Outside the Juvenile Detention Center.
"Roy-sensei!"
Seeing Roy and Megumi walking out side by side through the main gate, Yuji enthusiastically waved his hand and eagerly stepped forward to greet them.
Standing beside him, Nobara kicked a pebble at her feet with a bored expression.
"Mr. Roy, I truly didn't expect you to be back already!"
The assistant supervisor Ijichi Kiyotaka bowed respectfully to Roy with the demeanor of an overworked office drone, showing no trace of his seniority in age.
"The cursed spirit inside has been exorcised, and no one died."
Roy glanced at Ijichi Kiyotaka, knowing full well he was just a messenger and a cog in the machine, so he didn't hold any grudge against him.
"Handle the follow-up matters yourself. Find someone to take care of it."
"Yes, sir!"
Facing Roy's indifferent gaze, Ijichi inexplicably felt a wave of pressure. After responding respectfully, he hastily took his leave.
"Alright, you three. Your performance during this mission was truly something else. Don't you have anything to say for yourselves?"
Roy turned to the three students beside him, his lips curling into a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Yuji scratched his head and raised his hand cheerfully.
"I know about the 'Sleeping Dragon'—it's Zhuge Liang from Romance of the Three Kingdoms! Is that a compliment?"
"It means I'm calling you idiots."
Roy's mouth twitched slightly as his expression darkened, glaring at Yuji.
Under Yuji's confused and conflicted expression, Roy's gaze swept over each of them, first landing on Nobara.
"Kugisaki was the first to drop out of the fight, but that was just a matter of lacking strength. Your overall approach wasn't bad—among the three of you, you're the closest to passing. I'll give you a 59."
"Report! I just fell into a pit trap—you can't just write me off like that!"
Nobara raised her hand defiantly, clearly dissatisfied with Roy's judgment.
"The cursed spirit hiding in that pit was personally dealt with by me. I know exactly how strong it was. You wouldn't have stood a chance against it alone. Any objections?"
"Report—none."
Nobara lowered her hand and mimed zipping her lips, wisely choosing to shut up.
"Next, Megumi."
Pleased with Nobara's compliance, Roy nodded before shifting his attention to the first problem child.
Seeing Megumi wearing an obedient expression, ready to take the scolding, Roy instead rubbed his temples in frustration.
"Megumi, have you reflected on your actions?"
"Yes, sensei. I've already reflected."
Megumi nodded obediently.
But the faintly indifferent coolness on his face suggested he hadn't truly taken anything to heart.
"You've reflected, but if you run into the same situation again, you'd still resort to Mahoraga without hesitation, wouldn't you?"
"..."
Megumi choked slightly, a hint of embarrassment flashing across his face at being seen through.
"Treating a suicidal move like a disposable bomb—I can only give you full marks for sheer audacity. The outcome wasn't terrible, but considering your self-destructive tendencies, I can only give you a 50."
Roy initially wanted to give him a zero, but decided against it in the end.
After all, from the outcome perspective, Megumi's act of summoning Mahoraga would have completely resolved the situation if Roy hadn't intervened. Granny Ogami's necromancy was powerful, but under Mahoraga's relentless pursuit, she likely wouldn't have survived long enough to successfully summon Toji Fushiguro.
Though the cost would have been Megumi's own life, Roy wasn't the type to prioritize human life above all else.
Roy fully acknowledged Megumi's contribution, so he gave him 50 points.
But it was still a failing grade.
"Suicidal behavior?"
At that moment, Yuji muttered to himself as if chewing over the meaning of those words.
Megumi immediately caught on, his lips twisting in annoyance as his expression turned weary.
Trouble was coming.
"Fushiguro! You really were planning to blow yourself up back then!"
Sure enough, the next second, Yuji widened his eyes like an angry anglerfish and glared at Megumi.
Did this really need to be brought up now?
Megumi was thoroughly exasperated.
"That's in the past. At the time, I believed it was the only and best choice. Even Roy-sensei said the outcome wasn't bad, so there's no issue."
Megumi turned his head away with a look that said he couldn't be bothered to argue, leaving only the back of his head for Yuji to see.
Mahoraga had killed that Special Grade curse—that alone was a remarkable result. Though things had taken a strange turn afterward, leading to unexpected developments.
But Megumi didn't think he had made the wrong call.
Given the circumstances at the time, with Roy-sensei not returning, what other options were there besides unleashing Sukuna or summoning Mahoraga?
"How can you be so stubborn! Don't you ever think about how the rest of us would feel?"
"If we're talking about stubbornness, you're the champion, Itadori! In that situation, you still wanted to save the hostages!"
"You wanna fight?!"
Yuji immediately flared up, raising his fists in a fighting stance.
Seeing this, Roy's smile turned dangerous.
"Pathetic!"
Megumi had no desire to look at Yuji's furious expression and turned away impatiently.
But deep down, he knew Yuji well enough—he wouldn't let this go until everything was laid bare.
"Listen, Itadori."
Megumi let out a long sigh, as if resigning himself, and turned back with a serious expression.
"In that situation, if we'd gone with your choice, both my ideals and yours would have died. But with my method, at least your ideals could survive."
If Sukuna had been unleashed to massacre freely, countless hostages and nearby residents would have died.
In that case, both Yuji's ideal of "ensuring everyone meets the right death" and Megumi's of "letting good people enjoy equality as much as possible" would have been buried without a trace.
But by summoning Mahoraga, the only unnecessary death would have been Megumi's own. Everyone else, including the hostages, could have lived.
Yuji's ideals would still have a chance.
Yuji froze in place.
It was as if a paralysis spell had been cast on him—for a moment, he couldn't utter a single word.
Such eloquent words.
Roy had originally intended to flick each of them on the forehead, but the scene had suddenly fallen into silence.
Megumi's words had completely thrown Yuji off balance, leaving him at a loss for how to respond in the heat of the moment.
Nobara glanced between them, her face lighting up with the gleeful expression of someone enjoying the drama.
"Regarding Megumi's issue, I'll find a way to address it. I'll definitely break his habit of indecisively resorting to Mahoraga," Roy interjected just as the silence between Yuji and Megumi was growing heavier.
"Yuji, don't think you're off the hook either. Your score was the lowest. If I were to grade your performance in this mission, it would only be a single point—zero points!"
"Really?"
Yuji snapped out of his daze and looked at Roy with a hint of bewilderment.
"Your growth during this period has been quite impressive. You've gained initial control over cursed energy, though you still have the bad habit of delays. However, your performance in this mission was abysmal. Facing an enemy on the battlefield—and such a dangerous one at that—you nearly ended up in conflict with your own allies!"
"Well..."
Yuji lowered his head and mumbled.
It was the truth; he couldn't argue with that.
Megumi glanced at him before silently turning away.
"Let me ask you again, Yuji. Have you found the answer to that question yet?"
Roy fixed his gaze on Yuji, his eyes probing.
That question...
Yuji paused briefly before quickly realizing what Roy meant.
Roy was referring to the question he had posed before: "What is the correct way to die?"
For Roy, this was an exceedingly simple question. Even Megumi wouldn't hesitate when faced with it.
As for Nobara, though she might seem rough and hot-tempered, she was actually the most clear-headed among the three of them. She wouldn't be troubled by such a question at all—she hadn't even bothered listening to Granny Ogami's threats before wanting to take action, her decisiveness no less than Megumi's.
But for Yuji, it was no less than a millennium puzzle.
Applied to this incident, the question could be rephrased as: "Are criminals who have killed worth risking your life to save?"
"...I still don't fully understand what the correct way to die is."
Yuji's expression still carried traces of confusion and exhaustion, but his answer was filled with resolve.
"But in my heart, I want to save them!"
That was what he had done.
He still didn't grasp such a complex issue, but judging by his reaction when faced with the choice, his decision had already been clear.
Unlike Megumi and Nobara, who were willing to abandon the criminals, Yuji had leaned toward saving them as well.
"Coming to an answer is already a big step forward."
Roy nodded calmly, his expression neither approving nor disapproving.
Yuji had braced himself for a scolding from Roy, but to his surprise, Roy didn't reprimand him. Instead, his words acknowledged Yuji's progress. Yuji couldn't help but look at Roy with a mix of surprise and curiosity.
"No need to look at me like that. I'm a teacher. Teachers shouldn't impose their own views on students, but rather guide them to reach their own conclusions."
Facing Yuji's astonished gaze, Roy shrugged nonchalantly.
Upon hearing this, Megumi and Nobara couldn't help but nod in agreement, their eyes reflecting newfound respect for Roy.
Despite having his own flaws, Roy was indeed a good educator.
"Moreover, I don't dislike idealists. Idealism represents the brilliance of human nature. Even if it's not universally liked, it certainly shouldn't be arbitrarily criticized."
Roy's words made Yuji breathe a sigh of relief, even bringing a smile to his face.
"But!"
Then, Roy's tone took a sharp 180-degree turn, becoming abruptly severe.
"If one disregards the contradictions with reality and endangers their comrades in pursuit of their ideals, that can't be called idealism—it's just plain stupidity. Don't you agree, Yuji?"