The ruined city streets.
Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro walked along one of the few intact roads, their eyes sharp, their senses stretched thin. Though the oppressive presence of Cursed Spirits had thinned since the Culling Game barrier shattered, danger still clung to the air like the smell of burnt ozone.
"Where could the Angel be?" Itadori muttered, scratching his head, frustration edging his voice. Without the game's rules guiding them, finding her was like chasing smoke in the dark.
Megumi was about to reply when his steps abruptly halted. Every muscle in his body tensed. His gaze locked onto a narrow alley ahead—his instincts screaming a warning.
"What is it, Megumi?" Itadori immediately shifted into a fighting stance, following his partner's line of sight.
From the shadows, a figure stepped into the light.
A slender girl in a simple white dress, shoulder-length hair brushing her cheeks. Her gaze rested quietly on Megumi, and for an instant, something flickered behind her golden eyes—a memory, or perhaps recognition.
"Megumi Fushiguro." Her voice was clear, calm—like a cool stream cutting through silence.
Megumi's pupils constricted. That aura—familiar, ethereal. "…Hana Kurusu, the Angel?"
"Eh?! She's the Angel?!" Itadori's eyes widened. He glanced from Megumi to the girl, disbelief painted across his face. "What are the chances?!"
Hana ignored him, her attention unwavering. "The barrier is gone. The bindings have loosened. I sensed your presence." She tilted her head slightly. "You seek to release the Prison Realm?"
"That's right!" Itadori stepped forward earnestly. "We need your power! Please—help us break Gojo-sensei's seal! He's the only one who can stop Sukuna and Kenjaku!"
Hana Kurusu was silent for a long moment. Her gaze swept across the two, as though weighing invisible scales. "The Prison Realm…" she murmured. "The 'Jutsushiki no Shometsu' could erase it. But the price—"
"We'll pay it!" Itadori cut her off, voice desperate and sincere.
Megumi added, steady and resolute, "We need Gojo Satoru's power. This concerns everyone—including you."
Hana opened her mouth to answer—
Boom!
A thunderous explosion erupted behind them! The building wall split apart, shards of concrete raining down as a shadow burst through the smoke like a hunting beast unleashed!
Too fast—!
Megumi barely caught a glimpse of golden hair and glinting glasses before the figure was upon him.
"Kento Nanami?!"
The name escaped his lips in disbelief just as Nanami's cleaver descended—a brutal, unhesitating swing aimed straight for Megumi's ribs!
"Megumi!" Itadori's instincts roared to life. He launched forward with every ounce of strength, his Cursed Energy-laced fist colliding head-on with the cleaver!
Clang!
The impact rang like a church bell. A shockwave erupted outward, fracturing the ground beneath their feet.
Itadori was sent hurtling backward, smashing into the wall with bone-rattling force. Dust and debris collapsed around him. Pain seared through his arm; the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. Nanami hadn't held back—this was a killing blow.
A deafening shriek cut through the chaos as Nue, Megumi's owl Shikigami, dove from the shadows with talons crackling with electricity!
Nanami turned with inhuman composure. His left hand shot up, seizing Nue by the leg.
"Ratio Technique—Collapse."
With a burst of Cursed Energy, Nue's body split cleanly in half, dissolving into a mist of energy.
Megumi froze. The precision, the efficiency—Nanami fought like a machine. No hesitation, no restraint.
"Kento Nanami! Why?!" Itadori shouted hoarsely, dragging himself from the rubble. "Why are you doing this?!"
Nanami adjusted his glasses, voice calm and distant. "Itadori. I bear you no hatred. I'm simply—working."
The words struck like a hammer blow. Megumi's heart sank. The higher-ups. The mission. Kill Itadori. Prevent Gojo's return.
"Nanami…" Itadori's fists trembled, anger overtaking pain. "After everything we went through… even you?"
Megumi's shadow rippled, his hands forming a sign. "Nue—"
"Yuji Itadori?"
A new voice interrupted, deep and cold. They turned. A man in a black suit approached, each step deliberate. His expression was grim, eyes shadowed with judgment.
"I am Hiromi Higuruma," he said. The pages of an unseen book fluttered in the air beside him. "I have come to judge your crimes in the Shibuya Incident."
The air thickened, choking with tension.
Nanami frowned. "Now's not the time for theatrics."
But Higuruma continued, unfazed. "By order of the Jujutsu Regulations, Yuji Itadori—vessel of Sukuna—is held responsible for the 23,411 civilian deaths during the Shibuya Incident."
The world seemed to tilt. Itadori's breath caught, his mind flashing back—blood, laughter, Sukuna's face in the flames.
"That's bullshit!" Megumi stepped forward, fury lacing his words. "He wasn't in control! It was Sukuna—"
"Objection overruled," Higuruma said coldly. "The verdict will be decided by the court."
A black circle unfolded beneath his feet. Chains erupted from the void.
"Domain Expansion—Deadly Sentencing."
Blinding light consumed them. When it faded, they stood in a vast courtroom. A colossal black-robed Shikigami loomed behind the judge's bench, scales dangling from each hand. Higuruma stood before it, gavel in hand. Nanami and Megumi were bound in the witness box. Itadori stood at the defendant's stand. Hana Kurusu, the Angel, now sat among the jury—silent, observing.
"Court is in session," the Shikigami's voice boomed. "Defendant Yuji Itadori is charged with mass murder."
Megumi tried to summon his Cursed Energy—nothing. The domain stripped them clean. His face paled.
Itadori stood motionless. Then, with quiet finality, he said, "Yeah. I killed them. I'm not denying it."
"Guilty. Confiscation. Death Penalty."
The courtroom shook as invisible pressure crashed down. Itadori's Cursed Energy evaporated. His knees buckled.
"Yuji!" Megumi's cry echoed uselessly.
Higuruma's hand gleamed with white light, forming the Executioner's Sword.
"Submit to the law."
He vanished—reappearing before Itadori in a blur of killing intent. The blade thrust forward, aiming for the heart.
Instinct screamed. Itadori twisted with raw, desperate strength—
Rip!
The blade tore open his side, blood spilling down his ribs.
"Itadori!" Megumi's voice cracked, powerless.
Higuruma spun his wrist; the sword swept horizontally, a fatal arc.
No time to dodge.
Itadori dropped low and rolled forward, the blade grazing his back, slicing strands of hair. He rose, pivoted, and struck with a full-force kick—
Bang!
Higuruma staggered half a step, shock flashing in his eyes.
"I got him—!"
The light sword extended again, faster than thought, aimed at Itadori's throat.
"It's over," Higuruma said.
Itadori couldn't move. Midair. Helpless.
The white light filled his vision—
"Yuji—!" Megumi's scream split the silence.
And just as the blade closed in—
"Engagement."
A voice, cold and absolute, echoed through the courtroom. The light froze. Time itself seemed to shudder.