Everyone stared at the screen, seeing Kashimo fade away, and Kiyotaka said, "Everyone. It's time to go."
He looked to Yuta and said, "Okkotsu. Let's go. We need to prepare you for your role."
Yuta nodded, saying, "Alright."
Kiyotaka turned to Yuki and said, "We'll talk after this ends. Make sure not to underestimate Uraume."
Yuki nodded, saying, "I'll be fine. I beat her once. I'll do it again."
Hakari sighed and said, "Listen, I'm here as a last resort, got it. If any of you fucks up, then I'll get thrust into a battle where I have to stall for as long as possible until the rest of you clean up the mess. I could seriously die, so pull your weight."
Kiyotaka nodded, saying, "We understand your role as a failsafe. It's incredibly important but not ideal. We'll try to make sure that situation doesn't happen, but we'll be counting on you just in case, so stay close with Ui Ui, Hakari-Senpai."
Kiyotaka said this as he moved out with Yuta, but Choso called out, saying, "Don't die out there."
Kiyotaka nodded, saying, "I won't die."
Kiyotaka, Yuta and Yuki left.
Everyone else was considered either as a supportive role or as a last resort backup in the situation where there was more than one error that occurred on the battlefield, or in the worst case, one error was something not even Hakari could stall. However, they all knew that if it came to that point, they would likely have already lost.
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Yuki stood on the roof as Uraume acknowledged her presence, saying, "You're here, Sakurako Yuki."
Yuki smiled, saying, "It's good to see you again, Uraume-chan."
Uraume looked annoyed syaing, "Don't call me that."
"Oh, come on. You can call me Yuki-chan."
"No. Sukuna-sama would lose before I called you that."
Uraume said this as Yuki deadpanned, saying, "You just jinxed him, you know."
Uraume smiled and said, "I have no care for such superstition. Sukuna-sama will win."
"Oh?!"
Yuki said this as Uraume looked confused, asking, "What is it?"
"It slipped my mind because of everything that was going on. I tend to focus on the things that need to be dealt with in the moment, after all, but now that Gojo-San's fight with Sukuna is over, I haven't been able to get it off my mind."
Yuki said this as Uraume asked, "What exactly is on your mind?"
Yuki smiled and said, "Me and Kiyotaka held hands in the viewing room. It was really romantic. It was hard to believe Kiyotaka would go for a move like that all of a sudden. I mean, can you imagine it? Back in the White Room, he was really distant. Seeing him actually treat me with affection. I knew it. It's so much more worth it than some normal guy that can smile at the drop of a dime."
Uraume looked annoyed, saying, "Can you not damage my ears with something as disgusting as love?"
Yuki sighed and said, "Oh, come on. I've never had a female friend to talk to about these kinds of things before."
Uraume looked at Yuki and said, "I'm male."
"Hahaha..."
Yuki laughed for a second before observing Uraume's face and asking, "You're serious?"
"I was simply reincarnated into a female body."
Uraume said this as Yuki shrugged and said, "Well, whatever. Female enough."
Uraume looked annoyed, asking, "Are you mocking me?"
Yuki shook her head, asking, "If these are going to be your last moments living, can't we get along until then at least?"
Uraume grinned as marks of irritation appeared on her face and she said, "This time I'll make sure to kill you properly."
Yuki then asked, "Love. Do you really think it's disgusting?"
"Of course it is."
Uraume said this as Yuki deadpanned and said, "That's weird. Ah! I get it. Oh wow. You're so self-deceptive."
"Huh?!" exclaimed Uraume, followed by a glare.
Yuki smiled and said, "You say love is disgusting, but don't you and Sukuna love each other? You're tied to him by love and devotion, and he holds affection for you, which is why you two get along so well and why, even though you're around a man who could slaughter an entire country for fun, you're still able to smile."
Uraume glared even more, saying, "You dare insinuate things about mine and Sukuna-sama's relationship?"
Yuki shrugged and said, "In the end, it's love that is the most important factor in your strength. The absence of it or the desire for it is what forces people to get stronger. The goal to protect it is what drives humans to do things beyond their capabilities."
Uraume scoffed at this as Yuki then said, "I know it sounds really childish, but that's the truth. And love is... the reason I never lost my humanity in the White Room. It's why I was still able to smile. And it's the reason why you chose to incarnate and live in this modern age."
The veins in Uraume's eyes went red as she said, "Shut your filthy mouth. You dare to repeatedly claim that Sukuna-sama and I are infected with such a disease or that our strength comes from it?!"
Yuki then said, "Let's end this once and for all, okay, Uraume-chan?"
Uraume glared and said, "Very well. I'll turn you into an ice statue and shatter you!"
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Kenjaku stood in front of a player he had just killed and said, "Why do I know the locations of players? Tracking you isn't hard once you're tagged. The Reincarnated Sorcerers with Cursed Objects and Awakened Sorcerers with Cursed Seals. Not that I've had to. They've been significantly reluctant to leave their colonies. Adapting to society and getting hunted down are both unnattractive options."
"She's already dead, but you're still talking to her like she's alive."
A voice sounded out, saying this as Kenjaku said, "Well, it's more fun and interesting that way."
Okkotsu Yuta stood under the shade of a tree surrounded by several bushes, and he said, "You gave her a second chance and stripped it away from her. You did that to all of the reincarnated Sorcerers. You're even planning to do that to Ishigroi-san and Uro-san, aren't you?'
Kenjaku shrugged and said, "Their roles are over. It'll be boring if the same cast of characters keep runnign around with nothing to do but live, breed and rot away. It's better to send them off in preparation for the merger."
"I really hate people like you who don't care about others in the slightest."
Yuta said this as Kenjaku smiled and asked, "Have you come to face me just like that? Aren't you a bit overconfident? No plans? Well, with Rule 17, I'm sure I've made it impossible to perform any dirty tricks. So what exactly are you doing here? If you had sent Kiyotaka, I'd be in trouble, but I'm sure you've assigned him to be the one to fight Sukuna."
Yuta drew his sword and took a stance, saying, "Killing you didn't have to be my job. As long as Gojo-Sensei wasn't the one to do it, I'd be fine with it. But... that's the task my friends said I was best suited for."
Kenjaku smiled and said, "Ah, yes. I see, but you've made a miscalculation."
"A miscalculation?"
Yuta asked this as Kenjaku laughed and said, "Whether I lose or not doesn't matter. Whether the Merger happens or not. Regardless of that, something interesting will occur. Either the merger will happen, and something truly interesting will occur, fulfilling my will, or Kiyotaka will manage to defeat Sukuna and show me that I really was able to create something unbound by my potential. A chaos truly beyond my control. I win either way."
"Then Die."
"Oh? Is that a command form of Cursed Speech? No? Then I don't think I will, haha. After all, there is, of course, a chance to see both of those outcomes come true. If Kiyotaka beats Sukuna, he'll be too tired to fight me. I'll be greedy and stick around to see if that is possible or if, at the very least, the Merger is."
Kenjaku said this with a smile as he released several Cursed Spirits, only for them to freeze in place, unable to reach Yuta.
Kenjaku's eyes widened, thinking, 'The Limitless Technique?! That's impossible. Copying it through Satoru Gojo shouldn't be possible. And with Ren, I made sure to retrieve the body and seal it away.'
Yuta smiled and said, "I already said that I've been entrusted with defeating you."
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2 months before the Battle Of The Strongest, Satoru Gojo's allies meet to discuss countermeasures in case of his death.
Everyone stood there as Maki glared, saying, "Not an option. We can't let you."
Hakari agreed, saying, "Vetoed unless..."
Yuta then said, "If we're all out of options, there'll be no choice."
Panda then said, "If Satoru dies... Rika can eat Kenjaku and copy his body-hopping Cursed Technique, which would let Yuta take over Satoru's body and re-enter the fight. That would raise our likelihood of victory."
Kusakabe then asked, "Can't he just use Gojo's Corpse and Copy Limitless?"
Shoko denied this, saying, "He wouldn't be able to use it without the Six Eyes."
Kusakabe then said, "Then copy the Six Eyes."
Shoko rejected this, saying, "He can't. They're a physical trait, not a technique."
Megumi then said, "Actually, I fought someone using the Limitless Technique."
Everyone stared in shock as Nobara asked, "And... you lived to tell the tale?"
Megumi got annoyed, saying, "I killed him, you know."
Nobara froze, saying, "Aha ha ha... I'm sorry about always teasing you, Fushiguro."
Megumi then said, "That guy didn't have a Cursed Technique, but he did have a Cursed Energy Trait that helped him use it. It's not impossible to use without the Six Eyes, but it's very taxing, and several binding vows have to be used."
Yuta sighed and said, "But in case we can't find it..."
Maki glared and said, "We already said no. After all, you can only use your Copy Technique while Rika is manifested, which only lasts for 5 minutes. What happens when those 5 minutes are over?"
Yuta looked down and said, "I don't know."
Yuki then spoke up, saying, "Your Cursed Technique is reliant on Rika-chan because of her acting as an external Storage Shikigami, right?"
Yuta nodded, saying, 'Yeah."
"From Tsukumo-San's notes, it's clear that a human brain can hold up to 4 Cursed Techniques without overloading. Though four is a bit of a risky number."
Yuki said this as Yuta nodded, saying, "That's right. That's why I use Rika tooo... You don't mean."
"You can take one for the team and eat it yourself instead of asking Rika-chan."
Yuki said this as Yuta went green in the face at the thought.
Everyone else seemed similarly disgusted as Nobara shouted, "How can you even say something like that? Gross!"
Yuki sighed and said, "I know it's gross, but it's either that or risking Okkotsu-San's life for no good reason. He'll be able to fight longer that way, too."
Kiyotaka spoke up, saying, "There is something I can do that will increase your fighting ability. Though you should get permission from Gojo-Sensei first, since it's his body. It's something that, with what I know, I can arrange for and accomplish with the help of Shoko-San and Ui Ui."
Yuta nodded, saying, "I'll hear you out."
Kiyotaka nodded, saying, "I perform a ------- ---------- on you."
Everyone looked shocked as Yuta asked, "Are you serious?"
Kiyotaka nodded as Nobara asked, "Hey! Since when can you manage something like that?"
Yuki then said, "It's possible. In the White Room, we learned a variety of things. That included. Since it's Kiyotaka, he could definitely manage it. Especially with 2 months of practice."
Kiyotaka looked to Yuta and asked, "How about ti?"
Yuta nodded and said, "I'll agree to it. I'll go talk to Gojo Sensei about it."
Kuakabe then said, "Wait, hold on. Even if that's possible, we're putting a huge burden on him. We need to consider what happens to Okkotsu as a person."
Yuta then said, "[As a person]?'
Yuta then asked, "Do you realise who we're up against? The Strongest Sorcerer In History, Ryomen Sukuna! If throwing away our humanity gives us a shot at winning, we should throw it away! Does becoming a monster scare you that badly?!"
Maki then said, "Listen. You're extremely important to everyone here. Even if we agree with the idea, no one wants to push you into this."
Inumaki agreed, saying, "Salmon."
Yuta then shot, "What about Gojo-Sensei?! Is he not important?! We've always pushed the burden of being a monster onto him alone. If he died, one of us would have to take that spot. And if no one else wants to step up..."
Kiyotaka stepped up and said, "I'll do it."
Yuta looked surprised as he saw Kiyotaka step up, and he smiled, thinking, 'Ayanokoji-kun understands.'
Kiyotaka looked to them and said, "I've thrown my humanity away once before. It's not something anyone should have to do. I'll take on Gojo-Sensei's buden if he dies. None of you will have to go that far."
Kiyotaka said this as Yuta looked shocked.
Kiyotaka continued as his bangs covered his face and said, "If there had been a single responsible adult in my childhood, then my life would probably be just as normal as anyone else's. All of them who became that for me like Matsuo and Nanami-san, used up their lives in that regard. I'm a selfish human being who desires that kind of shield, but that can't continue anymore. Gojo-Sensei has become that kind of shield for me again, so if he falls, I'll take on his role as the responsible adult."
Kiyotaka said this with a serious expression as everyone looked tense.
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Kiyotaka appeared on the battlefield via Ui Ui's Cursed technique as he stood there in front of Sukuna and said, "I'll be handling things from here."
Sukuna grinned, saying, "You're finally here, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka."
Kiyotaka looked to him and said, "You can't use Equalisation anymore, can you? After all. You've overwritten Shiro's body with your own. Because of that, the only piece of Shiro's technique left is with his soul."
Sukuna smirked and said, "It's fine regardless."
Kiyotaka then said, "Then I guess my countermeasure for Equalisation isn't exactly necessary, but... it'll still help."
Sukuna smiled, asking, "Countermeasure? And you didn't think to teach Satoru Gojo?"
"He's not capable of that countermeasure."
Kiyotaka said this before saying, "Regardless, I'll curse you until your death."
Sukuna grinned, thinking back to a conversation that occurred before his fight with Satoru Gojo.
[Sukuna sat on a building as Uraume asked, "Your vessel, Ayanokoji-sama. What exactly is he?"
Sukuna smirked and said, "He's Kenjaku's child. Couldn't tell you from which body of theirs, though."
Uraume then asked, "I sense a similarity between the two of you... Is there any reason for it?"
Sukuna smirked and said, "I suspected it as well. A fragment of my soul should be bouncing around aimlessly through time, after all."
Uraume looked surprised, asking, "A fragment of you?'
"I was to be a twin, but I rejected such a fate. Force by my own mother's blight, I consumed a fragment of myself on the brink of starvation."
Sukuan said this as Uraume looked shocked, asking, "Is your vessel also..."
Sukuna shook his head, saying, "No. He isn't. I can tell that he wasn't born from it either."
Uraume then asked, "So... that similarity."
Sukuna smirked and said, "Simply a similar design brought about by our upbringings. I'm sure you can see differences in us regardless."
Uraume nodded, saying, "While both the vessel and Sukuna-sama live for their own desires, the vessel disguises this and more yet..."
Sukuna finished for Uraume, saying, "He's actually started to hold value in things as worthless as ideals."
Sukuna grinned, saying, "Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. He's a man of mediocre talent. Born with nothing special except the ability to cage me. Even his Cursed Technique was stolen away from him at birth by his father. As if the world was created to curse him and yet... he is the one who interests me the most."
Sukuna sighed and said, "Kenjaku probably found it just as interesting as well. To see a child he made simply to be a cage to develop to such a degree. To even reach the pinnacle of what humans are capable of without Cursed Energy or Heavenly Restriction."
Uraume sweated thinking, 'Within Ayanokoji Kiyotaka... is there a constantly growing ability that may be able to reach Sukuna-sama?']
Kiyotaka looked to Sukuna as he took a stance and said, "It's the way of nature to hunt others for sustenance. But no matter how much you hunt or run, eventually you will be devoured."
Sukuna smirked and shouted, "Then let's curse each other, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka!"
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To Be Continued
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Rating Out Of 10 For This Chapter?
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