Shibuya, Meiji-Jingumae Station, B2 Floor.
Inside the dark subway tunnel, the pungent smell of blood mixed with the sharp scent of ozone.
The lights flickered erratically, emitting an irritating electrical buzz.
Boom!
Accompanied by a heavy, muffled impact, a bloated transfigured human covered in pustules was struck square in the chest by a powerful straight punch.
The sound of ribs shattering echoed through the tunnel. Before the transfigured human could even scream, its entire chest caved in as it was blasted into the concrete wall, then slid down in a lifeless heap of flesh.
Itadori Yuji slowly withdrew his fist, exhaling a stream of hot white vapor.
His breathing remained at an extremely steady rhythm. This was Total Concentration: Constant, carved into his very bones after Rin's hellish training at the Butterfly Mansion.
Not only did it grant him seemingly endless stamina, but it also elevated his control over Cursed Energy to an unprecedented level.
Every punch now carried perfectly synchronized Cursed Energy instead of the delayed impact he once struggled with, fully merging with the explosive power of his physical strength.
"Your movements have become much cleaner, Yuji-kun."
Not far away, Mei Mei casually swung the massive battle axe in her hand, instantly bisecting two Cursed Spirits attempting to ambush her from a blind spot.
Blood splattered across the railway tracks, yet she did not even blink, maintaining the elegant composure of a refined businesswoman.
"The sponsorship fee Gojo paid me to mentor you was well worth it. Your growth rate truly lives up to the price." Mei Mei brushed aside the silver hair hanging near her cheek while her younger brother, Ui Ui, obediently handed her a clean handkerchief from behind.
"Thank you for the compliment, Mei Mei-san!" Itadori wiped the sweat from his forehead, his eyes remaining alert as he scanned the surroundings. "But there are too many transfigured humans here, and the residual Cursed Energy is a complete mess. I wonder how Gojo-sensei is doing..."
Right then— Zzz... zzz-zzzt...
A faint burst of electrical interference suddenly sounded beside Itadori's ear.
He reached up and discovered that, at some point, a miniature communicator shaped like Mechamaru and no bigger than a coin had attached itself to his collar.
"Hello? Itadori! Can you hear me? This is Kokichi Muta!"
Mechamaru's anxious, distorted voice came through the tiny speaker.
"Mechamaru?! How are you contacting me here?" Itadori was stunned.
"Listen! There's no time to explain!" Mechamaru's voice trembled uncontrollably with panic and despair. "Notify everyone immediately! Gojo Satoru... Gojo Satoru has been sealed!!"
Those words struck like a thunderclap, exploding through the hollow, deathly silent subway platform.
Itadori Yuji's expression froze instantly.
Even Mei Mei, who had been wiping blood from her battle axe nearby, suddenly stopped moving. For the first time, shock flickered through the calculating composure in her eyes.
"What did you just say?" Mei Mei stepped forward, staring at the miniature communicator. "That's not a joke anyone would make. Gojo Satoru sealed? Is there really something in this world capable of trapping that absurd monster?"
"It's the special grade cursed object, the Prison Realm!"
Mechamaru spoke rapidly, briefly explaining what had happened on the B5 floor.
"Geto Suguru... or rather, the Curse User possessing Geto Suguru's body, used civilians to stall Gojo Satoru and completed the sealing with the Prison Realm! Right now, the Prison Realm is still processing Gojo Satoru's massive Cursed Energy, so it can't be moved for the moment. We have to retrieve it immediately!"
Itadori's heart began pounding violently.
Gojo-sensei had been sealed?
The strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer, the man who had always seemed untouchable and invincible in his eyes, had actually been outplayed by the enemy.
If Gojo Satoru disappeared, the balance of the entire Jujutsu World would collapse instantly. The Special Grade Cursed Spirits and Curse Users lurking in the shadows would undoubtedly begin a massacre without restraint.
"Mei Mei-san! I need to notify everyone immediately!"
Itadori suddenly turned and sprinted toward the staircase leading to the surface.
He had to spread this information to every Jujutsu Sorcerer guarding the perimeter of Shibuya as quickly as possible.
"GOJO-SENSEI HAS BEEN SEALED!!!"
The young man's shout traveled through the subway ventilation system, piercing the heavy night as it spread across every corner of Shibuya.
...
Shibuya, atop a skyscraper hundreds of meters high.
The night wind howled violently.
Rin stood at the rooftop's edge, his deep Rinnegan gazing down at the city shrouded beneath the black Curtain.
Itadori's piercing shout reached his ears clearly.
"Tricked into a cube by a corpse. The so-called strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer has pretty poor vigilance."
Toji Fushiguro slowly wrapped the manriki-gusari around his muscular forearm, one loop after another.
He cracked his thick neck, the corners of his mouth curling into a cold, savage grin.
"It's called the inertia of fate."
Rin kept his hands in the pockets of his trench coat, his expression indifferent.
"Although Gojo Satoru stands at the pinnacle of strength, he still carries human weakness deep down. As long as weakness exists, he can be manipulated. Kenjaku, that brain that's lived for a thousand years, excels at exploiting human flaws."
He turned to look at the fully armed Heavenly Restriction monster beside him.
"Next, the people from Jujutsu High will rush toward the B5 floor like madmen to reclaim the Prison Realm. The Curse Users Kenjaku stationed around Shibuya will definitely use the opportunity to intercept them."
Rin raised a hand and pointed toward several locations throughout the streets of Shibuya.
Through the Rinnegan's vision, the presences of the Curse Users hiding within alleys and buildings were as obvious as candle flames in the darkness.
"Toji."
"Yeah." Toji Fushiguro tightened his grip on the Inverted Spear of Heaven, eager for bloodshed.
"I don't care whether Jujutsu High lives or dies, but I dislike trash running wild inside my hunting ground. Go clean up the Curse Users intercepting the sorcerers around the perimeter."
"Pay special attention to a man with a golden ponytail carrying a short sword with a hand-shaped hilt. His Cursed Technique stores tiny everyday miracles that let him avoid fatal damage at critical moments."
Rin's voice turned ice-cold.
"He enjoys bullying the weak, slaughtering defenseless Assistant Supervisors and female sorcerers. Find him, strip away every one of his 'miracles,' then give him the ugliest death imaginable."
At those words, a savage, bloodthirsty gleam flashed through Toji Fushiguro's eyes.
As a former underworld assassin, he would do anything for money, but he had always despised cowardly scum who preyed exclusively on the weak.
"Storing miracles, huh? Sounds interesting."
Toji touched the scar at the corner of his mouth, revealing a row of sharp white teeth.
"Then let's see if his luck is enough for me to kill him ten times over."
Before his words had fully faded, his massive body lunged forward.
Like a tiger descending from the mountains, he leapt directly from the rooftop hundreds of meters above the ground. Amid the screaming wind, his figure quickly vanished into the night of Shibuya.
Watching Toji disappear, Rin shifted his gaze back toward the underground entrance of Shibuya Station.
"I'll leave the cannon fodder to you. As for the big fish down there..."
The six tomoe within his eyes slowly rotated, faint purple light flickering in the darkness.
"I'll deal with them personally."
...
Shibuya, inside a dark alley in Dogenzaka.
Several Assistant Supervisors from Jujutsu High, responsible for evacuating civilians and establishing communication relay stations, lay sprawled in pools of blood.
A young man with a golden ponytail and feminine appearance hummed an off-key tune while holding a bizarre short sword with a hand-shaped hilt.
Haruta.
He stepped on the back of an Assistant Supervisor who still had a faint breath left, lazily pointing the tip of his sword toward the man's neck.
"Oh my, how boring. Why do I only run into trash like you people who can't even fight back? Though I have to admit, hearing those miserable screams before you die really is soothing for both body and mind."
Haruta let out a shrill laugh and raised his sword high, preparing to finish off the Assistant Supervisor beneath his foot.
"Your laugh is disgusting enough to make someone throw up."
A low, raspy voice filled with violent intent suddenly echoed from the alley entrance.
Haruta's smile stiffened as he snapped his head around.
Under the dim streetlight stood an enormously built man. He wore a tight black short-sleeved shirt stretched taut over thick muscles, with a grotesque-looking Cursed Spirit wrapped around his neck.
Most unbelievable of all, Haruta could not sense even the slightest trace of Cursed Energy from him.
"An ordinary human?"
Haruta tilted his head before sneering again.
"Hey, hey, adults are busy right now. Lost monkeys should hurry home bef—gah!"
Before he could finish speaking..
The man vanished.
Only a deafening sonic boom remained.
Haruta could not even track the movement. His vision blurred as an overwhelming pain exploded through his chest, like being struck head-on by a speeding train.
Crack!
Along with the sharp sound of multiple ribs shattering, his body was blasted straight through the brick walls lining both sides of the alley before crashing into an abandoned shop nearby.
Dust erupted into the air.
Toji Fushiguro stood where Haruta had been moments ago, casually shaking his fist, his gaze as cold as if he were staring at a pile of garbage.
"With reflexes like that, you still dared come out here to play roadblock?"
Inside the ruins, Haruta struggled to crawl back to his feet.
One of the six black markings beneath his eyes quietly disappeared.
That was one of his stored "Miracles" activating, nullifying the fatal damage for him.
His body, which should have been destroyed by shattered organs piercing through his chest, miraculously recovered in an instant.
"You bastard... you actually dared to sneak attack me!"
Haruta's face twisted viciously as he gripped his short sword, rage practically spilling from his eyes.
"I was just careless! I'm going to carve the flesh off your body piece by piece!"
His figure blurred as he used his agile movements to circle behind Toji.
The hand-shaped hilt seemed almost alive, gripping his wrist as it guided the short sword toward Toji's heart from behind.
"Too slow."
Toji did not even bother turning around.
His left arm shot backward, striking later yet arriving first, instantly clamping down on Haruta's sword wrist.
"Got you, blond trash."
Toji turned his head slightly, staring at Haruta's face warped with shock, the corners of his mouth curling into a savage grin.
Then he suddenly tightened his grip.
Snap!
Haruta's wrist bent at a horrifying ninety-degree angle, and the short sword clattered onto the ground.
"Aaaagh! My hand!"
A shrill scream echoed through the night.
Toji gave him no chance to recover.
He kicked Haruta in the knee, forcing him to kneel, then grabbed his ponytail and violently smashed his face into a nearby concrete utility pole.
Bang!
Blood splattered everywhere.
The second black mark beneath Haruta's eye quietly disappeared.
Another "Miracle" had activated, saving him from having his skull crushed on the spot.
"Oh? Just like the boss said. It really can substitute for fatal damage."
Watching Haruta's wounds rapidly heal, the violence in Toji's eyes only intensified further.
He lifted Haruta off the ground with one hand.
"One life isn't enough to kill you, huh?"
From the mouth of the weapon-storage Cursed Spirit wrapped around his neck, Toji slowly pulled out the special grade cursed tool capable of nullifying all techniques—
The Inverted Spear of Heaven.
"Then let's see whether your luck can stop this blade."
___
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