Jujutsu Prefectural High School, or Jujutsu High, is an educational institution dedicated to training those with a talent for Innate Techniques to become jujutsu sorcerers. There are only two in Japan, one in Tokyo and one in Kyoto, publicly disguised as private religious schools.
The school is divided into three grades. Because individuals with talent are extremely rare, each grade usually only has three or four students.
At Tokyo Jujutsu High, the third-year students are currently suspended. Among the four second-years: Toge Inumaki speaks only in rice ball ingredients; Panda is... a panda; Maki Zenin is a physically powerful woman; and Yuta Okkotsu is currently overseas on a mission.
Among the three first-years: Nobara Kugisaki is tougher than most men; Megumi Fushiguro is the brooding type; and the "Little Sun" Yuji Itadori is currently pretending to be dead while training in secret.
Thus, Tokyo Jujutsu High currently has only five active students, a pitiful number that would barely qualify for a club in a normal school.
To prepare for the upcoming event, they were training hard.
"Kugisaki, is that it? Who was saying they'd knock 'em flat yesterday?"
"Fushiguro, move! Keep moving! Your stamina is worse than the girls'. Don't you feel ashamed?"
Early in the morning, the "Big Sister" Maki Zenin began her "training from hell." While Satoru Gojo was their nominal teacher, he was constantly missing. The second-years taught the first-years, and the second-years were largely self-taught.
Nobara and Megumi were being worked to the bone, but remembering yesterday's defeat, their fighting spirit flared. They pulled themselves together and dove back into training.
Seeing this, Maki immediately increased the intensity.
"I feel like Maki is a bit cranky today," said Panda, watching from the sidelines.
"Salmon," Toge Inumaki agreed.
As the first stage of training concluded, a man suddenly appeared.
"Yo, everyone's here!" Satoru Gojo greeted them with a smile.
"Gojo-sensei?!"
"What a rare guest. Gojo-sensei, has your conscience finally kicked in to give us a lesson?"
"Tuna."
"Nope, nope! Lessons aren't really my thing," Gojo waved his hand in denial.
"Figures."
"Sorry, my expectations were too high."
Gojo's expression turned slightly serious. "Actually, I have some good news and some bad news to share. Which do you want first?"
"Stop playing around and just tell us everything," Megumi Fushiguro said, unwilling to play along. He had known Gojo the longest and knew his personality best.
"How cruel! Has the affection between you and your dear sensei withered away?" Since Yuji wasn't there to engage him, Gojo looked dejected.
"Can we stop discussing things that don't exist, Gojo-sensei?" Maki Zenin added another jab.
"Fine, I'll just say it." Gojo touched his blindfold. "The good news is that Aoi Todo is injured. It'll take some time for him to recover, so your biggest opponent at the Goodwill Event won't be in top shape. Your win rate just went up!"
"Todo is injured? What happened?" Megumi had been dominated by Todo in their last encounter and knew exactly how strong he was.
"A Cursed Spirit attack?"
"Wait, wasn't that woman with him yesterday?" Nobara pointed out.
"Mai..." Maki's face darkened. "What happened to Mai?"
"Well, that's the bad news," Gojo said. "Mai Zenin has vanished. Her whereabouts are unknown."
Sensing a sharp pain from her chest, a resonance between twins, Maki could no longer control her expression. "What exactly happened?!"
"They encountered a Special Grade among Special Grades."
"A Special Grade among Special Grades? Someone even stronger than the last one?" Nobara and Megumi both recalled the spirit that had caused Yuji's "death."
Gojo explained the attack on Todo and added, "According to Todo, they encountered the spirit, and he told Mai to retreat and call for help while he held it off. We did receive a distress call from Mai, but..."
"But after Todo-senpai was defeated, Mai-senpai also vanished," Megumi mused. "It's likely there was more than one enemy."
"My thoughts exactly," Gojo said, wagging a finger. "We're short-handed, so I need your help. You'll be responsible for finding Mai Zenin. Remember, if you see a Special Grade, call me immediately. I won't be late this time."
"Got it!"
"Go to Ijichi for the details. I have other things to do. Good luck!" With that, Gojo vanished.
"Will Gojo-sensei actually be reliable this time?" Megumi worried. Against a Special Grade, they couldn't even stand a chance.
"Don't worry, Satoru is reliable when it counts," Panda patted his shoulder.
"Dried Bonito."
"Maki-san, are you okay?" Nobara comforted her. "Don't worry, we'll help you find her."
"Yeah, thanks. I'm fine." Maki pressed her hand to her chest. "I can feel that Mai is okay. At least she's not in danger of dying."
"Eh? You can feel that?"
"Yeah. Maybe it's that twins' connection." Maki gave a small, warm smile that quickly faded. She looked at her friends. "Please help me find Mai. I'm begging you!"
"Of course!"
"Salmon."
…
In the strategy room, Maki's group looked over the file on Aosora.
"Aosora? A god? Intelligence capable of normal communication? How gross," Nobara said, curling her lip.
"But his strength is undeniable. He defeated two Grade 1 sorcerers in quick succession, practically crushing them," Megumi noted. The gap between Special Grades was enormous; the one he had faced before likely wasn't Todo's match.
"The key is his learning ability. He mastered barrier techniques and Black Flash after seeing them just once. It's terrifying," Panda shivered.
"If he keeps learning, he might actually become something like a true god," Maki sighed. High starting point, fast progress. How was anyone supposed to deal with that?
"Mayonnaise."
Everyone's hearts felt heavy.
"But a being like that has no reason to kidnap Maki-san's sister," Nobara said.
"The report says Mai-senpai vanished while Todo-senpai was fighting. Aosora was occupied. Given his arrogant personality, he likely wouldn't deign to work with others. So the kidnapping might be the work of the other group," Megumi analyzed.
"You mean the other Special Grade Cursed Spirit group?"
"Yes. They had a conflict with Aosora before. They were probably watching him. Seeing Mai-senpai alone, they took her for some ulterior motive."
"That sounds plausible, but we should check the scene before drawing conclusions."
...
Driven by the veteran Ijichi, they reached the site. They split into two groups: Megumi, Nobara, and Maki would check where Mai vanished; Inumaki and Panda would go to where Todo fought to look for clues.
At the site of the kidnapping:
"I've checked the logs; this is where Mai Zenin was last located," Ijichi said.
"No surveillance footage?"
"There is, but it only shows her passing by. There's no footage of her disappearing."
"Any witnesses?"
"We're still screening, but no one saw anything suspicious yet."
"This must be where Mai-senpai made the call," Megumi said, pointing to a narrow space behind a utility pole.
"How can you tell?" Nobara asked.
"If you were Mai-senpai and suddenly met a powerful enemy, what would you do?"
"Be afraid? Want to hide?"
"Exactly. And she'd worry about the enemy pursuing her. So she'd choose a spot where she could watch the direction she came from."
Nobara stood behind the pole and looked out. She could see the streetlamp at the end of the road, the spot where the encounter allegedly happened.
"You're right!"
"Did you find anything suspicious?" Maki asked.
Megumi shook his head. "No Cursed Energy or signs of a struggle. This means Mai-senpai was subdued instantly. It was likely a Special Grade."
Even as a Grade 3, Mai wouldn't have been taken without a fight by anything less.
"Another Special Grade? Where are they all coming from?!" Nobara ruffled her hair in frustration.
Indeed, Special Grades were popping up left and right. It felt like the opening act of a play; the real drama was about to begin. Megumi had a dark premonition. Maki stared silently at the utility pole.
Just then, Ijichi's phone rang. After a brief conversation, he told them: "They found a witness."
…
"It was around seven or eight last night. I was at home having a few drinks and felt a bit stuffy, so I went out to the balcony. I saw a dark cloud rise up nearby and fly off—whoosh! I thought I'd had too much to drink and didn't think much of it." The pot-bellied witness pointed to his balcony.
Megumi checked the balcony's orientation; it had a clear view of the utility pole. "Do you remember which way the cloud went?"
The witness pointed in a direction. The three nodded to each other. Leaving Ijichi to get more details, they began searching in that direction. Panda and Inumaki joined them soon after.
By noon, they finally found a clue.
"Maki-san, over here!" Nobara had found traces of Cursed Energy on a rooftop.
"It's Mai's Cursed Energy," Maki confirmed.
"And this." Megumi held up a foxtail grass. "It looks real, but it's made of Cursed Energy."
"Mai's Innate Technique?" As her sister, Maki didn't actually know the specifics of Mai's technique, so she was guessing.
"What does it mean, Maki-san?"
"Foxtail grass?" Looking at the fragile plant, Maki was lost in memory. After a long silence, she looked up. "I know. The target is the Zenin clan."
"Huh?"
"When we were little, because we lacked talent, Mai and I were bullied. I'd always comfort her with foxtail grass."
'Look, Mai, even foxtail grass can survive in the cracks. We can too!' The memory surfaced briefly on her head.
"There's nothing to be gained from me, so it must be the Zenin clan," Maki concluded.
"I'll call Gojo-sensei," Megumi said.
Maki took a deep breath. "I'm going too. You aren't members of the Zenin clan; they'll likely turn you away. Go back to the school."
"No way. I'm not letting you go alone. You asked for our help, right? I'm not giving up until I find Mai-senpai," Nobara said immediately.
"Me too, Maki-san."
"Salmon."
Maki looked at her friends. "Fine. Let's go together."
…
Seven hours earlier, before dawn.
The Zenin estate was already active. As an ancient family with a thousand-year history, their wealth, land, and manpower were beyond the imagination of ordinary people. The main estate was a sprawling complex of buildings that stretched as far as the eye could see. It housed the main bloodline and many branch families, mostly those without talent for Innate Techniques.
Strong ordinary members formed the Kukuru Unit, responsible for daily security. Sorcerers formed the elite unit, Hei, tasked with maintaining the honor of one of the "Big Three."
Aside from that man over a decade ago, no one had dared to act out at the Zenin estate. No one could trample their dignity. But today, they would witness the honor of the Zenin clan being ground into the dirt.
For "Heaven's Wrath" had descended!