Temporary Contract

"Am I right?"

As his words fell, Hajime Kashimo, who had been talking inside Lu Yun's head, abruptly went silent. Even the unbearable headache vanished in an instant.

Seeing that his words had worked, Lu Yun pressed his advantage and continued:

"Oh, right. Before you died, Kenjaku recommended a powerful fighter from the Leo Region, didn't he? But you turned down the fight because your time was running out. That fighter has actually been incarnated in the modern era too. I can..."

"Enough!"

After a long silence, Kashimo spoke again.

Those few casually delivered remarks had laid Lu Yun's secrets completely bare.

They included not only his agreement with Kenjaku, but also information about his Cursed Technique, [Mythical Beast Amber], which no one besides Kashimo himself knew.

Kenjaku leaking information could explain the former, but Kashimo couldn't fathom how Lu Yun knew about his Cursed Technique.

Likewise, he had found absolutely no trace of where that information came from in the original owner's memories.

Clearly sensing the anger in Kashimo's voice, Lu Yun wisely shut his mouth.

"How did you know?"

After digesting the shock of those revelations, Kashimo's tone softened a little.

Now that he had piqued Kashimo's curiosity, Lu Yun finally relaxed somewhat. Naturally, though, he couldn't reveal his source, so he countered with a question:

"Does that mean you're willing to believe me now, Deer God?"

"Hmph! Don't get ahead of yourself, brat. I never said that."

Kashimo snorted, a faint thread of killing intent still lingering in his voice.

Lu Yun knew their negotiation had reached a critical juncture. He had to demonstrate enough value to convince Kashimo, so he said:

"Deer God, instead of running around like a headless chicken, looking aimlessly for opponents, you could have my help! I guarantee I'd find you more powerful fighters who suit your tastes!"

"And..."

At that, Lu Yun slowed down, his expression turning a little odd.

"It seems you might not be able to erase me completely, either."

Just moments earlier, when Kashimo had pushed his consciousness to its limits, Lu Yun had vaguely felt a hidden power well up from deep within his soul, helping him resist Kashimo's attempt to erase him.

"You dare underestimate me? You're dead... huh???"

Having his secrets exposed had already enraged Kashimo, stirring a vague conviction that this brat couldn't be allowed to live. Now Lu Yun dared to look down on him too, and his killing intent surged.

His powerful sorcerer's soul, far beyond that of an ordinary person, abruptly exerted pressure-only for Kashimo to discover, to his astonishment, that he couldn't shake Lu Yun's soul again.

"What is going on??"

Kashimo couldn't believe it. Lu Yun was an ordinary person, so why did the quality of his soul seem even greater than his own?

If Lu Yun hadn't lacked experience in controlling his soul, he might even have suppressed Kashimo instead.

"Heh-heh. Out of options now, aren't you?"

Lu Yun looked utterly unruffled, with none of the desperate disarray he had shown when his consciousness was about to be erased.

As for the source of that power, it had actually been hidden all along within the body Kashimo occupied.

Could it be the original owner??

Indeed, the soul power helping Lu Yun had come from the body's original owner.

With his body invaded and his consciousness crushed, the original owner's scant remaining soul power couldn't have affected Kashimo at all.

Lu Yun's arrival, however, had changed that.

Sensing that another soul was about to suffer the same fate, the original owner's faint lingering consciousness had clung to its obsession and gifted all its remaining soul power to Lu Yun, helping him withstand Kashimo's invasion. In doing so, that consciousness had vanished completely, with no possibility of recovery.

That was the truth behind the power.

Having fully received the original owner's soul power, Lu Yun also sensed his wishes within it. Emotion moved across his face, and tears streamed down his cheeks.

Hajikiwara, you bastard!

Now that he had inherited this body from its original owner, he would carry on his will and live well.

"You think this means I can't do anything to you?"

Ignoring Lu Yun's emotion, Kashimo sneered.

Not good!

Though he didn't know what Kashimo intended, Lu Yun immediately sensed trouble.

Sure enough, a moment later, half of Lu Yun's body went numb. His left hand moved beyond his control and clamped around Lu Yun's throat.

Lu Yun reacted quickly, grabbing his left hand with the right one he could still control. But his strength alone was nowhere near enough to stop Kashimo, leaving him no choice but to shout:

"Deer God, stop! Are you really willing to waste your chance at rebirth like this?!"

"Better than spending my whole life locked inside your body."

Kashimo paid him no heed and continued choking Lu Yun.

"Who said anything about locking you up forever? We can negotiate your demands! Even if you wanted that, I wouldn't. Don't you still want to challenge the King of Curses?"

"What do you mean?"

His left hand stopped squeezing, but remained firmly around his neck.

With the choking pressure gone, Lu Yun breathed a sigh of relief and delivered the proposal he had been preparing for some time:

"We can't just stay locked in this stalemate. I have the advantage in information, and you have the strength and want to challenge powerful opponents. Why not let me use my information to find suitable opponents for you? Wouldn't that be much easier than asking around blindly yourself?"

"You don't seem interested in modern life, either. You were incarnated so you could enjoy fighting. So let me control the body for everyday business, and whenever we meet a powerful opponent, you'll absolutely get first dibs. That satisfies both our needs-a win-win! There's no reason we have to fight to the death!"

"If you don't trust me, we can establish a Binding Vow. What do you think? Isn't a mutually beneficial partnership much better?"

After laying out his entire proposal in one breath, Lu Yun fell silent, giving Kashimo time to think.

Time trickled by. Kashimo gradually calmed down, and the hand around Lu Yun's neck finally lowered.

"You do seem to have a point."

After careful consideration, Kashimo felt that Lu Yun's proposal did make some sense. He hadn't chosen Incarnation just to waste his time looking for people. An assistant who knew all sorts of information could indeed save him plenty of unnecessary effort.

Seeing Kashimo tempted, Lu Yun was delighted. Just as he thought he had successfully saved his life from this powerful fighter from four hundred years ago, however, Kashimo changed tack:

"But to make sure you aren't lying, I need to verify your information first."

"No problem, Deer God. Don't underestimate my intelligence network. My information is absolutely genuine."

As a seasoned troll, Lu Yun was quite confident in his familiarity with the original plot. If he didn't even know the story, other trolls or genuine fans would expose him as someone who hadn't read it before he could get any trolling done, leaving him fuming.

Lu Yun was there to have a laugh, not become the joke. He would never allow himself to play the clown like that.

"Then my condition is that you get me into a fight with Sukuna within five days. No, within three."

Kashimo laid out his condition for allowing Lu Yun's consciousness to remain.

"That's impossible!!"

Lu Yun cried out at once. Wasn't that deliberately denying him any chance of survival?

Judging by the current circumstances, the Culling Game had probably only just begun. This arc's main storyline might not even have started yet. The original protagonist, Yuji Itadori-the current vessel of Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses-was probably off exorcising Cursed Spirits in some godforsaken corner with Choso, his biological brother who shared neither his mother nor his father.

Never mind that they were still inside a Culling Game colony. Even if he got lucky, escaped within three days, somehow found Yuji Itadori, and happened to get the Sukuna inside him to agree to a duel with Kashimo, wouldn't charging straight in still be serving himself up on a platter and courting death?

Sure, he trolled online every day about how awesome Deer God was and how Executioner's Lightning could one-shot anything. But when it came to actually fighting Sukuna, Lu Yun didn't believe Kashimo could beat the King of Curses.

Forget Sukuna at his peak-even the current fifteen-finger Sukuna would be more than Kashimo could handle.

Talking big online was one thing. Now that he was actually in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, Lu Yun had no desire to rush furiously up to Lord Sukuna, get diced into mango cubes by a grid of slashes, and end up smeared beneath Uncle Sukuna's soles.

What was wrong with staying alive?

So Lu Yun absolutely refused to accept Kashimo's condition, which was no different from suicide.

"Why is it impossible? Don't you have information?"

Faced with Kashimo's attempt to bargain, Lu Yun chose to give up outright.

"Urgh! Just kill me."

If I go now, I can reincarnate three days sooner. Isn't that better than slaving away for three days for nothing?

Lu Yun looked up at the sky with the expression of a dead fish.

Was it really that difficult?

Kashimo was somewhat doubtful, but after hearing Lu Yun's proposal, he didn't want to give up a free assistant just like that. He loosened his conditions a little.

"Then how about this? It doesn't have to be Sukuna. As long as you find a sufficiently powerful fighter within five days, you'll pass. Surely that's acceptable?"

Five days? At this point, Angel should still be in the same colony as Kashimo, the Tokyo No. 2 Colony. If I find her, I can use her Cursed Technique to leave. Even if I don't, five days should be enough for Lu Yun to collect the points needed to add a rule allowing them to leave.

As for powerful fighters who met the requirements, Lu Yun already had targets in mind.

Those people would definitely remain in that place even if entry and exit became unrestricted. Their strength should also satisfy Kashimo's requirements. Even if quality wasn't enough, quantity could make up for it.

Lu Yun considered the plan, confirmed that it was feasible, and only then replied:

"All right. I accept your conditions."

"Then our temporary contract is established. Struggle all you like over these next five days."

"My name is Lu Yun."

"I don't care what your name is. Give it your best, brat."

Utterly unconcerned about why Lu Yun wasn't using the original owner's name, Kashimo finished speaking with disdain. His consciousness then seemed to fall dormant, making no further sound.