The Living Room was empty. The Kitchen was empty. The Bedroom was empty. The Bathroom was empty.
Gojo Satoru stood in place, looking at the empty Apartment, his heartbeat skipping a beat.
He took out his Mobile Phone and tried to use the Positioning again. There was still no Signal. He dialed Tu Bai's Phone—it wouldn't connect.
He forced himself to calm down. The last location where there was a signal was the Residential Garden downstairs.
Gojo Satoru rushed out of the Apartment and teleported to the Residential Garden.
The Park is very quiet. A few elderly people are sitting on the Bench, several Children are playing. Everything looks normal.
But Gojo Satoru's Six Eyes captured something abnormal.
Cursed Energy Residue. A lot of it. From a Cursed Spirit, also from Tu Bai's Demon Power.
He walked quickly to a patch of Grass. There were obvious signs of a struggle on the ground; the Grass had been trampled, the Soil had been overturned. A few Cherry Blossoms petals were scattered about, already looking a bit withered.
There were also some fragments of Silver Light—left behind by a Construction Technique.
Gojo Satoru crouched down and picked up a fragment. It was very small, almost impossible to see clearly, but his Six Eyes could distinguish the traces of Demon Power remaining on it.
It was Tu Bai's.
He had fought here.
Gojo Satoru stood up, closed his eyes, fully unleashed his Six Eyes.
The surrounding flow of energy became clear in his mind. Cursed Energy Residue, Tu Bai's Demon Power, and.. another aura. It was faint, but very special. It was as if someone had left it behind.
He tracked that aura, but it cut off after only a few dozen meters. The other party had clearly taken steps to interfere with it.
Gojo Satoru opened his eyes, dark currents surging within his Ice Blue Eyes.
His Mobile Phone rang.
It was Yaga.
Satoru, where are you?
Under my apartment building," Gojo Satoru said, his voice very cold, "Xiao Bai is missing.
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the Phone. Then Yaga said, "Come back once. There is something I need to tell you."
What is it?
Regarding Tu Bai's.. identity issue. The Jujutsu Headquarters just sent over an official document.
Gojo Satoru hung up the phone and teleported back to Jujutsu High.
In Yaga's Office, Ieiri Shoko was also there. When the two saw Gojo Satoru enter, their expressions both looked quite bad.
Yaga handed over a Document.
Gojo Satoru took it and glanced over it.
Resolution Regarding the Revocation of the Sorcerer Qualification of the Demon Race "Tu Bai" and the Initiation of Repatriation Procedure.
Below is a string of official platitudes, but the core meaning is simple: Tu Bai is a member of the Demon Race who entered the country illegally through human smuggling; he has no False Identity, now that he has been discovered, he is to undergo Repatriation to return to his country.
The signature was from the Jujutsu Headquarters.
Gojo Satoru stared at that note for a long time.
Then he laughed out of sheer anger, a laugh that left people feeling an inexplicable chill down their backs.
"Repatriation?" he said softly, as if savoring those two words.
He crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it on the ground. Then he turned around, pulled open the door, walked out.
Satoru!" Yaga stood up, "Where are you going?
"Jujutsu Headquarters," Gojo Satoru said without looking back.
Don't do anything reckless—
But Gojo Satoru had already vanished.
The Jujutsu Headquarters Building is in the Tokyo Central District, an office building that looks quite ordinary. But what ordinary people do not know is that the dozen or so floors underground are the real Jujutsu Headquarters office area.
Gojo Satoru teleported directly into the Underground Floor.
Several Staff in the Corridor were startled when they saw him suddenly appear. But before they could even react, Gojo Satoru had already walked to the Doorway of the Meeting Room.
The door was closed.
Gojo Satoru kicked the door straight open.
Seven or eight people were sitting in the Meeting Room, all of whom were core members of the Jujutsu Headquarters. They were not young and were dressed in traditional Kimono or black Suits. They were gathered around a Long Table discussing something, but were startled by the sound of the door being kicked open and all turned to look at once.
Gojo Satoru stood at the Doorway, scanning the room.
"Who issued the Repatriation Order?" he asked, his voice very calm, but the Temperature of the entire room seemed to drop.
No one spoke.
Gojo Satoru walked in slowly, approached the Long Table, leaned his hands on the tabletop, looked down at those people.
I'll ask one more time," he said. "The Repatriation Order, who issued it?
An old man sitting in the head seat spoke, his Voice aged but steady: "Gojo Satoru, this matter was a collective Resolution. That Demon Race member has no legal identity, according to the regulations, he must—"
Regulations?" Gojo Satoru interrupted him with a laugh. "You're talking about regulations with me?
He straightened his upper body, took off his mask, threw it on the Desk.
The Ice Blue Eyes were fully exposed, emitting a faint light. That invisible pressure caused everyone present to subconsciously shrink back.
Xiao Bai has lived with me for so long, you didn't check on him before, but you choose to check now," Gojo Satoru said. "Repatriation? He is still carrying my child in his belly. You want to repatriate my child's mother—his dad?
No one answered.
Gojo Satoru waited for a few seconds, then nodded: "Okay, very good."
He turned around and walked toward the Doorway.
Walking to the Doorway, he stopped and looked back.
Repatriation Order, I do not recognize it," he said. "If anyone has an objection, come find me.
He walked out.
The Meeting Room was deathly silent. A few seconds later, several people breathed a sigh of relief in unison. But in the next second—
Boom!
The entire building shook violently. All the glass windows in the Meeting Room shattered, with fragments flying everywhere. A powerful Cursed Energy shockwave exploded from a certain direction, a massive crack appeared on the wall at the End of the Corridor, leaving the rebar and cement exposed.
No one knew what Gojo Satoru had done. All they knew was that after that shockwave, the entire floor was a complete mess.
And Gojo Satoru was already gone.
Outside the Jujutsu Headquarters Building, Gojo Satoru stood by the roadside. His blindfold was gone, his pale blue eyes glowed in the night.
Ieiri Shoko chased after him and ran over.
Satoru!" she called out to him, "What did you do?
Gojo Satoru turned his head to look at him, saying nothing.
Ieiri Shoko looked into his Eyes—those Eyes held a coldness and ferocity she had never seen before. Like a beast that had its limit touched, he was ready to tear apart any threat at any moment.
"Did you find him?" Gojo Satoru asked, his Voice hoarse.
Ieiri Shoko shook his head: "Positioning failed, the Phone won't go through. Yaga has already sent someone to investigate."
Gojo Satoru nodded. He turned and walked toward the Street.
"Where are you going?" Ieiri Shoko asked from behind.
Searching," Gojo Satoru said without looking back, "I'll search every inch of all of Tokyo.
His figure gradually receded into the night. The streetlights stretched his Shadow long.
Ieiri Shoko stood in place, watching the direction in which he disappeared, let out a soft sigh.
Then his Mobile Phone rang. It was a Message from Gojo Satoru:
【Help me check if anyone has been watching him lately. Every single suspicious person.】
Ieiri Shoko stared at that Message, remaining silent for a few seconds, before replying:
【Okay. You take care as well.】
He put away his Mobile Phone and turned to walk into the building. Behind him, the glass shards shattered by Gojo Satoru rolled gently in the Wind sound, making a faint noise.
Meanwhile, Gojo Satoru walked through the night of Tokyo, his Six Eyes fully active, not letting a single ripple of energy escape him.
He must find him.
No matter how long it takes, no matter what the cost.
---
In the Japanese-style Room, Tu Bai curled up on the Tatami, not knowing how much time had passed.
The light coming in from outside the window faded from bright to dim, then from dim to bright again. It might have been a night, or perhaps even longer. He had no watch, no Mobile Phone, could do nothing but lie down, sit, or stare blankly at the Ceiling.
Someone had come in during the interval, that man wearing the Kasaya, to bring him food. It was still a bowl of porridge and a cup of water.
"Have you decided?" the Man asked.
Tu Bai ignored him.
The Man did not get angry either; he simply put his things down and left.
Tu Bai stared at that bowl of porridge. He was indeed hungry, the Baby in his belly needed nutrition. But he didn't dare eat it.
What if it was drugged? What if there was something else inside?
He could only endure it.
Without knowing how much time had passed, the sound of the door being pulled open drifted in once again. Tu Bai thought that man had come to deliver food again, so he did not look up.
But this time, it wasn't just one person entering.
There were two.
One of them wore a black cloak, making his face impossible to see. The other..