Jujutsu Kaisen: Yearning to Become an Immortal God

Cursed Spirits actually giving rise to intelligent varieties, even ones with a twisted sense of humor—this had never happened in the history of Jujutsu Society. And what exactly an intelligent Cursed Spirit might be thinking was something even Satoru Gojo found difficult to predict.

But regardless of what an intelligent Cursed Spirit was thinking, as a Special Grade Sorcerer, Gojo had only one choice for now: strengthen Jujutsu Society's forces and respond to every change by remaining unchanged.

Having thought that through, Gojo suddenly said to the girl, "It must be hard for you to go to school now, right? Get ready and come attend Jujutsu High."

"Me?"

"What is it? Do you have friends waiting for you at your high school or something?"

"No... I just... no, it's nothing." The girl took a slight breath. "Can I see my mother one last time?"

Gojo froze, then realized the girl had misunderstood. She had probably taken Jujutsu High for some secret training base for sorcerers—though Gojo couldn't exactly deny that description—but in truth, Jujutsu High really was a high school. It had a three-year program, and aside from specialized courses for teaching sorcerers, it was almost no different from an ordinary high school.

Well, the extremely tiny student body was another difference from ordinary high schools.

"Go whenever you want." Gojo waved a hand casually. "It's a suspended death sentence, but it's not as serious as you think. As long as you work hard to raise your sorcerer rank, once you become Special Grade, your death sentence will naturally be waived. Until then, just think of Jujutsu High as an ordinary boarding school. You can still go home normally on Saturdays and Sundays."

"Ah." The girl stared blankly, then said in disbelief, "That's allowed? Listening to you, I thought I was someone special. I thought someone would have to watch over me... that from now on, I'd be separated from my mother."

"Hahaha, it's not that serious." Gojo said offhandedly, "We're people too. We have families. We can't send sorcerers to the front lines to risk their lives and then forbid them from going home, can we? That's not how it works."

"No, I'm not talking about that... I mean you yourself." The girl said awkwardly.

Gojo gave an "Oh," only then realizing what the girl was thinking. He turned sideways, cocked his head toward her, and flashed a bright smile.

"Man, we've been talking so long that I forgot to introduce myself. It's kind of embarrassing for even me to say this, but if it'll put Junpei-chan at ease, then let me give a slightly more arrogant introduction."

Gojo deliberately paused before saying lightly, "I'm Satoru Gojo."

"For the moment—the strongest sorcerer on this planet." He smiled, cheerfully smiling as he said,

"In this country, I'm someone with a little bit of influence."

### Soul Overwrite

Mm, this was going smoothly. Mahito thought to himself.

He was currently seeing the world through Junpei Yoshino's eyes. Though he wasn't controlling Junpei Yoshino's body, if he wanted to, he could turn her into his clone at any moment. Even now, he could know what Junpei Yoshino was thinking, remotely manipulate the minute hormones within her body to guide her thoughts, or even reconstruct her personality.

As expected, Satoru Gojo hadn't noticed. That was only natural. Before this, let alone a cunning Cursed Spirit like Mahito, Cursed Spirits throughout the history of Jujutsu Society had been nothing but beasts with less intelligence than dolphins. Naturally, no one would imagine that a Cursed Spirit might dispatch a spy in such a careful manner.

Rather, the fact that Gojo had asked Junpei Yoshino whether she stood on humanity's side was already cautious enough.

But even if he were killed, Gojo probably could not have imagined that Junpei Yoshino truly did stand on humanity's side. Yet she believed that as long as humans ruled humans, mankind would never achieve true happiness. Compared to humanity, having Cursed Spirits become gods and rule humanity was the better choice for humans.

Sorcerers were all somewhat crazy, but even among sorcerers, Junpei Yoshino was absolutely an outlier among outliers. And precisely because she was such an outlier, even though Gojo had cautiously used the Six Eyes to see through the girl, it ultimately accomplished nothing.

Junpei Yoshino successfully entered Jujutsu High. All that remained was for her to learn everything Jujutsu High knew, after which that knowledge would be shared with Mahito. By then, Mahito's plan could be said to have been perfectly realized.

And now, it was time to consider something else. For example—

"Cool—!" A voice suddenly interrupted Mahito's thoughts. He looked toward the sound and saw a spatial gate slowly closing. Kenjaku had brought someone in through it.

It was an uncanny-looking man with a crooked blond ponytail, three purple triangular marks beneath each eye, a black bodysuit that exposed his right shoulder, and brown shoes. He looked around curiously, like a child who had arrived at a famous tourist attraction and was barely restraining his impatience as he stood still, though his heart had already flown into the scenic area.

His gaze slowly shifted until it landed on Mahito. He flashed a broad smile, one carrying a childlike innocence. "I'm Haruta Shigemo. Hello, Cursed Spirit."

Mahito rose from his lounge chair. Before introducing where he was, Mahito was currently on a beach somewhere in Kyoto, Japan. He knew very well that Tokyo was Satoru Gojo's territory. Unless necessary, he would never go there. Other Cursed Spirits did not know how terrifying Gojo was, but Mahito understood that clearly. Until he was certain he could face Gojo directly, he would stay far away from Tokyo.

That wasn't cowardice. It was caution.

And he was actively preparing his method of growing stronger. One of those preparations was the curse user before him. Mahito politely said, "Hello, Haruta Shigemo. I've been looking forward to meeting you."

Kenjaku said from the side, "As you requested, I brought you a curse user who craves power."

In the month since Mahito had crossed over, he had learned enough about ordinary people. Combined with his memories of Jujutsu Kaisen from his previous life, he was confident he could recreate every skill of the original Mahito in a short time. Thus, he had no doubts about reaching the original Mahito's level.

The question was how to go one step further beyond that level.

In fact, the original Mahito had rarely used sorcerers as test subjects. He had possessed that ability, of course. After he had grown bored of playing with ordinary people, he naturally began deliberately attracting sorcerers' attention, hoping to use the sorcerers who came after him as experiments.

But unfortunately, his attempts had repeatedly failed, and the matter was left unresolved. In the end, he had relied on his understanding of ordinary human souls all the way until his death.

Now, Mahito was going to change that. The logic was simple: since he had such a useful ally as Kenjaku, naturally he had to make full use of him. If Mahito couldn't find sorcerers to use as test subjects, couldn't he just have Kenjaku find them? And sure enough, he had completed the task perfectly.

The curse user he had brought was even someone who had appeared in the original story. "Thank you, Suguru Geto," Mahito said casually.

Haruta Shigemo reacted with exaggerated surprise. "Ah, so it was the Cursed Spirit-sama who called me here. Come to think of it, intelligent Cursed Spirits really exist. When Suguru Geto-sama said an intelligent Cursed Spirit wanted to see me, I thought he was joking."

He had originally called Mahito a Cursed Spirit, but the moment Mahito spoke, he changed it to Cursed Spirit-sama. He really knew how to read the situation. "I find it strange. You listen to Suguru Geto quite obediently?" Mahito asked.

Haruta Shigemo said easily, "Because Suguru Geto-sama is really smart. He said the future of curse users needs me. I don't understand why exactly, but since Suguru Geto-sama said so, I came."

That was a lie. Mahito easily saw through it with eyes that gazed directly upon the soul.

But Mahito did not press him as forcefully as he had the first time he met Kenjaku. On the contrary, he thoughtfully refrained from asking for the real reason. After all, when curse users began appearing in great numbers in the later stages of the original story, almost all of them had been contacted by Kenjaku. How he had managed that was a question in itself.

Curse users were people capable of using Cursed Energy just like sorcerers, but unlike sorcerers, curse users had no moral restraints. Their only reason for using Cursed Energy was to do whatever they pleased. Yet because of Satoru Gojo, curse users had almost no space to survive in Japan. It was said that beneath Gojo's pressure, nearly every curse user lived miserably.

Well, forcing curse users who wanted to do whatever they pleased to live honestly and quietly was suffering to them.

"And—" Haruta Shigemo looked up at Mahito and dragged out the last syllable. "I heard from Suguru Geto-sama that Cursed Spirit-sama can easily double my Cursed Energy, so I rushed over without hesitation."

Mahito sighed. "You really trust Suguru Geto. I thought there was no trust between curse users."

Mahito had merely said it casually, but Haruta Shigemo nonchalantly replied in front of Kenjaku, "What are you talking about, Cursed Spirit-sama? I don't trust Suguru Geto-sama at all."

"Oh?" Mahito asked.

"It's just that Suguru Geto-sama made a Binding Vow with us. He can lead us in taking care of Satoru Gojo, so that's why we gathered beneath Suguru Geto-sama." Haruta Shigemo said with a smile. "Just as Cursed Spirit-sama said, we don't trust each other. But if we can take care of Satoru Gojo, that's another matter entirely."

Because you see, Satoru Gojo was strong. That was what curse users said.

"So, because he's so strong and such an eyesore, there's nothing we can do. Since Suguru Geto-sama made a Binding Vow with us over this, of course we'll serve him for the time being—though if the mission is suicidal, we have reasons to refuse."

Haruta Shigemo did not seem worried about the Binding Vow in the slightest. He was even already fantasizing about how wonderful Japan would be without Satoru Gojo. So that's the reason. Mahito understood the logic of curse users.

Curse users were all scoundrels who did whatever they pleased. The only thing that could unite them was an even greater force that prevented them from doing whatever they pleased. Satoru Gojo filled that role. He was so strong that even if curse users around the world united, they could do nothing to him. Other than enduring it, curse users had no choice.

But Kenjaku's appearance had changed that. He promised that as long as they served him, he would lead the other curse users in dealing with Satoru Gojo. They had even made a Binding Vow.

Kenjaku was a curse user exceptionally skilled at using Binding Vows. Now, he had used one again, making all curse users believe that he could truly make Satoru Gojo die. Thus, all the curse users were willing to listen to him. Mahito did not know the exact terms of the Binding Vow, but as long as the mission was not certain death—no, even if it was certain death, if the terms were right, the curse users would surely obey him.

It was easy to imagine how badly curse users had been holding themselves back in the years since Satoru Gojo's birth. If it meant killing Gojo, they would probably be willing to die immediately.

Sorcerers were already mentally unstable, and curse users were the even crazier lunatics among them. Forced to behave themselves beneath Gojo's pressure for so long, their mental states had clearly reached their limits. Even without Suguru Geto, they would have found some way to explode against Jujutsu Society, wouldn't they? Suguru Geto's promise merely gave them a different way to self-destruct.

"So, Cursed Spirit-sama, can you really double my Cursed Energy?" Haruta Shigemo asked curiously.

"I can." Mahito answered frankly. "But I've never used my ability on a sorcerer before. I can only guarantee that you won't die. Beyond that, I can't guarantee anything. Your Innate Technique might even disappear. Do you still want to try?"

Haruta Shigemo was startled. "You really can? Cursed Spirit-sama's ability is actually that amazing?"

It seemed he had remained skeptical before arriving. He truly had not expected a Cursed Spirit to be capable of such a thing. "You don't seem troubled by the possibility of losing your Innate Technique?" Mahito asked.

Haruta Shigemo burst into laughter. "Cursed Spirit-sama, you really know how to joke. If my Cursed Energy doubles, what would I need an Innate Technique for? My Innate Technique is incredibly weak. It can only ensure that I won't immediately get beaten to death after doing bad things, and it's difficult to activate too. I'd like to have those powerful Innate Techniques too, but unfortunately, I don't."

He spread his hands and put on a dramatic sigh.

"If I can trade my Innate Technique for double the Cursed Energy, that'd be so worth it. Then I won't have to worry about being beaten to death after I do bad things. On the contrary, I'll beat to death the sorcerers who want to beat me to death. Isn't that better than barely clinging to life? Ah, thinking about it, that's just too cool!"

I think your Innate Technique is quite a rare treasure. Mahito sighed inwardly.

Since you don't want it, I'll gladly take it. Mahito smiled and asked, "Then shall we begin now? Double your Cursed Energy?"

Haruta Shigemo was startled. "No preparation needed? We can do it right away?"

"Mm, it'll probably take ten minutes?" Mahito considered. "If you completely let down your Cursed Energy defenses, it might be faster. But a sorcerer's Cursed Energy defense seems to be subconscious, so I can only adjust it slowly. Other than that, there shouldn't be any preparations needed. At most, you'll need to prepare yourself mentally."

Haruta Shigemo immediately shouted, "Then what are we waiting for? Please hurry and double my Cursed Energy, Cursed Spirit-sama! Now! Right away! Immediately! I can't wait! I can't wait—!"

This guy's mental state really was a problem.

Mahito reached out and extended his hand forward. Haruta Shigemo did not hesitate for even an instant. Like a child craving candy, he thrust his head forward. Mahito had never told Haruta Shigemo what to do beforehand, yet he seemed to already know. Kenjaku had probably explained it in advance.

What exactly was Kenjaku thinking? Sometimes, Mahito truly could not understand him. The moment Mahito's hand lightly touched Haruta Shigemo's head, his ability activated. Mahito softly sighed, "Idle Transfiguration."

### Me Fight Satoru Gojo?

How could he improve himself as quickly as possible? Ever since Mahito had been taken away by Kenjaku and Jogo, he had not stopped thinking about that question for a single moment. In truth, from the instant he learned he was Mahito, that question had been endlessly circling through his mind.

The first thing Mahito had set his sights on was Copy. There was no other reason—Jujutsu Kaisen had real examples, so he had something to imitate. Under this world's rules, there had been three and a half abilities capable of copying other people's Innate Techniques. They were:

Special Grade Sorcerer Yuta Okkotsu: his Innate Technique was Copy. As long as he could eat a part of another sorcerer, he could learn that person's Innate Technique. It was an extremely powerful Innate Technique, described by Kenjaku as unconditional technique Copy and inexhaustible Cursed Energy.

The thousand-year sorcerer Kenjaku: he could use the Brain Transplant Technique. Normally, even the user himself could not escape the consequences of using such a technique, but his Innate Technique seemed compatible with it. Combined with the Binding Vow that required stitching to appear across his forehead after swapping brains, he was able to perfectly master the technique. By continuously changing bodies, he could use the Innate Technique of each body he inhabited.

Jujutsu Kaisen's protagonist Yuji Itadori: this was an extremely special case. Because Yuji's body had long served as a cage imprisoning Sukuna, before Jujutsu Kaisen's ending, Yuji—who should not have possessed an Innate Technique—was able to use Sukuna's Innate Technique after Sukuna's soul was imprinted upon his body.

The first two aside, both Yuta Okkotsu and Kenjaku could copy others' Innate Techniques because of the nature of their own Innate Techniques. Only those two had appeared in a thousand years. It was an extremely rare situation, a complete black box that could not be analyzed.

Yuji's case was more special. The more official explanation was:

—Because of Sukuna, when another person's soul temporarily overwrote Yuji's body, that person's technique would be engraved upon Yuji's body, allowing Yuji to use those techniques.

At first glance, it seemed to be an issue involving the soul. Mahito was an expert in that field. I know this one. I can copy it!

But there was still another black box involved. Yuji Itadori was actually the descendant of sorcerers. The reason his body could imprison Ryomen Sukuna was that Yuji himself possessed Ryomen Sukuna's blood. In other words, Sukuna possessing Yuji's body multiple times had merely awakened Yuji's own Innate Technique—the Innate Technique identical to Ryomen Sukuna's.

In other words, it was dual compatibility between soul and body that allowed Yuji to awaken an Innate Technique like Sukuna's. This, too, was a black-box process.

He could imitate it, but only halfway.

At this point, theoretically, Mahito had reached a dead end. Theoretically.

Did he remember that "half" from before?

During the Shinjuku Showdown, a curse user had opened a new path for Mahito. The Séance Technique!

A technique that used one's own or another person's body as a vessel to place the body and soul of the dead into a new container. This technique could perfectly reproduce everything the deceased had possessed in life, even allowing perfect use of their physical abilities.

Here was the important part—

The Séance Technique could reproduce everything the deceased had possessed in life, even perfectly recreating their physical abilities.

At the time, the curse user Ogami had used her grandson as the vessel, allowing the body of the Tyrant to descend upon her grandson. And at that time, her grandson had indeed completely inherited Toji Fushiguro's body. That body was so perfect that it had even perfectly inherited his Heavenly Restriction.

If Heavenly Restriction could be perfectly inherited, then Innate Techniques definitely could too! And Mahito was a god in the field of souls!

He only needed to make contact for his technique, Idle Transfiguration, to take effect. The Séance Technique itself was not what interested Mahito. What mattered was that Innate Techniques engraved into the soul could be inherited and used by the body.

At this very moment, the theory was complete. What remained was to see just how far Mahito could take it. And once again, the experimental animals were highly satisfying—he could acquire them from Kenjaku anytime.

So, could he surpass Kenjaku's control within a year? Success or failure hinged on this single move!

"Oh, ohhh..." Haruta Shigemo let out a comfortable sigh.

That was naturally an illusion. Idle Transfiguration was a tyrannical ability that mercilessly altered Haruta Shigemo's soul. Without defenses, his soul would be kneaded by Mahito as freely as clay. Thus, nearly every sorcerer facing this overbearing ability would subconsciously use Cursed Energy to protect their soul—even though they had no idea how to do so.

Low-level sorcerers aside, even high-level sorcerers who did not understand the principles could unconsciously defend themselves the instant Idle Transfiguration activated, sensing its alterations. That had happened when the original Mahito fought Kento Nanami. Nanami had no idea how to protect his soul, but when Idle Transfiguration touched it, his Cursed Energy shielded him from it without him even realizing.

The strongest sorcerers, meanwhile, could use their own abilities to protect their souls. The greatest representative was the ceiling of combat power itself—Ryomen Sukuna. Sukuna was the only existence unafraid of Idle Transfiguration. The instant Mahito used it, Sukuna could even retaliate.

He had nearly killed Mahito.

That man was beyond all standards, the universally acknowledged King of Curses.

Haruta Shigemo was not Ryomen Sukuna. He could not even be considered a high-level sorcerer. His Innate Technique was weak, and his Cursed Energy was utterly pathetic.

Thus, when Mahito used Idle Transfiguration, he easily broke through Haruta Shigemo's subconscious Cursed Energy defenses and engraved his own ability into Haruta Shigemo's soul.

What was Mahito trying to do? Actually, it was simple.

—He was going to completely analyze Haruta Shigemo's soul!

It was an incredibly difficult task. Rather, without Idle Transfiguration, Mahito would never have even entertained such a thought.

A little thought made it clear just how unreasonable the idea was. In his previous life, there had been a saying: medical advancement was thirty percent theory and seventy percent experience. In the end, most medical progress relied on accumulated experience. In a sense, the human body itself was a black box. The deeper medical experts understood medicine, the greater their reverence for the human body became.

The reason was simple. In his previous life, science had initially developed in order to prove the existence of God. In fact, many famous scientists came to believe in God to varying degrees during their old age. That was why.

And now, Mahito was going to crack open this black box—using the power of Idle Transfiguration. Could he do it?

Mahito did not know. But because his life depended on it, he had to do it. He had to succeed, absolutely had to succeed, would succeed easily!

Haruta Shigemo's face suddenly flushed red, and involuntary moans escaped his mouth.

Mahito knew the critical moment had arrived and immediately barked, "Haruta Shigemo, I'm about to raise your Cursed Energy level. Let down your Cursed Energy defenses and reveal your soul to me without reservation!"

Kenjaku softly said to Haruta Shigemo, "Haruta-san, it hurts to be looked down upon, doesn't it? But now, an opportunity is before you. You might die, but perhaps... from this day onward, you'll become someone everyone fears. If it were you, what would you choose?"

Those words seemed to pierce through all of Haruta Shigemo's mental defenses. Veins bulged across his forehead, and his eyes widened like a bull's. He seemed to become enraged, but it was not rage. It was release.

He was releasing the fear of having his soul freely toyed with by Mahito. He dropped every last defense protecting his soul.

He roared, "I... I want to become everyone's fear! I want to slaughter as I please! I want everyone who stands in my way to die! Everyone... dieee—!"

In that instant, Idle Transfiguration smoothly covered every part of Haruta Shigemo's soul. But Mahito did not alter his soul. He carefully flowed through it all, like water brushing gently past. Every drop of Mahito's Cursed Energy seeped within, leaving not the slightest trace unexplored.

Then, around thirty seconds later, Mahito released Haruta Shigemo's head.

Haruta Shigemo rolled his eyes back and abruptly fell to his knees, gasping heavily. Sweat drenched his entire body, as though he had just returned from the sea—perhaps it truly felt that way to him, because his soul had just been completely submerged in Idle Transfiguration. Mahito had completely analyzed his soul. Mahito now understood him better than he understood himself.