Chapter 230 : Jiang Lai - Should We Contact That Pervert for Some Intel
After the higher-up elder finished speaking, the conference room fell very quiet for a moment. The other higher-ups around all silently focused their gazes on the center of the conference room.
On the stage in the middle, Gojo Satoru looked rarely stunned. He raised his eyebrow, a single word slipping from his lips: "Hah?"
Even Jiang Lai hadn't expected that the second point the higher-up elder mentioned would be the execution of Itadori Yuji!
...But why? Logically, this should be impossible!
Beyond anger was an even greater sense of absurdity. Jiang Lai first calmed his emotions, settled down, then his brain raced at high speed.
Currently, the [Correct and Reverse] Tower from the Four Guardian Towers was still in Itadori Yuji's body. The Supervisory Committee and higher-ups had been secretly communicating all along, so the Supervisory Committee couldn't possibly fail to remind the higher-ups not to touch Itadori Yuji.
Long ago during the juvenile detention center incident, the higher-ups had deliberately set a trap to let Itadori die. At that time, the Supervisory Committee might not have informed the higher-ups yet, leading to that accident. Fortunately, Ryomen Sukuna and Itadori Yuji had made a deal then, completing the resurrection.
But after experiencing such an incident, the Supervisory Committee would definitely have been alerted and would know to remind the higher-ups not to easily touch Itadori Yuji.
They could cause trouble for Itadori Yuji, but currently couldn't directly kill him. The Supervisory Committee would probably notify the higher-ups of this.
So why were the higher-ups suddenly bringing up the death sentence, asking Gojo Satoru to execute Itadori Yuji's death penalty?
Was this the higher-ups' own idea, or was it conveyed by Brain-kun of the Supervisory Committee? Was the fundamental purpose of this operation what he had seen in the manga, to stall Gojo Satoru?
It seemed to make some sense.
After all, Gojo Satoru wouldn't carry out the higher-ups' so-called order to execute Itadori Yuji. But if he didn't execute it, the higher-ups might also send other troubles targeting Itadori Yuji.
Therefore, the best approach was to refuse but not completely refuse, still retaining the execution rights for this task and maneuvering with the higher-ups.
However, weren't they afraid of what-ifs? What if some accident occurred during this maneuvering and gaming that led to Itadori Yuji's death?
If that happened, most of Ryomen Sukuna's power would disappear, and Brain-kun's plan to borrow Sukuna's power would also fail.
At the same time, the [Correct and Reverse] Tower of the Four Guardian Towers would be destroyed, creating flaws in their immortality contracts.
At this point, those in the Supervisory Committee probably still didn't know about the destruction of these Four Guardian Towers.
Brain-kun couldn't possibly have thought of the space-time reversal left from a thousand years ago. He must still think the [Correct and Reverse] Tower was safely preserved in Itadori Yuji's body.
...So what made the higher-ups make such a decision? Or more accurately, what made Brain-kun instruct the higher-ups to make this decision?
Various speculations flashed through Jiang Lai's mind. In this brief moment, he calmed his mind and kept thinking.
Based on what was revealed in the manga combined with what he had experienced in reality, after the Mount Shichi incident as a catalyst, Brain-kun had most likely already begun preparing to activate his grand plan, getting ready for the decisive battle.
At this point in time, Brain-kun definitely wanted to release Ryomen Sukuna. However, knowing that he had deceived Sukuna a thousand years ago, Sukuna wouldn't easily forgive him and absolutely wouldn't cooperate with him.
But he could hide in the shadows, watching the various destruction Sukuna brought to the jujutsu world.
If lucky, he might even witness the battle between the King of Curses and the current strongest, with both sides suffering.
Jiang Lai imagined placing himself in Brain-kun's position to speculate on the truth behind the words "execute Itadori Yuji."
If so, the order to "execute Itadori Yuji" definitely wasn't its surface meaning. Did the Supervisory Committee want to use this to both stall Gojo Satoru and release Ryomen Sukuna?
Did they think that in a life-or-death situation, Ryomen Sukuna could break through the vessel's control and directly take control of the body?
Jiang Lai's mental eyebrow raised slightly, feeling it shouldn't be that simple.
The only variable in Itadori Yuji's body was the [Correct and Reverse] Tower that Brain-kun thought was still there... Could this tower have some special effect?
Jiang Lai was still thinking when Gojo Satoru finally responded.
He still stood in place with both hands in his pockets, his posture arrogantly casual, his lips curving with a careless arc: "I refuse."
"Gojo Satoru! You agreed to the death penalty postponement back then, and now you want to break your oath? As the head of the Gojo family, is this your style?" From the surrounding seats, a higher-up's voice rose loudly.
However, the representative higher-up elder at the front quickly raised his hand, signaling the person who had just spoken to quiet down.
He said gently: "Ohta-kun, you still have that impatient personality of worrying about the jujutsu world, but you should change this temperament. This is a conference room, not a marketplace for loud arguments. I think Gojo-sensei certainly has his own thoughts to express, and we should listen first."
Three sentences. The first defined the previous higher-up's outburst as "worrying about the jujutsu world." The second offered a way out for both sides. The third threw out the follow-up, naturally tossing the topic to Gojo Satoru.
This one-person-good-cop-one-person-bad-cop operation was quite skillfully executed.
However, Gojo Satoru wasn't the type to fall for this. He put on a lazy appearance, grinning: "My thoughts? My thoughts are naturally to reject your decision. Yuji is my good student. Young people haven't finished enjoying their youth yet~"
"Besides, the fingers haven't all been collected, have they? What's your rush?" Gojo Satoru tilted his head: "Our death penalty postponement agreement back then was premised on collecting all of Ryomen Sukuna's fingers, right?"
Regarding this point, Gojo Satoru wasn't worried. Because he knew that as long as he wanted, the higher-ups would never be able to collect all the fingers.
Because the remaining two fingers were in his hands and in Jiang Lai's hands.
The higher-up elder in front maintained his calm expression, speaking steadily: "The fingers indeed haven't all been collected, but we can abandon the remaining two fingers and remove the eighteen fingers."
"The main reason is that Ryomen Sukuna's danger level is too high, and the vessel that has already swallowed eighteen fingers is no longer stable. We must prioritize the greater good."
"Your greater good is sacrificing a young person's life in exchange for your peace of mind and supreme righteousness?"
Gojo Satoru snorted. His beautiful glass-bead eyes lifted slightly as he yawned: "Please, it's not you who will face Ryomen Sukuna. I'm the one who really goes to the front lines. What are you soft persimmons arguing about here?"
Gojo Satoru's words showed no face to the higher-ups whatsoever. He was completely free, saying whatever he wanted.
Some of the higher-ups in the surrounding seats glared angrily, but because of Gojo Satoru's intimidating pressure and the presence of the representative higher-up in front, they didn't loudly rebuke him.
Of course, they should be thankful they didn't say anything.
After all, Gojo Satoru wasn't good-tempered. If he really got angry, he would show everyone with actions what it meant to be the strongest.
In front of him, the higher-up elder's expression still didn't change. He just seemed to sigh helplessly, his voice hoarse and low: "I understand your thinking, Gojo. But imposing your thoughts on students isn't good either. In this kind of matter, the person involved has the most say."
"We've already contacted Itadori-kun and had a face-to-face discussion." The higher-up elder said calmly: "He agrees, and hopes you will execute his death penalty."
……
When the meeting ended, the entire conference room was already in shambles.
The damage caused by cursed energy was very obvious. Various high-end equipment was severely damaged. Although there were injured personnel, no one died.
Gojo Satoru had ultimately held back and restrained himself.
At that time, when he heard that the higher-ups had already approached his student beforehand, cold anger surged up in his heart.
The higher-ups said it nicely on the surface, claiming they had gone to talk with him. But given the higher-ups' style, it was probably mainly intimidation, threats, and moral blackmail.
The instantly leaked cursed energy immediately shattered the gorgeous crystal chandelier above!
The strongest's power was never something ordinary people could match. The group of higher-ups were almost instantly pressed down nearly to their knees, with blood rising in their throats under the high pressure.
Fortunately, this cursed energy leak lasted only a moment. Gojo Satoru quickly reined in his cursed energy.
The reason for restraining himself was simple. Gojo Satoru wasn't afraid or unwilling to kill the higher-ups; he had done things like massacring higher-ups before.
It's just that these current higher-ups were the bait they had been secretly observing for a long time, familiar targets for their long-term fishing strategy.
If he killed them, a new batch of unfamiliar ones would come up, and they'd have to set everything up again, which would be very troublesome.
So Gojo Satoru let reason prevail and coldly reined in his cursed energy.
His exquisitely perfect face seemed covered with frost. Under the gaze of those Six Eyes, this meeting could no longer continue.
So the meeting ended like this. The higher-ups had conveyed their message, and as for the follow-up, that was Gojo Satoru's business. As always, the higher-ups threw the troublesome burden to Gojo Satoru.
Now, Gojo Satoru and Little Sheep Jiang Lai were back in the car.
Gojo Satoru held the steering wheel with one hand, his expression still displeased. He drove one-handed toward Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Little Sheep Jiang Lai sat in the back seat, still thinking about the reasons for the higher-ups' decision.
If only there was a way to know the effect of the [Correct and Reverse] Tower, then he could deduce what the Supervisory Committee's purpose really was, and know how to perform the next script...
Thinking this, a person's name suddenly flashed through Jiang Lai's mind.
Gojo Kyufuin!
Based on the timeline, both he and the forum had speculated that this person was most likely the previous carrier of the [Correct and Reverse] Tower before Itadori Yuji.
Even if he wasn't the previous carrier, since he was a core member of the Supervisory Committee, he should also know the effect of the [Correct and Reverse] Tower.
So, should he actively contact this guy?
Although there was some danger, there would also be gains. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Jiang Lai leaned against the back of his chair, his mind stirring with thoughts.