At the center of the Imperial Palace—
the Void Nature of the Tomb Palace.
Kyoto's Sacred Mountain of Guardian Spirits.
Hida's Sacred Peak.
These were the four Brahma Realms that Tengen had established across Japan.
The four realms were interconnected and layered upon one another, forming the only "Pure Realm" within the jujutsu world.
This Pure Realm suppressed cursed energy and cursed spirits, confining them largely within Japan and preventing their spread across the globe.
The Culling Game established by Kenjaku was also built upon these four realms.
In other words, the true overseer of the Culling Game…
was not Kenjaku—
—but Tengen.
Because Tengen had the ability to shut the Culling Game down at any time.
And yet, she concealed this truth from the sorcerers of Jujutsu High.
The Hida Sacred Mountain Brahma Realm—
the largest of the four, severing eastern and western Japan.
After leaving the Star Corridor, Zenin Mirai appeared at its entrance.
The outer perimeter was lined with police barricades, while multiple ordinary barriers blocked the interior.
Ignoring all obstacles, Mirai led White Zetsu deep into the mountain.
At the end of the Brahma Realm, seated at its center, was a corpse clad in kasaya robes.
"Making the President carry a corpse personally… what a pain," White Zetsu grumbled.
But sensing Mirai's gaze, he shut up and hoisted the body onto his shoulder.
"That's it for me, right? I'll go have some fun once I drop this off."
Mirai nodded. There truly was nothing more White Zetsu could assist with.
From the churning void, a black notebook fell into Mirai's hand.
This was the complete essence of barrier techniques that Kenjaku had exchanged when he took Suguru Geto's body.
In just one year—
Mirai's mastery of barrier techniques still couldn't compare to ancient monsters like Kenjaku and Tengen.
But in that year, he had thoroughly mastered one specific technique:
Ritual Linking.
Using the ten scattered barriers of the Culling Game as a foundation—
he added ten hidden "lines."
Connecting them.
Expanding and merging the fragmented barriers—
until the entirety of Japan would be enveloped within a single structure.
"Clink—clatter!"
Dozens of long nails wrapped in cursed inscriptions were driven into various points of the mountain barrier with a flick of his hand.
With the ritual framework established, the next step was to infuse it with cursed energy.
Four Brahma Realms.
Ten Culling Game colonies.
Once Mirai completed everything—
this island nation would face an unknown fate.
News of the deaths of Yuki Tsukumo, Masamichi Yaga, and others had yet to spread.
Meanwhile, Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, Nobara Kugisaki, and the others had already entered the Culling Game barriers.
Zenin Mirai's last known location had been Sendai, so they split into teams and headed toward the remaining nine colonies.
One goal: gather points.
The other: find the Angel.
Due to the new rule added by Mirai, splitting into teams was the most efficient approach.
Yuji, Nobara, and Megumi entered the Tokyo No.1 Colony—
to seek out the awakened sorcerer with the highest score, Hiromi Higuruma.
Panda, Toge Inumaki, and Kinji Hakari entered the Tokyo No.2 Colony—
to locate the incarnated sorcerer, Hajime Kashimo.
Within the Culling Game, participants fell into two categories:
One—incarnated sorcerers who had taken over human bodies thanks to Kenjaku.
The other—ordinary humans who awakened into sorcerers within the barriers.
Tokyo No.2 Colony
The moment the two humans and one panda entered the barrier, they were scattered to different locations.
Participants were randomly teleported to one of nine spawn points—
a hidden rule not written in the official system.
Back in the Sendai Colony, White Zetsu had stayed with Mirai only because he was a clone.
A bloodstained staff.
A cold, piercing gaze.
An open freight yard.
Having just killed three sorcerers, Hajime Kashimo suddenly looked up at the sky.
"What intense cursed energy…"
Murmuring to himself, his bloodthirsty eyes lit up with excitement.
"BOOM!"
Like a falling meteor, a figure crashed down—crushing an entire shipping container beneath their feet.
Looking down at Kashimo, the newcomer flashed a charming grin.
"Well, well—another cutie who's fallen for yours truly."
Black robe with red clouds.
White Zetsu No.2.
While Mirai was still setting up the ritual at the mountain, and Zetsu No.1 was transporting the corpse—
Zetsu No.2 had naturally come out to have some fun.
"Hey there!"
Kashimo responded with a grin—then lunged forward in an instant!
"CRACK!"
Purple lightning flared as Kashimo's lightning-fast punch slammed toward Zetsu's abdomen!
Zetsu didn't dodge—
instead, he threw a punch straight at Kashimo's face!
"Splurt!"
Two different sprays of blood burst into the air!
"You're not bad!"
Blood trickled down Kashimo's cheek, making his gaze burn even hotter.
The charred flesh on his abdomen oozed faint purple blood—
and in the next instant, it fully regenerated.
"Heh. Got quite the temper, don't you?"
A battle-hungry maniac and a thrill-seeking curse—
both seemed thoroughly pleased with each other.
Kashimo's bloodied staff howled through the air, smashing toward Zetsu's side!
Purple lightning crackled along it, warping space itself.
A cursed spirit's body could regenerate through cursed energy—
and Zetsu's physical body…
…was backed by five thousand years of stored power at full capacity.
"Haha—this is great!"
Zetsu laughed, standing his ground!
A punch overflowing with massive cursed energy slammed toward Kashimo's face!
"Come on! Whoever dodges is a coward!"
"BOOM!!"
Zetsu's feet remained planted like anchors in the ground—even as a hole was blasted through his waist, he wasn't sent flying!
Meanwhile, Kashimo—taking the punch head-on—was hurled backward, smashing through several containers and kicking up a massive cloud of dust!
Zetsu chuckled, touching the hole in his waist.
"Tingly…"
"Woman, you're pretty strong."
In the span of a sentence, the seemingly fatal wound completely healed.
"BOOM!"
The collapsed containers were swept aside as Kashimo rose, lightning surging around him, his battle spirit roaring!
"I am Hajime Kashimo."
"Curse—what is your name?!"
"'I am'…?"
Zetsu's grin stiffened, his tone turning annoyed.
"So you're incarnated? What a waste of such flashy abilities!"
Since he wasn't a registered player, Zetsu couldn't access the system to check identities.
Only now realizing Kashimo's true nature, he shook his head.
An incarnated body couldn't be turned into one of his clones.
"What a shame… such cool lightning."
With a helpless sigh, Zetsu raised his palm—blazing with scorching light!
If he couldn't convert him—
there was no need to leave a complete corpse.
"Great Exorcism Cannon!"
A massive blast of cursed energy—distorting space and burning through the clouds—roared toward Kashimo!
The sheer scale of the technique—
a torrent of flames engulfing half the freight yard, leaving Kashimo no room to evade!
Even as he marveled at the curse's overwhelming reserves of cursed energy—
Kashimo raised his staff before him, lightning roaring deafeningly!
"BOOM!!!"
Scorching heat surged skyward as most of the freight yard was reduced to a blazing inferno.
"CRACK—!!!"
Blinding lightning split the sky!
Emerging from the flames, Kashimo wore a crazed grin.
Whether his opponent was human or curse—
it didn't matter.
As long as he could fight to his heart's content—
that was enough!
"Not bad, old man—Zetsu here approves of your strength!"
Seeing Kashimo withstand the attack head-on, Zetsu's interest reignited.
"Hey—things are getting pretty heated over here!"
From the edge of the inferno—
a man accompanied by his own theme music suddenly entered the battlefield.
A surge of cursed energy—
no weaker than Zetsu's—
rose into the sky like flames.
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