The main hall of the Tombs of the Star Corridor-
"Are you sure this will work?"
"..." Sakurada Niji said nothing.
Bang! A sudden gunshot shattered the silence.
The person beside Suguru Geto suddenly collapsed, falling facedown.
"...?" Suguru Geto looked back in disbelief.
At the source of the gunshot stood a muscular man in black, holding a pistol with a wisp of white smoke still drifting from its barrel.
"All right, thanks for your hard work. You can disband now..." Having completed his mission, he seemed unwilling to engage in any more pointless fighting.
"Why are you here..." Suguru Geto asked coldly, staring at him.
"What do you mean, why?" The muscular man in black looked puzzled, then seemed to realize something.
"Oh, that's what you mean."
"I killed Satoru Gojo," he answered provocatively.
"Then... die."
Suguru Geto asked no more questions. He simply opened the space of his Cursed Spirit Manipulation and summoned Slit-Mouthed Woman and Rainbow Dragon.
As the muscular man in black walked forward, he suddenly leaned his upper body backward, dodging something in the air.
The muscular man in black looked at the vanished corpse on the ground, then at the "corpse" standing up before him.
"Seriously... a switch?" He looked annoyed.
"Ah... more work. Hey, could you hand her over?" The muscular man in black seemed willing to negotiate.
"Dream on." The answer came from Sakurada Niji, who had disguised himself as Riko Amanai.
"Well, how'd you do it?" The muscular man in black looked curious.
After firing, he had sensed only two heartbeats.
"Toji Fushiguro." Sakurada Niji suddenly called the muscular man in black by name.
"Guess how I did it. Get it right, and I might tell you where the star plasma vessel is."
"You figured out my name that quickly? But how do you know I go by Fushiguro now?"
Toji narrowed his eyes, his murderous intent almost tangible.
"You don't even know you're being used... beat me, and I'll tell you. Come on!" Sakurada Niji deliberately played cryptic, trying to muddle Toji's thoughts.
"I'll take my time asking you later..." Toji stared intently at Sakurada Niji, then suddenly vanished.
Gripping Skyward Support, Sakurada Niji used New Shadow Style and gathered strength where he stood.
Suddenly, Suguru Geto ordered a cursed spirit to shield him, only for the spirit in front of him to be dismembered.
A diversion!
After slicing the cursed spirit apart, Toji, who had attacked him, vanished with a whoosh.
Rainbow Dragon, which Suguru Geto had sent to attack, crashed into the ground without hitting Toji.
Suguru Geto continued controlling Rainbow Dragon, making him roll and spin across the ground. Before long, he had cleared a flat area more than ten meters across.
This guy! How am I supposed to fight him? I can't sense anything, and my eyes can't keep up with his movements. My cursed spirits can't keep up!
Suddenly, Sakurada Niji shouted to Suguru Geto, "Geto! Sense that little cursed spirit of his!"
Sakurada Niji abandoned New Shadow Style and laid dozens of Space-Severing Lines around them, dividing the space so Toji could no longer move continuously at high speed.
Toji himself has no cursed energy, but that Inventory Cursed Spirit and his weapons all contain distinctive cursed energy that can be sensed. I need to remind Geto not to summon so many cursed spirits, or he'll just block his own view.
Suguru Geto understood what Sakurada Niji meant. He stopped releasing small cursed spirits as expendable fodder and controlled only Rainbow Dragon and Slit-Mouthed Woman.
Suddenly, Sakurada Niji heard a dull thud. A cool gust swept over him from behind as something struck the barrier he had placed around his body. He hurriedly swung his blade backward, but hit nothing.
"Your cursed technique's like a turtle shell, too," Toji remarked flatly after his failed ambush.
Looking at the unarmed Toji behind him, Sakurada Niji teased, "Not bringing out your signature weapon?"
After seeing the lines suspended in the air, Toji had realized he could not move at high speed without leaving openings. He had therefore stowed his weapon in the cursed spirit's stomach, then swallowed the spirit, completely concealing every trace of himself before ambushing Sakurada Niji with his bare body.
"Well, guess I'll use it."
Toji vanished in an instant and spat out the cursed spirit again a short distance away. Dodging Rainbow Dragon under Suguru Geto's control, he casually broke through Sakurada Niji's Space-Severing Lines with the Inverted Spear of Heaven, only to be caught in the Simple Domain of Slit-Mouthed Woman, who came right after him.
Sakurada Niji gathered strength where he stood, preparing to attack Toji the instant he cut through Slit-Mouthed Woman's domain.
But I need to time the buildup properly. Charging Godspeed and Flash Step for too long will only make them fail. I'll have to wait for the right moment to start.
Inside the Simple Domain, Slit-Mouthed Woman trembled as she pulled apart the bandages around her head, revealing her horrifying face.
She asked Toji, "Am... am... am I beautiful?"
"An imaginary vengeful spirit... a Simple Domain that prevents both sides from attacking until I answer the question?" Toji analyzed.
"Hmm... then I'll deliberately answer: not interested."
As Toji answered, Slit-Mouthed Woman tightened her grip on her scissors. Several more pairs appeared around him, aimed at different parts of his body, but her attack only broke his skin.
"Well, that's all you've got."
Now. Start. Sakurada Niji began gathering strength.
Toji drew the Inverted Spear of Heaven from the mouth of the cursed spirit on his shoulder and slashed several times, too fast for the eye to follow.
Then Toji shattered the domain.
Suguru Geto rushed forward and used Cursed Spirit Manipulation on the cursed spirit on Toji's back.
Sakurada Niji also used Flash Step to reach Toji's front.
"Godspeed." Only after closing in on Toji did Sakurada Niji draw his blade.
Caught between attacks from the front and rear, Toji showed no hint of panic.
"Idiots," Toji remarked bluntly.
Then, ignoring Suguru Geto behind him, he swung the Inverted Spear of Heaven one-handed and blocked Sakurada Niji's Fufū.
"Huh?! You're pretty strong." Toji was somewhat surprised, but he immediately dropped his casual attitude and exerted greater strength, overpowering Sakurada Niji.
As expected, Suguru Geto failed to absorb the spirit. The backlash from his failed technique sent him falling backward uncontrollably.
With one hand, Toji held down Sakurada Niji, who was now gripping his blade with both hands to withstand the Inverted Spear of Heaven. The cursed spirit on Toji's shoulder spat out another cursed tool as he tried to attack Suguru Geto, but Toji suddenly stopped-or rather, he could no longer move.
Sakurada Niji's cursed technique had restrained him.
"Kid, how long can you hold out?" Toji asked flatly.
Afraid Toji would notice, Sakurada Niji had not tried to touch his body directly with cursed energy. Instead, he spread his cursed energy outward and extended his jujutsu, enveloping the air around Toji's joints and fixing it in place.
"Well, who knows?" Sakurada Niji put away Fufū, which had been locked against the Inverted Spear of Heaven, and continued restraining Toji's joints with his technique.
Ten-odd minutes... I can't let Toji struggle, or it'll last even less.
I can't touch the Inverted Spear of Heaven, either. I need to avoid that area... keep every joint restrained.
"Geto! Call Shoko and ask how Gojo's doing."
"Aren't we killing him?!" Suguru Geto's murderous intent toward Toji was intense.
"His body is extremely resistant to my technique. I can only immobilize the air outside his body, which is a real pain. If your attack hits my technique, he might escape."
"The two of us can't beat him head-on."
Suguru Geto said nothing more and began calling Shoko.
Maintaining his output of cursed energy, Sakurada Niji questioned Toji.
"Well? Want to talk?"
"...You should be capable of killing me. Why send that Cursed Spirit Manipulation user away?" Toji had many questions.
"Let me tell you a story. Once you've heard it, you'll understand," Sakurada Niji said.
"Then I'm all ears." Seemingly sensing the boy's seriousness, Toji chose to keep listening.
"The cursed energy system follows some kind of unseen law."
"For a thousand years, the fates of the Six Eyes, the star plasma vessel, and Tengen have been tightly linked."
"Whenever the Six Eyes dies unexpectedly, another Six Eyes is born. Whenever Tengen needs to merge, a star plasma vessel appears."
"Kenjaku, an evil jujutsu sorcerer who has lived for a thousand years, repeatedly killed newborn Six Eyes and star plasma vessels to fulfill his ambitions, proving what I just said."
"Over the past thousand years, Kenjaku has changed bodies at intervals. The Kamo Clan's infamous Kenjaku was one of those bodies."
"Kenjaku's wish is to use all humanity as his test subjects and create an existence he cannot comprehend. Tengen and Cursed Spirit Manipulation are essential to fulfilling that wish."
"And you, Toji Fushiguro, have escaped cursed energy's influence because you have zero cursed energy. Kenjaku needs you to kill the star plasma vessel, and preferably the Six Eyes and the Cursed Spirit Manipulation user as well."
"That way, all the conditions he needs will be met."
"If he succeeds, everyone will meet a horrific end. Your son included."
"I suspect Kenjaku secretly controls or incited the Time Vessel Association."
After a moment of silence, Toji slowly spoke.
"How do you know all this?"
"Heavenly restriction. I can see some people's stories. The price is that I get dragged into those stories, too."
"What I saw was that Satoru Gojo didn't die. And without my intervention, you'd die at his hands and entrust your son to him."
"The Six Eyes brat is already dead. He won't kill me." Toji did not seem to believe Sakurada Niji's explanation.
"Then let's make a bet. If Satoru Gojo isn't dead, you have to help me stop Kenjaku's plan. How about it?"
"If Satoru Gojo is dead, then everything I've said is naturally false. I'll release my technique and let you leave."
Toji is a rare fighting asset. I have to do everything I can to win him over.
"...Fine." Toji suddenly felt he would lose, but unwilling to admit it, he accepted the wager anyway.
Before you continue