Splash!
Scattered pebbles fell to the ground from the sky.
Yuji Itadori, who had been lying on the ground, was pulled out of the range of Kenjaku's gravity trap by the sheer shockwave of the recent attacks.
The reinforcements from Jujutsu High had arrived: Panda, Toge Inumaki, and Atsuya Kusakabe.
From Kyoto Prefectural Academy, the supervisor, Utahime Iori, arrived with her group of students.
"Thank you, Todo-senpai."
Kasumi Miwa looked at the burly figure that had appeared beside her and breathed a sigh of relief, thankful to have escaped death by Kenjaku's energy beam.
"Everyone..."
Covered in wounds, Yuji was dragged back to the group by Kusakabe, who had deployed his Simple Domain just in case.
Yuji stood up and watched as his teammates appeared one by one. A glimmer of hope sparked in his eyes, but it quickly dimmed.
'Am I, a mass murderer, really considered one of their comrades?' he thought bitterly.
The Sorcerers gathered. The strongest among them were Grade 1, and the weakest were Grade 3.
Against the monsters standing before them, it was as if a group of insects had banded together, writhing and swarming in a futile attempt at resistance.
"Everyone! The Cursed Object that sealed Gojo-sensei is in that guy's hands!"
Wiping the blood dripping from his forehead, Yuji pointed at Kenjaku, solemnly reminding them. "He is incredibly strong. The spirits he controls can cast their own Domains and techniques independently."
No reminder was needed. The Sorcerers who had arrived already knew the intelligence Mei Mei had broadcasted.
"Looks like this is going to be a tough battle!"
Aoi Todo tore open the top of his uniform, his face grave. "My best friend, remember to cooperate with my technique."
Todo's innate technique was Boogie Woogie.
The activation method was clapping his hands. The effect was swapping the positions of two objects containing Cursed Energy. It worked on both humans and non-living things, but the spell's range was limited. During the Goodwill Event when they fought Hanami, Yuji had perfectly synced with this spatial teleportation.
"Right!" Yuji responded in a deep voice, his Cursed Energy beginning to rise.
"Nishimiya?" Utahime frowned slightly as she looked at Momo, who had silently dropped to the ground beside her. "Why did you land? The air is your domain."
The Kyoto students looked up at the sky. They were instantly stunned into silence.
Floating above them, not hidden in the slightest, was a figure in a white robe.
Those blood-red eyes—the Mangekyou and the Rinnegan—were utterly cold and indifferent. Just a moment of eye contact was enough to make their souls feel like they were plunging into an ice cellar!
When did he get there?!
Despite the short distance between them, no one could sense even a trace of Cursed Energy from him!
Was it a Heavenly Restriction? No.
Todo glanced at the figure and quickly analyzed the strange scene.
'This represents a further mastery of the void compared to his battle against Gojo Satoru at the Goodwill Event,' Todo realized.
'He may seem to exist in reality... but his physical body and his Cursed Energy aren't actually in our dimension. They are in two different worlds.'
Todo frowned deeply, his heart sinking to the bottom.
His Boogie Woogie required sensing Cursed Energy to activate. But facing Mirai...
Not only was it impossible to touch his body, but it was also impossible to even swap him!
"He really is... a monster," Todo muttered.
...
"What do you say, my old friend?"
Kenjaku pointed a finger at Utahime among the Kyoto group. "Can I kill her?"
It was a test. A probe to see Mirai's weaknesses and attachments to his former colleagues.
Mirai slowly descended from the sky to the center of the battlefield. He ignored the question completely.
Thump, thump, thump!
Maki, Nobara, and Megumi arrived at the battlefield at that moment, having finally caught up.
And finally, White Zetsu strolled leisurely out of the shadows, walking to Mirai's side.
The battlefield suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
If they were facing Jogo or Dagon, they might be lucky to escape. But facing Zenin Mirai—the monster who had defeated Gojo Satoru in a head-on battle—no one dared to act rashly. No one even dared to flee.
Kusakabe, standing beside Utahime, was sweating profusely. He had absolutely no intention of trying to save Gojo Satoru anymore. He was entirely preoccupied with how to leave Shibuya alive.
Kenjaku looked at White Zetsu. His subtle gaze was full of a calculating, greedy glint.
'The total amount of Cursed Energy far exceeds that of a Special Grade,' Kenjaku analyzed. 'It resembles a bizarre technique for possessing a body, yet the soul is utterly alien. An experimental subject with extremely high research value!'
"Hi, White Zetsu." Kenjaku smiled politely.
"Hey. What the hell are you looking at, you creep?"
Zetsu pointed a white finger at the bewildered Kenjaku.
"Master Zetsu's perception is very strong, understand? Don't stare at my back with that lewd look. Your grandpa doesn't swing that way."
Ptooo.
Zetsu spat a thick wad of phlegm onto the ruined concrete.
"Pah! You brainless idiot!"
After a brief pause of half a second, Zetsu resumed his attack, correcting himself.
"Oh, wait. By the way, you're not brainless. You are a brain! You're literally just a brain! You brain-dead, brain-in-a-jar idiot!"
"..."
Looking at the cursing spirit, Kenjaku's smile completely vanished.
'Brain-dead idiot?'
This was the first time in a thousand years he had been cursed out so filthily by a Cursed Spirit.
As for Mirai, he could only twitch his lips in speechless exasperation. That mouth of Zetsu's was truly venomous.
Without a word, Mirai activated his right eye. The space around Zetsu swirled, and the cursing spirit was instantly sucked into the Kamui Dimension to shut him up.
Even the students from Jujutsu High standing nearby were quite shocked by Zetsu's outburst. It completely ruined the tension for a fleeting second.
...
Mirai's subtle gaze swept over the crowd, full of calculating glints.
"Mai. Come here."
With an unquestionable tone, Mirai calmly looked at Mai Zenin in the Kyoto group.
"Mirai... brother."
Wearing her school uniform, with her short, dark green hair, Mai trembled. In her hand, she still held the Crimson Lotus revolver that Zetsu had given her months ago.
Mai subconsciously took two steps forward, but suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her companions—the people she had spent the last two years with. Utahime, Momo, Miwa, Todo.
They did not stop her. They didn't even try to dissuade her. They just waited quietly for her to make her decision.
Mai clenched her knuckles tightly, her face filled with hesitation and struggle.
She still remembered her mother's daily admonitions when she was a child in the Zenin clan: 'Absolutely obey the Head of the Family.'
Mai had never imagined she would ever dare to disobey Mirai. As she took another trembling step toward him, her face grew even paler.
She wasn't as brave or fearless as her sister Maki. Mai, who had lived in the Zenin mansion since childhood, knew better than anyone what the consequences would be for daring to disobey him.
Mai closed her eyes tightly. She couldn't take another step.
Even though she was terrified, she remembered all the little things her companions had shared over the past two years. Training together, having late-night snacks together, playing around, going through life and death together...
When carrying out exorcism missions, Mai had saved her teammates, and she had been saved by them. It wasn't just simple time spent together; they were partners to whom she could entrust her life.
Tick-tock.
Her fingernails pierced the flesh of her palms, drawing blood. The physical pain was nothing compared to her inner turmoil.
She didn't dare refuse him out loud. But she couldn't walk to him.
When she opened her eyes and met Mirai's faint gaze, Mai's eyes were full of pleading. Scalding tears fell to the ground, one by one. She was silently begging him not to make her choose.
"Mai..." Utahime whispered softly.
Momo, Miwa, and Maki couldn't help but step forward to speak.
They were stunned by the sudden splash of blood!
SQUELCH!
A massive, jagged wooden root from the Gedo Mazo erupted from the void, piercing straight through Mai's torso!
Before that splash of blood even hit the ground, Mai was violently dragged into the Kamui Dimension!
"MAI!!!"
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