What happened that night, part two

Kenjaku had remained in the ruins because she had been lost in thought.

She was considering how, if Tan Man truly knew all her plans, she could catch him off guard. In other words, Kenjaku needed to test what she could do to escape Tan Man's foresight.

At first, Kenjaku had been troubled by how few cards she had left to play.

Toji, with his heavenly restriction, was no longer an option because of Tan Man's appearance.

And Tan Man had already discovered Itadori, the special vessel she had created for Sukuna.

If Tan Man had not been lying, the girl who was the Star Plasma Vessel was also in his hands. With her identity as Kaori Itadori exposed as well, Kenjaku had been forced into an utterly passive position.

Most importantly, Kenjaku could not fathom where this boy named Tan Man Zenin stood.

And what motive had driven him to abduct the Star Plasma Vessel and attempt to bargain with her? All of it remained a mystery.

Kenjaku also knew perfectly well that she would have to choose an entirely new approach to ensure that Tengen's assimilation was stopped.

She genuinely had not expected Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto to show up before her together.

And Satoru Gojo, whom she was rather wary of, had actually left alone to save a few monkeys, leaving Suguru Geto-the user of Cursed Spirit Manipulation, indispensable to her plans-here with an opening exposed.

In truth, Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto had both made a fatal mistake.

They had taken it for granted that the cursed residue leading away from the Time Vessel Association's headquarters proved that Kenjaku had left.

In reality, it was residue from Kenjaku's domain that had clung to Tan Man and Toji.

As the Curtain that kept ordinary people out rose, Kenjaku, who had remained hidden among the ruins, appeared behind Suguru Geto within moments.

Kenjaku's final consideration was that seizing Suguru Geto's body at this point might make her subsequent operations inconvenient.

Moreover, exposing her identity too early might alert Tengen to her attempts to stop the assimilation, potentially accelerating the very process she wanted to prevent.

But this could also prove to be a masterstroke, disrupting Tan Man's predictions about her and allowing her to counter him.

In fact, compared with Satoru Gojo's initial efforts, Suguru Geto had conducted a more thorough search of the ruins, so he was not entirely unprepared.

He had even left this opening deliberately, hoping to lure out whoever was hiding.

Suguru Geto was still uncertain about the other person's circumstances: whether they were responsible for this devastation, an accomplice of the perpetrator, or another sorcerer from Shin Village.

Another important reason Suguru Geto had not attacked immediately was that he was still considering the possibility of survivors beneath the rubble.

He feared that the effects of a preemptive attack might inadvertently injure them, just as he had said while scolding Satoru Gojo earlier.

Although Suguru Geto had his back to Kenjaku, he still noticed her reveal herself and spoke.

"Stop. Tell me who you are."

As he spoke, he had already summoned the imaginary cursed spirit, the Slit-Mouthed Woman, to stand by beside him.

Clutching her bloodstained chest, Kenjaku spoke weakly to Suguru Geto.

"Please... help me..."

Hearing Kenjaku's plea, Suguru Geto turned to look at her suspiciously. Her once-white robe had been stained scarlet, and the ruins had left it covered in dust.

Suguru Geto studied Kenjaku cautiously. He could clearly sense her cursed energy; there was no doubt that she was a jujutsu sorcerer.

Her injuries also appeared genuine. He could see Kenjaku's blood running down her clothes, and her face had lost all its color.

Wait, that cursed residue was hers. But why was she so badly injured?

There was clearly no sign of a second sorcerer here.

What exactly happened here?

Was she a curse user?

While Suguru Geto frowned in thought, Kenjaku staggered and fell to her knees, looking so weak that she seemed unable to hold on and might faint at any moment.

After considering it, Suguru Geto decided to approach and examine her. If Kenjaku truly could not hold on any longer, he would need to administer first aid.

"Can you hold on?" Suguru Geto asked Kenjaku.

But all of this was merely an act Kenjaku had put on.

With Reverse Cursed Technique at her disposal, injuries of this degree were nothing to Kenjaku.

Besides, in her earlier battle with Tan Man, she had been the only one attacking.

So the only "injury" she had sustained was the expenditure of cursed energy.

This performance was simply intended to make Suguru Geto lower his guard, ensuring that she could subdue him in one move despite not being at full strength.

When Suguru Geto entered the range Kenjaku had envisioned, she merely intoned in a low voice.

"Domain Expansion: Womb Profusion."

When Suguru Geto heard the words "Domain Expansion," he did not even have time to consider that the frail Kenjaku before him had merely been putting on an act.

He instantly understood why this enormous building had been reduced to such a state. If a sorcerer capable of using a domain had done it, everything made sense.

Although Suguru Geto could not use a domain himself, he was certainly familiar with the basics.

Almost instinctively, he ordered the Slit-Mouthed Woman to activate her Simple Domain to counter Kenjaku's Womb Profusion.

[The Slit-Mouthed Woman's domain is similar in nature to a Simple Domain, hence the use of this term.]

But he had overlooked a crucial issue: Kenjaku's Womb Profusion was far beyond anything the Slit-Mouthed Woman's little domain could contend with.

Moreover, Kenjaku's Womb Profusion was not an ordinary domain. Like Malevolent Shrine, it was an open domain, its power unmatched under the effects of a binding vow.

[A little note to ward off arguments: the description of "Womb Profusion" in this text represents only the author's personal interpretation and is not backed by any official conclusion. This applies to all of the author's Jujutsu works written before June 27, 2024.]

The moment Womb Profusion's signature pillar rose, the Slit-Mouthed Woman's domain collapsed. She herself and the cursed spirits around her were likewise destroyed.

Suguru Geto himself was also struck by the intense effects of gravity. In an instant, his entire body was pinned firmly to the ground, unable to move, but he still refused to give up resisting and roared.

"Rainbow Dragon!"

The Rainbow Dragon appeared instantly and charged toward Kenjaku at astonishing speed.