This place was originally a meditation room for the Star Plasma Vessels to calm their minds before the merger, but now it served as the temporary command center for the jujutsu world's last hope.
The furnishings were extremely simple; aside from a few ancient cushions, there were only long-burning lamps on the walls emitting a faint glow.
However, the atmosphere inside this side hall was currently somewhat awkwardly nuanced.
"So..."
Maki Zenin, clutching her spear, warily eyed the two bizarre figures standing behind Yuji Itadori, her brows tightly furrowed.
"These two are the Special Grade Cursed Spirits you encountered during the Yasohachi Bridge incident?"
"To be precise, they are the second and third sons of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings."
Megumi Fushiguro stood with his hands in his pockets, his gaze equally cold.
"I remember Yoru stopped us back then, saying he'd handle them. I didn't expect him not to exorcise them."
Under the collective gaze of the group...
Eso, with his bizarre wings and revealing attire, and Kechizu, small in stature with a strange face, stood cautiously behind Choso.
These two incarnations of the Death Paintings, who had fought Yuji and Megumi to the death at Yasohachi Bridge, were now as well-behaved as elementary schoolers who had done something wrong in the presence of these Special Grade combatants.
"Hey, hey, don't look at them like that."
Yuji Itadori scratched his head and quickly stepped in to smooth things over, though his expression was also a bit awkward.
"They aren't actually bad at heart; they were just being used before..."
"Yuji is right!"
Choso stepped forward, shielding Eso and Kechizu like a protective mother hen.
His eyes, marked with black patterns, seriously swept across everyone present, his tone carrying a stubborn resolve.
"They are my brothers, and Yuji's brothers too."
"As long as I'm here, I absolutely won't allow anyone to harm them!"
At the word 'brothers,' Yuji Itadori's mouth twitched visibly, but he ultimately didn't speak up to argue.
"A full gathering of the Death Painting brothers—that truly is a rare sight."
Yuki Tsukumo stood with her arms crossed, sizing up the three brothers with interest, a flash of researcher-like fervor in her eyes.
"The Death Paintings created by Noritoshi Kamo in the early Meiji era... the first three are all Special Grade."
"They not only possess an extremely high level of cursed energy but, more importantly, they have human bodies combined with the characteristics of cursed spirits."
Yuki Tsukumo turned to look at Yoru, her eyes filled with a hint of admiration.
"Yoru, you didn't kill them back then, but instead chose to use Sun Breathing to purify the malice within them. That was indeed a brilliant and daring move."
"With these three around, our combat power in the Culling Game will increase by at least twenty percent."
Yoru leaned against a pillar in the side hall and gave a noncommittal shrug.
"I just felt that poor wretches toyed with by fate shouldn't become sacrifices for someone else's ambition."
Yoru's words caused Choso's body to shudder.
He turned and looked at Yoru, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
There was gratitude, awe, and an extreme thirst for the truth.
"Yoru, back in Shibuya, you once said..."
Choso took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly from intense suppression.
"That bastard occupying Suguru Geto's body is the same Noritoshi Kamo who created us."
"What... what exactly is going on?"
Choso's words drew everyone's attention to Yoru.
Especially Suguru Geto, whose narrow eyes instantly erupted with a sharp killing intent.
After all, that monster had stolen his former body and even used his identity to do so many nauseating things!
Yoru saw the inquisitive looks in everyone's eyes and knew it was time to fully reveal Kenjaku's cards.
"That guy's real name isn't Noritoshi Kamo."
Yoru's voice was calm, but every word he spoke rang through the side hall like a clap of thunder.
"His name is Kenjaku."
"A most malicious curse user who has lived for over a thousand years."
Yoru's gaze swept over the crowd.
"He doesn't have a fixed body. His cursed technique allows him to seize others' bodies and techniques by switching brains."
"Over the millennium, he has constantly changed hosts, lurking in the shadows of the jujutsu world's history."
Yoru looked at Choso, his tone turning somewhat heavy.
"In the early Meiji era, he seized Noritoshi Kamo's body and, utilizing your mother's unique constitution, performed those inhumane cursed spirit pregnancy experiments, creating you Death Paintings."
"And now..."
Yoru turned his gaze back to Suguru Geto.
"He has seized the body of the Suguru who died in that parallel timeline, and even exploited the intelligence flaws left behind by Suguru to seize Rika's Mimicry technique."
"Everything he has done—whether it was creating the Death Paintings, sealing Gojo-sensei, or even starting the current Culling Game..."
"It was all for one final purpose."
Yoru raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the ceiling of the side hall to the Master Tengen sitting in that pure white space.
"He wants to force all of humanity to merge with Tengen, creating an ultimate monster that transcends all jujutsu sorcerers and cursed spirits."
Dead silence.
A long, heavy silence fell over the side hall.
Everyone was utterly shocked by this thousand-year-old conspiracy and the bone-chilling truth.
'So... that's how it is.'
Choso lowered his head, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails pierced his palms, and blood dripped through his fingers onto the floor.
He finally understood why that man with the stitches on his forehead gave him such a familiar yet loathsome blood resonance.
So the bastard who treated the three of them as experiments and viewed them as monsters was their 'father'!
"Unforgivable..."
Eso and Kechizu also felt their eldest brother's extreme grief and indignation, letting out angry roars one after another.
"I will kill him with my own hands."
Choso suddenly looked up, his black-patterned eyes bloodshot and filled with tangible killing intent.
"I'm going to dig that bastard's brain out myself and crush it bit by bit!"
"You'll have your chance."
Yoru looked at the Choso who was on the verge of losing control and nodded calmly.
"The Culling Game is the grave he prepared for us."
"But in my view, it's also the perfect stage for us to bury him."
"Count me in."
Suguru Geto's cold voice rang out.
The cursed energy around him began to fluctuate violently, and several Special Grade Cursed Spirits emitting terrifying auras flickered behind him.
"To dare use my body for such disgusting things... I'll let him know the meaning of a fate worse than death."
Watching these powerhouses completely enraged by Kenjaku, Yuki Tsukumo gave a satisfied whistle.
"It seems everyone's goals are perfectly aligned."
She walked to the center of the side hall and clapped her hands assertively.
"In that case, let's stop the chatter."
"Leave that Kenjaku bastard to you lot. As for those ancient sorcerers in the Culling Game..."
Yuki Tsukumo looked at Yuta Okkotsu and Maki, a dangerous curve tugging at her lips.
"...we'll take care of clearing them out."
Yuta Okkotsu gave a slight smile and a gentle nod, but there was no warmth in his eyes.
"I will act as everyone's support, ensuring no rule-breaking player leaves the barrier alive."
Maki simply slammed the butt of her spear into the ground.
"Whoever gets in the way dies."
Listening to his companions' bold declarations, a strong warmth welled up in Yuji Itadori's heart.
He looked at Choso, who stood beside him like a high wall protecting him.
He looked at Yoru in the distance, who seemed as though he would never fall and could always bring them hope.
Yuji Itadori took a deep breath and clenched his fists tightly.
"I'll fight too!"
Yuji's voice was loud, filled with a pure determination.
"To rescue Gojo-sensei, to protect everyone..."
"No matter what kind of monsters are in the Culling Game, I'll blow them all away!"
Within the side hall, the lamplight flickered.
Within this group—viewed as rebels by the jujutsu higher-ups and as monsters by the rest of the world—a terrifying power capable of overturning the old era was being born.
The Death Paintings had gathered; Yuji's legion of brothers was officially formed.
And the blood-stained doors of the Culling Game were slowly swinging open for them.
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