[Tokyo Jujutsu High Second-Year Class Group Chat — Private Message]
[Asou Akiya: Yaga-sensei, please proceed to the Tombs of the Star Corridor immediately. Getou is injured and unconscious. I need you to bring him to the school gate.]
[Asou Akiya: If you encounter anyone else on the way who still has a breath left in them, please bring them up as well.]
[Asou Akiya: Reply once received! The area around the school gate must remain quiet!]
[Yaga Masamichi: Received. I'm heading to find Getou now.]
[Jujutsu High Melon Eating Duo]
[Asou Akiya: Shoko, come to the school gate immediately.]
[Asou Akiya: Once you arrive, do not speak at all. Your first priority is treating the Zen'in-kouhai and stopping his bleeding.]
Asou Akiya was worried that Ieiri Shoko's arrival might cause Gojo Satoru to give up on healing himself.
[Asou Akiya: Tell Utahime-senpai to come with you.]
[Asou Akiya: Afterward, we'll need her technique to assist your treatment.]
[Asou Akiya: But ask her to remain silent and not make any startled exclamations.]
[Asou Akiya: My side has only one requirement: no one is allowed to disturb Gojo Satoru.]
[Asou Akiya: Hurry over!!!]
…
Inside the girls' dormitory, Ieiri Shoko stared at the stream of messages that had suddenly appeared from Asou Akiya.
The contents were alarming.
For someone as composed as Akiya to sound this urgent—and to refuse to explain over the phone—could only mean that something major had happened.
[Ieiri Shoko: Received. I'll be there within five minutes.]
Shoko picked up her medical case.
Inside were sterilized gloves, scalpels, and various medical instruments that could be used to perform emergency procedures if necessary.
Turning toward Utahime, she said,
"Utahime, we're leaving together. Destination: the school gate."
"Akiya specifically asked us to remain silent the entire time."
Utahime withdrew her worried gaze from the window.
Still dressed in her shrine maiden robes, she immediately set off.
"Let's go."
Shoko broke into a run.
"We need to get there within five minutes!"
Utahime: "No problem!"
The students of Tokyo Jujutsu High were never lacking in stamina or explosive speed.
After sending out the messages, Asou Akiya moved as quickly as possible to clean up the aftermath. He no longer paid any attention to Zen'in Naoya, who still had a dagger lodged in his back.
Enduring the pain, Zen'in Naoya said, "What are you still waiting for? Stop dragging this out and kill Gojo Satoru already! And when is that woman from Tokyo Jujutsu High who knows Reverse Cursed Technique supposed to arrive?"
At those words, Asou Akiya's inorganic black eyes turned toward Zen'in Naoya, startling him.
Hunched over and clutching his abdomen to reduce the bleeding, Zen'in Naoya no longer had the strength to leave the area around the school gate.
The two remained locked in a stalemate for five minutes—
Zen'in Naoya was on the verge of losing consciousness. Barely breathing, he said, "Stop lying to me already. Just finish the job cleanly. The longer this drags on, the worse it is for both of us. Gojo could grasp Reverse Cursed Technique at any moment..."
Asou Akiya replied gently, "You're also critically injured and on the brink of death. Have you considered trying to learn Reverse Cursed Technique yourself?"
Smiling faintly, he added, "That way you won't have to rely on anyone else."
His words carried deeper meaning.
"When a person falls, they can get back up on their own."
"No need to owe anyone a life-saving debt."
Asou Akiya casually glanced toward the white-haired boy. His gaze had not softened in the slightest, and there was an almost ruthless indifference in his voice, as though the one lying there was not Gojo Satoru—the person he cared about most.
One of the boy's fingers twitched again.
The pool of blood was no longer expanding.
Like the final reflexes of a corpse's nervous system, the movement revealed nothing about which stage of enlightenment he had reached.
Asou Akiya explained, "When a sorcerer is gravely wounded and on the verge of death, their overwhelming instinct for survival becomes fuel. By focusing entirely on grasping the 'core' of cursed energy, their chances of successfully learning healing techniques rise dramatically."
Then he continued provoking him.
"If you can't learn it, then die."
"Isn't that a simple method?"
The sight of him speaking so casually was infuriating. Anyone who didn't know better might think Reverse Cursed Technique was easy to learn.
Darkness repeatedly clouded Zen'in Naoya's vision.
He nearly exploded from sheer rage.
Get lost!
If you don't learn Reverse Cursed Technique at death's door, then you'd just end up actually dying!
Ieiri Shoko and Utahime arrived just in time.
The cursed spirits overhead had not yet disappeared, and on the ground lay two grievously injured figures.
Compared to the undisguised shock on Utahime's face, Ieiri Shoko remained remarkably calm.
As she approached the wounded, her steps faltered for a moment. She forcibly redirected herself away from Gojo Satoru and toward Zen'in Naoya instead.
Because Asou Akiya had spoken in a cold voice—
"Don't worry about Gojo. Save Naoya first."
The price Gojo Satoru had to pay to become the strongest was something that could never be bypassed through shortcuts.
Asou Akiya would rather be cruel at this moment in exchange for the pride of a man who would rise from where he had fallen through his own strength.
"Hurry up!" Zen'in Naoya cried for help. "Ieiri Shoko, I'm not going to make it!"
After Zen'in Naoya had been enrolled for some time, the fact that Ieiri Shoko could use Reverse Cursed Technique was no longer a secret.
Shoko examined the dagger protruding from Naoya's back. Without saying a word, she took out a pair of scissors and cut away the scorched fabric covering his chest. Then she cut away the clothing surrounding the two stab wounds on his back.
As she began treatment, Utahime, having received Akiya's instructions, activated her support-type technique, "Solo Forbidden Area", amplifying Ieiri Shoko's cursed energy.
With her cursed energy enhanced, the output of Shoko's Reverse Cursed Technique increased as well.
Cursed energy ignited in her palms.
No longer bothering to accommodate the feudal sensibilities of the Three Great Clans, she pressed one hand firmly against the front of Zen'in Naoya's chest while her other hand swiftly pulled out the dagger.
In the space of an instant, she completed the work of stopping the bleeding.
Having one foot in the grave, Zen'in Naoya finally seized hold of a chance to survive. He had not died from the wounds inflicted by an ordinary weapon devoid of cursed energy.
Following Asou Akiya's instructions to the letter, Ieiri Shoko did only one thing:
She stopped the bleeding.
Asou Akiya walked over to her side.
For some reason, the gentleness in his voice sent a chill down her spine.
"Put him to sleep."
"At least twenty minutes."
"He can wake up if subjected to sufficient external stimulation."
Ieiri Shoko administered a drug to Zen'in Naoya.
Unwilling though he was, Zen'in Naoya slipped into unconsciousness.
Shoko turned her gaze toward Gojo Satoru.
"..."
Asou Akiya said nothing.
Utahime was reaching the limit of her patience.
Her uneasy eyes widened as she waved frantically to attract the attention of the other two, then pointed at herself.
Pulling out her phone, she rapidly typed out the words she wanted to say:
[Gojo looks terrible. He looks like he's dead. His cursed energy is incredibly weak. Is he trying to comprehend Reverse Cursed Technique? Do you need me to strengthen his cursed energy with my technique?]
Ieiri Shoko's lips moved slightly.
After reading Utahime's well-intentioned suggestion, Asou Akiya ultimately shook his head.
Utahime immediately began typing again:
[Are we really supposed to just stand here and watch him struggle on the brink of death? Isn't there any way to help him?]
Asou Akiya seemed to have become a man incapable of speech.
He said nothing.
His tense expression remained frighteningly calm.
It was Ieiri Shoko who stopped Utahime from becoming any more agitated. Using Utahime's phone, she typed:
[Utahime, we can't afford to take that risk. Trust Akiya. Out of all of us, he's the one who wants to help Gojo the most.]
Shoko had personal experience with learning Reverse Cursed Technique.
What it tested was a sorcerer's moment of inspiration.
It was not something that was merely "difficult."
Yet for sorcerers unable to grasp that fleeting inspiration, it was something they could spend their entire lives pursuing without ever learning.
A short while later, Yaga Masamichi arrived.
His large frame carried two people at once.
One was the unconscious Getou Suguru.
The other was the black-haired maid who no longer showed any signs of life.
Ieiri Shoko immediately checked the black-haired maid's condition.
Then she sent a message:
[This person can't be saved.]
Asou Akiya's heart remained as still as water.
He helped lower Getou Suguru onto the ground.
Most of Getou's injuries were concentrated on the front of his body. There were bruises on his face from being kicked, while his chest and limbs were covered in severe knife wounds. Though serious, none of them were fatal. However, they were enough to prevent him from regaining consciousness anytime soon.
Asou Akiya looked toward Utahime and Ieiri Shoko.
The two immediately understood.
Utahime activated her technique.
Ieiri Shoko focused on treating her injured classmate.
Yaga Masamichi stood frozen before Gojo Satoru's "corpse."
Pain filled his face.
For a long time, he could not say a word.
Only then did Asou Akiya remember that he had never explained the situation to Yaga Masamichi.
He quickly typed a message:
[Sensei, please don't get too close. I'm afraid our cursed energy might distract him.]
[His finger moved. I saw it with my own eyes.]
[He's at the most critical stage of his transformation. No one can interfere with him. If he succeeds, he'll emerge from his cocoon like a butterfly, overcoming the limitations of the Limitless Technique and ascending to the pinnacle of the modern jujutsu world as the strongest.]
Asou Akiya shoved the phone screen directly in front of Yaga Masamichi's face.
Yaga's vision was still somewhat blurred. After forcing his eyes to focus, he finally made out the words on the screen.
A tremendous weight lifted from his chest.
Teacher and student immediately withdrew to a safe distance, keeping their space while also ensuring that no one disturbed Gojo Satoru.
It did not take Ieiri Shoko long to treat Getou Suguru.
However, Asou Akiya instructed her to inject Getou with a sedative and a muscle relaxant, preventing him from acting recklessly.
[Ieiri Shoko: I'm not taking the blame for this. The consequences are on you.]
[Asou Akiya: That's fine.]
When Getou slowly regained consciousness, his eyes opened in a dazed haze. Then his memories returned all at once, and panic erupted in his gaze.
Akiya did not need to hear the slurred words Getou was struggling to say. Calmly, he helped him sit upright. Under the effects of the muscle relaxant, Getou's entire body felt weak and powerless, leaving him no choice but to lean against Akiya's shoulder.
Akiya gently straightened Getou's head and made him look at Gojo.
At the sight before him, Getou's expression shattered.
The two of them were truly kindred sufferers, one worse off than the other.
And Gojo's condition was so horrific that it exceeded even Getou's imagination.
The moment Getou's cursed energy began to fluctuate, Akiya leaned close to his ear and said quietly, "He cannot be disturbed. Calm down. Take a deep breath. Control your emotions. We'll stay here and wait for him to stand back up."
The despair and savagery in Getou's eyes gradually came under control. The cursed energy surging from his negative emotions stabilized.
Akiya lowered his voice.
"He's struggling against death."
Then he continued, guiding Getou through the storm of his emotions.
"No one is born strong. Sorcerers walk hand in hand with life and death, and Gojo is no exception. There are too many people who wish him harm. His enemies will never show him even the slightest mercy."
This was a sight that the original Getou Suguru had never been able to witness:
Gojo Satoru's death.
Akiya had seen it once in his previous life. In this life, he was seeing it unfold before his own eyes once again.
The pain in his heart was almost unbearable.
Asou Akiya was not only explaining the situation to Getou Suguru, but also revealing the truth to everyone else present, all of whom were anxiously awaiting an answer.
"When I arrived at the school gate, Zen'in-kouhai was already critically wounded. He had been stabbed twice in the back. While in that condition, he told me everything that had happened. The enemy was the infamous 'Sorcerer Killer' of the underworld, Fushiguro Toji. His former name was Zen'in Toji. He is Zen'in-kouhai's cousin, a Heavenly Restriction user with zero cursed energy, and a traitor to the Zen'in family."
"Gojo's Limitless Technique was forcibly nullified by the special-grade cursed tool, the Inverted Spear of Heaven. Caught off guard, he suffered devastating injuries. Fortunately, the enemy did not sever his head, leaving him with a slim chance of survival."
"Right now, the only thing we can do is wait patiently and protect Gojo's body."
"—The Star Plasma Vessel mission no longer matters."
Jujutsu sorcerers had never been like the shinobi in Naruto. They were not forced to choose between their comrades and their mission.
There was one truth beyond dispute:
Their comrades mattered most.
More than any mission ever could.
Everyone present agreed with Akiya's decision.
Including Getou Suguru.
Getou had already forgotten about his own battered condition. His eyes remained fixed on Gojo Satoru, watching him with tense concentration.
Akiya became his support, lending him a shoulder to lean on and giving him the chance to wake up and witness everything as quickly as possible.
Silence.
Chaos.
Despair.
Hope.
A scene filled with contradictions existed all at once.
At this moment, Gojo Satoru was not the center of the world.
He was simply the center of everyone gathered there.
His life and death weighed heavily on the hearts of his friends, classmates, teacher, and senpai.
No longer was he lying silently at the dangerous school gate, surrounded by thousands of swarming low-grade curses.
Now, there were people willing to protect him.
Though none of them could interfere with the enlightenment he was pursuing, they remained by his side nonetheless, offering the only thing they could give him—
their fragile, insignificant prayers for his survival.
The past did not matter. The future did not matter.
At this moment, he was simply Gojo Satoru—not the untouchable "Six Eyes" who stood above the jujutsu world.
The effects of Getou Suguru's medication had worn off, and he was already capable of standing again. Even so, he remained seated cross-legged where he was.
Zen'in Naoya had regained consciousness once during the wait, only to be promptly knocked unconscious again.
Ieiri Shoko's practiced efficiency drew a glance from Getou. He was mentally exhausted and no longer had the energy to care about the fate of his Zen'in kouhai. His entire focus was fixed on Gojo Satoru. After regaining consciousness, he had become the strongest combatant present.
At 5:10 PM, Tokyo's April sunset was drawing near.
Before sunset, the head of the Zen'in family—who should have been in Kyoto—arrived by helicopter.
He had not come alone.
He had brought members of the Hei with him.
The arrival of several Grade 1 sorcerers immediately put Yaga Masamichi on guard.
Getou Suguru's cursed spirit arsenal had suffered devastating losses. Two special-grade cursed spirits had been cut down by Fushiguro Toji. However, outsiders knew nothing of the decline in his strength. They were still deceived by the overwhelming reputation attached to the title of "Special Grade Sorcerer."
As a result, Zen'in Naobito and the others could do nothing except stare at the group with strange expressions.
Undoing the gourd of sake hanging from his waist, Zen'in Naobito tilted his head back and took a drink.
His gaze soon landed on his youngest son, the one who had sent him the warning.
Though unconscious, Naoya's external wounds had already been treated. His cursed energy remained sluggish and depleted. He lay sprawled across the open ground, his lothes in disarray.
Standing in front of him were Getou Suguru and Asou Akiya.
Together, they formed a thin human wall that blocked Naobito's view of Gojo Satoru.
Interesting.
It had been many years since he had witnessed something this interesting.
The Six Eyes had always been isolated.
That fact had been proven time and time again throughout history.
A Six Eyes user had no need for companions. No need for friends.
People born with that unique constitution spent their entire lives witnessing every ugly corner of the jujutsu world. They prided themselves on remaining above it all, refusing to dirty themselves with the same filth. Detached from the jujutsu society around them, they carried an arrogance that ran deep into their bones and tolerated no infringement from anyone.
Every generation's Six Eyes user who successfully reached adulthood became a powerhouse.
As for those Six Eyes users who died before reaching maturity—
they were unworthy of receiving the reverence and glory bestowed by the jujutsu world.
Zen'in Naobito thought to himself that this generation's Six Eyes had actually found companions, and that this generation's Heavenly Restriction user had actually defeated a sixteen-year-old Six Eyes, trampling atop the greatest prodigy the jujutsu world had produced.
Toji had truly accomplished something earth-shattering.
The Zen'in family had been completely helpless against the Six Eyes, yet the rebel they had expelled from the family register had succeeded where they could not.
Naobito wanted to burst into laughter and celebrate the Gojo family's misfortune.
However, before he could do so—
Gojo Satoru moved.
Within the pool of blood, breathing returned.
A heartbeat echoed once more.
Life emerged from the brink of death.
His fatal wounds began to close. Pale pink scars appeared across his skin. Like a vengeful spirit clawing its way back from the underworld, Gojo pushed himself upright from his own blood.
Beneath his white hair, the Six Eyes—which had remained open even in death—gleamed ominously. As cursed energy surged through his body, his eyes erupted with a terrifying radiance.
"Hahahaha—! I did it—! Hahahahaha!I finally healed the wounds—!!"
"So this is Reverse Cursed Technique—negative times negative—hahaha—!!"
"It hurts so much—! I've never felt this good in my entire life—!!"
"Where is he—?! Tell me!"
The resurrected Gojo Satoru had entered a state bordering on madness.
Ignoring every one of his companions, the sheer pressure of his cursed energy stunned both allies and enemies alike. His expression was one of overwhelming exhilaration.
Zen'in Naobito thought, Has he gone insane?
But Asou Akiya understood exactly what Gojo meant.
That final question had been directed at him.
Akiya spoke softly.
"He's been gone for a while now. Follow the cursed energy residue left by the cursed spirit attached to him and you'll find him. Most likely he's inside the headquarters of the Time Vessel Association. Less likely, he's somewhere nearby."
Akiya bent forward slightly.
Before Gojo departed, he offered him a final farewell.
"May fortune favor you in battle."
Gojo Satoru vanished from where he stood, leaving only an afterimage behind.
Without hesitation, Asou Akiya shook Zen'in Naoya awake, then turned to Getou Suguru, who was still stunned by Gojo's resurrection.
"Do you still have any flying cursed spirits?" he asked. "We're going to the Time Vessel Association to witness the next battle."
Gojo's speed when tracking someone down was terrifyingly fast. The amount of time they had to fly there was running out.
Getou quickly came to his senses.
"I do. Just guide me there. I'm not familiar with the route to the Time Vessel Association headquarters."
A bat-like cursed spirit, the Ghost Manta, was summoned by Getou.
Because it was relatively weak, it had been useless during the fight against Fushiguro Toji and had never been deployed. As a result, it had survived the battle and become the only transportation-type cursed spirit he still had available.
Asou Akiya bent down and picked up a golden spiral-shaped button from the ground, concealing it in his palm before climbing onto the cursed spirit's back together with Getou Suguru and Zen'in Naoya.
What they were about to witness was not merely a battle.
They were going to witness the conclusion of the Star Plasma Vessel mission itself.
At 5:15 PM, at the headquarters of the Time Vessel Association, Home of the Children of the Star
Sonoda Shigeru, a representative director of the Time Vessel Association and the person responsible for the Star Plasma Vessel incident, lay collapsed on the floor with a bullet hole through his temple.
This middle-aged man in a white uniform was the mastermind who had purchased a private jet and issued the bounty on Amanai Riko.
After all his efforts, Fushiguro Toji had finally managed to kill one of his targets.
More accurately, he had killed the employer from his previous mission.
"Does this count as success, or failure?" Fushiguro Toji asked while lounging in a single-seat sofa inside the room. "Amanai Riko got away. I don't need to return the advance payment from the Time Vessel Association, right? Not that it would matter if they asked. The money's still with you. Remember to transfer it over."
Across from him, Kong Shiu maintained his usual calm expression.
"No one's going to dare ask us for the money back."
The Time Vessel Association itself might not survive what was coming.
Kong Shiu then asked in return,
"You're certain Gojo Satoru is dead?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm certain. How many times do I have to say it?" Toji replied as he dug at his ear. "Why is it so hard for you to believe I could pull it off? The Six Eyes is still human. He's not some immortal monster that can't be killed."
Kong Shiu chuckled and teased him.
"You're always short on money. Why didn't you take Gojo Satoru's body and collect a bounty for it?"
Fushiguro Toji lazily raised his head.
"I considered it."
There was nothing illegal about thinking about it.
That was all.
He had already vented that frustration and reclaimed his victory. He had no intention of selling the Six Eyes' corpse for money.
After leaving Tokyo Jujutsu High, he had pursued the helicopters for several kilometers. He had even used a special-grade cursed tool, yet he still failed to catch Amanai Riko among the helicopters that had scattered in different directions.
After wasting a considerable amount of time, he remembered the fifty-million-yen bounty and headed to the Time Vessel Association. Through Kong Shiu's connections as a broker, he had smoothly secured a meeting with Sonoda Shigeru and killed him. Now he was leisurely discussing with Kong Shiu how to clean up the mess in his personal history.
His afternoon had certainly been eventful.
Unfortunately, a hitman who failed to complete a mission and then turned around and killed the client instead... no matter how one looked at it, that was rather damaging to his reputation.
The title of "Sorcerer Killer" was how he earned his living.
Pointing toward the floor, where blood had been pooling for quite some time, Fushiguro Toji asked,
"What about this corpse? Do we need to deliver it to a designated location?"
Kong Shiu lit a cigarette. Lowering his head as he took a drag, he replied,
"The new client said a photograph would be enough. He knows what the person in charge of the Time Vessel Association looks like."
The energy seemed to drain out of Toji as he slumped deeper into the sofa.
"I'm starving. Buy me dinner."
The Time Vessel Association was nothing more than a group of ordinary non-sorcerers. Fushiguro Toji had never regarded them as worth worrying about.
"No."
Having finally eased some of his stress, Kong Shiu took a photograph of the deceased and sent it to Asou Akiya.
The new client replied with a smiling emoji.
The transaction was complete.
Kong Shiu turned to Fushiguro Toji and said, "I have fifty million yen in cash here. Do you want the cash now, or would you rather wait for me to transfer it to your account?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Toji answered,
"Give it to me."
Perfect, gambling money.
Kong Shiu handed over a high-end leather briefcase.
Toji opened it and checked the contents. After confirming everything was there, he stuffed the entire case into Ugly Treasure's mouth.
"How lucky. I lost a fortune and then gained another one right back. Next, I'm going to stay far away from the jujutsu world and lie low for a while." Fushiguro Toji chuckled cheerfully.
Suddenly, Ugly Treasure began acting strangely.
Toji paused and looked between it and the suitcase full of money.
"There's cursed energy residue on it?"
Ugly Treasure reluctantly swallowed the case. To a cursed spirit, the sensation was akin to a human being forced to swallow an enormous chili pepper whole.
Painful.
But its master had given an order.
If it refused, it would get beaten.
Kong Shiu said, "Let's part ways here. I don't want the Gojo Clan coming after me either."
Toji, who had never feared death, replied casually, "Sure."
Just before they separated, Kong Shiu suddenly asked, "Fushiguro, did you ever know someone named Asou Akiya?"
Out of consideration for the broker, Toji genuinely racked his brains for a moment.
"Asou? Is he rich? Generous? Never heard of him. If there's good business in the future, remember to send it my way."
The smile that tugged at his lips was the most genuine and relaxed smile he had shown all day. The scar at the corner of his mouth stood out clearly.
Kong Shiu replied, "He's quite wealthy, and he's generous too. He asked me to pass along a message: 'Mr. Fushiguro, if fate allows, we'll meet again in the future.' I thought you two might be old acquaintances."
"Got it."
With his back turned, Fushiguro Toji walked toward the exit.
There were still minor wounds scattered across his body. His hands remained tucked casually into his pockets as he strode toward a future illuminated by the setting sun.
He greeted every day of his life with an attitude ordinary people could never understand.
For some reason, Kong Shiu suddenly felt a heaviness settle in his heart.
Even so, he had no intention of developing any deeper relationship with Fushiguro Toji.
A man like Fushiguro...
At 5:20 PM, as the sun descended toward the horizon, its light became strangely dazzling.
On one of the unavoidable roads leading out of the Time Vessel Association grounds, Fushiguro Toji found someone waiting for him.
Gojo Satoru.
The white-haired teenager stood there in tattered clothes.
The buttons on his school uniform jacket had long since burst off. His dress shirt hung exposed, his belt was nearly in pieces, and large stains of dried and fresh blood covered his body.
Yet amidst that battered appearance burned an unyielding, rebellious spirit that refused to be broken.
The third battle arrived suddenly.
It arrived with overwhelming force.
As though it had been destined from the very beginning.
"I've been waiting for you for so long!"
To Gojo Satoru, who had returned from the brink of death, even a single minute felt unbearably long.
A sense of wrongness?
Such a thing had no meaning to either of the two men standing before each other.
Fushiguro Toji had already killed Gojo Satoru once.
He could no longer tolerate the arrogant, frenzied battle lust radiating from the resurrected Gojo.
At 5:38 PM, Getou Suguru arrived at the Time Vessel Association with the others.
The battle was already over.
One overwhelming force had shattered every technique.
At the tip of Gojo Satoru's finger glimmered a streak of violet light.
The intelligence Fushiguro Toji possessed could no longer keep up with reality.
Gojo had perfectly fused Blue and Red together, unleashing Hollow Purple—the greatest trump card that the upper echelons of the Gojo Clan had concealed for many years.
Everyone who had seen this technique had died.
The only thing left for the living to witness was the enormous tunnel of destruction stretching far into the distance.
After receiving the mercy of a final question from Gojo Satoru, Fushiguro Toji delivered his last words.
"Toji—!!!"
Zen'in Naoya's anguished cry echoed from the sky.
The moment Getou Suguru landed on the ground, Naoya rolled off the cursed spirit's back and stumbled forward on both hands and feet, rushing toward them.
"Gojo-san, I'm sorry! Please—please spare Toji's life—!"
Tears and mucus streamed down Zen'in Naoya's face.
He abandoned all dignity and pride, begging only for Gojo Satoru to save Fushiguro Toji.
But the Reverse Cursed Technique Gojo had mastered was incapable of healing others.
He merely looked down coldly upon Naoya's desperate pleas.
In his final moments, what Fushiguro Toji heard was someone pleading on his behalf.
What he saw were four figures, drawing nearer and then farther away.
The white-haired boy wore an indifferent expression.
The young heir carrying the blood of the Zen'in Clan was desperately begging Gojo Satoru.
The black-haired boy arrived alongside the Cursed Spirit Manipulator. Of the two, the black-haired boy walked directly to the side of the Zen'in heir.
Asou Akiya offered him a handkerchief and said to the sobbing Zen'in Naoya,
"His injuries are too severe. The constitution granted by Heavenly Restriction possesses an extremely high resistance to cursed energy. Even if Shoko were here, she wouldn't be able to save him."
As he spoke, Asou Akiya met Fushiguro Toji's fading eyes for the first time.
Half of the man's body had been blasted away by Gojo Satoru.
His right arm lay severed on the ground.
Blood and organs had spilled across the earth.
Asou Akiya's emotions gradually settled. His voice echoed beside Fushiguro Toji's ear like a distant sound from the depths of the ocean.
"Listen. Your life was a mess, but there were still people who admired you and cried for you."
"You were treated unfairly by fate, and your luck was terrible, but you still managed to make money."
"Your life wasn't particularly good, nor was it particularly bad..."
"The 'blessings'* you've left behind..."
*{Note: Akiya uses "恵" (Megumi) here}
Fushiguro Toji desperately wanted to hear the rest.
Yet darkness swallowed his consciousness.
He could no longer hear anything.
"...The 'blessings' you've left behind..."
Asou Akiya repeated the words twice.
Pity and indifference intertwined within his eyes.
In the end, he said nothing more.
He allowed Fushiguro Toji to leave this world carrying his final wish with him.
After Fushiguro Toji's breathing stopped completely, Zen'in Naoya collapsed onto the ground and wept.
There were many forms of suffering.
Within a single day, he had tasted several that would become the most unforgettable pains of his life.
"Gojo-san! Why are you still alive?! Did you shamelessly make a Binding Vow or something?!"
Overwhelmed by extreme emotions, Zen'in Naoya blurted out whatever came to mind.
Gojo hadn't been killed?!
Before sunset, Fushiguro Toji had died at Gojo Satoru's hands.
Which meant that he had lost the wager against Asou Akiya.
"..."
Gojo Satoru stood over the corpse of the enemy he had slain, his face expressionless as the manic exhilaration that had carried him through the battle gradually receded.
"Are you okay, Satoru?" Getou Suguru asked. For the first time, he found Gojo strangely unfamiliar.
Asou Akiya lowered his head and quietly diminished his presence. No longer standing behind Zen'in Naoya, he stepped aside and slowly returned to Getou Suguru's side, hoping that by doing so, Gojo would forget all the "bad things" he had done.
Just as he wished, Gojo no longer looked at him with that cold gaze.
Divinity seemed to fill those sky-blue eyes.
They were clearer than ever before, and more detached than ever before.
The world had changed in Gojo Satoru's eyes.
Was he happy?
Was he unhappy?
Gojo took a step forward.
Instinctively, Asou Akiya took another step backward, slipping behind Getou Suguru and hiding within the shadows.
Getou Suguru unconsciously shielded him.
"Akiya has been helping you this whole time."
Gojo remained silent.
An inhuman quality lingered within his eyes, yet they also resembled a mirror cleansed of all dust after attaining enlightenment.
One step.
Then another.
Gojo walked directly up to the two of them, paused for a brief moment, then passed by them and headed deeper into the Time Vessel Association's headquarters.
He personally saw the person in charge of the organization lying on the ground.
Dead.
The white-robed believers surrounded the middle-aged man's corpse, weeping uncontrollably.
Their noise was unbearably grating.
Amid their curses and lamentations, Gojo learned of the Star Religious Group's stance toward the Star Plasma Vessel and Tengen.
The Star Religious Group opposed Tengen's "assimilation" with the impure Star Plasma Vessel. They wished for Tengen to remain pure and untouched, to continue existing as their god.
While he had hovered on the brink of death, Gojo had heard the voices outside.
He had forced himself not to care about what Asou Akiya was doing.
He had chosen to place his trust in him and devote his entire focus to mastering Reverse Cursed Technique.
The Six Eyes had faithfully recorded everything.
Asou Akiya's tears.
Asou Akiya's ambush.
Asou Akiya's ruthlessness.
Asou Akiya's disguise.
As he had said, all of it had been part of a scheme.
Listening to the believers praying for the death of the Star Plasma Vessel, Gojo Satoru came to a realization.
In the eyes of those believers, Lord Tengen's purity was what mattered most. The safety of the jujutsu world meant nothing to them. If the Star had to fall, then everyone else could be buried alongside it.
Lord Tengen was the "Star" of the Star Religious Group.
And he himself was Asou Akiya's Star.
He had survived.
His injuries had not fully healed. Scars covered his forehead, neck, chest, and abdomen. Yet he now viewed the world through an entirely new lens, like a child touching the world for the first time.
Everything seemed new.
Everything drew his attention.
The dead stirred no emotion within him.
The disappearance of Amanai Riko left him equally indifferent.
The face that had once lit up with joy for the sake of friendship had become cold to the extreme.
He even felt that—
Even if someone died right in front of him, he would feel nothing.
It was as though he had returned to the state he had been in as a child, untouched by either sorrow or joy.
The supreme ecstasy of grasping the "core" of cursed energy had raised the threshold of his mind. His emotions and desires gradually faded, thinning from intensity into emptiness, until they could be summarized in a single phrase:
"It doesn't matter."
[Maybe I should just kill all of these people.]
Without realizing it, Gojo arrived at the conclusion that would be most beneficial to the stability of the jujutsu world.
[Should I ask the other two first?]
Gojo tilted his head.
[Would Suguru try to stop me?]
Following the clarity of his unclouded mind, he stopped looking at the believers. Turning around, he addressed Asou Akiya and Getou Suguru, who had caught up with him, in an easy, casual tone.
"Akiya, you manipulated so many people. Why not just kill them all while you're at it?"
"..."
"Suguru, want to kill them? They're the enemy."
"..."
Today, one high school boy was losing his mind, while the other two firmly believed that silence was golden.