Yearning to Become an Immortal God

He had never imagined there was such a method!

It was not just him—Hanami had not thought of it either! Even Mahito from the original story had never considered it!

As for Dagon... Well, there was no point expecting him to.

Kenjaku should have been able to think of it. He had waited a thousand years, so surely he could afford to wait another century for Satoru Gojo. Why had he not done so, or even brought it up? Mahito could not understand it.

Jogo could not help defending himself. "You cannot blame Hanami and me for this. As Cursed Spirits, we have always been full of killing intent toward humans. Before Mahito came along, Hanami and I were both firmly in the exterminate-humanity camp. We were determined to wipe out every last human. Why would we care about how humans were supposed to die?"

That was the truth. Although, to Mahito now, Jogo was a somewhat hot-tempered old man while Hanami possessed a maternal compassion, they had truly hated humanity. They hated humans enough to want to exterminate them entirely. And as Cursed Spirits, they naturally viewed humans with a Cursed Spirit's mindset. It was not impossible that they simply did not understand human lifespans.

In human sociology, this was called an information cocoon. They lived within their own information cocoons, and no one had ever reminded them otherwise. Naturally, they could not recognize the issue and had never thought about it that way.

Hanami sighed and said a few fair words.

Jogo pulled a face and shouted, "Shut up! What do you mean we failed to think it through? We worked hard too, okay? In all these centuries, have you ever heard of Cursed Spirits cooperating with humans? We already broke through that barrier! That means we took the first step in centuries. We are already incredible. We just are not as mature as Mahito yet."

Kenjaku said blandly, "That stubbornness really suits a Shell Spirit."

"Suguru Geto!" Jogo flew into a rage. The volcano atop his head nearly erupted, and waves of heat spread from his body in every direction. The cool sea breeze vanished in an instant, replaced by a scorching heat that seared the skin.

Hanami stepped forward and said a few more words, offering Jogo some comfort.

Jogo took several deep breaths before gradually calming his fury, though his expression remained terrible.

Hanami turned to Kenjaku again and repeated Mahito's question. "Why not wait until Satoru Gojo dies before we act?"

Kenjaku had not intended to brush them off. It was not only because Mahito's mismatched eyes were watching him, but also because he knew this was a crucial moment for forming a Binding Vow. Human contracts could play word games, but Binding Vows were different. Both parties had to state their intentions clearly. If things were unclear, it would only harm both sides. As a master of Binding Vows, Kenjaku would not make such a mistake.

He said seriously, "There are two reasons."

He raised one finger. "First, we are racing against time. Satoru Gojo is strong, but you probably do not know that he is now a hundred times stronger than he was as a child. When he was a child, someone once hired Curse Users to assassinate him. There was more than one hired Curse User, yet the instant any of them saw Satoru Gojo, they gave up the assassination plan in terror."

"Now," Kenjaku continued, "Satoru Gojo has still not reached his limit. He is continuing to grow. Judging by a Jujutsu Sorcerer's lifespan, he can keep growing until the day he dies. The later we launch our plan to overturn Jujutsu Society, the stronger Satoru Gojo will become, and the harder he will be to defeat."

Mahito nodded lightly, accepting the explanation.

In truth, Mahito knew Satoru Gojo's strength far better than Kenjaku did. When Gojo fought Sukuna to the limit before his death in the original story, he had still been growing. In fact, he had never reached his limit before Sukuna's sudden World-Cutting Slash bisected him at the waist.

But that had been Sukuna. Let anyone else try it.

As always, Sukuna was an existence beyond the scope of Jujutsu Kaisen itself. There was no point discussing anything about him, because none of it could be replicated.

Kenjaku said blandly, "I cannot imagine how strong Satoru Gojo will become in a few years, or a decade. If we focus only on escaping now, even Satoru Gojo would find it difficult to catch us. But if he continues growing, then the instant he sees us... escaping will be nothing more than a fantasy."

Jogo frowned. He still could not imagine how powerful Satoru Gojo was, but Mahito was nodding in agreement, so he did not say anything to spoil the mood.

Instead, he said stubbornly, "Then we just need to stay away from him. Like now—so long as we do not go near Tokyo, we are not in danger."

"Living after completely abandoning your pride may be one solution. But there is one problem with that—we will not necessarily go our entire lives without running into Satoru Gojo," Kenjaku said.

Hanami made a questioning sound, asking what Kenjaku meant.

Kenjaku drew a deep breath and revealed a shocking secret. "Because a god is about to be born." Every Cursed Spirit was stunned silent.

Kenjaku did not hide anything. He directly revealed Jujutsu Society's greatest secret.

"In this country, there is an absolute core among Jujutsu Sorcerers. She is called Tengen."

"It is a term from Go. The very center of a Go board is called Tengen. Tengen's original name has long vanished with time. Only her status has been passed down in the form of that title."

"I have explained this much. You should understand what I mean now, right?" The pupil of Jogo's single eye contracted. "What is her Innate Technique?"

A smile appeared on Kenjaku's face. "It seems you understand. Her Innate Technique is called Immortality." Jogo's single eye snapped toward Mahito, who nodded slightly to confirm that Kenjaku was not lying.

Kenjaku shrugged. "Just as you have realized, a Jujutsu Sorcerer who has lived for a thousand years is undergoing the final stage of ascension. If she succeeds, she will become a true god. She controls powerful barriers covering all of Japan. Those barriers have many uses, but for Cursed Spirits, their main function is merely to sound an alarm. Whenever a Cursed Energy disaster occurs, Tengen can use the barriers to detect it. She can only do that much for now, but if she becomes a god..."

Kenjaku's words were meaningful, but Mahito understood.

He completely understood what Kenjaku meant. Mahito knew of Tengen's existence. Tengen truly controlled massive barriers that covered all of Japan. They had many functions. According to the original story, they could serve as the foundation for other complex barriers, prevent Japan's Cursed Energy from dispersing, and even release Cursed Spirit abilities over a wide area. After Kenjaku absorbed Mahito's ability in the original story, he used those huge barriers to begin the game.

Kenjaku was not lying. To Shell Spirits, those barriers truly had only one purpose: warning of Cursed Energy disasters.

The power of those barriers lay in their coverage and their ability to stop Cursed Energy disasters from spreading in time. It was no exaggeration to say that, with Cursed Energy disasters occurring frequently throughout Japan, Tengen's massive barriers were Japan's life-saving talisman. It was hard to imagine the despair Japan would fall into if those barriers disappeared.

As the overseer of the Great Barrier, Tengen's status was obvious.

Before this, Mahito had never thought about Tengen at all. It was not for any other reason. Although Tengen held an extremely high position in Jujutsu Society—perhaps the highest—she almost never acted. To Mahito, she had merely been background scenery. Besides...

Even after becoming an existence close to a god, had she not been instantly taken down by Kenjaku? The later story built her up to seem incredibly formidable, yet her ending was handled so casually. It was no wonder Mahito had not thought of her immediately.

Mahito truly had not expected Kenjaku to value Tengen more highly than Satoru Gojo.

Kenjaku continued, "As you said, Satoru Gojo is merely a powerful human. If we compete in terms of lifespan, barring accidents, Satoru Gojo will lose to you. But Tengen is different. Her technique, Immortality, has endured a thousand years and has now reached a point of ascension. Perhaps even becoming a god would not be a big deal—but as a god, the density at which she gathers information cannot be compared to that of a human."

As he spoke, Su raised one finger.

"Tengen, while still human, may indeed be unable to find us. But Tengen as a god will absolutely be able to find us. And once she finds us, facing a Satoru Gojo who has grown for another decade or more—Mahito, Jogo, Hanami... do you truly think you can survive?"

We cannot survive. Absolutely not. Mahito thought.

Jogo let out a breath. "...You are right. We must kill one of them as quickly as possible, while Tengen has not become a god and while Satoru Gojo has not yet fully grown."

Hanami nodded in agreement.

Mahito also exhaled. That future truly made Cursed Spirits shudder. It was not just them, either. They could at least hide themselves, but what about low-grade Cursed Spirits? The moment they were born, they would probably be locked onto by the god Tengen. Before they even experienced anything in this world, Jujutsu Sorcerers would come to destroy them.

For Cursed Spirits, that future was truly too terrifying, too hopeless.

Honestly, if he were not a Cursed Spirit and thus destined to be unable to coexist peacefully with Jujutsu Sorcerers, he might have considered finding a chance to surrender. It was not because he was cowardly, but because that future felt too real. If he did nothing now, that future was almost certain to arrive.

Looking at it the other way around, Kenjaku's urgency was understandable—he was afraid too.

But unlike the others, who feared Satoru Gojo as the embodiment of force, he feared Tengen, who was about to ascend into a god. Therefore, once the body possessing Cursed Spirit Manipulation fell into his control, he had to kill Tengen. There was no question about it.

Mahito did not lose his composure. He asked, "That is the first point. I understand it completely. What about the second?"

Kenjaku tucked his hands back into his wide sleeves and smiled. "It is still a matter involving Tengen and Satoru Gojo, but the second point has a premise—if I deal with Tengen, what do we do about Satoru Gojo?"

Jogo froze for a moment. "Right. If Satoru Gojo is so strong, even stronger than Tengen after she becomes a god, then we only need to find a way to draw his attention away and kill Tengen first. Once Tengen is gone, no matter how strong Satoru Gojo is, if he cannot find us, we can still wear him down with our lifespans. We can still wait until he dies before acting."

Hanami also looked as though she had just realized it.

Then Jogo and Hanami saw Mahito and Kenjaku staring at them. Their expressions... their expressions... had no expression. They looked disgusted, but could not show their disgust, so they could only remain blank-faced.

Jogo's mouth twitched. "All right, sorry. I interrupted your train of thought. Suguru Geto, please continue." Kenjaku slowly breathed in and smiled again.

"Satoru Gojo is growing continuously. There is no doubt about that. Even after another decade or more, he will still be growing, though the pace will inevitably slow. Once humans reach adulthood, their bodies affect them, and the growth of their Cursed Energy changes."

"Before then, he will have absolutely no concerns about lifespan."

"Because against an opponent who is a Jujutsu Sorcerer with nearly limitless potential, ever-growing Cursed Energy will make him overlook the matter of age. Until he enters old age, his focus will decline, his potential will be exhausted, and he will fail to break through for a long time. His physical abilities will irreversibly decline. Only then—"

Kenjaku said each word deliberately, "Will he consider immortality."

Mahito could not help asking, "Can he do it? Or is his Innate Technique suited to it?"

Mahito knew perfectly well that, in theory, Satoru Gojo could not accomplish that. The combination of the Six Eyes and Limitless could indeed make him invincible beneath the heavens, but that was only in terms of power. It had no life-extending effect.

In fact, Satoru Gojo's Six Eyes and Limitless were not the first of their kind in Jujutsu Society's history. They had appeared before, but their wielders had possessed no means of extending their lifespans. They had died normally.

Could Satoru Gojo truly overcome even his lifespan?

Mahito seriously considered the possibility, because it was outside the scope of his knowledge. There had not been the slightest hint of it in the original story. Satoru Gojo had died rather easily, and until the very end, he had never won his revival match.

Yet Kenjaku shrugged at that moment and said casually, "That depends only on whether he wants to." Mahito's pupils contracted. "Whether he... wants to?"

Kenjaku said calmly, "How many years do you think Jujutsu Society has existed? There is even a genuine immortal Jujutsu Sorcerer like Tengen right there. Do you think no Jujutsu Sorcerer has ever researched immortality?"

"And the results?" Jogo asked. He did not notice that his voice had begun trembling slightly.

"Although the side effects are severe, there are indeed several methods of extending one's lifespan," Kenjaku said. "But how much effect those severe side effects have on the truly powerful is another matter. Unless you are willing to gamble on that possibility. Besides, Jujutsu Society's techniques are developing too. We cannot expect a genius like Satoru Gojo to learn nothing over the century he remains alive."

Those words shattered every fantasy the Cursed Spirits had of stalling for time and using lifespan to end Satoru Gojo. Mahito stared at Kenjaku. "For example, you? You have methods of extending your lifespan, don't you?"

Kenjaku was not surprised by Mahito's question. "Mm. I expected that after revealing so many secrets, you would become suspicious of me. It seems you have already guessed a little about my special nature."

"You are not a modern Jujutsu Sorcerer, are you?" Mahito asked with feigned interest. "How long have you lived?"

Kenjaku smiled. "How long? Roughly a thousand years." Those words stunned Jogo and Hanami.

Mahito had expected it, but he had not expected Kenjaku to be so candid at this moment... Then again, in Kenjaku's eyes, Mahito's ability to see through lies was indeed troublesome. During the period of confirming the Binding Vow, Kenjaku did not want any unnecessary complications.

Having roughly seen through Kenjaku's thoughts, Mahito's expression relaxed considerably.

"So that means your name is not actually Suguru Geto?" Mahito asked. "This body is indeed called Suguru Geto," Kenjaku replied perfunctorily.

At last, Mahito had the chance to say what he had wanted to say for some time.

"Then, thousand-year-old Curse User, I am very interested in the Jujutsu techniques of the past thousand years. Can you teach me?" Mahito stared at him expectantly with his watery mismatched eyes.

Kenjaku looked back at Mahito's mismatched eyes. Those eyes radiated evil and distortion, as though they could twist a person's soul—correction, they truly could twist a person's soul. From a modern perspective, Mahito, who could so easily distort human souls and minds, would not seem out of place even if he were called an evil god.

Kenjaku thought seriously for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "Is this part of the Binding Vow?"

"If we are overturning Jujutsu Society as it currently exists, you cannot just use our strength. You have to give something too," Mahito said with a smile that imitated Kenjaku's. "Or do you have doubts about strengthening my abilities?"

No, not doubts—fear. Kenjaku sighed inwardly, but did not show it on his face.

Was this what it meant to be the manifestation of humanity's curse upon humanity? Mahito was far too special, special enough that even Kenjaku could feel himself visibly shaken.

After considering it for a long time, he said cautiously, "If you can form a new Binding Vow with me."

"What?"

"During the process of overturning Jujutsu Society, you must help me with everything you have once," Kenjaku said.

Mahito froze for a moment, then suddenly recalled what Kenjaku had said in the original story. He desired the evolution of all humanity. Whether they evolved into Jujutsu Sorcerers, curses, or something else did not matter to him.

To fulfill that ideal, his game had to begin. Mahito realized that Kenjaku was laying the groundwork for himself.

Even though Mahito's strength had not yet fully developed, Kenjaku had already sensed that Mahito was gradually slipping beyond his control. And a Mahito beyond his control had no reason to help him. Theoretically, his game could no longer be completed.

Yet he had not given up on his game. Perhaps it was because he had constantly formed Binding Vows over the past thousand years and could no longer bear the burden. He urgently needed that game to complete those vows, so he had to ensure it proceeded normally. Since Mahito had now slipped beyond his control, he had to find a way to make Mahito help him.

For a master of Binding Vows, there was no better method than establishing another one. Having figured that out, Mahito hesitated for a moment.

Perhaps misunderstanding something, Kenjaku immediately said, "Of course, I will also promise in this new Binding Vow that what you do to help me will never infringe upon your interests. This matter may even help you become a god. It is undoubtedly a win-win arrangement."

That was true. Mahito used eyes capable of seeing through souls to judge Kenjaku's sincerity. Is there something in that game that will help me evolve into a god?

Mahito thought about it, and there truly was. Great Cursed Spirits!

This was something that had remained unexplained even by the end of the original story. It was also what Kenjaku wanted to accomplish. What exactly were Great Cursed Spirits? What theory gave birth to them? What could a Great Cursed Spirit truly accomplish? All of that remained unknown.

Kenjaku was an expert in this area. His certainty showed that Great Cursed Spirits truly could help with becoming a god—perhaps enormously, perhaps even enough to directly turn Mahito into a god.

Come to think of it, what exactly were gods in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen?

Well, although he kept saying he wanted to become a god, it was really just a slogan. At this stage, Mahito's main goal was still survival. To that end, he needed the slogan of climbing toward godhood.

A slogan was only a slogan, but Mahito truly had no idea how one became a god.

Without question, Tengen had been the closest thing to a god in the original story, yet even Tengen had not explicitly been said to become a god. The official description was merely that she had become a higher existence.

The people within the story called that higher existence a god, and even Satoru Gojo did not refute it. Yet the setting outside the story only described it as a higher existence. What exactly that meant was never shown, even when the work ended.

Mahito smiled. "I want all of your knowledge, thousand-year-old Curse User."

Kenjaku finally relaxed. "As long as you can learn it. Jujutsu may look miraculous, but learning it is quite tedious."

"I am very patient." Mahito smiled faintly. "Thousand-year-old Curse User, can you tell me your name now?"

Kenjaku gave Mahito a long look, suspecting that Mahito's ability must have some requirement involving true names. He wanted to refuse, but he knew this was the only chance to make this troublesome Cursed Spirit obey.

He was already this difficult to deal with now. In the future, he would only grow even more unfathomable.

This was a Cursed Spirit whose potential did not lose to Satoru Gojo's... No, perhaps it was precisely because Satoru Gojo had been born that the world had created Mahito at this moment to maintain balance. He was meant to stand on equal footing with Satoru Gojo.

Having thought it through, Kenjaku nodded lightly.

"I am Kenjaku, a thousand-year-old Curse User, Su."

Mahito extended a hand. "Then, until Jujutsu Society as it currently exists is overturned, please guide me, Teacher Kenjaku."

"The pleasure is mine. Please guide me as well, Mahito." Kenjaku hesitated before extending his hand and taking Mahito's. In that instant, the Binding Vow was formed.

But at that same moment, Mahito truly touched Kenjaku's soul with his hand.

He did not alter anything. He merely touched Kenjaku's soul. Kenjaku's Cursed Energy defenses did not even react. Before touching Haruta Shigemo, he absolutely could not have done this. Now, however, he could do it easily.

In modern terms, the old Mahito had been a third-rate doctor wielding a scalpel. If he wanted to touch someone's soul, he had needed to use the scalpel to carefully cut through their Cursed Energy defenses before he could reach it.

But now, Mahito knew that if he did not alter anything and merely observed and recorded it, using X-rays was more precise than using a scalpel—and far less likely to be noticed.

In this world, perhaps not even Sukuna could accomplish this. It was a miracle only Mahito could perform. Therefore, naturally, Kenjaku had fallen for it.

Kenjaku had indeed suffered no harm—because simply looking with his gaze could not possibly count as harm.

But Kenjaku's soul had already been completely recorded by him. Mahito broke into a broad smile: