Yuki Tsukumo dropping into the crater brought the fight to a stop. It didn't change how this was going to end.
Kenjaku just smiled. He hadn't come here to fight a Special Grade.
He slammed his palm flat against the broken ground.
The ground held. But a pulse rolled out from under his hand — invisible, and it didn't stop at the crater. It kept going, past Shibuya, across the whole country, waking up a thousand things that had been sleeping for who knows how long.
The clouds tore first — no warning, just a straight black rip across the sky. Then it started raining shapes. Not water. Cursed spirits, ten million of them, pouring down through the gap Kenjaku had torn open, thick enough to blot out the moon.
"Cover the kids!" Yuki shouted, already moving. "Don't let anything reach them!"
Ren and Maki didn't wait to be told twice. They went straight into it, planting themselves between the swarm and Yuji and what was left of the Kyoto students. Ren's fists, Maki's weapon, both moving too fast to track. Curses dropped around them in piles. Not one got past.
It still wasn't enough to matter. There were too many of them, and that was the point — nobody in the crater had time to look up.
High above, buried in the noise, a winged curse climbed into the dark. Kenjaku and Uraume rode its back like it was nothing, the sealed cube wedged between them, Gojo locked inside and getting farther away with every second.
They climbed until the ash and cloud cover swallowed them whole.
The fighting in Shibuya finally stopped. Nobody in that crater had any idea it wasn't finished — just paused.
The Morning After
The morning sun was up, but the room stayed cold.
Inside the locked room, the ceiling lights buzzed low, and somewhere miles off, a siren wailed and faded.
Yuji sat on a metal folding chair, staring at his blood-stained hands. Maki stood by the wall next to Ren, arms crossed, her uniform caked in gray dust. Panda sat quietly beside them.
Nearby, Nobara leaned against a desk, eyes fixed on nothing. Toge sat next to her, collar pulled up high. Across the room, Utahime and the Kyoto students sat slumped against the wall, nobody talking, nobody looking at anybody else.
The heavy wooden doors creaked open.
Principal Yaga walked in. His back was straight, but his eyes were sunk deep in his skull, and his hands, when he clasped them behind him, weren't quite steady.
"I'll start with Fushiguro." His voice broke the silence, and every head snapped up. "He is in the underground medical ward with Shoko. He took heavy damage, but he will live."
Yuji's breath came out in one long rush, shoulders dropping like something had cut the strings holding them up. Nobara's head tipped back against the wall, eyes shut. Maki said nothing, but she was relived her junior was not in any serious situation.
"But," Yaga said, his voice going hard, "that is the only good news."
He walked to the whiteboard and pulled down a map of Tokyo. A thick red circle was drawn around the entire city, boxing in all twenty-three wards.
"Satoru Gojo is sealed inside the Prison Realm."
Nobody moved. Somehow it landed harder out loud than it had in the crater.
Yaga pointed at the red circle. "Before he left, the man wearing Geto's face released don't know how many million cursed spirits. We have lost the capital. All twenty-three wards of Tokyo are completely overrun."
"The government is in full panic," Yaga told them. "Five million people are trying to evacuate right now. The army built a wall around the city, but normal guns can't kill curses. As of this morning, Tokyo is a dead zone."
Yaga's eyes moved around the room — Yuji, guilt written all over him. Nobara, grim. Maki, still angry. Ren, unreadable as ever.
"Jujutsu Headquarters is in total chaos," Yaga said, his voice dropping low. "The higher-ups are terrified. Gojo was the only thing keeping them safe, and keeping them in check. Now that he's gone, they will want someone to blame."
Nobody said anything.
"None of you are safe anymore," Yaga said. "The world we knew yesterday is dead."
"He's right, you know."
The door swung open wider. Yuki Tsukumo leaned against the frame, hands shoved deep into the pockets of her leather jacket. Behind her stood Choso, still, his eyes already on Yuji.
"The old men in charge are terrified," Yuki said, walking in. "And terrified men do desperate things. By noon today, they are going to start handing out death sentences to cover their own tracks."
She stopped at the center of the room and looked straight at Yuji.
"Starting with you, Itadori."
Nobara pushed off the desk. "They can't just do that! After everything we just—"
"They can," Yuji said.
Something about the way he said it made Nobara stop talking. He stood up slow, fists clenched tight enough that his knuckles had gone white.
"Sukuna killed thousands of people using my body," he said, staring at the floor. "I am a walking target. If I stay here with you guys, the higher-ups will send their executioners after all of you too."
"Don't be an idiot," Maki snapped, stepping forward. "We can handle a few old men."
"No." Yuji finally looked up. Whatever used to be behind his eyes wasn't there right now. "I'm leaving. There are curses out there right now, eating people. I have to go hunt them. Alone."
"Not alone," a calm voice said.
Choso stepped out from behind Yuki. He didn't ask for permission. He just walked over and stood by Yuji's side. "I am your older brother. Where you go, I go."
Yuji held his stare a second longer, then gave a single, slow nod.
Without another word, he turned and walked toward the door. Choso followed. The room watched them go, until the door clicked shut behind them and it was just the rest of them left standing there.
Maki stared at the empty doorway before turning around. Her eyes swept the room and locked onto her twin sister. Mai was leaning against the far wall, bruised, quiet in a way that didn't suit her.
"Mai." Maki's voice didn't leave room for anything back. "You're staying with us for now."
Mai crossed her arms, looking away. "Nobody asked you."
"I'm not asking." Maki's tone stayed flat. "Kyoto isn't safe. The roads are cut off, and the higher-ups are going to be hunting anyone connected to Tokyo High. You stick with me. Got it?"
For once, Mai didn't snap back with an insult. She just gave a small, reluctant nod, eyes on the scuffed floor.