Gravely wounded

Kenjaku dodged.

But the cursed spirit Elephant God behind him failed to.

Garuda sent him flying with a strike, tearing away another chunk of his enormous body.

Seeing this,

Kenjaku realized that even a cursed spirit with a rule-based cursed technique could do nothing against Yuki Tsukumo, so he recalled Elephant God before he could be completely exorcised.

Meanwhile,

Aoi Todo and the others had been freed from the ice, and every one of them wore a trace of sorrow.

They had all seen the cursed energy cannon pierce Kaneki's body.

They also understood.

Ken Kaneki's chances of survival were slim.

Just then,

The shadow at their feet stirred, and the injured Kaneki struggled out of it, collapsing onto the ground.

His face was utterly bloodless.

Blood still seeped steadily from his wound.

If it kept flowing like this, blood loss alone would kill him.

"Kaneki!"

Itadori hurried over.

However,

Kaneki no longer had the strength to answer him. He merely looked at him with a smile.

"Arata Nitta."

Yū Shinji kept urging Arata Nitta to hurry.

The instant Ken Kaneki appeared, he had realized this might happen and had already used the Communication Puppet to call Arata Nitta over.

"I'm here."

Arata Nitta's breathless voice came through the Communication Puppet.

Hearing that,

Aoi Todo immediately searched for him. The moment he spotted him, he clapped his hands to bring him over.

Clap!

Several claps rang out in succession.

Arata Nitta appeared before them, drenched in sweat.

Still panting, Arata Nitta moved without missing a beat. He immediately crouched down, placed his hand on Ken Kaneki, and activated his cursed technique.

As soon as the technique activated,

Kaneki felt a little better.

At least,

The pain in his body had eased considerably, and even his wound had stopped bleeding.

"Can you save him?"

Itadori asked urgently.

To be honest,

Arata Nitta didn't think Ken Kaneki would survive.

Kaneki had been lucky enough to avoid damage to his heart, but his injuries were still critical.

With injuries like these...

Even if Shoko used Reverse Cursed Technique to heal him, keeping him alive would be difficult.

After a moment of silence,

Arata Nitta offered no answer.

Instead, he put it gently. "My cursed technique can only keep injuries from worsening, stop bleeding, and ease pain. It can't heal the injuries themselves."

His technique wasn't meant to heal, but to keep people alive.

Itadori froze on the spot.

"That's enough..." Kaneki murmured weakly. "Thank you, Arata Nitta."

Arata Nitta was taken aback.

He hadn't expected...

That he, too, had appeared in the future Kaneki had seen.

"You're welcome," Arata Nitta hurriedly replied once he recovered.

Then,

Kaneki looked at Itadori and murmured, "Don't... don't forget to find my gift."

"Okay."

Itadori answered through his tears.

"Oh, right."

Kaneki forced a smile. "I also promised Ozawa I'd send her your contact information."

"When the time comes..."

"Don't forget to accept."

He might not be able to send it himself, but he had made arrangements. Someone would send it for him.

"Okay."

Tears streamed down Itadori's face.

He kept nodding.

After saying that, Kaneki turned to Nobara Kugisaki beside him. "Saori and Xiaowen... I sent them to China."

Kugisaki froze.

Then her eyes reddened. "Thank you."

Kaneki swept his gaze over everyone present.

Todo hadn't lost his arm.

Nanami and Yū Shinji were both alive.

Maki had no burns, Kugisaki hadn't lost an eye, and Itadori's face had no scars.

"That's good..."

Kaneki smiled.

He opened his mouth to say more, but the light gradually faded from his eyes, leaving them dull.

Yet,

His kakugan did not disappear.

"Sukuna!!!"

Itadori wanted to beg Sukuna to save Kaneki again, just as he had before.

For that,

He was willing to give anything.

But Todo stopped him, saying, "Kaneki isn't dead. He's just unconscious from his injuries."

That was what Arata Nitta's technique did.

It kept injuries from worsening and held on to a person's life long enough for someone else to treat them!

"Then hurry and take him to Shoko!"

As he spoke, Itadori moved to carry Kaneki away to find Shoko.

"No."

A hand reached out to stop him.

Following the hand with his gaze, Itadori realized it was Mechamaru who had stopped him. "Not yet."

As he spoke,

Yū Shinji looked at Kenjaku and said gravely, "At the very least, we have to wait until they leave Shibuya."

If they took Kaneki to Shoko now,

Kenjaku might wipe them all out in one fell swoop.

Then,

They wouldn't just lose Kaneki. They would also lose an even more important support asset.

Their healer.

-Shoko Ieiri!

Seeing Kaneki clinging to life by a thread,

Kenjaku's smile grew delighted. He looked at Yuki Tsukumo and said with a hint of regret, "What a shame... that fellow didn't die."

At those words,

Yuki Tsukumo's face twisted with anger.

Veins bulged on her pretty face, which blended strength with softness, and her fists clenched tightly.

"In that case,"

Kenjaku turned to Uraume. "Let's go too, Uraume."

Uraume moved closer to him.

"Trying to leave?" Yuki Tsukumo immediately charged forward. "Not a chance!"

But she ran straight into countless cursed spirits.

Every one of them had a human face, their grotesque shapes looking both eerie and absurd.

They poured wildly out of the strange black smoke.

"Goodbye."

Amid the billowing black smoke, Kenjaku held the Prison Realm and said with a smile, "Yuji Itadori."

"I'll see you in the new world."

With that,

He left Shibuya with Uraume.

To be honest,

He wanted to keep fighting and find a chance to land one final blow, ensuring Kaneki died for good.

But,

He had his concerns.

He had no idea how many more contingencies Kaneki had prepared against him.

Throughout the entire Shibuya Incident,

Apart from Kaneki, only Satoru Gojo had been sealed. Not a single other member of Jujutsu High's main fighting force had died, and they all still had strength to spare.

That fact,

Made Kenjaku wary.

Once they left, Itadori and the others immediately took the gravely wounded Ken Kaneki to Shoko.

Yuki Tsukumo stayed behind to exorcise the cursed spirits Kenjaku had released.

At the Shibuya toll station,

Shoko had just stabilized Megumi Fushiguro's injuries when Ken Kaneki arrived in an even worse condition.

Immediately,

She threw herself into treating Kaneki without a moment's rest.

"It's not working."

After an attempt, Shoko frowned. "He's rejecting my cursed energy."

With that,

She tried again, but it still didn't work.

Once the result was confirmed, Itadori slumped to the ground, his face full of grief.

Seeing this,

Todo and the others spoke up to comfort Itadori.

Even though she couldn't treat him with Reverse Cursed Technique, Shoko didn't give up. She used the modern medicine she had learned to try to save him.

Whether he survived,

Was up to him now.

Yaga and the others also learned what had happened from the group, and understood why Kaneki had suffered such grievous injuries.

"Why didn't he leave Shibuya?" Kasumi Miwa quietly asked Yū Shinji.

"I think..."

Shoko overheard. Taking a drag on her cigarette, she said gravely, "He probably couldn't get out."

"?"

At her words, they all looked confused.

Shoko remembered the day of the Kyoto Goodwill Event, when Satoru Gojo had been unable to enter the Curtain.

If it could be set to keep one particular person from entering,

Then it could also be set to keep one particular person from leaving.

Getting out was simple.

As long as you could smash straight through the Curtain like Satoru Gojo, you could leave.

Clearly...

Ken Kaneki, who had only just awakened his cursed technique, hadn't had that ability.

The [Ten Shadows Technique] could not let him break through the Curtain and escape, either.

"Itadori."

"Pull yourself together."

Although Yū Shinji really did not want to disturb Itadori at a time like this, he had no choice but to speak.

"Don't forget."

Yū Shinji said gravely, "You still have to retrieve the 'gift' Kaneki left you. It's crucial-all our lives depend on it."

At his words.

Everyone remembered that Ken Kaneki had left a contingency in place.

Itadori knew how serious the situation was, too. He wiped away his tears, fought back his grief, and led everyone to search for the 'gift' Ken Kaneki had left behind.