CHAPTER 5: THE MAN WITHOUT A PLAN

The air inside the strategy hall of Jujutsu High was tense.

Sorcerers lined the perimeter—veterans and students alike. Yuta, Hakari, Maki, Higuruma, Nobara, Choso, and many more. Some leaned against walls, others sat with arms crossed. A few paced, anxious.

Gojo Satoru stood at the front.

Relaxed.

Smiling.

Wearing his signature blindfold again, arms folded loosely across his chest like this was any other day.

Yuta finally broke the silence.

"Gojo-sensei... I think it's fair to ask now—what's the plan?"

Hakari added with a frown, "Sukuna has Megumi's body. We're talking about the worst-case scenario. If you lose out there in Shinjuku…"

He didn't finish.

Even he didn't want to imagine it.

Gojo tilted his head.

"Plan?"

Utahime narrowed her eyes.

"Backup plan, Satoru. The fallback if something goes wrong. Any strategy."

A pause.

Everyone leaned in just a little, waiting for some sort of brilliant reveal from the strongest.

And then—

Gojo laughed.

Loud.

Unapologetic.

It was the kind of laugh that echoed across the room and made a few people visibly flinch. He doubled over, smacking a hand on the table.

"You guys really think I have a backup plan? You're giving me too much credit."

Nobara blinked.

"…Wait, what?"

Gojo wiped away a fake tear.

"I don't even have a Plan A, and you're asking me about backup plans? Come on."

The room froze.

Maki raised an eyebrow.

"So… you're saying… you're going into this with nothing?"

Gojo shrugged with a grin.

"I'm the backup plan."

There was a silence, heavy and unsure.

Then Choso muttered, "This is absurd."

But Yuta just smiled faintly.

He'd seen this before.

This was Gojo. The man who didn't need a strategy because he was the strategy. The man who believed so completely in his strength that he didn't plan for defeat. Because defeat was never an option he considered.

Utahime glared.

"Satoru… you're insane."

Gojo turned his head and winked under the blindfold.

"Of course I am. You'd have to be, to fight Sukuna."

And outside the windows, the skies above Tokyo began to stir.

The storm was coming.