Ashiya Sadatsuna roared, "Are you out of your goddamn mind?!"
Mahito tilted his head curiously. "Do you know much about Yuki Tsukumo?"
"I know nothing about the woman herself. The moment she was designated a Special Grade Sorcerer, all data on her was locked behind maximum security clearances," Ashiya said slowly. "But I intimately know the terrifying weight the title of 'Special Grade' carries. Every single one of them is a walking natural disaster. Look at the current roster—which one of them can be measured by human logic?"
"Just as Kenjaku said, as long as another Special Grade doesn't intervene, any single one of them can annihilate the entire Jujutsu society on a whim. Yuki Tsukumo is absolutely no exception."
"And yet you know nothing of her actual abilities?" Mahito asked.
Ashiya was growing aggravated. "Look at the kid standing right next to you! He possesses infinite Cursed Energy. In terms of raw explosive output, he even eclipses Special Grade Sorcerer Yuta Okkotsu! In fact, Okkotsu has openly admitted more than once that if Hakari is on a roll, Hakari could beat him."
"So why is Yuta Okkotsu a Special Grade, while this Curse User—who can beat him on a good day—isn't?"
Hakari snapped, "I'm not a Curse User! I just got expelled!"
"I find that a bit strange myself," Mahito noted. "I've traded blows with Hakari, and I fully comprehend the sheer terror of 'infinite Cursed Energy.' I don't think he's inferior to the other Special Grades in the slightest. Why isn't he classified as one? Especially when he has Yuta Okkotsu's personal endorsement?"
Ashiya looked puzzled. "Wait, didn't Kenjaku ever explain this to you?"
"Because there was no need," Kenjaku said dismissively. "Stretch your perspective across a thousand years, and you'll realize 'Special Grade Sorcerers' aren't actually that rare. Mahito doesn't need to burden himself with this trivia, because his ultimate trajectory will inevitably shatter the ceiling of 'Special Grade.' Take Ryomen Sukuna, for example—do you think Sukuna needs to know what a 'Special Grade' is?"
Kenjaku looked directly at Mahito. "Special Grades are born in every era. But sorcerers on the exact same plane of existence as Ryomen Sukuna? Throughout all of recorded history, there have only ever been two. One was Sukuna himself."
"And the other is Satoru Gojo," Mahito finished seamlessly.
Ashiya frowned deeply. "Kenjaku, you've failed as a teacher."
Kenjaku waved a hand nonchalantly. "I have my own curriculum. A mere sword-swinger like you has absolutely no right to critique it."
Ashiya pointed a trembling finger at Kenjaku, directing his rage at Mahito. "This right here is exactly why I care so much about your survival! Goddammit! Let me tell you, Kenjaku's utter disdain for swordsmen isn't an isolated quirk; it's the industry standard! These arrogant bastards all look down on the blade! They genuinely believe that once they awaken as Sorcerers, picking up a sword is beneath them, like handling filthy garbage. They think the blade is unworthy of their attention."
"I am going to shatter that pathetic paradigm! I will return the sword to its rightful throne! I will force the New Shadow Style to become the absolute pinnacle of Jujutsu society! I'm going to chop the Three Great Families to pieces! I'm going to butcher the Jujutsu Headquarters!"
Mahito was beginning to understand the old man's psychological wiring.
He remembered that in the original canon, Naoya Zen'in harbored the exact same prejudice. Naoya had explicitly stated that Sorcerers relying on weapons were pathetic losers. Even though holding a simple dagger would objectively increase their lethality, Sorcerers refused to do it, viewing reliance on physical tools as a deep humiliation.
The Zen'in Clan's [Kukuru Unit] was entirely composed of members lacking Innate Techniques, and they all carried blades. But the elite sorcerer squad, the [Hei]—with the sole exception of Ogi Zen'in—fought entirely empty-handed.
Ogi's Innate Technique was glaringly mediocre, which was why he devoted himself to swordsmanship to complete his combat system. If his technique had been as flashy and overwhelming as the others, he likely wouldn't have bothered with a blade either. To a Jujutsu Sorcerer, relying on swordsmanship truly was viewed as a mark of shame.
This old man had finally stumbled upon Mahito—a terrifying Jujutsu prodigy who was actually willing to humble himself and learn the blade with absolute sincerity. Ashiya genuinely cherished this. That was why he cared more about Mahito's safety than Mahito himself did.
Kenjaku chuckled mercilessly. "Old friend, I usually try to preserve your fragile ego, and I've defended you in the past. But right now, I must absolutely correct you."
"Let's be brutally honest. Since you founded the New Shadow Style, plenty of dazzling talents have passed through your doors. Some were even born with Innate Techniques. But put your hand on your heart and tell me: did their achievements have anything to do with your New Shadow Style?"
"Your New Shadow Style has only ever been icing on the cake. It has never once been the foundation of greatness!"
"Over a thousand years, the optimal path for a Jujutsu Sorcerer has been explicitly proven to the world. Digging deep into one's Innate Technique, mastering Shikigami, perfecting Barrier Techniques, or pushing Cursed Energy reinforcement to the absolute limit—all of these yield far greater power than swinging a piece of metal."
"If I recall, the most proficient user of your New Shadow Style in the modern era is Atsuya Kusakabe, isn't he? He is a man devoid of an Innate Technique. To survive in the Jujutsu world, he had no choice but to desperately cling to your New Shadow Style, relying on 'Simple Domain' just to stay breathing."
"Take a wild guess. If he had been born with an Innate Technique, do you think he would have ever spared your New Shadow Style a single glance?"
That was a devastating, psychological kill shot. Ashiya erupted, "You son of a bitch—!"
Mahito stepped in to mediate. "Instructor Ashiya, aren't I here earnestly learning from you right now? Swordsmanship isn't entirely useless."
Kenjaku delivered his follow-up strike with chilling precision. "Is he actually learning swordsmanship? No. He's doing this solely to maximize the output of his Mirokuji Kirigiri. He doesn't love swordsmanship. He loves his Cursed Tool. If he hadn't happened to cultivate a tsukumogami, I guarantee he wouldn't have given an old ghost like you the time of day."
Ashiya Sadatsuna completely snapped. He violently whipped the bamboo sword through the air. A deafening sonic boom tore through the room, like a thunderclap detonating at ground level! Miraculously, the frail bamboo didn't shatter. A faint, glowing layer of blue Cursed Energy clung to the wood like a tailored suit.
"Kenjaku! In all the centuries I've known you, I don't think we've ever actually crossed blades! Come! Let this old man test exactly what you're made of!" The old man roared furiously, his voice generating a visible shockwave that made the onlookers' eardrums throb in agony.
Kenjaku immediately surrendered, tossing his hands up with zero shame. "Yes, yes, my apologies. I was wrong. I shouldn't have insulted the art you hold so dear."
"I freely admit, the New Shadow Style is truly the greatest safety net for Sorcerers lacking an Innate Technique. And I genuinely believe that if the Three Great Families were to suddenly collapse simultaneously, your New Shadow Style might actually conquer the Jujutsu world—just like Tokugawa Ieyasu eventually unifying the Warring States!"
"Are you calling me a cowardly turtle who just waits for everyone else to die?!" Ashiya was practically foaming at the mouth.
"I'm praising you! Tokugawa Ieyasu *did* win the Warring States period, didn't he?" Kenjaku stressed innocently.
Hakari clutched his forehead, turning to Mahito. "Is this your daily life? Babysitting two thousand-year-old lunatics having a meltdown?"
Mahito watched them with bright, entertained eyes. "Isn't it fascinating? Both Kenjaku-san and Ashiya-san are immortal seniors. We should be taking notes on how they live. After all, we'll eventually end up like them."
"You see modern media constantly portraying immortality as some horrific 'curse,' as if living forever is a grueling punishment of eternal suffering. But look at these veterans. Do you see even a shred of a 'curse' affecting them?"
"Hakari-san, you need to observe and learn. This is exactly the kind of robust mental health an immortal should possess."
"Is this really the time to discuss the psychological health of immortals?!" Hakari roared. "Yuki Tsukumo is about to kick our door down! And you guys are in here doing a stand-up routine!"
Ashiya instantly snapped back to reality. "Right, right, off-topic again! Mahito, you absolutely cannot meet with Yuki Tsukumo."
Mahito didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned to Kenjaku with a highly specific question: "Does Yuki Tsukumo possess the capability to locate this hideout?"
"Even Tengen couldn't find us here!" Kenjaku declared with absolute confidence. "Well, the current Tengen, at least. If Tengen were to evolve into a higher existence, all bets are off."
"Which means this location is secure for the time being. Correct?" Mahito confirmed.
"Correct." Kenjaku stared at Mahito, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "I think I see where you're going with this. You possess 'instant teleportation.' If a fight breaks out, you can abort and retreat here at any moment? You want to go probe her capabilities?"
"You can teleport?!" Ashiya stared at Mahito in shock.
Kenjaku completely ignored the old swordsman, focusing entirely on warning Mahito. "If you're planning to use teleportation as a safety net, you are severely underestimating a Special Grade."
"Yuki Tsukumo's data is sealed airtight. Not only do I lack her combat metrics, I don't even know what her Innate Technique is. That is an incredibly rare anomaly in the Jujutsu world. As long as a Sorcerer fights, they inevitably reveal their technique."
"But Yuki Tsukumo has never been forced to reveal hers. Do you understand what that implies?"
"It means that aside from taking extreme measures to protect her intel, she is so overwhelmingly proficient in standard, universal Jujutsu applications that she can slaughter the world without ever needing her Innate Technique."
"And among universal Jujutsu applications, the absolute most devastating... are Barrier Techniques. And Barrier Techniques are the foundational prerequisite for Domain Expansion."
Mahito perfectly understood the lethal weight of Kenjaku's warning.
Not every Special Grade could manifest a Domain Expansion. For instance, the deceased Suguru Geto—whose body Kenjaku currently hijacked—could not. Geto's ultimate attack was a Maximum Technique.
But Yuki Tsukumo almost certainly could.
For a Jujutsu Sorcerer, the ability to cast a Domain Expansion was a binary threshold of absolute dominance. A Sorcerer with a Domain instinctively suppressed one without. In fact, unless the victim had a highly specific countermeasure, the Domain caster could vaporize them the moment they made eye contact.
Kenjaku spoke slowly, heavily. "If you had already mastered Simple Domain, I naturally wouldn't stop you. I'd even encourage you to go test Yuki Tsukumo's weight."
"But you haven't. Going to see her right now is practically suicide. The moment she lays eyes on you, she could instantly trap you in a Domain Expansion. I have no idea what her Domain does, but whatever it is, Mahito, I do not believe you would survive it."
Mahito smiled. He pointed a finger at Kenjaku and looked at Ashiya. "And this is exactly why studying the blade pays off."
Ashiya blinked blankly, staring at Kenjaku in total confusion.
Kenjaku, however, understood immediately. He frowned. "Mahito, I assumed you knew the difference between bravery and suicidal arrogance."
"Did you really think I'd walk into Yuki Tsukumo's line of sight just as I am now?" Mahito smiled gently.
Kenjaku rubbed his chin, a rare look of uncertainty crossing his face. "What exactly are you getting at?"
"I'll lay it out plainly," Mahito said, his tone cooling. "I have never been afraid of Yuki Tsukumo, even if you insist she has the power to erase Jujutsu society on her own. What terrifies me is the entity *behind* her. How on earth did she get Hakari's phone number?"
He directed the question to Hakari. Hakari thought for a second. "Could Mei Mei have sold us out?"
"If Mei Mei ever dares to show her face in front of me again, she's dead." Mahito shook his head. "Mei Mei knows exactly how dangerous I am better than anyone. She's definitely figured out pieces of my actual technique. When I made that deal with her, I honestly just wanted to test her integrity... Unfortunately, she failed the test. Perhaps it was because my hand touched Ui Ui, and she felt her property was threatened?"
Mahito shrugged. "I don't know the exact trigger, but the only absolute certainty is that she isn't even in Japan anymore."
Hakari's eyes went wide with realization. "She bolted! I remember her saying she has safehouses and assets all over the globe. She could literally be anywhere on Earth right now—except Japan. Because she broke her word!"
"Even though there wasn't a formal 'Binding Vow' in place, she knows she couldn't survive your personal retaliation, Mahito. She's definitely gone to ground. And while she's hiding, she wouldn't dare contact anyone in Jujutsu society to avoid leaving a trail. She didn't leak my number."
Hakari wasn't just throwing out wild guesses; this was exactly who Mei Mei was.
In the original canon, her behavior was identical. The moment Ryomen Sukuna's resurrection was confirmed and Satoru Gojo was sealed, her first instinct wasn't to unite with her comrades and fight the ultimate evil. Instead, she grabbed Ui Ui and immediately fled the country, relocating to America to watch the apocalypse safely from the bleachers.
Sukuna was obviously more terrifying than Mahito, and Satoru Gojo was still currently active in Japan. But Sukuna wasn't actively hunting Mei Mei, and Gojo couldn't act as her 24/7 bodyguard. Being casually threatened by a disaster was entirely different from being specifically targeted by one. Given her hyper-pragmatic nature, Mei Mei would never just sit in Japan waiting to be assassinated.
After connecting the dots, Hakari's face drained of color. "If it wasn't her, then literally no one else knows the connection between you and me. Which means... Tengen made a move?"
"No, not Tengen," Kenjaku immediately denied. "I know how Tengen operates. Unless her immediate safety is compromised, she absolutely ignores the surface world. We lack the power to assault her Tombs, and my identity remains completely concealed. Tengen would never proactively intervene."
Hakari looked completely lost. "Then who?"
Mahito uttered a single name: "Satoru Gojo."
A chill seized the room.
Kenjaku's expression darkened into an abyssal scowl. "Where was the leak? Given Gojo's arrogant personality, he should still be firmly in the phase of looking down on us, even after we eradicated the Zen'in clan... Who the hell was it? Could it be Kokichi Muta? No, we have an ironclad Binding Vow with him. He physically cannot..."
"If it were truly Satoru Gojo pulling the strings, he would have called Hakari himself. I am choosing to believe this is nothing more than a highly unfortunate coincidence," Mahito exhaled slowly. "But I can't be certain... which is precisely why I *must* go meet her. I know the risks, but it is infinitely better than having Satoru Gojo suddenly kick down our front door. We are absolutely not ready to wage war against Gojo yet, are we?"
Understanding dawned on Kenjaku. "I see. So this is what you mean by 'forge ahead'."
Ashiya interrupted, completely lost. "Wait, when did we start talking about forging ahead?"
Kenjaku shot him a withering look and smiled thinly. "It's your own philosophy, old man, and yet you completely failed to grasp his intent?"
Ashiya's mouth twitched, and the bamboo sword in his hand began to hum with a violent aura of Cursed Energy once more.
"When there is no other choice, forge ahead. That is the domain of the weak," Mahito said softly. "Swordsmanship was never purely a manual for killing. It is an overarching philosophy of survival."
"Miyamoto Musashi wrote *The Book of Five Rings*. It is a manual on swordsmanship, yes, but it is also a text on military strategy and a philosophy for navigating reality. That is the true essence of the blade."
"Ashiya-san may never have authored such a text, but every single one of his actions bleeds that exact philosophy."
Ashiya was dumbfounded. "They do?"
"Why do you harbor such intense hatred for the current Jujutsu Headquarters, Ashiya-san?" Mahito asked.
"Because they are unworthy of their positions!" Ashiya spat, his face twisting in disgust.
"I thought you would say it was because of your own grand ambitions," Mahito smiled.
Ashiya paused for a few seconds before answering, his tone complicated. "I have never hidden my ambitions. In fact, I've practically preached them to every disciple under my roof. I even forced every single student who learned Simple Domain from me into a Binding Vow: when the time comes, they must fight for me unconditionally. Though, of course, I would never invoke that vow lightly."
In truth, even up to his death in the original canon, Ashiya had never once invoked that Vow. He had established it for absolutely nothing.
Mahito waved his hand dismissively. "Did you think I was complimenting you, Ashiya-san?"
"To stay hidden, you confine yourself to a claustrophobic junk shop. You eat rotting scraps left behind by others, drink stagnant water, wear a stained old apron, and let your skin wrinkle so deeply it could crush a fly."
"You are an immortal, yet you are too terrified to siphon enough lifespan from your disciples to sustain yourself properly. You've let your physical strength regress so severely you can barely lift a real blade."
"You've reduced yourself to this pathetic state solely to survive. Tengen looks down on you, viewing you as entirely harmless. Tengen knows that whenever the time finally comes, she can just dispatch a random Grade 1 Sorcerer to effortlessly put you down."
"Living a lifetime of agony, waiting for an 'opportune moment' that may never arrive... it is so suffocatingly pathetic I cannot even fathom how you've endured it."
Mahito was spitting nothing but hard facts based on the old man's canonical fate. In the original timeline, Tengen casually sent a Grade 1 Sorcerer to kill him, after which his closely guarded "Simple Domain" immediately leaked to the public and became a common technique—despite being explicitly labeled a "secret, single-inheritance art" beforehand.
Incidentally, the Grade 1 Sorcerer who assassinated him was none other than Mei Mei—the very woman currently fleeing the country.
With Mahito's current power level, he could kill Mei Mei with one hand tied behind his back. Let's see her try to assassinate someone on his watch.
Ashiya stood frozen in stunned silence.
"But despite all of this, Ashiya-san never surrendered," Mahito breathed out, his tone shifting into one of deep respect. "You didn't just give up and rot. You meticulously calculated the difference in military force between yourself and your enemies. You objectively realized that even if you fought like a rabid dog, victory was statistically impossible. So, you chose to swallow your pride and hibernate. You went to such extreme lengths to broadcast your own harmlessness that absolutely no one looking at you would ever suspect you still harbored world-conquering ambitions."
Mahito sighed softly, gently running his fingers over the hilt of the bamboo sword. "Is that not the absolute essence of *Iaijutsu*?"
"You don't care about your own life in the slightest. The only thing you care about is your ultimate goal: to reign supreme over Jujutsu society."
"These two concepts seem aligned, but there is a massive difference. Your ambition to 'reign' overrides your desire for 'immortality.' If the perfect strike presents itself, you won't hesitate for a microsecond to overthrow the Headquarters. To observe your blade is to understand your soul."
Ashiya was initially shocked, but a deep, overwhelming sense of gratification soon washed over his face. "You have already earned the right to be called a Swordmaster."
"You flatter me. I'm just cheating," Mahito smiled.
This wasn't false modesty; Mahito literally was cheating.
'To observe the blade is to understand the man' was the hallmark skill of a master swordsman. But Mahito was different. He had read the original manga. He was reverse-engineering the old man's psychology based on his canonical death. Of course his 'insight' was flawlessly accurate.
Before his death in the canon, Ashiya's exact endgame was explicitly laid out by Mei Mei: he aggressively expanded his disciple network and shackled each one with devastating Binding Vows. These vows demanded that they die for the New Shadow Style in its critical hour, forfeit their lifespans to him, and absolutely never leak the secrets of the Simple Domain.
He literally held the lives of every New Shadow Style disciple in the palm of his hand, yet he forced himself to live in squalor. Even when invoking the vows to steal lifespan to survive, he was incredibly frugal, taking only the bare minimum required to stave off death.
His one fatal error was entrusting his safety to Tengen. Knowing full well he was under Tengen's surveillance, he chose to live alone. When Tengen finally decided to eliminate him, killing him was barely harder than stepping on a civilian.
Mahito was absolutely not going to repeat that mistake.
"The logic remains the same here," Mahito stated with heavy finality. "I know meeting Yuki Tsukumo is incredibly dangerous. But is it more dangerous than Satoru Gojo suddenly ambushing us? We absolutely must uncover how Yuki obtained our intel. We have to prepare for the worst-case scenario. We have *no other choice*."
Because if they didn't isolate Yuki's intelligence source, the invisible knife would permanently remain at their throats. It was the exact same mistake Ashiya made by leaving his fate in Tengen's hands.
Naturally, the absolute best-case scenario was that this was all just a spectacularly lucky coincidence, meaning Mahito only had to deal with Yuki Tsukumo alone. That would be infinitely easier to manage.
"Since we have no other choice." Mahito scanned the room, locking eyes with everyone present. He took a deep breath. "Then we must forge ahead."
This was the absolute core doctrine of the New Shadow Style: *When there is no other choice, forge ahead!*
The entire room fell utterly silent.
Breaking the silence, Mahito turned back to Kenjaku. "You said earlier that if I had already mastered Simple Domain, you wouldn't stop me. In fact, you'd encourage me to go clash with her?"
Kenjaku snapped back to reality and nodded slowly. "Your baseline combat specs have already broken into the Special Grade tier. Raw output, survivability, kinetic mobility—you have it all. If neither of you deploys a Domain Expansion, I am completely confident Yuki Tsukumo cannot easily put you down, regardless of what her Innate Technique turns out to be. Under those specific conditions, I would feel secure letting you engage her."
"Then it's settled," Mahito said.
"What is?" Kenjaku asked, momentarily lost.
"I am saying that before I meet Yuki Tsukumo, I am going to master Simple Domain," Mahito smiled.
This time, no one accused him of arrogance. Not even Ashiya Sadatsuna.
Simple Domain was an extension of pure willpower. Mahito's current situation was the absolute perfect crucible to forge that will, because if he didn't learn it, he would be slaughtered! Under the absolute pressure of having no other choice, his resolve to 'forge ahead' would burn brighter than a dying star.
At this point, no one in the room doubted Mahito's ability to learn Simple Domain. The only variable left was whether Ashiya was actually willing to teach it with his entire soul.
After a long, pregnant silence, Ashiya Sadatsuna spoke up. "May I see your Mirokuji Kirigiri?"
Mahito's smile widened. "Is that the price for your absolute, undivided instruction in the Simple Domain?"
Ashiya let out a booming laugh. "It is!"