"I am the Fallen."
The moment Ryomen Sukuna spoke those words with rare seriousness, Yuji Itadori froze on the spot.
So Angel's only condition for unsealing Satoru Gojo…
…was killing me?
Seeing the seriousness on Sukuna's face, Yuji instantly realized something.
Angel's technique truly could eliminate the monster inside him.
If sacrificing himself could bring Gojo back—
then there was no need to hesitate.
The instant Yuji's consciousness returned to his body, he prepared to speak—
only to discover that Sukuna had sealed his mouth shut.
Within Yuji now rested a total of sixteen of Sukuna's fingers.
Sukuna still could not seize control of the body outright, but stopping Yuji from speaking was simple enough.
Yuji's sudden strange behavior drew everyone's attention.
Only Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki understood the message in his eyes.
Ryomen Sukuna was the Fallen.
The one Angel demanded they kill.
But neither of them could bring themselves to say the words telling Yuji to die.
Just as the atmosphere descended into painful silence—
the hotel room door was suddenly flung open.
"Whoa! A ton of people just entered the colony!"
The newcomer wore a ridiculous half-black, half-white performance outfit.
A newly awakened player—
the comedian Fumihiko Takaba.
Takaba was an ally the group had met after entering the colony.
Despite being a player, he refused to kill anyone, and that kindness was precisely why Yuji's group had accepted him.
Dropping into an exaggerated stance with both hands raised high, Takaba shouted dramatically:
"Hey, hey, hey! A whole bunch of extras just showed up in the colony! The streets suddenly got super lively!"
"They're all carrying toy guns and dressed like American soldiers!"
Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he declared with confidence:
"They've definitely come here to film a war movie!"
"A comedian acting in a war movie… now that's a breakout role waiting to happen!"
"Megumi, Nobara, do you think the director might notice an exciting new talent like me?!"
No one had time to react to Takaba's theatrics.
Megumi immediately turned toward the Kogane floating beside his shoulder.
"How many new players just entered the colony?"
Kogane answered at once.
"674… 818… 999…"
Even during the few seconds it took to speak, the number was still climbing explosively.
"This is definitely connected to Zenin Mirai. That bastard is in the First Colony too!"
"We need to get out. We can't stay in the Tokyo No. 1 Colony any longer!"
Without giving anyone a chance to argue, Megumi grabbed Nobara with one hand and pulled Yuji along with the other as he headed for the door.
In the original plan, Kenjaku had once used sorcerers as bait to negotiate with the leadership of the United States.
After demonstrating the power of jujutsu sorcerers and the terror of curses firsthand, he tempted the American government into sending troops into the Culling Game colonies to capture sorcerers as a new energy source.
But Mirai had gone even further.
Several days before the Culling Game began—
the Prime Minister of Japan and leaders of its armed forces,
the President of the United States and heirs from the nation's most powerful families—
all of these influential figures whose lives affected entire nations were now being livestreamed from inside different colonies.
The calls for rescue had already begun.
Because heavy weapons could not be used freely on such a massive scale, both nations had no choice but to deploy large military forces directly into the barriers.
But faced with random insertion points, uncontrolled falls from the sky, invisible curses, and overwhelmingly powerful players—
the tens of thousands of armed personnel flooding into the colonies were dying by the second.
And with every death, the cursed energy within the barriers steadily approached saturation.
The Culling Game grew even bloodier.
Even crueler.
"Miss Mei Mei."
At the edge of the Tokyo No. 1 Colony, Mirai calmly continued setting up the ritual.
In his hand, a phone call connected to Mei Mei, who had only recently returned to Japan.
Her voice on the other end sounded slightly surprised.
"You're the mastermind who destroyed the jujutsu world. Why suddenly think of me?"
Sealing Gojo.
Killing the principal of Tokyo Jujutsu High inside the Tombs of the Star Corridor.
And now kidnapping high-ranking officials from two nations.
Calling Mirai merely "the one who destroyed the jujutsu world" was already an incredibly polite way for Mei Mei to describe him.
"I have an extremely profitable business opportunity," Mirai said bluntly. "I think you'll be very interested."
"A livestreamed war of the jujutsu world for the entire globe."
"I imagine exclusive broadcast rights alone would earn you an unimaginable fortune."
Silence suddenly fell over the other end of the line.
Just streaming battles between sorcerers on the dark web had already made Mei Mei absurd amounts of money.
But if it were opened to the entire world—
including ordinary people—
then the profits would become astronomical.
Just imagining the numbers caused an unusual flush to spread across Mei Mei's face.
"And what if I refuse?"
A sorcerer who had climbed to Grade 1 status using a technique that was not especially powerful could never be foolish.
Yuta Okkotsu and several other Tokyo Jujutsu High sorcerers were still inside the colonies searching for a way to unseal Gojo.
The general rules allowed players to view information about other participants and even identify which colony they were in.
There was no way Zenin Mirai didn't know what the others were doing.
And the fact that he was allowing it to happen meant only one thing—
the former strongest sorcerer could be released at any moment.
If she cooperated with the man who had murdered Masamichi Yaga, then once Gojo returned…
there was no guarantee he would spare her.
Mei Mei loved money.
But only if she lived long enough to spend it.
And broadcasting those catastrophic battles to ordinary humans worldwide…
Just how much negative emotion would such scenes generate?
"Out of respect for our previous business relationship, I'd advise you not to refuse, Miss Mei Mei."
"I'm sure you understand that idiot White Zetsu's abilities very well."
The cold tone in Mirai's voice made Mei Mei's heart skip violently.
White Zetsu's horrifying ability had one prerequisite before it could steal someone else's cursed technique—
the original owner had to become a corpse.
"I always thought you were a gentle and generous man. I didn't expect you to be this heartless."
Though helplessness colored her voice, Mei Mei wisely chose compliance.
"Fine. I'll prepare everything as quickly as possible."
Superiors, comrades, hatred—
compared to money and survival, none of those things truly mattered to her.
Satisfied with the answer, Mirai immediately hung up.
White Zetsu's ability truly was powerful.
But it also carried several flaws.
One was that it could not reuse bodies that had already served as vessels.
For example, after Kenjaku had possessed Suguru Geto's body once, White Zetsu could no longer make use of it.
That was why, during the battle at the Tombs of the Star Corridor, Mirai had not stored Geto's corpse inside Kamui.
And the Bath ritual itself—
the time required to completely erase the vessel's soul remained unpredictable.
There were only a few days left before the final battle.
Preparing the stage properly was important.
The real body of Mechamaru that Mirai had gone to such lengths to acquire—
now transformed into White Zetsu No. 2, monitoring the entirety of Japan—
was actually even more suitable for broadcasting than Mei Mei's Crow Manipulation.
Its perspective was vastly broader.
But White Zetsu No. 2 had another role to play.
Mirai intended for the entire world to witness a grand spectacle of the jujutsu world.
Infinite negative emotions.
The ultimate cursed spirit born from the cursed-energy assimilation of over a hundred million people across Japan.
For all of this—
Mirai had waited far too long.
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