Arrived? All Killed.

"I know, miss. You obviously didn't stumble in here by accident, did you?"

"...Yeah."

Yuta followed the man in the security guard uniform ahead of him, drawing ever closer to the gymnasium.

"Sendai Colony wasn't like this in the beginning. Evil sorcerers were everywhere—hunting ordinary people all over the place. It wasn't until old man Dhruv, Mr. Ryu Ishigori, and Ms. Uro Takako formed a certain degree of 'cooperation' that Sendai Colony got a little better."

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ito Mamoru. I'm an awakened player."

Just as the two stepped into the gymnasium, Dhruv, who was inside, moved.

At the sight of the old man suddenly appearing before him, Yuta immediately gripped the hilt of his sword.

"Wait, miss."

A withered hand rose, stopping Yuta from drawing his blade.

"As you can see—"

Inside the gymnasium, ordinary people lay sleeping on makeshift bedding. Around the circular upper levels of the gymnasium sat a great number of refugees.

"I bear no ill will toward ordinary people. Xuan, the strongest player in Sendai, has already left. You may have met him before?"

"Xuan?"

"...Xuan is a player from Sendai. Before he left, he'd already taught all of us a lesson."

"Wait a moment. I need some space."

Yuta rushed out of the gymnasium in a few quick strides, stopping beside the entrance before channeling cursed energy into the earpiece hanging by his ear.

"Lady Tengen, what is Xuan doing right now?"

After joining the communication channel, Yuta could sense that Xuan's cursed energy had not entered the channel established by Tengen. He could only ask Tengen, who was permanently connected to it.

"Blood of Dao Truth, the master of the Eight-Handled Sword, is on his way to rescue Masamichi Yaga, the principal of Tokyo Jujutsu High, due to an agreement with the Heavenly Restriction."

Honestly... when it came to encrypted communications.

"Could you help me find Xuan? I need to confirm something with him."

"Wait a moment... Blood of Dao Truth."

Yuta tapped his fingers against the earpiece, his feet unable to stop shifting back and forth—

"Hellooo~ Miss Yuta Okkotsu~ What do you need me for?"

The wind was so loud...

"I'm currently in Sendai Colony, Mr. Xuan. I need to confirm a few things."

"What is it~? I'm probably rather busy over here~ so please make it quick~?"

Strange. Where was that wind coming from?

"First, Dhruv, Ryu Ishigori, and Uro Takako. Can these three be trusted?"

"Dhruv can be trusted. As for Ryu Ishigori and Uro Takako—you'll probably have to fight them first. Oh, wait a second."

"Dragon Scales, Recoil, Twin Meteors."

Shing—

Now he knew where the wind was coming from.

"Oh, done. That guy had quite a few ways to escape."

"...Forgive me for asking, but have you already arrived? Are you rescuing Principal Masamichi Yaga?"

"Huh? I've already finished killing them. Those higher-ups Tengen said were useless—I didn't leave a single one alive. Killed them all. That should be fine, right?"

"..."

Yuta fell silent for a moment, lightly biting his thumb as he considered what consequences would result from all of Jujutsu High's higher-ups being killed.

Higher-ups killed → more new-generation sorcerers → fewer students being forcibly expelled → less factional infighting → less saying one thing publicly and another behind people's backs → the ones who branded Satoru Gojo a traitor were killed too → total harmony in the jujutsu world.

"Absolutely no problem!!"

"Anything else?"

"Please give Principal Yaga my regards."

"Okay."

Only after hearing Xuan's response did Yuta finally withdraw his cursed energy in relief.

"Sendai Colony has been confirmed to be a safe colony. Given the current situation, all I need to do is assist the player named Dhruv in relocating the ordinary people to an area where they can live long-term."

"There are a large number of cursed spirits in Sakurajima Colony—and Rule Nine does not apply to ordinary people. We need to add a rule allowing ordinary people to freely enter and leave the Culling Game colonies."

As Yuta delivered his report, Maki's voice, unheard for half a day, came through the earpiece.

"Itadori and I should be able to meet with senior Kinji Hakari tonight. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll be able to enter Tokyo No. 1 Colony tomorrow."

"Alright. Once Dhruv and I have settled the ordinary people in Sendai Colony, I'll head to Sakurajima Colony to help Maki clear out the cursed spirits."

"Okkotsu, aren't you earning points?"

"...I'm very sorry, but Sendai Colony can already be considered to have very few players left. Since Ryu Ishigori and Uro Takako have been hunting them, most of the more aggressive players have been driven into other colonies."

"I see..."

"Of course, if there's a rule that allows points to be transferred, I'll try to get one hundred points to ease the pressure."

As Okkotsu's voice fell silent, Itadori spoke again.

"At the moment, Hiromi Higuruma in Tokyo No. 1 Colony and Hajime Kashimo in Tokyo No. 2 Colony have both reached one hundred points. If possible, Fushiguro and I will head to the first colony and obtain points from Hiromi Higuruma."

"Alright."

"By the way, Okkotsu, have you found Angel?"

"No. We can be sure Angel isn't in Sendai Colony. What about you, Maki?"

"Not in Sakurajima Colony either. If Angel lives up to her name, she probably wouldn't ignore such a massive number of cursed spirits."

Smack.

Standing outside the garage, Itadori felt someone pat his shoulder. He sprang up and spun around to look behind him.

"Where's Fushiguro?"

The person who appeared behind Itadori was Xuan, who had already dealt with the higher-ups and used the barrier attached to his earpiece for an ultra-long-range teleportation.

"Gathering information."

"Ah, someone's coming."

Xuan's figure instantly turned into a pool of shadow and merged into Itadori's own shadow.

"Contestants—you may enter."

Tap, tap, tap.

As Itadori walked toward the garage, he held his earpiece. Though no cursed energy had been infused into it, Xuan's voice reached his ears.

"Just now, I went and saved two people—oh, one of them probably didn't really count as a person."

"Panda and Principal Yaga?"

"Okkotsu already told you?"

"Yes, he mentioned it during the intelligence exchange just now."

"I can help you defeat your opponents while I'm on you."

"That sounds really weird."

Itadori scratched his cheek and followed the path deeper into the garage, into what was called the contestants' waiting area.

"Anyway, let's enter first."