Chapter 145 (Patreon)

Satoru Gojo felt the violent shift in the cursed energy outside and immediately turned toward Kenjaku.

“What did you do, Kenjaku?!”

Kenjaku merely smiled. “There’s no need to be so alarmed. I’ve simply ushered in a new age of jujutsu sorcerers.”

“A new age of jujutsu sorcerers?” Yuta Okkotsu frowned. Whatever Kenjaku had done, it was clearly something catastrophic.

“The cursed energy in the atmosphere has become much denser,” Rika Orimoto said, sensing the drastic increase as well.

Kenjaku calmly brushed the dust from his clothes. “A moment ago, every seal placed on the cursed objects throughout this country was released.”

At the same time, the ancient sorcerers who had entered binding vows with Kenjaku over the past thousand years would incarnate in the modern era.

“From this moment on, they will slaughter one another and deepen their understanding of cursed energy.”

At her home, Tsumiki Fushiguro suddenly sensed something. Black markings spread across her forehead without warning.

Boom!

Explosions erupted throughout Japan.

The ground beneath Akihabara began to quake. The streets split apart in an instant, swallowing cars and buildings into the depths below.

“A-An earthquake?!”

“Run!”

Countless people tumbled into the widening fissures. Then, from the pitch-black depths, roars echoed as though something had awakened in the abyss.

“S-Someone... save me!”

A man sat paralyzed on the ground as a gigantic serpent’s head rose before him. Its blood-red jaws opened wide, swallowing both him and the nearby building in a single bite.

“Y-Yamata-no-Orochi!”

From the surrounding rooftops, the survivors watched in horror as eight colossal serpent heads emerged across Akihabara.

Akihabara—Yamata-no-Orochi.

Far above Ikebukuro, crimson cursed energy appeared in the stratosphere before erupting wildly in every direction.

A crimson meteor then tore across the sky, heading directly toward Ikebukuro.

“Look! What is that?”

“A meteor?”

“No... Is it coming toward us?”

Rumble!

In a single instant, Ikebukuro was engulfed in a sea of flames. Not a single person survived.

Amid the fire and black smoke, a pair of crimson eyes slowly opened. Behind them, nine enormous tails swayed through the inferno.

Ikebukuro—Tamamo-no-Mae, the Nine-Tailed Fox.

An endless purple mist flooded Sendai, leaving the city’s inhabitants weak and drowsy.

Large numbers of cursed spirits were born within the fog. One pedestrian crawled across the ground and desperately grabbed the trouser leg of a beautiful young man who appeared completely human.

“P-Please... get me out of here.”

“Of course. I’ll take you out of this world right now.”

The young man drained the sake from his cup. His pale skin turned blood-red as his body underwent a grotesque transformation. His limbs swelled and twisted, while his fingers and toes lengthened into vicious claws.

His body continued growing until he stood more than six meters tall.

“ROOOAAAR!”

After his thunderous roar, countless cursed spirits surged from the mist behind him and knelt before him.

Sendai—Shuten-dōji.

The sky above Lake Gosho in Iwate Prefecture was suddenly swallowed by black clouds.

“What’s going on? Why did the sky suddenly turn dark?”

People stepped out of their homes, while those inside office buildings gathered at the windows to look outside.

“Huh? Look at the sky.”

“Amazing... Wait, what are those red lights?”

“Those aren’t lights—they’re flames! It’s raining fire! Run!”

Boom!

A deafening roar shook heaven and earth as an endless rain of fire descended upon the city.

Piercing screams echoed through the streets, chilling everyone who heard them to the bone.

A figure then appeared at the center of the burning city. It wore a red mask and stood more than three meters tall.

Iwate Prefecture—Ōtakemaru.

— — — — — —

The cursed spirits held in check by Tengen’s pure barriers for thousands of years were finally unleashed. Nearly one hundred million cursed spirits swept across Japan.

“Once more, let us welcome the Heian era—the golden age of jujutsu!”

Kenjaku watched the countless cursed spirits rise from the land, experiencing a thrill unlike anything he had ever felt before.

Ragnar Kagenou walked toward him.

“It may be a golden age of jujutsu, but you might not live long enough to witness it.”

Ragnar’s gaze remained fixed on Kenjaku.

“All you’ve done is drag a dead civilization back into the present. And I, the King, will destroy it with my own hands.”

Kenjaku smiled. “Destroy an entire civilization? You may be powerful, but even a handful of special-grade sorcerers couldn’t accomplish that.”

He took out the Prison Realm.

“I’ll live to see it. You cannot kill me, Ragnar Kagenou.”

Swish!

Ragnar drove the Blade of Immortality through Kenjaku’s brain.

“The minute is up,” Kenjaku said. “Then I suppose I’ll see all of you again at the height of this new age of jujutsu.”

Clang!

Ragnar pulled his blade free and struck the Prison Realm, sending a shower of sparks into the air.

The Prison Realm sealed Kenjaku in an instant. Tengen then activated a barrier technique and transferred the sealed object into his own hands.

“To think the Prison Realm I prepared for Satoru Gojo would become my means of escape instead.”

Even from within the Prison Realm, Kenjaku’s control over Tengen remained intact. His plans would continue without interruption.

“It’s fortunate that the Prison Realm failed to seal Satoru Gojo. Otherwise, I truly would have died here today.”

The Culling Game had already begun, and this time, all of Japan was its playing field.

No one could escape.

— — — — — —

While making his way through the area, Suguru Geto discovered Choso lying on the ground, his body severed at the waist.

“An incarnated special-grade cursed object? It seems he’s still alive.”

Suguru Geto approached him.

“Cursed Spirit Manipulation.”

Slap!

Choso suddenly reached out and seized Suguru Geto’s arm.

“You...”

“To think I would find a special grade lying here for the taking. I must be unusually fortunate today.”

Choso’s body transformed into a black sphere of cursed energy, which Suguru Geto promptly swallowed.

“As disgusting as ever.”

Black cursed energy gathered around Suguru Geto and gradually took on a human form.

Choso appeared beside him once more.

“Choso... Cursed Womb: Death Painting Number One. You should make a decent addition to my forces.”

Click.

“Who’s there?!”

Suguru Geto spun around. From within the shadows, a single green eye was watching him.

“Who are you?”

— — — — — —

“Leave this place, Sukuna.”

Tengen stood at the edge of the barrier and released the empty barrier surrounding him. By pushing his cursed energy output to its limit, he barely managed to tear open a narrow passage leading outside.

“This fight isn’t over, Ragnar Kagenou. Once I’ve consumed the rest of my fingers, I’ll kill you with my own hands.”

Tengen stared at him in surprise.

Sukuna was smiling.

After Sukuna stepped through the opening, Uraume immediately knelt before him on one knee.

“Lord Sukuna, please forgive my late arrival. I should have been here to receive you.”

“Who are you?”

Sukuna looked down at the white-haired figure, unable to remember them for a moment.

Then recognition finally dawned on him.

“Ah. Uraume.”

Uraume remained kneeling.

“It has been a long time, Lord Sukuna. How is your new body?”