Plans for What Comes Next

Shibuya, a charred black crater.

The sound of a heartbeat was exceptionally piercing amid the silent ruins.

Yuji Itadori suddenly sat up from the rubble, gulping down air that tasted of rust. Where his chest had been pierced by a long sword, there was now only a twisted pink scar that throbbed faintly in the morning chill.

"Cough... cough, cough!"

"You're awake?"

A gentle voice came from the side.

Yuji looked up and saw a somewhat melancholy face with faint dark circles beneath the eyes. Yuta Okkotsu was unhurriedly sheathing the katana wrapped in cursed energy.

"Okkotsu... senpai?" Yuji's memories were still frozen on the instant his heart had stopped. "Weren't you going to kill me?"

"I did. Three minutes ago." Yuta Okkotsu crouched down, his tone as calm as if they were discussing the weather. "The instant I stabbed your heart, I used Reverse Cursed Technique. By the higher-ups' Binding Vow logic, Yuji Itadori has already died once. The person standing here now is a death-row prisoner who has served his sentence."

"Gojo-sensei mentioned you to me." Yuta paused, a trace of sorrow flashing through his eyes. "He said that if he was ever gone, I had to come see you. He said you were a kind child."

"The act's over, so quit getting all sentimental."

A hoarse yet magnetic voice drifted down from above.

Yuta Okkotsu's pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints.

Too close.

Even with his cursed energy senses, he had failed to detect this person's approach beforehand. It did not feel as though someone had walked over. It felt as though something that had always been there had suddenly revealed itself.

"Crash—"

Shiyue Shuo dispelled the levitation force of the [Rooster] talisman and landed heavily atop the rubble. He was in an utterly miserable state: his clothes were torn, and his skin was covered in web-like bloody marks—the still-unhealed injuries left by forcibly opening his Domain.

"You're the 'variable' Gojo-sensei mentioned?" Yuta Okkotsu's hands did not stop moving, but his entire body had already entered an extreme state of readiness. "Shiyue Shuo."

"What did Gojo-sensei say about me?" Shiyue Shuo leaned against a broken wall, casually grabbed a bottle of mineral water that had not shattered, and tipped it back for a long drink, swallowing it together with blood.

"He said you had an 'interesting' technique, one that could even stand alongside his." Yuta Okkotsu looked directly into Shiyue Shuo's eyes.

"That's quite the compliment." Shiyue Shuo bared his teeth in a savage grin.

This was their first official meeting. One was Jujutsu Society's "Special Grade prodigy," while the other was an outsider who had shattered the rules. The air between their gazes became unbearably thick.

"Shuo! How are you?" Yuji Itadori cried out in delight.

"Thanks to you." Shiyue Shuo looked northwest, his gaze turning cold.

Tap, tap.

Footsteps sounded. Megumi Fushiguro dragged his exhausted body out from the depths of the ruins. Behind him was Choso, whose face was gloomy as he continued to guard the flank.

"Okkotsu-senpai." Megumi Fushiguro bowed slightly.

"Megumi." Yuta Okkotsu nodded. "I heard the specifics on my way back. Gojo-sensei was sealed, and the Prison Realm was taken away..."

"We need to find Tengen." Megumi Fushiguro looked at everyone, his gaze firmer than ever. "The higher-ups have gone mad. Principal Yaga has been sentenced to death, and Shuo has been added to the wanted list. At this point, only by finding Tengen's Forbidden Vault can we possibly find a way to undo Gojo-sensei's seal."

"The Culling Game has already begun." Choso spoke in a low voice, staring at Yuji. "Barriers are taking shape across all of Japan. If we don't stop Kenjaku, everyone will be dragged into that endless cycle of incarnation and slaughter."

"Let's split up. I have something more important to do." Shiyue Shuo crushed the empty bottle in his hand and casually tossed it onto the ground.

Megumi Fushiguro frowned. "You're going into the barrier alone?"

"No." Shiyue Shuo turned around. Sunlight fell over his pale profile, outlining an exceedingly dangerous curve. "I'm going to the Zenin Clan."

"Naoya Zenin came by earlier." Shiyue Shuo spoke evenly. "He didn't come here to capture me, nor did he come to save anyone. He came to kill you. That old man Naobito Zenin should be in terrible condition right now, and there's a power vacuum in the Zenin Clan. If Naoya wants to inherit the clan head's position, he has to eliminate every unstable factor."

Megumi Fushiguro's expression instantly became extremely ugly. He knew exactly what that clan was like—those without cursed techniques, women, and rebels were worth less than weeds in their eyes.

"Maki and Mai-senpai went back." Shiyue Shuo continued, his voice as cold as ice. "If nothing unexpected happens, the Zenin Clan will eliminate them."

"What did you say?" Megumi Fushiguro suddenly stepped forward, his fingertips digging deeply into his palm from the force of his clenched fist.

"To those rotten old men, twins are an 'ill omen.' Their father wants to compete for the clan head position too. Killing them would undoubtedly be the best choice." Shiyue Shuo recalled Mai's face, always filled with mockery yet concealing loneliness.

In the original story, Mai had sacrificed her life to forge Maki's final long sword. To an outsider like him, that kind of tragic beauty was complete bullshit.

"I'm going to the Zenin Clan." Shiyue Shuo emphasized it again, without a trace of retreat in his eyes. "I'm going to save Mai-senpai."

"But your body is already at its limit." Yuji Itadori looked at Shiyue Shuo worriedly. "The backlash from forcibly opening a Domain isn't something you can endure through willpower alone."

Shiyue Shuo waved a hand and stepped into the edge of the ruins without looking back.

Sunlight fell over his back, stretching his silhouette long, longer still.

At that moment, Tokyo's air became oppressively heavy. One group set off for Jujutsu High's Forbidden Vault, seeking a fragment of all-knowing wisdom; while one man raced toward the Zenin Clan estate.

"Mai-senpai... hang on."

Shiyue Shuo flew over the ruins. His heart was beating rapidly, and the pain was stimulating his nerves, yet it gave him an unprecedented clarity.

Meanwhile, at the Zenin Clan estate.

Within the antique corridors, the air was thick with sandalwood incense, yet it could not conceal the rotten stench of blood beneath it.

Naoya Zenin sat in a place of honor, idly toying with a short dagger in his hand. His streaked long hair glimmered with arrogant light in the shadows.

"Lord Naoya, Maki has entered the Forbidden Vault." A Kukuru Unit sorcerer knelt below, his voice trembling. "Lord Naomasa and Lord Ogi Zenin are already waiting there."

"Oh? That girl Mai is in there too?" Naoya revealed a cruel smile. His body swayed slightly, the rhythm of Projection Sorcery at low frequency. "How convenient. Dispose of both defective products at once, and the Zenin Clan's reputation will be a little cleaner too."

He rose and slowly headed toward the Forbidden Vault in the rear courtyard. In his eyes, this was merely an overdue "cleanup."

Add Bookmark

Return to Contents

Report Chapter Error

Share with Friends: