Jujutsu Kaisen: Yearning to Become an Immortal God

"Humanity's curse upon humanity manifests—

Mahito. Reporting for duty!"

Mahito kicked Shinro Zenin away. His severed head still wore its arrogant expression as it cut through the downpour, landed on the soaked road, and rolled through the gate. Blood gushed from the cut in his neck like a fountain. Amid the spreading crimson, Mahito raised Mist Cutter and pointed it straight at Zenin!

Rainy Night Killing, Accompanied by Thunder

The squad members standing beside Shinro Zenin hurriedly backed away. Soon, everyone had retreated to a safe distance, as though Moses had parted the sea. It was his first time killing someone, yet Mahito unexpectedly felt nothing.

He only felt astonishingly good. The raindrops pounding against his conical hat were deafening, but his heart held no irritation. He quietly watched the rain-soaked world, imagining the legendary sword saints who killed in the rain. He held this divine blade in one hand. Before the battle, Mist Cutter had still hummed softly, but now she was silent as snow, reflecting a startling silver light beneath the downpour.

Mahito took a step forward. He had just killed their captain, yet not a single squad member showed anger. Every face was filled with terror. When Mahito stepped forward, everyone unconsciously retreated half a step.

"Eek!" At last, someone could no longer endure the immense pressure and let out a shrill cry.

That cry seemed to awaken the others. All the Kukuru Unit members suddenly snapped out of their stupor. In unison, they raised their long blades and screamed. The sound of rain was instantly drowned out by the howling squad members, and their expressions shifted from fear to fury.

Blades stood like a forest as the squad members charged together!

Mahito showed no fear as he rushed at the Kukuru Unit members. —Tsukumogami Manipulation!

This was a technique that freely controlled Tsukumogami and brought out their abilities to the fullest. Every Tsukumogami possessed its own unique power, and Mist Cutter was no exception. Mahito had personally nurtured her, recording within her every one of his desires for swords and blades. At this moment, her ability finally bloomed. Its name was—

Mahito suddenly leaped into the air as he charged, crashing into the middle of the Kukuru Unit. He swung his blade. A squad member raised his sword to block, but in the next instant, half his body was severed along with his long blade. Man and sword alike were cut apart!

—[Severing Line].

Every slashing weapon had a Severing Line. Only those capable of accurately using a slashing weapon's Severing Line could be considered to have reached the pinnacle. Mist Cutter's ability was to imprint Severing Lines onto objects within her cutting range. Then, so long as one attacked along those lines, even the hardest object would be cut in two.

All things are nothing; one blade rules all!

This was the gift Mahito had prepared for Satoru Gojo, inspired by Ryomen Sukuna. Ryomen Sukuna had expanded the target of his slashing technique and used the World-Cutting Slash to truly cut through Satoru Gojo's Limitless. That proved that similar slashing attacks could also affect Satoru Gojo.

Mirokuji Kirigiri had been designed precisely for this purpose.

Mahito kicked away the corpse he had just cut open. The shattered body slammed into the squad members behind it. He turned and slashed again. The blade of a sneak-attacking squad member was almost at Mahito's eyes, but before it could reach him, Mist Cutter had already split open half his forehead. The pouring rain smashed his exposed brain into pulp.

Having killed only two squad members, the rest finally managed to close in. Faces twisted in fury, they screamed and swung their long blades down together. For a moment, blade tips streaked through the rain curtain like a wall of silver-gray.

Mahito suddenly vanished before their eyes. Then, immense pain erupted from their thighs.

Mahito pressed his body low to the ground, moving along it like Himura Kenshin. Mist Cutter sliced along the reach of his arms, severing the thighs of every squad member surrounding him. Lightning flashed across the sky, and the soldiers whose legs had been cut off lay miserably on the rain-soaked ground, their wails like the cries of ghosts.

Mahito felt a chill. He rolled across the ground as a spear appeared behind him, pursuing him along the path of his roll. He raised Mist Cutter before himself to block. The spear collided with Mist Cutter with a deafening metallic crash. Mist Cutter's ability activated, and a Severing Line appeared on the spearhead. The next instant, the spear snapped in two.

The attack immediately stopped. The people around him seized the chance to close in, but Mist Cutter spun out from Mahito's hand. The legs of several squad members attempting a sneak attack were cut in half, and they fell before Mahito. He did not even need Mist Cutter. One punch smashed into a man's head, blowing it apart.

Mahito rose from the ground and saw a squad member staring blankly at the spear, seemingly unable to comprehend why it had been cut apart. It should have been a cursed tool, still emitting residual Cursed Energy. It was likely a treasured item the squad member had carefully preserved, yet Mist Cutter's edge had severed it with ease.

Mist Cutter instantly beheaded the spearman. The squad member's incredulous expression remained on his face as his head slowly fell. Blood gushed from the side of his neck and mixed with the rain. The spearman dropped to his knees, his hand tightly gripping the spear. Even in death, he did not let go.

There had never been a Kukuru Unit member who used a spear in the original work. Even the captain had used a long blade. This squad member's appearance was entirely beyond Mahito's expectations.

"The long blade in his hand ignores defenses! It completely ignores both Cursed Energy reinforcement and cursed tool performance! Don't let it hit you!" someone suddenly shouted, waking the remaining Kukuru Unit members.

It seemed that cursed-tool spear was famous and likely possessed some special defensive effect. That was why the spearman had confidently collided with Mist Cutter, only to be cut apart. The squad members became wary. No one would likely dare clash with Mist Cutter again.

"Not it. Her." Mahito held Mist Cutter horizontally before him. In the downpour, Mist Cutter glimmered silver, reflecting blood, wind, rain, and the thunder dragon flashing across the sky.

"Divine blade, Mirokuji Kirigiri." Mahito suddenly swung Mist Cutter down, slicing open the rain curtain. "Please enlighten me!"

Mahito crashed into the crowd again through the downpour. This time, every squad member was prepared. No one dared block before Mist Cutter again. They were all Kukuru Unit members proficient in hand-to-hand combat, each having trained their martial arts and swordsmanship since childhood. In close-range blade combat, they were confident they would not give Mahito another chance.

Mahito swung upward, but this time Mist Cutter hit no one, because every squad member along that path had consciously split apart and attacked from both sides. Mahito's old strength had not yet faded, while new strength had yet to arise. It was the best possible moment to attack, yet Mist Cutter suddenly arrived before them.

"Wha—!"

Someone realized what was happening and tried to dodge, but Mist Cutter's attack range was simply too long. It split his body open, and his exposed bones and blood were swallowed by the downpour. Mahito gripped the blade with both hands and swung in a circle. The squad members on either side did not even have time to react before being cut in half.

Mahito stepped forward, accompanied by blood and flesh, wind and rain.

He pulled his conical hat lower again. Sprayed blood and flesh landed on it, only to be washed away by the rain, leaving behind nothing but a lingering stench of blood.

Every squad member who charged at him was struck by the blade light with perfect precision. The flashes of steel flickered in the wind and rain. These experienced squad members were being sent to their deaths one after another without any ability to resist. Mahito charged back and forth through their ranks, and not one of them could stop him.

Mahito's movements conformed neither to human anatomy nor to the principles of swordsmanship. If his moves were shown to a kendo instructor, the man would surely point at Mahito's nose and curse him out. Yet this very style was tearing through the Kukuru Unit members, experts in martial arts and close-quarters combat.

At last, a squad member saw the reason. "The sword in his hand isn't a cursed tool—it's a Tsukumogami!"

Cursed tools and Tsukumogami were used in entirely different ways. Though cursed tools had various abilities, they ultimately served to assist their wielders. The degree to which their performance could be brought out depended on the user's strength and skill. Tsukumogami were the opposite. They had their own thoughts and abilities. So long as their user could bring out their performance, the rest could be entirely entrusted to the Tsukumogami.

Mahito was like that right now. He used Idle Transfiguration to keep his soul unchanged, ensuring that no matter how counterintuitive his actions became, they would not damage the integrity of his body. Mist Cutter led Mahito's movements. Every action centered on Mist Cutter, while Mahito himself was the support.

The Kukuru Unit members had misjudged things from the very beginning! "Too late," Mahito sighed.

Mist Cutter spun continuously through the downpour, her silver-gray glow spreading through the curtain of rain. Mahito followed Mist Cutter as though they were dancing together. Never before had he been able to feel Mist Cutter's breathing so clearly, revealing a beauty that was breathtaking and soul-stirring.

At first, Mahito had merely been a weapon rack, but he grew rapidly through slaughter and soon caught up with Mist Cutter's movements. He tried taking the initiative to coordinate with her as they strolled through the rain. Not a single Kukuru Unit member retreated. They surged forward one after another, but only left behind shallow wounds.

These battle-hardened Kukuru Unit members were like nameless fodder in a sword-fighting film. A master swordsman passed them lightly by, and the fodder fell like wheat. None bore deep wounds, because every time the swordsman struck, he only lightly grazed the vital arteries with his blade tip. Such shallow wounds were enough to kill a human.

Mist Cutter, wielding the "Severing Line," gradually understood this through actual combat.

It was not just Mahito. Mist Cutter was growing as well. No Tsukumogami like Mist Cutter had ever appeared before. Not even the broom Tsukumogami held by Momo Nishimiya possessed such spirituality. Yet this ancient blade displayed everything a newborn life should possess. She was curious, she learned, and she grew.

Mahito was certain it was not merely because of his Soul Creation. Her material was also an important factor. As a refined imitation of Futsu-no-Mitama, which had nearly been buried beneath the dust of history, she had existed longer than any Japanese sword. Her age gave her the qualifications to become a Tsukumogami, and now, through this slaughter, she would bloom in celebration.

The Kukuru Unit members' screams grew sharper, while Mahito met them with silence.

Mahito swung his blade in the rain, steel flashing freely. He walked in silence. At first, he had needed to lower his body, run along the ground, and dodge. But as time passed, he unexpectedly stopped even bothering to evade.

He was strolling, accompanied only by blade light.

Mist Cutter suddenly hummed softly. Her silver glimmer reflected a beautiful arc through the rain curtain. Mahito was certain he had kept up with Mist Cutter's movements. Though he had never possessed any experience wielding a sword, at this moment he executed a perfect cut. Mist Cutter's ability did not activate, but Mahito still felt it—the texture of muscle, the joints of bone, the gaps between internal organs. Mist Cutter lightly passed along these Severing Lines of the human body, and people became two halves.

Mahito and Mist Cutter were growing together at a visible pace!

He and she swung their blades to their hearts' content beneath the rain curtain. The wind and rain they stirred scattered in every direction, as though clouds and mist were winding around him. Mist Cutter swam through the haze like a fish. In the downpour, a silver fish truly seemed to be swimming—that was Mist Cutter's blade tip, along with Mahito's footsteps.

Sure enough, mist truly spread through the air. It was blood mist. And sure enough, blade light accompanied it, cutting the blood mist in two.

Mahito had not lied. The squad members had truly realized it too late. If they had known from the start that Mist Cutter was a Tsukumogami, and that Mahito's method was to let the man follow the blade, then they would certainly have found a way to fight him. But it was too late now. They had failed to seize the only fleeting opportunity during the initial battle. By now, both Mahito and Mist Cutter had grown in this brief span of time. They had no chance left.

The squad members screamed as they raised their long blades and rushed forward, only to fall silent the next second. Mahito brushed past them. A wound like a line of death appeared on their bodies, and in the next instant, they died soundlessly, even the smell of blood concealed by the rain.

The final move was Gatotsu.

Without warning, Mist Cutter slammed into a Kukuru Unit member. Her blade tip pierced through his heart and emerged from his back. Mahito then raised Mist Cutter and slashed. The squad member's body became two halves. He dropped to his knees, his head lowered deeply, as though in worship.

The final squad member still wanted to charge, but suddenly discovered he was the only one left. He stared at Mahito, then violently threw away his long blade and let out a broken cry.

He screamed as he ran away, but the instant he crossed the Zenin gate, an enormous stone hand appeared and clenched him in its grip. Before the fleeing squad member could cry out, the earthen hand squeezed, crushing him to death. Blood and flesh flowed from between the stone fingers, washed by the downpour like a Buddha's palm holding a flower.

"What trash. You couldn't even let us clearly see the enemy's technique, and you dared become a deserter? What disgrace!" an elderly voice roared.

They truly had not served any purpose, because Mahito had only used two techniques from beginning to end. At first, he had used Boogie Woogie because he thought everyone in the Zenin Clan would swarm him. He wanted to reduce enemy numbers as fast as possible and divide the dangerous enemies as quickly as possible. Yet only the Kukuru Unit had gathered. The Zenin Clan's true elites had not acted at all.

It was like ancient armies sending prisoners into battle first, while their elite forces rested and conserved their strength in the rear. Only when the prisoner troops had been mostly worn down and the enemy's capabilities had become clear would those elites truly enter the battlefield.

Mahito immediately realized that Hei was using the Kukuru Unit's lives to probe his information. Since that was the case, he naturally could not reveal his full strength. He immediately dismissed Love Rendezvous and fought using only Tsukumogami Manipulation.

And now, the Zenin Clan's true elite force had appeared.

Hei stood within the compound, watching Mahito rampage outside the gates and kill the Kukuru Unit members one by one without reacting. They watched Mahito with sharp eyes, carefully analyzing every movement he made. They gathered every piece of information about him, overlooking nothing.

Mahito flicked his blade, but there was not a trace of blood on Mist Cutter's blade. She remained as bright silver as before, like a maiden fresh from a bath beneath the rain. Mahito straightened his body and rested Mist Cutter on his shoulder, her edge pointing upward and her spine pressing against his back. The blade, over two meters long, lay across Mahito's shoulders like a spear. Wearing a conical hat, he strolled leisurely through the downpour. Lightning streaked across the sky, and his mismatched eyes had somehow lit up, flickering through the rain curtain.

An old man stood in the middle of the courtyard, his hands forming a seal. His shoulders shrank slightly when he saw Mahito, but then he suddenly roared as though emboldened. "Enough playing house with swords and blades, curse!"

"Zenin Clan Hei member, Chojuro Zenin."

"A sorcerer without an innate technique is nothing but trash. Let this old man show you the cruelty of the true Jujutsu Society!"

Rampaging Wild Gods, Divine Thunder Explosion

Mahito finally stepped through the Zenin Clan's gate. At that instant, his perception spread across the entire Zenin Clan estate. His mismatched eyes had somehow lit up. One gold, one blue, they resembled stars hanging in the night sky. Those mismatched pupils shining in the nighttime downpour were like the majestic eyes of a demon god opening, their awe-inspiring Kamui spreading wantonly like a tsunami.

He strode proudly through the Zenin gate, his mismatched eyes sweeping across the entire courtyard like twin beams of light. Everyone who met his gaze felt fear rise from the depths of their hearts. Their instincts were warning them of the terror of this King of Curses.

Chojuro Zenin could clearly feel the tremor in his heart. He drew a deep breath and stared hard at the Lord of Curses, Mahito, as he entered the Zenin Clan gate. Mahito suddenly stopped. He lowered Mist Cutter from his shoulder and held her in one hand. This astonishingly long, straight-edged blade lightly touched the floor slick with rainwater. Though the downpour continued pounding everyone without pause, an eerie stillness filled the air. No one seemed to breathe, as though they faced a slumbering dragon.

The next instant, Chojuro Zenin moved. He unleashed a deafening roar, like a tiger's howl through the mountains! "Buddha—Salutation—Hand!"

Mahito keenly felt the ground beneath his feet tremble for an instant. In that instant, immense pressure had already formed. The ground beneath Mahito rapidly changed shape in less than half a second. It became two palms, every finger clearly visible. The earthen hands pressed together, like a devout monk before a Buddha statue joining his palms in prayer.

But the difference was their size.

Two pairs of hands over five meters tall clasped together in less than half a second. Mahito jumped, but before he could escape the palms, they had already crushed him between them, like an insect caught in a clap.

Technique Release: Earth and Stone Manipulation: Buddha Salutation Hand!

Simple and direct cursed techniques like Earth and Stone Manipulation depended heavily on proficiency. Chojuro Zenin was an elder of the Zenin Clan with extremely rich experience in jujutsu. He could manipulate earth and stone over a wide range to form palms, at speeds that nearly surpassed human neural reflexes. Usually, once he formed the hand seal, the battle would end in the next instant.

Squeezed ruthlessly between stone hands over five meters tall, even the strongest human would be crushed into a bloody pulp. Just as when he had dealt with the squad member who had fled to him earlier, against ordinary enemies, Chojuro could lower his hands after forming the seal and calmly tell those around him that it was over.

But against the King of Curses who had just slaughtered his way through the entire Kukuru Unit, he did not dare be careless in the slightest. His Cursed Energy was still boiling. His hands still held the seal, and he exerted all his strength!

His roar nearly shook the rain from the sky. "It's! Not! Over!"

Chojuro Zenin slowly raised his hands, still locked in their seal. The clasped stone hands over five meters tall began rising as well, thrusting upward like a fountain while maintaining their crushing pressure! Ten meters, twenty meters, thirty meters! Forty meters! Fifty meters!

With every increase in height, the crushing force at the center of the Buddha hands rose another level. As they ascended, their pressure compounded layer by layer. By the end, even a tank placed between the stone Buddha hands would be compressed into steel plating!

A Buddha Salutation Hand over fifty meters tall appeared within the Zenin Clan courtyard. Rain fell from the sky, thunder boomed through the darkness, and amid that roar, the Buddha Salutation Hand resembled a barrier sealing away a Buddhist enemy.

A one-hit kill! Chojuro Zenin finally revealed a disdainful smile at that moment... No, he did not. The giant stone hands suddenly began to shake.

Someone grabbed Chojuro and retreated to the side. The next instant—Boom!

Accompanied by thunder from heaven and earth, the entire stone hand suddenly exploded. The immense blast formed a ring of compressed air, like a giant eagle spreading its wings at that instant. The shockwave extended endlessly, scattering the rain from the sky and leaving a clear hollow in the night above.

Mahito stood high in the air, his mismatched eyes shining. Lightning flashed behind his silhouette.

Soul Creation switched: Kirara Hoshi. Technique Release: Love Rendezvous!

Mahito used Kirara Hoshi's technique. At this moment, he sensed Chojuro Zenin's Cursed Energy through his body and easily marked it. Through Love Rendezvous's rule of attraction between stars, he immediately repelled the stone hands that had been crushing him.

The earth and stone forming the hands spun and gathered like a storm, then finally fell like a raging dragon, their target pointing straight at Chojuro Zenin!

The enormous stone whirlwind swept across the courtyard. Every squad member used their own methods to scatter in all directions, but Chojuro Zenin alone could not escape. He used Earth and Stone Manipulation again, raising stone wall after stone wall before himself. The rock storm smashed through those walls, which instead became part of the stone tempest and continued moving toward Chojuro Zenin.

So long as one had not truly cracked the ability of Love Rendezvous, countering this technique was difficult. That was precisely what made Love Rendezvous so formidable. In such a short time, Chojuro Zenin naturally could not find its key.

Chojuro Zenin stared in disbelief. "A direct attack-type cursed technique... was reflected!? Isn't the Lord of Curses' ability supposed to let people evolve? How is this possible!?"

The more Chojuro Zenin used Earth and Stone Manipulation, the more violent the rock storm rushing toward him became. It eventually formed a colossal stone tornado that covered the sky. The person carrying Chojuro finally gritted his teeth and abandoned him. Chojuro instinctively reached out, trying to grab that person, but the man deftly evaded him.

The next instant, the stone tornado struck!

Chojuro Zenin covered his face with both hands and reinforced his body's defenses with all his strength. The tornado crashed into him. Massive rocks struck him without pause. At first, he could withstand them, but more and more stone pounded into him. Several tons, dozens of tons, hundreds of tons! The earth and stone he had manipulated ultimately buried him beneath an artificial hill over fifty meters tall.

Chojuro Zenin, dead!

Cursed techniques with physical substance were no longer troublesome for Mahito. One great flaw of Love Rendezvous was that it had to physically contact Cursed Energy to take effect. If it made contact with an offensive technique, that was no different from courting death. Thus, Kirara Hoshi could only fully display this technique through preparation and intelligence. But Mahito did not need that—

He had an immortal body. Against a mere direct attack-type technique, once he was attacked even once, he could immediately reflect it with Love Rendezvous and stand undefeated!

Mahito descended from the sky, landed on the ground, and canceled Love Rendezvous.

The once-solid artificial hill suddenly loosened. It collapsed with a roar, crushing the corridor beside it. Mahito slowly exhaled. Idle Transfiguration was taking effect, and the wounds on his body gradually healed. He then switched to the Forging Technique, restoring his previously tattered kimono and haori bit by bit.

Dust billowed when the artificial hill collapsed, and even the torrential rain could not suppress it. When Mahito emerged from the cloud of dust and returned to the Zenin Clan courtyard, there was not a single wound on his body. His clothes were neat, and even his conical hat looked brand-new beneath the rain.

"Next," he said.

The next person indeed came. A flash of silver crossed Mahito's vision, and a sharp blade appeared before him. The reasoning was simple—

"Since direct attack-type cursed techniques don't work on you, what about close-quarters blade combat?" the newcomer said. "Have you forgotten the Kukuru Unit outside?"

Mahito replied.

My Mirokuji Kirigiri cuts all things and is invincible under heaven. No matter what you hold in your hand, it cannot stand against my Mist Cutter. How dare you challenge me in a blade fight?

Mahito gripped the sword in one hand. Clang—!

Mahito's pupils widened.

A katana struck Mist Cutter's spine, pressing her edge into the ground. The squad member wielding the katana raised his head, revealing the weathered face of a middle-aged man. His expression was blank, as solemn as a statue. He wore a samurai ponytail and a loose kimono. His katana emitted a faint crimson glow—that was Flame Flow.

He had seized Mist Cutter's "only" weakness. Mist Cutter could not use her Severing Line with her spine! But how could an ordinary person accurately catch Mist Cutter's cutting trajectory?

Forget ordinary people—even a true swordsmanship master could never accurately catch Mist Cutter's cutting path. Mist Cutter was not merely a sword. Even if one could read the sword wielder's intent to attack, could one understand the sword's own consciousness? In theory, this "only weakness" did not count as a weakness at all.

But the katana wielder had done it. The katana wielder coldly said: