"I didn't expect that it would be just the three of us left."
In the makeshift hut, Satoru Gojo, having just changed into a fresh black uniform, sighed softly.
Kiyotaka Ijichi, standing nervously to the side, had his head down, and his glasses were slightly fogged up.
Shoko Ieiri leaned against the corner of the wall, silently smoking a cigarette.
Of their classmates and close colleagues from their Jujutsu High days, only the three of them remained.
His mentor Yaga... his close friend Nanami... his junior Ino... his student Megumi Fushiguro...
Now the entire country of Japan was facing the absolute crisis of destruction.
After Gojo Satoru was unsealed, all the news he received to catch up on the lost month was filled with absolute despair.
Gojo looked to the side. "Ijichi."
"PRESENT!!!"
Ijichi quickly looked up, mentally bracing himself for the harsh words and curses from Gojo Satoru.
For example, saying things like, "Nanami and the others are all dead, why are you still alive?"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Before Gojo could even speak, Ijichi bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle and apologized frantically.
"I'm telling you... what are you really thinking about me?"
Gojo glanced at Ijichi with a strange, exasperated expression, then looked over at Shoko.
"Zenin Mirai. Does that guy still have something to hide?"
Two defeats...
Compared to Sukuna, Gojo Satoru was actually much more concerned about the true, current fighting strength of the Zenin clan's head.
Shoko took a deep drag on her cigarette and nodded silently.
"Your students have already experienced it firsthand. That guy is a monster whose mere release of raw Cursed Energy is enough to cause natural disasters."
"Yeah..."
Gojo murmured softly, but a fierce fighting spirit—one that was very similar to Sukuna's—flashed deep within his blue eyes!
Having received all the intelligence he needed, Gojo stood up and walked toward the door to head to the center of the barrier.
As he stepped out of the room, waiting outside were all the remaining students whom Gojo had once taught.
"Teacher! Your shamelessness is getting in the way."
With Yuji Itadori leading the way, Nobara Kugisaki, Maki Zenin, Panda, Yuta Okkotsu, Toge Inumaki, Kinji Hakari, and Kirara Hoshi—along with a group of other students—patted Gojo on the shoulder or back with bright smiles as he walked past them.
They were all encouraging the former "Strongest" one after another in their own unique ways.
...
In Shibuya, Tokyo... all that could be seen were endless ruins.
The site of the major battle that took place a month ago had yet to be repaired, and now it never would be.
Not only the world of Jujutsu, but the mundane government of the Country had also completely collapsed a month ago due to the Culling Game.
In a surviving high-rise building on the outskirts of Shibuya, Gojo brought Ijichi to a specific location.
"Old man. Utahime."
On the rooftop.
Utahime Iori, dressed in the traditional attire of a shrine maiden's prayer dance, stood ready. Principal Yoshinobu Gakuganji sat cross-legged on the ground nearby, holding a wooden electric guitar half his height.
The group exchanged solemn glances, needing no further explanation.
If they won, there was still a chance to salvage the situation and save Japan.
If they lost...
Utahime gave Gojo Satoru a deep, complicated look. He was the scumbag she had hated since their student days.
But today, he was also the Strongest, bearing the fate of the entire Jujutsu world and even the entire nation on his shoulders.
At Gakuganji's signal, the strings of his musical instrument were plucked, and Utahime began to dance!
Utahime's innate technique is called Solo Forbidden Zone.
All Sorcerers within the spell's range will receive a temporary, massive boost to their total Cursed Energy output.
Incantations, music, and dance.
Utahime and Gakuganji joined forces to elevate the power of her technique to its absolute strongest state!
Ijichi stood behind the three of them, his face completely resolute.
To ensure the best possible effect of this opening strike, and to live up to the profound trust placed in him by the "Strongest"...
Ijichi grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, and slammed his palms hard against the concrete ground!
With the blessing of Utahime's Solo Forbidden Zone, Ijichi unleashed the absolute pinnacle of his barrier technique, completely concealing Gojo Satoru's massive aura from being sensed!
Everything was ready!
Feeling the rising, supercharged power within his body, Gojo made the hand seals.
"Nine Ropes", "Polarized Light", "Crow and Declaration", "Between Front and Back".
No surgical steps or chants were omitted.
With the 120% blessing of the Solo Forbidden Zone, Gojo Satoru unleashed his most powerful attack!
"Hollow Technique: Purple!"
...
Shinjuku is located exactly five kilometers away from Shibuya.
On a rooftop, Uraume cautiously reminded him, "Lord Sukuna, it seems we haven't agreed on a specific time to start the battle with that guy."
"There's no need to confirm that kind of thing."
Sukuna's lips curled into a savage smile, and a massive amount of Cursed Energy surged up from his body instantly!
A sense of oppression, like the sun falling from the sky, spread across the sky and the earth.
At this moment, the terrifying pressure emanating from Sukuna could be felt from anywhere within the barrier. He was announcing his location to Mirai.
Just as Uraume was about to offer a few words of flattery, their entire field of vision was suddenly filled with a sky full of blinding purple light.
"Tch, I almost forgot about this guy!"
With a soft shout, Sukuna sent Uraume flying far away with a single palm strike to save them!
BOOM!!!
Gojo Satoru's Hollow Purple, fired with 200% effort, crossed five kilometers in the blink of an eye and arrived in Shinjuku!
A massive, apocalyptic explosion swept through the air, completely erasing everything in its path and leaving a huge, gaping trench five kilometers long in the ground!
Along the way, all buildings were reduced to subatomic dust!
The reinforced concrete building Sukuna stood on was instantly obliterated into rubble!
"Yo!"
"If it isn't the Clown King who escaped from Yuji's body with his tail tucked between his legs."
On one side of the ruined street stood Gojo Satoru, sporting a smug, infuriating smile.
Dust filled the air as Sukuna, who had taken the 200% blow head-on to protect his new vessel, stood up. Both of his hands were completely charred black and missing fingers.
Faced with Gojo's verbal attacks, Sukuna slowly curled his lips into a malicious smile.
"You brat. You only managed a sneak attack. Why are you so smug?"
As he spoke, Sukuna's severely injured hands visibly and rapidly recovered via Reverse Cursed Technique.
"I didn't expect there would be such a sweet dessert before the main meal."
"I almost forgot that there was such a powerful, sealed-away Sorcerer looking for me as well!"
Gojo took off his jacket and started warming up by casually stretching his body on the spot.
Satoru bent down slightly and looked at Sukuna with a mocking smile. "Where's that guy?"
"Where is the person who trampled you on the floor and rubbed your face back and forth in the dirt?"
"If I could find that guy right now, I wouldn't even bother with a clown like you."
"Am I the Joker?"
Sukuna dusted off his clothes, sneering darkly. "To me, you're nothing more than a nameless fish on a chopping board."
"And the kind that can be cut in half at any time."
"Ha!?"
"You, a piece of trash who got chased away by a White Zetsu clone?!"
After warming up, Gojo straightened up and looked down at that familiar face of Megumi Fushiguro.
"Even if you use his face... I have no intention of showing you any mercy."
"Show mercy?"
Sukuna's knuckles cracked, and his Cursed Energy surged violently. "No need to show mercy."
The terrifying surge of Cursed Energy instantly covered both of their fists. Gojo slightly raised his foot.
"Actually, I'd also like to try it out. To see what it feels like to rub the King of Clowns' face under my feet."
After the heated exchange of trash talk, the atmosphere became extremely, suffocatingly tense.
Less than ten meters apart, the battle of the absolute Strongest was about to break out.
But suddenly...
The two men, who were just about to make their move, both stopped and looked up at a figure falling from the sky.
BANG!
A hunched, short figure with graying hair.
What fell from the sky wasn't a powerful combatant, but an old woman whose face was so wrinkled she could attract swarms of flies. (Note: Ogami, the granny from Shibuya).
Falling right in the very center of the two strongest forces in the world, feeling two completely different and terrifying pressures bearing down on her...
The trembling old woman froze for a moment, then suddenly looked up at the sky and roared, "ZENIN MIRAI!!!"
The overwhelming resentment in her screeching voice seemed capable of piercing straight through the clouds!
The words fell.
The old woman was instantly sliced into countless, bloody pieces of flesh by Sukuna's casual Dismantle slash, and blood spurted out everywhere!
But before the blood even hit the ground, Gojo Satoru looked at the figure that suddenly appeared beside the gore and shouted in absolute disbelief!
"SUGURU...?!!"
.....
.....
.....
Support me and read advance chapters on patreon.com/ImmortalDaoWriter