The Finisher

"I'll take care of Kenjaku."

The moment Gu Yanzhi's words landed at the turn of the staircase, the discussion came to an abrupt halt.

Angel stopped mid-sentence in her recommendation of Takaba, and Okkotsu raised his head slightly.

Everyone turned toward the man still wrapped in bandages. After a brief silence, Kusakabe spoke first, his tone cautiously dissuasive. "Mr. Gu, we certainly acknowledge your strength, but Kenjaku is a monster who's lived for a thousand years. That alone is reason enough not to underestimate him. Going alone would be too risky."

Gu Yanzhi waved a hand, an easy smile on his face. "You might have misunderstood. I'm not that brave-I'm just volunteering to deliver the finishing blow."

"The finishing blow?" The unfamiliar expression left everyone momentarily stunned.

Angel was the first to catch on. She nodded slowly, her voice clear and calm. "We do need someone for that. Takaba, for reasons we don't understand... doesn't seem willing to kill." She paused and looked around. "Takaba's Cursed Technique can keep Kenjaku occupied, but he won't kill him. If someone finishes Kenjaku off once Takaba has him tied down, we can resolve this without relying on a head-on fight."

Everyone began seriously considering the proposal. After a moment of silence, Yuta Okkotsu stood.

His expression was as gentle as ever, but his tone carried an unquestionable certainty. "We do need someone for that, but I think it should be me." He folded his hands on the table and swept his gaze over everyone present. "As a user of Cursed Spirit Manipulation, Kenjaku will release a massive rampage of Cursed Spirits when he dies. Rika and I are the best choice to stop them from escaping and hurting anyone."

Everyone nodded. Okkotsu's combat strength had their fullest confidence. Having him and Rika there was indeed the safest option.

"Hold on." Gu Yanzhi raised a hand, interrupting their train of thought. "I should be the best choice."

He looked at Okkotsu, his tone calm and his reasoning clear. "Don't forget, my Cursed Technique allows large-scale telekinetic manipulation. If a large number of Cursed Spirits go berserk at once, I can deal the most effective area damage."

Gu Yanzhi raised a second finger. "And don't forget that I'm a master of Barrier Techniques. I may not measure up to Tengen or Kenjaku, but I can just about claim third place. So rather than eliminating every Cursed Spirit in combat, it would be better to have me build a barrier to temporarily restrict their movements."

Okkotsu was about to speak, but Gu Yanzhi cut him off again. Smiling sheepishly, he scratched the back of his head. "I've made myself sound so noble, but the real reason is that I'm afraid of dying."

His frankness took everyone aback. "During our earlier soul-swap training, I didn't manage to learn Reverse Cursed Technique from Okkotsu, so my chances of surviving on the front line are pretty low. Why not let me contribute in a different way?"

The people from Jujutsu High froze for a moment, then expressed their understanding. Kusakabe nodded slightly, probably breathing an inward sigh of relief-he was afraid of dying himself, and this honest admission gave him an inexplicable sense of kinship.

Angel spoke up directly. Her voice was quiet, but every word was clear and firm. "If we can keep Okkotsu, a Special Grade combatant, on the front line to face Sukuna directly, this is indeed a good plan. Using a barrier to prevent the Cursed Spirits from escaping is also a better solution-after all, Kenjaku's Cursed Spirits have a wide variety of abilities. Even you, Yuta Okkotsu, would struggle to stop every last one from escaping."

Okkotsu fell silent. Angel's analysis was irrefutable. Although he was confident he could deal with the hundreds or thousands of Cursed Spirits that might rampage out of Kenjaku's body, intercepting every single one would be difficult if some possessed unusual Cursed Techniques. Gu Yanzhi's Barrier Techniques, on the other hand, could seal off the entire area before the spirits went berserk, solving the problem at its source.

After hearing Gu Yanzhi's and Angel's arguments, everyone nodded in agreement. Following several more days of repeated discussions, scenario analysis, and risk assessments, the decision was officially confirmed: Gu Yanzhi would deliver the finishing blow to Kenjaku, Takaba would keep him occupied, and Okkotsu would remain on the front line to fight Sukuna.

After the meeting ended, Gu Yanzhi was strolling down the corridor when the phone in his hand rang.

He answered. After a brief conversation, he sighed. "My suggestion to Satoru Gojo has vanished into the void again."

Satoru Gojo was always nowhere to be found, and whenever Gu Yanzhi asked Jujutsu High to arrange a meeting, it was put off for one reason or another.

He could sense that some people at Jujutsu High were wary of him. The meeting just now had been held entirely behind his back.

I've miscalculated.

The original owner's identity had been recorded in history, although the fact that he had been Kenjaku's student had not been exposed.

But Gu Yanzhi had initially given his original name from his previous life, only for someone to later uncover the original owner's real name using a scarab beetle.

Ever since then, something had felt off between him and Jujutsu High.

And as for the original owner's character, well, he had been something of a bastard.

To research barriers and certain Cursed Techniques, he had performed numerous human sacrifices and experiments on living subjects. He was hardly any better than his teacher.

Securing the job of dealing with Kenjaku had used up all the trust Gu Yanzhi had earned over the past few days by teaching Itadori without holding anything back.

The day of the Shinjuku Showdown

In Mei Mei's streaming room, the people from Jujutsu High sat gathered around the television. The footage came through the eyes of Mei Mei's crows-the battle between Satoru Gojo and Sukuna had torn the entire Shinjuku district apart, twisting the skeletal remains of reinforced concrete buildings under the aftershocks of their Cursed Energy.

Onscreen, the boundary of Unlimited Void cracked and collapsed in its clash with Sukuna's domain. Then countless slashes swallowed Satoru Gojo in an instant.

Blood splattered, a crimson mist bursting from Satoru Gojo's body. Everyone drew a sharp breath. The room froze as though all the air had been sucked out, leaving them able to hear one another's heartbeats.

Only Hajime Kashimo remained leaning against the wall, arms folded, his expression unchanged. Watching the figure still standing amid the storm of slashes, he spoke slowly and calmly. "Once this guy dies, I'm next. Don't even think about stopping me."

No one was in the mood to deal with Hajime Kashimo. Only Gu Yanzhi turned to glance at him, a faint smile on his lips. "Come on, old Kashimo, don't talk like that. With your strength, you should forget about fighting Sukuna one-on-one. Why not join us when we gang up on him later? That might give you a better shot."

Hajime Kashimo's brows knitted tightly, faint sparks of lightning crackling through the tips of his hair. "Gu, I told you not to call me that! Don't think you can talk to me like this just because we fought to a draw before. With my Cursed Technique, Mythical Beast Amber, I might well defeat Sukuna."

Gu Yanzhi spread his hands, his tone helpless. "Fine, fine. It'll just be rough on us when we have to collect your corpse afterward. We'll even have to piece it together ourselves."

Seeing that Gu Yanzhi was still running his mouth, Hajime Kashimo simply ignored him and focused all his attention on the screen.

Gu Yanzhi let out a soft sigh, then announced to the others, "I'm heading out to take down Kenjaku."

The people from Jujutsu High nodded slowly in acknowledgment, but their attention remained firmly fixed on the screen.

Gu Yanzhi turned his back and walked slowly toward the door. Unlike the others, he already knew how this clash between the strongest would end. He weighed things up inwardly. He had not accepted the mission to take down Kenjaku because he feared death, but because he had realized this was a superb opportunity to earn causality points. With Takaba doing the heavy lifting, all he had to do was collect Kenjaku's head at the end. It could hardly be easier. Yet some uncertainty lingered in his mind.

In the original story, Kenjaku was supposed to die at this point too, held down by Takaba and finished off by Okkotsu.

If I just replace Okkotsu and finish the job, all I'm changing is who delivers the killing blow. Will that really earn me any causality points?

What if I let him go at the end? Maybe that would change the plot more and earn me more causality points.

He walked with his head lowered, his lips moving slightly as he murmured for his own ears alone, "Then I should..."

Some time after Gu Yanzhi left, Hollow Purple erupted with a roar on the screen in the streaming room. Dazzling purple light shone through the screen, illuminating the entire room and bathing everyone's faces in violet.

Everyone cried out, "Gojo won!"

The dust cleared.

The instant the image came back into focus, every cheer in the room was cut off at once.

Sukuna stood with one hand braced against a wall. Hollow Purple had gouged away a large section of his body, leaving him a bloody mess. Only the wall kept him from falling.

But opposite him-the symbol of invincibility in all their hearts now had only half a body left standing. His entire upper body had been cut away diagonally from the shoulder, the severed surface as neat as though it had been measured with a ruler.

The remaining half of his body still stood upright, but Satoru Gojo's upper body now lay in a pool of blood. Blood poured from the cut, staining the ground beneath his feet dark red.

Everyone in the streaming room reeled in horror. Some covered their mouths; others instinctively took half a step back.

Only Hajime Kashimo grinned. He picked up the iron staff leaning against the wall, residual arcs of electricity crackling against his palm. "My turn."

Without grieving Satoru Gojo's death, the Thunder God-Hajime Kashimo-immediately rushed to the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the people from Jujutsu High were still mourning Gojo's death.

An assistant supervisor stumbled into the streaming room, his face pale and his forehead drenched in cold sweat. He was panting so hard he could barely form a complete sentence.

"Mr. Gu-that bastard Gu Yanzhi-" He bent over with his hands on his knees and took a deep breath, his voice filled with disbelieving panic.

"He really was no good all along!"

"He didn't go to Kenjaku! Surveillance shows he went in another direction-he attacked Jujutsu High Headquarters!"