The Tomb of the Star.
Kenjaku had gotten nervous.
It wasn't because of the people fighting in front of him, but because of an inexplicable, creeping sense of dread that suddenly washed over him.
It was as if a butcher's knife was already resting against his throat, yet he still couldn't see the person holding it clearly. He couldn't even tell from which direction the butcher's knife would fall.
He tilted his head to dodge the long whip of Yuki Tsukumo's Shikigami, Garuda, and—
BOOM!
A massive chunk of the cavern ceiling collapsed nearby.
We can't delay any longer! Kenjaku thought.
Blood dripped down from his wounds. Yuki Tsukumo, dressed in white, was left breathless but still relentlessly pursuing him.
"ROAR!!!"
Previously, the battlefield had been filled with Kenjaku's Cursed Spirits. Now, countless more Cursed Spirits descended from the sky all at once! The crimson blood-whips hanging from the sky illuminated the vast expanse of the cavern.
"What's going on?!"
Yuki Tsukumo barely managed to repair her damaged body with Reverse Cursed Technique. As soon as she stood up, she roared in disbelief.
"Why can that guy still use Cursed Techniques?!"
Nanami Kento slashed at the Cursed Spirits blocking his way with all his might, each strike becoming a blur!
Principal Yaga was only surprised for a moment before he ducked and charged at Kenjaku.
"These are Cursed Spirits that he hid at the entrance before entering the barrier!" Yaga shouted. "This old bastard came up with all the preparations!"
The time spent healing her body with Reverse Cursed Technique was omitted from Yuki's calculations. She attacked fiercely with her whip, racing against time!
With each roar, Garuda's outstretched body shattered countless Cursed Spirits!
For Kenjaku, time was ticking down.
Nine seconds remained until his Cursed Technique Burnout ended!
BOOM!!!
A surging wave of Cursed Energy erupted, and its aftershocks swept through the entire hall!
Countless remnants of Cursed Spirits and their purple blood shattered the entire space!
In order to seize the last possible moment, Yuki decisively threw Garuda directly into the thickest pile of Cursed Spirits and detonated its virtual mass!
The final obstacle was cleared!
Yuki Tsukumo, Principal Yaga, Nanami Kento, and Choso.
Without uttering a single wasted word, the four of them lunged forward with incredible speed!
This distance...
Three seconds was enough to reach him!
But for Kenjaku, three seconds was also exactly the time it would take for his Cursed Technique Burnout to end!
There's still time! Kenjaku thought.
...
Kenjaku was on high alert, his legs tensed to dodge. The Sorcerers, with their desperate and violent movements, were struggling to maintain their composure.
The unease in Kenjaku's heart reached its absolute peak at this moment!
His pupils dilated instantly, and he pulled back his hips to leap—
"Hey. We meet again, you old bastard."
A mocking tone came from directly behind him, followed by four flashes of cold light!
PFFT—!
Both of his hands and both of his legs were severed instantly!
Kenjaku was hacked to pieces and sent crashing to the floor of the Tomb.
"White Zetsu?!" Kenjaku gasped in pure shock, looking up at the figure standing over him.
What was going on?!
The White Zetsu standing before him showed absolutely no trace of Cursed Energy!
Kenjaku's mind raced.
Zenin Mirai should still be within the Sendai Colony, as the Culling Game barriers confirmed White Zetsu was still there alongside him!
It had only been a few minutes from when Kenjaku deployed his Domain to when his Cursed Technique burned out.
There was also the Tomb of the Star barrier set up by Master Tengen on the outside! Just how did White Zetsu get in here undetected?!
Having pondered this in a fraction of a second, Kenjaku realized the terrifying truth.
Two bodies...
A Heavenly Restriction that completely erases Cursed Energy!
Faced with White Zetsu's ambiguous, wicked smile, Kenjaku's severed stumps seemed to tremble.
Regarding the sudden appearance of White Zetsu...
Yuki Tsukumo, Principal Yaga, Nanami, and Tengen were all utterly shocked!
Not only did White Zetsu effortlessly dismember Kenjaku, but he had bypassed all of Tengen's omniscient barriers without triggering a single alarm.
A Cursed Spirit that possessed absolutely zero Cursed Energy?
Yuki and the others stopped their charge instantly, their faces turning extremely grim.
Although White Zetsu was targeting Kenjaku, it was foolish and hasty to assume he was an ally.
Red clouds, a black robe, and a long sword.
Zetsu flicked the bloodstains off his blade and sheathed it. He lit a cigarette, revealing the absolute, confident demeanor of a master assassin.
Looking down at Kenjaku's mangled body, Zetsu blew a cloud of smoke.
"Even a thousand-year-old Sorcerer is just like this when caught off guard," Zetsu mocked.
"Merely a Cursed Spirit!!!" Kenjaku roared in fury.
Where his limbs had been severed, flesh began to wriggle and grow!
The Burnout procedure had finally completed; his innate technique and Reverse Cursed Technique were active again. There was still a chance!
"How pathetic, crawler," Zetsu spoke coldly, his eyes, visible through the smoke, filled with pure amusement.
...
After the Battle of Shibuya ended, White Zetsu's Clone Number One—the body possessing the Heavenly Restriction—had remained hidden in the area, tailing Yuji Itadori and the others.
After Principal Yaga had found the entrance and bypassed the 108 barriers to enter the Tomb of the Star, Clone Number One simply followed them and infiltrated last.
During the three days the Jujutsu High Sorcerers had waited in the Tomb, White Zetsu had also spent three days idling in the shadows of the Tomb, completely undetectable.
Zetsu had monitored the entire battle between Kenjaku and the defense team from beginning to end.
Kenjaku thought he was the mastermind. He thought he was deceiving everyone.
Of course he was wrong.
BOOM!!!
The entire void barrier above the main hall shattered with a deafening roar!
Accompanied by the dazzling sunlight piercing through the newly created crater, a terrifying and awe-inspiring Cursed Energy surged down!
Everyone looked up, their pupils trembling violently!
The falling figure looked like a god or a demon.
It was even more dazzling than the sun in the sky!
"You..." Kenjaku gasped, his expression turning terrible.
"Zenin Mirai!!!"
Kenjaku, having just regenerated his limbs and regained his footing, was now struggling to stand under the sheer weight of Mirai's presence.
He roared out in absolute frustration!
Despite making so many preparations, he still fell into Mirai's trap!
If Kenjaku hadn't been so obsessed with absorbing Tengen, perhaps he wouldn't have been outplayed.
Even knowing Mirai was in the Sendai Colony, Kenjaku thought he was safe. If Mirai disappeared from the Culling Game barrier, Kenjaku would have known.
Everything was planned perfectly!
Only...
Kenjaku missed the existence of the Heavenly Restricted White Zetsu clone!
Mirai and Zetsu had monitored everything that happened, choosing to strike at the exact, most crucial moment when Kenjaku was at his absolute weakest!
"Success is due to fate and Curses. Failure is also due to fate and Curses," Kenjaku muttered bitterly.
"Kid, you're pretty knowledgeable," White Zetsu raised an eyebrow in response.
Ignoring the other students and staff from Jujutsu High standing nearby, Mirai looked directly at Kenjaku. His gaze was fixed, his expression becoming increasingly cold and calculating.
This was also why White Zetsu didn't take the opportunity to decapitate Kenjaku earlier. The curtain had fallen, and the trap was sprung.
Mirai needed specific intelligence confirmed. Information regarding the Golden Age Sorcerers, the Culling Game rituals, and Tengen's true nature.
This concerned the final outcome of Mirai's grand design.
"I see..." Kenjaku whispered, his bones still stained with blood.
BOOM!!!
Kenjaku suddenly surged his Cursed Energy, preparing to launch a desperate, maximum-output technique!
A crimson glint flashed in Mirai's eyes. "You used this move back then in Shibuya."
"I don't need you to say anything. I don't trust your words anyway."
Looking down upon Kenjaku, Mirai's Cursed Energy erupted.
"Domain Expansion: Final Scenery—Glazed Moon!"
—ZING!
In an instant...
Inside the main hall of the Tomb of the Star, the eyes of everyone present—Yuki, Yaga, Nanami, Choso, and Ino—glazed over!
They were instantly caught in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Only White Zetsu remained conscious, calmly exhaling clouds of cigar smoke.
When Mirai had previously used the illusion on Jogo and Dagon, he had slightly concealed some information about its capabilities.
Within the illusionary realm, Mirai could also view most of the target's memories. It simply depended on the strength of the target's soul and will to resist.
In the shadows, Master Tengen's four eyes—whose true physical form was hiding just outside the Domain's immediate range—stared fiercely!
"An Open Domain!!!"
A bizarre cursed scene manifested in the sky above the Tomb, where a sun and a moon appeared at the same time!
Tengen's clone looked up at the massive, Sharingan-patterned blood moon floating above the palace, trembling all over!
This was completely different from the information provided by Principal Yaga regarding Mirai's Domain in Shibuya!
Did he keep it hidden back then? Or has his Domain undergone a short-term re-evolution?!
Looking at the spotless, white-robed figure standing in the center of the hall, Tengen murmured with trembling lips.
"Monster!"
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