Chapter 107 — The Method to Free Gojo Satoru
"Ugh, you bitter old shut-in — why do you care so much about other people's love lives?"
Yuki Tsukumo shot Tengen a sideways glare, her tone laced with venom and disdain.
The immortal entity gave no sign of offense. It had lived for over a thousand years — but somehow, it still managed to be insufferably smug.
"And another thing," Yuki continued, crossing her arms, "you're saying that the one possessing Geto Suguru's body… is Kenjaku, right?"
The others froze as the realization settled in.
So that was it — the man calling himself "Noritoshi Kamo" all along… was the same "Kenjaku" Tengen had warned them about.
"That's correct," Tengen replied with a calm nod.
Yuji raised a hand hesitantly, his curiosity breaking the heavy silence.
"Um… Master Tengen, why do you look like this now?"
The group turned toward him, half-curious, half-apprehensive.
Tengen chuckled — a sound that seemed to echo from everywhere at once.
"Fufu… I may be immortal, young one, but that doesn't mean I'm ageless."
Their amorphous face twisted faintly — somewhere between amusement and irony.
"When you've lived for five hundred years without merging with the Star Plasma Vessel… you'll end up looking like this too."
By refusing the synchronization that would have reset their physical form, Tengen's "immortality" had forced them into perpetual evolution — transcending humanity and becoming something closer to the world itself.
Their consciousness had already begun fusing with the planet, their existence no longer purely human, nor entirely divine.
"Excuse me," Megumi interjected, cutting into the conversation with his usual composure. "Master Tengen, may I ask two things? First — what is Kenjaku's true goal in orchestrating the Culling Game? And second — how can we unseal Gojo-sensei?"
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
The mention of Gojo's name filled the chamber with quiet urgency. Even Yuki straightened, her teasing tone gone.
Tengen's eyes — if they could be called that — glimmered faintly.
"Before I answer, I require one thing from you in return."
They turned their gaze toward three specific people.
"Yuki Tsukumo. Yuta Okkotsu. Choso.
At least two of you must remain here, to protect me."
Yuki blinked, then let out a scoff. "Protect you? In this hole no one can even find? Who's gonna come after you, huh? The dust bunnies?"
But Tengen's tone didn't waver.
"You underestimate Kenjaku. His ultimate plan is not simply the evolution of humanity — it's forced convergence."
"Convergence?" Yuta frowned.
"Yes," Tengen replied, voice echoing like ripples on still water.
"You already know that Kenjaku's 'Idle Transfiguration' triggered the evolution of countless humans. That process — the Cursed Energy Optimization — was incomplete, because even with all his power, he lacks the vast cursed energy required to evolve the entire species."
Tengen paused, the room's temperature seeming to drop.
"So he's moving on to his next method — the fusion of all humanity with me."
The words struck like thunder.
Choso's expression darkened. "You mean… he wants to merge the entire world with you? To force every living being into one collective consciousness?"
"Precisely," Tengen said quietly. "By merging the evolved humans of the Culling Game with my essence, Kenjaku intends to erase the boundary between individual and universe — to turn humanity into a single, endless curse."
"That's insane," Yuki muttered. "Even for him."
Tengen tilted their head slightly. "To him, it's the next stage of evolution."
Megumi's jaw clenched. "…Then unsealing Gojo-sensei is our only chance to stop him."
"Correct," Tengen replied. "However, the Prison Realm that binds Satoru Gojo is not so easily undone. It is a living barrier — a pocket dimension sustained by the will of its creator."
They raised a hand, and faint, geometric sigils appeared in the air, shimmering like glass.
"To open the Prison Realm, you will require two things:
first, the Back Gate — a counterpart to the sealed cube you already possess.
And second…"
Their tone lowered.
"...a being with the ability to rewrite the nature of space itself."
Everyone fell silent.
Yuta exchanged a glance with Megumi, while Yuji's brow furrowed.
"Someone who can rewrite space…" he muttered. "That's…"
"Gojo-sensei," Yuta realized aloud.
Tengen shook their head slowly. "Not quite. He can distort space — but to rewrite it, you'll need someone else. Someone with an inherited connection to me."
"Someone… like Tengen's successor."
Yuki's pupils narrowed. "You don't mean—"
"Yes," Tengen interrupted softly.
"The Star Plasma Vessel."
Everyone turned to Riko.
She froze, eyes widening in disbelief. "W-wait, hold on! You can't mean— me?! You're joking, right?!"
But Tengen's voice was calm and unwavering.
"You were born to be my vessel, Amanai Riko. Your soul still resonates with my essence — enough to locate and open the dimensional barrier from within."
Riko's lips trembled. "You're telling me… the only way to free Gojo-sensei is for me to reconnect with you?"
Tengen nodded slowly. "That is the simplest path. But not the only one."
They turned toward the group again, their tone grave.
"There is another way — though it carries unimaginable risk.
You could force the Prison Realm open… by destroying the spatial foundation it's built upon."
"Meaning?" Yuta asked.
Tengen's gaze shifted to one person.
"Zen'in Shinsuke," they said quietly. "If he were here — with his level of control over dimensional flow — he might be capable of breaking it open. But such an act would tear apart the very fabric of reality itself."
A heavy silence followed.
Yuji clenched his fists. "Then we'll find him. If it's the only way to bring Gojo-sensei back, we'll find Zen'in-sensei — no matter what it takes."
Tengen's form flickered faintly.
"Then pray he agrees. Because if he fails…"
They looked at Yuji, their voice fading into a whisper that sent chills down everyone's spine.
"...the world will unravel long before Kenjaku gets the chance to do it."
Tengen laid bare the full extent of Kenjaku's ambitions, their tone slow and deliberate:
"Over a decade ago, I would not have been capable of fulfilling Kenjaku's design. But things have changed. I am no longer merely a being of cursed energy — I have evolved into something closer to a curse myself. Which means…"
Their translucent form rippled faintly.
"I can now be controlled by Cursed Spirit Manipulation."
A chill rippled through the chamber.
"If I were to fuse with humanity in this state," Tengen continued, "I would transcend the limits of the human form. And if such hybrid beings began appearing in great numbers… the entire world would become like Tokyo is now — a realm where the boundary between human and curse no longer exists."
The revelation stunned everyone into silence.
Originally, three entities — the Six Eyes, Tengen, and the Star Plasma Vessel — were bound together by fate, reincarnating across centuries in a perfect cycle.
Each time, Kenjaku had tried to interfere, to kill either the Six Eyes or the Vessel before the fusion could take place.
But fate was relentless: whenever Tengen's assimilation drew near, both the Six Eyes and the Vessel inevitably appeared.
That is, until ten years ago — when two members of the Zen'in clan, both born without cursed energy, intervened and shattered the cycle.
Because of them, the Star Plasma Vessel failed to merge with Tengen.
And not only that — around the same time, a boy capable of using Cursed Spirit Manipulation awakened.
Everything that had unfolded since… felt as though it had been meticulously scripted by Kenjaku from the very beginning.
The moment he obtained the Prison Realm, the evolution of humanity became inevitable — a plan long in the making, now set in motion.
"Master Tengen," Riko Amanai spoke up, her voice cautious but resolute. "If you were to fuse with the Star Plasma Vessel now… could you return to being human? Could that stop all this?"
Tengen shook their head gently. "No. Evolution, once begun, cannot be reversed. My body has already integrated with the world itself. What remains now is to prevent Kenjaku from reaching this place and forcing the assimilation."
Their gaze swept across the group.
"That is why I require at least two of you to remain behind — to protect me."
Then, turning to Yuki, Tengen's expression softened into something almost playful.
"Yuki, if you're unwilling to stay… you could always call that man of yours here instead. If he were guarding me, I'd have no concerns at all."
Yuki's face twitched. "The hell you mean that man of mine? I'm a Special Grade sorcerer — you think I'm not enough on my own?"
With a sharp exhale, she crossed her arms. "Fine. I'll stay. There are a few things I've been meaning to ask you anyway, you wrinkled parasite."
"I'll stay too," Choso added, stepping forward, his crimson eyes burning with quiet rage. "Kenjaku toyed with my brothers' lives. I'll make sure he pays for it."
Tengen nodded slowly, their voice calm. "Then it's settled. The rest of you — listen carefully."
"The Culling Game is merely Kenjaku's prelude — a ritual to prepare humanity for its assimilation with me. By linking the cursed energy of every player, he will open a path to the other shore — the threshold of evolution."
They raised a hand, tracing symbols in the air.
"But such a grand-scale ritual comes at a cost. Kenjaku is bound by severe restrictions — one of which prevents him from being the game's direct administrator. This has both advantages and disadvantages for us.
The good news: it keeps the game somewhat balanced.
The bad news: even if we kill Kenjaku, the Culling Game itself will not end."
Their tone grew heavy. "From here on, the course of action lies with you."
Tengen reached into the void, and the air around their arm shimmered like water. When they pulled their hand free, a small black cube floated above their palm — eerily similar to the Prison Realm.
"This is the Back Gate," Tengen said softly. "The counterpart to the Prison Realm — its 'exit.' If you wish to free Gojo Satoru, this is your only key."
Yuji's eyes lit up. "Then there's still a way to save him!"
"There is," Tengen replied. "But unfortunately, the permission to open the Prison Realm still lies with Kenjaku. If you intend to pry it open…"
"Master Tengen," Yuji interrupted urgently, "how can we do that? Is there a way to force it open?"
Tengen nodded. "Yes. There are two known means.
First — the Special Grade cursed tool Inverted Spear of Heaven, which nullifies all cursed techniques.
Second — the Black Rope, a cursed tool that disrupts technique effects by causing them to cancel each other out."
Maki's eyes lit up immediately. "The Inverted Spear! I know where that is — my mentor used it once. It really can erase any technique!"
Yuta frowned, recalling something. "The Black Rope… I've seen it too. But during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons last year, Gojo-sensei destroyed it."
"So," Yuji mused, rubbing his chin, "all we need is to borrow Zen'in-sensei's Inverted Spear, and we can free Gojo-sensei, right?"
Megumi's expression darkened. "No. That won't work."
Everyone turned to him.
"My uncle — Zen'in-sensei — made a binding vow with Kenjaku to save my sister. The vow prevents anyone from using the Inverted Spear to release Gojo-sensei."
He clenched his fists. "He told me himself."
Riko frowned. "Wait, but can a binding vow even work with him? He doesn't have cursed energy, right?"
Tengen nodded approvingly. "A sharp observation. But you're correct — Kenjaku would've accounted for that. Vows can take many forms. In fact, the stronger one's will, the stronger the repercussions of breaking them — even for someone without cursed energy.
For a man like him, the backlash of defying such a vow would be… catastrophic."
A heavy silence followed.
Tengen's voice broke it softly. "That leaves us with only one option."
Their hand drifted toward the glowing sigils in the air.
"Within the Culling Game exists a sorcerer from a thousand years ago — one known as the Angel. Her technique possesses properties akin to the Inverted Spear — capable of nullifying all cursed techniques, including the Prison Realm's seals."
"If you can find her… and earn her cooperation… you can still save Gojo Satoru."
The group exchanged glances — the faint spark of hope gleaming in their eyes once more.
Even against Kenjaku's schemes, even with the world on the brink of chaos — there was still a path forward.
A fragile, perilous path… but a path nonetheless.