The Back

Tengen consents to share what they know of Kenjaku's identity and the method for unsealing Gojo, on the condition that part of the group remains behind as guards. Pressed on how an immortal could ever be threatened, Tengen traces the chain of events from eleven years ago that warped fate itself.

Tengen explains that their technique grants deathlessness but not eternal youth. Eleven years back, when no fresh Star Plasma Vessel emerged, Tengen's aging accelerated and their individual self-awareness faded, driving an evolution that fused them with the world. Kenjaku, the body-hopping entity once known as Noritoshi Kamo and now inhabiting Suguru Geto, means to force all of Japan to evolve by merging the population into Tengen's altered state, which would dissolve the lines between people and drown the world in their impurities.

Because Tengen now sits closer to a cursed spirit than a human, they cannot decline the merger, an ideal mark for Cursed Spirit Manipulation. The bond of fate that ties together the Six Eyes, Tengen, and the Star Plasma Vessel broke when Toji Fushiguro, a man free of cursed energy, intervened, with Suguru Geto arriving at his side. Once Kenjaku claimed the Prison Realm six years ago, the plan fell into place. The Culling Game is the rite preparing Japan for the merger, and binding vows mean killing Kenjaku will not stop it, so the players' best move is spending 100 points to add rules letting unwilling participants like Tsumiki leave.

Tengen demands that a pair drawn from the three special grades on hand remain as guards. Yuki and Choso step up, since Choso can also shield his brothers and Yuki still has questions. Tengen then produces the Prison Realm's back gate, a distinct cursed object needed to release Gojo, openable only by tools that nullify cursed techniques. The two that qualify, the Black Rope and the Inverted Spear of Heaven, were both lost during separate clashes with Gojo. The last hope is a thousand-year-old sorcerer who styled herself an angel, Hana Kurusu, now reincarnated as a Culling Game player.

The chapter takes place in Tokyo Jujutsu High's Tombs of the Star Corridor during the Culling Game Arc. The cover assembles the whole group with Tengen, and the events reach Episode 50. Hana Kurusu debuts. Kenjaku is referenced, while flashbacks bring in Noritoshi Kamo, Suguru Geto, Riko Amanai, Toji Fushiguro, and Miguel. The Prison Realm, Black Rope, and Inverted Spear of Heaven all feature.