Jujutsu Kaisen: Yearning to Become an Immortal God

Mahito did not mind. "It was only a matter of time. If anything, the fact that the news only spread now meant Momo had honored the business contract well enough. After all, we never signed a Binding Vow in the first place." Mahito smiled.

Of course, if Mei Mei appeared again, Mahito would kill her himself. Her betrayal had been real, and killing her was necessary to make an example of her. It had nothing to do with whether Mahito truly cared about the betrayal. Once betrayal occurred, regardless of its consequences, the traitor had to die.

"Who contacted me?" Mahito gently stroked the long sword. "Let me think. A family that wants to consolidate its position and rule eternally... It should be one of the Three Great Families of Jujutsu Society, right? It can't be the Gojo Clan, so that leaves the Kamo Clan and the Zenin Clan. Which one?"

"As expected of you, Mahito." Kinji Hakari was impressed. "It's the Zenin Clan. They sincerely invited you to visit their family estate and promised not to harm you."

"Did they make a Binding Vow?" Mahito asked. "No." Kinji Hakari frowned deeply.

"They want to lay down a net and capture me." Mahito spoke leisurely. "No need to worry about my life, though. I possess immortality without side effects. They surely won't be willing to kill me."

"But they'll do anything else." Kinji Hakari immediately said, "You can't go, Mahito."

"No, I will go," Mahito said. Kinji Hakari froze.

"Recently, I realized something. Something obvious that I'd always subconsciously ignored." "What?"

"Tell me, Kinji. When does a Cursed Technique improve dramatically?" Mahito asked.

As a combat-oriented sorcerer, Kinji Hakari was more qualified than any other to answer that question. He gave Mahito a deep look and answered solemnly, "In a fight to the death."

That was right. Even purely logistical Cursed Techniques like Construction improved fastest through desperate combat. More precisely, at the very moment when one was about to die.

Unlike conventional technology, people often said war was the most effective catalyst for technological explosions. But that required all the prerequisite theories to already be in place. Only then could war drive explosive progress. Tribal wars were wars too—did tribal warfare create a technological explosion?

Well, it could. The technological explosion of tribal warfare meant better bows and bowstrings, sharper spears, and stone axes. But Cursed Techniques were different, because they depended on the individual.

Cursed Techniques resided in a sorcerer's brain. The more desperate the battle, the more their precision improved, because failure to improve meant death! Everyone was like this, including Satoru Gojo. Sorcerers raised step by step would never reach the highest peak. Every jujutsu sorcerer understood that.

Mahito suddenly asked, "Kinji, will Satoru Gojo be at the Zenin estate?"

"If Gojo-sensei were there, the Zenin Clan would never have invited you." Kinji Hakari stated firmly. "Gojo-sensei would hang every Zenin up and beat them, because they dared cooperate with Cursed Spirits!"

Mahito smiled. "Then I have nothing to worry about."

He rose to his feet, sheathed the long sword with one hand, and held it before his eyes. The reflected light from the blade shone in his heterochromatic eyes like a silver mirror. "Zenin Cutter? Hm, it sounds awful. My girl will not stop at a mere Zenin Clan. Zenin means Buddha, so Buddha Cutter? No, I'll ascend to godhood sooner or later. That name won't do. Let me think..."

He looked at her and said softly, "Mirokuji, from today onward, you shall be Mirokuji Mist Cutter."

Mirokuji is your surname, for it means gods and Buddhas. Mist Cutter is your name, for it means cutting through all. Divine Blade: All Gods and Buddhas!

"Let the blood of the Zenin Clan celebrate your birth, Divine Blade—Mirokuji Mist Cutter."

Torrential Rain, the Lone Dragon Walks Alone

In the wind and rain, someone jogged down a corridor. His face was covered in cold sweat, and his whole body trembled until he saw a sliding door. He yanked it open and shouted without thinking:

"He's here!" "Who?" someone asked.

"The King of Curses, Mahito!" he said.

"I heard he never travels alone. Wherever he goes, he always has at least one attendant with him. We never made a Binding Vow with Kinji Hakari, so he should have guessed our intentions. How many people did he bring?" someone beside the head seat asked.

"He brought no one." Sweating profusely, he said, "He came alone. He wore a kimono and haori, with a long sword at his waist—a great blade over two meters long! He looked like a sword saint who had stepped out of the Heian Era, carrying wind and rain with him."

A roar suddenly came from the sky outside. Lightning tore through the heavens as though a divine dragon had flown past. Someone mocked, "He deliberately came on a thunderstorm day, dressed like a swordsman. What is he thinking?"

"He wants to kill." Someone suddenly spoke. "How could—"

"He wants to kill. He wants to slaughter everyone in the Zenin Clan. He wants to exterminate the Zenin Clan." The man murmured softly as he set down his sake bottle and straightened from his casual posture. He was the clan head seated in the place of honor, and he completely understood Mahito's intentions.

Who had not been young? The clan head had once fantasized about becoming a master swordsman, wandering through the night, meeting an enemy on the road, and cutting them down with a single slash. But that was fantasy, not reality.

But if that fantasy truly arrived, how incredible would that person's condition be? The clan head slowly exhaled.

"All jujutsu sorcerers have good days and bad days, especially in battle. But one's condition does not simply arrive on command. Sometimes, the environment is needed to support it."

"Today is a thunderstorm. Heavy rain falls from the sky, lightning flashes, and he walks here slowly in swordsman's attire, like the protagonist of a swordplay drama. Meanwhile, we are the underworld villains meant to be dismantled by the protagonist."

"I believe he is burning with rage, yet his heart is as calm as a lake. He has already entered the state of a clear mirror and still water, waiting for the coming slaughter." The entire room fell silent. Everyone was stunned.

"Hei!" the clan head suddenly shouted. A young man jolted awake. "Yes!"

"Gather every member! Assemble in the center of the courtyard and prepare for battle!" "Yes!" The young man bowed, rose, and immediately took action.

"Kukuru Unit!" the clan head shouted again. "Yes!" another young man answered loudly.

"Move all women and children to the underground training grounds. Then leave half the men behind to protect those without combat ability. The other half will follow Hei! Even if every one of us, myself included, dies, you are not to come out. Wait for reinforcements."

"Yes!" He stood up and immediately ran out. "Where is Satoru Gojo?" the clan head asked.

"We sent him abroad. He cannot return for another week," someone answered.

"Excellent. We set a trap for ourselves. Truly wonderful!" the clan head mocked loudly. "Now pray. Pray that I am worrying over nothing, or that the King of Curses has a good temper and will leave after killing us rather than wiping out our bloodline!"

"Why should he? We invited him properly, and he came to kill us!" someone roared.

"Because of what you just said." The clan head's face was expressionless as he gave a cold laugh. "Because of that arrogance embedded in your bones!"

The clan head threw the sake bottle into the middle of the room. It shattered, and he stretched out his tongue to lick away the final drop of sake clinging to his lips.

The Zenin Clan head had guessed correctly. That was exactly what Mahito intended. Mahito had not lied to Kinji Hakari. He really had figured it out.

In the original story, there was a theoretically universal finishing move that every jujutsu sorcerer could use: Black Flash. It was a supreme technique only sorcerers in exceptional condition could unleash. After using Black Flash, whether sorcerer or Cursed Spirit, one would enter a special awakened state. This state made one's body and mind utterly clear, allowing even Technique Burnout to recover in an instant.

The original Mahito had entered the state called Idle Transfiguration: Self-Embodiment of Perfection by landing a Black Flash. That was his ultimate form. Although he lost his ability to transform, his physical performance rose to unprecedented heights. He evolved into a higher-dimensional existence fundamentally different from his prior form.

But Mahito now was clearly stronger than he had been in the original story, yet he could not do it.

He could not land a Black Flash, nor could he enter Idle Transfiguration: Self-Embodiment of Perfection. Why?

Was his heart not pure enough? Had he never fought to the death? Mahito judged that both were true.

He thought too much and too chaotically, and he had never experienced a true fight to the death.

Time was already running out. It was now July 2018, and December 24, 2018, was when the original story ended.

If Mahito had not fully grown by then, he would certainly die. Kenjaku would absorb him, and Satoru Gojo would kill him.

No matter where he fled, he believed Kenjaku and Satoru Gojo would find him. Kenjaku would do it for amusement, and Satoru Gojo for righteousness—unless he gambled.

He would have to gamble that Kenjaku would be killed by Satoru Gojo, that Satoru Gojo and Ryomen Sukuna would perish together, that the protagonists would pity him and spare him, and finally that human governments were too stupid to realize that Cursed Spirits led by Mahito might become Earth's new rulers.

Only then would he have a way to live. Was that possible?

What a joke! How was that any different from handing his life to fate and rolling the dice?

The world was vast, yet there was nowhere for him to belong. So Mahito came alone.

Jogo tried hard to persuade him, but Mahito did not agree to let them accompany him. Kinji Hakari also urged him not to act rashly, but he still refused, because this was not recklessness.

Only Kenjaku noticed Mahito's change. He asked Mahito, "What do you need me to prepare?"

"Is there any preparation that can help me land a Black Flash?" Mahito asked.

"A jujutsu sorcerer's growth is not always smooth and steady. With solid soil, a little soul and imagination, all that remains is an insignificant trigger. Then a person can be completely reborn."

Kenjaku smiled. "Mahito, what matters is your state of mind. In what state do you wish to fight? It's fine. Don't be embarrassed. Let your imagination run to its limits, let your emotions run to their limits, and in the end, follow your heart."

Just as the original Satoru Gojo had chosen December 24 as the date for the final battle because it was the last day of the year and carried special meaning, simply making such a choice could improve one's condition. Mahito needed the same thing now.

Mahito thought for a moment and smiled. "I understand."

He chose a day of torrential rain and had Kinji Hakari call the Zenin Clan.

He carefully washed his body, rose from the bath, and put on the clothes Kenjaku had meticulously prepared. They consisted of a loose white upper garment with folded diagonal hems, tied at the waist with a sash, wide black hakama, white socks, and wooden sandals.

Finally, he draped a black haori over himself.

Hanami combed his messy, loose hair. Under her careful grooming, his once-frizzy long hair became smooth like white silk. He stood, and his hair fell naturally down his back like a pristine white cloak.

[Await your return, our lord.] Hanami offered her blessing. Mahito smiled and nodded gently.

Jogo handed him a broad conical hat. He took it. Sun and moon ornaments hung from its brim, chiming crisply as they swayed, and he put it on.

"Fifty years of life are but a dream, but an illusion," Jogo said quietly. "Where there is life, there is death. What regrets can a warrior have?" Those were the words Oda Nobunaga had spoken before the desperate battle that shattered the Warring States Period's balance, after which he stepped into the realm.

Jogo held immense expectations for Mahito, and that had not changed. "The Zenin Clan is not the Battle of Okehazama," Mahito said, understanding his meaning.

Dagon emerged from the seawater and looked up at him with watery eyes. Mahito reached out and gently stroked his head. "Mahito is invincible," Dagon said.

Mahito lightly tapped Dagon's forehead with the back of his hand. "Don't say that at a time like this." Kinji Hakari watched him and handed over the scabbard he had prepared long ago.

Mahito took the scabbard in one hand. With his other hand slightly raised, Mist Cutter, which had been standing nearby, slowly floated up and descended along the scabbard. At last, blade and scabbard met with a soft, clear hum.

Kinji Hakari seemed to want to speak, but stopped himself. Finally, he said, "May victory follow you, Mahito."

"Of course," he said. Lastly, there was Kenjaku.

He opened a spatial gate. Beyond it, torrential rain poured down and lightning flashed amid rolling thunder. He looked at Mahito's attire, watched him place Mist Cutter at his waist and put on the conical hat. Fully prepared, Kenjaku seemed to return to ancient times. Back then, everyone wore kimono and haori, conical hats, and carried long swords. Every samurai walked the streets like this, always ready to face life or death in the next instant.

Few people knew that Kenjaku had once been a samurai. When Kenjaku fought Yuki Tsukumo in the original story, Yuki Tsukumo had mocked him as a fallen samurai.

And now, he saw an illusion of the past.

"The bells of Gion Shōja toll, proclaiming the impermanence of all things. The flowers of the sala trees fade, revealing that the prosperous must decline."

Kenjaku chanted softly. At some point, the face that always wore a malicious smile had changed. His expression sank. He opened his eyes, and those dark black eyes stared fixedly at Mahito as though he were dreaming.

Then he came back to himself and resumed his malicious smile.

"It seems you are fully prepared, Mahito. Once you go through this gate, there will be no regrets." "I understand."

"In the jujutsu sorcerer ranking system, sorcerers always stand above Cursed Spirits. Special Grade Cursed Spirits actually correspond to Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerers. The Zenin Clan has four Semi-Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerers, seven Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerers, and nearly a hundred battle-hardened sorcerers without Cursed Techniques. Don't blame me for being long-winded, Mahito, but have you truly thought this through?" Kenjaku asked.

Mahito's current classification was Special Grade Cursed Spirit—intelligent Special Grade Shell Spirit—the manifestation of human curses against humans.

That meant four sorcerers ranked above him, seven roughly equal to him, and nearly a hundred capable sorcerers who could still trouble him. Moreover, he had not even collected all the Cursed Techniques possessed by the Zenin Clan.

This battle was fundamentally different from the one against Kinji Hakari.

Although Kinji Hakari possessed the strength of a special grade jujutsu sorcerer, and defeating him theoretically meant Mahito had surpassed that rank, it should not be calculated that way. Mahito had easily defeated Kinji Hakari because he had thoroughly studied him beforehand. Mahito held an absolute intelligence advantage and had prepared countermeasures, while Kinji Hakari knew none of it. The battle had ended before it began.

But this time was different. Though he knew the Zenin Clan through the original story, he did not know everything. He held no intelligence advantage. On the contrary, his information was surely already laid out before the Zenin Clan. He was at a disadvantage in intelligence.

A true fight to the death.

Was it worth it for Black Flash? Of course it was.

Or rather, if he did not take this step today, he would never be able to take it in the future.

Satoru Gojo was absent, he knew much of the Zenin Clan's intelligence, he had recorded many powerful Cursed Techniques, and Mist Cutter could even slay gods. If he retreated now, it would be no different from slowly killing himself!

Only a battle with the risk of death, but not one entirely devoid of hope for victory, could allow him to grow at the fastest possible speed. If he did not fight now, then when would he?

Mahito stepped through the spatial gate. The torrential rain immediately hammered against his conical hat. Listening to the raindrops strike it, he imagined the sound of blades clashing. His emotions, which had calmed down, gradually began to rise. He walked down the road. At its end stood the Zenin estate, blurred by the rainstorm.

Suddenly, he felt someone's gaze upon him. It was a strange sensation. He had not used any Cursed Technique, yet his Cursed Energy spread around him and radiated outward. Every raindrop and every sound wave lay before his eyes. He seemed like the god of this world, and now the god swept his gaze around and easily discovered the surveillance.

But he did not turn around, nor did he waver. He merely continued walking toward the end of the road.

More and more gazes focused on him. He gently lowered his conical hat, concealing his face. He advanced through the curtain of rain without haste. Mist Cutter seemed to sense the danger, giving off a clear hum as it trembled uneasily in its scabbard.

He gently stroked Mist Cutter. The sword's clear hum slowly faded, and it became quiet as a maiden.

The Zenin estate stirred. The guards stared nervously at Mahito in the rain, their hands unconsciously pressing against the long swords at their waists. Suddenly, more than fifty people emerged from within. Their expressions were dead still. They were more professional than the guards, and before Mahito could approach, their long swords had already left their sheaths.

In an instant, the sound of swords being drawn filled the air, drowning out even the rain. Mahito swept his gaze across them, then suddenly focused on one person.

He sensed Cursed Energy rising around that man. He was their leader. Mahito recalled the information from the original story. This man seemed to have appeared in it too. Normally, Mahito would never remember such a minor character, but his condition was exceptionally good now. With one look, he recognized him.

"Zenin Clan, captain of the Kukuru Unit, Shinro Zenin?" he suddenly asked.

The man froze. "You know me?"

At last, Mahito stopped walking. Everyone unconsciously sighed in relief, except Shinro Zenin. He stared cautiously at Mahito, hesitating over whether to strike first. Though Mahito appeared completely relaxed, his stance amid the wind and rain was like that of a demon god. The lower half of his face was hidden in darkness beneath the conical hat, even his heterochromatic eyes concealed. Only a silent terror washed over them.

"Every Zenin Clan sorcerer without a Cursed Technique is obligated to join the Kukuru Unit. Since they have no techniques, they can only train their physical abilities. Every one of them is a master of hand-to-hand combat, capable of defeating Cursed Spirits of the same grade through physical skill alone."

Mahito lightly brushed Mist Cutter's hilt. Cursed Energy unknowingly ignited, and he said softly:

"But that is not the Kukuru Unit's duty. The Kukuru Unit exists to assist Hei. You have deployed, which means Hei is behind you? Are you pawns sent to test me?"

"Calling us pawns is rather unpleasant." Shinro Zenin sneered. "A mere Cursed Spirit does not require Lord Hei. I alone will—"

Mahito suddenly turned. During the turn, he brought Mist Cutter before him and, borrowing the force of his spin, violently hurled Mist Cutter together with its scabbard. Shinro Zenin had never expected a samurai to throw away his sword before battle. Fortunately, he had remained prepared for surprises. Seeing it, he immediately swung his own sword and knocked Mist Cutter aside.

Amid the clear clash, Mahito activated Cursed Technique Reversal and set the target of Soul Creation as—Aoi Todo.

Cursed Technique Release: Boogie Woogie!

Knocked away by the force of Shinro Zenin's block, Mist Cutter flew into the sky. Its scabbard fell away mid-flight. A crisp clap rang out, and Mahito switched places with the scabbard. One hand seized Mist Cutter's hilt.

Shinro Zenin's eyes widened. He was holding his long sword upward to block, and he could never have imagined Mahito would appear before him in an instant. His final sentence was unfinished, his movement incomplete, but Mahito had already arrived before his eyes. At that moment, he finally saw Mahito's face clearly.

Those heterochromatic eyes gleamed faintly in the torrential rain, divine yet demonic. Soul Creation switched to Momo Nishimiya—Tsukumogami Manipulation!

The blade lightly swept across Shinro Zenin's throat, cutting into his esophagus, passing through the bones of his neck, and emerging from the gap. One slash, a clean beheading!