Everyone stared at the scene before them, their eyes wide as if they had seen a ghost.
Nobara Kugisaki's jaw nearly hit the floor. Her one remaining eye darted frantically between Choso's somber, pale face and Yuji Itadori's characteristically blank, innocent expression.
"Yuji..."
Nobara's voice was trembling.
"When the hell did you go behind our backs and pick up a brother who's a Special Grade cursed object with such a... unique fashion sense?"
Panda scratched his furry head, his face full of disbelief.
"Did Principal Yaga make a new type of Cursed Corpse using some weird materials behind my back?"
Faced with their skepticism, Yuji Itadori opened his mouth, but he found he couldn't make a sound.
His mind was a complete mess.
In the depths of Shibuya Station, when he was in a life-and-death struggle with Choso and about to be killed by that piercing blood, the man had suddenly clutched his head and wept.
Immediately after, a flood of non-existent memories had surged into Yuji's own mind, uncontrollable and vivid.
In those memories, he saw sunlight and grassy fields.
He saw himself sitting, laughing, and eating with this man named Choso and his brothers, Eso and Kechizu, as if they were real blood relatives.
That soul-deep throb and the eerie resonance of shared blood made it impossible for him to harbor any intent to kill the man in front of him.
"I..."
Yuji turned his head as if for help, looking toward Instructor Yoru, who stood in the shadows as if he could see through everything.
A flash of understanding crossed Yoru's red eyes.
He stepped forward slowly, placing himself between Yuji and Choso.
"It seems the resonance of your bloodline has finally brought you back to your senses, Choso."
Yoru's voice was as calm as water, yet carried an undeniable authority.
Choso took a deep breath, forcing down the excitement and fanatical devotion he felt toward his younger brother.
He looked directly into Yoru's eyes, his gaze heavy with unprecedented gravity and caution.
"Back at the station, a flood of memories suddenly poured into my mind."
Choso's voice was hoarse, sounding like sandpaper grinding together.
"Memories of Yuji... and of us, the brothers of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings."
"There's no mistaking that feeling."
Choso clenched his fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms, causing dark red blood to ooze out.
"He is indeed my flesh-and-blood brother! He's the tenth brother of the Death Paintings, the one who was never mentioned!"
As soon as those words left his mouth, the air in the bunker seemed to freeze.
Yuji was a Death Painting?!
This news was so shocking it made people's skin crawl even more than Satoru Gojo being sealed.
"Wait a minute!"
Noritoshi Kamo of the Kyoto School couldn't help but step forward, his brow furrowed in disbelief.
"That's impossible!"
"The Death Paintings are Special Grade cursed objects created back in the early Meiji era by the stain on the Kamo family, Noritoshi Kamo, using that woman with the special constitution."
"That was over a hundred years ago!"
Noritoshi Kamo pointed at Yuji.
"Yuji Itadori is only fifteen! How could he possibly be a Death Painting created by Noritoshi Kamo?!"
"Because that so-called 'Noritoshi Kamo' wasn't actually human."
Yoru coldly interrupted Noritoshi Kamo.
His next sentence dropped like a nuclear bomb in everyone's minds.
"He and the monster Kenjaku, who occupied Suguru's body, are one and the same."
"What?!"
Not only Noritoshi Kamo, but also Utahime, Shoko Ieiri, and even Suguru Geto, who usually remained calm, widened their eyes in shock.
Yoru raised his hand and pointed to his forehead, gesturing the presence of stitches.
"That curse user who has lived for over a thousand years is named Kenjaku."
"His innate technique is a disgusting form of brain transplantation."
"He has the terrifying ability to continuously swap bodies and perfectly acquire the original owner's cursed techniques and memories."
Yoru's gaze swept over everyone present, laying bare the dark truth buried in the dust of history.
"Over a hundred years ago, he took over Noritoshi Kamo's body and cruelly used that woman to create the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings."
"And over a decade ago..."
Yoru's gaze finally landed on Yuji Itadori's increasingly pale face.
"He took over the body of a woman named Kaori."
"In the role of a mother, he gave birth to you, Yuji."
Silence.
A deathly silence fell over the bunker.
The only sounds were heavy breathing and the thudding of heartbeats.
"His purpose was to create the perfect vessel that could accommodate Ryomen Sukuna."
Yoru's voice wasn't loud, but every word cut to the bone.
"So, in terms of bloodline and the karma of the soul, you and Choso are indeed half-brothers."
Yuji's legs went weak, and he slumped against the cold concrete wall, his strength failing him.
His pupils trembled violently.
'My birth, everything I've experienced, even the coincidence of swallowing Sukuna's finger...'
'Was it all a meticulously planned conspiracy by that thousand-year-old monster?'
'Was the meaning of my existence nothing more than a container for a catastrophe?'
"Yuji!"
Seeing Yuji's collapse, Choso could no longer contain his emotions.
He lunged forward, catching the teetering Yuji in a tight embrace.
"Don't be afraid!"
Choso's eyes were completely bloodshot, burning with a rage that could incinerate anything.
"I don't care what purpose that bastard Kenjaku had for creating you—you are my brother!"
"I am the eldest brother!"
"Protecting my younger brother is the entire meaning and destiny of my existence in this world!"
Choso turned his head to glare at the bunker's entrance, looking as if he wanted to tear through the endless darkness and devour the mastermind who played with their fates.
"If anyone dares to hurt you, I will kill them! Even if it's a god, I'll kill them for you!"
Watching Choso's almost obsessive protectiveness, Yoru nodded slightly.
In the original story, after recognizing his brother, Choso became Yuji's most steadfast and selfless supporter.
To protect Yuji, he was even willing to challenge those at the absolute peak of power with his mortal body multiple times.
With the addition of the Death Painting brothers, their top-tier combat strength would be significantly bolstered.
"Now then, Choso."
Yoru folded his arms, looking down at the man who would sacrifice everything for his brother.
"You didn't come here with Eso and Kechizu just for a family reunion, did you?"
Choso let go of Yuji and slowly stood up.
Eso and Kechizu stepped forward as well, the three Special Grade incarnated vessels simultaneously radiating an aura of grim determination.
"During the chaos in Shibuya, I saw you and Suguru Geto fighting side by side."
Choso's eyes burned as he stared at Yoru.
"I also saw the god-like power you displayed to save ordinary people you didn't even know."
"You seem to know a lot about that 'brain' thing."
Choso spoke through gritted teeth, every word sounding forced out.
"I want to know the entirety of Kenjaku's plan!"
"He didn't just create us and harm our mother; he has been using us as pawns in his game!"
"He went through all the trouble of setting such a massive stage, even starting the Culling Game—what exactly is he after?!"
Yoru looked at the furious brothers and remained silent for a moment.
"His ultimate goal is the merger with Master Tengen."
"Master Tengen?!"
Utahime and Noritoshi Kamo cried out in unison, their faces instantly turning pale.
As veteran instructors and descendants of the Big Three Families, they knew all too well what the name 'Tengen' represented.
He was the all-knowing sorcerer with an immortality technique who maintained the entire barrier network across Japan.
He was the absolute foundation upon which the Japanese jujutsu world rested!
"Exactly."
Yoru walked to a simple map on the wall and traced a large circle with his finger.
"The reason Kenjaku started the Culling Game and used Idle Transfiguration to forcibly awaken the cursed energy of millions..."
"Wasn't for some vague 'human evolution'."
"It was to create an unprecedented storm of chaos and cursed energy."
Yoru's eyes were chillingly cold.
"He intends to use the massive amount of negative emotions and cursed energy generated during the Culling Game to forcibly break Master Tengen's barriers."
"Once Master Tengen is forced to merge with all of humanity in Japan..."
"A super cursed spirit with the power to rewrite reality itself will be born, one that cannot be controlled."
"At that point, it won't be a matter of tens or hundreds of thousands of deaths."
"It will be the destruction of the entire country, perhaps even the world."
Hearing Yoru's description, everyone felt a chill run up their spines.
The plan was insane!
It was so madness-driven that it transcended the limits of human understanding and imagination!
"That animal..."
Eso clenched his fists, the ghost face on his back letting out a ferocious roar in anger.
"He treats everyone's lives as mere ingredients for his disgusting experiment?!"
Kechizu also let out a furious hiss, the thick, poisonous blood on his skin boiling violently.
Choso took a deep breath, suppressing the rage that threatened to incinerate his reason.
He turned to Yoru, a spark of unprecedented determination in his eyes.
"I want to join you."
His tone was decisive, leaving no room for argument.
"To completely end Kenjaku's plot."
"For all my brothers who were heartlessly used and died miserable deaths..."
Choso glanced back at Yuji Itadori, who was still in a daze, and his hard facial features softened instantly.
"And to protect my brother."
Choso dropped to one knee, lowering his proud head toward Yoru.
"As long as you need me, I will fight for you, Yoru."
"Even if I have to shed every last drop of my blood, I will not hesitate."
Yoru looked at the three Special Grade cursed objects who had once caused such bloodshed in the original story, and a faint, satisfied smile finally touched his lips.
He reached out, pulled Choso up from the ground, and gave his hand a firm squeeze.
"Welcome aboard, Choso."
"With your intelligence and strength, our chances in the Culling Game have improved significantly."
Yoru turned to look at the still-dark sky outside the bunker.
In the face of this millennium-spanning conspiracy, these people who had once fought alone were finally brought together by a common enemy and their bonds.
However, Yoru knew very well.
Kenjaku's Culling Game had already begun, and the ancient sorcerers who had slept for a thousand years were already preparing within the barriers.
And the 'God of Pure Love,' Yuta Okkotsu, who carried an execution order, was about to step onto this wasteland.
The real storm had only just begun.
A gamble that would decide the future of the world had forced everyone to the brink.
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