A bewitching, illusory crimson glow instantly spread across the entire world.
The atmosphere fell silent for a brief moment.
Then, in the next second—
RUMBLE—!!
The entire barrier suddenly began to shake violently!
The east, west, south, north—the corners of heaven and earth were instantly swallowed by thick darkness!
Although Kamui's space was supposed to be boundless, a layer of ink-black storm clouds suddenly descended over it!
In the distance, where the gathered members of Jujutsu High stood, Kusakabe cried out in horror:
"What happened?!"
"What the hell is going on?!"
Yuta Okkotsu, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, answered grimly:
"It's a barrier. That's the outer shell of a Domain barrier."
"...That's impossible..."
"Are you saying the entire country of Japan is inside that guy's Domain?"
Despair surfaced on Nobara Kugisaki's face, and the hammer in her hand nearly slipped from her grasp.
Looking at Kenjaku, whose expression had become strangely unsettling, Nobara and the others felt even worse.
It wasn't just Gojo.
Not just Fushiguro...
They hadn't even managed to protect Itadori.
The final piece had fallen into place on the chessboard.
The pious expression on Kenjaku's face returned to its usual composure.
His Domain shifted from an open-barrier Domain into a closed Domain.
Turning toward Zenin Mirai, Kenjaku smiled.
"My old friend, what do you think of this move?"
Feeling the changes occurring throughout Kamui's space, Mirai replied calmly:
"It's not bad."
At its core, every rule within the Culling Game barriers had been established by Kenjaku.
For example, whenever a new "player" entered a barrier, they would immediately be scattered and dropped from the sky in freefall...
The hidden rules behind such phenomena were never announced by Kogane and couldn't even be searched for.
A Domain shell of this scale was no longer merely a question of cursed energy reserves.
There were ten barriers in total.
The crucial ritual points had long been marked with traces of Kenjaku's soul.
Combined with the ordinary humans scattered throughout the barriers, whose cursed energy had already permeated every corner of them—
These two factors had constructed the foundational framework for Kenjaku's Domain long before its activation.
Spreading his arms wide, Kenjaku narrowed his eyes and sighed emotionally.
"I really ought to thank you, my old friend."
"The merger with Tengen originally required breaking the barriers."
"But you directly expanded the barriers to encompass the entire nation."
"Otherwise, there might not have been enough people to complete Tengen's merger with over a hundred million humans."
"At first, I was worried about how you'd handle Tengen's corpse after my death."
"I never expected you'd have a brilliant move like Séance Technique waiting in reserve."
The more Kenjaku spoke, the more excited he became.
After a thousand years of planning finally reached fruition, his suppressed desire to tell someone everything had reached its peak.
He wasn't only speaking to Mirai.
Kenjaku deliberately raised his voice so that the people of Jujutsu High could hear the grand plan he had spent a millennium preparing.
"The soul of Suguru Geto, who controlled Tengen, has already dispersed."
"The Special Grade Cursed Spirit created through the merger of over a hundred million people will become nothing more than an empty shell without a self."
"And only then will I be able to claim ultimate control."
Kenjaku tapped his head.
At this moment, he still wore Yuji Itadori's face.
"My old friend, you already know this."
"This special vessel was originally prepared for me."
Back when Kenjaku exchanged bodies with Geto, he had shared certain intelligence with Mirai.
Combined with memories Mirai had already seen, he had long understood the uniqueness of Yuji's body.
Mirai nodded and remarked with some emotion:
"Sukuna never imagined until the moment he died that the missing final finger was actually Yuji's body."
"He only realized at the very end that Yuji's soul contained traces of the Fallen One's essence. That's why Yuji could suppress his consciousness."
Yuji's body was Sukuna's finger?
His soul belonged to the Fallen One?
In the distance, the members of Jujutsu High—especially Angel—were so shocked they nearly lost their senses.
"Impossible!!!"
The eldest among them, Gakuganji, tore off part of his bloodstained beard.
"Sukuna's fingers are Special Grade Cursed Objects created through soul division! They can't be destroyed!"
"So how could one possibly be merged into another person's body?!"
"Oh?"
"You old man know quite a bit."
Kenjaku turned toward them and chuckled.
"But don't forget."
"The person who helped Sukuna divide his soul..."
"The one who created all twenty Special Grade Cursed Objects..."
"Was me."
"The Sukuna fingers scattered across Japan..."
"There were only nineteen from the very beginning."
Under Gakuganji's stunned gaze, Kenjaku kindly continued his explanation.
"If all I wanted was to create a cursed spirit, then the weakness would have been far too obvious."
"The positive energy of Reverse Cursed Technique."
"And Mahoraga's Demon-Destroying Sword, specifically designed to exorcise curses."
"The ultimate being I sought to create couldn't be something so fragile."
Staring at his own fist, Kenjaku sighed again.
"Only the fusion of curses, sorcerers, and non-sorcerers can achieve true perfection."
"That's why Yuji was originally prepared as my vessel."
"To create a durable container capable of housing the merger of over a hundred million people..."
"Sukuna's finger was only one ingredient."
"I also incorporated fragments from several Special Grade Cursed Tools."
"Among them were pieces of Kamutoke and Hiten, weapons once wielded by Sukuna."
"The chaotic cursed energy naturally produced by those countless Special Grade tool fragments disrupted Sukuna's perception."
"Both to conceal Yuji's original nature..."
"And to ensure that I would become the dominant consciousness after taking over this vessel."
"Not only did I incorporate a fragment of the Fallen One's lingering soul..."
"I also split off nearly half of my own soul's origin and fused it into this body."
Kenjaku gently caressed his face, as though admiring the perfection of the vessel.
"The Death Painting Wombs were preparation for the experiment."
"And also a contingency plan I left behind."
"In order to bring this special body into existence, it was the first time in a thousand years that I used a woman as my vessel."
Kenjaku lightly stroked his abdomen, a look of false compassion appearing on his face.
"Ordinary humans—even average sorcerers—could never have given birth to Yuji."
"They didn't even possess the qualifications to carry him."
"They would have died from cursed energy depletion long before delivery."
"The toughness and power of this vessel required an endless supply of cursed energy even while it was still a fetus."
Meeting Choso's despairing gaze, Kenjaku spoke softly.
"Do you know why Yuji could suppress Sukuna's soul..."
"But couldn't suppress mine?"
"Because of your own cleverness."
"You had those six Death Painting Wombs fed to Yuji."
"My method of soul division was different from Sukuna's."
"I divided my soul into ten parts through blood ties."
"Those parts became the Death Painting Wombs."
"The nine of them..."
"And Yuji."
"From beginning to end, the Kenjaku who controlled Suguru Geto possessed only half of his original soul."
Seeing Choso's eyes practically overflowing with tangible rage, Kenjaku let out a strange laugh.
"I only took the first three Death Painting Wombs from the Tombs of the Star Corridor."
"As for the remaining six..."
"I left them there intentionally."
"They were my trump card all along."
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