The aftermath of Hidden Inventory was chaotic but ultimately positive.
Riko Amanai was alive. Shoko confirmed that despite her injuries, she would make a full recovery.
More importantly, Tengen had already completed assimilation with another, backup Star Plasma
Vessel—which meant Riko was free. No longer a sacrifice-in-waiting, but just a girl with her whole
life ahead of her.
Geto Suguru had taken the near-death experience hard. Shinichi watched him carefully over the
following days, looking for signs of the darkness that would eventually consume him in the
original timeline. But with Riko alive, with his friends relatively unharmed, the cracks in Geto's
worldview seemed smaller. More manageable.
Not fixed, Shinichi reminded himself. Just delayed. I need to keep working on this.
As for Gojo Satoru—he was transformed. The Reverse Cursed Technique had elevated him from
"extremely talented" to "genuinely invincible." He walked with a new confidence, spoke with
absolute certainty, and looked at the world with eyes that seemed to pierce through reality
itself.
"You're the kid who talked down the Sorcerer Killer."
Gojo found Shinichi in the Jujutsu High cafeteria, three days after the incident.
"That's me."
"How?"
Shinichi shrugged. "I told him the truth. That killing Riko wouldn't give him what he actually
wanted."
"And what does he actually want?"
"Recognition. Respect. Proof that he's not worthless." Shinichi met Gojo's eyes. "Same thing most
people want, really."
Gojo was quiet for a moment. Then he grinned—that brilliant, infuriating, utterly confident grin.
"You know what, kid? I like you. You've got guts."
"Thank you, Mr. Gojo."
"Please, call me Satoru. 'Mr. Gojo' makes me feel old."
"You are old. Compared to me."
Gojo laughed. "Fair point. Hey, you want some ice cream? Shoko's treating."
"I didn't agree to that," Shoko called from across the room.
"You did now. Come on, Shinichi. Let's celebrate surviving the week."
As they walked together—the strongest sorcerer, the future doctor, and the reincarnated child with
too much knowledge—Shinichi allowed himself a moment of hope.
Things were different this time. Not perfect, but different. And maybe, just maybe, that would be
enough.
"The Tombs of the Star Corridor is hidden in a barrier with no guards," Toji had explained during
their brief partnership. "Easy to enter if you know where the door is. Most sorcerers never bother
looking because they assume it's impenetrable."
Now, standing in the aftermath of what should have been a massacre, Shinichi reflected on how
close everything had come to falling apart.
Geto Suguru sat against a wall, still processing the events. His cursed spirits had been
slaughtered. He'd been completely outclassed by a man with zero cursed energy. The experience had
shaken him in ways that wouldn't fully manifest for days or weeks.
"How did you know?" Geto asked quietly.
Shinichi looked up. "Know what?"
"That Gojo would survive. That Toji would listen to you. That any of this would work."
I didn't know, Shinichi thought. I guessed. I hoped. I played the odds and got lucky.
But he couldn't say that. Not to Geto, who needed to believe that the world made sense. That there
was order beneath the chaos.
"I studied him," Shinichi said instead. "Toji Fushiguro. The Sorcerer Killer. He's not actually
evil—just broken. And broken people are predictable if you understand what broke them."
"That's... remarkably cynical for a child."
"I've had an unusual upbringing."
Geto laughed weakly. "Haven't we all."
When Gojo Satoru returned—healed, transformed, radiating power like a small sun—the dynamic
shifted immediately.
"Where is he?" Gojo's voice was calm, but his cursed energy filled the chamber like a physical
weight.
"Gone," Shinichi answered. "I convinced him to leave."
"You convinced the Sorcerer Killer to abandon his mission." Gojo's tone was flat. Skeptical.
"It wasn't hard. He wanted money and revenge. I pointed out that killing a teenager wouldn't give
him either, and that you were probably going to kill him if he stayed."
"Probably?"
"Definitely. You learned the Reverse Cursed Technique. I could feel the change in your energy even
from a distance."
Gojo studied Shinichi with those piercing blue eyes—the Six Eyes that saw everything, missed
nothing. Whatever he found seemed to satisfy him.
"Alright. I'll buy that for now." He turned to Geto. "You okay?"
"I'll live. Unlike my cursed spirits."
"We'll get you more."
Shoko arrived moments later, medical supplies in hand. She worked efficiently, treating wounds and
stabilizing patients without wasted motion or unnecessary words. Shinichi watched her with quiet
admiration.
The healer. The one who kept everyone alive in the original story. I need to make sure she has
reasons to keep caring.
"Is Riko going to be okay?" Shinichi asked.
"Physically, yes. Mentally..." Shoko shrugged. "She just found out she was bait all along. That
Tengen had a backup plan and never really needed her to die. That's a lot to process."
"But she's alive."
"Yes. She's alive."
That was enough for now.