Fallen Star Palace

"Sniff, sniff."

Xuan looked at the door before him, his palm pressed against it.

"No problem. This is the place." ×2

As Xuan and Choso spoke at the same time, the group finally arrived outside the barrier of Fallen Star Palace.

"Fushiguro, how do you feel?"

Throughout the operation, Xuan had not stopped lecturing Fushiguro—while Itadori listened in, stepping up to comfort Fushiguro whenever Xuan had something else to do.

"I don't understand any of it..."

Fushiguro held his head, the words from earlier still whistling through his mind.

By planning out the sheets of condensed cursed energy and arranging them in the air into an almost spherical shape, one could form a Domain shell that was hard on the inside and fragile on the outside. Then, one could construct a corresponding environment within the Domain—the scene inside had to benefit the user. An open plain was fine, a city was fine; any suitable terrain would do.

At Yasohachi Bridge, he had also unleashed his Domain in a sudden burst. But afterward, because he was not proficient in barrier techniques, he had been unable to use his Domain properly.

"Dropping a Curtain is simple. You designate an area, use a small amount of cursed energy to conceal that place, making it disappear from ordinary people's sight, or block the view inward. A circle is simple too, but..."

Fushiguro spoke as he walked.

"This is where my younger brothers are being kept."

Choso's footsteps paused as he glanced sideways at the storage facility beside him.

"Bear with it for a little while. I'll come back for you later."

"...If I had a tool to assist me, I could absolutely put up a hemispherical Curtain. On my own, though, I could probably only manage a 'square' Curtain."

Itadori looked at Choso, whose hand rested on the rolling shutter door, and slowed his steps slightly.

"Fushiguro, can't you use tools to expand a Domain?"

"...No."

Unlike the people at the rear of the group, those at the front were discussing something else.

"Tell me, is barrier technique really that difficult?"

Only after seeing that Xuan's expression had eased considerably did Okkotsu think to strike up a conversation, only to be stumped by Xuan's question before he could speak.

"Not really... I guess?"

Okkotsu thought over his own experience learning barrier techniques. He had learned them during his three months of special training abroad, and had already learned Domain Expansion as well. He had also more or less finished analyzing his own cursed technique. Only after Gojo-sensei was sealed had he returned to Japan.

"Then let me ask you this: isn't Megumi Fushiguro a genius?"

Both Okkotsu and Tsukumo sensed the barrier Xuan had deliberately deployed around them. It moved in sync with their footsteps, enclosing the group as they advanced. Its purpose was obvious: to block sound.

Anyone outside the barrier should have been unable to notice anything.

"Yes. At least judging by Jujutsu High's grades and his strength, he is."

"Could my teaching methods be wrong?"

"I don't think so."

Yuki, walking ahead, conspicuously inserted herself into the conversation and took over.

"Like Satoru Gojo, you're an exceptional genius. To people like you, even ordinary geniuses are just regular people. There isn't much difference."

Okkotsu shifted his gaze slightly—he knew all too well what the woman before him was thinking. Her next words would probably be something about what kind of women he liked.

"Xuan-kun! What kind of women do you like?"

See?

"Me? The gloomy type. Women who cling to you like female ghosts, I guess? I don't have any particular requirements for looks or strength. Though high intelligence would be best, of course."

What kind of description was that?

"Gooood~! There aren't many people like you who dare to openly tell others what kind of women they like."

Tsukumo Yuki nodded as she looked at the elevator ahead, its interior glittering with starlike points of light.

"So, give little Fushiguro some time. After all, he's the kind of guy who can't even say what kind of women he likes."

Xuan stepped into the elevator. He restrained the barrier, shrinking it before dismissing it.

Then, as the elevator began to move, Itadori took a few steps over and came up behind Xuan.

"Mr. Xuan, so what exactly are barrier techniques like?"

"Huh? I can understand Fushiguro asking me over and over, but I never agreed to teach you."

"I was listening in too, but I still didn't understand. Could you explain it?"

Xuan looked into Itadori's eyes and curled his lip.

"Don't tell me you never learned solid geometry either?"

"Ah, I did, I did!"

"—Like this."

Xuan held out a hand. Blue cursed energy spread out like flickering flames, forming a square sheet with four sides.

"First, condense cursed energy into a 'physical form,' though not one that is completely physical. Create a sphere that can block others from invading. Start with a square and pull it upward."

As Xuan lifted it, the square infused with cursed energy became a cube.

"Then, divide each face of the cube into sections. One becomes four, four become sixteen—"

Under Itadori's astonished gaze, the cube was split into countless pieces before gradually taking on a nearly perfect spherical shape.

"That's the theory. In practice, it may be harder. Show me."

Xuan patted Itadori on the waist, and Itadori nodded.

"Okay!"

Release cursed energy...

A quadrilateral, a cube, a regular octahedron—on the next expansion, the cursed energy scattered due to improper control.

"Ahh... no good. I can't do it."

Xuan's gaze shifted from Itadori to Fushiguro, who was also trying to form a sphere. The cursed energy in his hand changed rapidly, only to disperse again just as he neared success.

It looked like they still had a long road ahead of them.

It was probably like Naruto practicing the Rasengan and Sasuke practicing the Chidori, right?

Just don't let Naruto end up mastering the Chidori first while Sasuke learns some Hand Ninja Hound Summoning Technique instead.

Ding-dong.

The elevator arrived.

Xuan stepped out first and looked at the pool of blood below. Then, following the scent, he headed toward where Tengen was.

"Whoa? Bloodstains? Did something happen here?"

Listening to the voices behind him, Xuan stared down the corridor ahead.

This was... was Tengen planning to put on an act, then come out after everyone turned around to leave?

The first time Xuan had met Tengen was after she had already merged with the Star Plasma Vessel.

The Star Plasma Vessel's merger would restore Tengen's original appearance once more, while also—bringing a soul that did not belong to Tengen into her body.

She really was different from that talking thumb.

Tap, tap, tap.

First came the dim yellow lights on the walls, barely maintained by anyone. Then, at the end of the path, a white palace appeared.

The scent wasn't here.

—Was it because of his appearance? If things followed the manga, Tengen should only be hiding somewhere.

Because of his appearance, not only had the date when Okkotsu hunted Itadori moved up by several days, but even Tengen had changed?

Fushiguro and Itadori's voices came from behind him, followed by Tsukumo's explanation.

They had been refused—probably that was what it meant.

It was more or less the same as the original story.

"How about it? Are we heading back?"

Okkotsu looked at Tsukumo, who was surveying the surroundings. She nodded and turned around.

Still no scent—tch, was this really because of me?

Xuan thought—

But it didn't really matter. He knew the rules and purpose of the Culling Game anyway. He could even explain it to the others in Tengen's place; he just needed to find a suitable chance to reveal it later.

With that thought, all seven of them turned around at once—

Or... should he drag the hidden Tengen out here?

After all, he knew her location. Countless ideas flashed through Xuan's mind, but he ultimately dismissed them himself.

Forget it. That way, they'd lose two combatants to guard a thousand-year-old lady.

Let's go—

Just as Xuan's pace began to quicken, a voice came from behind him.

"Leaving already?"

So that was it.

Because she had evolved, her original body could no longer appear, so she needed to use a cursed energy projection—

"Nice to meet you, child of the Zenin, blood of Michizane, Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, Sukuna's vessel, and—"

"Long time no see, master of the Eight-Handled Sword."