Jujutsu Kaisen: Yearning to Become an Immortal God

He thought of Jiro Awasaka. Jiro had seemed to freeze up while trading blows with Mahito, and even his Cursed Energy reinforcement had vanished without him noticing. This was likely how Mahito's technique manifested. The instant Mahito made contact, he could strip away a person's five senses. First sight, then hearing, then smell... what came next?

Taste? Or touch? In the end, perhaps even the ability to refine Cursed Energy would be lost—meaning consciousness itself would be cut off?

Kinji Hakari came to an understanding. He could not let the Dragon hit him again. The more attacks he took, the more senses he would lose. Eventually, he would become a fish stranded on shore, helplessly waiting to be butchered.

Cursed Energy suddenly erupted. Dragon Breath!

He did not know whether it was an illusion, but the more of his five senses he lost, the sharper Hakari's perception of Cursed Energy became. He sensed the Dragon taking a deep breath in the distance, on the verge of unleashing Dragon Breath. Before it could fire, he made a tremendous leap out of the crater, then broke into a frantic sprint. Sure enough, Dragon Breath followed immediately, smashing into the crater he had just escaped.

But it was not over! This Dragon Breath was continuous, not a one-shot blast. It swept across the ground like Death's scythe. Hakari let out a monkey-like shriek and ran so fast his feet were like wheels. Dragon Breath chased close behind him, ready to catch and swallow him whole at any moment.

Four seconds passed. Nine seconds remaining.

The Dragon flew high into the sky, continuing to spew Dragon Breath from above. The immense Cursed Energy triggered a change in heaven and earth. Even the sky seemed to grow dim. The Dragon flew through the gloomy heavens, its breath pursuing Hakari. Sensing that the Dragon was overhead through Cursed Energy, Hakari charged straight beneath it despite the danger of taking Dragon Breath head-on.

If this continued, Dragon Breath would inevitably hunt him down and kill him. Hakari understood that. He had to strike back. He could not simply stall for time!

While running, Hakari precisely controlled the flow of his Cursed Energy, strengthening his legs to the limit. He ran faster and faster. While breathing fire, the Dragon only needed to turn its head, and naturally, its turning speed should have far surpassed Hakari running in circles around it. Yet as Hakari ran, the Dragon's head could not keep up with him.

Five seconds passed. Eight seconds remaining.

Hakari finally reached the point directly beneath the Dragon, and the Dragon cut off Dragon Breath at that instant. A thunderous roar erupted as the breath ceased. A ravine trailed after Hakari; in those brief two seconds, the Dragon's breath had reshaped the terrain, carving a serpentine pit more than three hundred meters long.

The spreading shockwaves still had not subsided. Gale-force winds mixed with Cursed Energy, hurling rubble and dust into the air until they nearly formed a sandstorm.

Amid the howling wind and dust, Hakari suddenly sprang upward. He was going to counterattack! The Dragon was at least two hundred meters off the ground, yet a single leap closed that distance to zero. The Dragon's eyes tracked Hakari, then it abruptly flew past him from the side. Hakari's leap instead left him with nowhere to stand in midair, turning him into the Dragon's target.

The Dragon's tail lashed violently at Hakari. Hakari raised both hands before his eyes to block. The Dragon's tail collided with his hands with a deafening crash, and the resulting shockwave spread endlessly in every direction. Hakari's body was like a tennis ball perfectly struck by a racket, plummeting downward before smashing into the ground with a massive boom. The blow battered his entire body. Though he had fully reinforced himself, he could still feel his bones dislocating and his organs rupturing. He could not help opening his mouth and vomiting blood mixed with chunks of flesh from his organs.

He had miscalculated! He had thought he was directly beneath the Dragon's body. His sudden leap should have been like a sneak attack, leaving the Dragon unable to react. He had not expected the Dragon's dynamic vision to be so exceptional, nor its massive body to be so agile. It was nothing like the enormous creature beyond imagination that it appeared to be.

Whether it was dynamic vision, reaction speed, strength, explosive power, or agility, the Dragon was flawless. Hakari deeply understood what a "higher life-form" was.

Six seconds passed. Seven seconds remaining.

Pressure like a falling meteor descended from the sky. The Dragon suddenly turned downward from high above. It no longer used Dragon Breath. After the previous few seconds of action, it had determined that long-range breath attacks could never hit Hakari. It had to close the distance. Only by breathing at point-blank range could it guarantee a killing blow.

The giant Dragon dived!

Hakari endured the pain and immediately tried to get up and dodge, but before he could stand, he suddenly swayed. Though he theoretically had no use for it in battle, he realized that the sensation in his mouth had vanished. Something was in his mouth. He spat it out and found that it was a fragment of his organs, but he could no longer taste anything. It was as if his tongue had become a useless decoration.

After his eyes, ears, and nose, his tongue had also been sealed.

The enormous body arrived in an instant. He had missed his last chance to escape the Dragon's impact zone. The Dragon released a distant cry like that of a whale shark, like the tolling of an ancient bell. Its immense sound was nearly tangible, sound waves pressing down on him without restraint. For a moment, he could not even stand and could only watch the Dragon's horn strike the ground and ram directly into his body.

Dragon Roar!

For an instant, heaven and earth fell silent. The next moment, everything erupted!

The huge explosion spread over a hundred meters. A Cursed Energy storm formed a semicircular spiral, Cursed Energy flying wildly within it. The entire Multi-story Parking Lot plaza was shattered by the impact. The asphalt ground rose from the earth like rain falling upward. Rubble was blown apart by Cursed Energy in midair, then pulverized further until it became powder invisible to the naked eye.

The ground continued sinking. As earth and stone flew everywhere, the devastation kept spreading. The entire Multi-story Parking Lot began to shake. Half the building gradually cracked and collapsed amid the tremors. Finally, the semicircular Cursed Energy storm broke free of its confines and spread outward with an immense shockwave, as though reaching the end of the world.

In the end, an abyss-like crater appeared in the terrain. The Dragon let out a deafening roar from within it, the sound of a giant bell spreading without limit. The Cursed Energy storm blew away all ash and debris. The Dragon coiled above the crater, its head hanging low, its differently colored pupils glowing like lamps as it looked down upon the bottom of the pit like a god.

Seven seconds passed. Six seconds remaining.

At the bottom of the crater, Hakari, barely keeping his body intact, gasped for breath. Though he had used every ounce of strength to defend himself, his body had nearly been burned away. The Cursed Energy burns and the deathly storm raised by the blast had left him covered in scars, wounds reaching deep into the marrow. He had no idea how many bones had broken. His spine no longer responded; it seemed even his spinal column had been pierced through. His mind was a mess, and the terror of death haunted him every moment.

He was breathing heavily, as though panting, but he had lost all perception of the outside world. His body was riddled with pain, yet he could not feel his own body. It was as if he were submerged in the deep sea, his whole body crushed by immense pressure. He struggled and sank endlessly within a pitch-black abyss. Now, the only external perception he had left was his perception of Cursed Energy.

His sense of touch had vanished. His body had been sealed!

I misjudged it, he thought. I should have abandoned full-body defense and sacrificed one arm to form a Binding Vow, maximizing my reinforcement to endure that attack.

In the original story, Hakari had strengthened his own defense at the cost of one arm during battle and survived an explosion in the sea. Other than the severed arm, he had been almost completely uninjured. If he had judged correctly, he probably could have endured this attack again.

But that was impossible.

In the original story, he had made the most accurate judgment because he had assessed the attack's intensity before his opponent unleashed it. But now, all five of his senses had failed. He was only holding on through Cursed Energy perception. Given time to adapt, he might have been able to use some of his strength, but he did not have that time.

Eight seconds passed. Five seconds remaining.

He struggled desperately, trying to stand, then suddenly stopped struggling.

He had lost all five senses and could only see the world through Cursed Energy perception. In that world, a massive claw descended from the sky. He wanted to rise and dodge, but having lost his sense of touch, he could not even stand. He could only watch the terrifying claw fall from above.

It was the Dragon's claw. The claw stretched down and lightly touched Hakari's forehead, like an immortal gently stroking the head of a mortal.

Hakari fell at once. Eyes. Ears. Nose. Body. Finally, consciousness.

This was Six Roots Purity! Nine seconds passed. Four seconds remaining. Kinji Hakari fell into the abyss.

Binding Vow

Sendai, somewhere along the coast.

Space was suddenly torn in half, and a door appeared between the split. The door opened from the outside. Jogo entered with a dark expression, followed by Mahito, who remained in high spirits, and Hanami.

As well as the newest additions to the group—

Kinji Hakari. Kirara Hoshi.

Hakari raised a hand to shade his eyes and looked up at the sky, clicking his tongue.

"So this is your secret base? Rather than a secret base, it looks more like some tourist destination. Is this even Japan?" he asked.

His body had already recovered, every injury gone. After that battle, he had used Domain Expansion. Within the Domain Expansion, his body regenerated at a visible speed, eventually returning to perfect condition. He wore his fur coat over a tank top and followed behind Mahito with broad strides.

Kirara, meanwhile, was focused on her appearance.

Her face, which had just been burned, her arm, which had almost become charcoal, and her hair, which had been burned away—

They had now all completely recovered. This was not physical recovery through Reverse Cursed Technique, but restoration based on the soul itself. As long as the soul remained unchanged, the body pulled along by it would return to its original state.

Not even burn scars remained!

She had not understood Mahito's theory at all, but the result was right before her eyes. No, now she was—she.

Kirara rubbed her chest with great interest, smiling broadly.

She had become completely herself. From now on, she could finally hold her head high as a woman. Medically speaking, she could even have children.

Have children. Akkin's children.

"Hehehe. Hehehehe. Hehehehehehe."

Thump. Her head grew dizzy, steam practically rising from it like some bashful girl in a manga. Hakari held back and held back, but in the end, he still could not stop himself from clicking his tongue loudly.

Damn it! I had wanted to use my fists to learn the King of Cursed Spirits' abilities, but instead, the King of Shell Spirits used his fists to learn mine!

"Of course this is Japan," Jogo said with a sour face. "But even we do not know exactly where it is. This place belongs to Kenjaku. To prevent information from leaking, Kenjaku never told me its precise location."

A secret base accessible only through spatial doors... was it?

Now, even if he found an opportunity, he could not tell Gojo-sensei where this place was. Hakari sighed inwardly. They really had sealed every possible leak. "Kinji Hakari? Kirara Hoshi? Even you two have betrayed us?" a metallic voice suddenly spoke.

Everyone's attention turned toward the owner of the metallic voice. The first thing they saw was Kenjaku, with a stitch running across his forehead.

He sat in a white plastic chair before a white plastic table, a huge parasol over his head. Even on a beach, he had not taken off his monk's robes. A monk in robes sitting at tourist-provided tables and chairs on a resort-like beach was certainly quite a sight.

He raised a hand and greeted Mahito. "Yo, Mahito. Looks like the plan went smoothly. I did not expect you to actually take Kinji Hakari and Kirara Hoshi under your command."

Hakari snorted. "I am merely interested in the future the King of Cursed Spirits has described."

"So you are equal partners?" Kenjaku asked curiously. Hakari's face darkened, and he said nothing.

Mahito walked toward Kenjaku and said smugly, "They are under my command, because I won. There are conditions, though. I promised Hakari that I would not make him face Satoru Gojo, and I will not order them to do anything they cannot accomplish."

Hakari was never going to be made to face Satoru Gojo in the first place. And having finally recruited such valuable generals, Mahito naturally would not send them on life-threatening missions. For Mahito's side—

"Those barely count as conditions," Kenjaku remarked. "Mahito, you have grown far too quickly. Even Kinji Hakari is no longer your match. It is hard to imagine what level you will reach in the future." "Are you afraid?" Mahito asked.

"No, I am delighted from the bottom of my heart," Kenjaku said.

The stronger you become, the easier it will be for me to achieve my goal. Kenjaku smiled broadly. Mahito walked to Kenjaku's side and noticed something on the white plastic table.

A metallic disc that looked both like metal and wood, only as large as an ear. A clear puppet-face carving decorated its surface, while nearly imperceptible Cursed Energy was concealed within it. Under Kenjaku's guidance, Mahito immediately recognized its nature.

A Cursed Corpse.

Mahito said with interest, "This is a Cursed Corpse operated remotely, right? In theory, the sorcerer operating a Cursed Corpse should not be too far from it, but a sorcerer worthy of catching Teacher's attention probably does not have that restriction."

"It is Kokichi Muta, right?" Hakari stepped closer, looking down at the metal disc with a mocking smile. "He is from Kyoto. He has a Heavenly Restriction. Since birth, he has lost the ability to move freely, in exchange for wide-area interference abilities that rank among the best in the world and Cursed Energy far beyond that of ordinary sorcerers."

"I did not expect you to follow the Cursed Spirits, Kinji Hakari," Kokichi Muta said.

Hakari's eyes flickered, and he replied indifferently, "Me? I have been sick of those old fossils for a long time. They even put out a wanted notice for me. Is it really so hard to understand that I would side with Cursed Spirits to overthrow the current Jujutsu Society?" "I heard that you respect Satoru Gojo greatly," Kokichi Muta pressed.

"You should have heard just now that the boss has already promised not to make me face Satoru Gojo directly." Hakari shrugged. "Aside from Satoru Gojo, those old fossils deserve to die. I would feel no guilt killing them."

Kokichi Muta was convinced. He believed Hakari's lies because he knew of Hakari's grudge against Kyoto's conservatives. Just as Hakari said, he had already been put on a wanted list. After being pushed this far, did they think he was some gentle lapdog who would not bite back?

Everyone knew Hakari's temper. Him working with Cursed Spirits was unexpected, but it was not unreasonable.

"What about you, Kokichi Muta?" Hakari looked at the metal disc, his tone mocking. "I heard you are close to the Kyoto students. Are you going to betray them?"

"That is precisely the Binding Vow I want to make with you," the metal disc said. "I can serve as your spy and provide information—but you are not allowed to harm the Kyoto students."

"The one you need to negotiate with is here now," Kenjaku said, making an inviting gesture.

The puppet face on the metal disc turned toward Mahito. "Where is Dagon?" Mahito asked Kenjaku.

Kenjaku shrugged and pointed toward the ocean. "He prefers the sea to land. He is probably underwater, playing with the fish right now." Mahito casually snapped his fingers.

Something slowly yet steadily emerged from the void.

Its material was plastic. Its color was white. Its style was a chair with a backrest.

In an instant, a white plastic chair fitting the current scene appeared before the puppet face and settled steadily on the ground. Mahito sat down in it. Sunglasses had appeared in his hand at some point. He put them on and reclined in the chair.

The metal disc emitted a slightly trembling metallic voice. "Is that Construction?"

"But I heard that your technique is not Construction, but healing." "No, to be precise—it is the evolution of the soul."

"I expected your ability might be more comprehensive, perhaps covering every field related to the soul, but I never imagined you could use abilities outside the realm of the soul."

"You have multiple techniques?"

"In history, besides Ryomen Sukuna, there has actually been another being capable of using two techniques?!"

Mahito was somewhat surprised. He lowered his sunglasses slightly and peered at the metal disc over one lens, asking with interest,

"Very few people know that Ryomen Sukuna possesses two different techniques. There was no record of it in the biographies of famous Jujutsu Society figures I read. If not for Teacher's lessons, I would have thought nobody in this world could use more than one technique. Yet you know. That cannot simply be something you learned. You deliberately sought it out, asked about it. Why are you interested in Ryomen Sukuna?"

The metal disc did not answer immediately. Instead, it asked, "One question each?"

One question each truly was the best way to understand one another. Mahito did not refuse and nodded. "One question each."

Kenjaku clapped his hands and added terms to the agreement. "If someone cannot or does not wish to answer, they must remain silent instead. If an answer is speculation or inference, that must be stated beforehand. No vague answers or leading wording."

"Binding Vow?" Kokichi Muta asked. "Binding Vow," Mahito replied.

"With the final confirmation from both sides ending with 'questions and answers concluded,' this shall be a Binding Vow," Kenjaku said.

The moment his words fell, both Kokichi Muta and Mahito felt the distinct sensation of a Binding Vow. The Binding Vow was formed!

Witnessing the formation of this Binding Vow, Hakari could not help twitching his brow.

"You people, what do you think Binding Vows are? Contracts that cannot be broken? Do not underestimate Binding Vows! How many Binding Vow masters in history died in bizarre ways because they failed to grasp the direction of their vows correctly? Even now, Binding Vows still contain countless mysteries waiting to be solved. Anyone in Jujutsu Society with even a little common sense should know that using Binding Vows as little as possible is the most correct way to treat them."

Hakari was right.

"Binding Vows are an extremely dangerous technique for sorcerers. Even in the original story, they appeared very rarely. Kenjaku is the most famous example of someone who uses them. Over a thousand years, he has made countless Binding Vows and suffered very little backlash. If that knowledge were made public, it would undoubtedly cause an academic earthquake in Jujutsu Society."

His secret to using Binding Vows came down to only one thing—

"Sincerity." Kenjaku raised one finger. "Binding Vows are terrifying, but if you look deeper, you will discover that what is terrifying is not the vow itself, but the two parties bound by it. After all, self-imposed vows differ from vows with others. Even if you break a self-imposed vow, the power gained through that vow is simply taken away. But when a vow with another person is broken, heaven knows how the price will be collected."

Hakari was speechless. "You understand that perfectly well."

"That is because when two parties form a Binding Vow, one side harbors ill intent, and that is what creates the price." Kenjaku lowered his finger and tucked both hands into his wide sleeves, smiling. "If both sides are wholeheartedly committed to the vow, then it is merely a reminder. The Binding Vow masters you mentioned from history suffered backlash because they arrogantly believed their word games would be accepted by the vow as legitimate loopholes. They lost reverence and sincerity toward both parties in the vow, and they merely reaped what they had sown."

There was a traditional kind of contract called a Gentleman's Agreement.

A Gentleman's Agreement had no written proof, no witnesses, and did not even require a price. Yet once the two gentlemen formed the agreement, it was absolutely impossible for either side to violate it.

Because when they made the agreement, both sides believed the other would not break it, and both firmly believed they themselves would not break it. With their own reputations as proof, both acknowledged that the agreement had been formed.

A Binding Vow was a Gentleman's Agreement.

As long as both parties bound by the agreement genuinely intended to fulfill it, acted toward that end, and made no tricks or word games within it, the Binding Vow would carry no price at all.

That was the greatest advantage of Binding Vows, and the fundamental reason Kenjaku had never suffered backlash from one in a thousand years.

Sincerity was the optimal answer when dealing with Binding Vows. Just like the Binding Vow now.