The area was a dense primeval forest. Towering ancient trees completely blotted out the sun, and the ground was carpeted in a thick layer of rotting leaves that gave off a damp, musty smell.
In this place of dead silence, where even the sound of insects was rare...
A figure as lithe and powerful as a black panther lay in wait, concealed within the shadow of a massive ancient tree.
Toji Fushiguro.
He leaned against the rough bark, idly playing with a dull coin in his hand.
His eyes, cold and predator-like, stared through the gaps in the leaves at the Jujutsu High grounds shrouded by an invisible barrier not far away.
"It's almost time."
Toji muttered to himself, his lips curling into a particularly cruel arc.
He could feel it—that nauseating, powerful pressure that had been looming over the barrier had suddenly vanished just moments ago.
That was the signal that Satoru Gojo's Limitless technique had been deactivated.
That so-called Divine Child, the strongest in the jujutsu world, had finally lowered his guard upon entering this 'absolute safe zone' after three days and nights of continuous high tension.
"What an arrogant and naive brat."
Toji sneered, casually flicking the coin into the air.
"Did he think hiding inside his turtle shell meant everything would be fine?"
"Though, I suppose I should thank that freak with no cursed energy."
The image of Yoru's cold, murderous face flickered in Toji's mind.
"If that freak hadn't been as sharp as a bloodhound, snapping at my heels, I wouldn't have had to go through all the trouble of acting out that boring tragedy."
"That brat Megumi Fushiguro must be under his thumb like some precious treasure now, right?"
Toji let out a low, raspy chuckle.
He felt no fatherly guilt whatsoever; instead, he felt an immense sense of satisfaction that his scheme had succeeded.
By exploiting the other man's hypocritical desire to save everyone, Toji had thrown his only weakness out as bait.
He had successfully lured the greatest variable, Yoru, far away from the main battlefield. Now, the path to the Star Plasma Vessel was completely unobstructed.
Now, it was time to demonstrate the true art of assassination.
Toji stood up straight and stretched, his granite-hard muscles letting out a series of sharp cracks like popping corn.
He slowly unbuttoned his tight T-shirt, revealing a sturdy chest covered in scars.
Meanwhile.
BOOM!
On a highway in the distant outskirts of Tokyo, a bolt of lightning was tearing across the landscape at a frantic speed!
Yoru's eyes were bloodshot, and the Slayer Mark on his forehead radiated a terrifying heat.
Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash - Godspeed!
With every step, the asphalt beneath him shattered. The air behind him was violently torn apart, leaving a long white trail of vacuum in his wake.
'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!'
Yoru roared inwardly.
He had actually been played like a fiddle by that man!
The classic diversion.
Toji had intentionally left clues specifically to draw Yoru away from Jujutsu High at this critical moment.
'Faster! I have to be faster!'
His heart hammered against his ribs as if it were about to explode.
Yoru pushed his physical potential to the absolute limit, trying to cross those dozens of kilometers in an instant.
Inside the Jujutsu High barrier.
"Phew... finally back."
Satoru Gojo stretched, rubbing his bloodshot eyes.
He had completely deactivated the technique he'd maintained for three days, allowing the heavy weight of exhaustion to wash over his body.
"Suguru, I could eat an entire cow right now."
Suguru Geto smiled as he withdrew his sentry cursed spirits, his tone also becoming quite relaxed.
"Then let's get Riko to the Tombs of the Star Corridor quickly. Once it's over, we'll go have a feast."
Riko Amanai sat on a nearby step, panting heavily with the smile of a survivor on her face.
"Thank you... really."
Inside this place, touted as the safest location in all of Japan, no one sensed any impending danger.
However, at the very moment they were most relaxed...
Outside the barrier.
"Come out, Ushibao."
Toji barked coldly.
A hideously ugly cursed spirit, looking as if it were stitched together from countless lumps of meat, crawled out from the shadows.
"Open up."
Toji commanded expressionlessly.
Ushibao obediently opened its cavernous, bloody mouth.
Without hesitation, Toji began stuffing the various weapons hanging from his waist into the creature's mouth one by one.
Standard katanas, specialized firearms, poisoned hidden weapons...
Finally, he pulled out a uniquely shaped short sword with great solemnity.
The blade of this short sword had a strange, forked shape, and the metal was inscribed with complex ancient runes that radiated a terrifying aura capable of severing space itself.
Inverted Spear of Heaven! A Special Grade Cursed Tool.
This god-slaying weapon, capable of forcibly nullifying any active cursed technique, was Toji's ultimate trump card for dealing with Gojo's Limitless.
Toji lightly stroked the blade of the Inverted Spear of Heaven, a fanatic glint flashing in his eyes.
Then, he stuffed this Special Grade tool, which was enough to change the entire landscape of the jujutsu world, into Ushibao's stomach as well.
After finishing this, Toji didn't stop.
His gaze fell coldly upon Ushibao's massive, bloated body.
To breach Master Tengen's barrier and complete the assassination without alerting Satoru Gojo's Six Eyes, normal infiltration methods would never work.
Jujutsu High's barrier could sense even the slightest ripple of cursed energy.
Even if Toji himself had a body with zero cursed energy due to his Heavenly Restriction...
...the cursed tools he carried and Ushibao itself would still emit residual dregs of cursed energy, triggering the barrier's alarm.
There was only one way in this world to completely mask cursed energy: make it part of one's own body.
"Sorry about this."
Toji looked at Ushibao, his tone devoid of any pity.
In the next second.
Toji suddenly wrenched his mouth open, his hands gripping Ushibao's fat body like iron pincers as he violently shoved it toward his own throat!
Ushibao let out a pained whimper, its large body struggling desperately inside Toji's throat.
But Toji's strength was far too terrifying.
Like a demon god devouring a monster, he manually forced the cursed spirit—which was several times larger than his own head—down into his stomach, inch by inch!
Gulp!
With a sickening sound of swallowing, Ushibao completely vanished into Toji's body.
Toji clutched his throat in pain, letting out a series of violent dry heaves.
His stomach was bulging high, and something inside seemed to be squirming frantically, trying to burst out of his abdomen.
But quickly, that squirming was forcibly suppressed by Toji's monstrous physical strength.
He wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth and panted heavily, a crazed smile spreading across his face.
This act of swallowing a cursed spirit alive was insane and stomach-turning.
But the effect was absolutely perfect.
With Ushibao inside his stomach, the residual cursed energy from the tools was completely isolated by Toji's "Heavenly Restriction" body.
His cursed energy, which was already zero, was now completely 'erased' from the world.
No sound of breathing, no heartbeat, and not a single ripple of cursed energy.
At this moment, Toji Fushiguro was like a 'transparent man' that even the laws of causality could not track.
A ghost that did not exist in this world.
Even Satoru Gojo's Six Eyes, which could see through any flow of cursed energy, would never be able to detect a non-existent god of death in an environment completely devoid of cursed energy fluctuations!
"Preparations complete."
Toji cracked his neck, his bones making a crisp snapping sound.
He looked up at the nearby barrier, his eyes filled with a thirst for blood.
He set off, walking straight toward the invisible barrier as if taking a casual stroll.
The moment his body touched the barrier...
There was no alarm, and no resistance.
The barrier erected by Master Tengen, said to be impenetrable, was as non-existent as air to this man with no cursed energy.
Toji passed through the barrier without hindrance and stepped onto the grounds of Jujutsu High.
He looked around at the familiar buildings, a cold, cruel smirk forming on his scarred face.
"The hunt begins."
A breeze blew past, rustling a few withered leaves.
By the time the leaves hit the ground, that panther-like figure had completely vanished into the shadows where the sun could not reach.
The perfect assassin had infiltrated.
He was like a cold shadow, silently slipping toward the depths of the school.
And at this time, Yoru was still sprinting frantically on the highway.
Satoru Gojo was leading Riko toward a vending machine.
The death knell of fate had already begun its heavy toll in everyone's ears.
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