Conservative and stubborn, they were indeed synonymous with decay, but they were also the staunch defenders of tradition.
To put it bluntly, if Satoru Gojo had followed the will of the Jujutsu Higher-Ups to the letter—executing Yuji Itadori immediately upon capture, or handing Suguru Geto's corpse directly over to Shoko Ieiri for complete physical and cursed disposal—then Kenjaku wouldn't have been able to cause such a disaster, no matter how cunning his schemes.
Regardless of how exceptionally harsh or heartless those methods were, one could not deny their sheer effectiveness!
Of course, such ruthless methods naturally invited a massive backlash.
Hadn't Satoru Gojo and Yuki Tsukumo both chosen to completely disregard the Higher-Ups' authority?
Even Yuta Okkotsu only feigned obedience on the surface while constantly engaging in minor acts of defiance.
Out of the three modern Special Grade Sorcerers, absolutely none of them listened to the conservative higher-ups!
And as for the deceased Suguru Geto—he had flat-out defected and become a Curse User!
Four Special Grade Sorcerers in total: three refused to follow orders, and one became a terrorist.
Wasn't that entirely laughable?
This was a blatant sign of losing all internal support.
The Jujutsu Higher-Ups had indeed reached a point where reform was desperately needed.
Returning to the main topic, Tengen had always personally vetted the rulers of the Jujutsu Higher-Ups as they came into power.
She ensured they never deviated from the absolute bottom line of maintaining the delicate balance of the jujutsu world.
She had done this flawlessly for a thousand years.
But now, the overwhelming temptation of immortality had completely shattered a millennium of credibility.
Furthermore, the "finished product" of this immortality was sitting right under their noses.
Kinji Hakari never hid his newly acquired traits and had willingly undergone all medical examinations without any psychological pressure.
This meant the higher-ups already fully understood the exact nature of the immortality bestowed by the Lord of Curses.
It wasn't just the Jujutsu Higher-Ups.
Even Satoru Gojo had marveled at the medical reports, openly admitting, "This is perfect immortality."
It wasn't surprising in the slightest that the ancient men among the Higher-Ups had been utterly tempted.
That was exactly why Tengen claimed she had failed in her duty.
She hadn't anticipated that the allure of eternal life would tempt the highest-ranking executives into outright betrayal.
It was undeniably her failure.
Satoru Gojo spoke expressionlessly.
"In other words, our enemies aren't just the Lord of Curses, his Special Grade Curses, and his Curse Users."
"Our enemies also include the higher-ups within our own ranks."
"We don't even know how many of them have already been corrupted."
"In the worst-case scenario, perhaps every single one of them has been seduced, only differing in the severity of their betrayal."
After all, they were being offered true immortality!
Satoru Gojo wasn't naive.
He always assumed the absolute worst regarding human malice.
If necessary, he was entirely prepared to stand alone against the entire world.
"It shouldn't have reached that drastic of a point yet," Tengen explained weakly.
Satoru Gojo simply chuckled and dropped the topic entirely.
Yuki Tsukumo looked between Tengen and Satoru Gojo, letting out a heavy sigh.
"As expected, what Immortal Master said was entirely right."
"Letting me return was just a ploy to buy time..."
"As long as his true combat strength remains hidden, our own paranoid imaginations are more than enough to make the entire war council hesitate."
The current atmosphere was overwhelmingly heavy.
Yuki Tsukumo felt as if she were trapped at the bottom of the ocean, with the immense pressure physically crushing down on everyone.
Even the normally invincible Satoru Gojo had lost his usual arrogance.
On paper, the jujutsu world clearly held an absolute advantage in direct combat capability.
Yet, the entire war council felt as though they were gathered to sign an unconditional surrender agreement.
Satoru Gojo stroked his chin and suddenly asked a question.
"Since when did you start calling the Lord of Curses 'Immortal Master'?"
"And when exactly did your pronouns for him change from 'it' to 'him'?"
"I know exactly what you're suspecting."
"I even suspect it myself, constantly wondering if my thoughts have been completely twisted."
Yuki Tsukumo spoke frankly.
"Before you arrived, I thoroughly checked my own Cursed Energy and asked Tengen to inspect me as well."
"It's not just a matter of..."
"...thought distortion."
"Whether there is any lingering residue manipulated into this resurrected soul is also something we need to be incredibly wary of."
Satoru Gojo slowly turned his intense gaze toward Tengen.
Tengen did not try to hide anything.
"If Tsukumo hadn't openly brought it up herself, she would have absolutely no reason to deceive us."
"I honestly suspect she never truly died at all."
"This was a flawless resurrection, much like how the Lord of Curses personally intervened to completely change your student's gender."
"I believe even the most critical medical experts in the world would be left completely awestruck."
This realization was utterly terrifying.
It proved that as long as the Lord of Curses willed it, even if he were successfully killed in battle, he could simply resurrect quietly in some hidden corner of the world.
And he could do it without any side effects whatsoever.
How were they possibly supposed to fight something like that?
In truth, Tengen had failed to notice the tampering because the mental Binding Vow didn't involve any residual Cursed Energy at all.
It was a strictly physiological change.
If a top-tier neurologist could somehow compare Yuki Tsukumo's brain structure from before and after her battle with Immortal Master, they might be able to spot the discrepancy.
But a standard Cursed Energy inspection was entirely useless.
However, with the limits of current medical technology, even that was practically impossible.
After all, the human brain naturally loses hundreds of thousands of brain cells every single day.
How could anyone accurately compare the difference?
Satoru Gojo spoke with eerie sincerity.
"It almost feels like he's the main character in an RPG, and I'm just the final boss sitting in the boss room, patiently waiting for the player to grind enough levels to face me."
"Things haven't gotten quite that bad yet."
"After all, isn't the entire reason he resurrected me and sent me back here precisely to buy himself more time?" Yuki Tsukumo said bitterly.
"Unfortunately, I've played right into his hands and completed that task perfectly."
"But at the very least, it proves that right now, he actively wants to avoid facing Satoru."
"In other words, the moment he finally takes the initiative to challenge me..."
"...it will be absolute proof that he's already grown strong enough to kill me," Satoru Gojo stated coldly.
Everyone remained in deafening silence, grimly acknowledging the very real possibility.
Satoru Gojo didn't utter empty bravado like, "I'll never lose."
Instead, he spoke with absolute calm.
"Let's calmly analyze what the Lord of Curses is actually capable of at this current stage."
"Let's trace everything back to the exact moment he first appeared."
"I refuse to believe he is entirely flawless."
"If he was, he wouldn't need to hide from my Six Eyes right now."
"Good. At least our strongest sorcerer hasn't lost his nerve."
"That is the best news I've heard all day," Yuki Tsukumo praised.
Satoru Gojo waved his hand casually.
"I know perfectly well whether I'm truly invincible or not."
"If I were genuinely untouchable, would I have specifically gone out of my way to destroy all the Special Grade Cursed Tools that could bypass Infinity?"
"I know my own limits."
"It's just that usually, absolutely no one on earth can threaten me, so I just slack off."
But now, he could no longer afford to slack off.
Everyone in the room clearly heard the unspoken weight behind his words.
Tengen nodded with visible relief.
"Even across my entire thousand years of life, Satoru Gojo, you stand among the absolute peak."
"I firmly believe that in terms of sheer growth potential, you won't lose to anyone."
"Not even that Lord of Curses."
"Focus on your preparations; we will support you to the absolute greatest extent possible."
Satoru Gojo smiled cheerfully.
"With that kind of guarantee from Master Tengen, I'm truly at ease."
After a brief pause, Satoru Gojo voiced his previous question once again.
"You still haven't answered my question, Tsukumo."
"I've noticed you really don't seem to harbor that much hostility toward the Lord of Curses anymore."
"Since we've ruled out some underhanded Cursed Technique distorting your mind, then why?"
Yuki Tsukumo spoke incredibly slowly.
"Because... I think I'm starting to understand Kinji Hakari now."
Satoru Gojo was visibly stunned.
"Hakari?"
"What does he have to do with this?"
"Didn't he openly say that he wanted to let Immortal Master rule the world?" Yuki Tsukumo asked.
"I..."
"...I think I also kind of want to see that future."
Tengen and Satoru Gojo both leaned back in sheer disbelief simultaneously.
Before this very moment, Yuki Tsukumo had been a one hundred percent unwavering radical.
Her ultimate goal had literally been the complete eradication of Cursed Energy to wipe out all Cursed Spirits!
Kinji Hakari had once poured his heart out to Satoru Gojo regarding his ideals.
Although Satoru Gojo hadn't agreed with all of it, it had at least slightly reduced his inherent ill will toward Immortal Master.
But Yuki Tsukumo was the type of person who normally wouldn't listen to a single word Hakari had to say.
So on what basis was she suddenly agreeing with him now?
Satoru Gojo pointed an accusatory finger at Yuki Tsukumo while snapping his head toward Tengen.
"Are you going senile in your old age?!"
"You call this not having a distorted mind?!"
"She is acting like a completely different person!"
Tengen gazed blankly at Yuki Tsukumo and spoke with heavy hesitation.
"How about I run another diagnostic check on her Cursed Energy?"
Even the immortal barrier master was starting to seriously doubt her own analytical skills.
Yuki Tsukumo ignored their frantic doubts entirely, simply musing to herself.
"Immortal Master's soul is just so clean..."
"...so breathtakingly pure."
"I can't even explain why."
"My memories of our battle have been completely erased due to the restrictions of the Binding Vow."
"But down to my very core, I am absolutely certain of one thing."
"Immortal Master possesses a noble soul completely unparalleled in the entire bloody history of the jujutsu world."
Satoru Gojo's mouth twitched violently.
"What the hell do you mean by a 'noble soul'?"
"Is there even such a thing as a noble or ignoble soul in jujutsu?"
"You've completely lost your mind."
"No, souls indeed possess an intrinsic distinction of nobility," Tengen interjected, nodding thoughtfully.
"I see..."
"...so that must be exactly why the Lord of Curses has been acting so out of character lately."
Satoru Gojo was left entirely dumbfounded.
It was completely over for him.
Somehow, he had just become the uneducated one in the room!