Death Sentence

"Cough, cough, cough, cough!!!"

"Hah...!"

Kinoshita immediately drew a deep breath. It felt as though he had been rescued from drowning and dragged ashore; all he could do was keep gasping on instinct.

Am I dead?

Kinoshita felt a wave of pain and discomfort in his head.

"You're pretty hard to kill."

A brown-haired woman with faint dark circles under her eyes spoke from beside him.

Kinoshita surveyed his surroundings, then looked down at himself.

"Um... where are my clothes?"

Only after getting dressed did Kinoshita realize he had been rescued in Shibuya.

The person who had kept him alive was the woman before him-the only one capable of consistently applying Reverse Cursed Technique to others, Shoko Ieiri.

She lounged idly in a chair with a cigarette between her fingers.

"Fushiguro and Itadori rescued you. Yuki Tsukumo asked me to treat you. I thought you were beyond saving at first, but luckily, apart from your limbs, your body was more or less intact."

Shoko stubbed out her cigarette.

Looking at the scars on his body, Kinoshita felt like a carbon copy of Maki.

Still, that battle must have ended with Itadori finally wresting back control of his body after Sukuna unleashed his domain.

"Seriously, thank you!" Kinoshita began to express his gratitude.

But Shoko quickly waved him off.

"Oh, no need to thank me. You've been sentenced to death."

"Huh?" Kinoshita was dumbfounded.

After the Shibuya Incident, the Jujutsu Higher-Ups had indeed made a series of drastic moves.

They had sentenced their enemies to death, expelled Satoru Gojo from Jujutsu Society, and sentenced Masamichi Yaga and Itadori to death.

And now it was his turn to get slapped with one of those death sentences?

The first thing waiting for him after being brought back to life was a death sentence?

"Um, Miss Shoko, what's today's date?" Kinoshita asked awkwardly.

Shoko glanced at Kinoshita and casually picked up her glass.

"November 6. The sixth day since the Culling Game began."

Kinoshita froze. It seemed the Culling Game had begun as it normally would. His actions had not altered the broad course of the future.

"The sixth, huh? Looks like Itadori and the others have already gone to the Tombs of the Star Corridor," Kinoshita muttered to himself.

Shoko regarded the man curiously. Knowing her name was one thing, but he even knew exactly what Okkotsu and the others were doing.

An intelligence network alone could no longer explain that.

"Are you going to the Tombs of the Star Corridor? According to Itadori and the others, you were apparently on the verge of death because you fought Sukuna." Shoko watched Kinoshita quietly.

If Fushiguro and Itadori were right, the man before her was on par with a Special Grade Sorcerer.

If he could participate in the Culling Game, he would certainly be a tremendous asset.

"No, I'm planning to persuade Kinji Hakari first." Kinoshita clenched his fists.

Having lost to Sukuna twice, his desire to defeat him had already reached its peak.

Of course.

That still hinged on learning Domain Expansion.

No.

He needed to learn Simple Domain or Hollow Wicker Basket first, at the very least.

Those were different from Reverse Cursed Technique.

The principle behind the latter was to multiply negative energy by negative energy, ultimately producing positive energy that could heal the body and replenish blood.

That was the principle, but very few people could actually do it.

With the talent granted by his system, Kinoshita could naturally master it.

But although more people knew Simple Domain, Kinoshita needed to study its principles seriously. He could not learn it out of thin air.

Before Sukuna appeared again, he hoped to experience Domain Expansion a few more times. After his battle with Sukuna, Kinoshita had also begun thinking about improving Maximum Technique: Blood Red.

"Thank you, Miss Shoko. Don't worry, I'll get Satoru Gojo out!" Kinoshita straightened his clothes and prepared to leave.

Curiosity deepened in Shoko's eyes. This man even knew she was worried about Satoru Gojo.

"What's your name?"

"Just call me Kinoshita."

"Good luck."

"Leave it to me!" Kinoshita raised his hand confidently.

Seeing how spirited he was, Shoko could hardly say anything else.

"Geto... Satoru..."

"Hmph..."

Three minutes later.

The door opened again.

"Oh, man!" Kinoshita scratched his head awkwardly. "Sorry for the trouble, Miss Shoko, but I have absolutely no idea how to get there! I can't exactly ask for directions the whole way, can I?"

Holding her cigarette, Shoko pressed a hand to her forehead helplessly.

This guy tried even harder to look cool than Satoru Gojo. Why did they all have to act like such hotshots?

Looking at the map, Kinoshita was certain he had gone the right way.

He was just about to proceed when his steps suddenly faltered.

"What... are you doing?"

Dozens of figures suddenly began closing in on Kinoshita.

Kinoshita frowned. He had not expected the Jujutsu Higher-Ups to take him so seriously.

He was only an incredibly powerful Special Grade Sorcerer of unknown identity who had appeared out of nowhere and could fight Sukuna one-on-one.

Was all this really necessary?

"Hey, old man, do you really need me to deal with some kid like this?"

A handsome young man complained impatiently.

Kinoshita looked over. So that bastard Naoya Zenin was taking part in his execution too.

Leading the group, Yoshinobu Gakuganji kept his gaze lowered and silently picked up his guitar.

"This man possesses Special Grade strength. We must approach him with caution."

Then cursed energy began surging from the crowd.

Kinoshita pointed at them one by one as he listed their names. "Ranta Zenin, Jinichi Zenin, Naoya Zenin. Why didn't that old man come?"

The old man Kinoshita meant was Ogi Zenin, the younger brother of the current clan head and the father of Maki and Mai.

The one with the refined features was Ranta Zenin.

His cursed technique, Deathly Gaze, could forcibly restrain sorcerers through his eyes. It was a powerful and straightforward ability.

The burly man with flowing hair was Toji Fushiguro's biological brother, Jinichi Zenin.

His cursed technique was called Ten Thousand Fists, and it could transform cursed energy into countless powerful fists.

And then there was Naobito Zenin's son, another user of Projection Sorcery and the biggest scumbag in the Zenin Clan, Naoya Zenin.

"Four Grade 1 Sorcerers just to deal with me? Aren't you giving me a little too much credit?" Kinoshita spread his hands in bewilderment.

Instead of spending their time and energy dealing with Kenjaku, these Jujutsu Higher-Ups kept sentencing people to death. What the hell were they doing?

"You are suspected of having ties to the traitor Yuji Itadori, as well as conspiring with the King of Curses, Sukuna." Yoshinobu Gakuganji's voice was low. "I hereby sentence you to death."

His ability, Musical Rhythm Cursed Technique, transformed musical rhythms into blasts of cursed energy.

He was also a powerful figure among Grade 1 Sorcerers.

No...

The Grade 1 Sorcerers present were all among the strongest.

In fact, more than half of the Zenin Clan's fighting strength was gathered here.

"A brat who ran away from Itadori actually has the nerve to show his face and embarrass himself again." Kinoshita gave Naoya a mocking look.

Naoya Zenin's expression instantly darkened. "How did you... know?"

"Are you connected to that Yuta Okkotsu guy?"

Kinoshita chuckled.

"Who knows?"