"HAHAHAHA!"
The three legendary comedy judges sitting across from them were laughing heartily, tears in their eyes.
Meanwhile, the massive audience below the stage was laughing so hard they were bent over in their seats.
The bright spotlight suddenly shifted, casting a dark, melancholic shadow over Takaba's face.
Takaba, who had been in incredibly high spirits just moments before, suddenly looked lost and dejected.
He instinctively understood that the performance was finally over.
For over thirty years of his life, he had accomplished absolutely nothing.
As a marginalized figure in society who had never been favored by the goddess of fate, Takaba had finally accomplished a dream that was otherwise impossible with the bizarre help of White Zetsu.
A densely packed, adoring fan support group below the stage, and genuine recognition from top-tier, popular senior artists...
"I really don't want it to end..."
Even though he knew deep down that it was all a fleeting, reality-warping dream, he absolutely refused to wake up from it.
Takaba's tears fell uncontrollably, becoming increasingly torrent-like on his painted face.
White Zetsu placed his hand gently on Takaba's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Don't cry. It's such a downer."
Takaba nodded rapidly with tears shining in his eyes.
He patted his bizarre comedy partner's chest one last time, voluntarily ending this beautiful but unreal dream.
"That's enough."
The dazzling national stage transformed violently back into a dilapidated, ruined Shinjuku street in reality the instant Takaba finished speaking.
The sharp stage costume on his body faded in the blink of an eye, turning into a pure white burial shroud.
Takaba closed his eyes contentedly and whispered to his partner beside him, "Thank you, White Zetsu. I will not resist anymore."
Completely satisfied, Takaba decided to willingly face his death and no longer obstruct White Zetsu's path for his master.
Sensing the strange, reality-warping Cursed Energy gradually dissipating from the comedian, White Zetsu chuckled mischievously and said, "What's the rush, Takaba?"
"Now that the kids have finally experienced life and chased their dreams... it's time for them to enjoy the real fun that adults have!"
By sinking willingly into the illusions created by Takaba's Comedian technique, White Zetsu seemed to have gained even further resonance and control over his own soul within the domain!
Before the reality-warping spell was completely finished, White Zetsu aggressively grabbed Takaba—who was just about to lie down and die—and violently turned him around!
...
The streets were dilapidated, and thick dust filled the air.
He turned around...
Welcome!
Soft, pink neon lighting, and rows of tall, slender figures...
Humanoid Cursed Spirits.
A towering pink high-rise building with a prominent, glowing neon sign hanging on its roof suddenly materialized in Shinjuku.
[Jujutsu Kaisen: Japan Hostess Club.]
Completely dumbfounded, Takaba was dragged forcefully into a secluded, luxury VIP private room by an incredibly excited White Zetsu.
White Zetsu lowered his voice dramatically and told Takaba, "Did you know that the fairy tale books sold to kids in Japan are all fake?!"
Takaba instinctively cooperated with the bit, asking, "Why is that?"
White Zetsu lay comfortably back on the plush velvet sofa. "Because fairy tales say that princesses live in castles... but actually, they live in hostess clubs."
"And the one accompanying the princess tonight isn't a handsome prince, but rather..."
"President White~!"
The door to the VIP private room was pushed open.
Two alluring humanoid Cursed Spirits entered, carrying two large wooden buckets of hot foot-bath water.
"I've missed you so much since you last came!"
The first one had a serpentine waist, a giant wooden tree head, and limbs made entirely of thick, writhing vines.
"Nami! White Zetsu has been quite busy lately, so he brings his buddies to your office to spend money whenever he has a spare moment."
White Zetsu greeted the monstrous technician familiarly, and 'Nami' jokingly bent down to start washing his feet with her vines.
White Zetsu pointed proudly to the other humanoid spirit that was washing Takaba's feet and laughed loudly. "Isn't Master Zetsu a great friend?!"
"This is the absolute top courtesan at the Jujutsu shop: Miss Akutami!"
Duck head... compound insect eyes... chicken feet...
'Miss Akutami', dressed sharply in a tight club uniform, looked up and gave Takaba a horrifyingly charming smile.
Takaba, who had already gone through the intense Causeway Bay Yakuza incident with White Zetsu, was completely unfazed by the strangeness of the Cursed Spirits.
While enjoying the feeling of steel wool scrubbing harshly against his skin, Takaba blinked and looked to his side.
"White Zetsu... your spirit is still quite good."
...
BOOM!
The black and red waves rolled violently, and even the full-force Black Flash punch that Yuji Itadori threw couldn't shake that invisible Shinra Tensei defense!
—SIZZLE!
The exact same was true for the speeding Piercing Blood arrows; they stopped dead in mid-air in front of Mirai, unable to advance a single inch!
And Yuta Okkotsu...
Feeling the sheer repulsive force field that was even stronger than that of Gojo Satoru's Infinity, a pale blue field aura suddenly rose rapidly at Yuta's feet!
In the original timeline, he was the absolute Pure Love God of War, someone who was more like a traditional Shonen protagonist than the actual protagonist himself.
His innate talent and potential as a Sorcerer were in no way inferior to that of Gojo Satoru.
It had only been less than two years since Yuta Okkotsu became a Sorcerer from an ordinary, bullied person.
He entered Jujutsu High a year earlier than Yuji Itadori.
After Rika Orimoto attained Buddhahood and passed on, Yuta was officially demoted from a Special Grade Sorcerer all the way down to a Grade 4 Sorcerer.
But in just a few short months of training overseas, he went from the absolute bottom of the Jujutsu world right back to the top of the Special Grade rank.
In the battle at Shibuya, he had still needed to rely heavily on the special Cursed Tool, the Black Rope, to violently disrupt and break through Mirai's Kamui intangibility.
But now, half a month later, Yuta Okkotsu had flawlessly mastered the operation of Simple Domain and Domain Amplification!
With his fists tightly clenched, he slowly and steadily pushed his hands forward, breaking through layers of invisible repulsive obstacles.
The five-meter halo extending from beneath Yuta's feet was a Domain Amplification that could actively neutralize the effects of an opponent's Cursed Technique.
By actively neutralizing the repulsive force field before him, not only was Yuta's fist moving forward, but the continuously shooting blood arrows from Kamo were also slowly wriggling forward toward Mirai's face.
But against Mirai, who possessed the absolute ocular power of the Rinnegan, the attacks of these three Sorcerers were no different from a snail's pace.
Under Yuta's astonished gaze, Mirai directly and casually canceled the Shinra Tensei defense in front of him.
"A pity."
With a soft sigh, Mirai slightly tilted his head to easily dodge the now-rapidly shooting arrow of blood, and then suddenly raised his knee!
The only regret Mirai had regarding Yuta was that Yuta's unconditional Copy technique could not copy techniques that were intrinsically tied to physical abnormalities or dojutsu.
For example, the uninterrupted, limitless efficiency of Gojo's Six Eyes, or Mirai's Kamui intangibility empowered strictly by the Sharingan.
Otherwise, with his massive Cursed Energy pool, Yuta would undoubtedly be the perfect candidate for the new White Zetsu Clone No. 1.
An indescribable sense of crushing oppression and a rapidly growing sense of fatal crisis!
Yuta's expression changed instantly, and he frantically crossed his arms in front of his chest in a guard!
BOOM!
A seemingly casual knee strike, amplified by a massive amount of Mirai's Cursed Energy, was no less powerful than a Black Flash punch delivered with full force by Yuta himself!
SNAP!
The crisp, sickening sound of both forearm bones breaking was heard, and Yuta Okkotsu flew backward like a broken doll!
The exact instant he blasted away Yuta, Mirai suddenly turned around and looked directly at Yuji Itadori!
The black light surging violently on Yuji's incoming fist was easily grasped and stopped by Mirai's bare hand!
Upon meeting Mirai's cold gaze at such close range, Yuji's pupils contracted violently!
The expected, devastating heavy blow from Mirai did not come. Yuji was stunned for a moment, then struggled with all his might against Mirai's iron grip on his fist!
Mirai carefully examined the soul residing within Yuji's body, as well as his inhuman-like, mutated arm.
This was the physical mutation that occurred after Yuji swallowed the remaining Cursed Womb: Death Paintings—leaving only Choso alive.
The bones in his arms had become coarse, thick, and discolored, and sharp, hard claws had grown out of his fingers.
The shape of his arms did resemble Piccolo from the Dragon Ball anime.
Looking at Yuji's incredibly determined, unbroken expression, Mirai smiled faintly. "Yuji Itadori... you've grown quite well."
They did not lose their composure completely because of Gojo Satoru's death.
The Black Flash that required complete, utter concentration to unleash was the absolute best proof of that.
When faced with Mirai's genuine praise, Yuji's immediate response was...
SMACK!
Sukuna's hideous, four-eyed face appeared right in front of Mirai!
"CLEAVE!!!"
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