Just as Sōjun Minamoto finished tidying up and prepared to return to Jujutsu High through spatial travel, a message came in from Masamichi Yaga.
He glanced at the phone screen.
The message was lengthy, but the core request was simple: return to Jujutsu High as soon as possible. A first-year student had died—Yaga wanted to know if there was still any chance of saving him.
Sōjun Minamoto toyed with the phone as thoughts raced through his mind.
Resurrection was difficult. Reversing death came at a steep cost and required extremely specific conditions. That was also why not many had sought him out over the years. If things were that simple, his doorstep would've been trampled down by desperate sorcerers by now.
Death was common in the jujutsu world. What made this one unusual was who had died: Yuji Itadori.
As Sukuna's vessel, the conservatives had long wanted him dead to avoid further complications. Others, however, saw him as the only way to exorcise Sukuna.
Regardless of their stance, all eyes had been on Itadori recently. No one expected him to die barely a month into enrollment.
That's when Sōjun Minamoto recalled what Kenjaku had mentioned—taking Jogo and the others to witness Sukuna's power. This must've been the result.
There was no need to rush. Itadori was crucial. Kenjaku wouldn't let him die so easily.
Sōjun Minamoto stood up, unhesitatingly opened his Star Eyes, and looked up into the air. His gaze seemed unfocused, but in truth, he was staring into the unknown. At the same time, he maximized his hearing.
Masamichi Yaga must be thinking of him right now. Through the emotional link, Sōjun Minamoto could faintly sense his anxiety and hope.
He widened his perception further—and sensed more. Riko Amanai, Shoko Ieiri, Satoru Gojo, and Kiyotaka Ijichi were all projecting their hopes onto him. The sinister intent of certain higher-ups... and the desire of a certain Zenin heir candidate...
All of it was directed straight at him.
Where there is thought, he is aware.
A surge of information flooded his mind, but it was quickly sorted and processed, one emotion at a time.
This was his most fundamental and vital post-fusion ability: emotional perception.
Power, at its end, comes from emotion and returns to it. It was exactly what he'd envisioned—and the nature of this strength pleased him greatly.
He closed the Star Eyes.
Then, with a step through space, Sōjun Minamoto precisely reappeared inside Jujutsu High's medical wing.
...
In one of the morgue rooms, Kiyotaka Ijichi, Satoru Gojo, Shoko Ieiri, and Riko Amanai were deep in discussion.
Satoru Gojo looked frustrated. Kiyotaka Ijichi seemed caught in an awkward bind.
Meanwhile, Riko Amanai and Shoko Ieiri stood over the autopsy table, studying the body—oddly... excited?
Riko Amanai held two scalpels, one blue and one black, gesturing above the corpse as if deciding where to start the incision.
Still, she hadn't made a cut yet.
A black vortex suddenly materialized out of nowhere, drawing everyone's attention. They looked up to see Sōjun Minamoto step calmly through it, descending a staircase made of air until his feet touched the floor.
Behind him, the vortex slowly faded.
He met their eyes.
"What's going on?"
"You're here!" Riko Amanai rushed over and pointed at the table.
"Can you check if there's still hope?"
Sōjun Minamoto approached, with Gojo and Ijichi following closely behind.
Lying on the table was Yuji Itadori. A gaping, charred hole in his chest made the brutality clear.
"How long has he been dead?" he asked.
"Less than two hours," Shoko Ieiri replied. "No external injuries. Aside from the heart being removed, the other organs are intact."
She pointed to the side, where a glass jar held a heart submerged in some unknown solution. Two blood vessels floated eerily within it.
Sōjun Minamoto gave the heart a glance but said nothing. He turned his attention back to Itadori.
Right now, Itadori's soul was still tangled with Sukuna's—it hadn't begun to dissipate.
But if they waited much longer, it would start to break down. And when it did, Sukuna's soul would unravel with it.
"So this is how they plan to exorcise Sukuna?" he thought, leaning down toward the hole in Itadori's chest.
His half-lidded eyes snapped open.
Everyone around him paused, a strange, inexplicable emotion rising in their chests.
They quickly composed themselves, though Kiyotaka Ijichi had to shake his head to snap out of it.
When they looked again—
They saw starlight spilling from Sōjun Minamoto's eyes, tiny specks swirling and condensing, forming a faint halo that shimmered around his gaze.
His eyes deepened. He peered through the chest wound, stripping away layers of space, reaching into its deepest depths...
A massive white ribcage stretched across the earth, supporting a vast, cavernous space. Inside, the ground was submerged in blood. The surface was still, disturbed only by the occasional drop of crimson falling from above and rippling across the pool.
Drip...
The sound echoed through the chamber, making the silence feel even heavier.
At the center stood a small mound built from twisted, unfamiliar skulls, with a naturally-formed throne resting at the top.
Beyond the ribcage, only endless, oppressive darkness.
"...Agree to two conditions, and I'll heal your heart. Bring you back to life..." came a voice—it was Yuji Itadori, dressed in a white kimono.
"Like hell I'd trust anything you say, Sukuna!" shouted another version of Itadori, this one in his Jujutsu High uniform.
He was flat on the ground, defeated by Sukuna. The Curse stood with one foot pressed on his back, Itadori's face submerged in the blood-soaked floor, making him struggle instinctively. Ripples spread across the previously calm surface.
"This isn't about trust. It's a Binding Vow. Even I have to obey it. Break it, and I face consequences too."
"You should know it well by now—you don't get something without giving something up," Sukuna said, glancing at him.
"..." Itadori was quiet for a moment, as if something clicked. He stopped struggling.
"Fine... I'll accept your conditions."
Sukuna smiled and stepped back.
"...Yeah right." The moment he was free, Itadori shot up and smashed a fist into Sukuna's face. "I'm done believing anything you say—"
Shlick—
Before the sentence was finished, half of his head was sliced clean off, the cut smooth and precise.
Sukuna didn't even look at him. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the darkness beyond the ribcage, to a single star that hung alone in the sky.
Something felt off. This inner domain—his own mind—had been empty before. Now suddenly, a star?
A heart's domain reflected one's inner world, shaped and controlled by the soul. The intrusion felt like a splinter lodged in his throat or a leaf stuck between his teeth—annoying enough that he wanted it gone immediately.
Sukuna narrowed his eyes. The star's surface was covered in a thin crystal layer, and beneath it, faint crimson lines threaded through.
The lines bothered him.
Just as he tried to see more clearly...
The star flickered.
Beneath the crystal, a deep black pupil opened, shuddering violently before suddenly locking into place.
A sharp, overwhelming sense of being watched surged through Sukuna.
"Oh," he realized. "It's an eye."
The next instant, he lashed out with a slash aimed at the eyeball. But the eye kept turning, unconcerned, ignoring the attack entirely.
The strike landed, but had no effect.
Sukuna raised his hand in a sword-like gesture. A sharper, clearer slash carved straight through the center of the eye, splitting it in two.
One eye became two.
And yet, the sense of being watched remained.
Sukuna's expression darkened.
Just as he prepared to get serious, the twin eyes faded, growing dimmer and dimmer until they vanished completely.
"Heh..."
His casual amusement vanished. His face twisted into something feral, malicious.
An enemy he had never seen before.
...
Outside, Sōjun Minamoto straightened up.
"How is it?" someone asked.
He didn't reply. Just rubbed his eyes, which were slightly sore.
Itadori was still too naive. The moment he said "I accept," the Binding Vow had already been sealed.
There was nothing left for Sōjun to do. Sukuna would be the one to bring him back.
He pointed at Itadori. The others followed his gaze.
The corpse that had been lying perfectly still suddenly sat upright.
"Whoa... I'm alive," Itadori muttered, glancing down—only to realize he was completely naked.
His previously severed arm had grown back, the hole in his chest was gone, and his heart thumped powerfully beneath his ribs.
"Yo, welcome back, Yuji!" Gojo grinned.
"Oh, I'm back," Itadori said, raising his hand in greeting.
Smack! They high-fived.
"..."
"What a shame..."
"So, what do we do with the heart?"
"Feed it to the dogs."