The chaos begins

"Satoru Gojo has been sealed."

Hajime Kashimo's words brought all three of them to a halt again. Unlike his earlier speculation, this time his voice carried an unmistakable certainty.

"Catch, Itadori."

Kashimo tossed Itadori the flat communication device, which looked remarkably like Mechamaru's head, and gestured for him to attach it beside his ear.

"I'm sorry I only managed to contact you now. I woke up far too late."

Inside the infirmary at Jujutsu High, Yu Xingji lay in his hospital bed, staring at the monitoring device flashing green beside him. His expression was utterly grave-

To ensure that the intelligence could still get out if Pseudo-Suguru Geto killed him, Mechamaru had long since left his final swan song in Shibuya:

Several autonomous puppets equipped with surveillance, audio recording, and remote communication functions, set to activate on the condition that "Satoru Gojo has been sealed."

Having failed to pass on the intelligence about Pseudo-Geto, and having betrayed Jujutsu High, Yu Xingji was unquestionably guilty.

But all he could do now was make up for his mistakes as much as possible...

"The situation in Shibuya is critical. Their barrier techniques are far more sophisticated than ours."

"Four layers of Curtains are closely linked. They've successfully separated the civilians, the sorcerers, and Satoru Gojo."

"All we can do now is get outside the Curtains as quickly as possible, pass on the news that [Satoru Gojo has been sealed], and launch a rescue..."

"But only Itadori and Yunyi can carry out this plan. Miss Mei Mei, please cover them. We absolutely cannot let this railway line fall, either."

With the communication device attached to his ear, Yu Xingji laid out the plan. His body was so weak that even picking up the pen and paper beside him to sketch their movements was an ordeal.

But he knew perfectly well that if they could not recover Satoru Gojo, his own life would not be the only one turned upside down-

The entire Jujutsu Society would be overturned!

"The cursed spirits and curse users have started moving? Damn it..."

At the same time, with Satoru Gojo sealed, the cursed spirits and curse users awaiting orders received their instructions and were unleashed, taking to the streets to slaughter people.

The Nanami Group, the Zenin Group, Kusakabe, and Panda therefore came off standby and began entering the Curtains to maintain order...

"So you won't [hesitate], right?"

On Shibuya's main thoroughfare, large numbers of transfigured humans of varying strength had been released, turning the bustling urban district into hell on earth.

Kashimo's question was directed at Yuji Itadori beside him, but when he saw that Itadori had already assumed a fighting stance, he gave a derisive chuckle, admitting he had worried needlessly.

Killing transfigured humans who had once been people might still weigh a little on Itadori's conscience.

But for Kashimo...

That concern did not exist at all!

"Stay close. Don't fall behind."

Kashimo's tone was calm. Since Yuji Itadori showed no hesitation whatsoever, he would have to get them off to a good start.

Blue-white lightning tore through the chaos of Shibuya's streets. With the Iron Staff cursed tool resting on his shoulder, Kashimo darted in front of the nearest transfigured human.

Against these low-level transfigured humans, the positive electric charge produced by every one of Kashimo's blows was attracted to the negative electric charge inside him.

That overwhelming attraction kept his next strike locked onto its target, perfectly triggering the [sure-hit] lightning critical strike.

He did not need to aim deliberately for a weak point. Before such power, aiming was unnecessary.

Kashimo swung the Iron Staff high, landing his first blow squarely on the central head of the three-headed transfigured human before him.

The dull impact lasted only half a second. The transfigured human's skull was smashed straight into its chest, and its enormous body burst like a watermelon struck by a sledgehammer, dazzling arcs of electricity flashing all over it...

"One."

Kashimo counted softly. Following through, he kicked off sideways, his body instantly rotating ninety degrees in midair.

The Iron Staff swept across, and another transfigured human lunging at him was cleaved in two at the waist by lightning.

The gust raised by the staff scattered the spraying blood and viscous bodily fluids. The disgusting liquid did not even have time to touch the hem of his clothes...

"Two."

Kashimo spoke softly, yet all of this had happened within a single breath from Yuji Itadori.

Under Itadori's slack-jawed gaze, Kashimo moved nimbly, his feet never pausing as he landed.

He reversed his grip on the staff in one smooth motion. With electric arcs flashing in his palm, he drove the thick Iron Staff straight into the next transfigured human's abdomen!

"Lightning Strike: Piercing!"

Savage, overwhelming lightning cursed energy exploded from the tip of the staff. The blinding lightning instantly pierced the carapace-covered transfigured human and the three behind it.

Four charred torsos fell to the ground together, their burned muscle fibers exposed to the air, giving off an acrid smell...

"That's six."

Kashimo calmly announced the count, spinning the Iron Staff half a turn between his fingers to shake off the foul blood and residual electricity.

Fast. Far too fast.

Compared with Kashimo's crushing slaughter, Yuji Itadori could only struggle with a van-sized transfigured human roughly three or four body widths away from him.

This transfigured human was clearly on a different level from the ones he had encountered before-its skin was covered in a chitin-like membrane of cursed energy that easily deflected ordinary blows. Its arms had also been transformed into two bone blades longer than Itadori's entire body, and each slash could easily shred the asphalt.

By Jujutsu Society's assessment standards, a transfigured human like this probably possessed strength somewhere between a Grade 3 and a Semi-Grade 2 Cursed Spirit. Even calling it a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit would not be an exaggeration.

But Itadori's strength was not merely Grade 2.

He shifted half a step to the left to dodge a slash. The bone blade grazed past his shoulder and struck the ground, showering his face with gravel, but it did nothing to stop his heavy punch.

Having figured out its attack pattern, Itadori concentrated his cursed energy in his knuckles to the limit and easily drove his fist into the joint between the transfigured human's bone blade and torso.

With a dull crack of bone, the transfigured human's entire bony arm and half its shoulder blade were blasted apart, and its massive body abruptly crashed to the ground.

But by the time Itadori finished off that transfigured human, dodged sideways, and smashed the next one's skull with another heavy punch, Kashimo had already cleared away four more directly in front of him:

"Eleven."

Kashimo was still counting. His face showed none of the grim intensity of battle, only a languid concentration.

It was as though he were doing something tedious that nevertheless had to be finished. The Iron Staff, stained with blood and wreathed in electric arcs, looked less like a weapon in his hand than a twig he had casually picked up to amuse a child...

"Is the gap really this big..."

Itadori muttered under his breath, but still strode after him.

Calling their two-man offensive independent fighting would have been generous. They had no coordination at all.

Although Kashimo could smash the head of every transfigured human that surrounded him with a single swing, their sheer numbers always left three or four small fry slipping through to become Itadori's opponents.

These stragglers, whether they had survived a blow from Kashimo or circled around from the side, were not particularly strong. Still, continually punching these human sandbags with barely any defenses left Itadori feeling rather disgruntled.

His knuckles grew hot from striking, and cursed energy circulated rapidly through his body. The sparks of Black Flash might erupt with any blow, but most of these transfigured humans burst apart before they could withstand a second punch...

And frankly, his strength only allowed him to deal with one group of transfigured humans at a time. If their numbers suddenly doubled, he would still need Kashimo to turn back and bail him out.

Yet as the two steadily advanced, clearing the transfigured human threat from the neighborhood and rescuing civilians from the jaws of those cursed spirits, a deafening roar suddenly came from the road ahead.

The surrounding transfigured humans scattered. As an enormous figure squeezed out of the underground parking garage exit, the two finally saw what creature had made that roar-

It was an immensely tall, special creation, clearly a product of Mahito's twisted tastes-

Deformed vehicle wreckage was embedded in its warped, swollen body. Metal and flesh fused into an absolute defense.

At least eight or nine asymmetrically placed arms grew from its torso, which was piled thick with bloated flesh. None ended in a hand; each instead bore a sharp bone spike or fleshy hammer formed by reshaping its soul.

The considerable pressure made Itadori frown and clench his fists.

Against an enemy of this size, he would have to carefully study the distribution of its muscles and the direction of its bone spikes, find a weakly defended joint, and only then gather his strength to attack.

Itadori's mind rapidly worked through possible approaches:

"A head-on attack won't work. That multiheaded, multiarmed transfigured human has too much reach. I should circle around its flank, wait for it to extend an arm and expose the joint, then land a lethal blow with [Divergent Fist]..."

The problem was that Kashimo beside him did not spare even a second thought.

He gripped the Iron Staff in one hand and walked straight forward.

All the residual negative electric charge around him was released at that instant-cursed energy surged from his body like a storm, blue-white lightning spreading outward with him at its center, electric arcs crackling in the damp air:

He raised the Iron Staff high-the dazzling lightning at its tip lit up almost half the street.

One swing.

Just one swing.

All Itadori saw was a straight bolt of lightning exploding from where Kashimo's strike landed, carrying irresistible momentum as it effortlessly shattered the transfigured human's wreckage-plated flesh.

Kashimo clenched his fingers into a fist, and the electric arcs between him and the giant transfigured human instantly swelled and tore through it...

Lightning followed amid furious thunder. The mutilated transfigured human, struggling after losing half its body, was instantly engulfed in an electric net that burned through all its remaining cores...

A charred skeleton and melted asphalt lay abandoned on the ground.

Itadori looked at his hands, filled with cursed energy, then at the smoking patch of scorched earth ahead, and gave a bitter laugh.

Kashimo's fighting style was simply too overpowering. He could not get involved at all.

Compared with him, a Semi-Grade 1 Sorcerer awaiting his promotion assessment, Kashimo, who held only the rank of Grade 3 Sorcerer, displayed far more of what one would expect from a Grade 1 Sorcerer...

"We're at the center now. Get up there and call Nanami."

Kashimo turned back, tilting his head to signal for Itadori to climb somewhere high. His voice was as calm as still water, and he paid no mind to the crowds of transfigured humans closing in again.

"Make it quick. We still have a mission to finish."