───

     PSEUDO-URAUME CLICKED THEIR TONGUE in dissatisfaction at just how weak mahito and the others were.

     though luckily, four of the nine death painting wombs — chōsō, esō, kechizu, and dagon — were on their side, currently fighting against the students.

meanwhile himari had instructed to specifically not kill the former three, it was really difficult, considering that they were going full out.

     there was also something else that himari had specially assigned itadori, if he were to ever encounter chōsō — though the woman was pretty certain that he would.

     'remember, when you see this attractive ass demon with his hair tied up into two pigtails, you must call him—'

     "BROTHER!!", itadori shouted, causing utter confusion to those around him.

"what are you saying?! my only siblings are esō and kechizu", chōsō stated.

"u-umm...no?? I'm your brother", itadori replied, sticking with what himari had once told him to do.

the half-demon then raised a brow, nevertheless attempting to murder the students, as kenjaku had told them that they weren't going to be accepted anyways, since they were half breeds.

so meanwhile itadori was trying to dodge chōsō's attacks, the half-demon's brows furrowed together in perplexity, as itadori was only on offense.

     "why aren't you fighting back? do you have that much confidence in your own abilities?", chōsō questioned, starting to use the blood around them to create a web, trying to capture them all at a time.

     "no! I refuse to fight you because you're my brother!", itadori stated, still adamant on that task that himari had assigned him.

     'and remember, yūji...do not fight back. it might be a little risky, so it's up to you, but allow him to attack you until you're about to be in the brink of death.

     only then will he have this realization and be on our side. and once he's on our side, so will his brothers'.

     "YOU'RE NOT MY BROTHER!!", chōsō frustratedly raised his voice, choking itadori against the wall, as the pink-haired boy could visibly see black spots start to form.

     "I...I refuse to not state...the fact...", itadori mumbled, watching as chōsō slowly relaxed his hand, dropping itadori's body onto the ground, as the half-demon started gripping onto his head.

     meanwhile chōsō was experiencing an existential crisis, himari had witnessed another dark sphere, though this time, it was starting to crack from the inside.

a sudden burst of shards had plundered into the air, as everyone watched megumi's incomplete domain (chimera shadow garden) break through dagon's — another death painting womb that himari had completely forgotten about.

     "OH SHEEEEEESH!! SMILE FOR US, MEGUMI!!"

     megumi suddenly flinched, as he snapped his head over towards himari, to which tōji had furrowed his brows at the boy's carelessness.

the older fushiguro immediately used playful cloud to stab through dagon's tough exterior, terminating the demon permanently.

"never keep your eyes off your opponent, even if you're being distracted by an idiot", tōji instructed, to which himari had offendedly gasped.

      "TŌJI, I'M HURT!", himari huffed, to which the green-eyed male had cracked a lopsided smile, causing megumi to raise a brow in suspicion.

     "huh? I sure hope we didn't miss the show. did she die yet?", a teasing voice had suddenly interrupted.

himari squinted her eyes, as she saw gojō standing beside yūta, who was alongside nanami, yoshino, and miguel.

     "you cryin' yet?", the white-haired daimyo mocked.

"MIGUEL?! THAT ACTUALLY YOU, SIR?!", himari shouted, nearly experiencing a heart attack, as now sukuna had a chance of being saved; totally ignoring gojō.

     the slim, dark-skinned male had twitched, noticing that a peculiar and obnoxious red-haired male—

     'wait no. a woman? they're built like a female...but their appearance is...kind of scraggly?'

     "MR. MIGUEL! I NEED TO BORROW THE BLACK ROPE FROM YOU!!", himari huffed, running over towards the group, as the man who was covered in accessories, had frowned.

     "absolutely not! and who even are you?"

     "nakajima himari", the tired woman quickly answered.

"so you're gojō-sensei's future wife?", okkotsu yūta — a student who's been training abroad with miguel — had asked.

"uhM...exCuSe ME?!"

"oh, nice to meet you! I'm okkotsu—"

"yūta. yes, yes I know. I love you because you're also baby like yūji, but now's not the time. I need the black rope to release ryō", himari interrupted, to which okkotsu had glanced over at gojō, who just smiled.

"see? I told you she's great", the white-haired man boasted.

"ryō? who's ryō?", miguel inquired.

"uhh...my friend who's trapped in the prison realm", himari vaguely answered.

"he's being trapped by that man! well...they're using uraume's body right now, but you get the gist", himari pointed.

"no, no I don't get the gist! I don't even know why gojō asked for me to be here!", miguel stated, clicking his tongue in annoyance.

     indeed, gojō satoru had asked months in advance for okkotsu and miguel to come overseas, as okkotsu had officially finished his training anyways.

     hence why the daimyo was late, because he was retrieving those two alongside nanami and yoshino, since himari specifically told him to protect those two.

"ugh, anyways, yūta...if you could go steal that cube from that monk for me, it'd be greatly appreciated. I'll treat you to some ice cream", himari smiled, causing utter skepticism to the teenager, as he was yeeted towards uraume.

pseudo-uraume then attempted to block okkotsu with icefall — a technique that allowed the androgynous monk to generate a large amount of spiked ice that can be controlled to float telepathically through the air like ice shards.

     though okkotsu's speed was hella impressive, like hella impressive.

     "himari!! we'll get the cube and release sukuna. do what you need to do!", getō assured, as tōji had traded the playful cloud for the inverted spear of heaven.

himari quickly nodded, as gojō, getō, and tōji headed towards uraume, helping okkotsu, meanwhile miguel and nanami had simply observed.

the auburn-haired woman then glanced over at the students.

a breath of relief had escaped her lips, as she watched chōsō cradle itadori's body, seemingly to have accepted that he was his brother.

that had caused esō and kechizu to stop fighting against the others as well, as they followed whatever their big brother did.

all the weaker demons seemed to be gone, as piles of ashes had littered across the battlefield alongside the samurais that have been slayed.

however, the other daimyos were now attacking one another for political power.

     it was obvious that the winner would be the next ruler. and without oda nobunaga here, himari had a slim chance of winning.

     hence, she decided to just wait it out; wait until they all tire each other out, before joining in on the fun.

▃▃▃▃▃

     a/n: hello my darlings!! I made my 1st headcanon (ever) for this story and I'm so excited to publish it after I finish the main story.

     yes, this journey is sadly coming to an end, but I loved reading all the comments. y'all really be so funny, and I just laugh like an idiot while reading it in bed.

     also I suck at writing fight scenes, so I just ✨don't✨.

     anyways, thank you so much for the support + love you all!! <3