Everyone Assembled; Those Eyes... There Was No Doubt!

In Japan, Tengen had set up many "Pure Barriers" to suppress the creation of Cursed Spirits while strengthening the Barrier Techniques used by auxiliary managers.

Four of them were particularly important.

The Pure Barrier centered on the Japanese emperor's Imperial Palace; the Tombs of the Star Corridor Pure Barrier beneath Jujutsu High; the Yamakuni Mausoleum Pure Barrier in Kyoto; and the Mount Hida Pure Barrier, which divided Japan into east and west.

The Culling Game was a Bon Barrier built upon the foundation of the Pure Barriers Tengen had created.

So, if one had to name the true administrator of the Culling Game, it was Tengen.

Kenjaku had merely constructed the Culling Game.

"So, Kogane..."

Kenjaku looked playfully at the "Culling Game customer service" before him.

"Tengen is in my hands now. If I wanted to, I could order her to destroy the Pure Barriers and bring the Culling Game to an easy end."

"So..."

"Will you agree to my rule additions and at least let the Culling Game continue a little longer..."

"Or will you insist on defying me and force me to use slightly more drastic measures?"

He raised a hand toward Kogane. "The choice is yours."

"B-but..." Sweat poured down Kogane's face...

On November 18, Kenjaku added new rules to the Culling Game.

Rule 13: [As of 9:09 p.m. on November 18, 2018, the Culling Game will no longer accept new players.]

Rule 14: [When all players other than Suguru Geto, Megumi Fushiguro, and Shiori Himi (Uraume's vessel) have died, the Culling Game will end immediately.]

November 19, Tokyo No. 1 Colony.

Yuta Okkotsu was sitting on the roof of the tallest office building in the colony.

He had already learned that Sukuna had taken over Megumi Fushiguro's body. By all rights, he should have been gathering with the others at Jujutsu High now.

But...

"Then let's meet again in Tokyo No. 1 Colony."

"I'll take care!"

Tokyo No. 1 Colony was where he and Shiratori Gotsu had agreed to meet.

He could still check Shiratori Gotsu's information through Kogane. That meant Shiratori was definitely still alive, but there had been no word from him for three days straight...

"Kogane, check Shiratori Gotsu's location."

"Player Shiratori Gotsu, current colony: Tokyo No. 1 Colony."

"Huh?" Okkotsu was stunned for a moment.

The next instant, that familiar voice rang out behind Okkotsu. "Yo, long time no see, Okkotsu!"

Another equally familiar voice followed right behind it. "You came all the way up somewhere this high and made the two of us climb stairs for several minutes!"

Okkotsu hurriedly turned around, then froze.

Shiratori Gotsu and Ryu Ishigori stood before him in extremely fashionable clothes, each wearing a pair of flashy sunglasses and an exaggerated grin.

"...How did you two end up together? And those clothes... Did you go to a fashion show?"

Faced with such a bizarre sight, even the well-traveled Okkotsu couldn't resist commenting.

"Oh, that?" Shiratori Gotsu took off his sunglasses, his eyes full of emotion and reminiscence. "That was an adventure full of twists and turns, thrilling from start to finish..."

After spending the past two days together, Ishigori had come to understand what kind of extraordinary person Shiratori Gotsu was.

Seeing that he was about to launch into a long-winded, embellished account, Ryu Ishigori quickly reached over and clamped his mouth shut.

"All right, all right, quit being so dramatic. Stop talking, I'll tell him!"

"Ahem." Ryu Ishigori pushed up his sunglasses. "Anyway, here's what happened..."

"After we landed safely, our clothes had all been cut to shreds, so we found these wonderful new outfits in an unattended clothing store in the colony."

"Then we came straight here without stopping and met up with you."

After Ryu Ishigori finished, he stood there with his hands on his hips and lit himself a cigarette.

Okkotsu, who had been staring open-mouthed, finally recovered.

"So, Ishigori, you encountered Sukuna after he took over Fushiguro's body in Sendai Colony, and then Shiratori saved you with his Cursed Technique and domain..."

"And in the end, you two used the impact of a full-power Cursed Energy cannon to fly out of Sukuna's domain and escape?!"

"Yes! That's right!" Shiratori Gotsu gave Okkotsu a thumbs-up.

Though he genuinely thought their experience was fantastical and absurd, Okkotsu couldn't help smiling in relief at the sight of them.

"Oh, I'm so glad! I'm so glad you've gotten stronger and survived Sukuna, Shiratori! And I'm so glad you're willing to join us, Ishigori!"

"Hey, hey, that's enough!" Shiratori Gotsu hurriedly waved his hands to interrupt Okkotsu's barrage. "Stop saying you're glad! That expression is really hard to take seriously!"

"All right, all right, hehe..." Okkotsu waved a hand with a sheepish laugh.

The next moment, his expression turned grave. "Now then, it's time to get down to business..."

In an emptied classroom at Jujutsu High.

Everyone had assembled.

"Looks like everyone's here, and we've all filled each other in."

Yuji Itadori glanced at Shiratori Gotsu and Ryu Ishigori, who had just arrived with Yuta Okkotsu and changed into normal clothes.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Shiratori Gotsu, an independent Jujutsu Sorcerer. I guess I'm about Grade 2." Shiratori Gotsu gave a brief introduction.

"Just call me Ishigori," Ryu Ishigori said casually, smoking a cigarette.

The allies Okkotsu-senpai mentioned, the ones who survived after facing Sukuna when he took over Megumi's body... So these are the guys...

They look completely unharmed. That's incredible...

Though he badly wanted to know Sukuna's current situation in detail, Itadori put the thought aside for now because there was something more important to do.

He said with a serious expression:

"The situation is urgent. We don't have any time to waste. We have to unseal Gojo-sensei as soon as possible."

Everyone voiced their agreement.

Even someone as extraordinary as Shiratori Gotsu was in no mood for antics at the moment.

Though he had read the original story and knew exactly what would happen next, in such a serious atmosphere, he had to put away his grin, if only out of respect for the others.

There was one piece of information, however, that he thought he could share here.

"Sukuna's domain is an Open Domain without a closed barrier. It can cover a radius of 200 meters," Shiratori Gotsu suddenly said.

In the original story, Satoru Gojo had been at a disadvantage in the first clash of domains precisely because he hadn't known that.

With everyone present, Shiratori Gotsu, who had faced Sukuna's domain head-on, took the opportunity to tell them directly.

"Huh?" At those words, everyone's expressions turned uncertain and alarmed.

"Are you sure?" Maki asked hesitantly.

"Absolutely." Shiratori Gotsu took the opportunity to pull Ryu Ishigori over and pat him on the shoulder. "This guy saw it with his own eyes and experienced it firsthand with me in Sendai Colony."

"And we used this guy's busted, bullshit Cursed Technique to get out without a scratch."

Ryu Ishigori pointed his thumb at the top of Shiratori Gotsu's head. "It's embarrassing to admit we ran away, but that's what happened."

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

It was undoubtedly important information, but it also meant that Sukuna was far stronger than any of them had imagined.

"That's very useful information. I'm glad we have you two as allies." Itadori was the first to compose himself, giving the two of them a small smile.

"But now isn't the time to dwell on that. Let's get ready to unseal the Prison Realm."

"Right," everyone answered in unison.

"All right, let's begin."

In the corridor outside Jujutsu High's infirmary, Itadori and Takaba placed the back of the Prison Realm on a piece of cloth.

As soon as the preparations were finished, Angel, who shared a body with Hana Kurusu, raised a question.

"Wait. Are you sure you want to unseal the Prison Realm here?"

"Is there a problem with doing it here?" Itadori was a little confused.

Takaba stood up and looked around thoughtfully, then his face lit up with realization.

"You're right! This is a welcome-back ceremony, but the place looks way too bare, doesn't it?! We should put up some decorations, like the kind you'd have at a birthday party!"

Kurusu's face darkened. "Uh... That's not what Angel meant..."

"But I think it's a good idea! If Mr. Gojo comes out and sees streamers and balloons, it'll definitely cheer him up!"

"As expected, Mr. Takaba's mind works differently from most people's." After the offhand remark, Shiratori Gotsu picked up the explanation.

"Physical time doesn't pass inside the Prison Realm, so the body of anyone sealed in it remains in the state it was in at the moment they were sealed."

"Um... You could think of it as the frozen meat at the bottom of an old person's freezer?"

"You came up with a completely inappropriate comparison like that. Your mind doesn't work normally either." After that comment, Angel returned to the subject.

"Precisely because physical time doesn't pass, we have no way of knowing what state Satoru Gojo is in there."

"He may feel as though only an instant has passed, or it may already have been hundreds or thousands of years..."

"So what I'm worried about is Satoru Gojo's mental state. After all, he's the strongest of the modern age!"

Seeing that everyone still looked puzzled, Shoko came over to explain.

"Simply put, if Satoru Gojo's mind has become unstable because of the uncertain passage of time, it would be extremely dangerous to unseal him in a cramped space like this."

They couldn't help picturing Satoru Gojo in Godzilla form, wreaking havoc...

"Yikes... That does sound dangerous..."

So everyone took the Prison Realm to Kiroko Mine in Saitama Prefecture.

This was Jujutsu High's fourth training ground. It had an extremely large open space, enough to leave room to deal with any emergencies.

Once everything was ready, Hana Kurusu rose high into the air and raised the trumpet with her left hand, the only one she had left after Sukuna's sneak attack. "Jacob's Ladder!"

A dazzling pillar of light slammed into the back of the Prison Realm.

After the light vanished and the smoke cleared, everyone ran toward the center, only to discover to their surprise that the back of the Prison Realm had disappeared without a trace.

And Satoru Gojo was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh?!" Everyone was startled and uncertain.

Just then, the ground suddenly began to shake.

Though sudden earthquakes were nothing unusual in Japan, at a time like this... Yuji Itadori had a faint feeling that it was no coincidence.

Shiratori Gotsu, who had read the original manga, knew exactly what was happening.

By now, Satoru Gojo had probably broken out of the seal through the front of the Prison Realm and then... headed straight for Kenjaku.

At that very moment, at the Zenin Clan.

"The Japan Trench reaches 8,000 meters at its deepest point. I put the Prison Realm in the subduction zone."

"I added another two or three layers of seals and placed plenty of Cursed Spirits inside the sealing barrier to act as detectors."

Kenjaku still wore a composed expression, but his back was drenched in cold sweat.

"I learned about the back of the Prison Realm from Tengen after I captured her, so I took all those measures to ensure that even if the seal was broken, I could still kill you."

"But now..."

His entire body was rigid as he stared fixedly at the pair of azure eyes looking down at him from above.

"What on earth is going on...?"

White hair fluttered in the wind. Those eyes-there was no doubt!

Satoru Gojo, the strongest of the modern age-unsealed!