"Zzzzt... Zzzzt..."
The monotone drone of the severed communication line sounded exceptionally jarring in the deathly silent air.
Yuji Itadori stared blankly at the Mechamaru in his hand; the small mechanical device had completely lost its luster.
It was as if the flame of the young man's life had been extinguished at that very moment.
"Yoru?!"
Yuji suddenly gripped the communicator and shouted, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
"Where are you?!"
"And Gojo-sensei?!"
"What the hell happened?!"
However, there was no response.
"You've got to be kidding me..."
Yuji's hand dropped limply to his side, his eyes filled with panic.
"Senior Yoru... he's so strong..."
"How is this even possible..."
It wasn't just him.
Every person present had disbelief etched onto their faces.
Megumi Fushiguro bit his lip so hard that blood trickled down the corner of his mouth, yet he seemed oblivious to the pain.
His mind constantly replayed the words Yoru had once spoken, and the image of his back as he laughed and chatted in front of Special Grade Cursed Spirits.
The man who had never backed down, even when facing Ryomen Sukuna.
Had he... vanished just like that?
"Are you kidding me!"
Nobara Kugisaki slammed her hammer into the nearby wall, sending fragments of stone flying.
Her eyes were bloodshot and brimming with tears, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.
"That bastard Yoru! You big liar!"
"What about the victory feast you promised?! What about taking us out for barbecue?!"
"You're just going to leave like this? Dumping this whole mess on us?!"
Her roar echoed through the empty streets, but it received no reply.
Despair.
It spread like a rising tide.
Satoru Gojo was sealed, and Yoru was missing.
The two strongest pillars of the jujutsu world had collapsed on the same day.
What did this mean?
It meant that from now on, they would have to face this world full of malice alone.
It meant the curses that were once suppressed and the conspirators hiding in the shadows would no longer have anything to fear!
"Everyone... calm down."
Just then, a steady but slightly weary voice spoke up.
Kento Nanami pushed up his glasses. Although grief was visible on his face, he knew now was not the time to break down.
"You all heard Yoru's last words, didn't you?"
"He said, 'Wait for me to come back.'"
Though Nanami's voice wasn't loud, it acted like a shot of adrenaline, slightly steadying everyone's chaotic thoughts.
"He didn't say goodbye."
"He said he would return."
"This means he isn't dead."
"It's just..."
Nanami looked up at the Curtain that still loomed over Shibuya.
"...that he's left us for the time being."
"That's right!"
Suddenly, a voice full of vitality came through the communicator.
Although the signal was unstable, the determination in the voice pierced through the static.
"I believe in Yoru."
"That guy never goes back on his word."
It was Yuta Okkotsu!
Being far away overseas, he had somehow connected to their communication frequency.
"Even though I can't make it back right now..."
"...I know Yoru would never just give up like this."
"He's definitely fighting to return from somewhere we don't know about."
Yuta's voice turned solemn.
"So, until he comes back..."
"We have to hold the line for him."
"Protect Tokyo, protect Jujutsu High, and protect the world he wanted to save!"
Hearing those words...
Yuji Itadori jerked his head up and vigorously wiped the tears from his eyes.
His gaze regained its resolve, shining with a youth's unique, unyielding light.
"Yeah!"
"Senior Yoru is still fighting!"
"And Gojo-sensei is still waiting for us to rescue him!"
"How can we just stay here crying?!"
Rumble!!!
Before he could finish, the ground began to vibrate violently.
Countless black portals appeared out of thin air at every corner of the street.
Roar!!!
Accompanied by hair-raising screeches, thousands of Cursed Spirits of all shapes and sizes surged out like a flood.
They began frantically destroying everything around them, initiating a new wave of slaughter in the darkness before dawn.
"That's..."
Megumi Fushiguro's pupils narrowed.
"It's that bastard Kenjaku!"
"He wants to use these Cursed Spirits to pin us down and completely destroy Shibuya!"
"Stop talking!"
Nobara Kugisaki crushed a lunging Cursed Spirit with her hammer, her gaze fierce.
"Fine."
"Then let's give them hell."
"By the time that bastard gets back..."
"...he better buy us the most expensive barbecue we've ever had in our lives!"
At this moment...
Though they had lost their strongest protection.
Though the path ahead remained pitch black.
These young jujutsu sorcerers found new hope igniting within their despair.
"Ma'am, what should we do now?"
Not far away, Ui Ui glanced at the burning ruins of Shibuya and asked with concern.
"Mr. Yoru is gone, so the final payment..."
"Don't be silly, Ui Ui."
Mei Mei stowed her massive battle-axe, a shrewd glint flashing in her eyes.
"That boy didn't break the contract."
"He's just running late."
Mei Mei took out her phone and looked at the massive deposit that had just cleared—it was the prepayment Yoru had made before departing.
"Besides, betting on a growth stock in the middle of a crisis yields the highest return."
"We're continuing the job."
"When he returns, I'll settle this bill with interest."
Meanwhile, in another direction...
Atsuya Kusakabe took a deep drag of his cigarette and sighed helplessly as he looked at the devastated streets.
"Good grief..."
"The two strongest guys are offline. Now I can't even slack off if I wanted to."
"Still..."
He flicked away his cigarette butt, his eyes sharpening.
"If even kids like them have the guts to face Special Grades..."
"...we adults can't afford to look too pathetic, can we?"
Maki Zenin gripped her long blade tightly, her knuckles turning white from the pressure.
She said nothing, only silently turning to walk toward the area with the highest concentration of Cursed Spirits.
"Maki?"
Panda called out to her with concern.
"I'm going to get stronger."
Maki didn't look back; her voice was as cold as if it had been pulled from an ice cellar.
"Since Yoru isn't here, I'll have to be the one capable of taking a Special Grade's head."
"A Zenin failure? Cursed-energy-less trash?"
"I'll use the blade in my hand to shut the mouths of everyone who looked down on us."
Although she didn't possess Yoru's heaven-defying talent, she shared the same tenacity.
"When he gets back..."
"...I'll make sure he sees that I can stand by his side in battle too!"
And deep in the shadows...
Countless greedy eyes were watching.
With the disappearance of Satoru Gojo and Yoru, the balance of the entire jujutsu world had been completely shattered.
Curse users, Special Grade Cursed Spirits, and even ancient sorcerers who had slept for a millennium...
...were all starting to stir at this very moment.
A storm of unprecedented chaos...
...was about to erupt in Tokyo...
No, across all of Japan!
The Shibuya Incident was not over.
On the contrary...
...it was only just beginning!
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