With the Prison Realm at the center, the crowd had split into two sides.
On the jujutsu sorcerers' side, smaller factions had formed: the Yaga faction, meaning the students and faculty of Tokyo Jujutsu High, along with Zenin Naobito, stood together; members of the Jujutsu Headquarters were grouped off on their own; Suguru Geto's former allies were clustered together; and Mei Mei and Ui Ui were a separate unit.
A dense, chaotic mass of people.
In contrast, the other side was much simpler—just a few individuals. Kenjaku, Choso…
No one made the first move. Everyone was stalling.
Kenjaku was waiting for the Prison Realm to finish unraveling so he could take Satoru Gojo away.
The Tokyo Jujutsu High group was also stalling. News had already come through—Yuki Tsukumo was on the way.
They couldn't beat a Special Grade, but there were several Grade 1s present. With effort, they might be able to stall.
Tap tap…
Footsteps echoed, breaking the tense silence.
"Amanai!" Haibara called out as he recognized the newcomer.
Riko Amanai didn't respond. She didn't visibly join either side and instead walked straight toward a corner.
Haibara moved to intercept her, but Panda held him back. The Mechamaru in his hand beeped, "Careful. There's another one."
The bandaged man Haibara had seen before had been standing there—but now he was gone, which made him uneasy.
Riko Amanai stopped, pulled a short gray dagger from her chest, and raised it into the air.
Under everyone's stunned gaze, Sōjun Minamoto gradually emerged, appearing beside her as if he'd been there all along. Behind him, a clear, round moon glowed faintly, wrapping both of them in a hazy light.
He made no attempt to hide himself, taking the short blade and revealing his form.
The Jujutsu High sorcerers kept glancing at him, words catching in their throats, as if they'd momentarily forgotten how to speak.
Silence fell again.
"Tap, tap, tap…"
Another set of footsteps sounded, snapping everyone back to awareness and drawing cautious looks.
Toji Fushiguro had arrived. His body was battered, his eyes blank and black.
Each of his steps landed like a weight on their chests. Though he had no cursed energy, the pressure he exuded struck directly at the soul.
Someone from the Headquarters swallowed audibly—"Gulp"—but no one laughed.
A mindless Toji still carried enough weight to intimidate the weak.
Toji didn't spare them a glance. He passed by, heading straight for Kenjaku, shifting the balance on the field.
Kenjaku frowned as Toji approached. They stood just one step apart. He raised his hand, ready to activate his technique… but then Toji suddenly paused, his gaze shifting to Sōjun Minamoto.
Sōjun's brows lifted slightly. The more people looked directly at him, the more his concealment weakened.
But still, it shouldn't have been so easy to notice. It must have been the close proximity, and Toji's heightened senses—especially against someone strong like himself.
Riko Amanai glanced toward the battlefield. The black blade flipped in her hand, and she was about to step forward.
"Wait," Sōjun called out, stopping her.
The fact that Toji had seen him meant his image had already imprinted on his mind.
Although Toji had lost his reason, Sōjun could see another soul trembling in the corner of his body—the true owner of that flesh.
But now it was Toji Fushiguro's form. The body was suppressing the soul.
This interplay between body and soul fascinated Sōjun even more. He wanted to test something—
To draw out Toji Fushiguro's emotions.
His rampage had been triggered by the curse user's death and the failure to maintain the ritual, but deeper down, it was rooted in self-abandonment. If emotions could be brought out, they could serve as anchors—to forcibly awaken the self.
That trembling soul was the key.
Megumi Fushiguro was standing on the other side. Sōjun figured—why not let father and son handle it themselves?
He met Toji's eyes through the mirror, the pattern on his bandage glowing.
"Wake... and return to slumber."
In an instant, Toji's mind was filled with flickering images. The soul hiding in the corner became a helpless observer, drowned in nonexistent memories.
With Sōjun's interference and the body's natural pull, the soul began taking Toji's shape again—affecting the body in turn.
Toji's steps halted.
A moment later, he turned, scanning the field—then locked eyes with Megumi. The two of them stepped out of the standoff circle.
"Fushiguro?!" Itadori shouted, instinctively chasing after him—but Choso, who had been ready, stepped in to block him.
Some of the Jujutsu High members tried to move as well, but Zenin Naobito quickly stopped them.
"Focus on getting Satoru Gojo back first!"
He had already seen the scar and recognized who it was, but wasn't worried. Right now, regaining Gojo was the priority.
Sōjun stepped forward, Riko Amanai following closely behind. Together, they blocked the High School group, forcing them to stay put.
The younger generation, often lectured by Riko Amanai, hesitated in her presence. But Sōjun Minamoto was unfamiliar to most—they'd had little contact.
The older ones, though, knew exactly who he was.
Masamichi Yaga couldn't come. As the principal of Tokyo Jujutsu High, he couldn't leave the school grounds without special circumstances—like his predecessor once had.
But Yaga would never do something like that.
The reinforcements that had arrived weren't strong enough, nor could they rely on connections to rein him in. The pressure on them only grew.
Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, something shifted again—the bandages retracted, wrapping only halfway up Sōjun's forearm.
He revealed his true form.
A mirrored surface reflected the stars, strange glowing patterns pulsing along his skin with every breath. His feet bore eagle talons—another clear anomaly. Aside from that, he looked human.
The Jujutsu High crowd grew tense. They had assumed Sōjun wouldn't go too far, but now, seeing him like this, they started to doubt—
Was this guy even human?
That one thought crushed any false hopes they'd clung to.
Luckily, the sharp rhythm of high-top shoes striking the ground cut through the tension.
Yuki Tsukumo had finally arrived, clad in a cropped black tank top, her jacket slung casually over one shoulder—just like always.
Sōjun Minamoto turned to look at Riko Amanai.
"I'm supposed to fight Tsukumo-senpai?" Riko Amanai's voice trembled slightly.
Back when she was more carefree, Tsukumo was the one person she didn't dare to mess around with—and that feeling hadn't changed. Maybe it was because they were both Star Plasma Vessels, some kind of invisible connection between them. She genuinely saw Tsukumo as a senior.
Some things just naturally hold others in check.
"Just hold her off," Sōjun Minamoto's gentle voice echoed in her mind.
"Alright." She walked forward at a leisurely pace, though excitement began to stir in her chest.
Jujutsu High's stance kept shifting, and the pressure was mounting. Noticing this, the Mei Mei siblings stepped in, confronting Sōjun Minamoto. Since Suguru Geto's group had only ever wanted to retrieve Geto, they joined forces on that side too. That left the rest of the Jujutsu Headquarters to face off against the remaining Kenjaku.
Everything fell into place naturally.
"Oh dear, so all my efforts were wasted." Naobito Zenin addressed Sōjun Minamoto.
He had clearly recognized him, and identified him as Noriyuki Zenin.
Naobito had gone against the grain within the Zenin clan, intending to push Masaki Zenin into a leadership role.
The idea was, with the clan already in decline, any move forward was progress. It seemed smarter to build connections, take a page from the Gojo clan's book, and maintain power through strength. Even if that strength came from outsiders, it still aligned with the clan's long-standing strategy.
But now… he didn't dare try to connect.
Panda, Nanami, Haibara—they didn't dare move either.
Sōjun Minamoto's face was unreadable, offering no response. He was waiting. He could've moved the Prison Realm at any time, even with Satoru Gojo struggling inside it. But he didn't. He waited for everyone to arrive.
Earlier, he had already confirmed with Kenjaku that all the Cursed Objects formed from ancient sorcerers had hosts ready. The only thing left was to move forward with the plan.
He shifted his focus—the number of black crystal spheres orbiting the moon was already sufficient. The cursed spirits, natural disasters, and Seven Sins sorcerers were still hovering in the sky, untouched, unassimilated.
It was time to release the barrier and initiate the Culling Game.
The core forces of Jujutsu High were right in front of him. Inside the school, no one posed a threat.
Sōjun Minamoto began communicating with the barrier.
He'd originally intended to go all in—trigger full-scale Curse assimilation. But after reviewing the current balance between humans and cursed spirits, he realized the powers on both sides hadn't yet reached their peak. There was still room for flux.
With Gojo sealed, there was now a massive surplus of cursed energy on the human side. He needed to bridge that gap first.
The Culling Game wasn't just a rehearsal—it was a buffer.
If you've seen someone like him, and someone like Yuta Okkotsu, you'd know Satoru Gojo's cursed energy isn't actually overblown. It's just… Special Grade. What makes it seem infinite is the Six Eyes' precision control, squeezing the absolute maximum out of every bit of energy.
So replacing it wasn't hard.
If you count them up—Riko Amanai, Masamichi Yaga, Yuta Okkotsu, Yuki Tsukumo, Suguru Geto, plus one or two people from the shadows of the Jujutsu Headquarters—there were nearly ten Special Grades on the human side.
What surprised him most was that Kenjaku still technically counted as human. He worked that out through margin analysis.
Then again, it made sense. Kenjaku achieved immortality by transferring his soul, always into human hosts. Whether he could do the same with non-human forms, like cursed spirits… was still unknown.
Sōjun Minamoto snapped out of his thoughts. Not far off, Riko Amanai and Yuki Tsukumo had already begun fighting.
Kenjaku and the Headquarters sorcerers were clashing. Itadori and Choso were locked in battle.
All other eyes were fixed on him. He remained still—and so did everyone else.
Except for Choso, everyone present was human. The cursed spirits floated above.
And there were a lot of Special Grades this time.
So far, he'd captured over ten Special Grades—including all four natural disasters. Geto might still have some on hand.
Sukuna, Choso, and the other incarnated cursed objects counted as part of the cursed side.
Once all their powers were unleashed, the cursed side would reach full capacity.
When both sides reached saturation—that would be the perfect moment for assimilation.
And he planned to make that happen during the Culling Game.
Sōjun Minamoto glanced at the others and ended the barrier link.
Far off at Jujutsu High, the Bone Tree started trembling, finally catching the sentries' attention. They rushed to report it.
Too late.
They were short on manpower, too weak, too slow to respond. By the time they reached the Bone Tree, the situation had already spiraled beyond comprehension. Dense cursed energy sigils lit up along the trunk, arranged in some unknown pattern.
The glow intensified, repelling anyone who got too close.
The sky darkened, suffocating everyone under its weight. When they looked up, they saw the canopy piercing into a massive vortex overhead.
The momentum surged rapidly.
The Ten Great Barriers began to activate.
Even the fourth barrier inside Shibuya Station started to shift, evenly distributing the black crystal spheres across the Ten Barriers.
While tensions flared and Kenjaku went on a rampage...
Outside, ten visible barriers emerged—openly, unmistakably there. Anyone with innate talent for jujutsu could see the veils clearly.
The jujutsu world had changed.
The Culling Game had begun!
The natural disasters, the Seven Sins sorcerers, and the thousand ancient sorcerers summoned by Kenjaku—all were now inside.
Things were about to get wild.