He stood alone at the edge of the long gallery, his hands gripping the weathered wooden railing so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.
*The parents who created me... were actually a monster who has lived for a thousand years?*
Yuji whispered softly to himself, his mind repeatedly playing back the cruel truth revealed by Yoru and Yuki Tsukumo in the side hall.
That sorcerer with the stitches on his forehead named Kenjaku had, for the sake of his mad human evolution plan, crossed a millennium by constantly hopping into new bodies—even going as far as to occupy a woman's body just to give birth to him!
This absurd and hair-raising blood connection filled Yuji Itadori with an uncontrollable wave of nausea.
Growing up, he had always believed he was just an ordinary boy with a mysterious but kind grandfather.
But now, every perception he had of himself had been ruthlessly shattered.
His birth, his body, and even his physical constitution as Sukuna's Vessel—all of it was a conspiracy meticulously engineered by that thousand-year-old fox!
Just then, the sound of steady footsteps echoed from behind him.
Yuji didn't turn around, but he could sense the familiar presence.
"Yuji."
Choso's voice sounded somewhat raspy in the night wind, yet it carried an indisputable sense of determination.
He walked to Yuji's side and placed his hands on the railing as well, staring out into the bottomless darkness beyond the Tombs of the Star Corridor.
"You must find it disgusting, and hard to accept."
Choso didn't look at Yuji, speaking as if to himself with a voice filled with deep exhaustion and bitterness.
"One hundred and fifty years ago, that bastard used the same method to toy with our mother, causing us to be born into this world as Cursed Womb: Death Paintings—beings that are neither human nor curse."
"We were labeled as Special Grade Cursed Objects and sealed in the lightless darkness for a full century and a half."
"No one treated us as living beings. In the eyes of sorcerers, we were nothing more than dangerous, dead items."
Choso turned his head, his eyes marked with black horizontal lines fixed intently on Yuji, while complex emotions swirled deep within them.
"Until I felt your existence."
"It was a resonance that transcended blood and flesh, etched into the very depths of the soul!"
"When I see you hurt, or when I feel your pain, memories that never actually existed start to surface in my mind..."
"Memories of us sitting together to eat, laughing together, and fighting side by side!"
Choso's emotions became more intense as he suddenly reached out, gripping Yuji Itadori's shoulders with force.
"I know you might not be used to it yet, and I know how filthy and sinful the blood that bastard gave us is!"
"But Yuji!"
"You are not alone!"
"I am your big brother! Eso and Kechizu are your brothers!"
"This is ironclad proof that no conspiracy or curse can ever erase!"
Yuji Itadori was stunned.
He looked into Choso's bloodshot eyes and saw the unreserved concern and protective instinct within them.
In that moment, Yuji suddenly remembered the scene in the Shibuya subway where Choso had used his own body to shield him from a Special Grade Cursed Spirit's attack without a second thought.
He remembered Choso's world-shaking rage in the side hall earlier when he learned of Kenjaku's plot.
That anger wasn't for himself; it was for the 'younger brothers' who had been treated as mere experimental subjects!
"Big Brother..."
Yuji Itadori's throat constricted, his voice coming out raspy.
While he didn't share Choso's intense blood-based intuition, his soul felt a genuine sense of familial warmth at that moment.
Having lost his parents at a young age, he had never felt this sensation of an elder brother standing in front of him to protect him, other than his grandfather.
Seeing Yuji's gaze gradually soften, Choso's eyes turned red.
He pulled Yuji into a powerful embrace, his broad palm thumping heavily against Yuji's back.
"From now on, I will be your shield!"
"Whether it is that bastard Kenjaku or the upcoming Culling Game, anyone who wants to hurt you will have to step over my corpse first!"
Hearing this weightier-than-gold vow, the blood within Yuji Itadori's body was instantly set ablaze.
He suddenly hugged Choso back, his gaze becoming incredibly firm.
"No!"
"Neither of us is going to die!"
"We're going to live through this together and go kill that bastard Kenjaku!"
"Not just for ourselves, but to protect the innocent and rescue Gojo-sensei!"
Hearing Yuji's powerful declaration, a look of relief finally appeared on Choso's face as he let out a wild laugh.
"Good! That's my brother!"
"Your big brother is ready at any time. Whenever you need me, we'll be the first to charge!"
Just as the two brothers made their hot-blooded promise, several figures were quietly watching from the other end of the bridge.
Yoru leaned against a red wooden pillar with his arms crossed, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"It seems they've completely settled their issues."
Yuta Okkotsu, standing beside him, gave a small smile, his gentle gaze reflecting a hint of emotion.
"The bond of blood is truly the most miraculous thing in this world."
"In desperate situations, this kind of bond often triggers an explosion of power beyond ordinary imagination."
Maki Zenin rested her polearm on her shoulder and let out a disdainful snort, though a subtle softness flickered in her eyes.
"Hmph, as long as they don't drag us down."
"The current situation leaves no room for being soft-hearted."
Suguru Geto narrowed his long eyes as the Special Grade Cursed Spirits behind him flickered in and out of view, emitting a suffocating pressure.
"With the addition of these immortal monsters from the Death Paintings, our available combat power for the Culling Game is even more abundant."
"Yoru, this move of yours was deeper than I imagined."
Yoru slowly stood up straight, looking deep into the pitch-black night sky.
"This isn't some chess match, Suguru."
"They are living people—our comrades."
"In the original flow of fate, Choso and his brothers might have killed each other due to differing positions or ended up destroyed in loneliness."
"But since I am here, I will never allow that tragedy to happen again."
Yoru's voice wasn't loud, yet it carried an indisputable dominance.
He turned around, his deep gaze sweeping across everyone present as an unparalleled aura of pressure suddenly erupted from him.
"Kenjaku thinks he can control everything, and that the Culling Game is his perfect killing game."
"Then we'll show him what real absolute crushing power looks like!"
Yuki Tsukumo let out an excited whistle, her eyes flashing with a fanatical battle intent.
"Sounds like you already have a very crazy plan?"
A dangerous arc formed at the corner of Yoru's mouth.
"Of course."
"We're not just going to enter the Culling Game; we're going to smash his game board into smithereens!"
He stepped into the middle of the group and simply sketched the outline of a map of Japan on the ground.
"Tengen said earlier that the Culling Game is a massive technique constructed using barriers across all of Japan."
"This means that once we enter the barriers, we must follow the rules Kenjaku has set."
Yuta Okkotsu frowned slightly.
"What if the rules are extremely disadvantageous to us?"
"Like, for example, if they force us to kill one another?"
Yoru sneered, a heart-stopping crimson light flashing in his deep red eyes.
"Rules are meant to be broken."
"If the rules don't allow it, then we'll cut down the person who made the rules along with the rules themselves!"
"Kenjaku wants to play a killing game called the Culling Game, so we just won't follow his script."
Yoru held up two fingers.
"Our primary goal isn't just to survive the game or hunt down ancient sorcerers."
"We only have two targets."
"First, find the 'Angel' Hana Kurusu, undo the seal on the Prison Realm, and let that idiot Satoru out."
"Second, find the core of the barrier and destroy it completely from the inside!"
Hearing the words 'destroy the barrier,' even the experienced Yuki Tsukumo couldn't help but gasp.
"Whoa, whoa, you're not joking, are you?"
"The Culling Game barrier is an upgraded version of Tengen's. Its strength and complexity are absolutely unprecedented!"
"Trying to destroy a barrier of this level from the inside is harder than reaching the heavens!"
Yoru gripped the hilt of Shiranui at his waist, feeling the terrifying high temperature within the blade that seemed ready to erupt at any moment.
"No matter how strong a barrier is, it has a limit to what it can withstand."
"As long as our power can surpass that limit, we can slice it apart in one go!"
"And what we are going to do is form a Barrier Destruction Squad capable of ignoring any rules with absolute destructive power!"
Yoru's words exploded in everyone's ears like a thunderclap.
Yuji and Choso happened to walk over just in time to hear this domineering declaration.
Yuji's eyes lit up instantly, and the blood in his body began to boil wildly.
"Barrier Destruction Squad?"
"That sounds incredibly cool!"
Choso also clenched his fists, his cursed blood thrumming with anticipation.
"As long as we can kill Kenjaku, what does destroying a few barriers matter!"
Yoru looked at the group of battle-hungry monsters before him and let out a satisfied smile.
"Very well."
"Since everyone has made their resolve, we will now assign our respective tasks."
"There isn't much time left before the Culling Game officially begins."
"Before this storm descends, we must make the most perfect preparations!"
The night wind howled as the atmosphere within the Tombs of the Star Corridor reached its peak.
A web capable of overturning the entire jujutsu world—and even all of Japan—was slowly being spread out by Yoru's hands.
The Culling Game, the death game that struck fear into countless hearts, would finally face its most insane variable in front of these unprecedented monsters.
And this Barrier Destruction Squad, composed of Special Grades, a Sorcerer Killer, and Cursed Wombs, was now silently baring its fangs toward the deepest depths of the darkness.