"Yuji..."
"Yuji!"
The concerned voices ringing in his ears gradually became clearer.
Yuji Itadori slowly opened his tired eyes. The first things he saw were familiar faces: Nobara, Panda, Inumaki... and the one with the most worried expression, Choso.
Just as Yuji was about to respond, memories flooded his mind like a tidal wave.
Gojo Satoru was sealed away. Sukuna had slaughtered thousands of humans in Shibuya using his body.
And his brother, Aoi Todo, had been cleaved into pieces right in front of him.
Heartbreaking memories surged through him. Yuji's pupils dimmed, and he remained silent for a long time.
Beside the cot, Megumi Fushiguro—who understood Yuji's mindset best—spoke in a deep voice.
"There's no time for mourning now."
"Rescuing Gojo-sensei is our most urgent task."
It was a stroke of good luck that the Prison Realm hadn't fallen into the hands of Zenin Mirai. If they only had to deal with the Fake Geto, Jujutsu High still had a fighting chance.
Rustle.
The flap of the simple medical tent opened, and Shoko Ieiri walked in alongside Principal Masamichi Yaga.
"You're awake."
Looking at Yuji, a flash of genuine surprise crossed Shoko's tired, bloodshot eyes. "The speed at which your physical body recovers is truly astonishing."
She took off her bloody medical gloves and plopped down heavily in a chair.
She had spent the entire night constantly using Reverse Cursed Technique on the survivors. Only now, with her Cursed Energy nearly exhausted, did she have a brief moment to rest.
Yuji sat up from his sickbed, looking listless. "Where am I?"
Shoko lit a cigarette and exhaled deeply. "The outer perimeter of the Shibuya barrier. It's a temporary outpost set up by the school."
"When Tsukumo brought you back, you were in a deep coma. It's unbelievable that you were only unconscious for five hours with such severe injuries."
Shoko had personally treated Yuji's wounds. When he was carried out of Shibuya, his body still bore dozens of potentially fatal cuts from Mahito and the shockwaves. An ordinary person, or even an ordinary Grade 1 Sorcerer, wouldn't have survived long enough to reach the medical tent.
Shoko stared at the faint, rapidly fading scar on Yuji's cheek.
It wasn't just her treatment. His body was literally healing itself.
...
Inside the command tent, apart from the heavily injured recovering in the back, the remaining able-bodied Sorcerers had gathered.
During Yuji's coma, Yuki Tsukumo had led Kusakabe, Momo Nishimiya, and a few others back into the ruins to exterminate the thousands of low-level Cursed Spirits Kenjaku had released as a smokescreen. The Assistant Supervisors monitoring the barrier had confirmed that Zenin Mirai and White Zetsu had already left Shibuya. Thus, there was no need for an emergency evacuation from the outpost.
Also during Yuji's coma, Choso had explained the existence of their blood relationship. He told them the horrific history of the mysterious Sorcerer currently controlling Suguru Geto's body.
Half an hour later, Yuki Tsukumo led her cleanup squad back into the stronghold. Shibuya was clear of stray curses.
"Tsukumo," Principal Yaga sat at the head of the folding table, his voice deep and exhausted. "What are your plans?"
Yuki Tsukumo had held the title of Special Grade for years, but she rarely took orders from Jujutsu High. Yaga couldn't figure out what she was thinking. However, without her help, the possibility of rescuing Gojo and surviving the coming storm was zero.
Yuki glanced at Yaga. "I need to go to the Tomb of the Star beneath Tokyo Jujutsu High first," she replied firmly. "I can decide on my next course of action only after I have met with Master Tengen."
Yuki did not confirm whether she would help them fight Mirai or Kenjaku. Even clearing the Curses in Shibuya was just a transactional favor because she needed Yaga's security clearance. To enter the deepest part of the school's barriers and reach Tengen, she needed the Principal's guidance.
"Okay. I understand," Yaga nodded without surprise. This was the deal they had struck.
"Wait."
Following behind Yuki, Noritoshi Kamo stepped forward.
After glancing over Miwa, Momo, and Utahime, Kamo's gaze finally settled on Principal Yaga.
"I want to quit."
His voice was steady but completely hollow.
"Whether it's taking back Gojo Satoru, fighting the Fake Geto, or dealing with Zenin Mirai's plans... I'm out. I am quitting Jujutsu High."
"Hey! Hold on!"
Having listened to the whole exchange, Yuji stumbled forward, an incredulous look on his face. "What... what are you all talking about?!"
"Wasn't Todo your classmate?! Your friend?!"
With an excited, furious expression, Yuji turned to look at Yuki. "And you! Wasn't Todo your disciple?!"
"You know perfectly well who the enemy is! Yet you don't even have the thought of avenging him?! Why are you all so calm?!"
"Todo... died right before your eyes!"
Upon hearing Yuji's outburst, Kamo's eyes turned ice-cold.
"Mourning the dead is meaningless right now, Itadori."
"Todo was my comrade, but he was also a Sorcerer. I believe that before Todo entered the Shibuya barrier, he was already prepared to sacrifice himself at any moment."
Kamo clenched his fists. "I am deeply saddened by his death. I am grieving for the destruction of the Kamo clan. I resent Zenin Mirai from the bottom of my heart... but that doesn't mean I should go up there and throw my life away against a god."
The people Kamo cherished were leaving one by one. Now, Kamo only wanted to take the last person he cared about—his mother—and flee Japan before the world ended.
"Furthermore, Yuji Itadori... what right do you have to question me?"
Kamo stepped forward, staring directly into Yuji's eyes. His voice was laced with pure venom.
"Do you know who killed the most civilians in Shibuya tonight?"
Yuji froze, the breath catching in his throat.
"Wasn't it you?" Kamo spat. "Isn't it precisely because of your weakness that Sukuna had the opportunity to carry out a massacre?"
Kamo seemed to want to vent all the resentment that had been building up over the past few hours. He kept hammering the boy.
"There's no time to worry about whether we are adequately saddened by Todo's death. You should think more about how to face the families of the ordinary humans who died because of you."
"If the government hadn't intervened and classified everything that happened in Shibuya as a natural disaster... the families of those people you butchered... they would want to kill you more than they'd want to kill Zenin Mirai!"
The Shibuya Incident had officially ended five hours ago. To conceal the existence of Curses and the Sorcerer world, the Japanese government had already released doctored photos of the ruins, classifying the massive crater as a meteorite impact.
Kamo didn't have a good impression of Yuji to begin with. Before the Goodwill Event, Kyoto had always referred to Yuji simply as "the half-Curse harboring Sukuna." All these tragedies were ultimately caused by Yuji eating that finger.
"Alright, Kamo. Stop talking," Utahime stepped forward, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Principal Yaga glanced at the dazed, shattered Yuji, then looked at Kamo. "Running away is not shameful, especially when the enemy is so terrifying. Jujutsu High isn't a prison. I agree to your request to withdraw."
Kamo nodded and turned to walk out the door.
As he brushed past Yuji, Kamo uttered his final words.
"If it weren't for the fact that all the Higher-Ups in the Directorate General's Office are already dead... and if it weren't for Principal Yaga and Tsukumo protecting you... do you think you'd still be breathing?"
"I'm not the only Sorcerer who harbors resentment toward you, Itadori."
Yuji stood frozen, the words hitting him harder than any Black Flash.
Two major events had occurred during the time Yuji was in a coma.
First, all the conservative senior executives of the Jujutsu Headquarters had been slaughtered. It was confirmed to be the work of the Curse known as White Zetsu. Because the Higher-Ups were dead, there was no one to instantly order Yuji's execution.
Second, the Prime Minister of Japan and five Cabinet Ministers had mysteriously vanished.
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