Curse

Ken Kaneki couldn't refuse.

But...

He hadn't told him everything, either.

Whenever he was asked something he didn't want to answer, he fell silent, making it clear he wouldn't tell him.

Because of that...

The two had argued for a long time.

Though he hadn't gotten the full picture, some of the things he wanted to know had been answered.

Otherwise...

He wouldn't have let Ken Kaneki leave.

"Aren't you going to kill him?"

Mahito asked.

He watched Ken Kaneki walk away until his figure disappeared completely from sight.

Kenjaku's eyes were dark.

He said slowly, "Now isn't the time."

Once he sealed Satoru Gojo and had his hands free, killing Kaneki would be his first priority!

Meanwhile...

Kaneki got into the car.

Relief was written all over his face.

Fortunately, Kenjaku hadn't chosen to kill him and forcibly take over his body.

Otherwise...

He would have discovered that even with Satoru Gojo alive, nothing could stop his plan.

His Cursed Technique...

Was an excellent match for Kenjaku.

Then...

Ken Kaneki told the driver to start driving, picked up the Communication Puppet from the seat, and fitted it to his ear.

A question came from the other end. "Did it work?"

"Yes."

Ken Kaneki answered.

Then Kaneki took off the Communication Puppet.

About thirty minutes later, the taxi stopped. Ken Kaneki paid and got out, reminding the driver not to take any fares to Shibuya tonight.

The driver didn't understand why.

Ken Kaneki offered no further explanation and turned to leave. Whether this proved a blessing or a disaster depended entirely on whether the driver listened.

Afterward...

He walked for a while, entered a residence, and leaned back on the sofa, murmuring softly.

"Is being named Ken Kaneki my curse...?"

The Cursed Technique he had awakened far exceeded his expectations and was somewhat similar to Yuta Okkotsu's.

Both involved eating part of a sorcerer's body to acquire their Cursed Technique.

He didn't have Rika.

Which meant...

He had to eat it himself.

His Cursed Technique had two uses. The first was to devour someone's brain directly, acquiring their Cursed Technique permanently.

The second...

Was a use he had developed himself.

By devouring part of someone's body, he could temporarily acquire their Cursed Technique.

The former had a cooldown.

Different Cursed Techniques had different cooldowns.

But there was no limit on the number.

Once the cooldown ended, he could activate his Cursed Technique again to acquire someone else's.

With the latter...

He could do the same as Itadori.

After consuming a body part, repeated use of the acquired Cursed Technique would cause his innate Cursed Technique to engrave that technique into his brain.

The drawback was that he couldn't exceed three.

Of course...

That was what Kenjaku had said.

He had explicitly stated that the human brain could hold only three or four Cursed Techniques at most.

Any more, and the brain wouldn't be able to bear it.

That old bastard had lived for so many years. There had to be some truth to what he said.

To be safe...

He would house only two more Cursed Techniques in his brain.

He would use his own Cursed Technique to store all the others.

Soon...

He settled on his target: Megumi Fushiguro's Ten Shadows Technique. He wouldn't need to eat his brain.

Eating part of his body would suffice.

This Cursed Technique...

Had revealed a new use sixty-eight years later.

Like Sukuna, he could use the shikigami's abilities without summoning them.

He had already laid out his plan, too.

Shibuya.

19:00

A Curtain with a radius of approximately 400 meters appeared, centered on the Tokyu Department Store and the Tokyu Toyoko Store.

Only after confirming that nothing differed from the original story did Kaneki smile.

His conversation with Kenjaku hadn't ended until nearly 18:40.

At that point...

Making any adjustments would have been difficult.

Unless...

He postponed the plan.

Postponing it would mean risking unforeseen changes, especially with Ken Kaneki, an unpredictable factor who knew the future, in the picture.

So...

Kenjaku could only proceed as planned, seal Satoru Gojo first, and deal with everything else afterward.

And...

Ken Kaneki's plan also required Satoru Gojo to be sealed.

He had come from another world.

He knew perfectly well that this very sealing was what allowed Satoru Gojo to grasp the technique for countering an Open-Barriers Domain: shrinking his domain to the size of a basketball.

This was the key to the battle!

Without it, they couldn't withstand an Open-Barriers Domain's attacks.

Just as in the original story...

They were divided into four teams.

They were the Nanami Team, the Zenin Team, the Kusakabe Team, and the Mei Mei Team.

Except for the Kusakabe Team, each team had veterans leading newcomers.

20:31

Satoru Gojo entered the Curtain.

20:40

Satoru Gojo encountered Jogo and Hanami. They each went about their tasks, blocking routes and releasing hostages.

They wanted to use humans to keep Satoru Gojo in check.

But they discovered it was utterly useless.

Even when Satoru Gojo deactivated his Limitless Cursed Technique, they could do nothing to him.

Before 20:51...

Hanami died!

It had taken so long because most of the time had been spent talking and chasing. Actually killing Hanami hadn't taken even a minute.

Then...

Mahito arrived with a train full of transfigured humans to salvage the situation.

21:22

The Prison Realm opened and successfully restrained Satoru Gojo. Kenjaku, wearing Suguru Geto's body, stepped out to reminisce.

This time...

Unlike in the original story, Satoru Gojo didn't demand to know who he was in anguish. Instead, he calmly accepted that he was being sealed.

21:26

Satoru Gojo was sealed, but they couldn't take him away.

21:27

Yuji Itadori ran out and spread the news that Satoru Gojo had been sealed.

Soon...

The plan to rescue Satoru Gojo was put into action.

21:40

Nobara Kugisaki and Akari Nitta encountered Haruta Shigemo, who possessed stored luck.

The moment the two sides properly engaged...

Nobara Kugisaki took a punch to the chin from that strangely shaped sword, whose hilt was a human hand.

That blow...

Combined with the cut she had just received on her leg...

Left Nobara Kugisaki temporarily unable to fight, kneeling on the ground.

At that critical moment...

Kento Nanami arrived!

After he dealt with Haruta Shigemo, Ken Kaneki's voice rang out from the Communication Puppet that had been hidden there all along.

"Kugisaki."

"Can you hear me?"

At those words...

Nobara Kugisaki froze for a moment. "That voice... Ken Kaneki?"

"It's me."

Ken Kaneki answered.

Then...

Ken Kaneki added, "Mr. Nanami, I'm a friend of Yuji Itadori's. Kugisaki can vouch for that."

Nobara Kugisaki nodded.

Confirming that he was indeed Itadori's friend.

"What do you need from me?" Kento Nanami stepped forward, picked up the hidden Communication Puppet, and asked.

"Please remember what I'm about to tell you."

Ken Kaneki's voice came clearly through the Communication Puppet. "You'll encounter Naobito Zenin and Maki Zenin."

"After that..."

"You'll encounter an octopus-like cursed womb that turns into a special grade cursed spirit. He can control water, and his name is Dagon."

"You'll also enter Dagon's domain."

"Remember!"

"Once the domain is dispelled, you must follow the person who kills Dagon."

"Don't linger."

"All right."

Kento Nanami answered.

He had already guessed that Ken Kaneki seemed capable of "foreseeing" the future.

The reason he thought "seemed"...

Was that he couldn't yet be certain.

"Next..."

Ken Kaneki continued, "You'll also clear out the transfigured humans in the station."

"Mahito will be hiding among them, waiting to come out and finish you off when you let your guard down."

"If..."

"You don't encounter the situations I've described, please forget what I said and fight according to your own instincts."

"If..."

"What I described really does happen..."

"Please do as I said. You can wait a little before dealing with the transfigured humans. Itadori is on his way."

"I've made arrangements for everyone else, too."

After listening, Kento Nanami thanked him.

"Thank you."

"Kugisaki."

"Hm?"

Kugisaki looked at the Communication Puppet.

"You remember what was on the note, right?" Ken Kaneki asked.

He was referring to the gift he had sent Nobara Kugisaki.

It contained nails forged by her grandmother, along with the rather cryptic tips he had left her for staying alive.

"I remember."

Nobara Kugisaki answered with a smile.

"Good."

Ken Kaneki paused briefly, then offered his blessing. "I curse you all to come back safely this time."