An endless surge of Cursed Energy violently erupted!
A bewitching, illusory blood-red light instantly filled the entire world of the Kamui dimension!
The atmosphere was completely silent for a moment, then the very next second...
BOOM—!
The entire massive Culling Game barrier suddenly trembled violently!
The boundless divine space was suddenly shrouded entirely in a thick layer of dark clouds!
In an instant, thick, ink-like darkness completely covered all corners of the world, from east to west and north to south!
"What's going on?!"
The assembled Jujutsu High students, watching from afar, asked in absolute horror, "What on earth just happened?!"
Yuta Okkotsu violently wiped the blood splattered from his mouth, his face incredibly grim. "It's a barrier... the massive outer shell of a Domain barrier."
"...How is that physically possible...?"
"Is the entire country of Japan currently under his complete control?"
Absolute despair rapidly crept across Nobara Kugisaki's face, and the hammer in her hand nearly slipped entirely from her trembling grasp.
Not just Gojo Satoru, but also Megumi Fushiguro...
And now, looking at the strange-looking man who possessed Yuji standing not far away, alongside the absolutely invincible Zenin Mirai...
They couldn't even protect Yuji Itadori.
...
The final piece was deliberately placed on the board.
Kenjaku's devout face returned to its usual, calculating composure.
"Ah... the structural integrity of this new body is absolutely exquisite... it effortlessly handles the massive burden of the Merger..." Kenjaku marveled as he flexed Yuji's fingers, feeling the god-like Cursed Energy coursing through his veins.
Sensing all the fundamental changes taking place within his Kamui Space, Mirai calmly commented, "Not bad."
From an open Domain to a closed Domain.
With such a vast, country-sized outer shell, it was no longer a simple matter of the total amount of Cursed Energy required.
The Culling Game barriers of death and rebirth, in the end, were governed strictly by Kenjaku's intricate rules.
For example, when a new "Player" formally entered the barrier, they would immediately be scattered randomly and fall into freefall...
The lethal rules hidden within these public rules were neither announced by the Kogane nor could they be queried by the Players.
There were a total of ten massive, interconnected protective barriers, and the key points of the assimilation ritual had already been meticulously laid out across Japan.
In addition, the ambient Cursed Energy provided by the hundreds of millions of ordinary humans scattered throughout the barrier had already completely spread throughout the entire network.
"Your Kamui space provided the perfect incubator, Mirai..." Kenjaku smiled softly using Yuji's face. "The assimilation of Master Tengen, which originally strictly required breaking the Culling Game barriers to be completed, has been effortlessly expanded by you to encompass the entire country within your dimension."
"Otherwise, if there weren't enough concentrated people and Cursed Energy, the assimilation of Tengen with hundreds of millions of people might not have been physically possible."
"At first I was genuinely worried about what my old friend would do with Tengen's physical body after I died," Kenjaku continued, his voice echoing with absolute authority.
"I never expected you to have such a brilliant, unexpected move as using the Seance Technique to revive my backup soul."
"Indeed..." Kenjaku placed a hand on his chest. "Not just planning for the immediate future, but securing the absolute endgame."
"Suguru Geto's body, which originally controlled Tengen through Cursed Spirit Manipulation, had its soul completely dissipated when you killed him. Thus, the ultimate Cursed Spirit assimilated by hundreds of millions of people became an empty, masterless shell without its own soul."
"That's exactly why I was able to effortlessly step in and gain ultimate, uncontested control over the Merger."
"It is exactly as I theorized..." Kenjaku's eyes gleamed with dark intelligence. "My old friend, you already fully knew that this special Yuji Itadori container was originally prepared specifically for myself."
Mirai nodded, saying with a touch of genuine emotion, "Sukuna never imagined that the very last missing finger was actually Yuji Itadori's own flesh."
"He only realized at the very absolute end that Yuji's soul was intrinsically mixed with the aura of the Disgraced One, which was exactly the reason why the boy was able to easily suppress his consciousness."
Yuji Itadori's flesh is the final finger of Sukuna?!
Is his soul actually the remnant of the Disgraced One?!
The Jujutsu High Sorcerers watching from the distance, especially Hana Kurusu (Angel), were so completely shocked that they were left in a daze!
"IMPOSSIBLE!!!"
The oldest member of Jujutsu High, Principal Gakuganji, nearly ripped off his long, blood-stained beard in absolute disbelief!
"Ryomen Sukuna's finger is a Special Grade Cursed Object that permanently splits the soul, making it absolutely impossible to physically destroy! How could it possibly have naturally merged into someone else's living body at birth?!"
"Oh~"
Kenjaku turned his head to look at the old principal. "You old man, you actually know quite a lot about Jujutsu mechanics."
"Let me enlighten you on true Jujutsu mastery..." Kenjaku smiled, the dark stitches on his forehead pulsing slightly as the Merger's blood-red Cursed Energy radiated from his body.
"I was the one who personally created the twenty Special Grade Cursed Artifacts from his body a thousand years ago."
"The Sukuna fingers scattered throughout the country..."
"From the very beginning of the modern era, there were only nineteen."
Under the blank, horrified stare of Principal Gakuganji, the Jujutsu High Sorcerers, their faces completely pale and listless, trembled violently with fear. They were utterly bewildered and completely helpless.
"The Positive Cursed Energy of the Reverse Cursed Technique, and the Sword of Extermination possessed by Mahoraga, which is specifically designed to instantly counter Cursed Spirits..."
"The ultimate creation I wanted to build could not be such a fragile, easily countered creature."
"I needed a perfect physical vessel that could withstand anything... a vessel not bound by the weaknesses of Cursed Spirits..." Kenjaku explained proudly.
"So, Yuji Itadori was originally a specialized body I prepared exclusively for myself!"
"I wanted to perfectly create a robust, physical container that could safely accommodate the massive assimilation of hundreds of millions of people without shattering."
"Sukuna's final finger was only one part of the recipe. I also deliberately incorporated fragments of several Special Grade Cursed Tools into his genetic makeup."
"The remnants of Kamutoke and Hiten, the very techniques used by Sukuna back in the Heian era, are completely included within his body."
"The chaotic, dense Cursed Energy inherent in countless Special Grade artifact fragments were violently fused together, which successfully disrupted Sukuna's perception of his own finger."
"In order to perfectly conceal the original, divine aura of the vessel, and also so that I could seamlessly take absolute control of this vessel when the time came..."
"Not only did I implant the remnant soul of the Disgraced One, but I also deliberately severed a small portion of my own soul and completely merged it into this boy's body at conception."
Kenjaku gently touched his own face, marveling at the perfection of his millennium-long experiment.
"The Cursed Womb: Death Paintings were my initial preparation for this specific experiment, and also a hidden backup plan I deliberately left behind to save my own life."
"In order to successfully bring this Special Grade body into the world, this is the very first time in a thousand years that I personally took over and used a woman's body as a vessel for pregnancy."
"The strain of carrying such a monstrous, genetically modified fetus is immense..." Kenjaku sneered, remembering Kaori Itadori's body.
"Ordinary women are not even physically qualified to conceive a child with such dense Cursed Energy; they will violently die from the complete exhaustion of their life force before they can even give birth."
"The absolute hardness and physical strength of this container required an endless, massive supply of Cursed Energy for the fetal form to function and develop properly."
Meeting the desperate, horrified gaze of Choso, who was still pinned to the ground, Kenjaku looked down, his black eyes filled with cruel amusement.
"It was precisely because of your own foolish, brotherly cleverness that Yuji Itadori swallowed those remaining six Death Paintings into his body."
"My method of safely dividing the soul is completely different from Sukuna's method. I successfully divided my soul into ten distinct parts by connecting them intricately by blood."
"That is your nine Death Paintings, plus Yuji Itadori."
"From the very beginning to the end, when I was in control of Suguru Geto's body, I only ever possessed half of my original, total soul."
Looking at the absolute, murderous rage blazing in Choso's eyes, which felt almost tangible, Kenjaku was completely unfazed.
"I only deliberately brought out your first three Cursed Wombs from the Tokyo Jujutsu High Star Religious Group storehouse. The remaining six..."
"That was a hidden trump card I deliberately left behind for exactly this moment."