Chapter 98: The Encirclement
"The Prison Realm that sealed Gojo-sensei… it's in his hands, right?"
Fushiguro Megumi and Kugisaki Nobara rushed to Yuji's side, helping him to his feet.
"Yuji, are you alright?" Fushiguro asked, still wary of the cursed energy saturating the air.
Yuji clenched his fists, his eyes burning with purpose. "Megumi, Kugisaki—you're here too! Gojo-sensei is in his hands. We have to take it back!"
A glimmer of hope surfaced on his blood-streaked face.
"So everyone's gathered now?"
Kenjaku swept his gaze across the crowd of sorcerers encircling him, his tone calm—almost bored.
Even surrounded by so many, there was not the faintest hint of worry in his expression.
Among all present, only one person truly posed a threat to him—Zen'in Shinsuke—and that man had already entered into a binding vow with him. He couldn't lay a hand on Kenjaku.
As for the rest? Kenjaku didn't even bother to take them seriously.
The gap between an average sorcerer and a special-grade was as vast as heaven and earth.
A cursed spirit that could push a Grade 1 sorcerer to their limits would still fall instantly before someone of special grade.
And besides, his plan was already complete—there was no reason for him to die here today.
"Well, well… Chōsō. You came too."
Kenjaku turned slightly, smiling at the man glaring daggers at him.
"…I see. So that's how it is."
The faint grin on Kenjaku's borrowed face, the sutures across his forehead—Chōsō's mind flooded with bitter memories.
"Kamo Noritoshi!"
"What!?"
"He's that Kamo Noritoshi!?"
The surrounding sorcerers gasped. That name belonged to the most reviled curse user in history—someone who should've died over a century ago.
"W-what?" the current Kamo Noritoshi blinked, pointing to himself in confusion.
"Wait, what's going on here? We were supposed to be rescuing Gojo-sensei!"
Utahime quickly explained, her voice tense.
"Kamo Noritoshi was the greatest stain on the Kamo Clan's history—one of the most evil sorcerers to ever live. If what he says is true, then the thing inside Geto's body… is at least 150 years old."
Kenjaku smiled thinly.
"Kamo Noritoshi was just one of my names. Call me whatever you like."
"Bastard!" Chōsō's eyes flared crimson. "You made me fight Itadori! You sent my brothers to die—my own flesh and blood—against him!"
Now that the truth had surfaced, rage consumed him.
Knowing full well the connection between them, Kenjaku had still orchestrated their deaths, manipulating him into turning his blade against his own family.
Unforgivable.
Chōsō's cursed energy erupted. Blood shimmered into the air, coalescing around his palms like liquid rubies.
"I'm his older brother!" he roared.
Then his hands came together, blood swirling violently between them—condensing into a deadly crimson spear.
"Piercing Blood!"
A streak of blood-red light shot through the air, cutting toward Uraume like a bullet.
"—Tch!"
Uraume sank low, pressing a hand forward to block. The shockwave forced her back several steps, her expression tightening.
"So fast…" she muttered. She'd underestimated the blood-wielding sorcerer.
"Red Blood Manipulation?"
This time, even the modern Kamo Noritoshi was stunned.
First the ancient Kamo Noritoshi, and now another using the clan's signature art? Were all these people somehow connected to his family!?
"Save the shock for later—we need to focus on Gojo-sensei!" Hakari snapped his fingers, and a section of subway train manifested out of thin air, hurtling straight toward Kenjaku.
At once, the surrounding sorcerers unleashed a barrage of attacks, combining their efforts into a coordinated assault.
Kenjaku's body flickered. He vanished from sight—only to reappear high above, riding on the back of a spectral flying fish, its fins cutting through the air like blades.
"Boom!"
A piercing beam of azure cursed energy shot skyward—a compressed laser of pure destruction. It exploded around Kenjaku like a miniature sun, the shockwave rippling through the clouds.
As the smoke cleared, a massive centipede-like curse unfurled around him, shielding him completely. Not a scratch.
"Tch…" Riko Amanai clicked her tongue, shouldering her cursed rifle again and taking aim. "Persistent bastard…"
All around, the sorcerers regrouped for another coordinated strike.
From behind them, Amanai shouted, "Hey, old man! You really can't lend a hand here? If you stepped in, we could get Gojo-sensei back in minutes!"
Zen'in Shinsuke sighed, hands in his pockets.
"I don't enjoy watching Gojo suffer, trapped inside a little box," he admitted. "But unfortunately… I entered into a binding vow with this man. I can't raise a hand against him."
"So if you want to save Gojo… you'll have to do it yourselves."
He said it with a look of regret so convincing that, had he forced out a tear or two, they might've actually believed him.
"Fight with everything you've got," he added. "If you're still breathing when it's over, Shoko will patch you up."
"Don't make me sound like some miracle worker," Shoko muttered, giving him a side-eye before turning her gaze back to the battle, watching for anyone who went down.
When she'd first learned that "Geto" wasn't really Geto, she'd felt… relieved.
But at the same time, a small ache lingered in her heart.
I wanted it not to be him… yet I wish it really were.
Maybe that was just what came with age—the weight of old memories refusing to fade.
Principal Yaga and Naobito Zen'in stood on standby, watching the chaos unfold, ready to intervene if anyone fell.
"Haah!"
Out on the battlefield, Maki charged in like a bullet, her Soul-Splitting Katana cutting through minor curses with reckless joy.
"So this is what fighting a special grade feels like, huh?" Kusakabe muttered, brandishing his sword. "Yeah, this was a mistake."
Holding the line was one thing—but defeating an opponent of Kenjaku's caliber? That was another matter entirely.
Still, they weren't here to win—only to reclaim Gojo Satoru.
Kenjaku fought with a level of mastery that even Geto had never reached. His cursed spirit manipulation, coupled with his devastating close combat and unpredictable tactics, made him an impossible opponent to pin down.
And on top of that—Uraume, the ice-bound sorcerer, stood at his side.
It was proving… difficult.
"Hey, Itadori," Panda said, watching Chōsō battling furiously. "That guy's really your brother?"
"I… don't know?" Yuji scratched his head, bewildered.
Kugisaki gave him a skeptical glance. "What, is he like that gorilla guy? You got some secret family tree full of weirdos?"
The image of Tōdō eating a banana popped into her head.
"Could be," Megumi deadpanned, and Panda nodded in mock seriousness.
"Well, whatever he is—he's strong. But if we all go in together, we've got a chance," Panda said, his form swelling as he switched to his gorilla mode.
"Right. No matter what—it's up to us to get Gojo-sensei back!"
Yuji's eyes sharpened, his cursed energy flaring. The group surged forward as one.
Panda slammed a fist into the ground—"Tremor Impact!"—shattering concrete beneath him.
Then—
"Whoosh!"
A blur of white cut across their path.
A freezing gust surged outward, frost crawling over the shattered earth.
"Ice Binding Technique — Frost Gale!"
Uraume appeared before them, her pale eyes glowing cold and cruel. The blizzard howled through the ruins, freezing everything it touched.