"Ah, it looks like you've taken care of the Cursed Spirit guarding the door."
Mahito looked at Itadori and Inumaki Toge with a smile. What surprised him the most was how easy it was to meet the Sukuna vessel.
Itadori saw this special-grade Cursed Spirit for the first time, but for some reason, an uncontrollable surge of anger erupted in his heart, as if he'd had an extremely unpleasant encounter with him in a past life.
In that case, he would just beat him down!
"Where is Mr. Gojo?"
"Oh, you mean Gojo Satoru? He's dead."
Mahito said it without flinching. Itadori and Inumaki were momentarily shocked but quickly recovered. With a calm smile, Itadori replied casually:
"That's impossible. You couldn't take on Gojo-sensei even if you used your butt."
That smile cut deep. Sometimes, truth is sharper than lies.
Mahito's expression darkened. He waved his left hand, and several modified humans crawled out from behind him, their grotesque bodies moving toward the pair.
What was this? A joke?
"Fly away!"
Inumaki Toge pulled down his collar and activated his cursed speech. A strong gust of wind blasted the cyborgs away.
"Hahahaha, don't you know? I made all of them from humans. How does it feel to kill your own kind? Humans are just that—hypocrites."
Mahito twisted his mouth, talking to himself. He didn't notice the anger building in the two before him. Itadori lunged forward.
A burst of black lightning exploded under his feet! He shot toward Mahito like thunder. Inumaki shouted, "Freeze!" freezing Mahito in place.
A devastating punch crashed into Mahito's face!
Black Flash!
Mahito flipped through the air, slamming into a subway pillar. Debris rained down on him.
"What do you think life is worth?!"
Itadori faintly heard someone echoing those words—like a voice from the past, furious and grieving.
Mahito emerged from the rubble, his face dented. But even more terrifying—his soul had been wounded. He couldn't heal it.
Itadori Yuji... is my nemesis!
Mahito's body twisted grotesquely. His elongated arm lunged, but Itadori evaded easily. He countered with another black-flash-infused punch to the chest. The sheer cursed energy distorted the air and blasted Mahito back.
Still, Mahito grinned wickedly and tried to touch Itadori—only to be halted.
"Don't move!"
Inumaki's cursed speech locked him in place. Another thunderous punch slammed into Mahito's jaw. Blood poured from his face.
Black Flash combo—double hit!
Itadori spun midair, his leg encased in cursed energy that shifted from blue to black. A spinning kick to the waist launched Mahito aside.
Triple hit!
"This ends now!"
Kami—no, James' teachings flashed in Itadori's mind. He braced himself, stomped down, and launched an uppercut straight at Mahito.
Crackling lightning—four consecutive Black Flashes!
If this punch lands, I'm dead! Mahito panicked. He couldn't open his domain, not under such perfect coordination from his opponents. Inumaki controlled, and Itadori crushed.
Just as the punch was about to land, a white figure intercepted it!
The impact sent out shockwaves. Dust clouded the battlefield.
Itadori winced. That was harder than Mahito. When the dust cleared—Hanami stood there, severely injured.
"You've gotten much stronger, Sukuna's vessel..."
Before she could finish, a line of blood ripped through Hanami and pierced Mahito's shoulder.
"Bai Lian - Piercing Blood!"
Familiar cursed energy! Itadori and Inumaki turned toward the source, expecting Kyoto support—but instead saw...
Who?
Mahito and Hanami were also confused. Zhang Xiang, resurrected by Nozomi from the stolen Nine Phase Diagram, had returned.
Nozomi had resurrected Zhang Xiang but never reappeared to control him. Perhaps because he couldn't. Instead, Zhang Xiang was left in the Tokyo Gu Breeding Area.
Now, seeing Mahito and Hanami seemingly attacking his brother, he acted without hesitation.
"Which eye of yours saw me beating him?!" Mahito silently cried.
Still, Itadori and Inumaki welcomed the help. Three versus two—odds were in their favor.
Then, a flash of white light—Nozomi arrived. He gave Mahito a look that said, "Why are you so weak?" Then turned to Itadori.
The newcomers made everyone tense. Itadori prepared to attack.
"Itadori Yuji, don't you want to know where Gojo Satoru is? I can tell you—but there's a condition."
"Don't listen to him, Itadori! He lies for sport. Right, Nozomi?"
Veins bulged on Mahito's face. Nozomi only smiled.
"To be honest, Gojo Satoru has been sealed inside this Prison Gate. If you eat these, I'll return him to you."
Nozomi held out the Prison Gate. The azure Eye of Heaven embedded in it confirmed it was indeed Gojo.
"Nozomi..."
Hanami handed over all of Sukuna's fingers. Nozomi tossed them in front of Itadori.
"Also, Fushiguro Shinobu's Amasaki Hoko can break the seal. If you don't believe me, ask Suta Daisuke."
Itadori picked up the bag. Zhang Xiang hesitated, but Itadori reassured him.
"If you all swear on it, I'll do it."
"Fine."
"Itadori, don't—"
Itadori shook his head. Even if Sukuna tried to take over now, it didn't matter. Because in front of that man, even Sukuna meant nothing.
He swallowed the fingers.
Looking up, toward the invisible sky, a figure stood in the light.
Everyone in Tokyo felt it—Jujutsu masters, Cursed Spirits—all of them.
The heavy, oppressive darkness began to lift. Golden sunlight pierced through the sky.
Joy swept across the faces of Jujutsu masters.
Fear gripped the Cursed Spirits.
High above, a figure hovered like a deity. His crystal-clear pupils shimmered like ice lotuses. His long black hair danced in the wind. In his hand, his sword whispered gently.
James had arrived.
Now, where should he begin?
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