"So you're Itadori Yuji."
His voice was low and hoarse.
Slowly, he drew the katana from his back.
Under the pale lights of the basement, the blade reflected a chilling gleam.
"I heard Inumaki was seriously injured in Shibuya."
"If someone hadn't saved him, he would've died."
"And the reason for all of this... Is the Ryomen Sukuna inside you."
Step by step, Yuta approached.
Immense cursed energy condensed and boiled around the blade.
"Even though the higher-ups had your execution order revoked for some reason, I don't care about those old men's decisions."
"You hurt my friend."
"Even if you're Gojo-sensei's student..."
"I'll execute you right here."
The killing intent stabbed at Yuji's skin like needles.
But he didn't retreat.
He knew just how much destruction Sukuna had caused the previous night.
Had Rin not arrived in time and beaten Sukuna back into submission, the casualties in Shibuya would have multiplied many times over.
"Okkotsu-senpai, wait!"
Megumi immediately stepped in front of Yuji and spread his arms.
"Inumaki-senpai has already fully recovered!"
"And right now, fighting each other is the last thing we should be doing!"
"Gojo-sensei has been sealed inside the Special Grade cursed object, the Prison Realm!"
"And it's currently in the hands of an extremely dangerous man!"
"There's also the Culling Game spreading throughout the country!"
"And my sister has been dragged into it!"
"We need your strength!"
The moment he heard that Gojo had been sealed, Yuta stopped in his tracks.
His bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at Megumi.
"Gojo-sensei... sealed?"
"Is there really someone in this world capable of doing that?"
Slowly, he sheathed his sword.
The violent Special Grade cursed energy surrounding him receded like the tide.
Walking over to a nearby hospital bed, Yuta sat down and rubbed his forehead, his exhausted face growing increasingly grave.
"Tell me."
"Everything that happened last night."
"Word for word."
For the next half hour, Megumi recounted everything that had happened beneath Shibuya Station.
Kenjaku's conspiracy.
The deaths of Hanami and Jogo.
Sukuna's awakening.
And the mysterious black-haired young man who had appeared out of nowhere, single-handedly overwhelmed the entire battlefield, and disposed of Special Grade curses as though they were worthless trash.
After hearing the full story, silence descended upon the basement.
Yuta lowered his head, absentmindedly rubbing the hilt of his sword.
"A man who can crush Special Grade curses with his bare hands..."
"Split a meteor in half with a single slash..."
"And regenerate severed limbs out of thin air..."
He drew in a slow breath.
Even as the only Special Grade sorcerer currently free to act, the figure described by Megumi filled him with unease.
"That man..."
"Is he friend or foe?"
Yuta finally raised his head and asked.
"I don't know."
Megumi shook his head bitterly.
"He saved us."
"He saved Nanami-san and everyone else."
"But he also took the Prison Realm."
"And he openly declared that if the higher-ups dared to disobey him, he would flatten the entire jujutsu world."
"The old men at Headquarters don't even dare say his name now. They're obedient as grandchildren."
Yuta stood up.
The hesitation in his eyes disappeared, replaced by determination.
"As long as he didn't kill Gojo-sensei, there's still room to negotiate."
"Our priority right now is suppressing the chaos caused by the Culling Game."
He turned to Yuji.
Though traces of caution toward Sukuna remained in his eyes, most of the hostility had vanished.
"Itadori, we'll settle things with Sukuna later."
"I'll help you enter the barriers."
"First, we'll collect points, add rules, and save Fushiguro's sister and the innocent civilians."
"Second, we'll find a way to break the seal on the Prison Realm."
"Since that man named Rin took it, once the situation stabilizes, I'll personally pay him a visit."
The return of the Special Grade sorcerer once again gave the desperate group something to rely on.
Thus, the operation to attack the various Culling Game colonies officially began.
...
Three days later.
Tokyo No. 1 Colony.
The cruelty of the Culling Game was on full display.
The streets were filled with craters and bloodstains left behind by battle.
Modern buildings had been reduced to shattered ruins.
Boom!
A thick bolt of lightning descended from the sky, reducing a semi-Grade 1 curse to charcoal.
Standing atop the ruins was a man dressed in old-fashioned hunting clothes and carrying a metal staff.
His blue hair stood upright like a hedgehog's quills, and a distinctive lightning-shaped tattoo decorated the corner of his eye.
The strongest lightning-user from four hundred years ago.
Hajime Kashimo.
Since his reincarnation, he had slaughtered dozens of modern sorcerers and countless curses in only three days.
His score far surpassed everyone else's.
"Boring."
"Too boring."
Kashimo rested the metal staff on his shoulder and spat out a mouthful of blood.
His eyes were filled with both fanaticism and disdain.
"Is this really the level of modern sorcerers?"
"You're all so weak you don't even qualify as a warm-up."
He looked toward the translucent black barrier overhead.
"That bastard Kenjaku told me there was a King of Curses named Ryomen Sukuna in this era."
"He said Sukuna could give me the glorious death I've always wanted."
Kashimo tightened his grip on the metal staff.
Terrifying lightning burst from his body, filling the air with crackling explosions.
"Where are you, Sukuna?!"
"Get out here!"
His roar echoed through the silent ruins.
But no one answered.
Meanwhile, in the luxury villa in Chiyoda Ward.
Rin, who had been sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed, slowly opened them.
Beside him, Toji stopped polishing his blade.
"The energy fluctuations inside the barriers are getting stronger, Boss."
A bloodthirsty grin spread across Toji's face.
"The ancient crops are growing nicely."
Rin rose to his feet.
His black trench coat traced a cold arc through the air.
"The leeks are ripe."
"Time to harvest."
"Let's go."
___
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