Hajime Kashimo's death had not changed the Culling Game much.
Though, if you insisted, there had been one change.
With Kashimo no longer roaming Tokyo No. 2 Colony looking for fights to the death, the Barrier had suddenly become a lot more peaceful!
Time flew by, and soon it was November 8.
In the ruins of an underground tunnel, Megumi Fushiguro turned his back to Yuji Itadori and forced out his request through gritted teeth.
"Please, Yuji."
"We need your strength!"
His sister, Tsumiki Fushiguro, had also been chosen as a Player in the Culling Game. Megumi needed to find a way to save her, along with the other ordinary people inside the Barriers.
He needed Yuji's strength.
Yuji had fallen into despair after being made to kill so many ordinary people in Shibuya. But at Megumi's request, something stirred in his lifeless heart.
He would help his friend Megumi. He would also atone for what he had done.
On November 8, 2018, Yuji Itadori officially decided to enter the Culling Game.
November 9, Tombs of the Star Corridor.
Yuji and the others met Tengen there and learned Kenjaku's true identity, along with how to free Satoru Gojo.
To free Gojo, they decided to find the Ancient Sorcerer Hana Kurusu, known as "Angel," who possessed the power to extinguish any Cursed Technique.
To make that happen, Yuji set out to find help.
November 10, Utsunomiya City.
Yuji and Megumi arrived at a hidden underground parking garage.
There, Kinji Hakari, their senior from Jujutsu High whom Yuta Okkotsu had said was stronger than him when he was on a roll, ran an underground fight club for Jujutsu Sorcerers.
Yuji's goal was to persuade Hakari to join them in the Culling Game.
November 11.
With Jujutsu High's help, Yuji successfully persuaded Hakari.
At last, Yuji and the others had gathered everyone they could!
Yuji, Megumi, Panda, and Hakari assembled in a makeshift operations room.
They had gathered to discuss tactics for entering the Culling Game the next day.
Each of them looked grim. They had run into a problem.
Hakari turned to Yuji and asked,
"So what's our plan for tomorrow?"
Yuji fell silent. Even Megumi, usually so quick to think of an answer, had nothing to say. None of them knew!
Because of how the Culling Game's Barriers worked, once they entered, they could not leave.
They knew nothing about conditions inside the Barrier!
Their original plan was to gather enough points to add new rules to the Culling Game.
Only then could they save Megumi's sister, Tsumiki Fushiguro, and the other ordinary people.
But one major problem stood in their way.
With Hajime Kashimo no longer stirring up trouble, nobody had added a rule that let Players see everyone's information!
Yuji and the others had no idea who had a lot of points or who had only a few inside the Barrier.
They would have to enter the Barriers and find out for themselves!
When no one answered, Hakari shook his head and went on.
"Our first goal is to find someone with a hundred points, then convince them to add a rule allowing Players to transfer points freely. Right?"
Yuji and the others nodded.
That rule was the key to their entire plan.
Only with it could they gather enough points quickly without killing anyone.
Which brought them to the crucial question.
Which Barrier should they search for someone with a hundred points?
The Culling Game had ten Barriers in all!
Tokyo No. 1 Colony, Tokyo No. 2 Colony, Sendai, and Sakurajima Colony were four of them.
There were six others: Lake Gosho Colony, Aomori Colony, Iwate Colony, Miyagi Colony, Niigata Colony, Nagoya Colony, Kyoto Colony, Osaka Colony, Hiroshima Colony, and Fukuoka Colony!
They might not have come up in the story, but they certainly existed.
Yuji's group had only a handful of people. They could not cover every Barrier.
And since they could not leave a Barrier after entering it, choosing one without a Player who had a hundred points would leave them with one option.
They would have to kill their way to a hundred points themselves.
When nobody offered an answer, Hakari scratched his head in frustration.
He turned to Kirara Hoshi beside him.
"Kirara! Get me some paper and a pen."
"Sure~!"
That one sentence was enough for Kirara to understand what Hakari had in mind.
He took a sheet of A4 paper from a drawer in the corner and tore it into ten pieces.
Then he wrote a Barrier's name on each slip and crumpled them into little balls.
Hakari's lips curled into a grin.
"Let's gamble!"
"...Gamble?"
Yuji looked at Hakari in confusion, unsure what he meant.
Panda, an old friend of Hakari's, had an inkling.
He asked uncertainly,
"Hakari, are you planning to draw lots?"
"Exactly!"
Hakari chuckled and nodded eagerly.
"There are ten Barriers. We'll draw one at random and go wherever the slip says!"
"That's way too arbitrary!"
Megumi objected at once.
But Hakari's next words stopped him cold.
"Do you have a better idea?"
Megumi did not. Still, drawing lots seemed far too arbitrary.
Kirara saw his hesitation.
Leaning against Hakari's shoulder, he gazed at him fondly and said,
"Don't worry. Hakari's really lucky when he gambles. He's never lost!"
Hakari burst out laughing.
"True. I trust my luck."
He looked at the pile of slips. "There's bound to be a Player with a hundred points in one of those Barriers. I've got a feeling I'll draw the right one."
Without waiting for Megumi's opinion, Hakari reached into the pile and pulled out a slip.
He unfolded it, and everyone leaned in to look.
"Tokyo No. 1 Colony."
Hakari's eyes lit up at the name. He suddenly had a good feeling about it.
"It's settled. I'm going to Tokyo No. 1 Colony! I can feel it—there's someone with a hundred points in there!"
Watching Hakari draw made Yuji, who enjoyed playing pachinko, itch to try it too.
"Then I'll draw one!"
Yuji pulled a slip from the remaining pile and urged Megumi to do the same.
"Megumi, hurry up and pick one!"
Megumi felt a headache coming on as he watched them turn the decision into a game.
But Hakari and Yuji had already joined in, so he had little choice but to stand up and draw one himself.
Panda eagerly raised a paw.
"Heh, I'll take one too."
Before Panda could draw, Hakari stopped him.
"Don't draw, Panda. Just go to Tokyo No. 2 Colony."
"Huh?"
Panda was disappointed. It felt strange to be the only one left out!
"Why do I have to go there?"
Hakari explained.
"We still need to find Hana Kurusu, 'Angel,' don't we? Didn't Tengen say she was in Tokyo No. 2 Colony? Your nose is good, Panda, so you go there and look for her."
Hana Kurusu, "Angel," was the key to releasing Satoru Gojo from the Prison Realm.
Someone had to go and find her.
With his keen sense of smell, Panda was the best choice.
Just then, Yuji awkwardly raised the slip in his hand.
"Uh... I drew Tokyo No. 2 Colony. Should I pick another one?"
Before you continue