Amid the ruins on the outskirts of Shibuya, fractured walls and crumbled pillars cast sinister shadows beneath the cold moonlight.
Fierce winds howled, kicking up billows of dust laced with the stench of blood.
Boom!
Accompanied by a deafening crash, Yuji Itadori's body flew backward like a fired cannonball, violently smashing through three thick concrete walls before finally being buried beneath a heap of rubble.
"Cough, cough..."
Yuji struggled to crawl out from the wreckage, coughing up mouthfuls of fresh blood.
His body was covered in wounds of every size, his uniform thoroughly stained red with blood, making even standing an agonizing ordeal.
Dozens of meters ahead of him, Yuta Okkotsu walked toward him step by step, holding a long blade that radiated a terrifying surge of cursed energy.
"Give it up, Itadori-kun."
Yuta Okkotsu's voice was chilling to the extreme, with not a shred of emotion visible in his eyes.
"The higher-ups have already issued the execution order. As Sukuna's vessel, your very existence poses a massive threat to this world."
"Stop your pointless resistance. It will only prolong your suffering."
Yuji Itadori wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and snapped his hands together before him, the cursed energy remaining within his body beginning to surge frantically.
"I'm not going to die!"
"Not before I save Gojo-sensei, and not before I blow all those bastards away! I refuse to die here!"
Yuji roared, his legs driving forward with sudden explosive power as he charged straight at Yuta Okkotsu.
A dazzling black radiance sparked across his fist—his proudest technique—
Black Flash!
"Stubborn fool."
Yuta Okkotsu let out a cold grunt, swinging his sword with a backhand strike.
Clang!
A piercing screech of clashing metal split the night air.
Yuji's Black Flash, powerful enough to shatter a Special Grade Cursed Spirit, was casually parried by Yuta using the flat back of his blade.
Immediately afterward, Yuta flicked his wrist slightly. The long blade transformed into a flash of lightning-quick cold light, cutting right through Yuji's momentum and carving a deep, bone-exposing wound across his chest.
"Ah!"
Yuji cried out in agony, losing his balance once more and collapsing heavily to the ground.
This time, he struggled for a long while, but could no longer find the strength to stand.
Meanwhile, atop a ruined high-rise several hundred meters from the battlefield, a pair of icy eyes fixed intently upon everything taking place below.
Uraume wore a white kimono, enveloped in bone-chilling cold air as though even the surrounding atmosphere were frozen solid.
"Yuta Okkotsu... truly lives up to his reputation."
Watching the one-sided fight below, Uraume's lips curled into a cruel, sneering smile.
"Those rats among the higher-ups finally did something right. Once Yuji Itadori is dead, Lord Sukuna's only vulnerability in this era will vanish completely."
Uraume's gaze scoured the ruins like a venomous snake.
Beyond observing the battle between Yuta and Yuji, Uraume remained vigilant against that man who could appear at any moment.
Yoru.
The monster who severed Kenjaku's arm with a single slash, a man who even made Lord Sukuna wary.
"Strange. Yoru and the spirit called Suguru Geto aren't by Itadori's side?"
Uraume frowned slightly, a flicker of suspicion crossing the mind.
Yet before long, those doubts were thoroughly dispelled by the decisive strike below.
Within the ruins.
Yuta Okkotsu had arrived before Yuji Itadori.
Looking down upon his underclassman who had lost all capacity to fight back, he slowly raised his blade.
"Forgive me, Itadori-kun."
"This is for the future of the entire Jujutsu world."
A fleeting flicker of pained conflict showed in Yuta Okkotsu's eyes before he gritted his teeth, gripped the hilt with both hands, aimed directly at Yuji's heart, and thrust downward viciously!
Squelch!
The sound of sharp steel puncturing flesh echoed with stark clarity through the silent night.
The long sword impaled Yuji Itadori's chest, pinning him firmly to the cold concrete ground.
"Ugh..."
Yuji's eyes widened abruptly, his pupils instantly losing focus.
His body convulsed violently twice before vast amounts of blood surged along the blade's fuller, drenching a wide swathe of the ground in red.
A few seconds later, Yuji's hands fell limp to the earth, his breathing and heartbeat ceasing entirely.
Atop the high-rise.
Uraume stared unblinkingly at Yuji Itadori's lifeless corpse, even projecting cursed energy senses to scan it thoroughly three times.
No heartbeat.
No breathing.
Cursed energy fluctuations had dispersed completely.
"Death confirmed."
A flash of wild ecstasy showed in Uraume's eyes, the corners of the mouth curving upward uncontrollably.
"Yuji Itadori... is dead at last!"
"With Lord Sukuna's vessel destroyed, all that remains is to wait for Kenjaku's plan to reach fruition!"
Having verified Yuji's death, Uraume did not linger for another moment.
Well aware of Yuta Okkotsu's power, being discovered by him would yield no benefit whatsoever.
Amid a gust of piercing, frigid wind, Uraume's figure vanished into the night in an instant.
And exactly one minute after Uraume departed.
Concealed within another ruin several hundred meters away, Yoru slowly opened his deep crimson eyes.
The Transparent World, which had been operating with clockwork precision deep within his gaze, gradually receded.
"The fish has taken the bait."
The corners of Yoru's mouth lifted into a satisfied smile as he transmitted an all-clear signal to Yuta Okkotsu through the internal communication channel.
The instant the signal was received.
Yuta Okkotsu, who had been standing beside Yuji's body with a grim expression, let out a massive sigh of relief.
Without hesitation, he pulled the blade from Yuji's chest. At the same time, an immense yet gentle white radiance flowed frantically from his palm into Yuji's body, which had been rapidly losing its vitality.
Reverse Cursed Technique: Maximum Output!
Under the precise guidance of Yoru's Transparent World, Yuta's strike earlier had pierced Yuji's heart muscle while meticulously avoiding the left ventricle and aorta, inducing only a severe penetrating wound and a fleeting state of shock and apparent death!
This required not only Yuta's terrifyingly precise blade control, but also an understanding of Reverse Cursed Technique honed to absolute perfection!
Nourished by the immense Reverse Cursed Technique, Yuji Itadori's heart, which had ceased beating, miraculously revived.
"Thump... thump... thump..."
The faint heartbeat gradually grew robust and forceful.
The horrific puncture wound on his chest also knit together at a speed visible to the naked eye, leaving behind not even a trace of a scar.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
A few seconds later, Yuji Itadori snapped his eyes open, gulping down fresh air like a drowning man who had just been pulled ashore.
"I'm... I'm alive!"
Yuji felt his pristine chest, his eyes filled with stunned disbelief.
He looked up at Yuta Okkotsu, who had breathed a sigh of relief before him, and could not resist giving a thumbs-up.
"Okkotsu-senpai, your acting and sword skills are insane!"
"For a second there, I really thought I was a goner!"
Yuta Okkotsu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and offered a lingering, relieved smile.
"If Senior Yoru hadn't used the Transparent World to help me correct the blade's trajectory, I wouldn't have dared to take such a huge risk."
"Still, we managed to fool Uraume after all."
Just then, Yoru, Suguru Geto, Choso, and the others walked out from the shadows.
Looking at the now lively Yuji, a trace of approval flashed in Yoru's eyes.
"Nicely done, kid."
"From now on, in the eyes of the entire Jujutsu world, as well as Kenjaku and Uraume, Yuji Itadori is a dead man."
Yoru walked over to Yuji and patted his shoulder.
"Next, we will secretly transfer you to Jujutsu High's underground facility."
"There, free from the surveillance of the higher-ups, you can infiltrate the barriers of the Culling Game under the guise of a dead man."
"Remember, your primary objective is to search for clues regarding 'Angel' Hana Kurusu, while simultaneously destroying the barrier cores!"
Yuji Itadori nodded firmly, burning fighting spirit blazing in his eyes.
"Leave it to me, Senior Yoru!"
"I definitely won't let everyone down!"
Seeing the resolute look in Yuji's eyes, Choso stepped forward and wrapped his younger brother in a tight hug.
"Yuji, be careful inside the barrier."
"If you run into trouble you can't handle, shout my name at the top of your lungs. No matter where you are, your big brother will rush to your side right away!"
Moved, Yuji looked at Choso and gave a heavy nod. "Yeah!"
The night wind blew once more across the blood-soaked ruins.
Yet this time, what the wind carried was no longer despair and death, but hope and the clarion call of a counterattack.
Yuta Okkotsu's superb performance and Yoru's flawless orchestration had enabled Yuji Itadori to pull off an audacious deception, adopting the guise of death to become a shadowy dagger poised to pierce Kenjaku's heart.
And the Culling Game—a thousand-year grand scheme meticulously laid out by Kenjaku—began sliding frantically toward an utterly uncontrollable abyss because of this extraordinarily wild variable.
With the curtain falling on the feigned death, these monsters, now thoroughly unburdened by the shackles of the rules, finally bared their deadliest fangs toward the ten crimson barriers hanging over Japan.