"Hey. Cursed Spirit. I'd strongly advise you to calm down and think rationally."
It was at that very moment that Mechamaru's voice sounded in Mahiko's ear.
"By all rights, given my position, I should be goading you right now — pushing you to go throw yourself at Kenjaku like a dog in a dogfight. But you're my partner. I feel obligated to tell you to cool your head. Going there right now accomplishes nothing. You can't save Nobara, and you can't save yourself."
Mechamaru didn't know that Mahiko had created the black-robed figure. He didn't know that Mahiko had planted information inside Miwa Kasumi's mind. But he did know that Mahiko harbored treacherous intentions toward Kenjaku.
So as far as Mechamaru was concerned, what was unfolding right now was the final, inevitable confrontation between Kenjaku and Mahiko — Kenjaku forcing Mahiko to make her last choice of allegiance.
If Mahiko chose to go save Nobara Kugisaki, it meant she was flipping the table on Kenjaku completely.
And conversely, if she chose not to go — then Nobara Kugisaki would die. No question about it.
Kenjaku would show zero mercy. And on top of that, he would pin the blame squarely on Mahiko.
From that point on, in the eyes of everyone at Jujutsu High, Mahiko would be the accomplice who got Nobara Kugisaki killed.
"I know you want to go save her," Mechamaru said. "But I think you're capable of being more rational than this. You should be able to see what the facts actually are."
Kenjaku had sent Mahiko an address — a large commercial complex and hotel in the Ginza shopping district — along with a time: nine o'clock tonight. He'd told her that was where he'd be dealing with Nobara.
It was obviously a trap.
Without even needing to think about it, that place would be crawling with an ironclad net waiting to close around her.
Mahiko was already no match for Kenjaku in a straight fight — let alone against an opponent who had come fully prepared, with the numbers advantage firmly in his favor.
The most rational course of action was clear: abandon Nobara. Let Nobara be killed. Then continue pretending to be Kenjaku's ally, bide her time, and wait for the Shibuya Incident to unfold — so that Satoru Gojo could deliver Kenjaku's inevitable end.
That was the path with the highest odds of actually killing Kenjaku.
But if Mahiko chose to go save Nobara instead, she would be walking headlong into a many-against-one situation tonight — stepping willingly into a trap, with survival odds that were nearly zero.
And on top of that, she'd have to escape that place while dragging along Nobara — who would certainly be in no condition to fight — making an already near-impossible task even harder.
The former path carried the highest odds of success and the greatest margin of safety. The latter was tantamount to throwing her own life away, and in all likelihood would cost two lives instead of one. Any truly rational person standing in this position would choose the former without hesitation.
"And besides," Mechamaru added, "you and Nobara aren't even that close, are you? You've only met a handful of times. You don't have to throw your life away for her."
"I'll admit what you're saying is perfectly logical," Mahiko said, her expression unreadable as she shook her head. "But there are a few flaws in your argument that I have to point out."
"What?"
"First point: the likelihood that Kenjaku moves personally in this fight is very low." Mahiko gave a small shake of her head. "Because the address he sent me is a large commercial center and hotel complex in the Ginza shopping district."
Kenjaku was deeply wary of having his identity exposed.
In the early part of the original Jujutsu Kaisen story — that is, before Satoru Gojo's sealing — he almost never used his own Jujutsu Technique in public or in open combat.
Because using a Jujutsu Technique meant leaving behind traces of Cursed Energy.
And the traces left by intense combat were nearly impossible to fully erase.
If he were seen using it by Satoru Gojo or anyone else who knew what to look for, Kenjaku's identity would be blown — his intelligence would be compromised.
She didn't know why he'd chosen this particular location this time. But one thing was certain: in a place like that, Kenjaku absolutely could not use his own Jujutsu Technique.
So if a fight broke out, he wouldn't be the one fighting her directly. Someone else would.
"And the second point," Mahiko continued, "there's a second flaw in what you said."
"A second flaw?" Mechamaru asked, puzzled.
"Yes." Mahiko nodded, her gaze drifting toward the distance — toward the direction of the address Kenjaku had given her. "And that one is the biggest flaw of all."
...
"Oh. Three more minutes." Kenjaku stood by the window, watching the neon lights outside blaze in a riot of colors. "Three more minutes, and you're going to die."
The room was dim. Kenjaku was clad head to toe in a full-encasing suit of armor — his face hidden entirely, his voice distorted beyond recognition by a voice-modulation device built into the helmet.
Nobara Kugisaki sat bound to a chair, her body plastered with talismans that suppressed her Cursed Energy, rendering her incapable of using any Jujutsu Technique.
She glared daggers at the figure before her and curled her lip into a sneer. "Sorcerers like you are only ever brave enough to pull this garbage when Gojo-sensei is gone."
Kenjaku laughed and replied pleasantly: "You're absolutely right. We really can only make our move against you while Satoru Gojo isn't around."
He turned his head toward the window.
They were on approximately the one hundred and thirtieth floor of an ultra-high-rise hotel tower.
Looking down, you could see the hundredth floor — where a massive open-air terrace jutted out from the main body of the building, suspended in the night sky, its underside half composed of tempered glass through which the glittering lights of the city far below were perfectly visible.
It was the hotel's sky park.
It had open-air barbecue areas, a swimming pool, reclining loungers — dotted with silhouettes of people moving about.
Guests were grilling and chatting, splashing and playing in the pool. How utterly peaceful.
The rooftop park was quite substantial in size — not much smaller than an ordinary park at ground level.
But their room was thirty floors above it, so from this vantage point, the entire park spread out below them in full view.
The people up there looked like ants.
On the outer wall of another high-rise in the distance, a massive LED screen was playing an idol variety talk show. The idol girl's smiling face flickered across the display, and the faint sounds of the host's voice and laughter drifted in from outside.
The door opened.
Rime stepped into the room and said to Kenjaku: "The Curtain is set. We're just waiting for her now."
Nobara Kugisaki cut her eyes toward them, watching warily.
They'd said they would kill her at nine o'clock, which was why they hadn't made a move yet.
That was strange.
Did killing someone really require checking the clock first?
"Quit dragging it out," Nobara sneered. "If you're going to do it, just do it."
Kenjaku shook his head without answering her, and instead produced a phone.
The phone was wrapped in a small pouch covered in inscribed runes.
Nobara didn't know what it was for — but in truth, the pouch and its runes were designed as a defense against Cursed Speech, preventing the person on the other end from launching an attack directly through the call.
Kenjaku dialed a number, connected, and put it on speakerphone.
"...Hello?" came a girl's voice from the other end — distinctly impatient.
The moment Nobara heard that voice, her pupils snapped tight.
She recognized it.
That was the voice of the blue-haired Cursed Spirit.
Kenjaku held the phone out in front of Nobara and looked at her. "Child, you can try asking this person for help. If she comes to save you, there's still a chance you survive."
Nobara stared, thrown.
Save me? Ask for help?
This guy in front of her was telling her to ask the blue-haired Cursed Spirit for help?
What was that supposed to mean?
How could a Cursed Spirit possibly come to save her?
Nobara was deeply unsettled.
On the other end of the line, Mahiko let out a short, derisive laugh.
"Something wrong with your head?" the girl said. "Just kill her. What does it have to do with me?"
Kenjaku laughed. "Oh? You're not coming to save her?"
"Isn't this just you trying to test me?" Mahiko seemed to click her tongue on the other end. "I can't even be bothered."
Outside, on the giant screen, the idol giggled at something the host said — a bright, bubbling laugh.
Through Kenjaku's speakerphone, the girl's voice remained utterly indifferent.
"Just kill her. What does it have to do with me?"
And honestly, by any measure, what Mechamaru had said was entirely sound.
If she sacrificed Nobara Kugisaki's life, Mahiko could resolve this crisis cleanly.
Afterward, she'd be permanently locked into Kenjaku's camp by force — but as long as Kenjaku died in the end, Mahiko would have a chance to slip away even with Jujutsu High hunting her. So yes, Mechamaru's path was genuinely the safest and most efficient option.
"Oh? So you really don't care about her at all?" Kenjaku turned his gaze to the television program playing on the LED screen across from them and smiled. "And here I was worried this might upset you — I spent quite a while fretting over it. So what changed your mind?"
"What are you even talking about?" Mahiko shot back. "I haven't changed at all. This is exactly who I've always been."
Right. Abandoning Nobara really was the better call after all.
Hold steady. Wait for Satoru Gojo to return. Wait for Kenjaku to walk into his own inescapable trap. That was the superior strategy.
["And then, Mechamaru — let me tell you the second flaw in your argument. The enormous flaw—"]
"Well then, I'll hang up." Kenjaku said pleasantly, moving to lower the phone.
And at that moment, Mahiko's tone shifted without warning. "By the way, why do I hear a TV show playing on your end? Are you watching TV?"
"Ah, that." Kenjaku laughed and shook his head. "That's just the big screen on the mall across the way running a program."
"Oh, nice," Mahiko said.
But the moment those words reached him, Kenjaku's pupils shrank.
Because he'd heard it in Mahiko's voice. Heard the double layer.
Yes — a double layer.
One voice coming through the speakerphone.
And another voice, coming from outside the window.
["Leaving Nobara to die — yes, that's the most comfortable, most efficient, safest option. But…"]
The massive LED screen directly across from their room suddenly burst into static. The image cut — and the blue-haired girl's face filled the screen, abrupt and startling, staring directly into Kenjaku's stunned eyes through the glass.
["— But! That's how a coward thinks!"]
Mahiko's eyes on the screen were ice-cold. In the very same instant she locked eyes with Kenjaku, her lips parted.
"「Don't move! ——」"
The Cursed Speech came through the screen as its medium — and before anyone could react, every person in the room froze, bodies locked rigid.
Every single person stared in shock at this sudden ambush.
And in the next instant, a crimson line sliced across the night sky.
——[Piercing Blood].
——Aimed straight for the center of Kenjaku's brow.
____
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