Backed Into a Corner

"Will Satoru and the others be all right?"

As Suguru Geto pulled her along at a run, Riko Amanai kept glancing back.

Geto's expression was grave. "No! Something's definitely wrong!"

"Huh?"

Riko looked puzzled.

"Aren't you best friends? In a situation like this, even if you have to lie, you're supposed to say something reassuring, aren't you?!"

Geto took a deep breath. "Before, I wouldn't have worried about Sawa and Satoru at all. But..."

Geto remembered what Sawa had told him yesterday at the beach.

"I don't know if Sawa can really predict the future, but this is clearly the crisis he was talking about!"

"So we have to hurry!"

"Hey, hey! Slow down, I can't keep up... Wait, this doesn't look like the way to the Tombs of the Star Corridor!"

Geto looked back at her. "What? Do you really want to merge with Tengen?"

"Huh?"

"'Merging' isn't 'death'? You'll continue to exist in another form? Come on, that sounds like something you'd tell little kids to fool them!"

A smile tugged at Geto's lips. "This is your life. You should choose for yourself how you want to live."

"No matter what you decide, we'll make sure you have a future!"

Riko froze as memories of the past filled her mind.

Her classmates, teachers, friends, Misato Kuroi, and her three new friends, including Gojo Satoru.

"I knew it..."

Riko's nose stung, and tears spilled from her reddened eyes.

"I still want to stay with everyone!"

Geto smiled in relief. "Good. Come with me!"

The two of them hurried to an open area, where two figures had been waiting for them.

"Misato!"

Riko was startled, then broke into a delighted smile.

The moment Misato Kuroi saw Riko, her eyes filled with tears. She pulled Riko into her arms. "Miss! Waaaah..."

"I see. So that's what's going on, Mr. Yaga!"

Geto smiled at the man before him: his teacher, Masamichi Yaga!

"Getting in the way of Tengen's merger with the Star Plasma Vessel—is that really something you can do, sir? You can kiss your promotion to principal goodbye!"

Yaga sighed. "That Sawa... Never mind. I may be an old man, but I'll go wild with you young people for once!"

Yaga summoned a rabbit nearly as tall as a person. "Sawa asked me to make this insulating Cursed Corpse."

As he spoke, he unzipped the rabbit's belly and motioned for Riko to get in. "I don't know how they're tracking the Star Plasma Vessel, but it's got to be a Cursed Technique."

"This Cursed Corpse can block your presence and all fluctuations in Cursed Energy. You'll have to stay inside for a while."

Riko nodded and squeezed herself inside.

Yaga zipped up the rabbit and turned to Geto, who was about to leave. "Are you going back?"

Geto turned and smiled. "Those two are still fighting. How could I miss out on the Strongest Trio?"

Yaga nodded in warning. "Be careful!"

Then he left with Misato and the rabbit Cursed Corpse.

Geto retraced his steps. When he reached the Tombs of the Star Corridor, a figure emerged from the shadows.

Geto's eyes narrowed. "You! Where are Sawa and Satoru?"

Toji Fushiguro grinned. "Those two brothers? Let me think... They're probably dead by now!"

"By the way, where's the girl?"

Veins bulged on Geto's forehead. He ignored Toji's question.

Although Sawa had warned him that something like this might happen, Geto still couldn't contain his anger.

"Then... you can die too!"

Behind Geto, countless terrifying Cursed Spirits appeared.

Sand Worm: Earth Burial Void Devour!

The ground suddenly split apart. A gigantic sandworm opened its gaping, saw-toothed maw and swallowed Toji whole.

Bang!!!

But in the next instant, Toji hacked the sandworm to pieces from the inside with the Soul Liberation Blade!

Purple Cursed Spirit blood spattered all over Toji.

"Roar—"

Rainbow Dragon roared as it charged, carrying Toji high into the air.

But Toji drew the Soul Liberation Blade and sliced Rainbow Dragon in two along its body.

Geto was stunned. "What? That's Rainbow Dragon, the hardest one there is!"

Toji slowly got back to his feet and was about to attack again when a woman's voice suddenly came from behind him.

"I'm asking you... Am I... am I beautiful?"

Beneath the Slit-Mouthed Woman's long hair, countless eyes stared out. Her gaping mouth was like a beast's, sending a chill down the spine.

A vengeful spirit born of imagination? Until the question was answered, neither side could harm the other.

Toji glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and replied coolly, "Let me think. You're not my type!"

"Roar—"

The Slit-Mouthed Woman let out a shrill howl and thrust her scissors forward like a streak of light.

Slice—

A lock of hair fell to the ground, and a thin line of blood welled behind Toji's ear.

He didn't seem to care. He drew the Inverted Spear of Heaven and instantly destroyed the Slit-Mouthed Woman's domain.

But just then, Geto came up behind Toji and reached for the Cursed Spirit on his body, Choubou.

He'd figured it out: Toji had no Cursed Energy, so he could only harm Cursed Spirits with Cursed Tools.

And the tool he used to store those weapons was this Cursed Spirit.

It was a low-level Cursed Spirit. If Geto could just touch it, he could subdue it in an instant!

But Toji didn't give him the chance.

With his freakish reflexes, Toji spun around and swung his blade without a second thought.

Crossed lines of blood appeared across Geto's chest, and Toji immediately kicked him away.

Geto's body smashed through several buildings before finally coming to a stop.

He lay helplessly among the ruins, dazed and dizzy as blood poured from his wounds.

Toji walked up and planted a foot on Geto.

"A sorcerer won't die from a few cuts like these."

"To be honest, if you were a Cursed Spirit user, I'd definitely kill you. But with Cursed Spirit Manipulation..."

Toji shrugged. "Who knows what would happen to the Cursed Spirits you've subdued if you died? They might come after me, or maybe there'd be some kind of curse. I don't want the hassle!"

"Come to think of it, you people can awaken Cursed Techniques only because your parents gave them to you. And even with those gifts, you still lost to me, a monkey without even a scrap of Cursed Energy!"

Toji mockingly ground Geto's face under his foot, then took the Special Grade Cursed Tool, Playful Cloud, from his waist.

"I'd coveted this thing for ages, but the eldest son of the Gojo Clan bought it. Funny how, after all that, it still ended up in my hands!"

Toji shoved Playful Cloud into Choubou's mouth and looked at Geto. "All right. Can you tell me where the Star Plasma Vessel went?"

"I could search on my own, but if you tell me willingly, it'll save me a lot of trouble!"

Geto's eyes were half-closed, and he didn't answer. He seemed to have lost consciousness.

Toji scratched his head and sighed helplessly. "Fine. I'll look for her myself."

His five senses were a hundred times sharper than an ordinary person's, and he had years of experience as a hunter.

Following the faintest clues to find the Star Plasma Vessel wouldn't be difficult.

That was how he'd tracked her this far.

But just as he was about to leave, he suddenly stopped.

Looking down, he saw Geto's hand gripping his ankle tightly.

"Only when you come close to death can you understand the true meaning of survival."

Geto remembered what Sawa had told him yesterday, and a crazed impulse rose in his heart.

He looked up at Toji with a mocking smile. "Get on your knees and beg me. Maybe I'll tell you where the Star Plasma Vessel is."

Toji's gaze turned cold. "Hey. You want to die?"

Geto laughed wildly, blood running down his cheeks as his expression twisted into something savage and deranged.

"Then do it!"

"If I die, all the Cursed Spirits I've subdued will simply disappear. They won't cause you any trouble!"

"Well? Want to try?"

A provocation?

One look at Geto's expression was enough for Toji to realize he was telling the truth. His killing intent surged.

"You brought this on yourself!"

"Jujutsu Sorcerers really are strange creatures!"

Thrust!

Toji drove the Soul Liberation Blade into Geto's heart and watched the life slowly drain from him.