Originally, everyone in the room had been monitoring the competition through Mei Mei's crows.
Suddenly, the video feeds from the crows turned pitch black, as if the signal had been cut.
Mei Mei's brow furrowed, and she whispered in surprise, "What's happening? It seems my connection with the crows has been severed."
"Severed..." Satoru Gojo muttered. Relying on the power of his Six Eyes, he sensed that strange Cursed Energy faster than anyone else and kicked the door open, rushing out.
"Damn it! Don't destroy public property!" Masamichi Yaga roared, shaking his fist at Satoru Gojo's retreating back.
But in the next second, Mei Mei, Gakuganji, Masamichi Yaga, and Utahime all sensed the massive Veil at the same time.
"What is this...?" Gakuganji asked in shock after sensing the Veil.
"Whose Cursed Energy is this!" Since this area was under Masamichi Yaga's jurisdiction, he could sense it more precisely than Gakuganji.
The group immediately followed in Satoru Gojo's footsteps, rushing out of the room.
"Such a large-scale Veil?!"
After leaving the room, Utahime couldn't help but cry out as she saw the Veil descending, enveloping the entire Exchange Event venue.
Utahime's gaze soon landed on Satoru Gojo, who was standing at the edge where the Veil hadn't yet fully descended, his right hand raised but otherwise motionless.
"Gojo, what are you standing there for?! Don't wait for us, just go in already!"
Satoru Gojo explained somewhat helplessly, "This Veil is different. Visually, it looks like it hasn't fully deployed, but in reality, it's already complete."
But Utahime didn't believe it. She quickened her pace and rushed straight into the Veil before its visual effect had even finished descending.
"..."
Seeing this, Satoru Gojo's expression darkened. He roughly understood what was going on with this Veil.
The caster of this Veil had not only separated the visual and actual effects but had also placed a restriction specifically on his entry, likely using the freedom of entry for everyone else as the cost.
To achieve such a balance with a binding vow on a Veil of this scale showed that the opponent's barrier techniques were extraordinary. With such barrier techniques as a foundation, their combat strength would likely not be weak either.
Utahime poked her head out from inside the Veil and looked at Satoru Gojo, asking curiously.
"You can't get in? I can even come right back out."
Satoru Gojo shook his head. "If a sorcerer like you can enter and exit freely, then this Veil certainly isn't meant to block ordinary people. It must be using those conditions in exchange for a barrier that specifically keeps Satoru Gojo out."
As he spoke, Gojo demonstrated to Gakuganji and Utahime how the Veil repelled and rejected him.
Now, not only Utahime but even the arriving Gakuganji's expression changed.
He didn't understand why the opponent would strike at a time like this, or why they would choose to act in a way that directly opposed Satoru Gojo. What were these people trying to do?
Since Itadori wasn't trapped inside the Veil, their thoughts naturally skipped over him.
At that moment, the late-arriving Masamichi Yaga spoke up, "Could it be that those people are after Master Tengen?"
"That's a possibility, but I'm more worried about *that* matter..." Satoru Gojo said to Masamichi Yaga.
The matter Gojo referred to was the recent killings targeting Tokyo Jujutsu High sorcerers, as well as the situation regarding Ijichi's transformation into a Cursed Spirit.
Masamichi Yaga was one of the few who knew about the Cursed Spirit transformation. After all, as Satoru Gojo's teacher, their long history allowed him to see through Gojo's unusual behavior at a glance.
Combining Gojo's strange enthusiasm for missions and his uncharacteristic protective stance toward Itadori, Masamichi Yaga had directly forced the truth out of him.
Upon hearing Satoru Gojo's words, Masamichi Yaga's face paled as well.
"No way...?"
"Anyway, you guys go in first. I'll find a way to get inside. Even if I can't, a massive barrier like this can't last very long, especially with the condition of banning my entry."
Satoru Gojo sighed and told the others, accepting the current situation.
Gakuganji was very concerned about what Satoru Gojo and Masamichi Yaga were hiding in their conversation, but he frowned seeing their refusal to elaborate.
Worried about Master Tengen and the Cursed Spirit transformation, Masamichi Yaga immediately dove into the Veil, and Utahime quickly followed suit.
Only Gakuganji remained; he stared intently at Satoru Gojo for two seconds before following them into the Veil.
Mei Mei, meanwhile, was responsible for moving back and forth across the Veil's edge, using her connection with the crows inside to relay intel to Satoru Gojo, while also providing information to Utahime, Gakuganji, and Masamichi Yaga.
Satoru Gojo was a bit worried but also curious, because within that Veil, there were actually things hidden that no one present knew about.
Gojo was even confident that not even the culprits would necessarily notice it... Meanwhile, inside the Veil, Panda and Ultimate Mechamaru happened to cross paths, leading to a battle similar to the one in the original storyline.
It was called similar because, in terms of the outcome, it ended with the destruction of the Ultimate Mechamaru puppet.
However, whether it was the fact that Panda and Ultimate Mechamaru's fight never left the woods, or the techniques used during the battle, everything was completely different from the original plot.
In Gorilla Mode, Panda looked up at the Veil rapidly descending from the sky and spoke in surprise.
"Eh? What's with this huge Veil? Could it be the Principal and the others? No, I'm not familiar with this Cursed Energy!"
"..."
Kokichi Muta, sensing the situation through the fallen Ultimate Mechamaru, remained silent. He knew this was the sign that Kenjaku and the others were making their move.
Panda suddenly saw Toge Inumaki rushing toward him from the depths of the woods.
Seeing Inumaki clutching one arm with a pale face, Panda clearly felt something was wrong.
He could sense a powerful residual Cursed Energy on Inumaki, and that same energy was rapidly approaching from behind him.
Inumaki was in danger; something was chasing him!
This was the conclusion Panda reached after a brief moment of thought. He rushed toward Inumaki, attempting to stall the enemy and provide an opening for him, while shouting to Ultimate Mechamaru.
"I'm going to help Inumaki! You should get out of here too. I hope the next time we meet, I'll see what you really look like."
Without waiting for Ultimate Mechamaru's reply, Panda accelerated and charged forward.
But within seconds, Panda's gorilla-like head was slammed heavily onto Ultimate Mechamaru's body
The massive impact instantly caused Ultimate Mechamaru's already broken body to disintegrate.
"You guys...!"
...
Read advance chapters on p@treon
[email protected]/guilt_free_daoist
Join disc0rd link in synopsis.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.