Jujutsu Kaisen: Yearning to Become an Immortal God

Mei Mei suddenly felt a chill crawl down her spine, but it was not directed at the King of Shell Spirits before her. It was directed at her past, everything she had seen and heard along the way, her entire life, and her own desires.

"Let me ask you something, Miss Mei Mei." Mahito asked softly, "Could you allow 'New Humans' to become commonplace?" Could I allow that?

Mei Mei reached her answer almost without hesitation. No!

Even if it were possible, even if all she had to do was lower her head and ask the King of Curses before her, even if this King of Curses agreed, even if, even if, even if, even if.

No matter how many reasons there were, no matter how easy it was to do.

She would not allow it. Why?

Because then—

"I wouldn't be able to make money anymore." Mei Mei let out a breath, her expression bitter. "I can't betray my instincts. I can't allow the popularization of 'New Humans.'"

And there was an even deeper reason.

Now that the transformation into New Humans was in her hands, she had become the middleman. That meant she held the lifeline of everyone seeking immortality, as well as the favor of all those immortals. Through those connections and favors, she could rise through the social ranks.

Once she reached the top of the hierarchy, would she not desire eternal rule? And if she could rule forever, would she allow—

Other immortals to come divide her cake? Even if she could tolerate it, because she was above such things.

Could the other immortals tolerate it?

Mei Mei closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her usual composure had returned.

She suddenly asked, "King of Curses, no offense intended, but what exactly are you a curse of?" "Humans." Mahito's smile curved like a crescent moon, the upturned corners of his lips resembling devil horns. "I am the manifestation of humanity's curse upon humanity."

Mirokuji Kirigiri

The deal was completed smoothly.

But Mei Mei left looking utterly lost. Ui Ui watched his sister worriedly, unsure what to do. Kinji Hakari's expression was grave.

Watching Mei Mei and Ui Ui leave, Kinji Hakari felt conflicted. Though he had already become a New Human, he had never considered the consequences of turning all humanity into New Humans. If Mei Mei had not raised the issue, he never would have realized it.

But once Mei Mei mentioned it, he understood as well—and discovered that understanding did not help. Just as Mahito had asked Mei Mei, "Aren't you underestimating humanity?"

Mahito might not be able to do it now, but once he truly ascended to godhood, he would absolutely be capable of transforming all humanity into New Humans. That was an undeniable fact. Yet even if Mahito did ascend to godhood, even if he truly possessed that power, who would ask him to do such a thing?

Anyone who dared ask Mahito to transform all humanity into New Humans would probably become a public enemy of the world.

As the master of Shell Spirits, Mahito understood this deeply, which was why he had proposed the path of New Humans without concern. In the end, what stopped humanity's progress was not Shell Spirits, but humanity itself. How ironic. How... tragic.

Could curses truly be eradicated? Kinji Hakari watched Mei Mei and Ui Ui's retreating backs and released a long sigh, as though he were trying to exhale all his frustration.

Then his back was struck hard.

Mahito slapped him across the spine. "What are you thinking about? Get ready for the next set." Kinji Hakari shook off his gloom. "Where are you going?"

"I promised Kokichi Muta that I would not lay a hand on Kyoto students, because at the time I did not yet have a deep understanding of my Reverse Cursed Technique. But things are different now. I need to come into contact with as many techniques as possible, which means I need to meet Kyoto Jujutsu High students. Yet that would break my promise to Kokichi Muta."

Mahito gave a thumbs-up, flashing white teeth. "So, let's go get part-time jobs!" "What necessary connection is there between those things?" Kinji Hakari stared at him blankly.

"I found out that Takada-chan has an autograph event today." Mahito said smugly. "Who's that?" Kinji Hakari asked.

"An idol, an idol! An idol who's 1.8 meters tall!" Mahito said. "You need to learn about current pop culture!

"Starting today, you will no longer be affected by lifespan. You'll remain your current age until the Cursed Energy in the atmosphere completely dissipates—literally living as long as heaven and earth.

"It's fine for now, but if you're still like this a hundred years from now, young people will look down on you and call you an old fossil."

Mahito scolded him, "Look at Kenjaku. That's the model of immortality. He's a genuine thousand-year-old fossil, yet he can still keep up with young people's topics and even loves tokusatsu shows. You should at least reach Kenjaku's level!"

"Reaching his level would be a disaster." Kinji Hakari snarked. "I'd rather die than become like him." "You've got guts, looking down even on Kenjaku," Mahito said.

"What I look down on isn't his talent, but his personality. Before I met that guy, I thought my personality was already bad enough. I never expected a person's lower limit could sink as low as Kenjaku's. It really opened my eyes." Kinji Hakari looked disgusted.

"That's because you haven't seen enough. Read some international news. You'll develop a heartfelt respect for the diversity of humanity." Mahito chuckled. "Let's talk about idols instead," Kinji Hakari sighed.

"Where was I? Oh, Takada-chan." Mahito said. "She's the idol Aoi Todo admires. Whenever Takada-chan holds an autograph event, no matter where it is, Aoi Todo will definitely show up.

"And not just him. The other Kyoto students will send at least one person to go with him. As long as we disguise ourselves as part-time staff and hand out water or merchandise, we can easily get close to them without breaking my promise to Kokichi Muta."

Mahito was not making this up. Aoi Todo really was that kind of person. Not only would he eagerly attend an idol's autograph event, he would unconsciously drag his classmates along. It would not be until they had started lining up with him that they realized they had followed Aoi Todo here.

More than once, at that!

It could be said that wherever there was a Takada-chan autograph event, there would definitely be Aoi Todo and at least one other person from Kyoto.

The guaranteed prize was Aoi Todo. First prize was Tsukumogami Manipulation, Momo Nishimiya. Second prize was Blood Manipulation, Noritoshi Kamo. Mai Zenin, Kasumi Miwa, and Ultimate Mechamaru were all thank-you-for-playing prizes.

Unlike mature jujutsu sorcerers like Mei Mei, young sorcerers were not nearly so vigilant.

If it were a sorcerer like Mei Mei, one who had truly fought curse users to the death, she would immediately become wary at anyone's approach. Forget offering tea or shaking hands—staring at her for too long could provoke a jujutsu counterattack.

The curse users of that era had truly been terrifying. They were everywhere, spreading panic without distinguishing between ordinary people and jujutsu sorcerers.

But this was Satoru Gojo's era. Curse users were all as docile as quails. Of course, there had been those who were not docile—those ones had all died, killed by Satoru Gojo.

That was why, when dealing with someone like Mei Mei, who had genuinely lived through the era when curse users ran rampant, Mahito would honestly propose a trade. It did not matter even if she guessed some of his abilities, so long as he was not completely exposed.

But with youngsters? Well, Mahito had no psychological burden whatsoever about using tricks.

Kinji Hakari curled his lip. He had to admit, it was a good plan. They could safely approach Kyoto students without breaking any promises.

He rubbed his head hard and was about to follow Mahito to their part-time job when something suddenly occurred to him. "Wait. To contact Aoi Todo and his group, you alone should be enough, right? Why drag me along?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Your boss is going to work part-time, and as your boss's little employee, you dare not follow? Get moving!" Mahito scolded.

"So you don't need me at all, do you? Damn it, I'm not going!" "Stop whining and come with me!"

"Luck Storage, use it all at once! Let me see your limits! Come on, let's draw!"

In the end, Kinji Hakari still could not escape the fate of part-time work. Mahito forcibly dragged him to Takada-chan's autograph event.

As an aside, he completely failed to understand why autograph events existed. Was lining up for hours just to shake an idol's hand and receive a signature really worth it?

Look, even your idol, Miss Takada-chan, has smiled until her face is stiff! This is double torture for idols and fans alike. Why don't you understand?

And these people showed absolutely no vigilance toward Mahito as he served tea and water. After Mahito handed him water, Aoi Todo—a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer who had killed a special-grade Shell Spirit barehanded during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons without using his technique—actually politely said, "Thank you."

Mahito even smiled like an idiot and said, "No problem."

That day, Kinji Hakari's worldview shattered. In more ways than one.

And as another aside, this time they drew first prize: Tsukumogami Manipulation.

It was a technique that allowed one to freely manipulate Tsukumogami. Tsukumogami could be cultivated, and Momo Nishimiya had cultivated a broom Tsukumogami herself.

She could ride it through the sky like a witch, command the broom Tsukumogami to attack, and it could even release wind blades. It was a technique with considerable potential.

As expected of Lucky Storage—it had hit the jackpot in one draw.

Now Mahito could consider what item he should cultivate into a Tsukumogami. Did he even need to think about it?!

Speaking of Tsukumogami, the most famous one was Yoto Hime. Now that Tsukumogami Manipulation was in hand, Mahito would never forgive himself if he did not cultivate a Yoto Hime all his own.

Blade of the Gods, Yoto Hime!

The time that followed was spent continuing to seek opportunities to contact more sorcerers and fill in the gaps in Mahito's techniques. But Mahito knew his limits. He still refused to act in Tokyo. As long as Satoru Gojo remained in Tokyo, Mahito would never act there.

Even Jogo no longer suggested facing Satoru Gojo. Kinji Hakari had beaten him far too badly that day, and he had learned his lesson.

Of course, there was one more important matter: perfecting Construction.

Kenjaku imparted his understanding of Construction without reservation, helping Mahito remember that feeling. Yes, the feeling.

The most basic level of Construction: using Cursed Energy to construct anything one had seen, including cursed tools. Then came advanced Construction: extracting the caster's understanding and using Cursed Energy to construct cursed tools. Most users of Construction could go no further.

In fact, every cursed tool that still existed was the work of Construction users. The cursed tools they had created with all their efforts had been preserved through the ages, surviving until the present day.

Then came the highest level of Construction. In the entire history of Jujutsu Society, only one person had reached it: the ancient sorcerer Yorozu.

Her Construction surpassed that of every other Construction user. With nothing more than a theory, she could create the legendary Perfect Sphere. By merely observing an insect, she could create the biological armor known as Insect Armor. Without exaggeration, she was about on the level of Kamen Rider 1 from a tokusatsu show.

Beyond that would be Bio-Booster Armor Guyver.

Luckily, the ancient sorcerer Yorozu had not lived into the modern era. If she had seen how vast the world was, perhaps she really could have created Bio-Booster Armor Guyver and handcrafted a Simulated Black Hole cannon.

After all, she was a woman who could even create a Perfect Sphere. Terrifying beyond measure.

Fortunately, Kenjaku had spent a long time interacting with the ancient sorcerer Yorozu. Now, every secret of Yorozu would be opened to Mahito.

She had said that the most important thing was feeling. The "feeling" of constructing an object.

Thus, Kenjaku had Mahito meditate on that feeling every day, assisting him in reaching that state sooner.

Kenjaku firmly believed that if it were Mahito, he would definitely succeed. Mahito was growing steadily.

The search for sorcerers went unexpectedly smoothly. Crow Manipulation and Tsukumogami Manipulation helped greatly. Though unremarkable, they were excellent for scouting. But while finding sorcerers was easy, recording the Innate Techniques in their minds was not.

Because most jujutsu sorcerers did not actually possess Innate Techniques!

Only then did Mahito remember that the original work seemed to have mentioned it: ordinary wage-worker sorcerers without Innate Techniques actually made up the majority of jujutsu sorcerers. Sorcerers with Innate Techniques were the minority.

Then why had so many sorcerers with Innate Techniques appeared in the original work? Curse users in particular seemed to all have one.

Because the original work's battlefield was fucking high-end from start to finish! The final game was even more absurd, selecting its participants from hundreds of millions of people.

Only then did Mahito remember that Satoru Gojo had apparently mentioned this in the original work: a sorcerer's strength was eighty percent innate, and effort only accounted for twenty percent. This was a profession where heaven decided whether you got to eat.

This was a major mistake on Mahito's part. He had not expected to stumble over such an issue.

Kenjaku, however, was not surprised at all. He said, "If we obtain them, we obtain them. If not, it doesn't matter. Innate Techniques were always something that could only be encountered by chance. We simply need to do our best. There's no need to stop searching, either. Your Soul Creation only requires contact. We can treat it as a daily routine. If we find one, it's a pleasant surprise. If we don't, that's perfectly normal."

Next came the cultivation of a Tsukumogami, which went much more smoothly. Kenjaku specially found a rusty ancient blade for this purpose.

"Blade length: 135 centimeters. Hilt length: 80 centimeters. Double-edged, capable of both slashing and piercing. Held with both hands, it can serve as either sword or spear." Kenjaku handed this "great sword" to Mahito.

The specifications were familiar enough that Mahito asked, "Futsu-no-Mitama?"

A massive ancient blade rested in a Japanese museum. It was said to be the sword that severed a god's head, named Futsu-no-Mitama. Its dimensions exceeded those of a nodachi, yet its blade was straight as a pine. Many people considered curved blades to be the defining feature of Japanese swords, but few knew that the oldest Japanese swords were never curved. Their blades were straight, and only repeated folding of steel made them fit to kill. Otherwise, they were too brittle and could only serve as decorative ceremonial swords.

This was the original style of long blade that had come from western lands. But Japan at the time did not possess such advanced smelting techniques. Through the passage of eras, the blade gradually became curved and the tip single-edged. The curved blade and pointed tip made slashing people smoother, eventually forming Japan's distinctive Japanese sword.

But this "Futsu-no-Mitama" possessed no curve whatsoever. Its dimensions were enormous, its tip double-edged. Only something ancient enough to predate the very concept of the Japanese sword could exist in this form.

"It is an exquisite replica. The true Futsu-no-Mitama is enshrined at Kashima Shrine. Its blade is 224 centimeters long, and its total length is a staggering 270 centimeters—far more outrageous than the one in my hands. But even as a replica, after being tempered by time, it is enough to become a Tsukumogami of the highest grade." Kenjaku said meaningfully, "Do not let her down. This ancient blade is a treasure capable of slaying gods."

Mahito believed that. The older a Tsukumogami was, the stronger it would be after its birth. Something this ancient possessed enough potential to slay gods.

This was a genuine god-slaying blade. Mahito accepted it solemnly.

He had no skill whatsoever in wielding an ancient blade, nor did he need any.

The moment the Tsukumogami was born, it would make up for all deficiencies in technique. So long as it was ancient enough, the most important thing was—beautiful.

Cultivating a Tsukumogami required sincere feelings. If it was not beautiful, no matter how useful it was, one could not cultivate it into a Tsukumogami. Beauty was therefore the prerequisite for everything else. All other factors could step aside.

After two days of cultivation, the rust gradually faded, revealing a somewhat bright blade. Under the moonlight, it looked like a pool of clear water, as alluring as a girl's eyebrows.

Mahito imagined the ancient blade's humanoid form:

She would surely have smooth black hair like spring water, its ends reaching her calves. Her black bangs would part to reveal a smooth forehead marked with a divine sigil. She would wear the garb of a deity, her expression cool and detached, her legs long and slender. White thigh-high socks would cover her legs, while thick wooden sandals rested beneath her feet. She would lift a massive blade—the blade that was her true body—radiating a beauty that sent chills down one's spine.

The ancient blade let out a soft hum. Mahito gently stroked its body as though caressing a lover's hand. Finally, there was Mei Mei's search for that feeling.

For that, apart from proceeding step by step, even Kenjaku had no solution. It could only be slowly ground out over time. Fortunately, the Tsukumogami's cultivation was going smoothly, so Mahito was not overly anxious. Progress remained encouraging.

The days passed one after another.

Mahito thought he could continue until he finally found that "feeling," but then something happened. A month passed steadily, making it exactly Mahito's second month in this world.

His Tsukumogami had just been born. She was a shy little girl, and Mahito was still delighted when Kinji Hakari suddenly arrived. "Mahito, there's trouble." Kinji Hakari said.

Mahito sat in the mountains beside a flowing spring. His eyes were closed, his legs crossed, and a long sword rested between them. The blade was straight, and sunlight filtered through the gaps between leaves, seeming to cast a warm silver gleam across it.

When Kinji Hakari spoke, Mahito opened his eyes. The long sword let out a soft hum.

"As expected of a Tsukumogami personally cultivated by Mahito. Even the reflection of its gleam is sharp as a blade." Kinji Hakari admired the sword. That soft hum just now had felt like a sharp blade pressed against the artery in his neck. In an instant, the fear of death had seeped into his bones.

This was an ancient blade Tsukumogami that had only just been born, yet its sharpness could already create an illusion of death. It was difficult to imagine how earthshaking it would be when truly swung.

"Not yet. There are still a few ideas I want to realize." Mahito also admired the long sword, but he did not view it as a weapon for killing. He saw it as newborn life. This was his first time cultivating a Tsukumogami, but it had sparked his inspiration, giving him new ideas. "Also, it's she. She's a shy girl."

Kinji Hakari touched his neck. That sharp light had felt as if it were about to pierce his throat. This counted as shy?

Fine, if the boss said so, then so be it. "What happened?" Mahito asked.

"Someone called me and specifically asked for you." Kinji Hakari said gravely, "I suspect something went wrong on Mei Mei's end. She exposed your information to Jujutsu Society."