Mahito awoke from his trance. He licked his lips; a faint phantom taste of sake still lingered on his tongue. He surveyed his surroundings. Due to his death match with Naobito, the entire estate was reduced to an apocalyptic wasteland. Lingering, violent Cursed Energy blanketed the area. The storm clouds had completely dissipated, allowing the moonlight to spill unimpeded across the ruined earth.
Because he had successfully triggered a Black Flash, Mahito was currently overflowing with a sensation of absolute omnipotence. It was exactly as Kento Nanami had described it:
The Cursed Energy that normally required conscious, meticulous effort to regulate now flowed as naturally and effortlessly as breathing. Complex theories and calculations that would normally make his head spin were instantly solved the moment he simply thought of them. Feats that seemed entirely impossible before could now be perfectly executed just by vaguely visualizing the mechanics.
Every Jujutsu Sorcerer chased the high of a Black Flash. Right here, right now, Mahito profoundly understood why.
Because he had used *Maximum: Advent* to transform into a dragon, he was currently completely naked. He stepped forward in his bare flesh, letting his Cursed Energy circulate naturally. His sensory perception could easily blanket an area tens of thousands of meters wide. Even without the Six Eyes, he could perceive the intricate flow of Cursed Energy through all things in the world. Yet, he chose to forcefully retract all of his perception, folding it inward like a sheet of paper, compressing and stacking it infinitely until it was locked entirely within his own core.
Next, he began to form hand signs, executing them with the utmost ease, yet carrying an air of absolute solemnity.
—Reverse Cursed Technique. —Soul Creation.
—Simulating Soul: Juzo Kumiya.
—Construction. Technique Release.
A massive, fleshy 'egg' completely enveloped Mahito. As he was encased, he closed his heterochromatic eyes.
Kenjaku had once told Mahito that the human body was an incredibly mystical organism. To create a flawless, perfectly compatible incarnated vessel, there was no other method but to utilize an "embryo."
Even with a millennium of accumulated Jujutsu knowledge, if Kenjaku wanted to create a vessel like that, he physically had to become a mother and birth it from a womb.
But Mahito was fundamentally different from Kenjaku. The human biology that Kenjaku found so mystical was completely malleable to Mahito. Because he was the physical manifestation of humanity's curse upon humanity, he possessed absolute, innate dominion over human biological tissue. His soul-manipulation abilities were entirely rooted in this principle.
And now, supercharged by the 'Zone' of the Black Flash, his talent fully blossomed.
A figure was violently ejected from the egg. It was a tall, bald man, completely naked, his rippling muscles corded like a wild beast's. His eyes were tightly shut. Upon being ejected, he dropped to his knees and face-planted directly into the dirt.
This was the Construction-technique vessel Kenjaku had originally procured for Mahito. But now, Mahito no longer needed this defective puppet.
The egg slowly dissolved into the air. Mahito stood in the ruins, completely naked. He opened his heterochromatic eyes, their glow shimmering faintly under the night sky like distant stars. He glanced down at Juzo Kumiya. A sheet of fabric drifted down from nowhere, covering the unconscious man's body.
Mahito took a step forward. As his foot moved, white tabi socks materialized on his feet. The moment his foot touched the earth, a wooden geta sandal formed beneath it. He waved his hand casually as he walked, and a dark kimono and hakama instantly wove themselves over his body.
A haori appeared over his shoulders. He slipped it on, then raised his hand as a bamboo kasa hat materialized in his grasp, which he calmly placed on his head.
Reverse Cursed Technique: Soul Creation — Construction.
The flow of his Cursed Technique was flawlessly smooth and pristine. He hadn't even formed a hand sign, yet the physical matter he constructed was absolutely perfect.
Suddenly, a voice spoke up right beside him. "My, my, you've made quite a mess. Did you have fun, Mahito?"
Mahito didn't turn his head. He knew exactly who it was. "Sensei Kenjaku. I trust you've been well?"
"What do you mean 'been well'...? We've been separated for less than three hours," Kenjaku said with a pleasant smile. "To exterminate the Zen'in clan in a mere three hours... the Jujutsu world is certainly going to experience a massive earthquake over this. Are you prepared to face Satoru Gojo head-on now, Mahito?"
"Has it really only been three hours? It felt like three years." Mahito felt slightly disoriented.
He switched his Soul Creation again, channeling Tool Manipulation. A flash of silver streaked across the night sky. He raised his right hand, and Mirokuji Kirigiri flew in from the distance, landing obediently in his grip.
He held the blade horizontally. A glaring, jagged crack marred the beautifully forged steel. He blew gently on the blade, activating Construction, but the crack stubbornly refused to heal.
"That took a direct hit from a 'Black Flash,' didn't it?" Kenjaku took one look and deduced exactly what had happened. "A Black Flash is a phenomenon created by the dual impact of physical force and Cursed Energy. Aside from its catastrophic destructive power, it leaves behind a terrifyingly stubborn residue of Cursed Energy that makes wounds exceptionally difficult to heal."
"Never mind a cursed tool like Mirokuji Kirigiri, which lacks innate self-healing capabilities; even a Jujutsu Sorcerer highly proficient in Reverse Cursed Technique would find it agonizingly difficult to regenerate from a direct Black Flash strike."
"Is there any way to fix it?" Mahito asked.
"If we can find an exceptionally skilled Construction user, they might be able to repair it." Kenjaku studied the blade, pondering. "But that's a tall order. At the very least, the Construction user lying at your feet falls completely short."
Kenjaku was talking about Juzo Kumiya, yet he didn't even cast a single glance at the man, treating him as if he were thin air.
Kenjaku continued:
"Because Tsukumogami aren't simply standard cursed tools. They possess genuine life, and sometimes can even evolve into Cursed Spirits. They are highly unique lifeforms shrouded in mysteries we have yet to unravel. Even though I know the answer is likely no, I have to ask—if you want, I can find you an excellent new vessel to act as a Tsukumogami carrier."
"No, I am quite satisfied with Mirokuji Kirigiri," Mahito refused.
Kenjaku wasn't surprised. Even with the Tool Manipulation technique, it would be impossible to cultivate a blade into a true Tsukumogami in such a short time without genuine affection for it. That specific favoritism was the primary catalyst for a Tsukumogami's birth.
"Then we have no options for now... Wait, perhaps we do." Kenjaku looked thoughtful.
"What is it?" Mahito asked.
"I know an ancient sorcerer who is currently undergoing incarnation in a modern human vessel. However, her vessel isn't fully prepared yet, so it will take some time. We might be able to ask her for help in the future. Be warned, though, she has an incredibly bizarre personality. You might have to pay a steep price," Kenjaku explained.
Mahito actually knew exactly who this was: the ancient sorcerer 'Yorozu.' In the original timeline, she was the undisputed strongest Construction user in the world.
"I will have the price ready." Mahito gently stroked Mirokuji Kirigiri, and the blade hummed in resonance. He lowered it to his waist, and a scabbard constructed itself around the steel. The tsuba clicked sharply against the scabbard's mouth.
Kenjaku scanned the ruins and suddenly asked, "There are still people hiding in the underground bunkers of the Zen'in estate. Are you going to slaughter them all?"
Mahito replied coolly, "And fully sever our ties with Jujutsu society? Prompting Satoru Gojo to mobilize every resource to hunt us down, forcing us onto the defensive forever?"
"You're still too naive, Mahito," Kenjaku said coldly. "Do you honestly think Gojo won't hunt us down if you spare them?"
"Remember what I just told you?"
"You just wiped out the elite forces of the Zen'in clan, one of the Big Three Families. This is an incident of catastrophic proportions. Satoru Gojo will inevitably use every method at his disposal to track you down, and he will use everything in his power to kill you."
"At this point, sparing the people in that basement changes absolutely nothing. Killing them, however, will further harden your resolve. So, why hold back?"
Mahito slowly turned his head to look at Kenjaku. "You seem awfully eager for me to massacre them."
"I am merely reminding you to cast aside your misplaced human compassion," Kenjaku said seriously. "Whether you want to admit it or not, the fact remains that you are a Curse. Since you are a Curse, if you wish to increase your power, you must act according to a Curse's nature. Otherwise, you will only drift further away from true strength."
What Kenjaku said was completely true. Mahito had to acknowledge it.
This was exactly why Curse Users hated Satoru Gojo with such a burning passion. The ecology of Curse Users and Cursed Spirits was virtually identical: if they didn't live indulging their every sick whim, their spirit would wane, and their Cursed Energy would slowly deplete, eventually dissipating entirely.
For Curse Users, murdering and torturing people inherently increased their power. Living purely to satisfy their impulses was the fastest route to strength. The exact same applied to Curses.
But... that wasn't the *only* way.
Mahito spoke evenly, "I'm finding you incredibly annoying right now, Sensei Kenjaku. Are you suggesting that I should just ignore our Binding Vow and attack you? Even if I know the backlash of breaking the Vow would be severe, as long as I get to kill you and satisfy my immediate urge, the consequences don't matter?"
Kenjaku froze. Suddenly, every primal instinct he possessed screamed in absolute terror. An invisible, crushing pressure instantaneously flooded his world, making him feel as though he had been abruptly teleported from solid ground to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The sudden gravitational weight nearly forced him to his knees.
Mahito had evolved again... to a terrifying, sickening degree!
Kenjaku raised his hands in surrender, immediately softening his tone. "My apologies. I was simply concerned about the speed of your growth, especially since you are about to face Satoru Gojo. I would never dare harbor intentions of betrayal. As you know, the Binding Vow we established binds us both."
"Being indecisive and overly sentimental absolutely violates a Curse's base instincts, and it does negatively impact my Cursed Energy. But if enduring that yields a far greater reward, I will endure it. I will transmute the humiliation of that endurance into a deeper, more refined curse." Mahito suddenly smiled, the corners of his mouth curling up. "That's a philosophy the Head of the Zen'in Clan taught me. I learned a lot from him, and I plan on putting it to good use."
Kenjaku asked curiously, "What exactly did he do?"
"He sat in the reception hall and watched through his Shikigami as I ruthlessly butchered his clansmen. First, I slaughtered the entire Kukuru Unit. Then, I massacred the entire Hei."
Mahito recalled the battle, speaking slowly:
"I tossed the mangled corpse of the Hei's commander—his own son—right at his feet. He was consumed by absolute grief, yet he smiled. He told me that the more exceptional a Jujutsu Sorcerer is, the more they can transmute that wrath and terror into Cursed Energy, unleashing power that defies common sense. And he proved it."
Kenjaku inhaled sharply, marveling, "No wonder Mirokuji Kirigiri bears the scars of a 'Black Flash.' It must have been him who struck it. How vicious... utterly vicious. As expected of the Zen'in Clan Head. I have to admire a man who can push his own madness to that extreme."
*If Naobito Zen'in knew he earned the admiration of a thousand-year-old psychopath, I'm sure he'd be roaring with laughter right now,* Mahito thought aimlessly.
Then, he asked, "Kenjaku, can you introduce me to any other teachers?"
Kenjaku paused. "Why the sudden interest?"
"I require deeper, foundational training. Relying solely on my current capabilities won't be enough," Mahito explained. "During this battle, I realized my combat experience is severely lacking. Time and time again, my attacks were predicted, placing me in highly disadvantageous positions."
"Furthermore, I want to learn Kendo. I possess the finest blade in the world, but I completely lack the technique required to wield it properly."
"I also have glaring flaws in practical Jujutsu application. I have so many Cursed Techniques at my disposal, but I fail to chain them together effectively."
"Thinking back, I made a shocking number of mistakes during that fight."
"There were several techniques I didn't even activate. Not because I forgot about them, but because I simply didn't have the reaction time to deploy them in that environment."
"Take 'Boogie Woogie,' for example. Aside from using it for a single ambush at the start, I never touched it again. I assumed a spatial displacement ability would be universally dominant in a chaotic melee. But when it came down to actually applying it, I realized I had no instinct for the optimal timing."
"My main issue was that I couldn't justify dropping my guard to take a hit just to tag someone with Cursed Energy for 'Love Rendezvous' so I could use spatial displacement. Boogie Woogie only buys me an advantage; Love Rendezvous guarantees an instant win."
"Or take 'Miracles' and probability manipulation. That combo should be devastating. But in a hyper-speed death match, I didn't have the breathing room to set it up. It disrupts my combat rhythm entirely."
"I need to organize everything. I need a structured curriculum."
As Mahito spoke, he grew pensive. "Perhaps I truly do need to hunker down for a while and refine my combat system. I thought my arsenal was vast, but all these tools operate in total isolation. I haven't synergized them. Then again, I haven't been alive very long."
This was Mahito's honest assessment. During the Zen'in massacre, it looked like he held an overwhelming advantage the entire time. But that was strictly because he possessed 'Idle Transfiguration,' granting him infinite regeneration, and luckily, no one in the Zen'in clan had the ability to strike the soul. Because of that, he could fight as recklessly as he wanted without fear of consequence.
But what would happen when he faced someone who *could* damage his soul?
Setting aside others, the protagonist squad alone had two members capable of targeting the soul: Yuji Itadori and Nobara Kugisaki. Furthermore, in the original timeline, Kokichi Muta had managed to devise a fairly universal countermeasure against Idle Transfiguration using Simple Domain.
Not to mention, any genuinely elite Jujutsu Sorcerer possessed subconscious soul defense. As the battles escalated, Idle Transfiguration would become increasingly restricted.
Take the Zen'in massacre, for instance. Aside from using it to heal himself, he barely used Idle Transfiguration offensively. Was it because he didn't want to? No. It was because everyone knew he could permanently disfigure them with a single touch, so they defended against his hands with extreme paranoia. By the time he finally landed a clean hit, the raw kinetic force of his punch alone was enough to kill them. Idle Transfiguration wasn't invincible, and Mahito had intimately experienced its limitations in this fight.
Mahito continued, "I want a master of 'New Shadow Style' to instruct me. Naturally, I will pay the price. I wonder if the practitioners of New Shadow Style have any interest in immortality? I can trade 'immortality' for the Kaiden of New Shadow Style."
In swordsmanship, a 'Kaiden' (Full Transmission) is a certificate proving a student has mastered every technique of a school and passed all its trials.
Above that is 'Menkyo Kaiden' (License of Full Transmission), but that isn't just about technical mastery; it's an authoritative teaching qualification. Mahito had zero interest in teaching anyone. He just wanted the full technical repertoire of New Shadow Style, so the 'Kaiden' was enough.
As a side note, while New Shadow Style utilizes swords, it is fundamentally an integration of swordsmanship and Jujutsu. Any sorcerer can learn it; it acts as a universal anti-domain technique. In the original timeline, Yuki Tsukumo, Aoi Todo, and Ui Ui never wielded swords, yet they all utilized New Shadow Style: Simple Domain. Learning it provided massive benefits even without a blade.
Kenjaku asked curiously, "You already possess Tool Manipulation. If you simply refined that technique, you'd reach the absolute pinnacle of armed combat without ever needing to study external styles. What exactly is driving you to pursue this?"
"I have a premonition... my growth is about to hit a severe bottleneck," Mahito admitted. "If I had the luxury of time, of course I'd prefer to exclusively research Idle Transfiguration and just passively catalog other techniques as background knowledge. That would be a standard, healthy progression curve."
Mahito chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Unfortunately, the world won't give me that time... and neither will you. Right?"
Kenjaku avoided Mahito's gaze, shrugging slightly. "Well, as it happens, I know the founder of New Shadow Style. It will take some time to track him down, but I guarantee I'll have him within a week. I can't guarantee he'll agree to all your demands—he's a notoriously eccentric man—but I can introduce you to him. Provided you guarantee both of our safety, of course."
Mahito remembered now. Right before the finale in the original timeline, there was a scene confirming that the head of New Shadow Style had survived into the modern era by draining the lifespans of his disciples, waiting for the perfect moment for his school to seize power.
Mahito sighed genuinely. "I thought my 'immortality' was incredibly precious. But looking closely, it seems immortality has never really been in short supply in Jujutsu society. Tengen, you, the founder of New Shadow Style... I wouldn't be surprised if there were even more of you crawling around."
Kenjaku vehemently disagreed. He said severely, "Mahito, do not belittle yourself. While the Jujutsu world does possess various forms of life extension, whether it's my technique, Tengen's evolution, or the founder of New Shadow Style's parasitism... our 'immortality' requires fulfilling extremely rigid conditions."
"Furthermore, every single method we employ is shackled by massive limitations and exacts a horrifying toll. Without exception."
"But your immortality? Yours is genuinely 'eternal life.' As long as Cursed Energy continues to circulate in this world, your 'immortality' will persist flawlessly. It is the single most perfect form of immortality since the dawn of Jujutsu. Any sorcerer who pursues the path of eternity will inherently covet what you have."
"That puts my mind at ease," Mahito said. "Then I leave it in your capable hands, Sensei Kenjaku."
"The stronger you become, the more reassured I feel. It means you are rapidly becoming the trump card that will kill Satoru Gojo," Kenjaku smiled. "I will do everything in my power to facilitate this for you. Everything to achieve our ultimate ambition: the total subversion of modern Jujutsu society."
*You mean YOUR ultimate ambition, right?*
Mahito reaffirmed his internal stance: he absolutely could not drop his guard around this millennium-old Curse User. The moment their contract was fulfilled, an instant, lethal betrayal was guaranteed.
Mahito matched his smile. "Then I'm counting on you, Sensei Kenjaku."
"Leave it to me, Mahito."
Kenjaku opened a spatial tear, and Mahito stepped through it.
But Kenjaku didn't leave immediately. He glanced down at the bald man lying unconscious in the dirt and smiled.
"Hmm... I recall you being a barrier user, correct? You might still be somewhat useful. I can't let you rot out here."
With that final remark, he opened a second spatial door and nonchalantly tossed the bald man inside.