blades, unleashing a powerful and ever-changing offensive.

Dio tested the effects of the jade bottle several times, finding it somewhat amusing to act out a scene from Journey to the West.

Only after he had had his fill of acting did he officially take action to subdue the enemy.

Despite his considerable strength, after experiencing the yo-yo-like process of "release, retrieve, and release" several times, Shuten-dōji completely gave up resisting.

It understood that this jade bottle and the subspace constructed by the "Spirit Manipulation Technique" were essentially no different; either way, it was being imprisoned.

Since that's the case, it's better to accept your fate sooner rather than later, so at least you won't be treated like a toy by the strong anymore...

Dio then went to the Kamo family, using a combination of negotiation and a demonstration of power to bring the top-tier cursed spirit "Evil Road King Daigaku" sealed in their forbidden storehouse under his control.

This time, the host was once again Kamo Noriyuki, the second head of the Kamo family.

It seems that because they had met several times before and had a somewhat superficial relationship, the Kamo family specially arranged for him to receive them, which was somewhat due to the consideration that "it's easier to talk to someone you know."

Noriyuki Kamo did not arrange the meeting in one of those meticulously built, fully equipped modern mansions.

The location he chose was an ancient manor hidden deep in the folds of the mountains, abandoned for many years—which was also the exact location of the seal.

The road leading there is less a road and more an old path swallowed up by time and overgrown weeds.

Cars could not travel, there was no electricity, and even cell phone signals were only intermittent echoes, appearing and disappearing in the silence of the valley.

Compared to bustling cities, places where no one ever sets foot are perhaps more suitable for silently brewing curses.