Chapter 96 : The Most Magnificent Meteor Shower
As his mind shook, Jiang Lai gradually understood a previous question: why reversing time for personnel inside Heian-kyo city brought clear, perceptible fatigue.
Because at this moment, the good side of [Death]'s divine status was installed on the non-individual, naturally existing demon parade teleportation array in the world, that is, the [door].
So cursed spirits transferred from the [door] all carried some traces of [Death]'s will, making attacks they launched be judged to some degree as [Existence] damage.
Previously, when first meeting, [Birth] had mentioned to him that changing [Existence] judgment results would accumulate more karmic bonds than changing ordinary results.
Additionally, this incident was quite a major event, so effects stacked, making Jiang Lai perceive faint but clear fatigue.
The [door] that had "devoured" Geto Suguru fell quiet for a moment. During this moment, the surging curse tide also temporarily ceased, like the calm before a storm, bringing an eerie, tense feeling.
Jiang Lai's brown eyes focused as complete space barriers appeared before him.
The next second, dense cursed spirits thundered out from the [door]! Large and small cursed spirits carried traces of [Existence] aura, faint and barely perceptible, but more obvious was that these cursed spirits all bore similar cursed energy residue—Geto Suguru's cursed energy residue!
Jiang Lai's eyes flashed with shock, then his expression turned cold.
He could sense that a large portion of the later-released cursed spirits belonged to Geto Suguru, and these cursed spirits not only increased the number of enemies on scene but filled the area with Geto's cursed energy residue!
This way, the mass casualty Heian-kyo city incident's culprit would point distantly toward Gojo faction's Geto Suguru!
The returning Gojo Satoru wouldn't know what actually happened on scene. Despite the widespread Geto Suguru cursed energy residue, he would definitely still believe his missing friend and defend him.
This action would probably let jujutsu world higher-ups and nobles catch Gojo's weakness, slapping on hats like [colluding with curse users] and [harboring city massacrers].
Gojo Satoru himself probably wouldn't care about these slanderous titles, but he wasn't alone in his faction now.
Gojo Satoru was invincible, but people around him weren't, and Gojo Satoru couldn't always protect everyone at all times.
In any case, this incident's original result would not only cause severe casualties to the Gojo faction, but the survivors would also be branded with baseless crimes.
Additionally, in the eyes of citizens in other towns who heard of this major incident, Gojo Satoru's name would be linked with the tragic city massacre.
This way, unless Gojo Satoru could directly ascend to supreme violence and kill all dissenting voices, his idea of changing the jujutsu world's rotten tangerine rules would be impossible.
But killing everyone was definitely impossible. The Heian-kyo was the peak of both cursed energy and aristocratic culture. Mass slaughter would be extraordinarily difficult and cause tremendous chaos.
...It must be said, this was indeed a despicable but effective method.
But consuming his conceptual little brother's divine status, accumulating karma for the good side death brother, weaving false accusations using friends' bodies—he wouldn't let the mastermind succeed easily.
Jiang Lai's brown eyes gazed calmly ahead as his wrist turned, instantly erecting complete space barriers around the shrine area, not letting any cursed spirits newly emerging from the [door] leave this region!
The trapped cursed spirits frantically hit the space barriers, but were crushed by the invisibly heavy air, struggling as they crawled on the ground.
More cursed spirits were blocked at the [door]'s edge, struggling with half their bodies stuck.
Ryomen Sukuna noticed Jiang Lai deploying large-scale space techniques to instantly cover this area. He stopped his throat laughter, raised his eyebrows slightly, and glanced over:
"What, you're planning to handle everything yourself?"
Jiang Lai stared at the [door] floating above ground, not replying to Ryomen Sukuna's question, but calmly calling the other's name: "Sukuna."
"What?" Ryomen Sukuna's curved lips showed some malice, though his words carried carelessness.
"Speaking of which, are you really angry? After all, that cursed spirit manipulator wasn't your friend, just Six Eyes' friend. My deal content essentially has no conflict of interest with you. Or is your excessive kindness acting up again?"
"Ah, or are you defending that Six Eyes? I'd really like to see that guy's joke." He spread his hands, black markings on his arms rippling with his movements.
"Too bad." Jiang Lai said calmly. "Someone's also planning to see your joke."
Ryomen Sukuna's crimson eyes lifted slightly.
Jiang Lai pointed at the floating [door], saying: "I think you know there are traps set up here, which is why you never got close, right? Additionally, probably because the [door] continuously produces cursed spirits, it interfered with your perception. Now, you can come feel it."
Hearing Jiang Lai's words, Ryomen Sukuna first showed an inexplicable expression with raised eyebrows, then seemed to slowly guess something, his expression gradually focusing.
However, he didn't rashly step forward, still standing in place and chuckling: "Oh? If this is a verbal trap, you're really underestimating me."
"I understand your personality. You basically only care about yourself. If so, then deal content that could persuade you must relate to yourself."
Jiang Lai continued narrating, "The deal content extends from the twin issue. What you're looking for is some vaguely perceptible other half of power—far away yet close at hand, being consumed right under your nose."
Ryomen Sukuna half-narrowed his eyes, and beside him Uraume pressed his lips straight. Both their gazes fixed tightly on the black-haired brown-eyed youth.
The air fell quiet for a moment, with only cursed spirits' wails and roars continuously interweaving as they writhed under Jiang Lai's space pressure, trying to escape this strange cursed energy binding.
Ryomen Sukuna's gaze moved to the [door] as he stepped forward, walking directly up.
Uraume behind him looked somewhat nervous: "...Sukuna-sama!"
But this call didn't stop Ryomen Sukuna's steps for even a second. Having already made some judgment internally, he walked forward to near the [door].
Some natural intuition existing in his body weakly responded like trembling magnets.
Ryomen Sukuna's face completely cooled as he realized he'd been played by that dealer.
"...Not bad, not bad. Slightly careless there." Ryomen Sukuna squeezed out laughter from his throat, his expression carrying bloodthirsty killing intent, his voice low and hoarse. "But that guy won't be so lucky next time. I'll just kill him when we meet."
Jiang Lai silently didn't speak, only mentally adding: Maybe what you didn't notice isn't just here... you'll have to squat in Itadori's prison later too .jpg
The wandering thought couldn't last. Not long after Ryomen Sukuna approached, the [door] suddenly erupted with more disturbance, beginning to violently tremble!
Instantly surging cursed energy shockwaves accompanied by some strange power made even Jiang Lai, who immediately raised space barriers, suffer half a second of ringing ears.
He half-squinted and looked up, seeing the pitch-black [door] beginning to distort and deform, compressing and gathering countless cursed spirits stuck at the [door]'s edge and more that hadn't emerged from the [door] into a spinning mass.
Jiang Lai was slightly stunned: this scene resembled Geto Suguru's technique [Maximum: Uzumaki], gathering all cursed spirits into one body, creating an attack with ultra-high density cursed energy!
The surrounding air became increasingly heavy and manic. The [vortex] containing not only cursed spirit power but divine status power had terrifying strength, seemingly capable of explosive force that could turn all of Heian-kyo city to dust!
No one expected this accident. Probably even the planners didn't expect mixing powers together would bring such results? After all, they planned to leave bodies and residue to frame Geto for the massacre.
But if this [door] continued distorting and spiraling, nothing would remain here. It would definitely be bombed as if erased by the world itself!
Kenjaku probably didn't anticipate this either. He couldn't possibly waste divine status on a big explosion.
From current appearances, the other's pursuit might not necessarily be complete collection of divine status to become a god, but with Brain-kun's nature, he would definitely fully utilize every divine status fragment for testing and planning.
Such straightforward expansion explosion would consume too much power, with losses clearly exceeding benefits.
The [door] condensed with divine status and numerous cursed spirit powers vibrated violently like a great bell, with the gathered, distorted vortex growing ever larger.
Under this power, all cursed spirits in Heian-kyo city paused momentarily, then as if losing logic, instinctively tried to flee this place.
Jujutsu sorcerers in the city all felt oppressive suffocation, gasping for breath with dizzy heads.
Nearby Uraume groaned, blood surging in his throat, but he quickly swallowed it back.
The robust Ryomen Sukuna also sensed unusual power. He clicked his tongue, resting one hand under his chin, crimson eyes settling with contemplation: "Seems a bit troublesome."
"...Not a bit troublesome. After all, you bastard was definitely tricked. Suggest cutting that guy's brain next time." Jiang Lai exhaled, brown eyes gazing at the [door] equipped with divine status.
"Hah? You bleeding heart would say such violent things?" Ryomen Sukuna laughed heartily.
"I said I'm not a bleeding heart, and I have a temper too." Jiang Lai's tone was flat, his eyes no longer smiling and somewhat cold.
In the increasingly manic, oppressive air, his heart grew calmer. In crisis moments, Jiang Lai again entered absolute rational analysis mode.
He knew the current rampage could be stopped. To halt it, there were two methods.
Ryomen Sukuna spoke, still in his particularly self-centered villain tone but with rare seriousness, his voice low:
"...Though I don't want to cooperate with you, under current circumstances, with the premise of fighting separately for our own purposes, reluctant cooperation isn't impossible. You take half, I take half. We aim at this thing and counterattack with full power. No problem?"
Even retreating wouldn't be fast enough now. So Ryomen Sukuna didn't retreat but prepared to turn defense into offense, using equivalent power to clash and cancel out.
This was the first solution Jiang Lai had thought of.
Like in Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 0, facing such ultra-high intensity cursed energy waves, counter with similar intensity cursed energy to clash and cancel out, like ultimate moves clashing in games.
Though the [door] was complicated with divine status, both he and Ryomen Sukuna had [Existence] power and could counterattack.
But this way, the divine status on the [door] and Geto Suguru inside the [door] would definitely be affected by the attack waves.
For Geto Suguru, Jiang Lai could still use techniques to save him, but the shattered good side of death's divine status might not be repairable by techniques.
So exclude the first method, use the second.
Compete with the naturally existing [door] in the world, reverse space-time to separate both divine status and Geto Suguru from the [door]. After that, if there were still gathered attacks, they could be relatively simply canceled out!
Having made his decision, Jiang Lai stepped forward without turning back: "I'll handle it. I'll remove the most troublesome things first. If there are still cursed energy aftershocks, then you counterattack."
"You'll handle it?" Ryomen Sukuna raised an eyebrow, his cheek's secondary eyes also staring at Jiang Lai, his tone somewhat ambiguously unreadable.
Jiang Lai didn't reply again. Every second now was invaluable.
In the sweeping storm, his body stood steadily before the distorted [door] floating above ground.
Navy-blue clothing corners fluttered violently, smooth black long hair flying up and down with them. Jiang Lai's warm brown eyes were utterly calm as he put his hands together in hand signs.
"[Trillion Year Hexagram]."
A semi-enclosed domain suddenly deployed, instantly encompassing this shrine area!
Facing the domain, Ryomen Sukuna instinctively wanted to deploy Malevolent Kitchen to counter, then realized this domain's targets didn't include him and Uraume, so he lowered his arms.
Jiang Lai concentrated all his power on the expanding, distorting [door]. Within the domain, the boundless vast river along with black and white heaven and earth wrapped around the [door] in spirals, flowing light shining with brilliant radiance.
The [door]'s trembling grew more turbulent, cursed spirit aura surging more, the [door] carrying [Existence] divine status silently counterattacking with power like transparent shockwaves.
Jiang Lai's form stood steady, delivering even firmer counterattacks within his own domain, using irresistible reversal to strip the divine status and human from within the [door]!
Space and time techniques deployed simultaneously, two similar yet different powers interweaving like mutually biting dragons. The power waves from [Existence] versus [Existence] divine status competition grew higher wave after wave!
The robust Ryomen Sukuna groaned, blood seeping from his mouth corners. Beside him, Uraume couldn't help but directly spit out dark blood.
Heian-kyo city under night sky was shrouded by invisible pressure, but thanks to the space barrier surrounding the shrine, outside jujutsu sorcerers and civilians could still barely breathe, though their bodies couldn't support them and they half-knelt on the ground.
"...Wh-what's happening?"
Their eyes held shock as they looked distantly toward the shrine, the center of power eruption.
Whether due to suffocating pressure causing hallucinations, or this superhuman power fluctuation shaking even heaven and earth.
Above their heads, countless stars shone brilliantly like fireworks, becoming gorgeous meteors trailing long tails, burning and shocking as they fell one by one.
An incredible meteor shower descended so suddenly yet magnificently!
A white-haired youth in kimono decorated with Gojo family crests and seven-star gold patterns gripped Shuuki's token tightly in one hand, rushing back to Heian-kyo city from the outskirts at incredible speed.
Under moonlight, his pure white lashes fluttered as his beautiful azure eyes lifted. In this vast, magnificent meteor shower, he seemed to see the brightest and dimmest stars falling together from the sky's edge.