Chapter 21: Yearning to Become an Immortal God - Jujutsu Kaisen: Aspiring to Become the Immortal God

"Even Satoru Gojo," Mahito said with a smile, "is someone I can try taking on now."

Steady Growth

Mahito was not insane, because he truly had both the thought and the strength to challenge Satoru Gojo.

He had obtained a body now, but this was ultimately an unpolished Vessel. His degree of synchronization with it was insufficient, and its compatibility could not reach one hundred percent. In this regard, Kenjaku was the true master. Every ancient sorcerer who had made a Binding Vow with Kenjaku had been specially prepared with a Vessel, and those specially made Vessels could even perfectly reproduce the ancient sorcerers' strength from when they were alive.

But the sorcerer Mahito had incarnated into now had not been carefully prepared. Kenjaku had simply grabbed him at random, and the difference was enormous. Cursed Object incarnation was actually simpler than people imagined. Take a Shell Spirit like a Death Painting Womb, for example. It only needed to be placed inside an ordinary person's stomach, after which the ordinary person's body would complete the incarnation through contamination by cursed energy.

If Mahito wanted to, he could naturally do the same. In fact, his current Vessel had been made in roughly that manner. The only thing he cared about was the Construction Cursed Technique. As long as the Vessel's technique was worthwhile, nothing else mattered.

But in reality, this kind of incarnation was extremely crude. Kenjaku had plenty to say about that.

Over a thousand years, he had continuously collected Binding Vows from powerful sorcerers. After those powerful sorcerers died, Kenjaku turned them into Cursed Objects, but he did not casually toss them into ordinary people's mouths to incarnate them. On the contrary, he carefully selected suitable vessels and spent years refining their bodies, until the game began and every ancient sorcerer could return in their prime.

Of course, Mahito would only learn later that things were not so simple. Kenjaku was far more vicious than Mahito imagined, and the sophistication of his methods was beyond anything Mahito's current imagination could grasp.

Ryomen Sukuna was especially so. To create a Vessel that could let Ryomen Sukuna display his full power, Kenjaku had personally become a woman and given birth to a child.

That child was Yuji Itadori, the protagonist of Jujutsu Kaisen.

Yuji Itadori had also fulfilled his role perfectly. He broke the pattern that had persisted ever since Sukuna's Fingers, those Special Grade Cursed Objects, first appeared. He became Ryomen Sukuna's Vessel, and that was the main thread of the original story all the way to its conclusion.

Mahito had an idea, one similar to Kenjaku's approach. He wanted a Vessel that was one hundred percent compatible with him.

If he could accomplish that, he was confident he could truly contend with Satoru Gojo.

He told Kenjaku his idea, hoping for the approval of this thousand-year-old Jujutsu Sorcerer. Kenjaku lay sprawled on a beach recliner, carefully considering Mahito's strange idea.

He asked, "You are a Cursed Spirit of the soul domain. Even after a thousand years, my understanding of souls is far inferior to yours. So tell me, what do you think a soul is?"

This conversation took place three days after that exchange.

Like Kenjaku, Mahito lay on a beach chair. Hearing that, he could not help but fall into thought.

That was a good question. Before this, he had never seriously considered it. Though his previous life still left him with a certain reverence for souls, that feeling had mostly faded after he transmigrated into Mahito. To him, body and soul were the same. Due to his ability, he even felt that souls were easier to alter than bodies.

He cautiously answered, "A component that makes humans act?"

Kenjaku did not deny it. Instead, he brought up a philosophical thought experiment. "A Western philosopher once proposed something interesting. He said that if there was a ship whose components constantly wore down during its voyage and had to be replaced, then eventually even its most important keel was replaced, would it still be the same ship as before?"

To be honest, Mahito did not understand what Kenjaku was getting at.

What did that have to do with his incarnation? The question had nothing to do with the soul domain at all. It was merely about incarnation. Mahito had thought Kenjaku would discuss Vessel-related matters as usual, yet unexpectedly, he began talking about souls and even brought philosophy into it.

Kenjaku's lips curled upward. Every time he saw the otherwise arrogant King of Curses wearing such a confused expression, it delighted him. He knew perfectly well that as time passed, Mahito's physical capabilities and intelligence would only become more and more complete, until eventually even he would no longer be able to teach him.

On the contrary, in the future, Kenjaku would be the one asking Mahito for guidance. While Mahito had yet to fully mature, this chance to play the teacher only made Kenjaku cherish the time even more.

Kenjaku pointed at his brain. "According to modern medicine, the most important component of a human is the brain, because the endpoints of human memories and sensations reside within it. Tell me, Mahito, does the human soul also reside in the brain?"

"No," Mahito answered with certainty.

"Where, then?" Kenjaku asked.

Mahito pointed at his heart. "Here."

Kenjaku knew that although Mahito pointed at his heart, he did not mean the soul literally resided within the human heart.

Sure enough, Mahito said, "The soul completely overlaps with the body. Every part of the body contains the soul. They are two sides of one whole, inseparable."

That was why whenever Mahito used Idle Transfiguration to alter a soul, the body would be pulled along by the soul. The soul was part of the body itself. Move one hair, and the entire body was affected.

Humans could see bodies with their eyes but could not see souls, so they believed souls were nobler than bodies. In truth, the opposite was true. Souls were ordinary, so ordinary that they were one with the body. Cutting off part of a body was, to a certain extent, no different from cutting off part of a soul.

Kenjaku nodded. "Let's return to the previous question. Which component of that ship do you think is its soul? Do not misunderstand. Although this is a philosophical thought experiment, what we are discussing is not philosophy but reality. Do not treat it as philosophy. Treat it as medicine."

Treat it as medicine?

Could pursuing that philosophical question eventually lead to the soul?

Mahito thought carefully, then hesitantly said, "I think all of it is related."

Kenjaku gave Mahito a deep look and smiled. "There is no need to hesitate, Mahito. I told you already, your research into souls must surpass mine. I will listen seriously to every conclusion you reach. You said all of it, yes? Then let us speak of all of it."

Mahito inwardly sighed. His own theories in this area were indeed far too limited. Kenjaku had led him by the nose.

But it was not his fault. He simply had no channel through which to learn such things, so he could only rely on Kenjaku. Fortunately, because of the Binding Vow, the knowledge Kenjaku gave him had to be correct—at least, correct according to Kenjaku himself.

He asked, "What answer were you originally going to give?"

"Humans." Kenjaku's smile did not change. "The soul should refer to the captain of that ship that was replaced again and again. No matter how many times the ship's components are changed, only the captain is not replaced. The soul of the ship is neither the keel, which symbolizes the heart, nor the wheel, which symbolizes the brain. It is the person holding the wheel."

Mahito suddenly understood.

That really was an answer fitting Kenjaku's character, because it was exactly what he himself did.

Kenjaku changed the subject. "But since this comes from Mahito, a master of the soul domain, perhaps you are the one who is correct. The unity of body and soul may be the true answer."

"Sometimes, I can also sense faint fluctuations from the original consciousness of a Vessel. I used to think it was an accidental phenomenon, but if your theory of body and soul as one is correct, then it should not be accidental. As long as I use this shell, I cannot avoid backlash from the shell's owner's soul."

This was Kenjaku's own issue. He did not elaborate and instead returned to the original topic.

"If you want to create your own incarnation, the first condition you must overcome is preparing a place for your soul to reside."

"Unlike ordinary incarnation, the most important thing about a specialized Vessel is this. Because its compatibility with the Cursed Object must be adjusted to one hundred percent, its soul must also be altered, just like that ship."

Adjusting the compatibility between soul and body... Mahito pondered it.

Kenjaku smiled. "The most compatible method, without question, is to be born again. In other words, reincarnation."

Mahito frowned tightly. "Reincarnation?"

"Do you know how I arranged Ryomen Sukuna's Vessel?" Kenjaku asked. The original work had indeed never seemed to explain that, and Mahito was curious. "Please tell me."

"I placed the reincarnated soul of Ryomen Sukuna's brother into the womb of my previous body and allowed it to grow naturally," Kenjaku said without changing expression.

Mahito froze. Had the original work ever said that?

"Very few people know that Ryomen Sukuna actually had a brother." Kenjaku's lips curled upward. It was unclear whether the expression was mocking or mournful. "However, Ryomen Sukuna's younger twin brother was never born. While they were still inside their mother's womb, Ryomen Sukuna actively devoured his own twin brother."

Mahito felt a chill run down his spine. A monster that would actively prey upon its own blood relative before even being born—that was the King of Curses from a thousand years ago, Ryomen Sukuna.

"This is the best, highest, most perfect Vessel." Kenjaku stared at Mahito and spoke in a voice so light it seemed to drift like willow fluff. "Mahito, if you want to create your own Vessel, you must also follow this special rule. Place the reincarnation of part of your own soul into a human mother's womb, watch it grow, and then... devour your other half and become the master of the body."

Even after being a Cursed Spirit for a month and a half, Mahito still felt that such a method was too contrary to human ethics.

Unable to suppress the doubt that had suddenly arisen in his heart, he curiously asked, "Were the Vessels you prepared for the ancient sorcerers also made that way?"

"Of course not." Kenjaku was about to continue when he suddenly stopped. "You know about the Binding Vows I made with ancient sorcerers? You even know that I prepared Vessels for them? Where did you learn that?"

"I have my own sources of information too," Mahito said casually. "After all, even if a creator does not wish it, their creations will still share information with them."

Kenjaku hesitantly asked, "Those modified Shell Spirits? They actually investigated my affairs on their own, despite you never giving them the order?"

Modified Cursed Spirits were Mahito's usual experiments. In the original work, Mahito had said that compared to humans, Cursed Spirit souls were sturdier and more able to withstand modification. That showed that the original Mahito had conducted similar experiments. In this world, Mahito had no qualms about using modified Cursed Spirits as his test subjects. He did not consider those mindless Shell Spirits his own kind at all.

Incidentally, after beginning large-scale experiments on Cursed Spirits, he had finally solved a minor mystery from the original work.

During the Shinjuku Showdown in the original work, Jujutsu Sorcerers had complained, "We usually can't find them, so why are Special Grade Cursed Spirits suddenly popping up one after another?"

It had merely been a casual complaint, meant to explain that besides the protagonists and a few Jujutsu Sorcerers, other sorcerers were also dealing with disasters. They were not doing nothing. But where did all those Special Grade Cursed Spirits in reality come from? Mahito now knew.

They had been modified by him!

So many Special Grade Cursed Spirits had all come from Mahito's hand, and they obeyed Mahito's orders.

"It is not something that cannot be discussed." Kenjaku shrugged slightly. "Yes, those sleeping people are precisely the Vessels I prepared for ancient sorcerers."

"Perfectly reproducing the abilities of ancient sorcerers is no simple task. I have to spend a long time cultivating them. Honestly, the work is exhausting."

"Can my Vessel be made that way?" Mahito asked.

"Impossible," Kenjaku declared. "Do not forget, no matter how troublesome the Vessels of ancient sorcerers are, ancient sorcerers are still human. Since they are human, it is enough to prepare human bodies."

"But you are a genuine Cursed Spirit. There is no body among humans that can be compatible with you. If you want perfect compatibility, there is no second path besides devouring your own younger brother as Ryomen Sukuna did."

After a pause, Kenjaku said inscrutably, "At least, that is what my knowledge tells me."

The moment he said that, it meant there was a turning point.

Mahito immediately pressed, "So there is another theory?"

"This theory comes from you." Kenjaku spoke meaningfully. "Have you forgotten? Your ability is to alter souls. Since the human body cannot adapt to you, could you not adapt yourself to humans instead?"

Mahito did not answer.

After incarnating, he could now use an Innate Technique and Reverse Cursed Technique, almost like a human Jujutsu Sorcerer... almost. Every time he used a Cursed Technique, he could clearly sense a distinct obstruction. He knew it was because this was not flesh native to him.

At the end of the day, it was merely the body of some Jujutsu Sorcerer found at random. Even that sorcerer's soul still remained inside the body, simply asleep rather than removed.

Because it was not his own body, naturally he could not display his full strength.

With such incomplete power, defeating Satoru Gojo was impossible. That was why he needed a body that belonged completely to him.

"What are you discussing?" Kinji Hakari came over then, looking refreshed and invigorated.

Mahito stopped reminiscing and looked at Kinji Hakari. "Have you finished handling your matters?"

"There was not much to handle." Kinji Hakari casually lay down on a recliner that had already been prepared nearby. "I left Kirara over there. If anything comes up, she'll call me. It's not a big deal if I'm gone for a while. If there's trouble, just give me a portal and I can get there immediately."

"We were discussing my Vessel. This body cannot let me use my full power. If I want to fight Satoru Gojo, I need at least a body that lets me perfectly display my strength," Mahito said.

Mahito had no intention of hiding it from Kinji Hakari, because Mahito knew that no matter how many little schemes Kinji Hakari still had in his heart, he could no longer betray Mahito.

Hey, kid. Thought Seal!

That was right. Although Kinji Hakari had not yet given his loyalty completely to Mahito, it was only a matter of time.

The Thought Seal Mahito had been researching ever since transmigrating had finally become usable. While Kinji Hakari was unconscious, Mahito had already planted a Thought Seal inside him.

Although Kinji Hakari had not noticed it yet, his way of thinking was already beginning to lean toward Mahito's major criminal organization. For example, he might believe he had left his territory and come here to monitor Mahito, but judging from his actions...

The moment he had arranged the miscellaneous matters in his own territory, he came here to report to Mahito. That was undoubtedly the behavior of a fiercely loyal subordinate.

His thinking had already begun to change, yet Kinji Hakari himself remained completely unaware. That was the Thought Seal.

Though Kenjaku did not know why Mahito trusted Kinji Hakari so much, since Mahito had already spoken, he smoothly repeated their previous conversation.

Kinji Hakari listened seriously, his brows tightly furrowed.

"So your current Vessel is already limiting your potential? You need a body completely compatible with your soul, but you do not want to use Kenjaku's method and eat your own 'brother'?" he asked.

Mahito nodded.