Every Link in the Chain

Eighty-three seconds after Supreme Fireworks was deployed, Uraume the Frozen Star met defeat and death at the hands of Ryu Ishigori the Cannon.

The moment the domain's barrier came down, Ryu Ishigori's victorious form was revealed for everyone at Jujutsu High to see.

The group in the room where Sukuna's Finger was sealed naturally saw it too, on a monitor that had been installed there beforehand for that very purpose.

"!? Wh-what?! Ishigori took care of Uraume?! Seriously?!" Shiratori Gotsu stared, dumbfounded.

It was no wonder he was so surprised.

After all, the original assumption had been that, given Ryu Ishigori's strength, he would probably be locked in combat with Uraume for a long time.

The subsequent tactics against Sukuna had been planned on that basis.

Simply put, Ryu Ishigori had originally had no part whatsoever in the rest of the fight against Sukuna. In Shiratori Gotsu's plans, he was supposed to be "playing with the femboy" all the way to the end.

And the reason Shiratori Gotsu had made that assumption was, of course...

Ryu Ishigori had never told anyone about his Maximum Technique: Fireworks or Cursed Technique Reversal: Heavy Drinking!

Even in his recent fight with Uraume, since it had taken place inside a domain, there was no way anyone could have seen those two moves.

In other words, even now, aside from the charred lump of Uraume on the ground and Ryu Ishigori himself, nobody knew he had those two big moves up his sleeve.

He was still hiding his strength!

Ryu Ishigori: Work hard in secret, then amaze your bros!

He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.

More than ten seconds passed, but no new "combat units" had been deployed to the battlefield.

Seeing this, Ryu Ishigori looked straight up at Mei Mei's crow and shouted:

"Hey, shithead, you can move on to the next step! Are you spacing out over there?!"

Ryu Ishigori's piercing voice snapped Shiratori Gotsu out of his brainstorming in the room where Sukuna's Finger was sealed.

Since Ryu Ishigori came through so well, I can make a few adjustments to the next part of the plan... For example...

As he worked out a new tactic, he picked up the walkie-talkie beside him:

"Maki, Higuruma, Itadori! You're up! Follow the original plan!"

"Also, there might be some changes later. Just adapt as needed when the time comes."

"Roger!"

Itadori, who had been standing by the walkie-talkie, immediately replied, then turned to Maki Zenin and Hiromi Higuruma:

"Senpai Maki, Higuruma, let's go!"

Maki grinned and slung the Soul Liberation Blade over her shoulder. "All right!"

Higuruma: "I'll give it my all."

Meanwhile, inside the barrier of Authentic Mutual Love, the battle between Okkotsu and Sukuna was nearing its end.

With his Cursed Technique burned out, Sukuna had adopted a tactic similar to Uraume's, using Hollow Wicker Basket to neutralize the domain's sure-hit Cursed Technique and counterattacking from there.

But unlike Uraume,

Sukuna had four arms. That meant he could use two of them to maintain the hand seal and keep up the output, making Hollow Wicker Basket difficult to break.

Then he could fight with the other two.

After two minutes of stalling and back-and-forth, Sukuna's Cursed Technique recovered from burnout.

He swung Kamutoke, and several bolts of lightning struck Yuta Okkotsu at once, forcing him back several meters.

Then he gripped Kamutoke in the massive mouth on his abdomen, freeing two hands to form the King of Hell Mudra once again:

"Domain Expansion!"

Almost the very next second after the shrine appeared, Authentic Mutual Love's barrier shattered...

Sukuna was stunned for a moment.

Something's wrong...

He looked ahead at Yuta Okkotsu, whose expression was calm, a faint smile on his lips, and an ominous premonition arose in his heart.

Squelch!

With the sound of flesh tearing, the broad blade of the "Soul Devouring Blade" suddenly burst through Sukuna's chest.

Sukuna violently spat out a large mouthful of blood.

Malevolent Shrine, which had been deployed less than a second ago, collapsed from its master's injuries before it could unleash its power.

Sukuna's Cursed Technique burned out again!

Okkotsu's domain had not been broken; he had deactivated it himself. The purpose was to create an opening for Maki to launch a sneak attack through an unexpected turn of events.

At the same time, the sound of a gavel striking suddenly rang out.

"Domain Expansion: Deadly Sentencing!"

"Judgeman is the Shikigami that comes with my Cursed Technique..."

That was what Hiromi Higuruma had said at the pre-battle meeting:

"So Judgeman should also include any crimes that I consider subject to prosecution."

"In other words," Kusakabe said, rubbing his neck helplessly, "if we count the crimes Sukuna committed a thousand years ago and take Judgeman's rulings into consideration..."

"There's only a very small chance we can get Sukuna sentenced to death in the domain..."

Shiratori Gotsu spread his hands.

"That's why my plan doesn't include Sukuna being sentenced by Deadly Sentencing."

"It's too unreliable. I'm no gambler."

Hakari, feeling that remark was aimed at him, curled his lip and asked the question everyone wanted to ask:

"Then why do you still want Higuruma to expand his domain on Sukuna?"

"Good question." Shiratori Gotsu clapped his hands. "According to Higuruma, Deadly Sentencing has a compulsory rule inside it that prohibits all acts of violence."

Maki looked puzzled.

"What's worth emphasizing about something everybody already knows?"

Shiratori Gotsu looked at Maki and chuckled.

"Then have you ever thought about how that compulsory rule locks onto everyone inside the domain and enforces itself?"

"Hiss..."

"Normally, it should lock on through Cursed Energy..."

"Don't tell me?!"

As everyone talked over one another, Shiratori Gotsu delivered his conclusion:

"You've all figured it out, right?"

"That's right. At the end of the day, Deadly Sentencing's compulsory rule is just a sure-hit Cursed Technique with no offensive effect."

"And under normal circumstances, a sure-hit Cursed Technique locks onto its target and takes effect through Cursed Energy."

He folded his arms and flashed a wicked grin.

"Although Sukuna should also notice that quickly and form Hollow Wicker Basket to neutralize it, that doesn't matter."

"Miss Maki, with your Cursed Energy-free physique, a domain's sure-hit like that won't target you in the first place."

"So what you need to do is, before Sukuna realizes what's happening, 'make a mockery of the court' inside Higuruma's domain!"

"Go wild and beat the hell out of Sukuna while he can't fight back!"

Back in the present, Deadly Sentencing unfolded on the battlefield.

Judgeman began reading out the case for the trial:

"The third trial in the case of the defendant, Yuji Itadori, suspected of killing a large number of civilians in Shibuya on October 31, 2018, will now begin!"

"He didn't kill anyone," Higuruma said coldly, picking up the case file. "His confession in the second trial was false, made out of an excessive sense of responsibility!"

"The real culprit is..."

His gaze fell on Sukuna in the codefendant's seat, his heart pierced by Maki's Soul Liberation Blade...

"Actually, I have a way that could probably get Sukuna sentenced to death with a hundred percent certainty."

Just as the discussion about this step was about to conclude, Itadori suddenly spoke up:

"We can use the third trial to drag Sukuna into the case Higuruma and I had back then, and try it again!"