Inside the Box.
Click-clack... click-clack...
In a dim and cramped space, countless white skeletal skulls trembled incessantly.
Gojo Satoru lay supine on the ground, piled with bones.
He fiddled with the bandage around his eye, scanning the interior of the unique prison with his Six Eyes.
"The fact that physical time doesn't pass is really troublesome," Gojo muttered.
The walls surrounding him were formed from countless rare curses.
Now, Gojo was like someone living in a closed world that operated outside of reality. He was enveloped by a living, impenetrable barrier.
"Oh well. I'll have to leave these problems to them."
"Things will work themselves out."
"I'll just get some sleep first."
His tone seemed relaxed.
But his occasionally visible, deep blue eyes were filled with solemnity.
...
21:44. Shibuya, Meiji Jingumae Station.
At the subway entrance leading down to the fifth underground level.
Mei Mei, Ui Ui, and Yuji Itadori suddenly stopped in their tracks.
"Can you hear me, Yuji Itadori?"
An unfamiliar voice crackled through the earpiece used to communicate with the Assistant Supervisors.
Yuji was stunned for a moment, then took off his earpiece and slammed it hard onto the floor!
Clang!
Surprisingly good quality; the earpiece bounced off the ground intact.
"Wait, wait!"
The mechanical voice coming from the device urged him urgently.
"I am not an enemy! I am Kyoto Prefectural's Mechamaru!"
"Mechamaru..."
With a wistful murmur of recollection, Yuji loosened his grip on his weapon slightly.
"There's no time to explain in detail. Just listen carefully," the voice said.
"Gojo Satoru... has been sealed away!"
Hearing the devastating news, Yuji stood there, bewildered and stunned.
A hint of surprise flashed across Mei Mei's face. "What is the basis for your intelligence?" she asked in a deep voice.
"I have no basis," Kokichi's pre-recorded voice spoke calmly from the earpiece on Yuji's palm.
"If I had to give a reason... my ability to communicate with you now is the proof."
"This is an automated mechanism. Only when my true body dies... and Gojo Satoru is sealed away..."
"Only when these two conditions are met does my triple insurance policy activate."
"My true body died about ten days ago..."
Cold sweat trickled down Yuji's forehead. "So," Yuji said incredulously. "The Cursed Object that sealed Gojo-sensei..."
"Did it fall into the hands of Zenin Mirai or the Fake Geto?"
"Yes," Mechamaru replied. "It's uncertain who ultimately holds the Prison Realm, but Gojo Satoru is trapped inside."
The terrifying battle that took place on B5F had nearly destroyed everything. The safety mechanism Kokichi left behind was incredibly lucky to survive the aftershocks just long enough to witness the sealing.
After hearing the brief explanation, the three of them temporarily chose to believe it.
"Itadori," Mechamaru ordered. "You must convey the fact that Gojo Satoru has been sealed to the Sorcerers outside the barrier immediately. Make sure the College calls for more support."
"Mei Mei-senpai. Please try to probe using your crows. Find out who exactly took the Prison Realm."
Mechamaru spoke in a deep voice.
"Although Okkotsu and Hakari are also in Shibuya... they are far from enough to handle Zenin Mirai."
"Your Black Bird Manipulation can share vision. It's better to send a crow to check on the Prison Realm than to send a Sorcerer close to those two monsters."
"Please, for the future of the Jujutsu world..."
"Please, both of you, risk your lives!"
Mei Mei took her giant battleaxe from Ui Ui and gently placed it on her shoulder.
"I can help," she said, her tone slightly heated as she glanced casually at the earpiece.
"But Mechamaru... your bank account shouldn't have been frozen yet, right?"
...
Deep in the subway tunnel, stepping over piles of rubble, was a small, winding maintenance path.
Mirai handed the heavy cube over to Kenjaku.
Because the Prison Realm had sealed Gojo Satoru, it needed time to process the massive amount of information from the Six Eyes before it could be easily moved. For now, it was incredibly heavy and rooted in place.
There was no time for Mirai to wait around, so Kenjaku would stay behind to guard it.
"My old friend's strength is truly unfathomable," Kenjaku said, taking the heavy cube and staring at Mirai.
Mirai had withstood the combined attacks of Gojo Satoru and Yuta Okkotsu—two Special Grade Sorcerers—with ease.
Granted, the terrain and the presence of civilians caused the two to restrain themselves initially... but still. It was terrifyingly strong.
Kenjaku wondered...
What exactly happened in the Domain in that one second?
The instant the barrier shattered, chaos had erupted, leaving Gojo maimed.
Kenjaku glanced at Mirai's indifferent expression.
If it were that easy to extract someone's trump cards, a master strategist with a thousand-year history wouldn't need to be at the mercy of others.
Kenjaku evaluated the data.
His strength is roughly equivalent to Ryomen Sukuna in his prime...
It's a 50/50 split.
So... the situation is still under control.
"Oh?" Kenjaku looked up as a crow flew past them in the dark tunnel.
"It seems to be Mei Mei. The one you had a rumored relationship with at Jujutsu High."
"Do whatever you like," Mirai said, his expression unchanged, his blood-red pupils icy.
Kenjaku smiled internally.
Truly, it was the right decision not to use the Prison Realm on Mirai.
Mirai was too paranoid and wary. The stringent prerequisites required for sealing—keeping him in place for one minute of "brain time"—were incredibly difficult to meet against someone with his mindset.
Unless Kenjaku could somehow summon brain-devouring anomalies, ten-thousand-year-old ninjas, straw hat pirates, or a death god elementary school detective to distract him... there was only a one percent chance of sealing Mirai.
"With Yuta Okkotsu and Kinji Hakari here," Kenjaku said, "you must be having a hard time getting things done."
"I'll leave this place to you for now," Mirai replied calmly. "I'll handle those two."
At this stage, Mirai could not allow Yuta and Hakari to disrupt the balance of the Shibuya battlefield.
Mahito and Yuji Itadori needed to evolve through their destined clash.
If Yuta interfered, the plot would collapse.
With one step into the void, Mirai vanished via Kamui.
...
Inside the Kamui Dimension, Mirai silently replayed the previous battles.
The unexpected had already happened. Gojo surviving with an arm torn off instead of being perfectly sealed, the arrival of Yuta and Hakari... the plot was now unpredictable.
Nowadays, he couldn't just rely on his knowledge of the original manga. He needed independent judgment and planning.
Take Mechamaru's earpiece, for example.
Kokichi had left it on the ceiling of B5F for surveillance.
But with Mirai possessing the Sharingan, and White Zetsu already controlling Mechamaru's physical body... Mirai had discovered the anomaly hidden in the ceiling early in the morning.
He hadn't destroyed it.
Through careful, secret interventions during the fight, Mirai had intentionally ensured the earpiece survived the shockwaves so it could witness Gojo being sealed.
He needed the students to know. He needed the panic to spread.
He was the one pulling the strings.
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