Chapter 174

Sendai Colony, Part 1 (①) is the one hundred and seventy-fourth chapter of Gege Akutami's Jujutsu Kaisen.

Summary
Yuta Okkotsu has excelled thus far in the Culling Game, impressing all those observing him. By cutting down Dhruv Lakdawalla to ensure the safety of a group of civilians, Yuta has also gained the attention of a disturbing new threat.

Plot Details
Takako Uro and Ryu Ishigori observe the situation in the Sendai Colony. Dhruv Lakdawalla has fallen and his patrolling shikigami are disappearing. Ryu uses his Kogane to check who defeated Dhruv and discovers the player is Yuta Okkotsu. Takako does the same and while she's glad the ugly shikigami are disappearing, she's concerned about a new threat that will emerge. Ryu realizes he was only able to get close to Dhruv without provoking him because he was occupied with Yuta. Takako and Ryu both know that following Dhruv's defeat, Kurourushi will surely emerge next. While the latter thinks things are getting interesting, the former gets frustrated by the prospect.

After cutting down Dhruv, Yuta regroups with the group of civilians he's been protecting. He tells them it's time to head North to the edge of the barrier but notices a mother and daughter struggling to go on. Yuta changes his mind and tells all the civilians they can rest inside the stadium that was serving as Dhruv's base instead. He's sure it will be safe inside but he's suddenly interrupted by a loud buzzing sound that indicates danger. Yuta orders everyone to hurry inside the stadium as he looks out and sees a giant swarm of bugs chasing people. It's already laid claim to two other people but Yuta is confident he can save the man running out in front of the swarm.

Yuta grabs the man's arm and jumps above the swarm, but he's unable to create enough space and the cockroaches devour the civilian's lower body before quickly stripping off all his flesh. Yuta blocks the cockroaches from attacking him next and notices that all of them are real insects reinforced with cursed energy. The swarm tries to move on from Yuta to attack the other civilians but he summons Rika to stop them. Rika smashes a bridge with a single blow and collapses the structure on top of the swarm, forcing it to go back toward Yuta. The special grade sorcerer imbues his katana with cursed energy and swings it with enough force to create a large blastwave that annihilates the whole swarm in one shot.

Watching the action, Ryu comments that while Yuta's cursed energy output isn't anything special, his overall cursed energy is very impressive. Meanwhile, Takako looks on and simply comments to herself that Kurourushi's cockroaches are disgusting. Kurourushi is a special grade cockroach curse who was a poor matchup for Dhruv, so it went into a dormant state until he was eliminated. The curse has an endless appetite and eating stimulates its ability to perform parthenogenesis. Now awakened, the cockroach curse is starving and its instincts lead it to devour Yuta. Confronted by this new threat, Yuta asks his Kogane if this cursed spirit is a player, which the shikigami confirms. Dhruv would've been a poor matchup for Kurourushi, so it went into a dormant state until he was eliminated. Kurourushi has an endless appetite and eating stimulates its parthenogenesis. Having just awakened, Kurourushi is starving and now its instincts are leading it to devour Yuta.

While preparing to face off against Kurourushi, Yuta ponders his objective in this colony. He knows resources are finite and it's only a matter of time before a rule allowing passage in and out of colonies is added. However, dangerous players like Dhruv can't be allowed to leave the barrier. With the likelihood that there are other players like him, Yuta knows that communication between colonies is necessary to prevent anyone dangerous from leaving them. In addition to the rules Megumi proposed in the meeting with Tengen, Yuta understands his allies need a means of communication and a way to move in and out of the colonies. That's a total of four rules for their group to get a handle on the Culling Game.

Yuta feels that the Shibuya Incident exhausted all his allies and he doesn't want to make his sensei kill his best friend again. Poised and ready to engage the enemy player with his katana, Yuta resolves to kill Kenjaku and obtain four hundred points all on his own. In response to Yuta's battle stance, Kurourushi reveals a cursed tool called the Festering Life Sword, an enchanted blade that mixes life and death.

Battles & Events

 * Culling Game
 * Yuta Okkotsu vs. Kurourushi (Started)

Locations

 * Sendai Colony
 * Sendai City