Chapter 156: Me vs. Gojo Satoru? For Real?
The bright moon hung high. Although winter had not yet arrived, the October weather—especially at night—already carried a chilling bite in a country at a relatively high latitude like Japan.
Yet, the coldness of the weather could not compare to the impact and icy dread that Kenjaku's words brought to Gojo Satoru.
[Prison Realm]? What [Prison Realm]?!
When did Kenjaku set up the [Prison Realm]?!
Clack—
!!
Accompanied by the sound of something gradually snapping shut, the noise echoed in the ears of Gojo and the others. The series of questions wandering through Gojo's mind were rapidly answered.
Because the [Prison Realm] had been right in front of Gojo Satoru from the very beginning. It was inside Hanami's body, and following Kenjaku's command, it began to violently burst forth!
"It—"
Gojo wanted to dodge. But Gojo Satoru, having reacted a step too late, faced a Kenjaku who was fully prepared. How could he dodge a pre-planned seal at the very moment Kenjaku chose to reveal his hand?
Rather, from the moment Gojo Satoru encountered Hanami, the [Prison Realm] had actually already successfully initiated within Kenjaku's plan.
"Actually, if you think about it carefully, you'll understand, Satoru."
As the [Prison Realm] began to unfold, and started to reorganize and close within that "one minute" of preparation time that had long since passed—wrapping Gojo Satoru and Hanami together—Kenjaku watched the scene with a smile and spoke: "Even you, Satoru, knew that to defeat you, I would need to gather the strength of a large number of Special Grade Cursed Spirits.
Only by squeezing the ultra-high-density cursed energy formed by these numerous spirits could I possibly compete with you in terms of cursed energy volume and manipulation after neutralizing your [Limitless] with a Domain.
Since that's the case, why did you think that after losing one Special Grade spirit, I would let another one so willfully come before you to seek its death?"
Although this was a lie Kenjaku derived based on Gojo Satoru's "misunderstanding," the content wasn't entirely false. Neither Jogo nor Hanami was worth Kenjaku taking a risk for. But if Gojo Satoru and his group truly saw through something... if Jogo had accidentally leaked information he shouldn't have while being captured by Emiya Shirou, that would be absolutely unacceptable for Kenjaku.
Moreover, Kenjaku was somewhat suspicious. Had he been using the technique [Cursed Spirit Manipulation] too frequently, to the point where Gojo Satoru had caught a flaw and sensed his existence?
Thus, a gamble appeared.
"[I want to go in.]"
After Jogo locked Emiya Shirou and the others inside his Domain, and Kenjaku—under Hanami's questioning—revealed the method to enter the Domain from the outside, Hanami had listened to Kenjaku's words. Faced with his interested inquiry about whether she would give her life for Jogo, Hanami answered in her unique language without hesitation.
Hearing the answer he wanted, Kenjaku smiled and pulled an object that looked like an oversized die from a storage Cursed Spirit. "Very well, Hanami. I truly admire your resolve."
"To be able to sacrifice one's life for another is the difference between an intelligent lifeform and a beast. You, who can go this far, undoubtedly deserve the title of 'New Human'.
But resolve is resolve, and reality is reality. Even if Gojo Satoru didn't act just now, I can be certain that his power is only stronger, not weaker, than the man who almost killed Jogo."
As he spoke, Kenjaku displayed the object before Hanami. "To be honest, even if you go in using my method, you could never survive Gojo Satoru's hands. Therefore, I think you need a little help."
"[This is...?]" Hanami's expression tightened as she looked at the object in Kenjaku's hand. Even if she didn't recognize it, the massive cursed energy emanating from it proved it was a Cursed Tool—and a Special Grade one at that!
"[Is this the Prison Realm?]" A question with a hint of certainty came from Hanami's mouth.
"Exactly. This is the [Prison Realm] that Jogo has always wanted to get his hands on."
With that, Kenjaku tossed the [Prison Realm] into Hanami's hands. "Although this is a bit earlier than I planned, if Gojo Satoru has truly sensed my existence, then my original plan must be altered, and the time of Gojo's sealing must be moved up with it."
The effective sealing distance of the [Prison Realm] is four meters. At the same time, for the seal to complete, the target must stay within this range for one minute without moving—or rather, they cannot escape the four-meter radius.
Normally, this is essentially impossible. An ordinary person can walk out of a four-meter radius in a few steps within a minute, let alone the strongest sorcerer, Gojo Satoru. To have the ability to restrict Gojo within four meters for a long duration, one would need the strength to defeat or suppress him.
But if they had that kind of strength, they wouldn't need a seal. Only Kenjaku, who was disgusted by the mechanism where the next [Six Eyes] is born immediately after the death of the current one, wanted to seal Gojo Satoru.
Since Kenjaku couldn't defeat Gojo, his plan was to use high-intensity combat to force Gojo's brain into high-speed calculation. Then, the original owner of the body he occupied—Suguru Geto—would appear before Gojo the moment the [Prison Realm] was activated. This would prevent Gojo from reacting quickly due to the shock, allowing the "one minute" to pass within his high-speed brain processing, successfully completing the seal.
This was why Kenjaku had to hide from Gojo. If he were discovered early, the impact of his appearance wouldn't be big enough to stun Gojo.
"In other words, Hanami, I need you to stall Gojo Satoru for one minute."
Read ahead (100 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting