The training grounds fell quiet.
Everyone looked around expectantly.
Angel had used her technique. The back gate of the Prison Realm had been opened.
Gojo Satoru was free.
So… where was he?
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then the ground suddenly trembled.
A deep rumble spread through the earth like distant thunder.
The shockwave rolled across the land, strong enough to make several people stumble.
Yuki frowned slightly.
"That… felt like an earthquake.
I blinked.
Oh. Right.
Gojo had been sealed deep in the Mariana Trench.
Breaking out down there had caused an earthquake in the OG series as well.
The rumbling faded after a moment.
Everyone exchanged confused looks.
"So…" Hakari said slowly. "What now?"
Several heads turned toward me.
Apparently, I had become the unofficial strategist.
I scratched the back of my head.
"Well… Gojo will probably look for Kenjaku first."
I shrugged.
"But Kenjaku isn't stupid. He's probably hiding like a pussy right now."
Ryu snorted. He was already getting bored.
"So… honestly, I don't know what Gojo will do next," I admitted.
After a moment, I added,
"Ah—actually, we should call Yuji back from Italy. Gojo's free now, so it's safe."
Everyone nodded.
And so we waited.
Gojo Satoru – POV
Cold.
Pressure.
Darkness.
Then suddenly—
Freedom.
Gojo opened his eyes.
The crushing weight of the ocean surrounded him, kilometers of water pressing from every direction.
The Mariana Trench.
He floated there for a moment, silent.
"How long was I gone…?" he muttered.
The Six Eyes begin to absorb information all around him.
Information flooded into his mind.
New barriers across Japan.
Strange, cursed energy patterns.
The world had changed.
His expression hardened.
"…That guy...."
Without another word, Gojo vanished.
He teleported away from the crushing depths of the trench.
A moment later, he appeared high above the Pacific Ocean.
Wind rushed past him as he hovered in the sky.
"I will find you," he said quietly.
"And when I do…"
His voice turned cold.
"I'll kill you."
Then he disappeared again.
Gojo reappeared above Japan.
He floated there for a moment, surveying the land below.
Massive cursed barriers surrounded certain cities.
The Culling Game colonies.
"So that's the death game you were talking about…"
Sorcerers killing other sorcerers.
Gojo moved again, teleporting hundreds of kilometers at a time.
Tokyo.
Osaka.
Sendai.
Hokkaido.
He scanned the country again and again with the Six Eyes.
But there was no sign of the cursed energy he was searching for.
Kenjaku.
The thief wearing Suguru Geto's face.
After several minutes, Gojo sighed.
"He's hiding…"
Of course he was.
Kenjaku had survived for a thousand years by avoiding fights he couldn't win.
Gojo scratched his head lazily.
"Well… might as well check Jujutsu High."
And vanished once again.
Ikuyo Kita – POV
We had been waiting for over an hour.
I stared up at the sky.
Where is Gojo…?
Right as that thought crossed my mind—
Space twisted.
Gojo Satoru appeared in the air above the training grounds.
Everyone froze.
He hovered casually, hands in his pockets, surveying the crowd.
His eyes moved from face to face.
Megumi. Hakari. Shoko. Yuta. Yuki and Several other surviving sorcerers he knew.
A small smile appeared on his face.
Then he slowly floated down.
"SENSEI!"
Yuta ran forward.
"Yo," Gojo said casually. "Did you all miss me?"
Some people laughed nervously.
Others just stared in disbelief.
Then Gojo's gaze moved across the unfamiliar faces.
Ryu.
Hana.
Me.
Then—
Choso.
Gojo's expression instantly darkened.
He vanished.
And reappeared right in front of Choso.
Infinity activated.
Choso was frozen in place.
"I know what you did," Gojo said quietly.
The air around them grew heavy.
Choso looked straight into Gojo's eyes.
He wasn't afraid.
"I did it for my brothers," Choso said calmly.
"And I would do it again."
Gojo's cursed energy spiked slightly.
The pressure increased.
I immediately stepped forward.
"Gojo-san!"
Both of them looked at me.
"Choso did terrible things before," I said quickly. "But he's changed. He's a good person now."
Gojo stared at me for a few seconds.
Then he released Choso.
The pressure vanished.
Choso stepped back calmly.
Gojo walked toward me instead.
I swallowed.
He leaned down slightly, bringing his face very close to mine.
I saw that his Six Eyes were clearly analyzing me.
Those blue eyes were truly beautiful.
"Interesting," he murmured.
"The other three are vessels…"
He glanced at Hana, Ryu, and Choso
"But you're not."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"And you're strong. Almost as strong as Yuta."
He tilted his head.
"Were you a curse user?"
"…No. That doesn't feel right."
"Gojo-sensei," Yuta interrupted quickly.
"This is Ikuyo Kita."
"We'll explain everything."
Gojo looked at him.
Then nodded.
"Alright."
A few hours later.
Gojo had heard everything.
Yaga's execution. Nanami's death. Nobara's coma.
The Culling Game.
Kenjaku.
He leaned back in his chair, unusually quiet.
The sadness in his expression was subtle—but it was there.
"So," Gojo finally said.
"You're telling me this girl suddenly appeared with a cursed technique that can see the future…"
"And she basically saved everything."
Yuta nodded.
Gojo looked at me again.
"Interesting…"
Before he could say more, Tengen approached.
"The vessel of Sukuna has been called back," Tengen said.
Gojo turned toward me again.
"Alright."
Then he said something completely unexpected.
"Come join Jujutsu High."
"…Huh?"
"You'll enroll next year as a first-year student."
I blinked.
"Do I have a choice?"
"Nope," Gojo said immediately.
I sighed.
"Well then… Gojo-sensei, please take care of me."
I smiled brightly.
Kita Aura activated.
Gojo looked at me.
Then copied my smile perfectly.
"I will," he said.
"I'm the best teacher after all."
For a moment, I just stared at him.
…Wait. Why do I feel like I'm the one getting hit by Gojo Aura?
This guy…
He's too bright. I closed my eyes.
After getting a clear understanding of the situation, Gojo disappeared for a while.
When he returned later, he looked calmer.
More focused.
He had made a decision.
He would enter the Culling Games himself.
Besides, this is the perfect opportunity to get rid of the higher-ups as well.
With Gojo fighting for us, victory is guaranteed.
If only our enemy were stupid.
Kenjaku – POV
The airplane hummed quietly as it crossed the sky.
Kenjaku sat calmly in his seat.
Uraume sat across the aisle.
"Are you certain Sukuna's vessel is here?" Uraume asked.
"In this foreign country?" She looked disgusted when she said it.
Kenjaku nodded slowly.
"Yes."
His fingers tapped the armrest thoughtfully.
"That girl… Ikuyo Kita."
"A fascinating anomaly."
He smiled faintly.
"A cursed technique that glimpses the future."
"I would very much like to study her."
His smile widened slightly.
"Perhaps even take her body."
"She has interfered with several of my plans."
Uraume tilted their head.
"Yet you seem unconcerned."
Kenjaku chuckled quietly.
"I've been planning for over a thousand years."
"One complication won't ruin everything."
He looked out the airplane window.
Japan was far behind them now.
"They have fortified Jujutsu High heavily," he continued.
"Tengen is well protected."
"We cannot break through those defenses directly."
Uraume nodded.
"That is why we need Sukuna-sama."
Kenjaku lifted a small container.
Inside were three shriveled fingers.
Sukuna's fingers.
"With these," Kenjaku said softly, "Sukuna will reach nineteen fingers."
Uraume smiled.
"And the vessel?"
Kenjaku's eyes gleamed.
"We found a very suitable one."
"A talented young sorcerer."
"With an interesting technique."
Kenjaku's smile grew wider.
"Then we will return to Japan."
"Once Sukuna awakens… he will kill them all."
"And then the merger will begin."
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End of Chapter