After the Ambush

At the same time, on the subway platform, Gojo and Yaga stood facing each other.

A damaged advertisement board sparked on the wall, still trying to work. In the dark tunnel beyond, an empty train remained stopped.

The filth that had covered the ground had evaporated under the earlier explosion. Charred shapes filled the station instead.

Yaga stared at everything with a heavy expression.

Those bastards.

He wanted someone to blame, but for the moment all he could do was look at what remained.

Gojo had already stopped holding back. The particles in the air had been thinned by the blast and could no longer suppress his cursed energy.

"Hi, Yaga-sensei," Gojo said. "Why are you here?"

For a moment, he wore his usual bright expression. Then the smile faded.

Yaga's face was too serious for jokes.

"What happened here?" Yaga asked. "What are those things on the ground?"

He wanted Gojo to say the burnt shapes had nothing to do with him.

Gojo looked at his teacher.

"The people down there were already dead," he said. "I failed to protect them."

Yaga paused.

At least Gojo had not returned to the worst version of himself.

"The attacker?"

Gojo looked toward Filth.

The cursed spirit's body was broken, half of it smashed apart like a target after heavy fire. It kept repairing itself, but the repairs could not keep up.

The current state was simple: Filth was badly injured, the four curse users had died without intact bodies, and Gojo had survived in the station.

Filth was furious. Bubbles rose in the liquid flowing across its body, and each burst released more smoke and odor.

It needed to flee.

The thought filled its mind.

Forget reviving the King. Forget Folly. If it escaped this, it would swallow Folly whole.

The drug had worked somewhat, but Folly had misjudged Gojo. This man cared less about the hostages than expected.

If Gojo was like this, Ren Zenin would be worse.

"Not fighting anymore?" Gojo asked. "Or are you thinking of running?"

He glanced at the bag in Yaga's hand and smiled.

Yaga instinctively hid it behind his back, then sighed and handed it over.

"End this quickly. I do not want to vomit here."

Gojo pulled out a mask and tossed it to Yaga.

"Five minutes?"

Yaga accepted that time.

In danger, this brat could still be reliable.

The fight ended in a rush of impacts.

Then a huge roar tore open part of the tunnel.

"Idiot!" Yaga shouted. "I told you not to use that kind of technique in a place like this. Do you know how much this will cost?"

Gojo looked far too relaxed. His blue eyes carried open pleasure.

"It has been a while since I could move this freely."

Inside the mall, a shock wave from underground tore a huge hole through the floor.

If Ren had seen it, he would have known Gojo's battle was finished.

But Ren was still inside his domain, looking at the countless split fragments of Greed.

Greed no longer understood pain. It had been divided again and again. At some point, it had even wanted to die.

Ren approached.

Greed looked at him like a desperate animal begging for mercy.

Ren's expression showed only boredom.

"Do you still want me to choose?"

Greed wanted to slap itself with every hand it owned.

Now it understood why Falsehood and Yadha had died to a human.

"You should be grateful," Ren said. "I am tired of watching."

"Six Vaults Devourer: Absorb."

Ren spread both hands in a V shape. A powerful suction erupted from his palms.

Greed was ugly, but its cursed energy was abundant, far beyond ordinary special-grade cursed spirits.

Even knowing death had arrived, Greed looked at Ren with gratitude.

At last, the torture would stop.

When the final tiny fragment disappeared, Ren looked satisfied.

"Full."

This cursed spirit had been hideous, but the energy inside it was strong.

"Open the panel."

[System]

Divine Forge: Complete (100%)

Six Vaults Devourer: Complete (100%)

Spirit Dominion: Complete (100%)

Sovereign Wind Array: Complete (100%)

Heaven-Connecting Talisman: Beginner (30%)

Hands of Dual Perfection: Locked

Great Net Observation: Locked

Source Flow: Locked

Ren looked at Heaven-Connecting Talisman's thirty percent and smiled.

With Spirit Dominion and Sovereign Wind Array, he was already unmatched in the jujutsu world. Six Vaults Devourer and Sovereign Wind Array gave him strong instincts for danger and divination. The talismans were useful, but at this stage they mostly satisfied his interest in collecting.

He snapped his fingers.

The domain dissolved like foam. The wisteria hanging chair vanished with it.

The mall returned to silence.

"Ren," Gojo called from the ruined floor. "Your side was lively too."

Far away, on the island in the sea, seabirds rested on the shore and picked at shrimp and crabs.

Then the bone castle collapsed.

From the gray-white ruins rose thousands of pale-blue, half-transparent souls. Men, women, elders, children, whole and broken, gathered in the air and looked at the scene in silence.

Then they cried out.

The roar of thousands of released souls shook the island. Their voices carried the relief of finally escaping. After that, they drifted toward the sky and disappeared.

The island itself began to sink.

Around it, countless skulls floated to the surface, filling the sea.

The island had been supported by bones.

Just before it vanished, black cursed energy appeared in empty space. It stuck to the air like glue. One strand, then two, then more, until they formed a black passage.

A huge eye appeared inside it. The eye alone filled the whole opening.

It watched until the island was gone.

As the black passage closed, a voice murmured, "Greed. You were too impatient."

At the Nakatsui estate, Haruto knelt outside the rear courtyard room.

He needed an answer.

Why had the mission failed?

Why had Ren Zenin and Satoru Gojo suffered no real loss?

Haruto had driven the entire plan: Nanami's promotion exam, Gojo and Ren becoming examiners, the curse-user equipment, every link.

Now the plan had failed and might come back to burn his family.

"Haruto Nakatsui," the voice inside said. "Ask what you want to ask."

"Why?" Haruto shouted. "Why did it end this way? Why are they still alive?"

"The plan required one premise," the voice answered calmly. "Satoru Gojo and Ren Zenin had to care about ordinary lives. It is now obvious they do not care enough."

The cold tone eased Haruto's rage slightly, but his hands still trembled against his clothes.

"Then what do we do? This was pushed by the Nakatsui family. It is easy to trace. Once they investigate, we become the target of everyone."

"You are afraid because you did all of it. You should not be afraid. You should be angry."

Haruto froze.

Angry?

He was angry now.

Then he understood.

The incident had been caused by him, but the civilians had not died directly by his hand. If he used that point well, he could shift attention elsewhere. As for cooperating with curse users, he would have to share some of his research to get past that part.

His eyes brightened.

"Thank you for the reminder."

When Haruto left, the pale-blue figure inside looked up at the ceiling.

"When can I go back?"

Black cursed energy formed above the ceiling, opening three passages. A huge eye emerged.

Haruto returned to his room and saw a letter on his desk.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?"

Two figures crashed through the door and slammed into the wall. Blood covered their faces. They tried to raise their arms, but with a soft sound, they died.

"Who is outside?" Haruto demanded. "Do you know where this is?"

"I smelled two rats."

Toji Fushiguro appeared in the doorway, dressed in black, with two blades at his waist.

After spending so much time around Ren, Toji had grown fond of this kind of direct approach.

The joy of killing was addictive.

Haruto's relaxed expression stiffened.

The title Heavenly Tyrant had not been invented by Toji. The jujutsu world had given it to him.

Why was he here?

Had the matter already been traced to him?

Cold sweat broke across Haruto's body.

No. It could not be that fast.

"Toji Fushiguro," Haruto asked softly, forcing down fear, "what business do you have here?"

Toji saw his tension and smiled.

"I just said it. I came to kill rats."

His cold eyes looked behind Haruto.

There.

Haruto's heart dropped.

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