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Shibuya, 10:05 P.M.
With Megumi neutralising the barrier preventing the sorcerers from entering, the others immediately began making their way into the station.
Kenjaku, who was sitting in front of the [Prison Realm], realised that his barrier was broken and looked at the remaining people near him.
Choso, Jogo, Mahito, and Dagon were gone.
Choso, Jogo, Dagon, and Mahito raced to get to Yuji Itadori, with Choso intended to kill Yuji to avenge his brothers, while Jogo, Dagon, and Mahito intended to make it so that Ryomen Sukuna takes over Yuji.
Satoru Gojo was sealed, and the other side was significantly weakened, but they still had monsters present on their side.
Another sorcerer said to be on par with Satoru Gojo was still out there, and the curses didn't want to take any chances after coming this far.
The cursed spirits' goal was simple.
If they found Yuji, beat the crap out of him to either knock him out and feed him the fingers or push him into such despair that he willingly hands control over to Sukuna.
On the off chance they meet other sorcerers before meeting Yuji Itadori, then they will kill them and make it so that the mentally fragile Yuji makes a deal with Sukuna to 'help' him.
Either way, Yuji was going to get tortured, either physically or mentally. Which fate awaited him now depended entirely on luck.
Kenjaku looked at Miguel, Larue, and Tohihisa(Fake Gojo).
"The barrier stopping the sorcerers from coming here was lifted just now. The strong sorcerers might start coming here any second now."
"Want us to go out as well? We might be a bit off because of Satoru Gojo's technique, but we can still buy some time."
Miguel looked at Larue and Tohihisa. Both of them nodded in return.
"No need, they will come here anyway. This location is strategically better for us since the other sorcerers will hesitate here as well. They won't want to kill too many innocent civilians. I just told you all so that you all be ready in case someone arrives."
"Okay~"
Miguel replied with a smile.
Kenjaku smirked as well.
He didn't want to divide his personal forces right now. If, for some reason, the strong people from the enemy sides arrived while the [Prison Realm] was stuck to the ground, then his mobility will be highly restricted, and that is not an ideal situation.
With Miguel, Larue, Tohihisa, and his cursed spirits, Kenajaku felt more assured of taking on the people who might cause him a bit of trouble.
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Shibuya, 10:15 P.M.
The winner of the race for Yuji Itadori was Choso, who had started his fight for revenge.
{A/N: Not gonna elaborate on this, the fight mostly went just like how it was in canon.}
Their battle raged on for several minutes, but at the end of it Choso came out victorious.
He was about to deliver the finishing blow, but out of nowhere, memories that shouldn't have existed started playing in his head. {A/N: If I had a nickel for every time Yuji got himself a delulu brother, I'd have two nickels....which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.}
Because of those memories, Choso started second-guessing his choices and, in the end, staggered away, clutching his head in agony.
"Itadori. Itadori, are you there!"
Mechamaru, who was in contact with Yuji while he was fighting Choso, was aiding him in overcoming the [Blood Manipulation] technique called back to check in on him.
However, no response came from Yuji's side even after Mechamaru called for him multiple times.
Mechamaru immediately called in other sorcerers.
"Fushiguro, Kugisaki, Ino-san, Itadori is not answering his comm. He was in the middle of a fight just now. Check up on him. Best case, he simply misplaced the communication puppet, worst case...."
Megumi and Nobara immediately turned serious and started following Mechamaru's directions.
However, while they were moving, Mechamaru noticed that the communication with the assistants was getting cut off.
Realising that something was wrong with them, he started contacting every assistant and found that quite a lot of the assistant were not responding.
Finally, Ijichi responded, though it was a brief communication, and Mechamaru started hearing pained grunts from Ijichi, and the sound of maniacal laughter in the background echoed.
"Attention!"
Everyone's comms rang at the same time once again.
"The assistants are under attack!. I repeat. The assistants are under attack!"
Everyone who heard the announcement stopped for a moment.
Once the silence lifted, the assistants who were still alive started to panic.
"Stop panicking!"
Yaga's shout resounded in everyone's earpiece.
"Haruto."
"Yes."
"Get some of your clones to check on the affected assistants and bring anyone still alive to Shoko. Ino and Kugisaki start searching for the assailant. Rest, continue what you all were doing. Fushiguro, head to Itadori immediately."
Yaga's instructions were clear.
Megumi looked at Nobara and Ino before he gave a nod.
"Take care, you two."
"Heh, worry about yourself.... Make sure that idiot is alive and kicking."
"Be careful, Fushiguro. Satoru Gojo is sealed, and whoever did that is still out there. The enemies from here on out will be far more dangerous than you can imagine."
"Got it."
Megumi parted ways with Nobara and Ino, who rushed back to find the ones behind the assistant hunting.
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At another location, the Grade 1 sorcerers had converged while they were on their way to get to the lowest level of the station.
Nanami, Mei Mei(+ Ui Ui), Kusakabe, Naobito, and Maki met midway, and right now all of them stood in the middle of an empty street.
In front of them was a red octopus-like cursed spirit. Just from the CE, they could feel that their opponent was a Special Grade curse.
"Yuji Itadori is not present... Doesn't matter. The overall actions don't change."
Dagon was already in his mature form. He left his cursed womb phase quite some time ago. Hanami was already dead before they started their mission at Shibuya, and he needed to step in to fill that void.
"Ui Ui."
"Here, nee-sama."
Mei Mei raised her hand as the little kid beside her handed the axe that he was carrying to her.
"An octopus curse...your kind taste great with sake," Naobito said as he twirled his moustache.
"Be serious for once," Maki complained as she unsheathed he swords.
'God f*cking damn it!!!!!'
Kusakabe for internally cursing his luck for getting stuck facing a Special Grade curse from the get-go.
"Hey, cursed spirit."
Kento Nanami stepped forward as he looked serious at the curse.
"Where is Satoru Gojo?"
Nanami asked clearly. He neither had the time nor the patience to ask his questions in a roundabout manner.
"Satoru Gojo, huh....You guys got the news, it seems.... Well, if you think I am going to ans-"
"Alright, alright, no need to waste time on useless blabber."
Out of nowhere, Naobito appeared beside Dagon, and an instant later, Dagon was stuck in a frame.
[Projection Sorcery]
Naobito smirked as his figure blurred and 24 consecutive hits struck the frozen and defenceless Dagon.
Naobito Zenin's [Projection Sorcery] might not be on Naoya Zenin's level, but he was still faster than the majority of the curses and sorcerers out there, and now, thanks to his son's and his collective research on the ways of using the technique, Naobito Zenin was far more lethal than he ever was.
The frame shattered as Dagon was sent flying with a pained look on his face.
The rest of the sorcerers, except Maki, widened their eyes in mild surprise. Naobito was way too fast for them to catch his movements.
Maki was not that surprised. She was used to seeing Naoya's version of the technique, and that was far more amazing than the drunk old man's version.
Naobito's figure blurred once again as he appeared directly in front of Dagon, who finally stopped himself.
He was about to use his technique to drown the entire street, but an instant later, he felt his consciousness fade once again.
"I know that I am impressive, but let's not make it a one-man show." Naobito looked at the rest of the Grade 1 sorcerers as he tossed the frozen frame Dagon at them.
Nanami, Kusakabe, Mei Mei, and Maki immediately got into action.
Kusakabe led the charge and ran as fast as he could.
'I need to strike first. After the first strike, the curse will start moving, and it will not be easy.'
Kusakabe took a stance and stepped aside for a bit.
[Simple Domain]
He took a stance as a [Simple Domain] formed around him.
As the frozen Dagon entered his domain, Kusakabe slightly twisted his body and performed his attack.
[Batto Sword Drawing]
The hit connected and sent Dagon flying.
He wasn't just sent flying randomly. Kusakabe had angled his strike, and the cursed spirit was sent directly towards Nanami.
[Ratio]
Nanami struck the Special Grade curse, making Dagon groan in pain and glare towards Nanami.
"Ignoring the ladies? How rude."
Mei Mei's voice rang as she jumped over Nanami while spinning around with her axe in hand and landed a heavy strike on Dagon, slamming the cursed spirit into the ground.
[Bakuya- Overedge]
Maki joined in with the giant white blade in hand.
Bakuya was a sword that worked better on Curses and Cursed Energy. The Overedge form boosts the weapons output even more, transitioning the sword into a pseudo Special Grade Cursed Tool.
With a swift motion, Maki's hand sliced through the air.
Dagon felt the weak, cursed-energy user approaching him and raised his hand to block her attack.
However, the sword easily cut through his body and a second later, Dagon watched his hand fly off
Enraged with the sorcerers, Dagon immediately used his technique and splashed a huge volume of water all around him, causing the sorcerers to get swept away by the violent waves.
Dagon then floated up in the air and looked down on the sorcerers who were struggling to get a footing. He started to regenerate his arm as he scanned the sorcerers.
Naobito ran away from the incoming wave and used his momentum to jump and run on the walls. His feet dug into the walls with every step he took.
Dagon noticed that as well and immediately placed Naobito as the top priority that he needed to deal with.
Naobito jumped towards Dagon with a confident smirk on his face.
"An octopus that can fly? Now that's new."
Dagon saw the incoming Naobito.
While mid-air, Naobito couldn't change directions as easily and dodge the attack.
'I need to strike now!'
Dagon pointed his hands towards Naobito as a mass of water formed, ready to be fired at the old man.
"Maki!"
"I know!"
[Bakuya- Shoot]
The white blade transformed once again and changed into a gun as Maki aimed at Dagon.
The bullet pierced through and blew Dagon's arm while making the curse grimace in pain.
It lasted only for a moment before he regenerated his arm.
But that moment was enough for Naobito to reach the curse.
Dagon was frozen once again as Naobito threw the cursed spirit towards the other sorcerers.
Nanami gripped his weapon tightly and narrowed his eyes.
Kusakabe joined in as well and stood near Nanami and activated his [Simple Domain]
As the framed Dagon came into range.
Kusakabe's katana unsheathed swiftly and struck the defenceless, cursed spirit, and sent it flying out of the frame.
The moment it came out of the frame, Nanami's cursed tool struck Dagon's head and made a visible dent in it before sending Dagon crashing into a building.
Naobito landed on the ground and twirled his moustache.
"Nice attack, Nanami-dono, Kusakabe-don."
Both the Grade 1 sorcerers glanced at the old man.
Neither of them said anything, but both knew that the one doing the most work out of them was the old man in front of them.
Naobito understood what their gazes wanted to convey and simply smirked.
"Well, let's not lose our momentum, the curse is still alive rig-"
[Domain Expansion:Horizon of the Captivating Skandha]
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At the deepest level of the Shibuya station:
Suguru Geto, who was sitting in front of the Prison Realm, looked up.
Miguel, Larue, and Tohihisa(The Fake Gojo) did the same, though on their faces was a visible frown.
"So ominous."
"It just feels... disgusting."
"..."
All of them looked at the staircase, and from there, the sounds of approaching footsteps came.
A moment later, the figure of Yuta Okkotsu was seen descending the stairs.
"Welcome, Yuta Okkotsu."
Geto greeted Okkotsu with a smile.
However, Yuta wasn't smiling at all. All he had was a serious look on his face.
His eyes scanned the surroundings and landed almost immediately on the weird-looking box, lying directly in front of the long-haired dude.
"Hm? This? It's your teacher's new home. Sorry, you aren't invited to the housewarming party."
Geto joked as he pointed towards the Prison Realm.
Yuta narrowed his eyes.
If Gojo-sensei was trapped inside that box, why are they just waiting with the box lying out there in the open?
'...Mechamaru-kun mentioned that they are unable to move the sealed sensei right now. Maybe that's what it is.'
"Rika-chan"
The vengeful, cursed spirit materialised beside Yuta.
The ominous feeling around Yuta intensified even more with Rika's arrival.
"I will need you all to step away from the cursed object. I won't ask nicely after this."
Yuta unsheathed his katana and reinforced it with CE.
Geto continued to smile as he got back up on his feet.
He stretched his body and looked back straight at Yuta.
"Sorry, but not happening."
That was enough for Yuta.
He immediately dashed towards Geto, ready to strike him down.
"Not so fast."
Tohihisa(Fake Gojo) appeared in front of Geto and simply used [Infinity] to keep Yuta away.
Yuta felt his sword being stopped by some kind of force.... a force that felt way too familiar to him.
He looked at Tohihisa as his eyes widened a bit.
"Sensei's technique?"
"Correct. It is the same technique as Satoru Gojo's. Amazing, ain't it?"
Tohihisa then proceeded to blast Yuta away with a CE blast.
Seeing the Special Grade sorcerer being sent flying so easily, Tohihisa smirked. He was now strong enough to casually smack away these people.
*CLAP*
A sharp clap echoed through the station, and in an instant, Yuta and Tohihisa switched places.
Everyone from Geto's group widened their eyes in shock. Even Geto was stunned.
Yuta's CE reinforced fist moved as he landed an uppercut on Geto.
"Rika-chan, get the motionless people out of here."
Yuta looked back at the curse users who were now looking back at the Special Grade sorcerer with wariness.
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A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry for the long wait. Things just got busy for me, and I don't know if they will loosen up soon or not, so there might be delays from now on. Once again thank you for sticking around, and hope you all are enjoying the fic.