November 23rd.
One week had passed since Sukuna took over Megumi Fushiguro's body.
In just seven days, the ten Culling Game colonies had completely merged into one, enveloping the entirety of Japan within a single barrier.
The Culling Game's nineteen-day cycle had now entered its second round.
It had been confirmed that any player whose score failed to change within those nineteen days would be sentenced to death.
And now, the number of participants within the barrier—
Players: 94 million.
In the span of a single week, nearly ten million civilians across Japan had already perished.
Tokyo Jujutsu High
Amid the shattered ruins, a relatively clean conference room had been cleared out.
After seven days, everyone had gathered once more:
Tokyo Jujutsu High, Kyoto Jujutsu High, and even Mei Mei and Ui Ui, who had only recently returned to Japan.
As the current representative of Jujutsu High, Kusakabe stood before the group, analyzing the coming battle.
"There are some things we should make clear before Gojo Satoru is unsealed."
Kusakabe's expression was grave.
"Whether it's the King of Curses from a thousand years ago, or the inhuman Zenin Mirai…"
"Each opponent is more terrifying than the last. We can't place all our hopes on Gojo alone."
"So the premise of this meeting is simple—"
"If Gojo Satoru loses, how do we face what comes next?"
Yuji raised his hand.
"Why can't we fight alongside Gojo-sensei? At the very least, we have the advantage in numbers, right?"
Kusakabe shook his head.
"A battlefield at that level can erase entire city blocks with a single attack."
"If we joined in, we'd only distract Gojo."
"In short, on the battlefield between those three, even Special Grades would just become dead weight."
Yuji lowered his arm unwillingly, his face darkening.
Over the past seven days, he had pushed himself to the absolute limit in order to maximize his strength.
The cursed tools Shoko had brought from the Gojo clan.
The remaining six Death Painting Wombs in Choso's possession.
Yuki Tsukumo's soul research notes left behind before her death.
They had done everything possible—
Yet he still wasn't qualified to stand beside Gojo-sensei in battle.
Seeing his younger brother's frustration, Choso gently patted Yuji on the shoulder.
"You've got two enemies to deal with!"
Kashimo suddenly stood, battle lust surging in his eyes.
"Let Gojo Satoru handle Zenin Mirai first. Leave Ryomen Sukuna to me."
Kusakabe pressed a hand to his forehead helplessly. When it came to battle maniacs like Kashimo, there was no talking sense into them.
Hakari, feet propped up on the chair in front of him, turned lazily toward Kashimo.
"Let those three monsters wreck the place first."
"No matter who's left standing afterward, you'll be the first one we send out. Sound good?"
Only then did the troublemaker sit back down.
Kusakabe bit down on his lollipop and continued assigning everyone their roles.
Angel, who was now cooperating with Jujutsu High, also provided several crucial pieces of information.
By the end of the discussion, everyone had been assigned their respective tasks.
But there was still one unresolved mystery—
No one understood Zenin Mirai's true objective.
"Tengen-sama's main body was taken away. We still don't know whether they're alive or dead."
Shoko inhaled from the cigarette between her fingers, confusion visible on her face.
"And Choso personally witnessed Kenjaku's death inside the Tombs of the Star Corridor."
"There's no doubt the merging of the barriers was Zenin Mirai's doing…"
"But what exactly is his goal?"
"Kenjaku wanted to merge the cursed energy of one hundred million people and force the entire country into the other side."
"But to accomplish that, Suguru Geto's Cursed Spirit Manipulation was essential."
Exactly.
To create a monster born from the cursed energy of hundreds of millions, Cursed Spirit Manipulation was a necessary step.
"Not necessarily."
Kusakabe bit into his lollipop, his expression solemn.
"Didn't Maki mention it before?"
"Zenin Naoya became a cursed spirit after death."
"And White Zetsu deliberately saved that curse from Maki, along with Yorozu, who was on the verge of death."
"I don't believe a monster like Zenin Mirai would care about gaining such insignificant combat power."
Angel spoke up as well.
"Maybe he possesses some hidden trump card… or another technique we don't know about."
"Based on the information you've given me, Zenin Mirai is different from Sukuna."
"Whether it was infiltrating your school or constantly concealing his true strength…"
"Besides overwhelming power, he possesses cunning equal to Kenjaku's."
Kusakabe let out a long sigh.
"We have no idea how many cards that monster still has hidden."
"All we can do… is everything within our power, and leave the rest to fate."
"At the very least, Kenjaku dying before him has bought us time to prepare additional plans."
"Kenjaku is dead?"
After hearing Uraume's report, Sukuna let out a cold laugh.
"That guy isn't so easy to kill."
"Don't forget what he looked like the first time we met him."
Because he hadn't personally killed Tsumiki using Megumi's body, traces of the vessel's consciousness still remained.
It took Sukuna seven full days of immersion before Megumi's soul finally sank completely into silence.
After changing into the close-fitting clothes Uraume had prepared, Sukuna slowly approached the dried corpse lying beside the bath.
With utmost reverence, Uraume offered him a cloth containing several grotesque fingers.
"My apologies, Sukuna-sama. I was unable to locate the final finger."
Inside the opened cloth lay three shriveled fingers.
Sukuna swallowed them one by one.
"There's no need to worry."
"I already have a rough idea where the last finger is."
"It was probably hidden away by Gojo Satoru so Yuji Itadori's execution would be postponed indefinitely."
Sukuna had also considered the possibility that Zenin Mirai had taken it—
But ultimately rejected the idea.
That man was already strong enough.
Plucking the head off the dried corpse before him, Sukuna devoured it in a single bite.
That alone was enough to compensate for the missing finger.
Feeling the endless surge of power flooding through his body, Sukuna had finally returned to the peak of his strength from a thousand years ago.
"Let's go."
"It's time to settle the score from back then."
All four eyes blazed with battle lust.
Having regained his full power, Sukuna impatiently headed toward the center of the barrier.
At the same time—
A blinding holy light descended from the heavens, crashing toward the unique cursed object lying amidst the ruins.
Bathed in sacred radiance, the Prison Realm completely vanished into thin air.
From the Shibuya Incident until now, only a month had passed since Gojo Satoru was sealed.
But time flowed differently within the Prison Realm.
No one knew how long Gojo had truly endured within that isolated void.
There was even the possibility that he had gone insane and would emerge slaughtering indiscriminately.
Everyone stared nervously into the rolling smoke before them, hearts pounding violently.
White hair.
Brilliant blue eyes devoid of any readable emotion.
There was no madness.
But neither was there the usual carefree playfulness.
Stepping out from the smoke, Gojo Satoru silently gazed at the students gathered before him.
Seeing the cold expression on his face, Yuta, Panda, Inumaki, Nobara, and the others all pressed their lips together, unsure what to say.
Only Yuji ignored the suffocating aura that warned others to stay away.
He smiled and waved.
"Welcome back, Sensei."
PS: Access the complete/finished chapters/series at Patreon: NanamiTL
Please drop some power stones support me at my Patreon