After a brief conversation, Sōjun Minamoto and Satoru Gojo exchanged a few of their insights on the development of Star Eyes.
Not long after, Masamichi Yaga arrived.
Satoru Gojo quickly jumped down from the desk and stepped aside.
"That's it for today. I'm heading out."
Sōjun Minamoto also stood from his seat, gave a nod to Masamichi Yaga—whether he noticed or not didn't matter, it was just a casual greeting. Then he turned and stepped into a swirling black vortex. Before leaving, he gave a quick wave to the three, his figure slightly hurried. The vortex closed behind him, and he vanished from the classroom.
Lately, Masamichi Yaga had been in a foul mood. He'd just finalized a divorce with his wife.
These things are rarely one-sided, and outsiders have no place to comment.
In his thirties and already at the end of the road with marriage—he'd been through it all.
A happy ending like growing old together was clearly off the table now.
And judging by the look of it, he had no intention of remarrying.
Still, not long after the divorce, Masamichi Yaga underwent a complete image overhaul. The most noticeable change was his hair—trading in his bowl cut for a neatly clipped fade on the sides, the top combed straight back.
He looked younger, more spirited, and had grown noticeably tougher in demeanor.
No one dared to provoke him these days.
Sōjun Minamoto slipped away quickly, leaving the other three to fend for themselves...
Time flew by.
Under Sōjun Minamoto's training, the trio grew rapidly.
He didn't even need to set aside extra time for it—he just created an extra clone to train them while continuing to work on developing his techniques.
It was effortless, nothing out of his way.
There weren't even enough students at Jujutsu High to fill a full class. Sometimes they'd take on missions together, sometimes just hang out for a meal. Over time, their bonds naturally deepened.
But for the most part, everyone stayed focused on their own business.
At the moment, in the living room of Sōjun Minamoto's dorm...
Numerous clones were hurrying over.
He removed the latest eyeball from his socket, adjusted the metal ratio, and crafted a brand-new Golden Core.
Sōjun Minamoto summoned the Fly Head.
The mutt quickly flew into the forge room.
It had grown to about half his height by now and had been putting in real effort lately. Though pushed hard under Sōjun Minamoto's pressure, he only ever cared about results.
"Master..." The Fly Head hovered midair, his head slightly lower than Sōjun Minamoto's.
Before he could finish speaking, a Golden Core drifted toward him. He immediately held out his hands.
The Golden Core slowly settled into his palms. The moment it made contact, the Fly Head staggered and plummeted from the air. His feet sank into the ground, cracking the surface like a dried-up riverbed.
The Golden Core rose again, its weight suddenly gone. The Fly Head let out a breath of relief and pulled himself free from the ground.
Looks like he still couldn't handle it. He'd have to stick with the standard 7g eyeballs for now. Sōjun Minamoto recalled the Golden Core and tucked it into his pocket. Under his perfect control, it quieted down.
It was just a test run anyway.
The real purpose of this Golden Core was for the White Bone Tree.
By now, all the clones had returned to the living room. They each took a few steps toward one another, merged into a single form, and walked straight into the forge room—merging with the one inside.
With that, aside from the White Bone Tree, Sōjun Minamoto had no other clones left out in the field.
All clones needed to be merged and re-split to sync up with the new Star Eyes.
The process was incredibly simple.
In less than a second, new versions of Sōjun Minamoto emerged from his body, each heading out and returning to their respective posts.
During this period, the phased development of the Star Eyes had been successfully completed.
The next steps involved gradually increasing the mass and designing the optimal barrier diagram, arranging and combining the eyeballs in the sockets to form the initial complete version of the Star Eyes.
As he pondered his next move, Sōjun Minamoto walked toward the White Bone Tree.
This particular clone was a bit different—it combined the traits of the Fly Head and several other clones.
To put it simply, it had essentially assimilated into a cursed spirit version of the White Bone Tree bearing his name.
He pulled a Golden Core from his pocket and pressed it into an eye-shaped imprint on the tree trunk—a mark left behind by a previous core.
The White Bone Tree trembled slightly before settling into stillness.
A golden eye opened on the trunk, glanced at him once, then closed again, leaving behind a vertical slit.
Done.
Sōjun Minamoto clapped his hands and smiled—his clones were now fully updated.
A passageway had been built outside the White Bone Tree.
Originally, he hadn't planned to build anything. That changed the day he stepped out of the Shrine Domain and nearly bumped into Riko Amanai, who had pressed her face against the tree's trunk.
She'd been snooping around, clearly up to who-knows-what.
Because the White Bone Tree rarely monitored the outside world—and the two clones inside had been busy transforming the Domain—they hadn't noticed her presence in time.
And since she carried no malice or negative emotions, the White Bone Tree clone had simply ignored her.
Even though the tree was nearly impervious to damage, Sōjun Minamoto still left a clone stationed in the Shrine Domain afterward to guard it.
He stepped out of the passageway.
Though the White Bone Tree remained lush and full, the surrounding environment clearly showed it was winter—the air cold, life withering, making the area seem all the more mystical.
The New Year was just around the corner.
The sixteen-year-old stretched, his joints cracking loudly. It was time to head home.
Mr. and Mrs. Minamoto had already sent multiple messages urging him to return—to help with the year-end cleaning and to visit the shrine for blessings on New Year's Day.
It was one of the rare times the family could gather together.
And he was one of the last to head back.
The Higher-Ups weren't happy about it. With the Jujutsu High barrier situation ongoing, they weren't exactly thrilled that he was leaving. Was going home for the New Year really more important than the safety of the entire jujutsu world?
Sōjun Minamoto didn't care.
They didn't know the White Bone Tree was his clone.
Once he reabsorbed the others, the tree alone had Special Grade strength. For someone like him, those old geezers could be swatted down like flies with a single branch.
He had no intention of explaining himself.
By the time the Higher-Ups realized he was gone, he was already at the train station.
He sent a message in the group chat to let everyone know—only then realizing most of them had already started their holidays.
Riko Amanai replied with a photo of herself shopping with Misato Kuroi.
Shiko Mishima video-called him—her hands covered in flour as she kneaded dough. Two little girls tugged at her shirt from either side, looking up and chirping "Nee-san, Nee-san" nonstop.
The Gojo clan's patriarch sent a selfie of himself seated at the head of the room, flanked by two rows of kneeling clan members. The mood looked somber, like they were deep in a serious family discussion.
Yet the photo was clearly taken from a selfie angle.
You could just imagine the scene—while the clan was mid-meeting, the clan head suddenly turned around, raised his phone, flashed a wide grin, threw up a peace sign, and maybe even shouted "Cheese!" Bet he had a great time.
Oh, right—he'd probably already been playing with his phone before that. No big deal.
Suguru Geto replied with a smiling photo of himself and his parents. Ever since the Aragami incident, he'd really wanted to visit them again.
Others in the group also chimed in with replies.
During times like these, the line between sorcerers and regular people blurred a bit, and even cursed spirit activity dropped off.
In this kind of warm, familial atmosphere, most people stayed upbeat.
By the time everyone returned to Jujutsu High after the break, their emotional states had largely recovered.
The months following the New Year were a lull for cursed spirits—calm and uneventful. Before long, it was already May 2007.
Another orientation day at Jujutsu High came around.
This time, only one new student enrolled—Kiyotaka Ijichi.
Utahime, who had been a fourth-year, had just graduated. With one student coming and one leaving, the numbers barely stayed balanced, avoiding the awkward situation of Jujutsu High entering negative growth.
Worth noting, Kiyotaka Ijichi was a bespectacled, somewhat timid young man. Once he got familiar with the group, he was regularly picked on—usually led by Satoru Gojo and Riko Amanai.
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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