"You really are a despicable one, aren't you, Kenjaku?"
Satoru Gojo let out a sharp, unapologetic laugh.
"It couldn't be helped. To trap you within a four-meter radius for a full minute... it was simply impossible to achieve any other way."
Kenjaku shrugged nonchalantly. "But I am curious—in the moment you saw Souma Gojo's head, how many years of memories flashed through your mind?"
Satoru suddenly stuck out his tongue. "Not telling!"
"Tch! Always the child... wait."
Kenjaku's expression shifted instantly. The Prison Realm began to vibrate violently in his hands, and a colossal surge of cursed energy erupted around Satoru, burning like a white-hot inferno.
Kenjaku's eyes widened in horror. "This... how is this possible?"
The Prison Realm was crafted from the remains of the monk Genshin; its seals were absolute. Once ensnared, a target should be physically paralyzed and their cursed energy completely suppressed. Yet, Satoru was flaring his power with terrifying intensity.
Satoru looked up, a feral grin splitting his face. "Is this the big 'gift' you prepared for me, Kenjaku? You thought you could seal me? With a pathetic little box?"
BOOM!!!
The tidal wave of cursed energy hit like a physical gale. Kenjaku's hair whipped wildly in the wind as the Prison Realm groaned under the pressure, nearly slipping from his grasp.
"Dammit!"
Kenjaku roared. "Help me suppress him, now!"
He slammed both hands onto the box, pouring his own jagged cursed energy into the seals to force Satoru down. The three Disaster Curses, battered and bleeding, stumbled to their feet. Seeing the "Strongest" on the verge of breaking free sent a jolt of pure terror through them. If he got out now, none of them would leave this station alive.
They lunged forward, surrounding the box and channeling every drop of their remaining power into the suppression.
Under the combined weight of their malice, the Prison Realm acted like a rusted clockwork gear, clicking shut millimeter by agonizing millimeter.
"Hold on!" Kenjaku shouted through gritted teeth. "It's almost closed!"
Clack... clack... clack...
Satoru raised his head one last time, his eyes burning with a murderous, terrifying light.
BOOM!!!
A final, desperate shockwave of cursed energy tore outward. The sheer force of the rejection sent Kenjaku and the three curses flying backward, crashing into the station's concrete pillars and rubble.
But it was the final flare of a dying star.
As the dust settled, Satoru's strength seemed to vanish. The Prison Realm snapped shut with a definitive thud, transforming back into a small, silent cube that fell heavily to the ground.
"Cough... cough..."
Kenjaku dragged himself out of the debris, using Reverse Cursed Technique to knit together the deep gouges in his chest. The Disaster Curses limped toward the center of the platform, huffing and wheezing.
"Finally... we did it!"
Despite his missing arm and shattered ribs, Jogo's face was alight with a twisted joy. It was the thrill of a gamer who had finally downed an impossible world boss.
"To think sealing one man would be this difficult!"
"I'm glad we switched the target from Souma to Satoru," Jogo muttered, wiping purple blood from his eye. "If this had been Souma Gojo, I don't even want to imagine what would have happened. We'd probably all be dust by now."
"Hey, Kenjaku? What's with that look?"
Jogo noticed Kenjaku staring at the cube with a troubled expression.
"I don't know," Kenjaku said slowly. "It all felt... a bit too smooth."
"Hah?" Jogo gestured to his missing limb and the carnage around them. "You call this smooth?"
Kenjaku shook his head. "I don't mean the fight. I mean the final moment of the seal. Even if seeing Souma's head distracted him for a second, he has the Six Eyes. Could he really have failed to see the flaw in the disguise?"
"I have a feeling he saw through it immediately. It's almost as if... he was playing along."
Kenjaku pulled four obsidian spikes from his robes. "Forging Souma's head was only Plan A. I didn't expect it to work so easily. I had 'Dragon-Binding Nails' as Plan B to suppress his energy, a four-way Domain expansion as Plan C, and even a Plan D..."
Jogo's eye twitched. "You really are a cautious bastard."
Kenjaku shrugged. "I am a remnant of the Golden Age of Sorcery. I've survived a thousand years of schemes and slaughter. I'm just surprised Plan A was enough."
He reached down to pick up the Prison Realm, but his hand suddenly jerked downward.
The eye on the surface of the cube snapped open—not the eye of a monk, but a crystalline, azure iris that looked exactly like the Six Eyes.
THUD!
The cube slipped from Kenjaku's hand and slammed into the floor, cratering the concrete. It sat there, immovable, as if it weighed ten thousand tons.
"What the—"
Jogo leaned over to pick it up, but his muscles bulged and strained as if he were trying to lift a mountain.
"Tch! Even sealed, he's still a monster!"
Kenjaku, however, began to smile. "The more he struggles, the more it shows his desperation. Perhaps I overthought it. Satoru Gojo is trapped, and he's throwing a tantrum."
Kenjaku waved a dismissive hand. "He won't be able to maintain this weight for long. Stay here and wait for it to return to normal."
Mahito raised a hand. "Hey, can I go out and play with the sorcerers?"
Kenjaku sighed. "Do what you want. I've already placed four 'Veils' over Shibuya. Very few people have the power to reach this floor and take him back. Jogo is enough to guard the box."
"Hanami, come with me. We'll support the others and check the progress of the battle between Sukuna and Souma."
Jogo's face contorted. "Hey! You can't be serious! You're leaving me here all alone to watch this thing?"
Kenjaku waved as he walked away. "Daijoubu! It's the Prison Realm. Even Satoru Gojo can't break out of it. Relax!"
Kenjaku, Hanami, and Mahito vanished into the shadows of the tunnel.
"Wait! Come back! You bastards! Don't leave me!..."
Jogo's protests fell on deaf ears. He looked down at the cube, at the countless blue eyes blinking back at him from the surface. He swallowed hard and moved to hide behind a nearby trash can, poking only the top of his volcano-head out to keep a wary eye on the box.
"It should be fine... right? It's the Prison Realm. No one can break it..." He whispered to himself like a mantra.
Click-clack-clack—
Suddenly, the cube gave a violent shudder.
Jogo nearly jumped out of his skin. He scrambled away, screaming at the top of his lungs, "Kenjaku! Hanami! Mahito! Get back here! He's coming out! Satoru Gojo is coming out!"
He ran a few paces, then stopped and looked back.
The Prison Realm gave a tiny wobble and then went still.
Jogo stood frozen, trembling. He slowly approached the box, picked up a piece of discarded rebar from the ground, and tentatively poked it.
Click-clack-clack—
Jogo dropped the metal and bolted again.
The cube settled back into silence.
"Heh... hehehe..."
Inside the infinite void of the Prison Realm, Satoru Gojo wore a wicked, mischievous grin. He was thoroughly enjoying the prank.
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