Megumi knew that the situation was extremely unfavorable for their side. He intended to summon Mahoraga to perish together with the two Cursed Spirits opposite him, but the three people beside him made it impossible for him to do so. He had no doubt that once Mahoraga appeared, it would kill them all.
After struggling to resist for a few moves, Megumi and Nobara had their bodies pierced by Hanami's roots and were pinned to the ground.
"Fushiguro! Kugisaki!"
Seeing the two heavily injured, the flow of Cursed Energy within Yuji and Junpei became chaotic.
With his hands free, Hanami immediately teamed up with Mahito to deal with the two of them.
Under the high pressure of two Special Grade Cursed Spirits, Yuji's mind was racing.
'What should I do? Is there any way to break this? Think... think! I'm still so useless. If only I had Kagura's strength... Kagura!'
He immediately thought of the Cursed Womb: Death Painting on his back and also remembered what Shin had once told him.
'A powerful... strength!'
Although there was a possibility of failure after consuming the cursed object, it was much better than doing nothing and waiting for death.
Yuji gritted his teeth and looked at Junpei, who was also looking at him. "Junpei, I need a little time. Could you please..."
Before Yuji could finish his sentence, a smile appeared on Junpei's face. "Of course. Leave it to me!"
Having Junpei face two Special Grades was no different from sending him to his death. Although the current Junpei had the strength of a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer, if the two Cursed Spirits opposite him got even slightly serious, he wouldn't last even three seconds.
He knew his own strength, of course, but he still stood in front of Yuji without hesitation.
Yuji quickly hid behind Junpei and opened the backpack behind him.
Junpei mobilized all the Cursed Energy in his body, prepared to use his life to buy even a single second for Yuji.
Hanami and Mahito attacked at the same time. A tidal wave of roots surged toward Junpei, and Mahito's hands transformed into two drills aimed at Junpei's chest and head.
...
Yuji tried his best not to look at Junpei. He raised the bottle in his hand and poured the cursed object inside into his mouth. The moment the Cursed Womb: Death Painting entered his body, Yuji felt waves of warm power continuously washing over his body. Black cursed marks appeared on the tips of all ten of his fingers.
Time around him seemed to stop, and nine illusory souls suddenly emerged around him.
The scenery before his eyes also changed rapidly. The heavily injured Megumi and Nobara disappeared, Mahito and Hanami disappeared, Junpei disappeared. Beside him were only bright sunshine, green grass, and nine strange-looking people camping on the meadow.
One of them, a melancholy-faced man with twin-tails and a black mark on the bridge of his nose, saw him. He immediately waved to him, ran over, and pulled him into the camping group.
"Little brother, why are you standing there dazed all by yourself?"
"Little brother? I'm an only child, I don't have any brothers." Yuji said to the man in front of him in confusion.
But the man in front of him seemed not to hear, as he enthusiastically poured him a drink and served him food.
The other eight also called him brother and greeted him with equal warmth.
This warm atmosphere even gave Yuji the illusion that this was the real world, and his previous life was just a dream.
He looked silently at the cup in his hand, which was filled eighty percent with a drink. In the cup, he saw his own dusty face still marked with wounds, and finally remembered his mission.
"I'm sorry, I have to go back. I still have unfinished business, and I have companions waiting for me."
The happy atmosphere around him suddenly froze.
The melancholic man put his arm around his shoulder and said, "Of course. How could we brothers stop our dear little brother from doing what he wants? But before you leave... at least let us tell you our names. I am the eldest brother of the Death Paintings, Choso."
A muscular man wearing revealing clothes and a unique hairstyle then said, "I am Eso."
Then came Kechizu, Noransho, Shojosho, Dansho, Sansho, Kossosho, and Shosho.
For some reason, tears welled up in Yuji's eyes uncontrollably, as if he really had been their brother once and they just hadn't seen each other for a long time.
Choso let go of the arm he had around Yuji's shoulder, patted him, and whispered, "And you, our youngest brother—Musho. You are the special one among us. From now on, move forward with our power."
Before Yuji could say anything else, the scenery around him changed again, and he was back on the battlefield of Jujutsu High.
It seemed like he had stayed in that vision just now for quite a while, but in reality, only a few seconds had passed.
At this moment, Junpei was death-gripping the drill Mahito had aimed at his head with both hands, while another drill had already pierced his abdomen. His entire body was riddled with wooden spikes, and he was down to his last breath, yet he still desperately held back the two Cursed Spirits.
Yuji felt a surge of anger, and his entire Cursed Energy surged because of his rage.
Blood Manipulation—